The Villainess Always Tries to Seduce Me - Chapter 22

“What?” Ling Shui shot to her feet. “Just the Sect Leader alone?”

“Who else would it be?” Cheng Jinshu walked around Yun Chuanzhi to sit on the other side. “Aunt never took any disciples. Of course, she’d go by herself.”

Ling Shui fell silent, her clear lake-like eyes deepening with worry. She strode to the window, her gaze fixed on the distant, mist-shrouded peak of Bright Existence Hall.

“What’s this? You’re worried about her?” Yun Chuanzhi teased with a smile.

Her intention was playful, but Ling Shui’s prolonged silence made her smile fade.

Yun Chuanzhi had assumed Ling Shui was merely drifting through life by Bai Fenghuo’s side, just like herself. She never imagined Ling Shui would actually care about Bai Fenghuo.

“You two stay here,” Ling Shui said abruptly, turning to stride past Yun Chuanzhi. The white hem of her robe billowed like a surging wave. “I’m going to check on the Main Peak of Mount Everlasting.”

By the time Yun Chuanzhi spoke again, the woman had vanished. Yun Chuanzhi exchanged a glance with Cheng Jinshu, then scooped a spoonful of Ice Brand from her bowl and offered it to her.

Cheng Jinshu didn’t take it. She pushed Yun Chuanzhi’s hand away and leaned closer. “Aren’t you curious about how the battle’s going?”

“Not really,” Yun Chuanzhi replied, shaking her head. “The Sect Leaders’ Immortal Arts are beyond comprehension. I’m just a Little Immortal Slave with mediocre Immortal Talent. What good would curiosity do me?”

“But I’m a little curious,” Cheng Jinshu said with a mischievous grin. “Mount Everlasting hasn’t seen such a grand spectacle in over a decade. Five Sect Leaders clashing in a demonstration of their skills? It must be quite a sight.”

“Why don’t you come with me to watch?” she asked, grabbing Yun Chuanzhi’s collar with both hands, her face brimming with anticipation.

Cheng Jinshu was known for her decisive nature. Before Yun Chuanzhi could finish saying, “Go yourself,” Cheng Jinshu had already yanked her out the window. They transformed into specks of light and merged into the long wind, soaring toward the horizon.

A torrential spray of water drenched them as Yun Chuanzhi followed Cheng Jinshu through the Hundred-Zhang Cascade. The surrounding scenery blurred past, forcing her to strain her eyes open. Through the wind-whipped tears blurring her vision, countless dazzling rays of light pierced the horizon.

The main peak of Mount Everlasting was swarming with cultivators. As far as the eye could see, Daoist robes of every color clustered like dyed ants, their chattering voices echoing across half the mountain.

Yun Chuanzhi had never seen so many cultivators in her life, not even in her previous life. The overwhelming sight momentarily banished the nausea churning in her stomach, leaving her staring in awe.

Cheng Jinshu nudged her. “Look, Ling Shui!”

Cheng Jinshu’s vision was far sharper than Yun Chuanzhi’s. After squinting for a long moment, Yun Chuanzhi finally spotted a few fluttering ribbons woven through Ling Shui’s hair. Cheng Jinshu then deactivated the Wind Manipulation Art, and they descended straight into the crowd.

“Where’s the Sect Leader?” Yun Chuanzhi asked curiously. Cheng Jinshu pointed skyward.

Though the sky was clear, flashes of lightning crackled within thick, white clouds. Earth-shattering booms reverberated through the air, each thunderclap striking the heart like a massive drum, shaking one’s very being.

A fierce wind swept across the ground as several senior cultivators calmly recited Heart Incantations. Beams of light rose from the crowd, converging in mid-air to form a transparent barrier.

The battle had begun. Yun Chuanzhi tilted her head back to gaze at the storm clouds, inwardly marveling, Truly, this is a clash of Immortals. Ordinary people can only stand back and watch the spectacle.

Just as she was thinking this, the luminous clouds were suddenly torn apart by several gusts of gale-force winds. Through the dissipating clouds, she could faintly glimpse familiar streaks of purple. The winds then coalesced into towering pillars that plunged toward the ground with a thunderous roar. The pillars shattered, scattering the crowd like dumplings tossed from a pot.

However, these wind pillars were meant only to disperse the crowd, not harm them. Moreover, the people on the ground were all cultivators, who seized the momentum to soar into the air like a flock of birds, finding suitable landing spots.

The central area cleared, and with three earth-shattering booms, three figures materialized in the void.

The one in purple robes, her hair billowing in the wind, was Bai Fenghuo. She seemed to have dressed with particular care today. Her dark, arched brows, like distant mountain peaks, blended into her hair, while her lips glowed a vivid crimson, like a drop of fresh bl00d on a white jade plate.

The wind whipped through her wildly fluttering hair, and as her crimson lips curved into a smile, Yun Chuanzhi heard a collective gasp ripple through the crowd.

“My aunt truly is a peerless beauty,” Cheng Jinshu whispered in her ear. “Even though everyone fears her, when it comes to choosing the most beautiful leader in the sect, they still choose her.”

“Then who are those two?” Yun Chuanzhi, being short, had to stand on tiptoe to peer over the shoulder of the Immortal Cultivator in front of her, straining to point at the two women facing Bai Fenghuo.

“The old one with the black and white beard is Liao Zongfang, Sect Leader of the Second Peak’s Cloud Peace Gate. He’s also the master of that Li Tang from last time. He’s vain and narrow-minded—he was the one who locked me in the Demon Smelting Cave as punishment last month.”

“The sickly-looking pale-faced woman is Qiu Hanshan, Sect Leader of the Third Peak’s Cold Mountain Gate. He’s been afflicted with Cold Poison for a century, and every year she claims he’s on her deathbed, yet she always manages to survive.”

“Both of them are at the Tribulation Transcension Stage, making them among the most powerful cultivators on Mount Everlasting.”

The two women wore black and white Shu Brocade Daoist Robes, their hair bound with jade hairpins. To Yun Chuanzhi, they resembled the Black and White Impermanence of the underworld.

After a heavy cough, Black Impermanence Liao Zongfang spoke sharply, “Sect Leader Bai, you trespassed upon the Main Peak during Core Sect Day, provoking your fellow disciples. What is your purpose?”

“Sect Leader Liao, your words are mistaken,” Bai Fenghuo replied with a wry smile. “This Seat merely came to where This Seat belongs. It was you who insisted on rushing up here to cause trouble. Don’t blame This Seat for your own folly.”

“The Sect Leader has personally ordered you, Demoness, to stay away from the Main Peak. Yet you have repeatedly defied this decree. If you force your way in again, don’t blame this old woman for acting on the Sect Leader’s behalf to uphold the sect’s dignity!”

“Spare me the theatrics, old man,” Bai Fenghuo drawled, stretching languidly. “You’re hundreds of years older than This Seat, yet you need to team up with that sickly weakling just to face me in battle. What nonsense about upholding the sect’s dignity!” Her words dripped with venom.

Black Impermanence Qiu Hanshan spoke calmly, “Sect Leader Bai, your disciples are watching. As elders, we shouldn’t make such a spectacle.”

“Oh, Sect Leader Qiu! Haven’t seen you in years. Still alive?” Bai Fenghuo’s eyes curved into a smile, but her gaze was as sharp as winter’s chill.

“Bai Fenghuo, don’t refuse a toast only to drink a punishment cup! If the Sect Leader hadn’t spared your life out of respect for the Former Sect Leader’s dying wish, you would have been stabbed forty-nine times and left to rot before the gates of Mount Everlasting as a warning to all. How dare you continue your insolence?”

Liao Zongfang seemed to loathe Bai Fenghuo with every fiber of her being, her face flushed crimson as she roared, “Don’t forget, you’re the Demoness who murdered the Former Sect Leader! You deserve to die a thousand times over!”

At the mention of the Former Sect Leader, Bai Fenghuo’s unchanging expression paled momentarily. But she quickly recovered, a smile returning to her lips as the purple light in her hand coalesced into a longsword. In an instant, she appeared before Liao Zongfang, slashing the blade toward her vital points.

Yun Chuanzhi gasped along with the crowd. Another longsword streaked through the air, blocking Bai Fenghuo’s strike. A bone-chilling cold swept across the battlefield, banishing the oppressive heat and plunging everyone into an icy abyss.

The next moment, a woman wearing silver cloud-patterned shoulder guards materialized on the field. She murmured a rapid incantation, and several ice blades shot toward Bai Fenghuo, who swiftly dodged them with a spin.

But the longsword moved faster than Bai Fenghuo could evade, slicing through the air like the wind and grazing her waist. A crimson mist erupted into the air as the purple hem of her robe, severed by the blade, plummeted to the ground.

“Sect Leader!” Ling Shui cried out in alarm, leaping forward to kneel beside Bai Fenghuo.

Yun Chuanzhi hadn’t anticipated Bai Fenghuo being injured. She frowned as she watched the pool of bl00d slowly spread across the patterned stone tiles.

“Cui Ergou! Where’s the Phoenix’s Tear I gave you the other day? Hurry!” Ling Shui, rarely losing her composure, broke into a sweat. Before Yun Chuanzhi could speak, Ling Shui lashed out with her whip, dragging her to Bai Fenghuo’s side.

Yun Chuanzhi, who had been trying to blend into the crowd, was suddenly yanked into the air under the public gaze. She crashed uncontrollably into Bai Fenghuo’s waist, her hand accidentally pressing down on the wound.

A low moan of pain escaped Bai Fenghuo’s lips, but Yun Chuanzhi sensed something was amiss. She lowered her head slightly, concealing her actions with her body, and gently probed the “wound” again with her palm.

Then she looked up, meeting Bai Fenghuo’s gaze, which now held a hint of murderous intent.