The Villain Fox's Sickly Beauty Master - Chapter 37

Chapter 37: What is Your Relationship with Luoyu?

Yin Qiong?

Jiang Jinheng was puzzled, but her body instinctively moved closer to the side, shielding Fu Yi behind her. Naturally, she didn’t notice the flash of panic in Fu Yi’s eyes when she heard that name. At this moment, 007 also explained to her.

“Yin Qiong is the fallen Main God who dropped his divine mark fragment onto this world, the mysterious power behind Mo Tong. Director-sama also came to this world because of him.”

Hearing this, Jiang Jinheng understood, yet she wondered why this so-called “Director-sama” would say such a thing.

Seeing the slight frown on the person in front of her, Lu Zhi’s gaze darted between the two of them, and she quickly smiled nonchalantly: “Maybe I sensed wrongly. Do you have time later? There’s something I need to ask your opinion about.”

Before Jiang Jinheng could answer, the warmth in her palm disappeared, and she looked to the side to see that Fu Yi had suddenly pulled her hand away.

“Since Master (Shizun) has important matters to discuss, this disciple will take her leave first.”

Jiang Jinheng knew Fu Yi had a sensitive nature, and leaving now would surely lead to overthinking. Their relationship had just begun to thaw, and she didn’t want any more distance to grow between them.

However, the Time-Space Administration’s matters were not ordinary. Although Fu Yi seemed to have sensed something herself, Jiang Jinheng still remembered 007 saying that she couldn’t mention anything about the Time-Space Administration to anyone else in the small world.

While she hesitated, Lu Zhi spoke for her.

“You haven’t returned to the sect for a long time, so your previous residence is definitely uninhabitable. I have instructed someone to clean up the side hall in the southeast corner. Go to the Miscellany Hall first to pick up some daily necessities, and then go check out your new residence. If you’re missing anything, let your Master (Shizun) know.”

Although the woman in front of her wore Jiang Jinheng’s face, after the first glance, Fu Yi no longer felt she would mistake the two. She didn’t want to make her Master (Shizun) difficult, so she nodded in assent, gave a slight bow, and left the main hall.

The Xuanyun Palace was still the same. Looking up, one could see the clouds that should have been high above. Fu Yi gazed for a moment, suddenly remembered something, and headed towards the back mountain, easily finding a spring.

Many events seemed like they happened just yesterday. Fu Yi sat quietly by the small spring, looking at her reflection in the water. She realized she couldn’t quite remember what happened in the illusion, but the memories before entering the illusion were becoming increasingly clear. Because of this, Fu Yi was slightly unaccustomed to the appearance she brought out of the illusion.

Fu Yi stared at her reflection in the pool for a long time before taking off her clothes and soaking her body in the water. For some unknown reason, she actually fell asleep in the pool.

Jiang Jinheng was uncharacteristically in a bad mood regarding Lu Zhi’s self-serving actions. She walked towards the main seat, asking as she went, “What is it?”

Seeing this, 007 was terrified and was already preparing the apology report to send to System 001 in the system space, but Lu Zhi’s smile deepened.

“I just wanted to ask you how you intend to deal with them?”

With that, a blue-glowing soul bottle appeared in Lu Zhi’s hand, and a coiled small snake was wrapped around her wrist.

Jiang Jinheng naturally recognized it. After all, the soul in the bottle was sealed by her own hand, and the small snake had also wrapped itself around her willingly. Before entering the illusion, Jiang Jinheng only thought she and Fen Tian shared an irreconcilable enmity. But now that she was out and knew the details of the past life, she suddenly felt that they were actually more like a pair of twin flowers—each coveting the other’s nourishment, but neither intending to completely uproot the other that grew on the same stalk. They were diametrically opposed, yet they also peacefully coexisted.

Since Fen Tian of the previous life still left her a sliver of hope, and it was precisely because of this sliver of hope that the ghost-like her encountered 007 and got a chance to start over. Then now, she would not completely wipe her out. She was willing to do for Fen Tian what Fen Tian had done for her.

“I will reshape an immortal body for her. Before that, I will use the secret technique of the Spirit Fox clan to nourish her soul. But Xi Yin…”

“What about her?”

“Has she been in this state all these years?” Jiang Jinheng pointed to the small snake wrapped around Lu Zhi’s wrist, frowning slightly.

Lu Zhi turned her wrist. “She’s been like this most of the time. As you know, the Demon race used a secret method to resurrect her, but there was a price to pay. She doesn’t wake up often, and every time she wakes up, her intelligence seems to regress for a while. The last time she woke up, she clung to my sleeve asking for candy for several days.”

Although Lu Zhi was smiling as she spoke, Jiang Jinheng could sense the helplessness in her words. After hesitating for a moment, she still asked, “Does she know that Fen Tian failed to seize the body?”

“What do you think?”

It seems she doesn’t know.

Hearing this, Jiang Jinheng was silent for a while, and then heard Lu Zhi mention: “Counting the days, she should wake up in another three months. At that time, if you want to tell her the truth…”

“No.”

Before Lu Zhi could finish her sentence, Jiang Jinheng interrupted: “Even if she knows, it won’t help anything, and she might even see me as an enemy. It’s better to keep it a secret for now.”

“True.”

Saying this, Lu Zhi nodded thoughtfully, rubbing her chin with two fingers, and asked with a slight smile: “Then, do you intend to inform your little disciple about this matter?”

Suddenly asked about Fu Yi, Jiang Jinheng’s expression froze. After thinking about it, she replied, “It’s better if she doesn’t know about this.”

Although Fu Yi had come to terms with the events of the previous life, even guessing the best scenario, she still held resentment towards Fen Tian, which was the memory of her past self. Even if all was explained, it would be useless, only needlessly adding to the discord.

Lu Zhi understood her intention and curved her lips: “Soon, once I find Yin Qiong’s source of divine power, the remaining tasks will be completely handed over to you.”

“Do I still need to continue with tasks after removing that menace?”

Jiang Jinheng had thought that Lu Zhi’s arrival had completely freed her, but she didn’t expect to still have work to do after she left.

“Naturally. The core of your mission is still to maintain the stable and normal development of the small world, but the focus shifts from seizing providence value to cultivating new destiny holders.”

“Simply put, the providence of this small world is conserved, and you need to control its flow to where it should go.”

Jiang Jinheng had already planned for this aspect. She nodded slightly, indicating that she understood, but didn’t forget to ask: “What do you think of my disciple?”

Jiang Jinheng herself didn’t notice that when she mentioned Fu Yi, her eyes were filled with a smile of satisfaction and admiration.

Lu Zhi, being the clear-headed one, saw her speak like this. She simply placed the soul bottle and the small snake on the table, and chuckled: “As long as you have a plan in mind, that’s fine. But let me remind you, my words just now were not baseless.”

She had truly seen traces of Yin Qiong’s divine power on Fu Yi. The trace wasn’t faint, suggesting that the entity had drilled into the Illusion Dream Pool, which was detached from the Three Realms, during this time.

However, the divine power trace was too obvious, so strong that it could be seen without even probing. It seemed that Yin Qiong had done it intentionally, suggesting that he was not currently attached to Fu Yi.

However, not being attached now didn’t mean his connection with Fu Yi was severed. Lu Zhi didn’t share these thoughts with Jiang Jinheng, only asking with slight curiosity: “After experiencing an illusion, she doesn’t hate you anymore?”

Lu Zhi had been in this small world for a considerable amount of time, so she naturally understood many past and forthcoming events, and the entanglements between these people. Having read many stories, she wasn’t surprised by the bizarre plot developments, but she was still astonished that the two of them could reconcile.

It seemed that many unexpected things indeed happened in that Illusion Dream Pool.

“Perhaps, it’s all thanks to the Yin Qiong you mentioned.”

Jiang Jinheng thought for a long time, and after 007 introduced her to the so-called Main God who had been executed once, she ultimately attributed Fu Yi’s sudden change in attitude to the person Lu Zhi repeatedly mentioned. That fellow must have said something to Fu Yi, and the content was probably similar to what he said when he first contacted Mo Tong: offering benefits, enticing, and waiting for someone to take the bait. It was likely that Lu Zhi had been chasing the mission too closely during this time, and the providence value on Mo Tong had been repeatedly decreasing, preventing Yin Qiong from drawing power from him to nourish his divine power, so he had been abandoned as a pawn.

But honestly, Jiang Jinheng trusted Fu Yi, believing that even if the conditions Yin Qiong offered were favorable enough, she wouldn’t side with him. This wasn’t blind confidence, but something Jiang Jinheng could genuinely feel. Before entering the illusion, she had more than once noticed a faint hostility towards herself from Fu Yi. When they first met in the illusion, that indescribable hostility seemed to have significantly faded, and just now, she couldn’t feel that emotion at all.

Fu Yi was special. Jiang Jinheng had realized this from the very first day she accepted and began executing the mission in this world from 007.

Lu Zhi hadn’t expected Jiang Jinheng to answer like this, but she only nodded thoughtfully: “Since you trust her, I have nothing more to say.”

Saying this, Lu Zhi suddenly frowned, made a halting gesture, and after a few breaths, she relaxed her brow, pointed to the small bottle and Xi Yin on the table: “I leave these two to you. I’ve detected Yin Qiong’s movement again, so I’ll be taking my leave first.”

With that, Jiang Jinheng saw her figure vanish before her eyes, not even giving her time to react. She smiled helplessly.

Her gaze shifted to the table. After thinking for a moment, Jiang Jinheng waved her sleeve and put the small bottle into her storage ring. She picked up the coiled small snake, intending to find a place in the house to settle it, but to her surprise, the small snake wrapped itself around her wrist in the next moment. Once coiled, the snake’s head gently nudged the space between her thumb and forefinger and then retracted, remaining completely still afterward.

“…”

She really didn’t know how Lu Zhi managed to take it off.

Forget it, just take things as they come. It didn’t move much and wasn’t heavy. Other than being slightly cool, it had no presence at all.

Jiang Jinheng was still thinking about Fu Yi who had been sent away. She slightly tidied her wide sleeve and left the hall. The first place Jiang Jinheng thought of was the side hall located in the southeast corner, but after gently pushing the door open, she only saw the empty room after the dust had been cleaned, and no one was there.

Noticing Jiang Jinheng wandering around aimlessly for a while, 007 finally understood what she was looking for and immediately revealed Fu Yi’s location. Jiang Jinheng then smiled in surprise, calling herself truly silly.

She immediately headed towards the location 007 provided, moving from the hall to the scattered forest, and finally stopped by a spiritual spring. Jiang Jinheng was very familiar with the entire back mountain, but she hadn’t expected Fu Yi to find this place.

A pile of clothes was scattered by the spiritual spring, but no one was visible in the spring. Just as Jiang Jinheng was wondering, a few bubbles gurgled up from the spring. Seeing this, she suddenly realized something, stretched out her arm and scooped, and sure enough, pulled something out of the spring—a little fox, completely soaked.

Seeing this scene, Jiang Jinheng was both amused and exasperated. If she hadn’t discovered her in time, her silly disciple might have drowned in this spring.

Amidst her thoughts, she used spiritual power to expel the water that had entered Fu Yi’s lungs, and then dried her soaked fur. Still a little worried, she checked Fu Yi up and down before finally letting out a sigh of relief.

Relaxing, Jiang Jinheng noticed the soft, comfortable feeling in her arms and the rising and falling of Fu Yi’s breathing. She felt as though the world had suddenly quieted down, and her heart softened a little. The fox form of Fu Yi wasn’t particularly large and wasn’t heavy to hold, but the tail was a bit too much. It couldn’t be completely embraced and always dragged on the ground.

Jiang Jinheng counted carefully. Fu Yi had grown five tails now. The number of tails in the Nine-Tailed Fox clan was related to their cultivation. It seemed she had already stabilized her demon core, which was equivalent to a human cultivator’s Void Refinement stage. It seemed that the illusion was a kind of fortuitous encounter, and some of the things that happened in the illusion would manifest in reality.

She just didn’t know why Fu Yi had fallen into such a deep sleep here, almost drowning. Thinking of this, Jiang Jinheng frowned again, covering her eyes with spiritual power to scan the calm water surface, but detected nothing unusual.

It was merely a simple marrow-cleansing spring. If someone who had just reached the Qi Refinement stage stayed in it, they might feel a little uncomfortable, but someone of Fu Yi’s cultivation would only feel their meridians unblocked while soaking in it. Could it be that she transformed into a fox form because she was too comfortable?

For a moment, Jiang Jinheng truly felt lucky. Thankfully, this was her Xuanyun Palace, where few people usually came and went. If anyone else had discovered such an defenseless five-tailed red fox, it might have truly resulted in her demon core being dug out and her skin being peeled for talismans.

“Host, I checked. A period of deep sleep seems to be a side effect of having experienced the Illusion Dream Pool. The more time spent in the Illusion Dream Pool, the heavier the burden on the body. It is equivalent to being in a continuous state of tension, and once relaxed, it is easy to enter an unconscious sleep.”

“Then wouldn’t I be?”

007’s words made Jiang Jinheng realize that Fu Yi was not the only one who had experienced the Illusion Dream Pool. If Fu Yi could fall into such a deep sleep, wouldn’t she…

“Host, don’t worry. The state of deep sleep only occurs after the body and mind are completely relaxed. You won’t fall asleep anywhere! And this state won’t last too long, as short as three to five days, and at most a month or so. Since the Host is aware now, you can prepare yourself and rest for a while.”

It had to be said that 007 was becoming more and more interesting to talk to. This amount of time was indeed not long for cultivators like them, but Jiang Jinheng selfishly felt that Fu Yi in this state was not safe anywhere. Her heart was conflicted.

Thinking this, Jiang Jinheng still carried the little fox back to her own sleeping quarters. She didn’t know how the state of complete relaxation mentioned by 007 was determined, so she simply set up defensive barriers both inside and outside the sleeping quarters, in three layers, and sat down in meditation, holding the fox.

Initially, Jiang Jinheng planned to place Fu Yi on the couch, but at the very end, she couldn’t bear to let go of the smooth and soft feel of the fox’s fur, so she simply held her as she meditated. Due to her inherent nature, Jiang Jinheng always carried a bit of coldness. Although most of the Nine-Tailed Fox lineage were white foxes, Fu Yi was a crimson-furred one, and because of her spiritual root, she was like a small furnace, making her truly hard to let go of when hugged.

She didn’t know how much time had passed, until Jiang Jinheng realized that her spiritual residence was already brimming with spiritual power, and her whole body’s meridians were filled with ice-attribute spiritual energy. The small figure in her Sea of Consciousness sat in meditation just like her, and she felt that in a little more time, she would reach a different realm.

That’s right, she was about to break through to a new cultivation level.

Thinking this, the person who was in meditation a moment ago suddenly opened her eyes. The major cultivation level that hadn’t moved for a hundred years made Jiang Jinheng never consider this possibility, but the surging spiritual energy and the full spiritual residence told her that the facts were as she suspected. If so, she couldn’t stay here any longer. If the Heavenly Thunder Tribulation for breaking through to the Mahayana stage was really drawn here, the entire Xuanyun Palace, or even Shuiyun Peak, could be split in half.

However, just as Jiang Jinheng opened her eyes, she found that the little fox she was holding before meditating was gone.

“007, where is Fu Yi?”

“Ah, Host, you finally woke up.”

007 did not answer Jiang Jinheng’s question immediately. It wasn’t that it didn’t want to answer, but that it didn’t know how to reply, so it had to think carefully before speaking.

“Fu Yi woke up a few days ago. I saw her go to the Enforcement Hall to accept a mission, and she should be out performing the mission now.”

Hearing this, Jiang Jinheng softly “Mhm’d,” and didn’t ask any further. She couldn’t explain the faint sense of loss that surfaced in her heart when she didn’t see that crimson color upon opening her eyes. In an instant, she focused her thoughts on finding a good place to await the breakthrough.

Seeing that Jiang Jinheng didn’t ask any more questions, 007 breathed a sigh of relief. After all, it hadn’t figured out how to explain that Fu Yi and Xi Yin seemed to have had an argument.

Unlike 007’s cautious thoughts, Jiang Jinheng considered it back and forth and decided that the Yulian Mountain Range was the most suitable place. That area was the boundary between the human and demon realms. Unlike the boundary with the Demon race, one rarely saw any humans or demons in the Yulian Mountain Range on a normal day.

This might be due to the covenant signed after the great war a thousand years ago. After the covenant took effect, few cultivators openly hunted demons at the border, and the demon race, having suffered heavy casualties in the war, had little say and generally moved their residences further away from the border, fearing that human cultivators would find another excuse to invade.

Therefore, Jiang Jinheng’s previous few thunder tribulations were all passed there. She had never witnessed the thunder tribulation of a Mahayana cultivator and didn’t know its power. It was just a pity that she didn’t seem to have much time left now, otherwise, she would have consulted her Senior Brother.

After collecting a few defensive magical artifacts and forcibly leaving the small green snake in the hall, Jiang Jinheng left the hall alone and headed towards the Yulian Mountain Range.

In no time, Jiang Jinheng had arrived at a valley near the Yulian Mountain Range. The surroundings were very open. In the sky, dark clouds quickly appeared as if chasing her footsteps. Jiang Jinheng looked up and stared at the clouds that gradually turned from chaotic to dark purple, knowing that her prediction was correct. However, she hadn’t anticipated that the thunder tribulation would arrive with such ferocity.

Thinking of this, Jiang Jinheng quickly took out the magical artifacts in her storage ring one by one, using bl00d as ink to deploy an array. Her preparation was rushed, and she didn’t have full confidence in confronting this thunder tribulation, but she had to do her best.

“Host, you could actually buy a Lightning Transformation Pill in the system mall. It can guarantee a safe passage through this thunder tribulation. Although the Lightning Transformation Pill requires five thousand providence points, Director-sama has earned you quite a few providence points during the years he used your clone. I just checked and you currently have ten thousand providence points in your account.”

Hearing this, Jiang Jinheng’s hand, which was casting the spell, paused. The formation that was close to completion was ruined because of this, but she did not immediately agree to 007’s words. Instead, she bit her fingertip open again, recast the formation, and after quickly completing it, she smiled helplessly.

“I know you mean well, but on matters like this, I must decline your kind offer.”

Being free from the thunder tribulation was extremely tempting for all cultivators, which was why Jiang Jinheng had momentarily lost her focus. But tempering and growth go hand in hand. If she were to accept 007’s help, she might not make any further progress in cultivation and might even develop an inner demon as a result.

After another period of time, the preparations were complete. Jiang Jinheng looked up at the sky again. The sky had completely changed color. Purple-black layers of clouds rolled with crackling violet lightning, a terrifying sight. Even Jiang Jinheng couldn’t help but swallow when she saw this.

It was about to begin.

The sound of the falling lightning, “Boom,” made Fu Yi feel as though the ground beneath her feet was shaking.

Fu Yi’s purpose for this trip was twofold: first, to fulfill Feng Qi’s request, and second, to specifically choose a mission to collect spiritual fruits in the Yulian Mountain Range, in order to escape Jiang Jinheng’s sight.

The moment she woke up in her Master (Shizun)’s arms, Fu Yi was delighted. She even maintained her fox form and rubbed her nose against her Master (Shizun)’s cheek. However, before Fu Yi could enjoy the moment for long, she smelled a scent on her Master (Shizun) that she found repulsive again. A fox’s sense of smell was naturally excellent, and being from the demon race, it was easier for her to detect the outward leakage of demon aura on others.

When Fu Yi reacted, she found a cold, sinister gaze fixed on her, like one dipped in poison. Fu Yi didn’t recognize the owner of that gaze, but she quickly slipped out of her Master (Shizun)’s arms, her entire body’s fur standing on end, adopting a defensive posture. Unexpectedly, Xi Yin also slid off the wrist, transformed into a human form, and was the first to ask her.

“What is your relationship with Luoyu?”

Xi Yin had forcibly woken herself up this time and would likely revert to her original form soon. Her expression when she asked this question was one of hostility, and she did her best to block Fu Yi’s gaze from looking behind her.

Even a fool like Fu Yi knew who she meant by “Luoyu.” Xi Yin, whose appearance was suddenly revealed to her, also reminded her of her experiences in the previous life, making it easy to guess that this person was in league with the entity that tried to seize her Master (Shizun)’s body.

But since she could guess it, her Master (Shizun) couldn’t possibly be unaware, so why did she keep this person by her side? Fu Yi couldn’t discern Xi Yin’s cultivation. Either it was too low, or it was above hers. Thinking that the Demon Realm Saintess wouldn’t be too poor in cultivation, Fu Yi didn’t dare to act rashly for a while.

“She is my Master (Shizun). Who are you?”

The simple reply threw the question back, but Fu Yi saw Xi Yin merely scrutinize her again from head to toe, not answering her question, but instead sneering.

“After a thousand years, I didn’t know that the so-called righteous sects had started accepting demon race disciples.”

As soon as Xi Yin’s words left her mouth, Fu Yi felt a strong pressure, so intense that she could barely breathe. The person who released this pressure had a cultivation at least at the Soul Transformation stage, a whole major cultivation level higher than hers. And in this hall, the only person who could exert such pressure was Xi Yin, and the only one affected by this pressure was herself.

But the woman didn’t stop at just releasing the pressure. It continued until Fu Yi’s ears rang and her heart pounded in fear, feeling as if bl00d was oozing from her ears, before she heard Xi Yin speak again.

“I know your Nine-Tailed Fox clan is most skilled in the art of enchantment, but she is not someone you can fantasize about. I can pretend not to have seen what happened today, but I must warn you: stay away from her, or I will not consider the sentiment of your mother’s clan again.”

To this day, Fu Yi couldn’t clearly recall how she walked out of the hall, only remembering that after meeting those cold, poisonous eyes, her mind became foggy. It was only after she had walked a considerable distance that she realized she had been subjected to an illusion spell. Recovering her consciousness, she immediately rushed back, worried that her Master (Shizun)’s identity had been exposed, but found that the entire great hall had been sealed with a barrier, only allowing people out, not in.