After Changing Her Fate, the Vicious Female Villain and the Protagonist Got an HE! - Chapter 20

Chapter 20: Obtaining the Treasure

The higher the cultivation level, the more difficult it is to advance.

Although both Qin Niyun and Wen Shurong possessed excellent cultivation aptitude, advancing from the Nascent Soul Stage to the Soul Transformation Stage in a short time was by no means easy.

The two originally planned to go into secluded cultivation in the courtyard for a while, practicing together using the Xuanming Mind Method. However… the enemy, unwilling to lose the Destiny he had obtained, quietly sent puppets he had secretly controlled over the years to launch a surprise attack on the very night they were reunited.

The Zither Spirit, Shan Hai, and the Flute Spirit, Cang Lan, discovered the anomaly one after another and raised the alarm.

At that time, Wen Shurong was discussing cultivation matters with her Senior Sister. Sensing the enemy’s intrusion into the courtyard, she immediately grew vigilant and observed the surroundings with her divine sense.

Qin Niyun acted in sync with her, quickly figuring out the number of enemies.

“The intruders are all Soul Transformation cultivators, seven in each direction: southeast, northwest. Junior Sister, let’s attack the enemy with our spiritual treasures together!”

Wen Shurong nodded. With a flick of her sleeve, the Shan Hai Zither in the room immediately flew up and landed in front of her.

In the next instant, her slender fingertips plucked the strings consecutively, and a melodious tune instantly emerged.

At the same time, Qin Niyun also began playing the Cang Lan Flute. The zither and flute played in unison, and the sound attack instantly covered a radius of twenty li.

Any enemy who heard this sound found their spiritual power instantly stagnant, unable to utilize even half of their original strength.

However, these people did not fall into an illusion and did not kill each other.

The mastermind already knew of the existence of the two Innate Spiritual Treasures. Every puppet sent had consumed a specially formulated Clear Sound Pill, ensuring they would not fall into any illusion for one day.

As for the spiritual power stagnation problem, there was no effective countermeasure for the time being, hence the current situation.

The sound attack continued without pause, suppressing the enemy’s strength. The Zither Spirit, Shan Hai, and the Flute Spirit, Cang Lan, seized this opportunity to attack, conjuring spiritual power light blades that beheaded all the approaching enemies.

A moment later, everything returned to peace, and a faint smell of blood permeated the air.

Seeing that the enemies were completely annihilated, Wen Shurong stopped playing the zither, and Qin Niyun followed suit in stopping the flute. However, they did not relax their vigilance, as their intuition told them that the matter was not that simple.

Qin Niyun secretly transmitted a message, reminding her Junior Sister to increase her guard.

Before long, a sudden anomaly occurred outside the courtyard.

A pitch-black Soul Banner emerged from the void. Demonic qi surged out, accompanied by an extremely chilling Ghost Howl.

This sound had the effect of disturbing the mind, amplifying the deepest fears in the listener’s heart without limit.

The moment the Soul Banner appeared, Wen Shurong resumed playing the Shan Hai Zither, joining forces with her Senior Sister to counter the Ghost Howl with their sound attack. Thus, they were unaffected for the moment.

However, prolonged engagement would be extremely disadvantageous to them.

The Ghost Howl targeted the divine sense, and blocking their hearing was ineffective. The only solution was to destroy the Soul Banner.

Shan Hai and Cang Lan were essentially spirit bodies, and the Soul Banner held considerable restraint over them, making it impossible for them to offer much help.

Wen Shurong and Qin Niyun acted in sync, summoning their respective Life-Bound Artifact Flying Swords with their divine senses.

With a series of whooshing sounds, the two flying swords streaked across the night sky, striking the Soul Banner with thunderous force.

In that instant, the Ghost Howl suddenly intensified, and countless vengeful souls and fierce ghosts poured out from the Soul Banner.

Both were clearly aware that these souls were absolutely not on the banner willingly. They intended to deliberately control their flying swords to bypass the souls and attack the Soul Banner’s main body. However, the souls blocked the banner one by one with ferocious expressions, making it impossible to strike the target.

Just then, a Sanskrit chant sounded from afar, accompanied by the repeated tapping of a wooden fish.

The moment the vengeful souls heard the Sanskrit chant, they all froze in place. The ferocious expressions on their faces gradually faded, replaced by peace.

Not only that, the Ghost Howl, which attacked the divine sense and disturbed the mind, also disappeared at this moment.

The mastermind had not anticipated a highly cultivated Buddhist practitioner passing by this area. Caught completely off guard, his original deployment was utterly disrupted.

Buddhist practitioners are extremely rare in the Xuan Yuan Realm and mostly live in seclusion. Encountering one near the Kunlun Mountains now aroused the fiend’s suspicion.

Was this a coincidence, or interference from the Heavenly Dao?

He hoped it wasn’t the latter, because that would mean the Heavenly Dao had discovered his existence.

He had always acted with extreme caution, never striking directly, precisely to prevent detection by the Heavenly Dao.

As a precaution, the fiend chose to temporarily withdraw and recalled the Soul Banner.

A spatial rift instantly appeared in the void ahead. After swallowing the Soul Banner, it closed just as quickly.

The enemy retreated, and the crisis was temporarily averted.

Wen Shurong and Qin Niyun simultaneously stopped casting their spells and recalled their Life-Bound Artifact Flying Swords.

Before long, a Buddhist cultivator wearing a kasaya, with long eyebrows and a white beard, appeared in their line of sight.

Based on his aura, his cultivation had reached the late Mahayana Stage.

As he walked, he utilized the Ground Shrinking Inch divine ability. The distance of several dozen li was covered in an instant.

“This humble monk, Liao Fan, greets the two benefactors.”

Wen Shurong and Qin Niyun returned the greeting together, stated their identities, and thanked him for his aid.

Liao Fan continued: “This humble monk has come from the West. Seeing the heaven-piercing resentment qi here, I knew a demon had emerged to harm the world. Do the two benefactors know the specific origin of the enemy you encountered?”

Wen Shurong glanced at her Senior Sister. Qin Niyun understood and immediately spoke: “Does the Great Master remember Zhou Kong, who destroyed the subordinate Canghai Minor World ten thousand years ago, ultimately angered the Xuan Yuan Realm’s Heavenly Dao, and perished under the Path Extinction Thunder Tribulation?”

A rare look of surprise appeared on Liao Fan’s face.

“Does Benefactor Qin mean that Zhou Kong is still alive? And the one who struck just now was him?”

Qin Niyun nodded: “Exactly. When the Path Extinction Tribulation descended, this person used a Substitution Technique to leave behind a trace of a remnant soul. After sleeping for ten thousand years, he seized the body of Zhen Xuanzi of the Taiyi Sect and is now hidden in the void.”

Liao Fan clasped his hands and chanted a Buddhist epithet.

“Amitabha, thank you, Benefactor Qin, for informing this humble monk of this matter. Zhou Kong is an utterly wicked being. The Pure Land Sect will not sit idly by while he harms humanity. This person is now targeting the two benefactors. This is no longer a safe place to stay. If the two benefactors do not mind, you may follow this humble monk to the Pure Land Sect to temporarily avoid disaster.”

The Buddhist Pure Land Sect was silently acknowledged by the multitude of cultivators in the Xuan Yuan Realm as the foremost Secluded Sect.

Qin Niyun was undecided and secretly transmitted a message to the girl in green beside her.

“Junior Sister, what are your thoughts?”

“Senior Sister, my intuition tells me we can go to the Pure Land Sect. There might be unexpected gains there.”

Qin Niyun also had a similar intuition. Hearing her Junior Sister’s reply, she immediately agreed to the proposal.

The Pure Land Sect was located in the Extreme West Desert, a distance of ten thousand li from the Kunlun Mountains.

Flying at the Nascent Soul Stage, even traveling day and night without rest, would still take three days.

However, Liao Fan possessed a flying spiritual treasure. Activating it and bringing the two along, they reached the Pure Land Sect’s gate in only half a zhuxiang (about 9 minutes).

Due to the difference in region, they left the Kunlun Mountains in the dead of night, but arrived at the Extreme West Desert under the scorching sun.

The view was endless yellow sand. Many carved stone statues stood around the gate, exuding a sense of ancient, profound weight.

Upon arriving at this sect’s station, the constant Sanskrit chants reaching their ears did not feel noisy at all. Instead, it brought a sense of peace.

After returning to the Pure Land Sect, Liao Fan arranged suitable accommodations for Wen Shurong and Qin Niyun, then immediately reported what he had seen and heard to his Senior Brother, the Abbot.

Before long, the Abbot, Liao Kong, came to visit, holding a Lotus Jade Lamp. He chanted a Buddhist epithet and stated his purpose.

“Amitabha, ten years ago on a full moon night, the Lotus Jade Lamp suddenly appeared in the sect’s Heavenly Brahma Pure Pool. My Junior Brother Liao Fan and I used a Buddhist secret technique to divine that this lamp is the key to an ancient Great Power’s inheritance site. If a guest arrived at the Pure Land Sect and caused the jade lamp to blossom with golden light, it would indicate that they were fated to enter the inheritance site. Now, the golden light has appeared, so this lamp belongs to the two benefactors.”

Previously, Wen Shurong had discussed the ancient Great Power’s inheritance site that appeared in her dreams with her Senior Sister.

Because it was a trap set by the enemy, they both believed that the inheritance site did not exist. They hadn’t expected the truth to be otherwise.

Seeing her Junior Sister deep in thought, Qin Niyun reached out and took the Lotus Jade Lamp, thanking the Abbot warmly.

Liao Kong did not linger and soon left their temporary courtyard.

Wen Shurong gradually recovered her focus, gazing intently at the Lotus Jade Lamp in her Senior Sister’s hand. After a long while, she sighed softly.

“Senior Sister, what are your plans for that inheritance site?”

Qin Niyun mused: “I plan to go take a look. Leaving aside the dream events, if this kind of ancient Great Power’s cultivator inheritance site has never been entered before, then it likely still contains opportunities. If we can find one and use it to improve our strength, we will be more confident in dealing with the enemy later.”

Although Liao Fan had mentioned that the Pure Land Sect would not allow the enemy to harm humanity, relying on others was absolutely inadvisable. Improving their own strength was the fundamental solution.

Wen Shurong naturally understood this point and did not object.

Liao Kong did not mention the specific location of the inheritance site. Qin Niyun attempted to inject spiritual power into the Lotus Jade Lamp.

A moment later, the golden light slowly condensed into a palm-sized golden phoenix, which flew toward the horizon.

This anomaly caught the attention of many Buddhist practitioners in the Pure Land Sect.

Wen Shurong explained the reason to Liao Fan and the Abbot, Liao Kong, then set off with her Senior Sister, speeding along the direction the phoenix had flown…

Half an hour later, at the edge of the Extreme West Desert.

The phoenix formed by the golden light flew to this location, hovered a few times, and then vanished without a trace.

Wen Shurong looked around but did not find any structure resembling an inheritance site.

“Senior Sister, do you think that inheritance site might be underground?”

“I can’t be sure right now.” Qin Niyun took out the Lotus Jade Lamp and tried to inject spiritual power into it again.

A moment later, the phoenix reappeared, but after circling the surroundings twice, it dispersed once more.

Seeing this, Wen Shurong waved her sleeve and took out a handful of spiritual plant seeds. She quickly formed a hand seal, performed a Spirit Moistening Spell, and sprinkled the seeds onto the ground from a distance, attaching a wisp of divine sense to them and maintaining it with spiritual power.

Under her deliberate control, the seeds aimed underground and grew rapidly.

After about twenty breaths, her brows slightly furrowed.

“Senior Sister, it’s not underground.”

Hearing this, Qin Niyun looked at the empty space ahead, deep in thought.

“Junior Sister, is there a possibility that another dimension exists here?”

Wen Shurong was surprised at first. Then, recalling her experience of finding the Spirit Restoration Divine Flower, she said hesitantly: “The Great World is unpredictable, and indeed, anything is possible. However, according to the Pure Land Sect’s Abbot, the Lotus Jade Lamp is the key to opening the inheritance site. If another dimension truly exists, there should be some anomaly appearing around us now that Senior Sister holds the jade lamp.”

Qin Niyun pondered: “Perhaps… the method is wrong? Junior Sister, I’ve been injecting spiritual power into the lamp all along. Why don’t we try it together this time?”

“Okay.”

Wen Shurong nodded, placing her right palm against the jade lamp, acting in sync with her Senior Sister.

Before long, a sudden anomaly occurred.

Two golden phoenixes consecutively appeared on the jade lamp. After circling them once, a ripple-like wave instantly formed around them.

The scene before their eyes instantly changed dramatically.

The desolate desert disappeared, replaced by a boundless primeval forest.

Ancient trees towered into the sky. When viewed from above, one could vaguely discern a unique arrangement, implicitly containing the Five Elements and Eight Trigrams Array.

After entering this place, the Lotus Jade Lamp vanished.

Qin Niyun quickly found the array core, which was a towering Red Spirit Fir tree, wide enough for ten people to embrace, reaching straight into the clouds.

This spiritual plant was not real but materialized by an illusion spell.

Wen Shurong followed her Senior Sister through the tree and appeared inside a cave dwelling with an extremely high temperature.

As far as the eye could see, there was constantly flowing lava.

Looking at this scene, she remembered something and immediately spoke: “Senior Sister, in the Ancient Yuan Secret Realm, Fellow Daoist Su of the Taiyi Sect mentioned the Fire Spirit Pearl to us. The scene here is very similar to what that Fellow Daoist Su described.”

Qin Niyun nodded in agreement: “In the dream constructed by the enemy, the Fire Spirit Pearl was obtained from an ancient cultivator’s inheritance site, but that inheritance site was located in the Jue Xian Valley, not here.”

“It seems that the dream was half-true and half-false. Senior Sister, how did you obtain the Fire Spirit Pearl at that time?”

“The moment I entered the inheritance site, the object automatically flew to my side. I didn’t have to look for it deliberately.”

No sooner had she spoken than the surrounding flowing lava suddenly churned ceaselessly.

Wen Shurong subconsciously grew vigilant. In just an instant, a Fire Phoenix materialized from the lava, holding a crimson spiritual pearl in its beak, and flew toward them.

Since their spiritual senses indicated no warning signs, neither of them attacked.

Upon drawing near, the Fire Phoenix folded its wings and hovered, releasing its beak. The spiritual pearl slowly flew to Qin Niyun’s side, and a wave of pure fire-attribute spiritual qi instantly washed over them…

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