The Villain Fox's Sickly Beauty Master - Chapter 25.2

Chapter 25.2: You are the Heartthrob of the Immortal Sect.

However, 007 misunderstood Jiang Jinheng’s meaning and, for once, offered comfort:

“Host, you’re not old either. You’re just a little girl who is over two hundred years old.”

“…”

She just didn’t want to talk to it.

“But… why is Li Jingzhu so nice to me?”

“It’s simple, Host. You should know that before the Son of Destiny arrived, you were the heartthrob of the Immortal Sect. From the three major sects to the various smaller ones, hardly anyone disliked you.”

“?”

I have that kind of charm?

Seeing that Jiang Jinheng hadn’t spoken, Li Jingzhu, standing in front of her, spoke again: “Is Immortal Venerable also here to search for the divine sword Dragon Roar?”

Jiang Jinheng was surprised that she knew about the divine sword located here, but quickly realized it. After all, it was a thousand-year-old sword sect, and the divine sword Dragon Roar was originally used by their founding patriarch, Dao Ming. As someone with an innate Sword Bone and groomed as a Young Sect Master, it was normal for Li Jingzhu to know this news.

But Jiang Jinheng didn’t intend to let her know that she also knew about it.

“Luan Qiu merely sensed signs of divine light here, fearing the emergence of a divine artifact, and brought her disciple to try their luck.”

Jiang Jinheng thought Li Jingzhu would not press the matter, but unexpectedly, the girl immediately replied, sounding slightly childish.

“If Immortal Venerable wants it, Jingzhu is willing to let the Immortal Venerable take it first.”

Sometimes, a deep fortune or a shallow one is just a matter of precedence. Furthermore, Immortal Venerable Luan Qiu was famous. Legend had it that there were no secret treasures she couldn’t touch and no inheritances she couldn’t receive. She was considered a prodigy in the Immortal Sect.

So, hearing her so readily offer the opportunity, Jiang Jinheng truly didn’t know what to say. She could only laugh dryly, glancing at the motionless elder not far away, and indeed saw a mixed look of surprise and anger on his face.

“Jingzhu! The location of this divine sword is a secret of our sect! How can you talk about giving it away as if it’s sending off a common cabbage!”

Seeing the elder approaching, Jiang Jinheng swept her sleeve, shielding Li Jingzhu behind her, and intercepted him with a smile.

“The young girl is inexperienced. Would Luan Qiu really go along with her antics? Senior Dao Qing, rest assured. Since this is the Sword Sect’s inheritance, we only wish to witness the divine artifact’s splendor and have no intention of competing for it.”

Jiang Jinheng spoke sincerely, until the elder stroked his curled beard and let out a snort through his nose. Then, he turned and patted Li Jingzhu’s head, pushing her forward slightly.

“Go ahead. If I truly snatched your fortune, I don’t know what the outside world would gossip about.”

It was meant to be a jest, but Jiang Jinheng didn’t expect both sides to speak at the same time.

“Jingzhu is willing!”

“An fortune only depends on the depth of one’s affinity. How can there be a mention of snatching?”

At this, Jiang Jinheng finally refocused her gaze on Fu Yi. She frowned slightly, giving her a warning look, but saw that she didn’t stop speaking.

“If that’s the case, why all the pushing and shoving? Descend into the inheritance. Who can obtain it will be immediately clear.”

Fu Yi had disliked Li Jingzhu from the start, initially because of her experiences in the previous life, and later seeing her attempt to curry favor with Jiang Jinheng through false modesty and deference felt truly hypocritical.

Although she was very polite when greeting her, it wasn’t surprising for a disciple from an aristocratic family to know how to feign politeness. Even though she hadn’t done anything to her in this life, Fu Yi instinctively disliked her.

And hearing their description, the divine sword here was probably the one Li Jingzhu frequently wore at her waist in the previous life.

Legend had it that Li Jingzhu couldn’t be without that sword because she possessed a Pure Cold Constitution. Starting from her adulthood, she suffered a wave of Cold Poison every fifteenth day, and that sword, which contained pure fire-attribute spiritual energy, not only provided her with some relief every fifteenth but also, by wearing it constantly, could slowly remove the Cold Poison accumulated over the years.

Of course, the best solution was to find a cultivator with abundant fire-attribute spiritual energy to engage in dual cultivation. By the time Fu Yi learned of this, Li Jingzhu and Mo Tong were already intimate.

Fu Yi even suspected that the existence of that sword was decreed by Heaven to ensure Li Jingzhu maintained her vital yin energy until she met Mo Tong.

Fu Yi’s words were intended to expose the superficial pleasantries of these so-called righteous cultivators. Predictably, she saw the elder’s face erupt in towering rage again.

“You insolent, ignorant child, you have a sharp tongue indeed!”

Jiang Jinheng immediately sensed trouble. Just as she was about to try and explain, Li Jingzhu preemptively blocked Elder Dao Qing’s next move.

“Although this fellow Daoist’s words are unpleasant, they are certainly reasonable. Jingzhu apologizes and once again invites Immortal Venerable to descend into the inheritance together.”

Unlike her previous humble invitation, Li Jingzhu now looked steadily at Jiang Jinheng with resolute eyes.

Seeing her sincerity, Jiang Jinheng no longer declined. After all, according to the original plan, she was also going to take Fu Yi down to the inheritance, but not for the divine sword Dragon Roar.

007 was a little puzzled about this.

“Host, why don’t you take her to look for other secret treasures? The Secret Realm has a time limit. Just following behind others to witness things is a waste of time.”

Jiang Jinheng naturally had her reasons for doing this, but it was difficult to explain them clearly, and it was certainly impossible to articulate them to 007 in this situation.

007 was used to Jiang Jinheng’s spontaneous personality, but even though its Host was a little crazy and dared to take risks, she was ultimately very mature and self-sufficient.

And so, the somewhat unneeded 007 retreated back into the system space.

The inheritance site had been opened using Li Jingzhu’s essence bl00d as a conduit before Jiang Jinheng and Fu Yi arrived. Her innate Sword Bone was the key to opening it.

The rules for recruiting disciples at the Thousand Blades Sword Sect and the Azure Vast Immortal Sect were slightly different. The Immortal Sect emphasized spiritual roots, while the Sword Sect prioritized spiritual bone structure, focusing on whether one could comprehend the Supreme Sword Intent.

Sword Intent was divided into ten levels. Only three people in the history of the Sword Sect had the chance to comprehend the final level, and all of them possessed the innate Sword Bone. Therefore, this explains why Li Jingzhu, as a Young Sect Master candidate, received so many preferential resources upon entering the sect. The sect even assigned Elder Dao Qing to guide her into the Saha Maze (Pó Suō Mí Jìng) to have the divine sword Dragon Roar recognize her as its master.

As they descended into the inheritance, Jiang Jinheng and Li Jingzhu spent some time politely deferring to each other about who should go first or last. In the end, Elder Dao Qing snorted coldly and led the way. If it were anyone else trying to covet their Sword Venerable’s inheritance, he wouldn’t be so angry, as he had excessive confidence in his new disciple’s talent. But the person was Luan Qiu of the Azure Vast Immortal Sect.

This… this person is a prodigy!

His disciple was too innocent and too young. She didn’t realize what a huge fortune a divine sword represented. She was even pushing and shoving the opportunity away, which was making his beard stand on end with anger.

The group walked for a long time underground, lighting the way with only a burning piece of firewood. Normally, Jiang Jinheng would have summoned her Cold Star Flame, but it was acting strangely and was inconvenient to reveal.

The path ahead seemed endless, creating a sense of foreboding.

Seeing this, Jiang Jinheng tightened her grip on Fu Yi’s hand, afraid of any mishap.

But in the next moment, the entire space suddenly went pitch black, and the warmth in her hand disappeared.

Another illusion?

Jiang Jinheng tried calling out a few times but received no response. It seemed all four people who entered were trapped in the same illusion as her.

Understanding that one is in an illusion is the first step to breaking free. Jiang Jinheng first asked 007 to confirm everyone’s status, and the result was as she expected.

“The analysis system shows that all four of your life signs are very close to each other, and no other life signs have been detected here.”

This function was an automatic reward from the main system to 007 after it reported the bug that had deceived the Heavenly Dao. It wasn’t very proficient in using it, and fearing it would hold Jiang Jinheng back again, as it did before, it calculated several times before broadcasting the result.

“Why are we in a Secret Realm again? Won’t there be more danger? The World Archive is truly useless; it can’t predict anything.”

Hearing 007’s words, it sounded even more anxious than she was. Jiang Jinheng’s heart warmed, and she comforted it in return: “This time, the illusion is after we entered the Sword Venerable’s inheritance. It should bear no hostility toward us. Besides, I changed the trajectory of the archive. Shouldn’t we anticipate a different development?”

At least for now, the records of the opportunities inside haven’t been incorrect, which doesn’t hinder her from snatching Mo Tong’s fortune and continuing the mission.

“So what should we do next?”

Jiang Jinheng didn’t answer 007 immediately. Instead, she first summoned her Cold Star Flame. However, the flame was not as gentle as usual. Instead, it wildly spread out, seemingly wanting to expand to fill the entire space, emitting a rare sense of ferocity from the flames.

This situation startled 007. It watched the ice-blue flames around Jiang Jinheng wrap around her like water, so shocked that its words stuttered.

“This… what is going on?”

“Alas, I guessed it would do this, which is why I didn’t dare to release it just now.”

When they were traveling on the sword and got a little closer to this place, she could feel the flame in her Dantian surging more violently. She remembered reading in a book that spiritual fires often reject each other. When they meet, they always strive to determine superiority.

And the closer they got to the destination, feeling the intense spiritual energy fluctuation of the fire attribute in this area, Jiang Jinheng increasingly felt that this place was more than just a single divine artifact. There might be another spiritual fire here.

She intended to control the Cold Star Flame back to the size of her palm, but a hoarse yet still powerful voice came from above her head.

“Cold Star Flame. I never thought I would see it again.”

Because of the light from the flame, everything became visible. Unlike the narrow path they took when they entered the inheritance, she now seemed to be in a cave. Hearing the voice, she realized it was the remnant soul of Sword Venerable Dao Ming.

Accompanying the voice, a nearly transparent soul appeared before Jiang Jinheng.

Seeing Jiang Jinheng’s appearance and the Cold Star Flame in her hand, the remnant soul seemed to be momentarily lost in thought.

Jiang Jinheng was initially curious about why he recognized the flame in her hand, but then she recalled the relationship between the Demon Venerable Fentian and him, which her Master He Yun had told her about, and she understood.

She wasn’t interested in the sword inheritance, only curious about the spiritual fire’s location. But Sword Venerable Dao Ming trapping all four of them in this Secret Realm seemed to be only for the sake of the next trial.

Yet, Jiang Jinheng couldn’t immediately think of any trial that could exist within this four-walled cave.

“Junior Luan Qiu, I am a disciple of He Yun. I apologize for the disturbance today. I hope Senior can offer some guidance on how to break this Secret Realm.”

Jiang Jinheng did not mention the name of the Immortal Sect. After all, as far as she knew, the Immortal Sect’s predecessor was just a small sect founded by a few rogue cultivators. The two realms suffered immense losses in the last Great Immortal-Demon War, and most high-level cultivators perished on the battlefield due to the Demon God’s appearance. Her Master was only fortunate enough to escape because she had previously suffered severe injuries and returned to the base camp.

With talent scarce in the cultivation world after the Great War, her Master only then curbed her desire for leisure. She and other disciples and cultivators from various sects discussed and allocated the resources they had gained. The Immortal Sect’s prosperity only began in the thousand years that followed, and its foundation was not as deep as the Thousand Blades Sword Sect’s.

Jiang Jinheng mentioning He Yun’s name now was in hopes that Sword Venerable Dao Ming, recognizing her Master, would allow her to use their past camaraderie to her advantage.

Although this illusion could not harm her, Jiang Jinheng couldn’t guarantee what Fu Yi might encounter. One must know that those who cultivate the Way of the Sword possess the strongest righteous aura. High-level cultivators can discern demonic and evil entities at a glance, and Fu Yi’s half-Nine-Tailed Fox bloodline…

Unexpectedly, upon hearing her words, the voice, which came from an unknown source, took on a tone of amusement: “So you are the disciple of that little girl, He Yun. But you need not worry. I see that you possess a spiritual fire, cultivate both sword and spiritual arts, and have excellent spiritual roots. I truly feel ashamed that I have nothing good to pass on to you. I specially set up this illusion only to isolate the three of you. Once my sect’s descendant passes the trial and receives the inheritance, this Secret Realm will naturally break.”

“Three people?”

Sword Venerable Dao Ming’s words made Jiang Jinheng frown. She was one, and his mention of “my sect’s descendant” must refer to Li Jingzhu. So, was the third person Fu Yi or Senior Dao Qing?

The situation had once again slipped out of her control. With Fu Yi’s safety at stake, Jiang Jinheng felt even more worried. However, before she could voice her doubts, the voice sounded again.

“But judging by your learning, you are not a disciple of my Sword Sect. Why are you traveling with Dao Qing and them into the Secret Realm? Are the various sects on the mainland already so harmonious?”

As he asked this, Dao Ming couldn’t help but recall the past. At that time, he and a few like-minded Daoists co-founded the Thousand Blades Sword Sect, developing it into the largest sect on the mainland over a thousand years. Back then, the cultivation world was full of talent. The Demon Race had not yet become a threat, and conflicts between the sects were countless, mostly over resource allocation.

The most harmonious time among the sects must have been after the birth of the Demon God, when all the sects united to form the Immortal Sect Alliance to jointly resist the Demon Race.

Jiang Jinheng didn’t have time to indulge his nostalgia. His words, however, indicated that the third person was Elder Dao Qing, which only increased her anxiety. She couldn’t help but ask two more questions.

“To be honest with Senior, I also brought a disciple with me when I entered the Secret Realm today. But from what Senior just said, it seems you haven’t detected her presence.”

Hearing Jiang Jinheng’s words, the voice pondered for a moment, then said: “That is truly strange. I truly did not sense the presence of a fourth person.”

“But my system shows that the life signs of all four of you are indeed in one location!”

007 in her mind became anxious again. As a good system that once took great pride in the Administration Bureau’s products, it suddenly began to doubt the accuracy of the device.

“Don’t panic.”

If 007 was telling the truth, and Sword Venerable Dao Ming genuinely didn’t sense Fu Yi’s presence, there was only one other possibility—

Fu Yi had fallen into a separate inheritance ahead of everyone else.

Realizing this possibility, Jiang Jinheng’s anxious heart gradually calmed down. If there was anything here that could surpass the remnant soul of a Mahayana-stage great expert and the guardian of the divine sword, it could only be the spiritual fire she sensed.

Various thoughts clashed in Jiang Jinheng’s mind. Thinking this, she spoke to Sword Venerable Dao Ming again.

“Sword Venerable’s remnant soul has resided here for many years. Have you ever sensed the existence of a spiritual fire here?”

She waited patiently for a long time. Jiang Jinheng even started to wonder if he had withdrawn his surveillance of her current location, but suddenly, he reappeared before her.

“You little child, your ambition is not small. As far as I know, you already possess a spiritual fire. Why are you still inquiring about the location of another one?”

Jiang Jinheng had no fear of his playful probing. Instead, she thoughtfully nodded.

“The way Senior speaks suggests you have sensed something.”

Different spiritual fires require different methods of containment. When she refined the Cold Star Flame, she destroyed a hundred-foot-long piece of Ten-Thousand-Year Black Ice she had just obtained from a Secret Realm, which had pained her for a long time.

After all, Jiang Jinheng had gone to great lengths to excavate the Black Ice from an extremely cold cave. She had originally planned to bring it back to her residence and fashion it into a Black Ice bed. Since she possessed an ice spiritual root, cultivating on this Black Ice every day could more than double her speed.

However, losing one thing meant gaining another. After that spiritual fire tempering, her cultivation instantly crossed more than half a major realm, and she was fortunate enough to merge with the spiritual fire that everyone envied.

Perhaps many things were destined. Had she not painstakingly retrieved the Black Ice, she would have been incinerated by the heart-fire while absorbing the Cold Star Flame, bidding farewell to the world.

Judging by the reaction of the Cold Star Flame in her body today, the spiritual fire residing here was likely no ordinary one. Back then, she was already in the Nascent Soul realm, carrying countless secret treasures and elixirs, and most crucially, she had an item that countered the flame on her person. In contrast, her disciple, this little seedling, hadn’t brought anything except some junk she snatched from that fellow Cang Yu’s storage ring.

Jiang Jinheng was now regretting not giving more good things to her sole little disciple. But regretting was useless now. The important thing was to be able to help.

Everything has a counter. Within a hundred steps, there must be a way to break the deadlock.

Thinking this, Jiang Jinheng suddenly had an idea. If anyone in this world knew anything about this spiritual fire, it could only be Sword Venerable Dao Ming, who had been here for a thousand years.

She simultaneously signaled 007 to continue scanning all nearby lakes, underground areas, and even the volcano for any abnormally evident spiritual energy fluctuations, while she continued to question.

“Luan Qiu does not blame Sword Venerable for the misunderstanding. However, I suspect that my disciple is currently trapped in the illusion created by this spiritual fire. I would like to ask Sword Venerable if you know the nature of this spiritual fire and whether there are any materials nearby that can restrain it?”

Dao Ming Sword Venerable remained silent. Jiang Jinheng knew he harbored selfish motives; otherwise, he wouldn’t have subjected her alone to another layer of illusion. Seeing that his soul entity was weak and couldn’t last much longer, she spoke again to persuade him:

“Forgive my offense, but Sword Venerable’s soul entity can likely only last for three or two hours, enough at most to allow your sect’s descendant to obtain the divine sword inheritance. Luan Qiu doesn’t know how long my disciple can last in the spiritual fire illusion, but if, after her, your sect’s descendant is also pulled in, confined by the spiritual fire, will there be anyone left to save her?”

At this, Jiang Jinheng’s words already carried a hint of threat.

Dao Ming rarely encountered anyone who dared to speak to him like this, which he found intriguing. Knowing full well that her disciple had not fallen into the spiritual fire inheritance, he deliberately played along with her words:

“Junior Brother Dao Qing will protect…”

Before he could finish his sentence, Jiang Jinheng interrupted him.

“Senior Dao Qing is indeed accomplished in the Way of the Sword.”

At this, Jiang Jinheng’s expression had already soured.

She always treated her seniors with the utmost respect, but that didn’t mean she would constantly offer concessions while taking the burden.

Her words were a provocation, a gamble that Sword Venerable Dao Ming would know when to quit and not risk losing the Thousand Blades Sword Sect’s rare innate Sword Bone.

A gamble that he had perished here too long ago to wait another thousand years for a descendant of his sect.

“But no matter how high his other capabilities are, if he doesn’t understand it, he simply doesn’t understand.”