The Villain Fox's Sickly Beauty Master - Chapter 32

Chapter 32: The Three Dreams of Losing One’s Life.

Jiang Jinheng was right. The flower pond surrounded by Manjusaka flowers was most likely the Phantom Dream Pool that trapped Fu Yi. She was probably seduced by a wisp of floral fragrance and jumped in without realizing it, while she herself jumped in voluntarily.

This also explained why 007 said that Fu Yi seemed to have vanished from this world. After all, it is said that the illusion led to by the Manjusaka flower fragrance is a special existence independent of the two realms.

The deeper the understanding, the easier the illusion is to break. Because she was not disturbed by the floral fragrance, Jiang Jinheng did not lose consciousness when she fell into the illusion. Instead, she calmly observed everything that appeared around her.

Before reaching the dream that trapped Fu Yi, she must first go through her own three layers of the Dream of Losing One’s Life.

The so-called three layers of the Dream of Losing One’s Life are actually three layers of illusion that can trap you and make it impossible to escape. The first layer is the Illusion of Delusion, the second layer is the Dream of Fear, and the third illusion will give you something you absolutely cannot refuse, enticing people to willingly indulge in the dream.

Jiang Jinheng was very interested when she read this description in a book, but she didn’t expect to actually have a chance to experience it one day.

The first layer, the Illusion of Delusion, was easily broken by Jiang Jinheng. After all, she hadn’t lost consciousness. She just briefly analyzed where the flaw was and naturally found a way to break the situation. However, the second layer, the Dream of Fear, truly surprised her.

Before this, Jiang Jinheng truly didn’t know what she could be afraid of. But seeing the scene in front of her after the sudden change of scenery, she was suddenly stunned.

She was all too familiar with the surrounding illusion. In the early years, when she enjoyed going down the mountain for training, she helped the sect capture many criminals and brought them back, where they were detained in the various Discipline Prisons at the bottom of the peaks. And this place was the water prison of Water Cloud Peak, specifically the lowest level used to detain extremely heinous criminals.

But the person firmly bound by chains was Fu Yi.

After a moment of realization, Jiang Jinheng finally understood the situation in front of her. However, she had only heard about this matter from 007. Even though she was indeed full of guilt, she had only viewed the story from a third-person perspective. How could this… make her feel fear?

Jiang Jinheng truly couldn’t figure out the connection between them. But looking at the miserable scene in front of her, the guilt in her heart deepened.

She subconsciously wanted to unlock the shackles, only to realize that she couldn’t touch anything at all.

In a trance, Jiang Jinheng suddenly heard the sound of the stone door opening. The area where she was standing became clearer due to the light filtering in from outside. This situation didn’t last long because someone walked in.

When she heard that voice, Jiang Jinheng thought it was Mo Tong. After all, she knew from 007 that during this period, Mo Tong simply regarded Fu Yi as a talisman human and medicine human to be used for materials, and she was furious about it at the time.

But she didn’t expect the person who came, dressed in cyan robes, to be herself.

No, if such a consequence had already been caused, the person who came should definitely be Fentian, not her.

Thinking this, Jiang Jinheng suddenly felt a surge of vigilance. She stared intently at the person, contemplating how to break this Dream of Fear.

But she neither understood the motive for this matter to cause her fear nor could she calm down. For a moment, she was truly at a loss.

What surprised Jiang Jinheng was that the person she assumed to be Fentian deliberately controlled her movements to be silent as she approached, stepping lightly. She even sighed in relief after confirming that Fu Yi did not seem to be awake.

What is this? Does she need to ensure the person won’t notice before digging out the heart and dissecting the liver?

As this thought popped into her mind, Jiang Jinheng couldn’t help but mock herself. But what she never expected was that “Fentian” actually took out a jar of unknown substance from her bosom, carefully uncovered Fu Yi’s wound, and applied the contents of the jar to it. Only then did Jiang Jinheng notice that there was a large, unhealed hole on Fu Yi’s body, clearly a fresh wound.

Jiang Jinheng found it strange. Then, she heard the person mumble softly, with her head bowed, in a very self-reproachful tone.

“It’s all my fault.”

As the voice faded, Jiang Jinheng suddenly felt a splitting headache. A white light suddenly appeared in front of her eyes. After the white light passed, she was in another scene.

There were still two people in the scene. One was the person she considered Fentian, and the other was wearing a black robe and a black hat, his facial contours hidden in the darkness, making his appearance completely invisible.

“Great Elder, why do you appear in this place?”

So this is the Great Elder that Zi Lou mentioned many times.

Fentian’s tone was not particularly pleasant. But because of her words, Jiang Jinheng leaned closer, wanting to see what the so-called Elder looked like.

But even getting closer, he was still just a pitch-black figure. Jiang Jinheng gave up.

But the next moment, she heard a sinister laugh, accompanied by an old, hoarse voice.

“Demon Venerable, you always remember who scheduled to meet you, right? Naturally, he scheduled to meet me too.”

“Mo Tong.”

Fentian spoke that name with a hint of deep meaning. After a long time, she finally said: “This Venerable guessed that he was colluding with you long ago, but I didn’t expect to be one step behind.”

“Elder Mo is already an honored guest of our Demon Race. Where does ‘collusion’ come into play? If we’re being honest, the one who introduced him was you, Demon Venerable.”

Fentian took two deep breaths and did not reply to him. The person then said: “It is said that great people are not constrained by trifles, Demon Venerable. Having a weakness is absolutely forbidden.”

Jiang Jinheng truly couldn’t figure out what they were discussing for a moment. But as soon as the conversation ended, she heard a furious voice.

“Where did you take Xi Yin?”

“Our clan’s Saintess has naturally gone to where she belongs.”

“You seek death.”

Jiang Jinheng saw Fentian’s eyes turn red. She conjured a sword and fiercely thrust it at the black-clothed man. During their back-and-forth duel, she heard the black-robed person temptingly say: “Demon Venerable, I don’t want to fall out with you either. As long as you are willing to have me implant the Heart-Eating Curse in you today, I guarantee I will send the Saintess back completely unharmed. I will not break my word.”

Hearing this, Jiang Jinheng saw Fentian seem to hesitate. Only then did she realize what the black-robed person meant by her weakness.

Jiang Jinheng thought of everything she had learned from Zi Lou and the unusually affectionate Xi Yin after she appeared. She somewhat understood that their relationship seemed to be extremely strong.

But in the blink of an eye, the moment Fentian hesitated, the black-robed person conjured a long chain. Taking advantage of her distraction, the chain pierced into her body, accompanied by another sinister laugh.

“Fentian, oh Fentian, you truly fall for the deception of war. As soon as that woman Xi Yin is mentioned, you disregard everything.”

“Soul-Reaping Chain…”

As she spoke, Fentian spat out a mouthful of black bl00d. She dropped her sword and desperately grabbed the chain with both hands. Even though she was injured until her flesh was a bloody mess, she never let go. But she was still no match for the power of this divine artifact.

The black-robed person pulled out Fentian’s demonic soul and quickly left. Jiang Jinheng looked at the body lying on the ground. Observing the entire situation made her extremely surprised. But the next moment, the body moved.

The Soul-Reaping Chain was one of the eight divine artifacts passed down from ancient times. Although Jiang Jinheng didn’t know why such a divine artifact fell into the hands of the Demon Race, she knew that once this item was used, there was no possibility of escape. This body left behind was already an empty shell. Why… would it still move?

Not only did it move, but while Jiang Jinheng was pondering, she found the person climbing up from the ground, even staring at the direction the black-robed person had left, only her expression was somewhat complex.

It must be because I am dreaming.

Jiang Jinheng was still inclined to believe that this was something fabricated by the Phantom Dream Pool in front of her eyes. Although the books described the illusions created by the Phantom Dream Pool as originating from the memories of the person entering the dream, she had absolutely no such memories.

Even the things 007 told her didn’t record these events.

But even seeing this, Jiang Jinheng still hadn’t seen anything that could completely move her emotions. She speculated that this dream was not over yet. Soon, everything around her was quickly reshaped. This time, the Phantom Dream Pool seemed to bring her to the main peak’s deliberation hall.

Mo Tong seemed to be sitting in the seat representing Water Cloud Peak. As for Fentian, who had regained consciousness, she should have found a place to hide, and it was normal for her not to be here. After all, since Mo Tong was already colluding with the Demon Realm, her reappearance here would make the enigmatic “Golden Cicada Shedding Its Shell” scheme meaningless.

The content of this deliberation was not much. After listening for a while, Jiang Jinheng roughly grasped a little context. At this point in time, the Demon Race intended to invade with the entire clan, and the Demon God was about to descend.

As the representative of the Immortal Sect, the Azure Vast Immortal Sect naturally had to send people to the battlefield, and Mo Tong was the person leading the team. At this moment, he was about to step into the Mahayana stage, the most outstanding existence among the sect’s newcomers. And the purpose of this deliberation was to select two Integration-stage cultivators to go with him, according to his request.

Jiang Jinheng originally thought many people would be willing to go with him. After all, he was the Child of Destiny, wearing the halo of the Heavenly Dao. But she didn’t expect that when the Sect Master asked if anyone would volunteer, everyone remained silent.

Only after listening to two people ask him about his previous campaign experience did Jiang Jinheng realize why.

In short, this should be Mo Tong’s third time going to the battlefield to resist the Demon Race. The previous two times were not led by him, but by Peak Master Cang Yu of Restful Brocade Peak and Peak Master Dan Yi of Pill Peak, respectively.

However, whether it was the first or the second time, among the hundreds of people in the entire team, only Mo Tong returned. Everyone else died on the battlefield at the hands of the Demon Race. And he not only returned unscathed but also rapidly increased his cultivation every time he returned to the sect.

According to him, this was the miraculous aspect of the cultivation technique he practiced. However, many people already suspected him of colluding with the Demon Race. But after the Sect Master publicly searched his soul and found no trace of impropriety, the rumor subsided.

A few days ago, Peak Master Luan Qiu of Water Cloud Peak suffered a vicious attack from the Demon Race, and he took over to handle all the Peak Master’s affairs, including leading the team for this third time. But with the two previous miraculous experiences, no one dared to go with him anymore.

The deliberation hall was silent. After a long time, Jiang Jinheng heard Mo Tong say disdainfully: “A bunch of greedy cowards.”

As he spoke, he rotated the jade thumb ring on his thumb. Jiang Jinheng coincidentally noticed this movement and opened her eyes in shock.

This thumb ring was almost identical to the one 007 had given her when they were first bound. The only difference was that hers seemed to be made of white jade, while Mo Tong’s was black jade.

Thinking this, Jiang Jinheng couldn’t help but frown. Out of the corner of her eye, she suddenly saw two people stand up. Her gaze swept over them, and she only felt that they were somewhat strange, as if they had lost their souls.

“Stop wasting time. We are both willing to go.”

Jiang Jinheng recognized the two people who spoke. One was the Deputy Peak Master of Restful Brocade Peak, and the other was Yuan Yi’s younger sister. Yuan Yi was currently looking at her with an astonished gaze. Mo Tong noticed her reaction and, for some reason, chuckled.

“Peak Master Yuan Yi truly need not worry. I, Mo Tong, guarantee here that I will be sure to protect your sister in this campaign. Of course, the next time Skyfire Peak leads the team to resist the Demon Race, this Venerable will certainly not decline.”

Mo Tong spoke these words effortlessly. Moreover, the two people voluntarily stood up, leaving no room for rebuttal. Thus, the deliberation concluded, and the decision was finalized.

As the crowd dispersed, Jiang Jinheng remained standing there, pondering. Since she couldn’t decide where to go anyway, and the show was over, she might as well think about the connection between this series of illusions.

As far as she knew, Yuan Yi’s younger sister was usually quite spoiled and couldn’t endure any hardship. Why did she suddenly change her mind and volunteer to go to the battlefield?

Coupled with the inexplicably appearing jade thumb ring on Mo Tong’s hand and the strange demeanor of the two people, it was hard for Jiang Jinheng not to suspect that in this illusion, Mo Tong also possessed something that did not belong to this world.

But were the events that occurred in the three scenes of this illusion connected?

The first scene was the water prison at the bottom of Water Cloud Peak. The second scene was on a peak’s summit, and the third scene was the deliberation hall she was very familiar with.

Jiang Jinheng hadn’t found any other common points. The only thing she knew was that strange things happened in all three scenes.

For example, in the first scene, Fentian applied medicine to Fu Yi, who had just had something taken from her, and even muttered those words to herself. In the second scene, Fentian, whose demonic soul had just been hooked away by the Soul-Reaping Chain, woke up again. In the third scene, after Mo Tong rotated the strange jade thumb ring, the two people strangely stood up.

Jiang Jinheng focused her gaze on the open door and pondered for a long time. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of a sneaky figure.

Fentian…

She seemed to have used some secret technique to hide her form and aura. After Mo Tong left, she had been following right behind him.

Jiang Jinheng couldn’t help but follow them, tracing their steps all the way to the Discipline Prison of Water Cloud Peak, and then down to the lowest level. Only then did she feel a sense of familiarity.

Could it be that the sequence of events in the three scenes she witnessed was not the conventional 1-2-3, but 2-3-1?

But even so, not a single matter could be clearly explained.

In the next hour, Mo Tong took three of Fu Yi’s ribs. Before taking them, Jiang Jinheng personally witnessed the mockery and insults Mo Tong directed at her, which were described in the novel 007 gave her. He said he needed to make a crossbow for this trip to the battlefield, and after much thought, her bones were the most suitable.

He rattled on and on, just to find a dignified reason to cut open a person’s body and take what he wanted. It was quite outrageous.

Jiang Jinheng deliberately observed the wound caused by taking the bones. It was exactly the same as the one she observed in the first scene, which further confirmed her thought.

“Fentian,” who was standing behind the pillar beside her, also watched for an hour with her eyes wide open. In that hour, Jiang Jinheng saw regret and anger in her eyes.

It was no wonder she felt this way. After all, Mo Tong was essentially groomed by her. She originally intended for Wan Zhuqing to possess him, but now it seemed that she hadn’t succeeded. Instead, she had been outwitted.

But gradually, Jiang Jinheng saw her start to cry. Tears welled up in her eyes, and many ran down her cheeks. This discovery slightly stunned Jiang Jinheng. Hate is fine, but why cry? Even if she needs to cry, why would she come to this place to cry?

Jiang Jinheng even suspected that she would rush out the next moment and fight Mo Tong to the death. After all, seeing her fingers dig into the stone pillar, leaving imprints, it was normal for her to finally vent. But she still endured it.

Jiang Jinheng was also somewhat puzzled by this. Even if Mo Tong had already half-stepped into the Mahayana stage, as those people said, Fentian was already at the Peak of Mahayana when she was still alive. It was normal for her cultivation to be depleted after a thousand years of refinement in her demonic soul, but the Fentian who fought with her in the Tengshe illusion was already more than one minor realm higher than her. Why would she be so cautious dealing with a Late-Stage Integration cultivator after a hundred years of integration with the body?

Could it be that she also noticed that there was something unusual about Mo Tong?

While contemplating, Mo Tong left, taking the three bloody ribs with him. As he left, Jiang Jinheng guessed that she might be changing scenes again. Sure enough, as “Fentian” rushed towards the cage, a white light reappeared in front of Jiang Jinheng.

The fourth scene was on the battlefield.

Jiang Jinheng scanned the people on the battlefield. They were basically all familiar faces, but they were standing perfectly neat, their faces expressionless, like puppets.

What was even stranger was that they were only facing a few scattered Demons.

Right in front of the cultivators’ team, Jiang Jinheng easily spotted Mo Tong, the team leader. But the next moment, he beckoned to the Demon standing in front of him, seemingly completely ignoring whether the people behind him would notice.

The two began to converse just like that.

For some reason, the place where she was transported this time was too far from where they were. They were standing in the valley, while Jiang Jinheng was hanging on the cliff face.

Jiang Jinheng couldn’t hear what they were saying. She deliberately tried to see if she could enhance her five senses as usual, but after finding no effect, she gave up.

Just as she was about to see if getting closer would help, Jiang Jinheng found a familiar figure again in the dark shadow of the cliff where she was standing.

It was her again.

Thinking about it carefully, she had been present in all four scenes she had experienced.

Suddenly, a somewhat ridiculous thought popped into Jiang Jinheng’s mind. At the same time, she watched as she performed a set of hand seals similar to the ones she had just performed.

The moment the hand seals were formed, Jiang Jinheng could suddenly see their movements below clearly, and the distinct sound of their conversation reached her ears.

“I have already brought the people into the Soul-Binding Formation for you. Same as usual, I only want the divine souls of those two people. As for the rest, you can divide it among yourselves.”

The shock in the words was nothing compared to the shock of her guess being confirmed. After all, in Jiang Jinheng’s mind, Mo Tong was no longer a kind person. Even in reality, she believed that this person could collude with the Demon Race and do such things that were utterly devoid of conscience.

But Jiang Jinheng still stared blankly at the person whose figure and appearance were exactly like hers, thinking that this illusion was too unreal.

This person in front of me, is it me?

It was precisely because it was herself that she would apply medicine to Fu Yi, and that she would wake up again when Fentian’s demonic soul was hooked away. Moreover, it was precisely because it was herself that she would cry in that situation, and that after forming the seal, she would enable her to see and hear the situation from her perspective.

But why didn’t Fentian refine her divine soul after occupying this body? Why didn’t she merge the souls? Why did she leave an underlying threat like herself?

And why did she fall out with the Demon Race?

Moreover, it seemed that only the things she had witnessed would be fully revealed to her. Could it be that these events were actually experienced and not fabricated?

Jiang Jinheng quickly dismissed this idea. She confirmed that she did not have such memories. But if all of this was truly fabricated or even deduced by the Phantom Dream Pool, it was also quite bizarre.

But this illusion was called the Dream of Fear. How could she break this fear?

If 007 were here, she could tell it her doubts and analyze them with it.

Jiang Jinheng felt a slight blockage in her heart. After pondering for a while, she felt that the flaw must be with Mo Tong.

Regardless of the scene, the main purpose of this illusion was to showcase the negative impact Mo Tong had on his fellow disciples and even the Immortal Sect. If she stopped him, would that count as breaking the illusion?

But now she was a spiritual body invisible to everyone, unable to touch anything. How could she stop Mo Tong?

While Jiang Jinheng was completely stumped, something was happening below.

The so-called Soul-Binding Formation glowed with a strange red light, but everyone within the formation showed no reaction. In a trance, Jiang Jinheng heard a Demon ask Mo Tong: “Elder, how did you make them so obedient?”

Hearing this, Mo Tong gave him a meaningful glance and rotated the thumb ring on his hand: “This Venerable has his own methods. Ask less and do more, otherwise, you won’t even know how you died.”

The illusion was ultimately a falsehood. Since it existed, there must be a flaw. Thinking this, Jiang Jinheng’s attention couldn’t help but focus on the suspicious thumb ring again.

Just then, an anomaly suddenly occurred. The people who were originally quiet suddenly regained consciousness, scattering and fleeing in all directions. The Demons who were supplying demonic energy to the formation also died instantly. Some even pointed their swords at Mo Tong and angrily denounced him for betraying his kin and colluding with the Demon Race.

The sudden chaos made Mo Tong’s face turn completely dark. He didn’t know where the problem lay, but Jiang Jinheng did.

Someone had tampered with the core of the Soul-Binding Formation. The formation ran in reverse, backlashing against the people who set it up, causing them to die first. And since she could figure it out, one person could have done this—

Jiang Jinheng turned her head to look at the person she had already determined was “herself.” Sure enough, she saw a smile bloom on her face.

However, the smile didn’t last long. Mo Tong, who was at the bottom of the valley, somehow located this place. He rushed straight up with his sword. As the cold light intersected, Jiang Jinheng heard him laugh and say: “Immortal Venerable Luan Qiu truly appeared at the most opportune moment. However, this Venerable is very curious. Fentian, occupying your body all these years, actually didn’t refine your divine soul. Should I say she was careless, or that you are too capable?”

This sentence simply confirmed what Jiang Jinheng had been thinking. But she was equally curious about this question. When she strained her ears to listen, she only heard a mocking retort: “She was just too obsessed, and you are a complete scoundrel.”

This caused the smile on Mo Tong’s face to completely vanish. His voice became dark: “Don’t you know that she wanted to kill your good disciple?”

“Wasn’t that controlled by you?”

This voice was calm, yet carried an unspeakable indignation. Hearing this, Mo Tong’s expression became more serious. He gritted his teeth: “It seems I truly cannot keep you.”

Jiang Jinheng watched the fight between the two escalate. From their conversation, she analyzed some information.

It seemed that “herself” in this illusion also realized that Mo Tong’s identity was unusual. It was just unknown whether she knew about the uniqueness of the thumb ring.

This was the first time she had fallen into such a passive situation. Jiang Jinheng couldn’t help but feel somewhat powerless and angry. Just then, a sound suddenly rang out in her mind, and a white jade thumb ring suddenly appeared in her hand.

“Ding, System 007, subordinate of the Space-Time Administration Bureau’s Supervisory Department, is dedicated to serving you.”

“Little Qi?”

Jiang Jinheng’s thoughts were interrupted by this sudden voice. She asked in disbelief and heard the familiar voice again.

“Hehe, Host, I’m back. Did you miss me?”

007’s appearance was a surprise, but Jiang Jinheng suddenly thought of the matter outside the illusion that still worried her.

“Didn’t I tell you to manage that body well? Now that you’re here, then…”

“Don’t worry, Host. I have already handed over the mission there to the newly arrived assisting system 001. I’m here now to help you.”

“Assisting system?”