Category: After I Abandoned the Protagonist [Quick Transmigration]

Chapter 38: The Destined-to-be-Abandoned Good-for-Nothing (18)p2

Peace returned to the mountains for a while.

Until Su Mingxiu, having stared at the meditating Gui Mian long enough to somewhat alleviate her longing, decided to approach her disciple again. She reached out to embrace her.

Gui Mian, who had always rejected her before, whether out of confidence in her own strength or simply because she couldn’t be bothered with Su Mingxiu anymore, let her embrace her. But then, her ear was caught by a warm, moist breath, and a chuckling voice whispered into her ear: “I said I was hungry, and you didn’t even think of feeding me.”

“Gui Mian, when did you become so heartless?”

When calling her disciple, her voice was filled with endless affection.

Now, calling her Gui Mian, her tone was playful, as if Su Mingxiu, with her deliberate choice of words, had infused the world with love and desire.

Was this really the emotionless and detached great cultivator of the Sword Sect?

She must have been possessed by a fox demon!

Gui Mian opened her eyes angrily and looked at Su Mingxiu. After a moment, just as Su Mingxiu thought she was angry and about to attack, she saw the grey mist enveloping them.

When the mist dispersed, they were no longer surrounded by menacing demon soldiers, but a bustling and lively market.

Their cultivation levels were too high for mortals to see them easily. Su Mingxiu casually cast a concealment spell, and only then did the people passing by seem to notice them, turning their heads to look.

Su Mingxiu didn’t deliberately make herself look ugly, but even so, their beauty still stood out among the mortals.

Especially Gui Mian in her red attire. She had a naturally beautiful face, yet she chose to wear such a flamboyant color. For a moment, the entire street, even the lanterns hanging from the trees, couldn’t compete with her radiance.

Someone’s eyes lit up, wanting to approach them, but before they could get close, they felt a blur before their eyes. When they rubbed their eyes and looked again, the two beauties were gone.

A certain restaurant.

Inside a private room on the second floor.

Su Mingxiu directly handed the menu to the waiter, asking him to bring all the signature dishes. When the table was filled with delicacies, she set up a barrier and looked at her little disciple, who was sitting across from her with her eyes closed, unmoved.

“Not trying any?”

She asked with a smile, a hint of nostalgia in her eyes. “I remember you praising the food in mortal restaurants, saying you could eat it forever and never get tired of it.”

Gui Mian opened her eyes and met her gaze calmly. “Did I?”

She wanted to say she didn’t remember, or use the line “Your disciple is long dead” to respond to Su Mingxiu. But perhaps guessing that this woman was currently troubled by her heart demon and had strange thoughts, she suddenly felt it was pointless.

The next moment, chopsticks holding a piece of meat with a spicy aroma were placed before her lips.

Her pale lips were instantly stained with oil.

Looking even more tempting than the meat.

Gui Mian swatted Su Mingxiu’s chopsticks away in annoyance. Seeing that the meat was about to fall onto the table, Su Mingxiu pointed a finger, and the meat magically returned to the plate.

“You don’t have to eat,” she said, “but don’t waste food.”

Instinctively, Gui Mian felt a pang of guilt at her master’s words.

But in the next second, she realized that she should have already abandoned this respect for Su Mingxiu. She sneered. “Food?”

Her eyes darted around, the pupils turning a golden color, an alluring light swirling within them. Fortunately, a barrier had been set up around them, so no one could notice this strange scene.

“My food… isn’t on this table.”

“If you want to feed me, you’re using the wrong method.”

Oh?

Su Mingxiu rested her chin on her hand, her long, ink-stained sleeve falling down, revealing her jade-white wrist. Hearing those suggestive words, her expression didn’t change. She only looked at her little disciple with a probing gaze, as if trying to judge the truth in her words.

After a while, she picked up her chopsticks and put the piece of meat that Gui Mian had refused into her own mouth.

The Jade Elder seemed to have a carefree attitude of taking things as they came. Even after being rejected several times, she didn’t show any frustration at her failed attempts. She seemed to have a good appetite as she reached for the dishes on the table.

Just when Gui Mian thought that Su Mingxiu wouldn’t bother her with these meaningless nostalgic acts anymore and closed her eyes to feign sleep, she heard a reply from across the table: “Alright.”

“After I finish eating, I’ll feed you.”

Gui Mian: “!”

Chapter 38: The Destined-to-be-Abandoned Good-for-Nothing (18)p1

The lingering taste on Su Mingxiu’s lips was that of thick, metallic blood.

But she didn’t stop. Instead, Gui Mian, thinking she had gone mad, released a wave of grey mist, enveloping Su Mingxiu.

When the mist dispersed, she found herself far away from Mount Lingyu.

—So her little disciple possessed such a powerful ability. No wonder she could return to the Sword Sect undetected.

Su Mingxiu looked around and realized that she wasn’t standing on solid ground, but on a surface with unique patterns… a turtle shell?

She casually wiped away the bloodstain on her lips and said in a gentle voice: “You’ve raised Black Tortoise well.”

Gui Mian remained silent, walking to the farthest spot and sitting down with her back to Su Mingxiu, seemingly not wanting her to see her emotions. She only presented her master with a straight and unyielding back, like a towering pine.

Su Mingxiu, however, reached out and touched the red thread circling her neck. She realized the other end of the thread was still in her little disciple’s hand.

But it was concealed with a spell. From an outsider’s perspective, they could only see this sudden ornament on her neck.

She sensed a dense concentration of demonic energy around them, guessing that this must be a resting point for the Demon Realm’s army.

But Su Mingxiu wasn’t concerned about the Demon Realm’s plans. Moreover, the future of this world had nothing to do with her. So she simply walked towards Gui Mian.

Standing behind her little disciple, she half-squatted down, habitually wanting to tie Gui Mian’s hair up. But as soon as she reached out, her hand was caught by Gui Mian without a word.

Su Mingxiu let her hold her hand and leaned closer. “I thought you were going to take me back to the Demon Realm.”

“Of course,” Gui Mian didn’t turn around, only her cold voice reached Su Mingxiu. “But now it’s because—”

“Young Lord.”

A voice came from below, carrying a hint of amusement and a subtle reminder.

Gui Mian immediately swallowed the rest of her words, releasing Su Mingxiu’s wrist. She ordered coldly: “Stay quiet.”

Tsk.

Su Mingxiu sighed inwardly again. Perhaps because they had been separated for too long, her impression of Gui Mian was still that of a well-behaved and obedient child.

Although she guessed that Gui Mian must have heard a lot of brainwashing after joining the demon faction, seeing her act so cold and distant still surprised her.

She didn’t bother investigating why the Demon Realm’s army was stationed here. Instead, she reached out to Gui Mian again. Perhaps also confused by Gui Mian’s thoughts after their reunion, Gui Mian finally turned her head.

The next moment.

She was embraced from behind by Su Mingxiu. Her arms wrapped around Gui Mian’s waist, the warmth of another person pressing against her.

Gui Mian: “!”

She instantly transformed into grey mist and reappeared on the other side, her face pale. She asked Su Mingxiu, “What are you doing?”

“Shouldn’t a pet stay with its master?”

Su Mingxiu raised an eyebrow, the matter-of-fact expression on her face giving off an unreasonable dominance. Seeing their interaction, it would be hard for anyone to tell who was the pet and who was the master.

Neither of them lowered their voices, and the demon soldiers guarding nearby were all trusted generals of the Demon Lord, each with high cultivation and sharp senses.

They were only on guard duty, but when they heard the conversation between the young Lord and her supposedly heartless and ruthless human master, they were all shocked: “!”

Thinking about their young Lord’s eccentric temper, they had assumed that her master, after being captured, would be half-dead or severely humiliated, and that there would be a fierce battle with the Demon Realm.

…What kind of dangerous conversation was this?

Was this something they were supposed to hear?

Immediately, some of the demon generals who didn’t want to get involved blocked their hearing and switched shifts with the outer guards with an impassive expression. Only those who were more gossipy tried to get closer, but Black Tortoise, noticing them, casually flicked its tail, clearing a large area around them.

On the turtle’s back.

Gui Mian remained silent, her light brown eyes shimmering with a faint golden glow under the moonlight. She frowned at Su Mingxiu, as if trying to see through her intentions.

Another voice suddenly interjected:

“Young Lord, according to the customs of the demon and yao races, human pets need to have their dantian crippled and their meridians severed to be truly tamed. Otherwise, there’s always the risk of them rebelling against their master.”

Su Mingxiu originally had no intention of paying attention to these insignificant creatures around Gui Mian. But seeing that this person could repeatedly influence Gui Mian’s decisions, and that they were so malicious and used such unorthodox methods, she subconsciously extended her divine sense to search.

Her gaze, carrying immense pressure, swept downwards, her eyes, as bright as the stars and the moon, locking onto the nine-tailed fox demon. “So it was you who corrupted my good disciple?”

Fox Nine, a powerful being on the verge of reaching Great Ascension, hadn’t taken Su Mingxiu seriously at first. But now, being targeted by her divine sense, it realized that this person was far more unfathomable than it had imagined.

Its heart skipped a beat. It instinctively mobilized all its demonic energy, trying to break free from Su Mingxiu’s pressure. But its throat filled with a sweet, metallic taste. Then, it saw Su Mingxiu casually look away and turn towards the woman in red standing on the other side.

Gui Mian had been prepared. If Su Mingxiu attacked the demon, she would stop her and show this good master who was truly in control now—

But seeing that Su Mingxiu didn’t make a move and was even looking at her, Gui Mian couldn’t help but be stunned.

Was this…

Leaving the decision to her?

Was… was Su Mingxiu acting spoiled?

Gui Mian’s mind was filled with chaotic guesses. On one hand, she felt frustrated. Su Mingxiu had indeed seen through her special feelings for her. It seemed that controlling her in the Demon Realm would be a problem.

On the other hand, she felt that Su Mingxiu was truly cunning. She had used this same expression to reject her advances before, and now that the situation had changed, she could actually endure such humiliation. As expected of someone with such deep schemes.

Her thoughts churned. When she realized she had been silent for too long, she replied coldly: “Don’t tell me what to do, Fox Nine.”

After a pause, she added to Su Mingxiu: “Your disciple is long dead. The one standing before you now is the young Lord of the Demon Realm. Don’t be presumptuous.”

Su Mingxiu licked her lips. The mark Gui Mian had left there had already been healed by her spiritual energy.

Hearing Gui Mian’s words, her eyes sparkled with amusement.

—It was Gui Mian who had called her Master when they returned to Mount Lingyu, and now it was also her who wanted to abandon their master-disciple relationship. When had the little girl become so fickle?

But what could she do?

It was Su Mingxiu who had lost her, and now, facing Gui Mian, she could only indulge her.

So she nodded calmly at Gui Mian and looked around. “It’s been a while since I descended the mountain. I’m craving some mortal food.”

Hearing this, Gui Mian’s eyes filled with suspicion again. She knew that Su Mingxiu didn’t need to eat mortal food anymore.

On the contrary, for the Jade Elder, whose body had been tempered to an almost immortal state, eating too much mundane food would be detrimental to her cultivation.

Why would she suddenly crave mortal food?

Was she really craving the food? Or was it someone she had shared those meals with in the past?

Thinking of this, Gui Mian pretended not to hear and returned to the corner of Black Tortoise’s shell to meditate. Su Mingxiu watched her with amusement.

Fox Nine, on the other hand, having been intimidated by both Gui Mian and Su Mingxiu, realized that neither of them was easy to handle. It immediately sent a message back to the Demon Realm.

If it couldn’t deal with these two, surely the Demon Lord could?

It wouldn’t let this grudge, which had almost made it cough up blood, go unpunished, Fox Nine thought resentfully.

Chapter 37: The Destined-to-be-Abandoned Good-for-Nothing (17)p2

Before coming here, she had warned herself many times not to soften towards this heartless master. She would repay her for all the pain she had suffered, without exception.

But now…

Just looking at her master’s familiar indulgent expression, she instinctively obeyed, just like before, and plucked another white lotus from beside her.

The petals of the lotus were forced apart by the aura emanating from her palm, and an image appeared before both of their eyes—

Su Mingxiu’s eyes widened in surprise.

This lotus showed a scene from her previous life with Yu Yinglan, their first meeting, Yu Yinglan in that alluring cheongsam, leaning against her.

Gui Mian’s expression…

Gradually darkened.

Before Su Mingxiu could finish watching, the lotus was crushed into a ball by Gui Mian. The crushed juice dripped from her palm, and she looked at Su Mingxiu through gritted teeth: “Master’s taste is truly unique.”

“You’re even willing to share such intimate moments with your beloved with your disciple.”

Su Mingxiu: “…”

Including her original world, this was her third life, and for the first time, Su Mingxiu felt like a cheating scumbag. Even with a hundred mouths, she couldn’t explain that she wasn’t using Gui Mian as a substitute.

From Gui Mian’s perspective, she was either a substitute for the person in the room or a substitute for the Yu Yinglan in Su Mingxiu’s memories.

Hearing her sigh, the system laughed gleefully in her mind.

It even used its code to play a cheerful tune.

Su Mingxiu unilaterally blocked it with her divine sense and watched helplessly as the white lotuses covering the entire mountain were engulfed by the grey mist.

Mount Lingyu instantly became desolate.

Just like Gui Mian’s spiritual mansion for the past few decades.

“It seems Master feels sorry for these flowers.” Noticing her expression, Gui Mian spoke again.

Su Mingxiu wanted to say “You’re more important than flowers,” but remembering the two new idioms her little disciple had used to describe her, she only pursed her lips and remained silent.

When she spoke, Gui Mian found her hateful.

Now that she was silent, Gui Mian still felt uncomfortable.

She thought, Fox Nine was right. Why had she insisted on learning about emotions and desires? They were nothing but meaningless torture.

After burning those annoying Lover’s Lotuses to ashes—

Gui Mian wanted to destroy the Untainted Abode as well.

She didn’t want to be anyone’s substitute anymore. She even felt disgusted at the sight of a face that resembled her own.

But as the grey mist approached, Su Mingxiu raised her hand to block it. If she hadn’t reacted quickly enough, even a Great Luo Golden Immortal would have lost an arm today.

So the coldness in Gui Mian’s eyes intensified. “Encountering your beloved, Master finally drops the act?”

Su Mingxiu looked at her, as if she had suddenly discovered that her disciple was a hedgehog spirit. After a moment of thought, she said: “Gui Mian, have you ever wondered why you look like her? I suspect there’s a connection between you two. If you…”

If she wanted to kill this body, she could wait until after investigating.

“Why didn’t I notice Master’s talent for storytelling before?”

When that innocent face turned cold, it was as if the giant beast behind her was staring at them with a warning glare from within the lurking mist.

“I am a demon, a monster. Even the Heavenly Dao can’t tolerate me, how could I have any connection with a human?”

Seeing Su Mingxiu fall silent…

She smiled to herself. “But I will spare her life. Otherwise, how can I make Master obediently listen to me?”

Su Mingxiu understood now.

The resentment her little disciple held towards her wouldn’t dissipate anytime soon. Since she had already protected that body, she decided to wait for the little one to calm down before approaching her again.

But she remained silent again, and Gui Mian didn’t let her off the hook. “For the sake of the Sword Sect, Master was willing to endure humiliation in the Demon Realm. Now, for this woman, Master is even willing to pretend to love me deeply, just to make me spare her life… So it turns out, in the entire Sword Sect, the only person you’re willing to abandon is me.”

Absurd.

Su Mingxiu thought, with such a ridiculous level of comprehension, how did she manage to accurately translate her eight-times-speed foreign language back in the Demon Realm?

“What, now that I’ve seen through you, Master doesn’t even bother pretending anymore?”

The figure in the ink-stained robe stood still in the night.

Her eyes, as dark as the night, looked at the little girl for a while. Then, suddenly, she leaned in and kissed the lips of the young Demon Lord.

“You—”

Gui Mian’s eyes widened.

She didn’t expect that, even in this situation, Su Mingxiu would still dare to kiss her!

Fox Nine was right. These shameless manipulators would stop at nothing to achieve their goals.

She yanked on the red string in her hand, pulling Su Mingxiu away. Then, she saw her usually elegant and composed master looking at her calmly, even with that same indulgent gaze, as if waiting for her next words.

Su Mingxiu wanted to hear all of Gui Mian’s misunderstandings tonight. After all, the night was long, and she had finally waited for the person she wanted to see.

But Gui Mian only looked at her coldly. “If you dare to kiss me again—”

Before she could finish her sentence…

Soft lips pressed against hers.

This Jade Elder, for almost a thousand years, had been the most fearless person in the nine continents, always arrogant and domineering, doing whatever she pleased.

Gui Mian grabbed her neck and bit back fiercely, without mercy.

Fierce and ruthless.

Like a small animal baring its fangs when attacked.

Chapter 37: The Destined-to-be-Abandoned Good-for-Nothing (17)p1

The overflowing spiritual energy in the spiritual spring was instantly absorbed by the woman in red. Her hand, which had conjured the red threads, now only needed a slight pull, and those threads, dancing in the air, instantly bound the cold and aloof figure.

The threads of affection tightened, constricting Su Mingxiu herself.

Her slender neck was wrapped in layers of red threads. Even though cultivators had good breath-holding abilities, her blood vessels were also being squeezed by the threads, her face gradually turning red from the lack of oxygen.

The kiss finally ended.

Su Mingxiu was awakened by the pain, finally realizing that everything in front of her wasn’t an illusion. She placed one hand on the person beneath her, her eyes downcast, as if the boundless night had become gentle.

A faint silver light connected them.

Gui Mian looked at Su Mingxiu intently. Pulling on the red threads controlling her neck, she forced Su Mingxiu’s head to turn. Only then did she hear the person beneath her ask in a hoarse voice, “Does Master recognize who she just kissed?”

Su Mingxiu raised her hand to touch the red mark on her neck. As soon as her fingertip touched it, a faint metallic scent emanated. She raised an eyebrow. Her cultivation had returned to the Great Ascension stage, and her body was incredibly resilient, beyond the reach of ordinary people—

Yet Gui Mian could easily injure her. This little disciple of hers had indeed grown much stronger.

Seeing the thin line of blood on her finger, Gui Mian said with a flat expression, “Thanks to Master’s auspicious words, I now possess the sharpest, unbreakable sword in the world.”

A sword forged from the seven emotions and six desires, capable of cutting through anything.

Hurting others, and hurting herself even more.

Su Mingxiu lowered her eyes and smiled faintly. “Very good.”

Just then, she saw that familiar line appear before her eyes: “Mission complete! Time remaining before extraction from this world: 90 days!”

Gui Mian’s return marked the completion of another mission for her, the whetstone.

But this time, Su Mingxiu wasn’t as calm as before, waiting for the day of her departure. Instead, she stared at that line, thinking nonchalantly.

This wouldn’t do.

Ninety days was too short.

Feeling Su Mingxiu’s initial passion fade away, as if she had finally recognized who she had kissed, Gui Mian felt a sharp pain in her chest.

When she was watching through the Sky-Observing Mirror, she had noticed that Su Mingxiu’s cultivation had a problem.

She often stared blankly at empty spaces, a gentle expression on her face, as if she was looking at someone.

This was a sign of a heart demon forming during cultivation.

It was obvious that the person her master saw in her heart demon wasn’t her.

Thinking of this, Gui Mian subconsciously wiped away the traces on her lips, pushed Su Mingxiu off her, and stood up in the empty spring, which no longer had any spiritual mist. Looking at the surrounding lotuses, her heart ached, but her voice was exceptionally cold: “The 400,000-strong army of the Demon Realm is about to arrive at the gates of the Sword Sect.”

“I’m in need of a human pet. If Master is willing to trade your freedom for the lives of everyone in the Sword Sect, I can have the Demon Realm spare this place.”

Su Mingxiu’s attention was drawn back by her words. Hearing the term “human pet,” her eyebrows rose even higher.

Thinking about the Demon Realm, she was worried that her disciple had been corrupted by those demons and learned bad habits.

But seeing Gui Mian’s current attitude, she knew that her advice wouldn’t be heeded. So Su Mingxiu easily changed her tone: “I agree, as long as you stay by my side.”

“Uh…!” Gui Mian’s pupils constricted. She quickly tugged on the red thread in her hand. “Master, please calm down and see clearly who you’re making a promise to.”

Hearing her words, Su Mingxiu quickly noticed something. “You think I’m mistaking you for someone else?”

“Aren’t you?”

The person in red looked towards the Untainted Abode, her gaze fixed on the extra room. “Isn’t the person Master loves… in that room?”

Thinking about how Su Mingxiu had disliked the room she had stayed in and had even prepared a new room for that body, Gui Mian felt the urge to set Mount Lingyu on fire again.

The system, which had been observing their progress, suddenly interjected, as if anticipating Su Mingxiu’s answer:

[No OOC behavior!]

[Think carefully! If you deny it, you’ll be violating your core character setting and might accumulate a lot of OOC points! You’ve already completed the mission in this world. Even if you become mute from now on, you only need to endure it for ninety days.]

Su Mingxiu: “You make a good point.”

But she didn’t want to listen.

She looked around, seeing that the lotuses, having lost the water from the spiritual spring, now seemed to be growing out of thin air. But a faint mist still obscured the lower half of their stems and leaves, as if they were too proud to reveal their less beautiful parts.

“Since you know my life so well, you must also know what kind of spiritual plant this is?”

Without waiting for her little disciple’s answer, Su Mingxiu stretched out her arm and plucked the nearest lotus. Just as Gui Mian was about to snatch it away, she quickly tore off a petal and put it in her mouth.

Then, under Gui Mian’s stunned gaze, she pulled the other party’s neck towards her, their lips meeting once again.

The fragrance of the lotus petal quickly melted between their lips and teeth—

Gui Mian saw an image.

It was the scene of her being bullied by her senior brothers on the Platform of Enlightenment. Back then, she didn’t understand what humiliation was. She was simply cornered, stubbornly holding an ordinary sword, trying to fight back.

“Whose disciple is this foolish child?”

Su Mingxiu’s eyelashes fluttered. Even though they were so close that Gui Mian couldn’t see her expression clearly, she could hear the amusement in her voice. “Oh, it’s mine.”

The decades in the Demon Realm had been long, long enough for Gui Mian to replay those memories over and over again. The stronger a cultivator was, the better their memory. By the end, she could even vividly recall the talisman patterns on Su Mingxiu’s robes.

Gui Mian had always thought that her master had just happened to appear on the Platform of Enlightenment that day.

…But she had been watching her from the shadows for so long?

No.

Fox Nine had said that the Lover’s Lotus recorded the seven emotions and six desires, and only love could make it bloom. These lotuses covering the entire mountain should belong to Su Mingxiu’s beloved.

But why?

She felt a crack appear in her usually hard and cold heart, letting in a gentle breeze.

Gui Mian immediately reminded herself that perhaps Mount Lingyu was simply too vast, and during the time when Su Mingxiu couldn’t truly revive her beloved, she might have felt some pity for her disciple.

So it was normal for the lotus to contain a few memories of her.

Thinking this, after seeing the scene, she only snatched the white lotus from Su Mingxiu’s hand with an impassive expression. As soon as the lotus reached her hand, it was engulfed by a grey mist and silently annihilated.

“I thought Master would be prepared to face death when you saw me again—”

“Unexpectedly, Master is also capable of such sweet talk and honeyed words. I’m truly impressed.”

“Uh…” Tsk.

Although Su Mingxiu knew it wouldn’t be easy to convince her, seeing the grey mist spreading around Gui Mian, threatening to engulf Mount Lingyu, her eyes were filled with indulgent helplessness. Still, she asked without much hope: “Are you sure… you don’t want to try another one?”

The mist around Gui Mian paused.

Chapter 36: The Destined-to-be-Abandoned Good-for-Nothing (16)p2

The news of the Demon Realm’s invasion of the nine continents quickly spread to all the cultivation sects.

The Sword Sect was a special case—

Because they received a letter of surrender directly from the Demon Realm. The letter mentioned that the Sword Sect’s location was a geomantic treasure that their young Lord had taken a fancy to. If the Sect Master handed over the Jade Elder, the Demon Realm would refrain from attacking.

Sect Master: “?”

He slammed his palm on the table, cracking it in anger.

“Preposterous!”

The Sword Sect would never betray their own elder for peace! Bring on the fight!

But the rumors still spread. The Sword Sect disciples sharpened their swords, speculating amongst themselves if this was an enemy the Jade Elder had made in the past.

However, it seemed like the Demon Realm had gained a powerful new figure. Were they really going to rekindle the war?

Mount Lingyu.

Unbeknownst to everyone, along with the letter of surrender, an uninvited guest also arrived.

Su Mingxiu sat in the spiritual spring as usual. Seeing the newcomer’s figure, she felt that the heart demon illusion she was experiencing today was rather special.

In her memory, Gui Mian had never worn such bright clothes.

But the red string was the only bright color on her little disciple.

The person walked towards her step by step, crushing the lotuses in the spiritual spring under their feet. As they approached, more and more broken lotuses fell to the side. By the time they reached Su Mingxiu, a path had been cleared through the dense sea of lotuses on Mount Lingyu.

The hem of their red robe swayed around their ankles, captivating Su Mingxiu’s gaze with its alluring color.

“Master.”

The little disciple smiled at her, her eyes as clear as when they first met, reflecting only Su Mingxiu’s image. She walked up to Su Mingxiu and leaned closer. “Seeing your disciple return, does Master feel any joy?”

Her palm rested on Su Mingxiu’s shoulder.

The touch of skin through the fabric made Gui Mian somewhat dissatisfied. But there was something else that displeased her even more. She wanted to set a fire and burn all these annoying lotuses on the mountain.

But before that—

She decided to give Su Mingxiu a chance.

If…

Master could say something nice, she might change her mind.

Gui Mian looked at the person in front of her seriously. She had seen her every day through the Sky-Observing Mirror, but it wasn’t until she stood before Su Mingxiu that she realized it was different after all.

As she leaned closer, she could smell a faint lotus fragrance on her master… very faint.

Their breaths mingled unconsciously.

Su Mingxiu knew that as long as she reached out, this illusion would shatter. So she endured for a long time, until the other party was so close that she could imprison them with a single touch—

She unconsciously leaned forward, as if bewitched, and kissed those lips.

The moment their lips touched, both of them trembled. Su Mingxiu instinctively reached out and pulled the person into her arms, deepening the kiss. Gui Mian, a step behind, loosened her grip on Su Mingxiu’s shoulder, her hand pulling on a crimson thread…

The water in the spiritual spring splashed.

Gui Mian’s eyes widened as Su Mingxiu pushed her underwater. The warmth of their kiss spoke of longing, but her gaze was fixed on the red string she was holding in her hand.

The red string seemed to stretch endlessly.

Gurgle, gurgle.

Tiny bubbles rose to the surface of the spring, like snowflakes.

Amidst the white, only the long red thread connected to her palm was dispersed. It seemed as if the red thread could weave a cocoon, enveloping both of them, hatching them only after a long period of longing.

Under the countless bubbles, Gui Mian looked at the emotions drawn from Su Mingxiu’s body, her eyes reflecting the red and the white, but a wave of sorrow washed over her:

So her usually cold and indifferent master, who seemed untouched by emotions and desires, could actually hold so much love within her.

But all that love—

None of it was for her.

Chapter 36: The Destined-to-be-Abandoned Good-for-Nothing (16)p1

Black Tortoise disappeared from Mount Lingyu.

But Su Mingxiu didn’t pay much attention to this. She was more preoccupied with… when would Gui Mian return?

The person she revived from the black ice only had breathing and a heartbeat, but showed no sign of waking up. If it were the original owner, she would have gone mad by now.

But Su Mingxiu had no feelings for this person. After realizing that she couldn’t awaken her, she didn’t care much and simply moved her to the Untainted Abode to be cared for.

Su Mingxiu specifically expanded the Untainted Abode, setting aside a room and setting up formations to house the body. The rest of her time was spent cultivating.

After all, her mindset was different from the original owner’s. Moreover, she had a genuine foundation in cultivation. In just a few decades, she refined the Golden Core belonging to Gui Mian within her body into a Nascent Soul, then reached Spirit Severing, Great Ascension…

But she couldn’t progress any further.

That night.

Su Mingxiu sat by the spiritual spring, her clothes soaked in the water. This spring could no longer aid her cultivation. Sitting in the cold water only brought her a sense of peace and tranquility.

White lotuses bloomed one after another around her, swaying and leaning towards her. Their pistils were also icy white, emitting a sweet fragrance that clung to her clothes and drifted towards her nose. From afar, she looked like an ethereal celestial being, untouched by the world. And these swaying lotuses seemed like demons tempting her to fall.

“Su Su.”

A familiar voice suddenly called out to her.

Su Mingxiu’s eyelashes trembled. She abruptly opened her eyes and saw a figure amidst the sea of lotuses beside her. The person had a pure and delicate face, even more pristine than the lotuses, yet also more alluring.

There was no more beautiful white lotus on Mount Lingyu than her.

The person’s breath was as fragrant as orchids. She leaned against Su Mingxiu’s shoulder, her red lips almost touching her jaw. Her voice was aggrieved and innocent. “Why did you lie to me again?”

Su Mingxiu’s throat moved, as if wanting to explain, but she suddenly noticed a red mark on her neck. She followed the long red thread to the other side and saw a figure in pale green clothes, her hair loosened, her eyes exceptionally innocent. When their gazes met, her voice was filled with confusion: “I’m the one Master loves, you’ve never loved anyone else, right?”

She saw the red string still tied around the little girl’s wrist.

As if, in the past, it had been casually wrapped around her.

Su Mingxiu’s eyelashes fluttered rapidly. Before she could speak, the two figures approached each other, slowly merging. Their shadows overlapped, their appearances becoming blurry. Then, they both spoke to her, their voices, one melodious, the other hoarse, overlapping: “Do you love me?”

Love.

Su Mingxiu’s lips moved. Before she could speak, she reached out to touch the shadow in front of her. But as she extended her hand, she touched a lotus flower. The cold temperature of the petals reached her fingertips, jolting her awake.

She blinked again.

Where were Yu Yinglan and Gui Mian?

She was only holding a single lotus petal.

The system couldn’t see the heart demon illusions she was experiencing, but it noticed something was wrong and spoke up in time: “You saw them again?”

Su Mingxiu didn’t answer. Instead, she suddenly asked another question: “Do you know why only Yu Yinglan could cure my insomnia in the last world?”

System: “No.”

“You do,” Su Mingxiu said, not caring about revealing her thoughts to the system. She looked at the sea of lotuses, her expression exceptionally gentle. “My shattered soul… is connected to them.”

After a pause, she added: “It’s also connected to the person I loved in the past, but I clearly remember that our encounter was just a fleeting one. It’s strange—”

“What’s the connection between us? Were my memories tampered with and forgotten, or…?”

The more she speculated, the more the system’s code trembled. It now felt that the mission completion mechanism should be changed. Instead of letting the host wait until the protagonist returned for revenge before issuing the mission completion notification, it should settle the score and transfer her to the next world immediately after the host completed the mission!

Now, Su Mingxiu had too much free time. Unable to see Gui Mian, she spent every day mentally torturing the system.

If it responded, she could extract the information she wanted. If it didn’t, she would speculate on her own, occasionally coming up with things that terrified the system.

In the end, the system could only give up and answer her randomly: “So what if there’s a connection? So what if there isn’t? You’ve already completed the mission in this world. With what you did to Gui Mian, she will never forgive you.”

Su Mingxiu plucked the lotus petal.

As she crushed it, the lotus juice landed on her palm and dripped onto the surface of the spiritual spring, creating an image. The image showed Su Mingxiu carrying Gui Mian back to the Untainted Abode through the wind and snow, but it quickly disappeared.

She wasn’t angry at the system’s blunt words. She even chuckled softly. “You’re right.”

Thousands of miles away, the eastern border.

The territory of the yao race was also in the eastern border, diagonally opposite the Demon Realm. Because this land was barren, cultivators from the major sects rarely came here.

Now, within a vast mountain range, terrifying cries could be faintly heard, and even the sky was stained an ominous red.

Black smoke billowed from somewhere within the mountains, reaching towards the clouds.

“No need to extinguish it.”

A figure with swaying fox tails saw the actions of the demon soldiers and stopped them. It said with a smile: “The sects in the eastern border are too weak. Let them spread the news and attract the four major sects here. Otherwise, the nine continents are too vast, it would take too long to reach their territories.”

Then, its gaze shifted towards a nearby mountain peak, its eyes curving into crescents. “Our young Lord… will be impatient.”

The demon general also secretly glanced in that direction. At first, it thought the figure was just standing on the clouds. But upon closer inspection, it realized that it was the young Lord’s demon pet. Its four limbs were covered in thick scales, heavy and seemingly impenetrable. And that tall mountain peak… was just the pet’s shell.

Just as it was looking over, a weary voice shouted towards the figure on the peak:

“Demon! Take this!”

The person on the peak remained with their head lowered, their left hand holding something unknown, their right hand extended towards the attacker—

A long, ice-blue blade instantly materialized in their palm. As the opponent’s sword energy struck, they blocked it with the blade. This seemingly ordinary sword effortlessly neutralized the condensed sword energy.

Not only that…

As they counterattacked with a gentle swipe, the ice-blue blade sliced through the air, seemingly slow but cutting the attacker in half. As the two halves fell to the ground, the demon generals realized that this was the sect master they had been searching for.

And as the sect master landed, the demon generals realized that the young Lord’s casual attack had obliterated both their body and their Nascent Soul.

…Such terrifying power.

At this moment, a book was thrown down from the peak, accompanied by a bored comment: “Fox Nine*, this story is too boring.”

General Fox Nine, who had been ordering the demon soldiers around, making them somewhat fearful, bowed respectfully beside the young Lord’s demon pet, a smile still in his voice: “Of course, the young Lord is intelligent. Now that you understand human emotions and desires, and can even turn these emotions into the sharpest sword in the world, those love stories of humans are nothing but meaningless whining to you.”

A red sleeve fell from the peak, the hand beneath it holding the ice-blue blade, which dissolved and merged into the dead sect master’s body on the ground.

A hoarse voice asked softly: “When can we attack the Sword Sect?”

“If the young Lord is impatient,” Fox Nine chuckled, “I am willing to be your vanguard and take down the Sword Sect first.”

***

狐九( Hú Jiǔ) = Fox Nine

Chapter 35: The Destined-to-be-Abandoned Good-for-Nothing (15)p2

At the same time.

Deep beneath the abyss, the Demon Palace.

A Sky-Observing Mirror stood before a solitary stone pillar. Maidens in black robes and sheer veils entered the hall in procession, carrying trays of fruits and snacks. But the pastries on the plates were mostly a deep blood red, and even the fruits had veins of red.

Upon closer inspection, one would notice that the maidens’ eyes were mostly eerie and that they wore different demon tribe totems and decorations to distinguish themselves.

In this world of red and black, only a strange grey mist lingered in front of the Sky-Observing Mirror.

The grey mist was intently watching the scene in the mirror. Beside the mirror stood a nine-tailed fox demon, dressed in red, its fluffy tails swaying leisurely beneath its robe. It pointed at a figure in the mirror and said lazily: “Did you hear that?”

“The one in the mirror, who looks just like you, is her beloved.”

“And she took your Golden Core and your sword bone just to revive her beloved.”

The grey mist remained motionless, seemingly ignoring the nine-tailed fox’s words. It only stared at the person in the mirror, even unconsciously leaning forward, as if wanting to break through the mirror and rush into the cold figure’s arms.

—This little one, ever since being brought back to the Demon Realm by the Demon Lord, had been pretending to be dead, refusing to communicate with the outside world, even attacking the guards at the slightest provocation, except when she was trying to escape.

The Demon Lord had tried to persuade her several times, telling her that the cultivator from the Sword Sect was only using and hurting her, but her words fell on deaf ears. In desperation, she had to send out this nine-tailed demon general, hoping that the nine-tailed fox, who understood human emotions the best, could enlighten this clueless little Chaos and make her understand who was truly good to her.

The nine-tailed fox was bored with teasing the demon soldiers and wanted a change of pace. Seeing that this little Chaos was even more stubborn and single-minded than the demons, it initially wanted to refuse. But after hearing the Demon Lord’s request, it became interested.

The image on the Sky-Observing Mirror suddenly disappeared.

The grey mist stirred in confusion, “looking” at the nine-tailed fox who controlled the mirror, silently urging it to continue. She wanted to see more of that person.

But the handsome demon only smiled at her and said leisurely: “In my class, listening alone is not enough.”

The grey mist struggled for a while, letting out a soft demonic roar.

“Hmm?”

The nine-tailed fox listened carefully and realized that this extremely powerful Chaos was actually a little girl. It raised an eyebrow, stared at her for a while, then finally remembered to answer her previous question—”Am I Master’s beloved?”

It scoffed. “Obviously, you’re not.”

Chaos seemed to want to prove something. The grey mist shifted its shape, as if trying to gesture something. But before she could finish, she was interrupted by the nine-tailed fox with a look of pity.

“You think just because you look like her, your master will love you?”

“Little one, you’re too naive. There can only be one beloved. Anyone else who looks like her is just a substitute—”

Saying this, the nine-tailed fox looked around and suddenly pulled a decorative beast cauldron towards itself. Then, it conjured an identical one with its magic.

“Let’s say I love this cauldron very much. I cherish it every day and pour my heart and soul into it. One day, I accidentally chip off a corner. Even if I find a similar one, it can’t replace its place in my heart.” The nine-tailed fox said as it broke off a corner of the left cauldron.

Then, it looked at Gui Mian and smashed the right cauldron into pieces.

“On the contrary, I would even try to break off a piece from this similar fake and see if I can use it to repair my cauldron.”

From the shattered pieces, it picked up a corner and slowly placed it on the missing spot of the left cauldron.

The grey mist stared at the fragments on the ground on the right. After a while, as if understanding something, it slowly moved over and enveloped the fragments within its body.

It let out a long, strange cry.

It sounded extremely sad.

The nine-tailed fox muttered “Little fool” under its breath. Feeling that it had completed the task assigned by the Demon Lord, it turned to leave. But suddenly, one of its tails was grabbed.

The grey mist shifted and pointed at the Sky-Observing Mirror.

The nine-tailed fox frowned. “She treated you like that, and you still want to see her?”

It originally only wanted to give Gui Mian a little push, but seeing her so devoted to a heartless person, it couldn’t help but feel a surge of coldness in its eyes. “Fine, from today onwards, this Sky-Observing Mirror will be open every day—”

“I’ll let you see what kind of selfish things those humans can do for love.”

Su Mingxiu was unaware that her every move was being watched by Gui Mian.

She inherited the original owner’s memories and followed the unorthodox techniques, reviving the body in the black ice with an impassive expression.

However, she didn’t give Gui Mian’s sword bone and Golden Core to this person.

Instead, she dug out her own Nascent Soul and spine and replaced them with Gui Mian’s. The system sneered in her mind as she did this.

Outside the cave, the perpetual snow on Mount Lingyu had stopped tonight because she had taken out the body and the ten-thousand-year-old black ice had melted.

In the spiritual spring, the lotus leaves, which had always been only green, sensed some kind of emotion and sprouted flower buds overnight. Under the vast night sky, countless white lotuses bloomed. In just one short hour, the lotuses spread throughout Mount Lingyu.

The moonlight illuminated the white lotuses, turning Mount Lingyu into a fairyland.

“Tsk—”

Black demonic energy transformed into chains, wrapping tightly around a grey mist that had reached the top of the abyss. The black chains constricted the mist, and the one who had launched this attack simply stood aside, flicking their sleeve, their bewitching golden eyes filled with disappointment.

The nine-tailed fox stood beside them. Seeing the grey mist being squeezed by the demon chains, a flash of pity appeared in its eyes. Suddenly remembering something, it had someone bring out the Sky-Observing Mirror.

The mirror reflected the breathtaking scenery of Mount Lingyu.

The grey mist momentarily forgot to struggle, staring blankly at Su Mingxiu in the cave, transplanting the sword bone into the body that looked exactly like her own.

The nine-tailed fox’s cold voice rang in Gui Mian’s ears:

“See? How much she despises your sword bone and Golden Core. She would rather replace them with her own than use yours for her beloved.”

“That mountain is perpetually affected by the ten-thousand-year-old black ice that preserved her beloved. It’s extremely cold and unsuitable for a human body to survive. When you were there, did she ever stop the wind and snow on the peak for you, even once?”

“Do you know what kind of lotus she planted in her spiritual spring?”

“That’s the Lover’s Lotus, it feeds on emotions and desires. If fed with desire, it grows leaves. If fed with love, it blooms. The stronger the love, the purer the color of the flowers. Now that her beloved has been revived, with all these white lotuses blooming on the mountain, can’t you see her true feelings?”

The grey mist stopped moving.

She had never seen the scenery of Mount Lingyu without snow and ice.

She vaguely remembered that she had also grown a lotus flower once, with delicate petals, very beautiful. But that single flower, how could it compare to this magnificent scene covering the entire mountain?

The image in the Sky-Observing Mirror seemed to freeze at this moment.

The grey mist, which had been struggling to escape, finally let the black chains drag it back inch by inch. Large teardrops condensed within the mist, then fell.

She seemed to be desperately trying to return to her human form.

But in the end, under the confinement of the demonic energy, she couldn’t even maintain her mist form. Many small objects fell out of it.

Human coins.

Human clothes.

Finally.

A long red cotton string fell out.

The red string fluttered in the wind, disappearing into the distance.

Chapter 35: The Destined-to-be-Abandoned Good-for-Nothing (15)p1

“I won’t kill you. You despicable wretch, wait until our young Demon Lord grows up—”

“I’ll have her personally take your life.” These were the last words Su Mingxiu heard from the other party.

In front of her remained only Gui Mian’s golden sword bone and that strange Golden Core. Su Mingxiu’s robes were stained with blood, but she didn’t bother cleaning them. She simply stood up from the formation and walked towards the abyss, the thick bloodstains on her sleeves dripping onto the ground as she moved, leaving a trail of blood blossoms within the formation.

The demonic energy in the abyss intensified. Compared to before they arrived, the entire rift was now filled with a red glow, as if the being dwelling within had awakened, even the dark sky was tinged with red.

Demon generals flew out from the canyon, launching attacks at her as a warning. The strange laughter filled her sea of consciousness.

Seeing that she was about to rush into the abyss to bring Gui Mian back, the system promptly issued the next mission: “Host, please repair your beloved’s body within half a month. This mission has no separate penalty, and its progress will be included in the final mission.”

“She is Yu Yinglan,” Su Mingxiu said, each word deliberate.

The demons circling around her didn’t care what she was saying, only the system heard her words clearly.

“So what if she is? So what if she isn’t?” The system sneered. “You love her so much, but after spending two or three years with this dear disciple, you still didn’t recognize her. It seems that the love of you mortals is both illusory and meaningless.”

Su Mingxiu’s fingertips twitched beneath her sleeve. The talismans on her robe danced, flying into the air with an ominous red glow, automatically defending against the demons’ attacks.

“Admitting it so readily?” More and more demons surrounded her, making it almost impossible to see her white robes through the gaps.

But Su Mingxiu ignored them. As she spoke to the system, her gaze was still fixed on the abyss, a faint smile playing on her lips.

Even though she had followed the mission instructions and completely hurt Gui Mian, pushing her into the Demon Realm storyline that the system wanted, seeing her like this, the system still couldn’t help but say:

[I can tell you for sure that Yu Yinglan belongs to the previous world line. There’s only Gui Mian here. Since you’re certain you love Yu Yinglan, not your disciple, just follow the plan and complete the mission. Is it necessary to defy me for her?]

[Besides, don’t forget your original goal—wasting time on these meaningless small worlds, do you not want to return to your original world? That’s where you belong.]

Su Mingxiu lowered her eyes slightly.

Doubt began to grow in her heart.

There must be a special connection between Gui Mian and Yu Yinglan. Moreover, they both looked exactly like the person in her memories. What was their relationship? A mere coincidence, or something more?

For a moment, Su Mingxiu felt as if she was trapped in an invisible web. The more she struggled, the more entangled she became.

She stopped at the edge of the abyss in the Demon Realm, her eyes reflecting the bottomless, demonic city. After a moment, she finally looked up at the surrounding demons and asked: “Who was it that took my disciple away?”

A flying demon launched an attack at her. After she blocked it, the demon let out a sinister chuckle, not caring about her question. It replied: “The Demon Lord.”

“See? This red glow is the symbol of the Demon Lord’s presence. If it weren’t for her order to spare your life, with your current cultivation, we would have torn you to shreds.”

“Get out of here, take your pathetic life—”

“And live in fear, never letting your guard down, because the new young Lord will come for your life at any moment.”

Su Mingxiu was about to summon the Floating Duckweed sword, but hearing the words “young Lord,” she suddenly realized something. She looked up, the only blemish on her clean face being a bloodstain on her jaw, which looked strangely alluring. She asked seriously: “Your Demon Lord… wants Gui Mian to be the young Lord?”

She received an affirmative answer.

A smile suddenly appeared in her eyes.

Such easily tricked demons, no wonder they were forced by the cultivators to only reside in this desolate abyss beyond the eastern border.

Ten days later.

Mount Lingyu.

After returning from the Demon Realm, Su Mingxiu had been staying on Mount Lingyu, not venturing out. Ever since the Sect Master personally visited her, rumors had spread throughout the Sword Sect, saying that the Jade Elder’s disciple had disappeared. In her anger, she decided to guard her disciple’s soul lamp and find her whereabouts.

In reality.

Su Mingxiu had indeed taken Gui Mian’s soul lamp, but it had long been extinguished. Now, it was simply placed in the Untainted Abode, untouched. She spent all her time in front of the black ice in her cave.

[I’ve never asked you, why did you choose me as your host? Among the three thousand worlds, there are countless cultivators who failed their tribulation, died unjustly, or were persecuted. Why me?]

At this moment, she was staring at the face in the black ice, but the question was directed at the system in her mind.

“It’s your fortune to be chosen.” The system only replied with this.

Su Mingxiu had thought so too, which was why she hadn’t asked in the previous world. Until she fell for Yu Yinglan. Back then, she thought their fate was only for those short ninety days. But unexpectedly, their destinies were so deeply intertwined.

Now, she raised her chin. “What’s the relationship between the person in this ice and them?”

The system enjoyed seeing her cluelessness and replied casually: “Guess.”

Su Mingxiu thought for a moment, then summoned the Floating Duckweed sword with an impassive expression. She heard the system say urgently: “A word of advice, you better not hurt her.”

“I’ve noticed—”

The person holding the Floating Duckweed sword, casually slicing off a piece of ice, started carving it. She said: “You seem even more afraid of me failing the mission than I am.”

“Of course!” The system said. “You’re the host I carefully selected after going through countless candidates.”

“Then what are your criteria for selecting a host?”

[I can’t tell you that.]

Su Mingxiu unconsciously carved the ice into a human shape. After a long while, she looked at the face in front of her and changed the question: “Let’s just talk about this world. What’s the relationship between the person in this ice and my disciple?”

System: “I can’t tell you that either.”

After saying this, it braced itself for Su Mingxiu’s troublemaking. It even started coding, thinking about what kind of mission to issue to make Su Mingxiu revive her beloved—

But Su Mingxiu didn’t do anything. She released the sword, reached out, and gently caressed the face reflected on the ice surface, murmuring to herself: “I will definitely revive you, my beloved.”

If this person had nothing to do with Gui Mian, she would just kill them after reviving them.

Su Mingxiu thought.

Chapter 34: The Destined-to-be-Abandoned Good-for-Nothing (14)p2

“Master?”

The little disciple, now a Golden Core cultivator, sat in the formation, looking up at Su Mingxiu, her eyes filled with anticipation, as if reminding her about the candy.

Su Mingxiu walked towards her step by step. As she bent down, she covered Gui Mian’s eyes with her hand, looking at the half of her face that was still visible, and called out softly: “Gui Mian.”

“Hmm?”

“Do you trust me?”

The little disciple nodded, dazed and confused.

Su Mingxiu looked down at her, her gaze softer than ever, even carrying a hint of nostalgia. For some reason, she suddenly asked: “Have you never wondered… if I’m lying to you?”

Before Gui Mian could answer—

A sharp pain pierced her abdomen.

It was a pain she had never felt before, making her want to curl up into a ball. A strong metallic scent filled the air, and she couldn’t help but cry out: “Master…”

“It hurts… so much…”

There was so much blood.

Gui Mian thought, was she going to die?

But the hand covering her eyes never let go, so she couldn’t see. It wasn’t just her blood. A river of red spread out from beneath them, filling every corner of the formation. She didn’t know that Su Mingxiu’s usually spotless robes were now stained crimson.

[You’re crazy.]

The system said coldly.

Su Mingxiu dug out her own Nascent Soul. The hand covering the little girl’s eyes was trembling, but she never let go. She thought calmly, the original owner’s body had reached the Great Ascension stage, so even if she extracted her Nascent Soul now, she wouldn’t die.

She continuously circulated and absorbed the abundant spiritual energy from the spiritual vein, healing the wound in her abdomen. Then, she split her Nascent Soul in half. The miniature version of herself screamed in pain, and then half of it merged with Gui Mian’s Golden Core.

The Golden Core, stained with the bloodline of her Nascent Soul, was returned to Gui Mian’s body.

Su Mingxiu wanted to repeat the process, extracting Gui Mian’s spiritual root and replacing it with her own—

Who said there could only be one person with an innate sword bone in the world?

The Jade Elder of the Sword Sect also had an innate sword bone.

“Taking her Golden Core, stealing her sword bone, you’re even willing to cripple yourself to circumvent the mission…” The system narrated her actions indifferently, then said: “Unfortunately, your cleverness will be your downfall this time.”

Dark clouds had gathered in the sky at some point.

The rumble of thunder echoed through the clouds.

The Floating Duckweed sword trembled in mid-air. Su Mingxiu had healed Gui Mian’s injuries, but she didn’t know if she could extract her disciple’s sword bone and replace it with her own before the next bolt of lightning struck.

Because the face beneath her trembling palm was already surrounded by a grey mist.

“It hurts… so much… Master…”

Su Mingxiu leaned in and saw that Gui Mian’s lips were as pale as paper. Thinking of her little disciple’s usual innocent and cheerful demeanor, she closed her eyes, her throat tightening. She leaned closer and gently kissed those lips.

“I know.”

It really hurt.

“Can you bear with it a little longer?” Her lips were also trembling. A salty liquid landed on their intertwined lips. Gui Mian instinctively licked it and replied: “It’s bitter.”

The first thunderbolt struck—

It landed directly on Su Mingxiu. The ink strokes on her robe, like a dragon soaring through the sky, formed a talisman, blocking the lightning.

Then came the second, the third.

Each bolt was a reminder.

Su Mingxiu closed her eyes and recited the lines the system had given her at eight times the speed, even switching to the foreign language she had learned in the previous world. In an instant, the thunder stopped.

Gui Mian, in a daze, bit Su Mingxiu’s lip and asked: “Master?”

The thunder ceased abruptly.

System: “…” Fuck.

It tried to resist the urge to smash its code and comforted itself, it’s okay, it still had its ultimate move.

As expected.

The commotion from the thunder alerted many demons in the abyss of the Demon Realm. A demon from the abyss had awakened and was observing the cultivator who dared to undergo tribulation at the edge of the Demon Realm.

The Floating Duckweed sword pierced Gui Mian’s back—

The person who had been comforted by Su Mingxiu’s kiss suddenly shuddered, a denser grey mist erupting from her body. “No… Master… Not this… I can’t give this…”

A voice in her heart screamed.

Su Mingxiu was about to pierce her own spine with the Floating Duckweed sword’s replica when she suddenly heard a cold snort from nearby.

“Mortals, as disgusting as ever.” After the deep voice appeared, it said to Gui Mian: “Little Chaos, don’t be fooled by her.”

On any other day, Su Mingxiu would have taught this nosy creature a lesson. But now, she had too many things to do, she had to focus, she couldn’t afford any distractions.

So she only remained silent, letting the sword pierce her spine inch by inch.

The noisy voice became even louder. “Tsk, little Chaos, she wants to take your spiritual root. Will you resist? I say, it’s better not to resist. A human’s weak body will only drag you down.”

Gui Mian’s eyelashes fluttered rapidly against Su Mingxiu’s palm.

She was in so much pain that she could barely speak. She could only move her lips, asking softly: “Master wants my spiritual root?”

Su Mingxiu didn’t know how to answer.

She simply remained silent.

But the grey mist that had been gathering around her suddenly dispersed. The little girl, who had been enduring the pain as the Floating Duckweed sword separated her flesh and bone, could no longer hold back. The mist engulfed the sword, absorbing its spiritual energy.

And the face beneath Su Mingxiu’s palm disappeared.

“If Master wants it, I’ll give it to you.”

The lips in the grey mist moved, saying these words.

No matter how much it hurt, she would give it to her.

But—

Gui Mian, remembering the words she had just heard, couldn’t help but ask Su Mingxiu: “But why did Master say I’m no longer of any use?”

“Why did you call me a good-for-nothing?”

“Did I not do well enough?”

Large teardrops fell from the mist hovering in mid-air. But the grey beast was oblivious. The human voice disappeared, replaced by a beastly roar.

“Gui Mian…”

Su Mingxiu didn’t have time to think about how Gui Mian could understand the words she had said to appease the system. She only saw the grey mist fluctuating between human and chaotic energy, wanting to say something, but then she suddenly heard a painful roar—

A golden spine fell before her eyes.

And the Golden Core that had been returned to Gui Mian’s body.

The grey mist churned violently. It seemed that without these two things, it could no longer maintain its form. Her foolish disciple came closer, asking her something with a beastly roar.

But Su Mingxiu couldn’t understand. Until the other party struggled to speak in human language.

“I… give… everything… to… Master…”

“Can… eat… candy… now?”

The sound of thunder echoed in the sky again.

Su Mingxiu had to pull out the Floating Duckweed sword from Gui Mian’s back and try to block the lightning. But this time, the thunder wasn’t summoned by the system. It was striking the grey mist directly.

Just as Su Mingxiu was about to shield Gui Mian from the lightning, a black shadow emerged from the Demon Realm. It blocked the lightning and stepped into the formation, gathering all the grey mist.

A pair of bewitching eyes looked at Su Mingxiu with disdain and said to the small creature writhing in pain in its sleeve:

“I’ll get you all the candy you want.”

“Don’t trust this human, she’s just lying to you.”

Chapter 34: The Destined-to-be-Abandoned Good-for-Nothing (14)p1

Candy?

Su Mingxiu looked at the golden candy held between Gui Mian’s lips, the glistening trace staining her pale pink lips. Her pupils constricted, as if she could see through this scene and glimpse Yu Yinglan from the previous world, who always loved to act coquettishly around her.

Was this a mere coincidence?

Or was it something more?

Recalling what her little disciple had just said, “I saw Master kiss me last night,” Su Mingxiu calmly stopped Gui Mian from getting closer and asked softly, “When did I kiss you?”

After Gui Mian recounted her dream, Su Mingxiu instinctively wanted to ask the system if the two were the same person, but she quickly extinguished the thought.

Thinking about the system’s strong opposition to her relationship with the protagonist in the last world, and how, after entering this world, it had subtly mocked her for changing her heart when she started being kind to Gui Mian, and now, it was eagerly issuing the command to complete the final mission just as Gui Mian began to understand emotions and desires—

All of this felt like a cover-up.

Su Mingxiu knew that she had to verify these suspicions herself.

Gui Mian vaguely finished telling her master about her dream, but she didn’t see her master take the candy. After waiting for a long time, she couldn’t help but lean closer, wanting to taste again, to see if her master’s lips were as soft and sweet as she had tasted last night.

But she was pushed away.

“I don’t want it.”

Su Mingxiu rejected her casually. “I don’t want the candy, and I don’t want you.”

“Why?”

Gui Mian subconsciously bit down on the sweet candy, the crunching sound filling the air. She saw Su Mingxiu walking down the mountain and quickly followed, asking.

“Because I don’t want to.”

“Then when will Master want to?” The little disciple bumped her nose against her master’s back, who had suddenly stopped.

She looked up, staring at Su Mingxiu’s eyes earnestly and eagerly, not even bothering to rub her reddened nose.

The person in the ink-stained robe lowered her head, her long hair falling over her shoulders, giving her a casual and carefree air. Her dark eyes stared at Gui Mian. After a while, Su Mingxiu said: “After you form your Golden Core—”

“Then I’ll want to eat it.”

The little disciple, having received her answer, nodded seriously. “Okay, then I’ll work hard to form my Golden Core.”

Her clear eyes, when they looked at Su Mingxiu, were still filled with the same trust as always.

The little disciple would never know what forming her Golden Core truly meant. At this moment, she still thought that as long as she formed her Golden Core, she could get the reward she wanted most.

Thousands of miles away.

Eastern border, where demonic energy thrived, the Demon Realm.

The Demon Realm was located at the easternmost point of the continent. There was a boundless cliff that blocked out the sun. Legend had it that when the celestial beings from beyond the heavens cleaved the Chaos Beast in two with a single sword strike, it was here. That sword split heaven and earth, causing spiritual energy to rise and demonic energy to fall. And the place where the demonic energy fell was at the bottom of this cliff.

The more powerful the demons, the deeper they resided in the lightless depths. It wasn’t like this at first. But after tens of thousands of years of fighting with the cultivation world, the demons gradually lost ground. Due to conflicts with the yao race, the two races were divided and conquered by the cultivators, and now neither of them posed a significant threat. Moreover, places with abundant spiritual energy weren’t suitable for demons to thrive. Over time, this situation came to be.

The cultivation world didn’t even seem to take them seriously anymore, even lumping demons and yao together. Compared to fighting demons and yao, the cultivators in this world were more concerned about the severed connection between heaven and earth.

Therefore, before Su Mingxiu brought Gui Mian to the eastern border, she couldn’t find much information about the Demon Realm in the Sword Sect’s library. After tens of thousands of years of changes, few knew what the Demon Realm was like now.

This was precisely what she was worried about.

Originally, Su Mingxiu wanted to lure a demon as soon as they entered the eastern border and let Gui Mian kill it and absorb its demonic energy to increase her cultivation. But the system seemed to have anticipated her attempt to slack off on the job.

Even after killing countless demons, Gui Mian only acted like she had overeaten, burping but showing no signs of forming her Golden Core.

Hearing Su Mingxiu repeatedly asking Gui Mian how she was feeling along the way, the system suddenly sneered.

Just then, the little girl, who had been shaking her head at Su Mingxiu, suddenly looked up towards the east—

“We need to go there…”

She tilted her head and pointed east. “Only there can I become stronger.”

Seeing this, Su Mingxiu couldn’t shake off a sense of unease. Even though she had made many preparations for Gui Mian’s Golden Core formation,

Thinking about the connection between Gui Mian and those demons, and the unknown plot developments, she could only warn: “No matter what, don’t stray too far from me.”

“Okay,” Gui Mian nodded. Looking at her master’s expression, she suddenly added: “Master, don’t be afraid, I will protect you.”

“Hmm?” Su Mingxiu chuckled and poked her forehead. “Who’s protecting whom?”

The little disciple, caught off guard, tilted her head and smiled sweetly at her.

The closer they got to the Demon Realm, the lower the concentration of spiritual energy in the air became. In the end, even when Su Mingxiu was circulating her cultivation technique, she found it difficult to absorb spiritual energy into her body.

But Gui Mian continued walking east, oblivious—

Until they were less than a hundred miles away from the abyss.

Su Mingxiu had to stop her. She reached into her storage pouch and took out a spiritual vein. It was originally the earth vein beneath Mount Lingyu. But when she left the Sword Sect, she had used a spell to extract it and put it in her storage pouch.

A surge of dense white spiritual energy instantly broke through the barrier of red and black demonic energy in the air. If the smaller sects in the eastern border saw the Jade Elder’s extravagant display of wealth, their eyes would pop out of their sockets with envy.

But this was just a drop in the bucket for her. She took out countless talismans, even the ink strokes on her robe danced restlessly.

Pills, formations, spiritual veins…

If it were anyone else, they could be instantly boosted to the Nascent Soul stage with the treasures this former Great Ascension cultivator possessed.

Seeing that she was still taking out more things, the system was the first to lose its composure. It suddenly issued a command: “Host, please use the following lines when you extract the female lead’s Golden Core and spiritual roots… Time limit: half an hour. Failure penalty: Five thunderbolts, indefinitely.”

“Hmm?” A paragraph of text suddenly appeared in Su Mingxiu’s mind. She skimmed through it and saw that it was full of heartless lines, like “You’re no longer of any use to me,” “Rest in peace,” “A good-for-nothing like you, reaching Golden Core is already a great fortune. It’s better to leave your Golden Core and spiritual roots to someone who needs them more”…

She chuckled softly. “System, have I ever told you something?”

System: [?]

[You’re truly scum.]

The system took this as a compliment and readily accepted it.

But Su Mingxiu’s expression remained unchanged. She forcibly set up a sealing formation at the edge of the Demon Realm, restricting entry but not exit. She had Gui Mian sit in the center of the formation, lured demons towards her, and channeled spiritual energy into her body.

The little disciple was very obedient, her cultivation quickly reaching the peak of Foundation Establishment.

Even her Golden Core formation was much smoother than Su Mingxiu had expected. There was no celestial lightning, no obstacles, not even the high-level demons in the Demon Realm were alerted.