Category: After I Abandoned the Protagonist [Quick Transmigration]

Chapter 33: The Destined-to-be-Abandoned Good-for-Nothing (13)p2

Gui Mian had a dream.

But the little disciple had never dreamed before and didn’t know what dreams were, so she took everything as real.

She saw her master wearing a robe she had never seen before, strange but beautiful. And her master, in this appearance… was feeding her candy.

Gui Mian vaguely felt that the candy must be extremely sweet because she eagerly raised her head, wanting to savor its taste. But before that, she touched her master’s soft lips.

Her master’s words from before echoed in her ears:

“If I have feelings for you, I will allow you to kiss you…”

She didn’t dare to move for a moment.

But her master bit her lip. Gui Mian thought in confusion, did Master want to eat her?

Before she could figure it out, her attention was drawn to a more peculiar sensation between their lips and teeth. Gui Mian, in a daze, put aside those thoughts and simply immersed herself in the moment—

Master’s lips were truly soft.

She couldn’t help but chase after more, clumsily, carefully, but the other party didn’t push her away or reprimand her.

Encouraged, the little girl became bolder, her actions more unrestrained.

She tasted everything she wanted to taste.

Until dawn broke.

Sunlight fell on the snow, the light reflecting through the window of the Untainted Abode and landing on the little girl’s eyelids. She instinctively raised her hand to block the light and opened her eyes drowsily.

Gui Mian first smelled a strange fragrance.

Faint, sweet.

It reminded her of the candy from her dream, the taste of which she couldn’t remember. She instinctively reached out towards the source of the fragrance. When she came to her senses, she heard a surprised gasp, and she looked down. In her palm was a pure white lotus flower with delicate petals.

And her teeth were currently sinking into one of the petals.

Gui Mian couldn’t help but pull on the petal, chewing on it. Suddenly, she remembered what her master had said before. If the lotus bloomed, it meant she had understood what love was.

As if forgetting the words she had heard yesterday, she swallowed the petal and eagerly picked up the lotus, wanting to go outside. But the lotus only stayed in her hand for a moment before turning into light and disappearing.

Gui Mian: “…”

The little disciple’s eyes widened in disbelief. She hadn’t even finished eating, how could the flower be gone?!

She turned angrily and looked at the lotus leaf lying by the bed, hiccupping. She reached out to grab it and ask what had happened, but the lotus leaf, seeing her hand, remembered how the flower it had painstakingly bloomed all night had been ruthlessly plucked by her, and it became furious.

It couldn’t defeat this demon, but it could run away!

The lotus leaf flew up, heading straight towards the spiritual spring outside. Even its main body in the spring uprooted itself, and they engaged in a chase across the snow-covered Mount Lingyu.

Inside the cave abode, Su Mingxiu suddenly heard the system issue a mission:

[Host, please send the protagonist to the vicinity of the Demon Realm within one month, help her form her Golden Core, then extract her Golden Core and spiritual roots. Note: This is part of the final mission, so there will be no additional penalties. If the mission fails, it will be considered a failure of the final mission.]

She abruptly opened her eyes.

Why so soon?

Just then, her little disciple’s dejected voice came from outside the cave: “Master, it bloomed last night, I saw it, but the flower disappeared. Does that count?”

After meditating near the ten-thousand-year-old black ice for so long, Su Mingxiu’s body was almost covered in a thin layer of ice. Now, as she opened her eyes, the ice crystals fell away with a rustling sound.

…It bloomed?

So that’s how it was.

Gui Mian had already developed emotions and desires…

Su Mingxiu’s eyes were filled with complex emotions. Spiritual energy surged from her body, melting the thin layer of ice covering her into white mist as she stood up. She took a step forward and waved her sleeve, shattering the rocks blocking the entrance to her cave.

“Master…”

Gui Mian realized something. “Are you done with your secluded cultivation?”

“Yes,” Su Mingxiu nodded. She looked at her little disciple standing under the sunlight. The sky above her was bright and clear, and the ice beneath her feet glittered under the direct sunlight.

If someone from another peak looked over at this moment, they would definitely think that Mount Lingyu truly resembled a flawless jade, so bright that it was dazzling.

“From today onwards, I will accompany you down the mountain to train and seek the opportunity to form your Golden Core.”

She said simply.

Gui Mian nodded in agreement. After a while, she remembered what she had said earlier and said to Su Mingxiu excitedly: “Master, the lotus bloomed.”

“I understand what love is now.” Before Su Mingxiu could react, she continued: “Master can love me now, you can have feelings for me.”

“Uh…?” Su Mingxiu was momentarily stunned.

She realized that she could never keep up with Gui Mian’s train of thought, even feeling like she was being led along by the little girl.

She saw her little disciple take out a konpeito candy from somewhere, peel off the wrapper, and say to her: “I saw Master kiss me last night, Master must love me—”

She stuffed the candy into her mouth, her voice muffled: “I will have feelings for Master, and I give Master permission.”

The golden candy was visible between her lips and tongue as she leaned in, standing on tiptoe to reach Su Mingxiu: “The candy and me…”

“Both for Master to eat.”

Chapter 33: The Destined-to-be-Abandoned Good-for-Nothing (13)p1

Su Mingxiu was rendered speechless by anger, then she chuckled.

Without even saying no, she grabbed Gui Mian by the back of her collar and dragged her little disciple towards the Untainted Abode. The little girl, forced to follow, was stunned for only a second before her tail started wagging happily again.

Until she was thrown onto the bed.

And then—

Her fluffy tail was grabbed, and a slap landed on her backside.

Gui Mian was stunned at first, then she hurriedly covered her rear with her hands, instinctively trying to block Su Mingxiu’s actions. She even asked innocently and bewildered: “Master… what did I do wrong again?”

She didn’t eat anything, just took a little bite, was that not allowed?

Su Mingxiu’s eyes were cold as she looked down at her. “This is for colluding with that lotus and deceiving me.”

The little girl already knew what pain was, and now she understood the six desires. This slap made her face flush red. Her head rubbed against the quilt unconsciously, her hair falling messily around her face, catching the teardrops that had unknowingly spilled from her eyes.

She turned her head, her eyes red-rimmed. The tail held in Su Mingxiu’s hand brushed against her wrist ingratiatingly. Her ears twitched as she pleaded in a soft voice: “Disciple was wrong… Master…”

If this were the Gui Mian from before, she would never have thought to dodge. She would have just taken the beating foolishly, even looking at Su Mingxiu with an expression of trust and reliance.

But now, the little disciple, having awakened to the six desires, seemed to have instinctively learned how to soften her enemy’s heart. She had consumed a dog demon’s core, yet she was acting like a fox demon, using her charms.

Ironically, if Gui Mian hadn’t dodged, her master might have felt a pang of sympathy. Now, seeing her unrepentant and even daring to beg for mercy with that look on her face, Su Mingxiu’s lips twitched slightly, and she raised her hand, slapping Gui Mian’s backside again.

“wu…”

The little girl, unable to escape, let out a whimper.

“This is for disrespecting your superior.”

“This is for not changing your ways.”

…

The sounds coming from the Untainted Abode made the lotus leaves in the spiritual spring tremble fearfully. They imagined the Jade Elder, after disciplining her disciple, turning around and shaving off all their newly grown leaves with a single sword strike.

One of the leaves started urging the foolish turtle, who only knew how to eat, to run away with it.

But the turtle only looked at it with disdain, as if mocking it, then slowly turned around, presenting its tail. It continued to munch on the demon beast meat that its little master had traded for its spirit pill earlier.

Inside the room.

Gui Mian, who had initially tried to plead and resist, finally gave up struggling as the beating intensified. She only looked at Su Mingxiu with teary eyes.

Even though Su Mingxiu was only at the Nascent Soul stage, her strength was still more than enough for a little disciple who had just reached Foundation Establishment. Some high-level cultivators could kill low-level demon beasts with a single slap.

Therefore, although her master had restrained her strength, it was still a real beating for Gui Mian. Now, her face was covered in tears, but she still stubbornly reached out to tug at Su Mingxiu’s robe.

She asked in a very soft voice, why couldn’t she kiss her?

Su Mingxiu looked at her tail drooping dejectedly by the bed. She touched the spot on her lip where she had been bitten, then said indifferently: “Because I don’t allow it.”

She saw the tears in the corners of Gui Mian’s eyes and leaned in to wipe them away. She didn’t know if it was because the little girl’s skin was more delicate now, but the wiping only left behind a more noticeable red mark.

As if…

She had been roughly handled.

She looked away, about to withdraw her hand, when Gui Mian suddenly grabbed her wrist, her watery eyes staring at her intently. “How can I get your permission?”

Su Mingxiu’s thoughts drifted away for a moment.

After a long silence, Gui Mian finally heard her answer: “If I have feelings for you, I will allow you to kiss me. But my heart belongs to someone else, Gui Mian. That person is not you.”

She had once carefully cultivated a rose.

Gui Mian looked very much like her rose, but no matter how similar they were, Su Mingxiu knew that she wasn’t the same.

Thinking of this, Su Mingxiu sighed softly. Her avatar dissolved into white light and disappeared from the Untainted Abode.

Gui Mian quietly watched the direction she left, her ears and tail drooping, the light fading from her clear and innocent eyes.

She wanted to call out to her master, to ask, couldn’t Master have feelings for her too?

But somehow, she didn’t have the strength.

The little girl lay motionless on the bed until Black Tortoise, with its short legs, crawled into the room from the spiritual spring, a frightened lotus leaf clinging to its shell. The leaf, which had been trying to convince the turtle to escape, now found itself getting closer and closer to Gui Mian.

Gui Mian’s arm slid down the edge of the bed, her fingertip nudged by Black Tortoise’s head as it extended and retracted.

Her eyes flickered. She looked at the turtle and the lotus leaf under the bed. After a while, she whispered: “Black Tortoise, I’m so tired.”

She had only been beaten, yet she felt more tired than after practicing swordsmanship for several days on the Platform of Enlightenment.

Hearing her words, the little turtle nudged her fingertip again. A faint voice reached Gui Mian’s ears. She listened for a while, then closed her eyes and murmured to herself: “Will I be fine after I sleep?”

The lotus leaf, which had been clinging to the turtle, pretending to be invisible, suddenly floated to the top of Gui Mian’s head after she fell asleep. It rustled and trembled, then a branch extended from it, a flower bud slowly forming at the tip.

Chapter 32: The Destined-to-be-Abandoned Good-for-Nothing (12)p2

Gui Mian hadn’t been staying in the Untainted Abode recently.

Instead, she came to guard the spiritual spring every day, feeding Black Tortoise demon cores while staring at the lotus leaves, as if she could make them bloom just by looking at them intently enough.

Thanks to the pressure from her death stare, the two lotus leaves had become much less vibrant than before, no longer as lively.

After being glared at by Gui Mian for three months, the two lotus leaves couldn’t take it anymore. They shook their leaves, protesting.

The little disciple, meditating by the spring with her eyes open, hummed in response.

She leaned closer and asked: “What did you say?”

The two lotus leaves dared to get a little closer and shook their leaves vigorously. To their surprise, Gui Mian actually understood. She closed her eyes and concentrated for a while, her face even turning red, but she couldn’t grasp the feeling the lotus leaves wanted.

The slightly larger Black Tortoise sat beside them, munching on a demon core nonchalantly.

Another half month passed—

When the lotus lanterns were lit up again in the town below the mountain, Gui Mian opened her eyes and saw countless lotus leaves extending from the spiritual spring in front of her, floating gracefully on the water, adding more embellishment to Mount Lingyu.

She slumped dejectedly by the spring. “You still haven’t bloomed…”

The little disciple reached out and plucked a nearby leaf. Soon, the leaf disappeared into her palm.

The remaining lotus leaves trembled, still recovering from their full state, they were shocked by the sudden loss of their companion, feeling both grief and joy. Just as they were about to complain, they saw Gui Mian’s calm gaze sweep over them, as if she was about to pluck another leaf.

The lotus leaves in the spring trembled even more violently. Suddenly, they noticed something and swayed towards the demon core that Black Tortoise had just received.

Black Tortoise: “?”

It widened its eyes, but its gaze was still harmless.

Soon, a hand snatched the demon core from its mouth and brought the golden core to her lips.

She said to the lotus leaves with a casual threat: “Trusting you one last time.”

The consciousness of the lotus leaves rushed into Su Mingxiu’s spiritual platform to complain.

The rustling and trembling frequency was more expressive than a mortal actor’s performance, successfully making Su Mingxiu compromise. In the end, she reluctantly agreed to go out and see what her disciple was up to.

She was afraid that if she waited any longer, Gui Mian would tear down Mount Lingyu.

Her avatar stepped out.

It was another clear night, but there were still traces of frost and snow by the spiritual spring. She saw a pair of fluffy ears shaking off a sprinkle of snow.

“Hmm?” At first, Su Mingxiu thought there was another new pet on Mount Lingyu. But as she got closer, she realized that the pair of pale yellow, fluffy ears were actually growing from the top of Gui Mian’s head.

The little disciple’s eyes lit up when she saw her, and she rushed towards her happily. As Su Mingxiu caught her, her attention was drawn to something swaying like a reed.

She instinctively reached out to grab it and realized…

It was a tail.

A dog.

Where did this stray dog turn into a demon?

She thought with a complicated expression, unconsciously stroking the furry tail in her palm. She saw the little girl in her arms blush suddenly, her lips moving but no words coming out.

Su Mingxiu realized something and immediately let go of her, turning to look at the spiritual spring. “I forgot to tell you earlier, I need those lotus leaves, don’t pluck them all…”

She stopped mid-sentence.

She realized that the lotus leaves weren’t missing at all. In fact, they were much more vibrant than before she entered seclusion. At first glance, they seemed to be multiplying endlessly.

Then what was the complaint about?

She narrowed her eyes and looked down at the little disciple in front of her, just in time to see her standing on tiptoe, her arms around Su Mingxiu’s shoulders as she leaned in. Her fluffy ears brushed against Su Mingxiu’s forehead, and her lips collided with Su Mingxiu’s.

“Ah!”

“Eh?”

Gui Mian, who had only intended to touch Su Mingxiu’s lips according to the lotus leaves’ instructions, seemed to have discovered something new. Under Su Mingxiu’s shocked gaze, she leaned in again, this time even opening her teeth.

“Uh…!” Su Mingxiu pushed her away and gasped. A bright red mark appeared on her lips, contrasting sharply with her usually cold and indifferent face, like a red flower blooming in the snow.

She asked with a straight face: “Do you know what you’re doing?”

Gui Mian’s wagging tail suddenly stopped and drooped. The ears on her head also flattened, and she said uneasily: “I didn’t eat…”

She glanced at Su Mingxiu’s expression, pointed at the lotus leaves in the distance, and betrayed them without hesitation: “They said that if I do this, I can learn what love is—”

Speaking of this…

Although Gui Mian was still confused about love, her gaze was fixed on Su Mingxiu’s lips.

Especially the red mark she had left on her lower lip. Her eyes glazed over for a moment, and she said: “Master’s lips are so soft.”

Under Su Mingxiu’s gaze, her voice became softer and softer, as if trying to justify her actions: “I couldn’t help but want to bite them gently.”

After a pause, she asked: “Can I bite them again?”

Chapter 32: The Destined-to-be-Abandoned Good-for-Nothing (12)p1

Gui Mian looked at Su Mingxiu with anticipation.

Seeing the light shining in her eyes, one could tell that the little disciple was completely confident that her master would accept her. She felt her logic was flawless and had often heard mortals say things like “love me, love my dog.” Although she didn’t understand love, and didn’t know why people felt that way,

She knew that her master was also human, with emotions and desires, and would definitely act like the idiom suggested.

Since she loved the woman in the ice so much, even hiding her away from the rest of the Sword Sect, she would definitely also love Gui Mian, who looked just like her!

If Master loved her, then they could sleep in the same bed!

Master would never refuse her request to sleep together again.

Gui Mian thought happily.

Su Mingxiu, however, only lowered her gaze to look at her. After a few seconds, she suddenly chuckled and called out: “Gui Mian.”

The little disciple responded enthusiastically, “I’m here.”

“You don’t understand what love is yet.” Su Mingxiu knew that she was supposed to go to the Sword Tomb today to try her luck.

Since the system wasn’t giving her any missions, she wouldn’t interfere with her little disciple’s fate. She continued nonchalantly, “Don’t mention this again. Go do what you’re supposed to do.”

…Was she wrong?

The joy on Gui Mian’s face gradually faded.

She didn’t even know where she had gone wrong.

Her fingers unconsciously pinched the corner of her robe. Just as Gui Mian was about to ask, her master’s figure disappeared. No matter what she said after that, there was no response from the cave.

She walked into the Sword Tomb dejectedly.

Qiongying had just taken a fancy to a heavy sword and was communicating with its sword spirit. Noticing Gui Mian entering the Sword Tomb, she smiled at her, but then she saw the little girl squatting in a corner, looking dejected, not even bothering to find a suitable spirit sword.

“What’s wrong?”

She asked, dividing her attention while meditating on the ground.

Gui Mian looked up helplessly, her clear, doe-like eyes now clouded. She said to Qiongying: “Senior Sister, I still don’t understand what love is.”

Qiongying regretted opening her mouth.

She shouldn’t have asked. Why was it another question about emotions?

“Uh…” She hesitated for a moment, about to answer, when she was pulled into another space by the sword spirit. Before her consciousness faded, she could only hastily say: “You’ll understand later!”

Qiongying fell silent.

Gui Mian, unable to get an answer, sat there for a while longer. Suddenly, she heard laughter around her. She looked up and saw countless flames floating in the air, red, blue, white. The flames huddled together, whispering: “Look, a demon has come. The younger generation of the Sword Sect is truly getting worse. Now they even dare to let a demon into the Sword Tomb… What a disgrace to our ancestors!”

“This demon doesn’t even understand emotions and desires, let alone be worthy of us.”

“No sword here will choose her.”

“Drive her out…”

“Her aura is so terrifying, she will surely become a calamity in the future. Why don’t we just kill her here… It can be considered as eliminating a threat for the Sword Sect.”

…

Whispers filled with malice reached Gui Mian’s ears.

She instinctively wanted to grab the sword in her arms, but then she remembered that her master, knowing she was coming to the Sword Tomb today, had taken back the Floating Duckweed sword.

But Gui Mian didn’t back down.

With her as the center, the spirit swords scattered throughout the desolate Sword Tomb, some lying down, some standing upright, gradually awakened, emitting a faint glow unique to treasures. For a moment, the entire Sword Tomb was illuminated.

Sword hums, killing intent, warnings, countless emotions surged towards her.

It was the first time Gui Mian had sensed these negative emotions. As if reacting instinctively, a grey mist emerged from her body, her face flickering in and out of view within the mist.

Suddenly.

The trembling of the nearby swords caught the attention of the oldest sword in the Sword Tomb. An extremely threatening sword intent descended from above, enveloping Gui Mian. She was like a small animal caught in a predator’s sights, not knowing how to attack, only able to raise her hackles, as if that would scare the opponent away.

The grey mist spread even further, making her appear even larger.

But the sword intent only glanced at her, then casually shifted away. It said: “You are a descendant of a great demon, human spirit swords are not for you to wield. Do not step foot in the Sword Tomb again.”

Then, Gui Mian was ejected from the Sword Tomb.

After the sword intent withdrew, she had already retracted the mist around her. Now, she stood outside the Sword Tomb empty-handed, staring blankly for a while. A simple question arose in her mind.

Master wanted her to be human.

But the senior in the secret realm, and the tens of thousands of spirit swords in the Sword Tomb, said she was a demon.

Was she human, or was she a demon?

Sword Sect disciples, attracted by the Sword Tomb’s reputation, came to see what kind of swords their senior brothers and sisters, who had placed well in the secret realm expedition, would bring out.

But seeing Gui Mian empty-handed, they immediately started gossiping: “What innate sword bone? They must have been mistaken. All those who have entered the Sword Tomb in recent years have been disciples of our Sword Sect, she’s the first one not to be chosen by any sword.”

“It seems Elder Lingyu really made a mistake…”

She heard these voices and glanced at each of them, but she couldn’t remember when she had met them before. Thinking about all the questions in her head, Gui Mian hurried towards Mount Lingyu, leaving all the mocking laughter behind.

“Master.”

Gui Mian stood in front of a massive rock blocking the entrance to the cave abode and reported earnestly: “Those spirit swords warned me not to approach the Sword Tomb again. None of them chose me.”

She spoke calmly, but her voice, reaching inside the cave, made Su Mingxiu’s eyelashes tremble. She opened her eyes, her gaze piercing through the stone walls of the cave. She said gently: “You will have one in the future.”

She said, “You will have the most perfect, sharpest sword in the world, one that will bring you victory in every battle.”

Actually, the system still hadn’t revealed Gui Mian’s future to her. But Su Mingxiu couldn’t bear to see her disciple sad. Even though the little girl wouldn’t be discouraged by these things now, she still wanted to fulfill her duty as a master.

If there wasn’t a suitable sword, she would find the best materials and forge one for Gui Mian herself.

Gui Mian let out a soft “Oh,” her tone neither hopeful nor disappointed. The little girl, as if she didn’t know what sadness was, steered the conversation back to the topic of love. She said softly: “Master…”

“How can I understand what love is?”

Su Mingxiu didn’t answer.

The little disciple reached out and poked the rock in front of her. When she realized she had accidentally poked a hole in it, she quickly retracted her finger and continued muttering: “I want to love Master, and I want Master to love me too.”

“Uh…” Su Mingxiu sighed inside the cave.

She didn’t want to demonstrate love herself, nor did she want to give Gui Mian a lesson on emotions. After some thought, she decided to find some peace and quiet. So she said perfunctorily: “Look at the two lotus leaves in the spiritual spring outside—”

“If you can make them bloom, you’ll understand what love is.”

Gui Mian turned her head and looked.

The two lotus leaves, which always avoided her, had somehow reached the edge of the spiritual spring.

And her free-range Black Tortoise was now lying on one of the leaves. The moment their eyes met, it quickly retracted its limbs and head, plopping into the spiritual spring.

The two lotus leaves, being stared at, trembled and quickly lowered themselves, each scooping up a spoonful of spiritual spring water and pretending to water each other diligently.

But this time, Gui Mian didn’t ignore them. Instead, she quickly ran to the edge of the spring. As the lotus leaves trembled, as if saying “Don’t come any closer,” she cornered them like a bully, reaching out to grab them.

The two lotus leaves rustled and huddled together, as if seeing their bleak future.

But just as Gui Mian’s hand was about to touch them, she remembered how the last time she had gotten close, one of the leaves had wilted. She reluctantly retracted her hand.

She cradled her head and sighed heavily, asking the two leaves: “Can you bloom?”

Lotus leaves: “…”

Chapter 31: The Destined-to-be-Abandoned Good-for-Nothing (11) p2

—

“Gui Mian!”

A few days later, the four major sects finally reached an agreement regarding the outcome of the secret realm expedition. Gui Mian, who knew nothing about it, received a notice from the elders of the other peaks, informing her that she could go to the Sword Tomb and choose a weapon for herself.

The Sword Tomb was a repository of countless swords. Since the founding of the Sword Sect, there had been many talented and brilliant cultivators.

But after the first Sect Master died, his obsession entered his natal sword, which flew back to the Sword Sect to guard it. From then on, every generation had spirit swords that lost their masters and flew back to the sect. Over time, the Sword Tomb was established.

However, the spirit swords in the Sword Tomb either had their consciousness dormant or were extremely arrogant and difficult to deal with.

Therefore, Sword Sect disciples were still accustomed to forging their own natal swords under the guidance of their masters, using materials they had personally sought out.

Of course, having the opportunity to try their luck at the Sword Tomb was also a good opportunity. Gui Mian, having won the secret realm expedition, received this opportunity.

Now, on her way to the Sword Tomb, she suddenly heard a familiar voice calling her name. She turned around and saw Qiongying, dressed in a goose-yellow robe.

Usually, she would only greet her senior sister politely, but today, she added: “Senior Sister, your clothes are beautiful.”

“What did you say?”

Surprise flickered in Qiongying’s eyes. She looked at Gui Mian in astonishment, then a relieved smile appeared on her face. “You… now you know what’s beautiful and ugly?”

Gui Mian nodded as if she understood.

Seeing this, Qiongying’s smile didn’t fade. She had placed second in the secret realm expedition.

Therefore, she also had the opportunity to enter the Sword Tomb with Gui Mian. As they walked side by side, Qiongying pointed at the various spiritual plants and scenery along the way and asked Gui Mian about them, as if testing a new disciple’s knowledge.

Finally, Qiongying confirmed that Gui Mian had truly learned some human emotions. Just as she was about to sigh with emotion, she heard Gui Mian speak hesitantly.

“Senior Sister, I have a question. I wonder if you could answer it for me…”

“Just ask.”

“Senior Sister, do you know… what kind of people can sleep in the same bed?”

“Pfft—”

Qiongying covered her mouth and looked at Gui Mian with shock and surprise. She initially thought it was a miracle.

But then she remembered Gui Mian’s usual naiveté and how many people in the sect enjoyed making things difficult for her. Even though the Jade Elder treated her differently now, she couldn’t watch over her every moment of the day.

So, Qiongying said seriously: “Family members who are related by blood, or those who share a deep connection.”

Blood relations.

Gui Mian shook her head inwardly. She remembered that when she was in the secret realm and told the senior that her master was her parents, the senior had patiently explained this to her.

Master wasn’t her blood relative.

“What is a deep connection?”

Qiongying was stumped.

As a Sword Sect disciple who loved swords more than people, it was too difficult for her to explain to her junior sister what love was. Fortunately, she had received a few novels from her fellow disciples a while ago and had casually flipped through some of them.

Although they had given her goosebumps, those cheesy stories were now unexpectedly useful.

“It’s…”

Qiongying racked her brains, trying to remember. Finally, she found some suitable words. “It’s… when you want to be with that person all the time. Their happiness is your happiness, their tears are your sorrow. You understand their coldness and their warmth.”

“Most importantly, they are perfect in your eyes, and you even want to hide them away, not letting anyone else see them.”

…

She rambled on, piecing together lines from seven or eight different novels.

Gui Mian, who had been confused at first, gradually understood. She even murmured: “Hide them away?”

She asked, “The person you want to hide away and not let anyone see… is that the person you have a deep connection with?”

“Not necessarily a deep connection, but definitely love.” Qiongying unconsciously summarized.

Love?

Gui Mian pondered thoughtfully. Then, at the entrance of the Sword Tomb, she suddenly turned around.

Qiongying looked at her in confusion. “Junior Sister? Where are you going?”

“To find Master! I’ll be back later! Thank you, Senior Sister!”

Mount Lingyu.

A figure, slightly out of breath, arrived outside the cave abode and shouted at the towering stone gate: “Master!”

Su Mingxiu initially ignored her, but worried that something might have happened, she sent her avatar through the closed stone gate again. It was daytime, but to Gui Mian, it felt like her master had arrived shrouded in moonlight once more.

The little disciple’s eyes curved into crescents as she looked at her. She said unconsciously: “Master, the person inside the ice… is the one you love, right?”

“Ah!” Su Mingxiu’s eyelashes trembled. She only looked at Gui Mian inquisitively and asked coldly: “Who told you that?”

But her coldness didn’t faze Gui Mian. The little girl nodded to herself, as if she had received her answer. Then, a smile brighter than the sun spread across her face: “Master loves her, and I look like her, so Master will love me too, right?”

Chapter 31: The Destined-to-be-Abandoned Good-for-Nothing (11) p1

“Get out.”

Su Mingxiu’s palm moved slightly under her long sleeve, and a gust of spiritual energy-infused wind swept Gui Mian up, tossing her out of the cave.

At the same time, the Floating Duckweed sword appeared again, slicing through a falling rock outside the cave. In the blink of an eye, it replaced the original entrance.

Gui Mian stood unharmed outside the cave, hearing her master’s voice coming from inside: “From now on, without my permission, you are not allowed to step foot in here.”

She opened her mouth, her gaze blankly fixed on the jagged rocks. For a moment, she seemed to want to ask something, but in the end, she only replied with a dazed “Oh.”

The little disciple, who had wanted to fix the door for her master, stood still in the wind and snow for a while, feeling a little lost. Su Mingxiu’s voice came again: “You have reached Foundation Establishment and won the secret realm expedition. From now on, you should focus on cultivating in the Untainted Abode. When you reach the peak of Foundation Establishment, you can go out into the world and seek the opportunity to form your Golden Core.”

“Yes, Master.”

Gui Mian looked at the closed entrance of the cave abode and turned to walk towards the small green bamboo hut. But for some reason, she kept looking back after every few steps.

The voice of the senior she had met in the secret realm still echoed in her mind: “Since you have consumed the Redflame Serpent demon core, you have already experienced the six desires of the mortal world. But the seven emotions are more difficult… For you, it’s better not to have them. In any case, stay away from those cunning human cultivators. Humans and demons are ultimately different paths. Humans are the most fickle and two-faced. Even if you dig out their sea of consciousness and their hearts, you still wouldn’t understand their minds.”

“Now, with a sliver of my soul to help you, you can control the chaotic energy within you. Just focus on cultivating. When you reach two hundred years old and become an adult, the life and death of all things in this world will be within your grasp.”

The little girl’s fingertips, hanging by her side, twitched. In the end, she only grasped the sleeve of her robe.

She lowered her head and saw her fingers rubbing against the fabric. After a while, she let go with a disappointed sigh and murmured: “It’s not the same…” It felt completely different from holding onto Master’s sleeve.

Was it because the clothes were different?

Gui Mian looked at her repeatedly clenching and unclenching hand, unsure what she wanted to grasp. She left a trail of footprints in the snow as she walked towards the Untainted Abode. As she passed by the spiritual spring, the two green lotus leaves quickly retreated to the farthest corner, as if avoiding a plague.

Inside the cave abode.

The system’s voice rang in Su Mingxiu’s mind: “I thought you would tell her the truth. What, can’t bear to hurt her?”

Su Mingxiu stood in front of the block of ten-thousand-year-old black ice, looking at the sleeping face inside. She stood there quietly for a long time before replying calmly: “Because there’s no need.”

The face inside the black ice was just a meaningless shell. Su Mingxiu had no feelings for this “beloved” from the character setting. If it weren’t for the familiar appearance, this person would be a complete stranger to her.

Since it was a stranger, why bother introducing them to her disciple?

The main reason she forbade Gui Mian from entering was because of her little disciple’s lack of guard. If someone tricked her into revealing information or bringing something she shouldn’t back, it would only complicate Su Mingxiu’s final mission.

Hearing her thoughts, the system replied calmly: “I hope your final actions will be as decisive as your thoughts today.”

Su Mingxiu didn’t respond. Instead, she sat down on the ground in the cave and started cultivating.

The original owner’s hidden injuries from the celestial lightning had a huge impact on her. In order to smoothly accomplish what she wanted to do, she had to cultivate diligently and increase her cultivation level.

Untainted Abode.

Gui Mian, out of habit, wanted to lie down on the warm bed and sleep. Because she had been stuck at the Qi Refining stage for so long, she had maintained the habits of a mortal, eating three meals a day and sleeping through the night.

When she reached Foundation Establishment, she also tried to emulate her senior sisters and stop eating, but she was quickly defeated by the terrible hunger. Since Su Mingxiu had never asked her to change these habits, she had maintained them until now. Tonight, however, Gui Mian lay in bed for a long time, but she couldn’t fall asleep.

…She felt like something was missing.

The little girl instinctively wrapped herself in the quilt, tucking the silk blanket between her legs. But after tossing and turning for a long time, she still couldn’t sleep. She sat up, frowning with frustration.

For the next hour, she tossed and turned on the bed, trying countless sleeping positions. She went to the window, then the table, dragging the quilt around the Untainted Abode. Despite all this, she didn’t feel sleepy but even more awake.

Gui Mian looked at the grey sky outside the window.

The sun hadn’t risen yet, it was still the middle of the night.

Night was for sleeping, but she couldn’t sleep.

The little disciple, unable to solve the problem, sat by the bed with the quilt in her arms for a long time. Finally, she decided to go outside with the quilt.

Mount Lingyu was perpetually covered in snow, and even the sky above seemed to snow regardless of the season. Sometimes, blizzards raged during the day, sometimes howling winds swept through the night. Tonight, however, the sky was clear, and the moon hung high, just like above the other peaks.

Gui Mian stood outside Su Mingxiu’s cave abode with the quilt in her arms and said dejectedly: “Master… I can’t sleep…”

Her voice was filled with anxiety, and she even let out a heavy sigh. “I think I’m sick.”

Su Mingxiu inside the cave: “…”

She was speechless, but also a little surprised. She had to stop cultivating and use her avatar to exit the cave. Her materialized form under the moonlight was bathed in a silver glow, radiant and ethereal.

Su Mingxiu reached out and grabbed Gui Mian’s wrist, quickly checking her pulse. She didn’t find anything wrong with her physically. Besides…

Even if there was something wrong, with Gui Mian’s current constitution, wouldn’t being sick be different from how humans experienced it?

“You’re not sick.”

After a while, Su Mingxiu withdrew her hand and said to her little disciple: “If you can’t sleep, get up and cultivate.”

She was about to turn and return to the cave when her sleeve was grabbed. Gui Mian held onto a corner of her robe, feeling a sense of comfort in her palm. The feeling of not knowing what to grasp disappeared. The little disciple looked up at Su Mingxiu and pleaded: “Can Master sleep with me?”

Su Mingxiu instinctively wanted to refuse, but looking at Gui Mian’s eyes, she remained silent for a long time, then let herself be pulled into the Untainted Abode.

As soon as she sat down on the edge of the bed, Gui Mian’s arms wrapped around her waist. The soft and boneless touch made Su Mingxiu think of her beautiful snake tail.

She looked down and saw the little girl hugging her waist, her head pressed against her, a look of contentment on her face.

After a moment of silence, Su Mingxiu asked: “Is this how you sleep?”

Gui Mian hugged her waist, her chest feeling full and warm, like the feeling after a satisfying meal. She yawned slightly, trying to get even closer to Su Mingxiu, and whispered: “Hugging Master… feels good.”

Just like when she had rubbed her tail against Su Mingxiu before.

At this point, Su Mingxiu still didn’t realize anything. She thought she was just humoring her little disciple, so she indulged her for a few days.

Until the day when she realized that the little disciple’s desires were increasing day by day. When Gui Mian stubbornly pulled her into the quilt, she had to push the clinging figure away. Her cold, black eyes looked down at the little disciple, who didn’t seem to realize what she had done wrong. As Gui Mian looked up in confusion, Su Mingxiu said indifferently: “Do you know what you’re doing?”

Gui Mian’s hair was loose, the red string tied loosely around her wrist. She sat up on the bed, looking at her master’s jade-like fingertip resting on her shoulder, and asked: “Aren’t you sleepy, Master?”

After so many nights, just sitting by the bed and accompanying her, wasn’t she sleepy? Didn’t she want to sleep?

“Not sleepy.”

The little disciple saw her master’s thin lips move, uttering only these two words.

She tilted her head slightly, as if wanting to say something. But after racking her brains, none of the words she had learned could express her emotions. She could only pout and whisper to Su Mingxiu: “But I want to sleep with Master.”

“Sleeping in the same bed is not allowed,” Su Mingxiu refused concisely.

Gui Mian instinctively asked, “Why?”

Realizing that she was becoming more and more clingy every day, as if the Redflame Serpent’s influence still lingered in her body, Su Mingxiu lowered her eyes. “We are master and disciple, this is not allowed.”

…Master and disciple weren’t allowed?

Gui Mian nodded as if she understood, then naturally reached out and grabbed Su Mingxiu’s fingertip, preventing her from pushing her away again.

The warmth of her soft palm reached Su Mingxiu. She lowered her gaze, watching Gui Mian’s actions, and heard the little disciple whisper: “Then… can pets?”

The little girl, always with that innocent look, said those shocking words: “Master, that senior said I’m not human. Can I be your pet now? Can pets sleep with you?”

“Uh…!” Su Mingxiu’s throat tightened.

She closed her eyes. Perhaps it was because it was snowing outside tonight, the world was silent and still, making the sounds of their breathing in the room particularly noticeable.

Now, feeling Gui Mian leaning closer, hearing the little girl ask that unsettling question with her hot breath, she concealed the turbulent emotions in her eyes and covered Gui Mian’s lips with her other hand, not wanting to hear those soft lips utter any more dangerous words.

“Be quiet.”

“You are human, remember that.”

But…

Humans couldn’t sleep with Master.

Gui Mian frowned, wanting to argue further. But in the next moment, she heard Su Mingxiu say coldly, “If you really can’t sleep, then don’t sleep at night. Just focus on cultivating.” Then, her master turned into a ball of light and flew out the window.

The little disciple reached out to try and stop the light, but she couldn’t touch it.

She withdrew her hand and unconsciously touched her chest, murmuring: “Less.”

The feeling that used to fill her chest was less now.

Was she hungry?

She moved her hand down, touching her stomach, thinking in confusion.

—-

Chapter 30: The Destined-to-be-Abandoned Good-for-Nothing (10) p2

The next day.

All the elders watching the Water Mirrors knew who had won the secret realm expedition—

Gui Mian.

This disciple had even slain the soul of the ancient demon sealed in the Sword Sect’s secret realm. Compared to this achievement, no matter how many demons of the same level the other Foundation Establishment disciples had killed, it seemed insignificant.

Many secretly glanced at Su Mingxiu, wondering if the Sword Sect had used some underhanded methods to ensure their victory.

Otherwise, why would this Jade Elder of Mount Lingyu, who had always been reclusive and disliked crowds, even with her cultivation reduced to the Nascent Soul stage, come to be the Water Mirror Elder for a mere group of Foundation Establishment disciples?

She must have known what was in this secret realm. After all, it was the Sword Sect’s territory. She might have even brought her disciple in before, placed some kind of restriction on the demon, all to ensure her disciple’s victory. She had even disregarded her reputation and personally overseen the competition from outside the Water Mirror.

However, none of the elders from the other sects could match Su Mingxiu’s cultivation, so they remained silent. But before they even left the Sword Sect, messages from the other sect masters flooded the Sword Sect Master’s desk.

The underlying message was that they felt the Sword Sect’s actions were unfair and detrimental to the friendly exchanges between sects.

But Su Mingxiu and Gui Mian were still unaware of this.

Of course, even if they knew, Su Mingxiu would face the Sect Master calmly. What was wrong with her having a talented disciple, given her own extraordinary talent?

Now.

After calmly announcing the prizes for the top three winners of the secret realm expedition, Gui Mian arrived at her side, her eyes sparkling: “Master!”

After her encounter with the great demon, the little girl’s legs had returned to normal.

Su Mingxiu wasn’t surprised, but what made her unsure was that she felt Gui Mian’s features still bore traces of the snake demon core’s influence. Her every smile and gesture exuded a captivating allure, but upon closer inspection, it seemed like an illusion.

She didn’t want to examine her condition in public, so she only reached out and stroked her head, praising her calmly: “Good job.”

Gui Mian grinned, a bright smile spreading across her face.

—Much more genuine than before.

Su Mingxiu stared at her with a complicated expression. After a long while, she turned and walked towards Mount Lingyu. Gui Mian followed closely behind her.

But after a few steps, she reached out and grabbed Su Mingxiu’s sleeve, tugging at her robe, looking up at her every few steps, ignoring the other Sword Sect disciples who came out with them.

Qiongying wanted to congratulate Gui Mian, but seeing that her attention was solely on Su Mingxiu, she gave up and turned to talk to the other junior sisters.

Mount Lingyu.

As Su Mingxiu stepped onto the icy stairs and smelled the cold mountain air, she glanced at the little girl beside her: “Your tail is gone?”

“Yes!” Gui Mian nodded.

Remembering something, she said to Su Mingxiu: “That senior, he said that as long as I become stronger, eating demon cores won’t change my appearance anymore.”

Su Mingxiu didn’t comment. Her ink-colored sleeves billowed in the wind and snow, covering the little disciple’s head. She could vaguely see the bright red string hanging down from the back of her head. The little girl had entered with a neat bun, but now her hair was tied up in a casual ponytail.

And it was even crooked.

As they reached the peak, they could see the bamboo roof of the Untainted Abode in the distance. Su Mingxiu suddenly said: “Don’t move.”

“Hmm?”

Gui Mian wanted to look up at her, but Su Mingxiu held her head down.

Then, her hair was gently untied. Gui Mian didn’t know how the person behind her did it, but when she came back to her senses, the long red string that always fell into her clothes was now short again. She touched it and said: “Thank you, Master.”

Su Mingxiu raised an eyebrow. “You’ve become more polite after a trip to the secret realm.”

Gui Mian narrowed her eyes, stood on tiptoe, and looked at the open cave abode in the distance. She suddenly suggested: “I’ll make a new door for Master?”

Su Mingxiu didn’t say yes or no. She only looked at Gui Mian seriously, then chuckled and walked towards the spiritual spring without a word, shaking the leaf that had been clinging to her sleeve into the water.

She clearly saw that the leaf had grown even larger after absorbing Gui Mian’s desires.

So, the usually aloof Jade Elder stepped into the spiritual spring and said to the lotus leaf: “If you eat any more, I’ll pull you out.”

The two lotus leaves, now the same size, trembled and huddled together, finding a spot farthest away from her.

After a while, seeing that the heartless woman was meditating with her eyes closed in the spring water, they timidly approached again.

Then, one lotus leaf curled itself up, scooped up a small amount of water, and gently poured it over Su Mingxiu’s shoulder.

The other leaf rustled and started massaging Su Mingxiu’s shoulders.

This bootlicking behavior made Su Mingxiu widen her eyes in surprise.

It wasn’t until much later that she realized Gui Mian had long disappeared from her sight.

Su Mingxiu extended her divine sense. She had been leaning lazily against the edge of the spring, but after discovering Gui Mian’s whereabouts, she suddenly stood up from the water without a word, startling the two lotus leaves.

But she didn’t care about them anymore. The spiritual mist and water droplets clinging to her ink-stained robe fell away as she stood up. In the blink of an eye, she was once again a spotless immortal.

Her ink-colored figure vanished from the front of the cave abode.

She walked deeper into the cave, finally arriving at the innermost part—

The place that was always freezing cold, with only a block of ten-thousand-year-old black ice. Today, there was another figure there.

Seeing her enter, the figure lying on the ice surface turned around and smiled at her, then pointed at the black ice. “Master, there seems to be someone inside.”

Su Mingxiu: “…”

She was trying to figure out how to tell the little girl to leave when she saw Gui Mian approaching, her face almost touching the ice. She muttered: “This person looks just like me…”

Chapter 30: The Destined-to-be-Abandoned Good-for-Nothing (10) p1

Not hearing Su Mingxiu’s answer, the little disciple tried the same trick again, reaching out towards Su Mingxiu—

Then she was bounced back by an invisible force of spiritual energy in mid-air.

“No more licking.”

Su Mingxiu tried her best to forget the image of Gui Mian putting those traces on her lips and then into her mouth, coupled with that innocent face.

Even though she knew that Gui Mian did these things because she didn’t understand love, desire, or shame, she still found it difficult to look at this scene calmly.

She hadn’t controlled her strength, and a thin red mark appeared on the back of Gui Mian’s hand, extending from the base of her little finger all the way to her forearm, quickly swelling into a long welt.

Seeing the mark on her hand, Gui Mian finally stopped and said to Su Mingxiu: “I won’t do that anymore.”

“Master, don’t be angry.”

She always said the same thing when apologizing, not even changing her wording.

But looking at those clear and innocent eyes, Su Mingxiu could only suppress her complicated emotions. Her gaze fell on the faint mark on Gui Mian’s hand, and she let out a soft sigh, softening her tone: “Anyway, don’t touch your tail anymore, okay?”

She cast another Cleansing Spell, instantly erasing all the messy and embarrassing traces she had accidentally gotten on herself.

“But… it’s itchy…” Gui Mian mumbled to her. The little disciple was tormented by the Redflame Serpent demon core, her voice even hoarser than usual, giving the illusion of a whine. “I can’t help it.”

“You have to.”

Su Mingxiu’s long, black eyes were devoid of any emotion. Compared to her almost frantic state earlier, she had now returned to the image of the cold and heartless Jade Elder, her eyelashes not even trembling as she said: “This will teach you a lesson about eating things randomly.”

Gui Mian’s tail, released from her grasp, swayed and quickly reached her side. She carefully reached out and lifted Su Mingxiu from the ground, cradling her in her hand like she did with Black Tortoise. She leaned in and gently rubbed her forehead against Su Mingxiu’s head.

“Master… I’ll be good.”

Her eyes were red from suppressing her urges, and even her newly freed tail was thrashing and coiling on the ground again. But she was incredibly obedient and actually tried to control these unfamiliar, never-before-felt impulses. She only whispered to Su Mingxiu: “I’ll be obedient in the future, I won’t eat Black Tortoise’s snacks anymore. I won’t be uncomfortable anymore, okay?”

In the little girl’s mind, her master could do anything.

She naively thought that the reason she couldn’t end this torment was because her master was still angry and hadn’t forgiven her.

So, to make her feel better, she just had to apologize obediently and appease her master, and the pain would go away.

Su Mingxiu lowered her eyelashes, her heart trembling at Gui Mian’s soft words.

For a moment, she couldn’t imagine what she would do if the pills brought by her other avatar didn’t work, facing Gui Mian like this.

But amidst the little disciple’s instinctive whining, she finally responded softly: “Okay.”

About fifteen minutes later, Su Mingxiu’s other avatar successfully infiltrated the secret realm.

The two avatars merged, and the faint touch of green was added to her sleeve. As Gui Mian was popping the pills from her storage pouch like candy, she suddenly narrowed her eyes, pointed at her sleeve, and reminded her: “Master, your sleeve is dirty.”

Su Mingxiu followed her gaze and saw the small lotus leaf from the spiritual spring. She didn’t expect Gui Mian to notice it.

But she didn’t explain. Gui Mian’s current condition was too complicated, and if there were any more variables, she wasn’t sure she could handle it.

“It’s fine,” she said, hiding her sleeve behind her back. She tilted her head and asked, “How are you feeling now?”

Gui Mian finished the last Heart-Clearing Pill in the storage pouch and smacked her lips. “A little bit hot…”

Even such a large amount of Heart-Clearing Pills couldn’t make her fully recover.

Thinking that snakes had to endure this period for at least seven days, Su Mingxiu couldn’t help but frown. She subconsciously looked at Gui Mian, contemplating how much force she needed to knock her unconscious so that she could peacefully get through this period.

One thing was for sure, she would never do as the system wished.

Even if she had to endure it herself, she would seal herself in that black ice and only emerge after these symptoms subsided.

Just then—

A tender, round lotus leaf floated past her face, heading towards Gui Mian. Su Mingxiu quickly reacted and reached out to grab it, but it dodged her touch with great resistance, wriggling in mid-air as if protesting.

The cultivator and the lotus leaf faced off for a while. Su Mingxiu finally understood its intention and hesitantly released her grip.

At the same time, the Floating Duckweed sword suddenly appeared in mid-air, its tip emitting a cold light, aimed at the lotus leaf.

“You better not be lying,” she said coldly.

Perhaps because she had nurtured this lotus seed herself, there was a subtle connection between Su Mingxiu and the lotus plant.

Just now, the lotus leaf had actually indicated to her that it could solve Gui Mian’s problem.

Su Mingxiu was prepared. If it dared to take root in Gui Mian’s body, even if she had to cut open her disciple’s spiritual platform, she would definitely dig this lotus leaf out.

Fortunately.

The lotus leaf only approached Gui Mian cautiously. Its green color deepened at a visible speed, as if absorbing something rapidly.

At the same time, Gui Mian’s tail, which had been constantly rolling on the ground, gradually calmed down. The flush on her cheeks also faded, and she seemed to be regaining her composure. Su Mingxiu stood by with her arms crossed. After unraveling the mystery of Gui Mian’s unknown origins, another mystery appeared on Mount Lingyu.

What was the origin of this lotus seed that the original owner had kept in her storage pouch?

“Master…”

Gui Mian touched her face, then cradled her head and said: “I’m not hot anymore!”

Her eyes sparkled with joy.

Su Mingxiu, however, remained calm. Seeing that the lotus leaf had grown to the size of an adult’s palm by absorbing Gui Mian’s desires, and that her disciple had recovered, she was about to call the leaf back. But after confirming that there was nothing more to absorb from Gui Mian, the green leaf flew back to Su Mingxiu with lightning speed, as if a dog was chasing after it.

Su Mingxiu subconsciously: “?”

Even though it had grown larger, the lotus leaf still tried to squeeze into Su Mingxiu’s sleeve. But this time, it cleverly disguised itself as an ink-grey color, no longer as conspicuous as before.

Sensing Su Mingxiu’s reaction, the lotus leaf on her sleeve swayed from side to side, as if protesting something. She listened carefully for a while, thinking she must have misheard.

Because the lotus leaf was saying, “There’s nothing delicious left on her! If I don’t run now, I’ll be the one getting eaten!”

“Uh…” She shook her head slightly, deciding not to think about why Mount Lingyu seemed to attract only gluttons.

Seeing that her little disciple had returned to normal, for the fairness of the secret realm expedition and for Gui Mian to find her own destiny, Su Mingxiu decided to leave. “Since everything is fine—”

“Boom!” A sound like a landslide came.

The ground beneath their feet and the withered tree trunks nearby, already stained by the sulfurous mist, trembled along with the sound. It felt like the entire world was shaking.

A strong demonic aura approached.

Su Mingxiu’s gaze sharpened. Judging from the intensity of the demonic aura, this demon was definitely above the Nascent Soul stage… How could such a powerful demon exist in this secret realm?

At this moment, she heard the system sigh in her mind, then dryly congratulate her on completing the mission of helping Gui Mian overcome the Redflame Serpent’s heat cycle. It was the same monotonous mechanical voice, but somehow she could hear a hint of regret in it.

She ignored it and pulled Gui Mian, wanting to leave the range of the sulfurous mist.

The Floating Duckweed sword was trembling, as was the one in Gui Mian’s arms. Now, being pulled by Su Mingxiu, she almost lost her balance and stared blankly in a certain direction. “It’s awake.”

Hearing the word “awake,” Su Mingxiu struggled to recall the secrets of the Sword Sect’s secret realm from the original owner’s memories. It took her some effort to remember that this secret realm was originally used to seal a powerful demon.

Although this demon wasn’t as powerful as the Chaos Beast she had found in the library records, it was still a demon king who had dominated an era in ancient times.

However.

In the original owner’s memories, this demon’s body had long decayed. Only its remaining cultivation techniques had kept this place shrouded in sulfuric acid mist. Although plants and animals disliked it, cultivators above the Foundation Establishment stage wouldn’t be affected by the mist as long as they didn’t stay here for too long.

Now, judging from Gui Mian’s reaction, it seemed that the demon’s situation needed further investigation.

They didn’t know that the Water Mirror outside the secret realm could no longer show anything happening here.

At the same time.

A deep voice echoed in both of their ears: “I smell the old monster… It’s been ten thousand years, Chaos, don’t you even greet me?”

Su Mingxiu immediately looked at her disciple beside her, but Gui Mian’s expression was even more confused than hers. She even subconsciously looked around, wondering if the voice was greeting someone else.

The sulfurous mist in the air was still for a moment.

Then, the voice let out a surprised “Eh?”

It said: “Why have you become so weak?”

Su Mingxiu sensed a dangerous killing intent. She silently summoned the Floating Duckweed sword and held it in her hand, pulling her little disciple behind her with her left hand, cautiously sensing every direction in the dense mist.

But the other party didn’t seem to care about her at all. The mist surrounding Gui Mian suddenly thickened, making it difficult for Su Mingxiu to see her face even at such close range. The mist enveloped her little disciple, and the voice, originally coming from miles away, now sounded right beside their ears.

“Just carrying your scent…”

The killing intent dissipated. Then, the melancholy in the voice suddenly turned into a strange mockery. “Even you, a creature born with heaven and earth, have fallen into the hands of those Daoists. No wonder the demon race in this world is so pathetic…”

Gui Mian asked cautiously: “Are you… talking to me?”

She said, “But my name is not Chaos, it’s Gui Mian.”

As she spoke, Su Mingxiu was already prepared to hear the system issue a mission. Strangely, this time, the system was as quiet as a chicken.

“Gui Mian?”

The mist repeated the name softly, then suddenly chuckled. “I’ve known it for ten thousand years, but I never knew its name…”

After sighing to itself, it said to Gui Mian: “Do you know who your father is, Chaos?”

“Ah?”

Gui Mian subconsciously looked at her master beside her, clearly not knowing how to answer this question.

In her memory, the only person she knew was her master. Everyone in the Sword Sect, inside and out, told her that her master was her closest person, her parents.

Finally, the mist noticed Su Mingxiu’s presence.

“A human cultivator?”

Its tone became impatient again.

Before Su Mingxiu could react, she was pushed out of the boundary by the mist.

She looked at the mist and asked the system. After confirming that this was Gui Mian’s destiny, she put aside her worries for her little disciple. Her avatar left the secret realm and returned to her body outside the Water Mirror.

—

Chapter 29: The Destined-to-Be-Abandoned Good-for-Nothing (9)p2

—

System: “Host, please help the female lead overcome the heat caused by the Redflame Serpent demon core. Time limit: two hours. Failure penalty: Experience the pain the female lead is suffering for four days.”

Su Mingxiu: “…”

She thought she was out of her mind to ask the system how to solve this kind of problem.

This damn thing had even sneakily changed the failure penalty. No matter if she succeeded or failed, either Gui Mian or she would have to experience the effects of this damn snake’s heat cycle.

What a cunning plan.

She sneered, “Just you wait.”

The avatar that had flown to the library quickly found records about how snake demons dealt with this special period in the vast collection of jade slips.

But none of these methods were suitable for Su Mingxiu. Gui Mian was still so young, she didn’t even understand the most basic human emotions. Su Mingxiu didn’t want this little girl to fall into the abyss of lust so soon.

So, with a thought, she started searching through the more obscure records, especially those about demons and monsters—

A vast amount of information poured into her sea of consciousness. If it weren’t for Su Mingxiu’s vast sea of consciousness and stable spiritual platform, she would have been overwhelmed for a while. Countless verifiable records and word-of-mouth legends flashed through her mind.

Finally, her attention was caught by a short passage.

“Before the creation of heaven and earth, there was a Chaos Beast, dwelling in the primordial chaos, formless, feeding on Qi… Thirty-five thousand years later, the celestial beings of the upper realm created heaven and earth, slaying the Chaos Beast. Its Qi transformed into black and white, white for spiritual energy, black for demonic energy. Its consciousness was imprisoned in the upper realm…”

Chaos?

Su Mingxiu narrowed her eyes.

At the same time.

“Huff…” Inside the secret realm, Gui Mian wanted to hide herself quickly, so she headed towards a secluded area. A sulfurous mist spread around her, but she was completely unaware. The figure in the Water Mirror was gradually engulfed by the sulfur.

She knew she had entered the territory of a powerful demon beast. But she was too weak to move any further. Ever since her lower half had transformed into a snake tail, her sense of smell had become extremely sensitive. Surrounded by the scent of danger, Gui Mian could clearly smell that she was still far away from the demon beast. She just wanted to stop and rest at the edge of its territory.

The feeling in her body was becoming more and more unbearable, the heat making her want to tear off her clothes.

She didn’t realize that her eyes were gradually turning red, and the scales on her tail seemed to be ignited by the heat, their color becoming even more vibrant, the edges slightly raised, emitting a sharp and dangerous glint.

Gui Mian let her tail thrash on the ground, kicking up clouds of dust. She leaned against a tree, her palm clutching the paper, now covered in sweat. She unconsciously rubbed her face against the paper, whispering in a soft, trusting voice: “Master…”

Her mind was too feverish, she had even forgotten that she needed to write on the paper for the other person to hear her voice. She called out again and again, a hint of grievance in her tone that she didn’t even notice herself, as if she couldn’t understand why, even though she had been so obedient, she wasn’t feeling any better but even more uncomfortable.

Just then.

Su Mingxiu’s avatar, which had entered the secret realm, found her. To avoid attracting the attention of the other sect elders watching through the Water Mirror, she had shrunk herself to a tiny size. When she reached Gui Mian, she even had to look up to meet the little disciple’s eyes.

“Gui Mian.”

Hearing her name, the little girl opened her eyes drowsily. She blinked, then looked at the three-inch-tall figure in front of her in surprise. It was her master. She reached out with her burning palm and carefully picked up Su Mingxiu, placing the little ink-colored figure in her palm, then pouted: “Master…”

Her tail thrashed wildly on the ground.

“Tail…” The little disciple said, a large teardrop rolling down her cheek and landing right on top of Su Mingxiu’s head. “Too hot… too itchy…”

Su Mingxiu was drenched by the teardrop, but she casually waved her sleeve and cleaned herself up. After carefully examining Gui Mian’s current state, she conjured a Heart-Clearing Pill with her magic. “Try this?”

Gui Mian let out an “Oh” and took the pill. As it left Su Mingxiu’s spell, it returned to its original size.

The little girl swallowed it and licked her lips. “It’s salty.”

“Uh…” Seeing the tear stains on her cheeks, Su Mingxiu flew from Gui Mian’s palm to her shoulder. She reached out with some effort and wiped away the traces on her face, saying gently: “The salty taste is from your tears.”

This was the first time she had seen Gui Mian cry.

And it was because of this Redflame Serpent demon…

Thinking of this, she sighed inwardly.

After Gui Mian finished the pill and circulated her spiritual energy to digest its effects, she wanted to ask about the tears, but Su Mingxiu asked her how she was feeling first.

“Not hot anymore.” Her attention was diverted.

The snake tail on the ground had stopped thrashing at some point. Seeing the flush on Gui Mian’s face recede slightly, Su Mingxiu knew that the pill had some effect. But she still hadn’t received the system’s notification of completing the mission, so she didn’t relax.

She cast a Cleansing Spell, cleaning Gui Mian from head to toe, even the scales on her tail were spotless and shiny as new. She floated into the air, reached out, and stroked Gui Mian’s head. “If you’re tired, get some sleep. You’ll be fine soon.”

Gui Mian closed her eyes trustingly.

But in the middle of the night—

The heat in her body surged again, making her lose her sanity even faster than before.

Her bright red tail curled up, wanting to wrap around anything it could sense. Su Mingxiu, who had been paying attention to Gui Mian’s movements, immediately sent her avatar back to Mount Lingyu to get more pills.

Her divine sense swept through the mountains like a gentle breeze, landing on the peak of Mount Lingyu. Just as she was about to enter her cave abode, her sleeve accidentally brushed against a green lotus leaf by the spiritual spring.

Before, when she and Gui Mian were both on the mountain, this lotus leaf had been reluctant to grow. Now, they had only been gone for a short while, and not only had the leaf grown to the size of a palm, but there was also another new leaf the size of a fingernail beside it. She didn’t know what it had been eating.

Su Mingxiu only glanced at it briefly. She didn’t have time to investigate what this spiritual plant needed to grow.

But as she pulled back her sleeve, she found that the newly sprouted lotus leaf had detached from the water and flown into her sleeve, adding a rare touch of green to her grey and black ink-stained robe.

The larger lotus leaf in the spring nodded at her happily.

Su Mingxiu could sense that this spiritual plant meant no harm, even conveying a sense of joy and anticipation. But she only lowered her eyes and said coldly: “Behave yourself.” If it dared to cause trouble, she wouldn’t hesitate to turn it into a frozen specimen when she returned.

Secret realm, shrouded in sulfurous mist.

A vibrant red tail appeared briefly in the Water Mirror, then quickly disappeared.

The elders outside the secret realm exclaimed: “Is that a Redflame Serpent demon in there?”

“But I’ve never heard of a snake demon that can cultivate such cloud-swallowing and mist-spitting abilities… Could it have fallen to the demonic path?”

They communicated with their divine senses, glancing at Su Mingxiu from time to time, wanting to know her reaction to seeing her disciple encounter such a mutated demon.

Unfortunately, the person in front of the Sword Sect’s Water Mirror seemed to be in deep meditation, motionless, not even looking at the mirror.

Little did the elders know that the person they were so concerned about was now inside the mirror.

Because she had shrunk herself, Gui Mian’s tail, when it lashed out at her, felt like a mountain collapsing to Su Mingxiu. Fortunately, although her body was tiny, her strength was undiminished. She raised her hand and stopped the tail’s advance.

But in the next moment.

The bright red tail, blocked by her out of thin air, changed direction and wrapped around her entirely, the countless scales coiling and tightening, instantly obscuring the little ink-colored figure.

Gui Mian woke up slowly, looking around in confusion: “Master?”

Her sense of smell quickly told her that Su Mingxiu was blocked by her tail. The little girl tried to move her tail away, but it was too difficult. Instead, she felt her scales rubbing against something, a sense of pleasure and satisfaction welling up within her.

The next instant—

Her vision flipped as she was uncontrollably thrown into the air.

After landing heavily on the ground, Gui Mian saw the figure standing before her, her hand pinching the tip of her tail. She belatedly realized that she had just been thrown by her master .

Tears welled up in her clear eyes, whether from pain or discomfort.

Gui Mian looked at the tiny figure in front of her with a wronged and confused expression, calling out: “Master?”

It was strange.

Master was also wet, from her black hair to her robes, covered in water droplets.

Her sensitive sense of smell twitched. Gui Mian leaned in slightly and smelled a terrifying and dangerous aura emanating from Su Mingxiu. Her instincts told her to stay away.

But remembering the taste of tears she had tasted earlier, she instinctively reached out with her right hand, her index finger brushing against Su Mingxiu’s cheek, picking up a drop of glistening liquid.

She brought her finger to her lips, her tongue swirling around it, and said in a hoarse voice: “It’s salty too…”

Su Mingxiu: “!”

Her pupils constricted.

Then, she heard her innocent little disciple ask: “Are these on you… also tears, Master?”

Chapter 29: The Destined-to-Be-Abandoned Good-for-Nothing (9)p1

Gui Mian’s appearance didn’t seem unusual to the other elders observing through the Water Mirror. They only saw the little girl sitting by the campfire, her face becoming increasingly flushed.

But her gaze was fixed on the ground at her feet, and she didn’t even seem to notice the other Sword Sect disciples talking to her.

“Gui Mian?”

Qiongying, the leader, called out to her again. Seeing her sitting motionless on the ground, she beckoned, “It’s too close to the forest over there. If there’s danger at night, you might not have time to react. Come closer.”

Even though the disciples had agreed to take turns keeping watch, and Gui Mian had already demonstrated her strength during the day, in the senior sister’s eyes, this little disciple of Mount Lingyu still needed special care.

She spoke, but the person who usually responded and obediently followed instructions hesitated for a moment. Then, hugging the sword in her arms, she said softly, “I won’t go over, Senior Sister.”

She had been able to move freely during the day because she had learned from Su Mingxiu how to control her spiritual energy to levitate and even use her tail to briefly propel herself into the air. It had taken her a lot of effort to maintain this perfect disguise.

But now, she found that she had no strength below her waist. If she stood up rashly, others would definitely notice something was wrong.

Hearing her words, Changsheng, who was sitting on a tree not far away, sneered and mocked Qiongying: “She has Master’s Floating Duckweed sword to protect her, she can walk sideways in this secret realm without worry. What kind of monster can harm her? Some people just worry too much.”

Qiongying ignored him. Instead, it was her junior sister who retorted: “Yeah, when her ordinary iron sword broke, Master was willing to give her a replica of the Floating Duckweed sword for protection. Unlike some people, who keep bragging about how favored they are by their master, but then get punished to cleaning duty for a month after breaking a single spiritual sword on the Platform of Enlightenment—”

“You!”

Changsheng narrowed his eyes. Even Changqi, who was standing under the tree, changed his expression upon hearing these words.

But Gui Mian didn’t hear any of this. She even unconsciously moved further into the shadows, away from the Sword Sect disciples, as if she didn’t know that she was the cause of their argument. In the darkness, her shadow was almost completely obscured by the trees.

She shifted her tail slightly, thinking her movements were very subtle. But in the quiet night, even the crackling of the fire was absent, so her movements were clearly audible to all the disciples.

Qiongying opened her eyes and looked over. Seeing Gui Mian’s boots shuffling on the ground, she initially thought she was just restless in her sleep.

She politely looked away, but after listening for a while, she felt something was off and subconsciously called out to her again: “Gui Mian?”

The rustling sound stopped abruptly.

Her junior sister’s soft and gentle reply came, with a hint of a sniffle, as if she had just been woken up: “Hmm?”

Qiongying thought she was overthinking it and was about to say it was nothing when she heard one of her junior sisters nearby exclaim: “Did you guys hear a strange sound? It’s like… a snake?”

“Snake?!”

Many female disciples gasped, their spiritual swords reflecting sharp arcs of light in the darkness.

At this moment, Gui Mian felt the paper she was clutching in her hand become warm. Just as she was about to unfold it, Su Mingxiu’s voice reached her mind: “Say you’re going to scout the area, leave this spot.”

Gui Mian did as she was told, word for word.

“Eh?”

Qiongying exclaimed subconsciously. “It’s too dangerous to go alone… I’ll go with you…”

Before she could finish, she realized that Gui Mian had already vanished from her spot, and the strange rustling sound also disappeared.

Qiongying wanted to follow, but at this moment, Changqi and Changsheng, who had long been annoyed by being with them, immediately proposed splitting up. After a moment of hesitation, Qiongying saw that her two junior brothers couldn’t wait to disappear. She smiled wryly. When she wanted to find Gui Mian again, she was already gone.

Outside the secret realm.

Su Mingxiu appeared to be meditating, but she had already split into two avatars. One went to the sect’s library, searching for a way to solve Gui Mian’s strange condition. The other, using her authority as a Sword Sect elder, silently opened the entrance to the secret realm with her divine sense and entered.

Her current state was quite peculiar. She didn’t have the cultivation of the Great Ascension stage, but she could still use techniques like the thousand-mile journey she had mastered at the Great Ascension stage and the avatar technique she had learned at the Spirit Severing stage.

However, without the support of her cultivation, the effectiveness of these techniques was greatly reduced. But no matter what, a lean camel was still bigger than a horse. This was why, despite her cultivation only being at the Nascent Soul stage, her status and treatment in the Sword Sect hadn’t changed much.

But right now, Su Mingxiu didn’t have time to dwell on this. She asked the system in her mind: “You must have a solution, right?”

System: “Of course I do. Do you want to hear it?”

—