The Villain Fox's Sickly Beauty Master - Chapter 33
Chapter 33: Little White.
Jiang Jinheng was puzzled. She felt that some major events had occurred during her absence.
“What is the situation outside now?“
“I was just about to report to you. Ten days have passed since you entered this illusion. The Saha Secret Realm has also closed. I brought Zi Lou out under the identity of Fu Yi. Zi Lou has also followed your instructions and destroyed the physical bodies of the several Demons in the Secret Realm. The demonic souls are bound in a Pure Bottle and placed in the main hall of Profound Cloud Palace, awaiting your return to decide their fate. I instructed her to continue investigating the remaining Demons and cultivators who have been implanted with demonic seeds, hidden within the Immortal Sect. Once these people are controlled, she will then send a message back to the Demon Race, stating that all is well.“
“That’s very good. You’ve worked hard.“
As she spoke, the battle between the two people intensified. Jiang Jinheng saw that Mo Tong was not gaining the upper hand, so why did he seem so confident, as if he couldn’t possibly lose?
007 naturally noticed everything happening in the illusion and immediately thought of the most crucial reason for its arrival this time.
“Host, the reason I was able to locate you and re-bind is because the Bureau found out about a major incident.“
Hearing this, Jiang Jinheng couldn’t help but furrow her brows, and a bad premonition arose in her heart.
“Speak.“
“During the process of the review department colleagues examining the Heavenly Dao of this minor world, the Heavenly Dao revealed that the original world script it had set was not the current one. Instead, it was due to some interference from a higher plane. That interference demanded it deliberately write the script this way and submit it to the Bureau. It also revealed that the current world script is inconsistent with the actual timeline of events in the world. There were many things that could cause the world to collapse, but the higher-plane interference did not permit it to add them in.“
Saying this, 007 paused, seemingly feeling a little guilty.
“Actually, it’s not the first time it has said this, but initially, everyone didn’t believe it because many Heavenly Daos who have committed mistakes like to say things to shirk responsibility. But finally, our Director personally took over the case. She discovered a faint Divine Mark seems to exist in this world and immediately launched an investigation. Only then did she discover that after another deceased Director completed the feat of ‘Slaying God with Life’ many years ago, a fragment of that Main God’s Divine Mark fell into this world.“
“That fragment is the current Mo Tong?“
“No, it is the item he is wearing on his hand.“
If that’s the case…
Jiang Jinheng couldn’t help but open her eyes wide. 007’s affirmative voice came from her mind.
“That’s right. Everything that is happening in this illusion is what has already happened. In other words, these are scenes you have personally experienced.“
Jiang Jinheng fell silent after hearing 007’s words. She turned her head to look at the Soul-Binding Formation, and then at the two locked in a fierce battle, and for a moment, she even suspected that the suddenly appearing 007 was fabricated by the Phantom Dream Pool for her.
007 knew what Jiang Jinheng was thinking and immediately panicked.
“Host, you absolutely must not take off that thumb ring again! If you take it off again, I won’t be able to find a new excuse for the Bureau to allow me to re-bind with you!“
Such a noisy personality did indeed resemble 007.
“Then tell me, why do I have no memory of these events, yet you say I personally experienced them?“
“Listen to me slowly. Do you still remember that you were a wandering soul when I bound you?“
“Naturally. You also said my soul was incomplete and offered to repair my soul on the condition that I help you complete your missions.“
Jiang Jinheng replied calmly. 007 quickly continued:
“At the time, I couldn’t detect the reason for your incomplete soul. After your fight with Fentian, you speculated that your incomplete soul was innate and caused by her, since her words suggested she was the main soul and you were peeled off from her main soul.“
“Correct.“
When Fentian revealed her identity and origins, Jiang Jinheng almost developed an inner demon due to those words. After all, for a period of time, she cared particularly about these things. But neither her Master nor anyone else knew her parents, only saying she was picked up from the Ice Plains. Such a small child, staying on that boundless Ice Plains, surprisingly didn’t cry or fuss, which was extremely strange.
At that time, some aristocratic disciples always liked to bully her for this reason. She preferred to endure it. It was after one serious injury that she couldn’t bear it any longer and was discovered by He Yun. It was the first time Jiang Jinheng saw her Master get so angry. She immediately had those children taken to the Discipline Hall and given many plank beatings. She only stopped when they were a bloody mess, ignoring everyone’s pleas.
However, after that, no one dared to bully her again. Jiang Jinheng also realized a principle from this: constant tolerance would only make those who bully you escalate their actions, but if your own strength is not strong enough, you cannot retaliate against the bullying.
007 didn’t know that Jiang Jinheng had fallen into a memory again, so it continued with its prepared words.
“After I reported it, the supervisory department investigated and concluded that she was indeed the cause of your incomplete soul. But afterward, that incident happened. All the work records of this minor world were transferred to the Director, who used high-level authority to check everything again and found that your wandering soul bound to the Bureau was not from this time period or this world, but from the future.“
“The future?“
“Yes. Some people in minor worlds will actively awaken their self-awareness due to some stimulus. Of course, this is a very small number, and most of our Bureau employees have experienced this kind of thing.】
“In other words, the wandering soul of my future self had already lost its memory for some reason. And after you repaired my soul and inserted it into this body, the only things I could remember were the things this body had experienced?“
“Yes!“
She could hear the excitement in 007’s voice. It was always proud when its Host was so smart and could figure out many things on her own!
“Then how can I be sure you are not lying to me?“
Hearing this, 007 was petrified. Well, it was also annoyed sometimes because its Host was too cautious.
007 wracked its brains for a long time and finally found a plausible explanation when it saw the black jade thumb ring on Mo Tong’s hand.
“Host, I told you before that this thumb ring is the manifestation of the Main God’s Divine Mark fragment. Since the Bureau was originally constructed by several Main Gods, they are very familiar with the Bureau’s operating methods. I speculate that he simply copied our system binding method and bound it to Mo Tong. Unless you have seen this item, an illusion in this position plane cannot fabricate a system created by a higher plane of the Bureau.“
What 007 said made sense. No entity in this world could detect her interactions with 007. Even if the Phantom Dream Pool could invade all her memories to fabricate a jade thumb ring, it wouldn’t go to the trouble of changing the color of the thumb ring, would it?
Seeing that Jiang Jinheng was still somewhat worried, 007 flipped through the data it had previously found.
“Furthermore, the Phantom Dream Pool accompanied by the Manjusaka flower creates dreams based on real experiences. You are currently trapped in the second layer, the Dream of Fear, and this layer of dream is the closest to reality. And I suspect that you lost many memories afterward due to trauma-induced avoidance, self-sealing these things away.“
007 said so much, essentially just wanting her to believe it. Jiang Jinheng couldn’t help but sigh and asked very seriously:
“So, Little Qi, do you have a way to get me out of this illusion? I am currently like a wandering soul floating in the illusion, only able to watch the scenes unfold before me, completely helpless.“
“Of course!“
007 spoke with great certainty, but the method to break the situation still depended on Jiang Jinheng.
“The Dream of Fear is presented in repeated cycles, causing people to collapse in the illusion. Even if you hadn’t lost your memory, the first cycle wouldn’t have allowed you to watch with memory anyway. The purpose is to make you feel more remorseful in each subsequent cycle, remembering your inaction in the first.“
Hearing this, Jiang Jinheng shook her head helplessly.
“This illusion really understands the human heart.“
“That’s right. Therefore, the point to break the Dream of Fear is not on others, but on yourself. So, you don’t need a physical body. You only need your will to be firm enough, and the illusion will break itself.“
“Do you mean that as long as I don’t feel fear towards the events happening in front of me, the illusion will naturally break?”
“Yes. However, I’m not sure if you will recover your memory during the second cycle. Do you need the system to forcibly intervene and seal your memory?”
007’s voice held some concern. Jiang Jinheng thought for a moment and finally rejected its suggestion.
“I really want to see what there is to be afraid of.”
After talking with 007 for quite a while, the battle between the two in front of her also reached a climax. Just then, Mo Tong suddenly took out an ink-colored wooden box from his bosom, blocked the other person’s attack, set up a barrier for himself, and then opened the wooden box, intentionally displaying it in front of her.
“Do you know what this is?” Looking at the pair of eyes that were slowly becoming vigilant, Mo Tong suddenly laughed: “This is the Demonic Core of your good disciple.”
Hearing this, a sword strike infused with extremely cold spiritual energy came down. Staring at the pair of gradually reddening eyes, Mo Tong’s smile became even more unusual. He swallowed the Demonic Core right in front of her.
“I truly didn’t expect that Fentian would change her nature and want to forge another immortal body for you. I also didn’t expect that stinky spiritual fox, which followed Fu Yi around every day, was actually carrying your divine soul.”
Looking at the face filled with shock, Mo Tong smirked triumphantly: “There’s no need to be curious. There is nothing in this world that I, Mo Tong, do not know. As long as you dare to do it, I can investigate everything clearly, no matter where you are.”
Jiang Jinheng, who was standing with her arms crossed, was somewhat confused by their conversation, only feeling a burst of inexplicable anger in her heart when the Demonic Core was revealed.
It seemed she would have to wait until the second cycle to see if she would recover her memory before she could clearly understand everything that had happened.
After swallowing the Demonic Core, Mo Tong’s power seemed to greatly increase, and his cultivation realm was also raised by several stages. When the two fought again, the person opposite was clearly at a great disadvantage, and her movements were much more strenuous.
As expected, Mo Tong won. He tightly bound the person opposite with a Soul-Binding Rope and then inexplicably made those guys who had run off somewhere return.
Although the Demons were gone, these guys had to die. Mo Tong waved his hand and restarted the formation, forcing her to watch firsthand how these fellow disciples and friends became nourishment for his formation.
Jiang Jinheng also watched this unfold along with them, listening to the incessant wailing and groaning below, her fists clenched tightly.
Soon, the light of the formation below extinguished. Those people vanished without a trace, leaving only pools of black bl00d lingering there.
Mo Tong glanced at the person next to him, whose eyes were red with anger and chest was heaving. He couldn’t help but feel pleased: “How is it, Master? Is the gift your disciple presented satisfactory?”
The only response he received was a hoarse, exhausted shout.
“Mo Tong, you’d better kill me. Otherwise, as long as I live for one day, I will be thinking of how to drag you to hell.”
Hearing this, Mo Tong laughed loudly: “Good. Then I will wait for that day.”
This scene seemed to be ending. Jiang Jinheng watched the surroundings begin to rapidly turn white from the edges toward the center. Soon, she was transported back to the familiar Discipline Prison.
Only this time, she didn’t see Fu Yi. Instead, she saw herself hanging in the same position.
Fu Yi… is probably already dead.
The Demonic Core was the most important item for a demon after forming the core. Losing it would accelerate aging. If one also lost internal organs and was severely injured, the best outcome would be to survive for a few more years.
Ignoring the discomfort in her heart, Jiang Jinheng raised her head and looked around.
The person locked in this Discipline Prison was not just her. There were also Meng Xian, Yuan Yi, and other fellow disciples, as well as Dao Qing, Dao Yu, and other seniors from Thousand Blades Sword Sect, and some old seniors whose names she couldn’t recall, who appeared to be from other sects based on their attire.
Jiang Jinheng looked to the end and suddenly caught sight of someone unexpected.
It was her Master, He Yun, who claimed to be traveling the world…
Seeing this, Jiang Jinheng’s heart suddenly clenched. Her Master was even half a step into the Tribulation Transcendence stage, but she was unwilling to advance further,执念于 (obsessed with) traveling the world, which was why she handed over the Sect Master’s heavy responsibility to her Senior Brother Xuan Mingzi. But with her Master’s high cultivation, why would she also be captured and brought here by Mo Tong?
At this moment, a wave of fear did indeed rise in Jiang Jinheng’s heart. 007 also noticed her abnormal emotion. Just as it was about to speak to comfort her, she saw her calm down again.
Upon closer inspection, this matter was not surprising. After all, after the previous scene, Jiang Jinheng didn’t know how many years had passed in this illusion. Moreover, with the assistance of the Divine Mark fragment, it was possible for Mo Tong to defy the laws of the world.
Not long after, someone seemed to visit. Jiang Jinheng turned her head and, sure enough, it was that fellow Mo Tong.
He counted all the people present, and then, using some unknown method, hooked out all of their divine souls, leaving only one person. Afterward, he refined all of their divine souls in a cauldron right in front of her.
“Master, after today, my Great Dao will be complete. I must also thank these colleagues for willingly sacrificing their lives to pave the way for this Venerable, helping this Venerable step into Tribulation Transcendence and instantly become a God.”
The one left behind to witness this cruel and twisted scene was herself.
However, at that time, she no longer had the strength to keep her hateful eyes open or utter those harsh words through gritted teeth.
Jiang Jinheng finally understood why this series of scenes, after being found by the Phantom Dream Pool, could exist as her greatest fear.
She speculated that after she was captured, she made many attempts to escape, but all were in vain. Perhaps her then-self had already sensed his abnormality, that he was aided by some irresistible external force, but she couldn’t think of any way to stop him. She could only watch as her dearest family and friends died one by one in front of her.
First was Fu Yi, then her fellow disciples, and then the seniors, and her Master whom she had respected and loved for so many years.
Any one of these scenes, placed in front of anyone, would likely cause them to collapse, let alone if they were happening almost simultaneously.
It was the powerlessness after trying her best and the despair after hope that led to such fear.
In the eyes of her then-self, no one in this world could stop him anymore.
“Host, you won’t sink into it, will you?”
Sensing that emotion spreading, 007 timely spoke out to remind her, but saw Jiang Jinheng shake her head.
“No. Thank you, Little Qi.”
“Thank you for becoming our hope.”
Being thanked so seriously made 007 feel a little embarrassed. It stretched out its claws and scratched its head.
“It’s also great that you can maintain your firm will. But do you really not need me to intervene and seal your memory later?”
“No need.”
If Jiang Jinheng guessed correctly, those memories would at most be deeper recollections of the people who had been involved in the scenes. The purpose was what 007 had said before: to make her feel more remorseful and more despairing.
However, she now had hope, so how could she be afraid of these things? On the contrary, these memories were quite valuable.
As Jiang Jinheng thought this, the scene in front of her came to an end.
The scene shifted again. Jiang Jinheng saw Fu Yi chained up again, thinking that the scene just now was indeed the final one.
She was regretting that she hadn’t recovered her memory due to the Phantom Dream Pool when she felt a sensation of dizziness like bl00d loss. Afterward, many large and small memories flooded her mind.
007 was afraid that she would experience some abnormal situation and kept calling her name without interruption, only stopping after receiving a response.
Jiang Jinheng originally thought that these sealed memories would concern many people, but she didn’t expect that the person who appeared most often in these memories was Fu Yi.
One thing she guessed correctly: Fentian did indeed take over her body in this life, and it was indeed Mo Tong who led her to that place. However, she guessed the consequence incorrectly.
Jiang Jinheng always thought it was normal for Fentian, as the Demon Venerable, to be inclined towards the Demon Race, but she hadn’t considered that she was also born in the Immortal Sect, the biological sister of the Venerable Daoming Sword. Although she stood against the Immortal Sect in the great war between Immortals and Demons many years ago and injured many people, it was all for one person.
It could be said that this person was neither Immortal nor Demon. She was just a lunatic who only cared about one person and didn’t care about anyone else.
Jiang Jinheng didn’t know why Fentian hesitated when refining her divine soul after taking over her body. She eventually stopped and instead sought out a spiritual fox, allowing her soul to coexist with the spiritual fox. After that, she never looked for her again.
Everyone knew that the spiritual fox’s greatest ability was to replenish spiritual energy. She stayed in the spiritual fox’s body for nearly a hundred years, and her soul was almost completely nourished. And during that time, she spent most of her time by Fu Yi’s side.
Due to Fu Yanqing, Jiang Jinheng was already paying extra attention to her. Later, she also unintentionally discovered her origins and her maternal clan.
If she were to consider where was the safest place for her in the sect at that time, it was naturally with Fu Yi, because she knew the child’s nature and origins, and that she would likely not harm her.
Fu Yi did indeed keep the spiritual fox as a spiritual pet. She only thought it was a little fox that had sneaked down from the back mountain. It was in its juvenile beast form and couldn’t transform. She only dared to keep it in her palace, not letting it out of the door, afraid it would be caught.
Fu Yi even gave the fox a name. It was probably because of the fox’s snow-white fur that she called it “Little White” (小白, Xiǎo Bái), simple and easy to understand. Jiang Jinheng was very resistant to this name at first. But seeing her persistently call it later, and the look of disappointment when it didn’t respond, she finally gave in.
Fortunately, the little fox was very well-behaved, seemingly understanding her words. Over time, Fu Yi began to openly tell it her worries and secrets.
Initially, she would only talk about things that happened during the day, such as which Senior Sister was very skilled, completing a high-grade sect mission in just a few days, and exchanging the points for how many natural treasures, feeling very envious, and so on.
Later, Fu Yi discovered that the little fox seemed to respond to her. When she spoke some words, it would make “Awoo, Awoo” sounds, so she opened her heart and told it many things.
It was at this time that Jiang Jinheng learned that the incident a few years ago when she unintentionally saved Fu Yi had been remembered by her for so long.
She also heard her say that she felt the current Master was different from the one back then.
With a completely different core inside, it naturally was different.
However, Jiang Jinheng couldn’t tell her these things. She could only listen quietly, occasionally giving some responses. After all, she needed this little guy to help her gather information about the events happening within the sect.
As time went by, besides herself, the person Jiang Jinheng heard most often from Fu Yi’s lips was Mo Tong.
She could tell that Fu Yi didn’t like this person, but the “Master” she spoke of seemed to be very fond of him, entrusting him with many things and teaching him. Jiang Jinheng felt another sense of strangeness.
Regarding Mo Tong, Jiang Jinheng’s impression was still stuck on the incident of the annihilation of the Mo family. The person the Immortal Sect dispatched to investigate the origin of that matter was her. From that time on, she had been suspicious of Mo Tong.
It was already unlikely that an ordinary person who knew nothing would survive the rampant slaughter of Demons. Moreover, when the Immortal Sect found him afterward, he was so close to the epicenter of the outbreak.
She didn’t know if anyone else noticed such a questionable point, but Jiang Jinheng did.
It was precisely because of this that when the Immortal Gate proposed accepting this disciple into the Immortal Sect, Jiang Jinheng suggested to the Sect Master to take him as a disciple under her, keeping him close for better observation. Who would have thought that incident would happen afterward?
Now, listening to Fu Yi’s complaints, Jiang Jinheng felt as though she had nurtured a tiger that would cause trouble.
The feeling of dissatisfaction reached its peak one time after Fu Yi returned with red eyes. She didn’t say anything that day. It was only later, when she overheard the young attendants sweeping the courtyard talking, that she learned what had happened that day.
How could such a vile person be allowed to stay in the Immortal Sect? Jiang Jinheng felt a fire burning in her heart. She was even more unclear about what Fentian was thinking. She even forgot that she was currently just a little fox who couldn’t fully take care of herself and couldn’t speak, but in a fit of anger, she disregarded everything and went to demand an explanation from her.
Jiang Jinheng’s visit was unexpected by Fentian. She knew what the person wanted to ask. Their souls were one, and she was the main soul, so she could easily perceive the emotions of the subordinate soul. She opened her mouth and immediately said: “That kid is suspicious.”
Afterward, Fentian seemed to scan the surroundings. Only after confirming there was no anomaly did she continue speaking to Jiang Jinheng: “Although being reborn through your identity was my original wish, which is why I gladly informed the Great Elder of these proposals when he approached me, it does not mean that this Venerable is willing to be commanded by others.”
For a moment, Jiang Jinheng didn’t quite understand what she was saying. Fortunately, she didn’t keep her guessing for long.
“So at the time, I only wanted to use them to revive Yin Yin and bring you to my side incidentally. But later, this Venerable found something was wrong. I suspected that kid Mo Tong was colluding with those people from the Demon Race early on. He seemed to possess an unusual ability to control others and attempted to control this Venerable, so I spared your life.”
“Sure enough, three days ago, this Venerable personally saw him refining Zhu Qing’s demonic soul, using a secret cultivation technique I had never seen before. His cultivation was not equal to Zhu Qing’s during the refining process, but for some reason, this Venerable did not perceive any resistance. From that moment, I was certain of my guess.”
“So, Luan Qiu, I spared your life only because I didn’t want to be controlled by him. If it’s not absolutely necessary, you should not appear before me. Otherwise, it’s possible for either him to discover you and eliminate you completely, or for this Venerable to take my bad mood out on you.”
As soon as her words fell, a doubt arose in Jiang Jinheng’s heart. Following Fentian’s words, she prepared to leave the palace, but as soon as she stepped out, she was captured.
There were only a few people who could wander around Profound Cloud Palace: Fentian, Xi Yin, Fu Yi, Mo Tong, and his various female confidantes, and the many attendants added to serve them.
And those who could recognize the unique abilities of the spiritual fox were even fewer.
Jiang Jinheng was captured by Dan Ru, the Junior Sister from Pill Peak who was betrothed to Mo Tong. She was Dan Yi’s granddaughter. She recognized it as a spiritual fox at a glance. Its entire body was a treasure. She planned to skin the fox to make a fur coat, crafting it into a defensive magic tool. As for the rest of the flesh and bl00d, she would use them to make some calming pills to enhance the effect of secluded cultivation.
Jiang Jinheng still tried to escape when she was captured, but this body of hers was only a juvenile-form demon, with sparse spiritual energy. She basically had no way to resist.
Watching the sharp short knife approaching, Jiang Jinheng suddenly remembered the spiritual fox she raised in her childhood. She wondered if it was also suddenly captured, forced to face the cruelty and wait for death.
Bl00d taken from a living body had the best medicinal effect, so when rare spiritual creatures were captured, many people would raise them for a while and regularly draw bl00d.
But perhaps because the girl was eager to get other things, as soon as Jiang Jinheng was caught, her leg was cut open and she was hung up. She seemed intent on not stopping until all the bl00d was drained.
Just before death, the thought that came to Jiang Jinheng’s mind was surprisingly whether that little girl would be sad.