After Changing Her Fate, the Vicious Female Villain and the Protagonist Got an HE! - Chapter 7

Chapter 7: Purpose

The moment the spiritual treasures recognized their masters, the phoenix patterns on the altar slowly vanished.

Wen Shurong held the Shanhai Qin (Mountain and Sea Zither) in both hands. The voice of the zither spirit immediately sounded in her sea of consciousness, calling her Master.

She had flipped through ancient texts in the sect and knew that some spiritual treasures, after developing consciousness, could transform into human form. Out of curiosity, she inquired about it at this moment.

In the next instant, a woman in a flowing, wide-sleeved ink-colored Immortal Robe, with long, fluttering hair, appeared in her line of sight.

Looking at the familiar features of the woman, Wen Shurong was stunned for a moment.

When she recovered, she asked hesitantly: “Shanhai, when you transform into human form, is your appearance controlled by your will, or is it random?”

The woman smiled and responded gently: “Before the spiritual treasure’s first transformation, it will first envision its appearance. At that time, its form and appearance will be displayed accordingly and remain unchanged.”

“I see.”

Wen Shurong thought it might be a coincidence that Shanhai’s transformed appearance was quite similar to her own.

Just then, the Canglan Di (Vast Wave Flute) in Qin Niyun’s hand radiated a spiritual light. A woman in a pale blue, wide-sleeved jiao-ling ruqun (cross-collar blouse and skirt), with a cinnabar spot between her brows, appeared out of thin air.

Seeing the flute spirit, Wen Shurong’s surprise was evident on her face.

This was because her face was quite similar to Senior Sister’s.

Beside her, Qin Niyun was also astonished. Could it be that these two spiritual treasures were transforming for the first time and, influenced by them, took on their current appearances?

Below the altar, Su Tianyue seemed to have anticipated this. Looking at the scene, she let out a light laugh instead.

“Indeed. That divination was not wrong.”

Wen Shurong was a little curious: “What exactly did that divination say? Is Fellow Daoist Su at liberty to tell us?”

Su Tianyue did not answer directly but shifted the topic: “I said earlier that the Ancient Origin Secret Realm originated from a fragmented minor world. The two Fellow Daoists should have heard of that minor world. It is called Canghai (Vast Sea).”

After speaking, Qin Niyun nodded: “The sect’s ancient texts record that the Canghai Realm was one of the subsidiary minor worlds of the Xuan Yuan Realm.”

Su Tianyue continued to ask: “Then do the two Fellow Daoists know how this world was destroyed?”

Qin Niyun stated directly: “Legend has it that as the spiritual energy was depleted and it was about to enter the Era of Spiritual Desolation, the cultivators fought fiercely to seize the remaining resources, causing damage to the world’s core power. It could no longer support the world’s operation and eventually disintegrated.”

Hearing this, a trace of mockery appeared on Su Tianyue’s face.

“This explanation is identical to the records in the Taiyi Sect’s ancient texts. Those old fogeys really put in a lot of effort to cover up the truth. As a minor world, the highest cultivation level in the Canghai Realm was only Soul Transformation. How could they cause damage to the world’s core power?”

Qin Niyun frowned slightly: “Is Fellow Daoist Su implying…”

“The destruction of the Canghai Realm was intentionally caused by a mighty figure of the Xuan Yuan Realm!”

The revelation of this truth greatly surprised Wen Shurong.

After recovering, she mused: “This incident happened ten thousand years ago. The mighty figure who struck back then must have either perished or already ascended to the Immortal Realm.”

Following her words, the spirit of the Shanhai Qin suddenly spoke: “If the world’s core power is utilized properly, it can resist the Ascension Thunder Tribulation. The mastermind’s purpose for the incident back then was precisely this. However, that person angered the Heavenly Dao, which sent down the Tribulation of Dao Destruction, and the person ultimately perished.”

Su Tianyue said with hatred: “This is the retribution they deserved!”

At this point, the spirit of the Canglan Di brought up a matter.

“When the Canghai Realm was destroyed, the passage to the Xuan Yuan Realm was sealed by that person. Therefore, all the cultivators of that world perished. The two Masters’ previous lives were among them.”

Hearing this, the shock in Wen Shurong’s heart was overwhelming.

“How can this be? Cultivators are different from mortals. Cultivation is a struggle against Heaven for destiny. Once they perish, there is no possibility of reincarnation. If Senior Sister Qin and I both embarked on the path of cultivation in our previous lives, how could we enter the Six Paths of Reincarnation again?”

The flute spirit explained: “The destruction of the Canghai Realm was a human disaster. The Heavenly Dao of the Xuan Yuan Realm granted a glimmer of hope to the afflicted cultivators, allowing them to re-enter the cycle of reincarnation.”

At this point, she turned to look at the zither spirit.

The latter walked to the side of the girl in green and asked gently: “Has Master encountered anything strange before?”

Wen Shurong asked back noncommittally: “What exactly do you mean by strange?”

The zither spirit said directly: “For example, an existence that exceeds Master’s original cognition.”

Wen Shurong immediately fell silent. Her hands hidden in her sleeves unconsciously clenched. After a moment, she slowly nodded.

“I have indeed encountered it.”

The zither spirit was not surprised, only continuing: “This is a calamity for Master. Only by killing the source can you completely break free.”

Since the spiritual treasures recognized their masters, the Xuanming Xinfa had automatically disconnected.

Therefore, at this time, Qin Niyun did not know what Wen Shurong was thinking. Listening to her conversation with the zither spirit, she was full of doubts.

“Junior Sister, what did you encounter? Why don’t you say it directly? Maybe I have a way to solve it.”

Wen Shurong sighed softly and shook her head: “I temporarily cannot speak of the related matter. Does Senior Sister still remember the time I coughed up blood and fainted beside the arena during the sect competition?”

“Naturally, I remember.”

“Actually, at that time, I wanted to tell Senior Sister Liu Xuan the truth, but the words were confined by an invisible force that arose from the depths of the universe, and I suffered a backlash.”

Qin Niyun’s expression became much more serious.

“It turns out it was like that. To be able to directly stop you from speaking, could it involve the Dao of Karma?”

Su Tianyue offered a suggestion from the side: “Have you tried writing it down on paper?”

Wen Shurong nodded: “I did. When I wrote the crucial content, the entire paper immediately turned into dust the moment I put my pen down. The result was the same when I tried to carve it with spiritual sense.”

Su Tianyue stated with certainty: “Besides the Dao of Karma, there is only one possibility for this kind of method, and that is the interference of the Heavenly Dao.”

The zither spirit immediately expressed her view: “The Heavenly Dao would not intervene in these matters. Therefore, it can be confirmed that it is the Dao of Karma.”

Qin Niyun considered: “Although Junior Sister cannot speak of it, we can ask. How about this? Fellow Daoist Su and I will state our respective guesses. If we guess correctly, Junior Sister can nod. If it is close, just blink. If it is completely irrelevant, just shake your head.”

“Good!”

Wen Shurong agreed without hesitation.

If possible, she naturally wanted to state everything clearly to seek more solutions.

Seeing her agree, Su Tianyue asked first: “Is the threat Junior Daoist Wen is encountering from a human?”

Wen Shurong immediately shook her head.

“Then is it from the demon race?”

Wen Shurong continued to shake her head.

Su Tianyue was somewhat surprised: “That’s strange. If it’s neither the human race nor the demon race, could it be the spirit of some treasure?”

Wen Shurong was a little hesitant. After a moment, she blinked.

The Heavenly Mandate Jade Slip, simply based on its external appearance, could also be considered a treasure?

Qin Niyun thoughtfully asked: “In the Xuan Yuan Realm, I haven’t heard of any treasure related to the Dao of Karma. To bring such a great threat to Junior Sister, it must be a spiritual treasure. A rank this high should not be completely unheard of. Junior Sister, has that treasure developed a consciousness, and is its intelligence extremely high?”

Wen Shurong nodded.

Qin Niyun then said: “Since it has developed intelligence, it is definitely not a newly refined spiritual treasure. Is the external shape of this treasure a sword or a similar weapon?”

Wen Shurong shook her head.

Qin Niyun continued to ask: “Is it a whip, a fan, or similar treasure?”

Seeing Junior Sister continue to shake her head, she thought for a while and mused: “Is that treasure a type that Junior Sister has never seen before?”

Wen Shurong immediately nodded.

Beside her, Su Tianyue guessed: “There are various types of treasures in the cultivation world. Given Fellow Daoist Wen’s breadth of knowledge, the types of treasures she has never seen before must be extremely rare. Let me think… Could it be something very ordinary, not even considered a treasure, like a writing brush, ink, paper, or inkstone?”

Wen Shurong first shook her head. Then, remembering something, she blinked again.

Su Tianyue was a little curious: “What does that mean? A slight connection? Or a similar category?”

Wen Shurong nodded.

At this moment, a guess suddenly surfaced in Qin Niyun’s mind. She immediately asked: “Is it a jade slip?”

Wen Shurong nodded repeatedly.

Su Tianyue rested her chin on her hand, beginning to recall if a similar spiritual treasure had appeared in the Xuan Yuan Realm in the past.

The result was nothing.

After a long time, she sighed softly: “Could this kind of unknown treasure, like the Shanhai Qin and Canglan Di, have naturally originated from Heaven and Earth?”

As soon as her voice fell, the zither spirit denied it: “Absolutely impossible. Innate Spiritual Treasures are mutually responsive. Currently, besides the treasures that have been taken to the Immortal Realm by ascended cultivators, there is only one remaining Innate Spiritual Treasure in the Xuan Yuan Realm, and that is the Zhunhun Dao (Soul Slaying Saber). It is currently located in the Kunlun Mountains and has not left that region for a thousand years.”

Hearing this, Qin Niyun mused: “Excluding the possibility of an Innate Spiritual Treasure, then it must be something refined by a human. A cultivator who can refine a spiritual treasure must be above the Soul Transformation stage. Furthermore, since it involves the Dao of Karma, only a Mahayana stage cultivator can achieve it.”

Su Tianyue added: “There are a total of twenty known Mahayana cultivators in the Xuan Yuan Realm. Three of them are proficient in the Dao of Karma: Zhenxuanzi of the Taiyi Sect, Tianwang Zhenjun of the Dangqi Sect, and Xiaoyao Sanren of the Mu Clan.”

Qin Niyun supplemented: “Tianwang Zhenjun, although proficient in the Dao of Karma, is a sword cultivator who mostly eliminates enemies with the Dao of Slaughtering Swordsmanship. Xiaoyao Sanren is renowned for alchemy and is very diplomatic, rarely making enemies. Only Zhenxuanzi is quite mysterious, cultivating several Dao simultaneously, without publicly displaying any specialty.”

Wen Shurong looked at Su Tianyue: “Zhenxuanzi is a senior of Fellow Daoist Su’s sect. Does Fellow Daoist have detailed knowledge of him?”

“This person is the Peak Master of Taihe Peak. Since I joined the Taiyi Sect, I have never met him. To be honest with the two Fellow Daoists, sometimes I even doubt if this person still exists.”

Wen Shurong raised an eyebrow: “What do you mean by that?”

“Fellow Daoist Wen should know that the Taiyi Sect holds an inner sect competition every five years. The participants are all Foundation Establishment cultivators who have not yet taken a Master. The sect rule is that the first-place winner of the competition can choose any Master and immediately perform the apprenticeship ceremony.”

Wen Shurong nodded: “That’s right. I have indeed heard of this matter.”

Su Tianyue continued: “Since I joined the sect, the inner sect competition has been held eight times. In these eight competitions, five winners specified that they wanted to take Zhenxuanzi as their Master. However, the reply they received was identical, stating that the person was in seclusion and unable to guide disciples’ cultivation, asking them to find another famous Master.”

Qin Niyun brought up a point: “I remember the rumors outside say that Zhenxuanzi has never taken a disciple?”

Su Tianyue nodded in agreement: “That’s right. Otherwise, those fellow disciples wouldn’t continuously request to be his disciple. After all, the position of the chief disciple of a peak master is not insignificant.”

Listening to these words, Wen Shurong’s thoughts raced.

In the dream realm, the person Zhenxuanzi never appeared. She couldn’t be sure if the Heavenly Mandate Jade Slip was related to this person.

If everything was orchestrated by this person, what was their purpose?

The appearance of the Heavenly Mandate Jade Slip informed her of her originally tragic destiny, and all her current actions revolved around changing that destiny.

If this thing didn’t exist, would she have followed the original path?

But the actions of her dream self were fundamentally inconsistent with her real-life personality.

It could be said that the Wen Shurong in the dream was just a string puppet, a copy of her own appearance, controlled by an invisible entity to commit malicious deeds.

What was the enemy’s purpose?

If it was to control her and repeat the dream experience, then there was no need to tell her all of this. Wouldn’t it be easier to strike at her when she was completely unprepared?

She must have missed some crucial point!

Wen Shurong recalled the experiences before and after seeing the Heavenly Mandate Jade Slip again. At one moment, a flash of insight struck her mind. She blurted out: “It’s Qi Yun (Fate/Fortune/Luck)!”

Beside her, Su Tianyue asked in confusion: “What Qi Yun?”

Wen Shurong looked at the girl in white, her eyes tinged with worry. Sensing that there was no unknown force sealing her mouth, she immediately said: “If my judgment is correct, the mastermind’s ultimate goal is Senior Sister. The other party wants to seize the Qi Yun on Senior Sister’s body!”

Qin Niyun was the daughter of the Heavenly Dao’s fortune. If this plan succeeded, the benefits gained by the mastermind would be unimaginable.

The Heavenly Mandate Jade Slip informed Wen Shurong of her predetermined destiny, intending to incite the hatred in her heart, thus using her hand to deal with Senior Sister Qin.

A person burdened with hatred often brought greater value than a string puppet.

Unfortunately, she did not act as the villain intended, disrupting their original deployment.

Also, did the so-called predetermined destiny truly exist? Could there be a possibility that this was an illusion woven by the mastermind from beginning to end?

Thinking this, Wen Shurong wanted to continue speaking and utter the four words “Heavenly Mandate Jade Slip.” But this time, the moment the words reached her mouth, an invisible force immediately descended upon her from the depths of the universe.

She gritted her teeth, attempting to circulate spiritual power to resist. In the next instant, the force on her body suddenly intensified. She suffered a backlash again, spitting out a mouthful of blood…

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