After Killing Me, The Ruthless Sword Venerate Went Mad - Chapter 1

Wangyue Peak towered high into the clouds. The summit remained freezing cold year-round, yet a small building stood atop it. Inside, it was like spring all four seasons, with the biting wind and snow entirely sealed outside.

As daybreak gradually drew near, the glow emitted by the Night Pearl began to dim. Bai Xiaoxiao woke up hazily from her sleep, subconsciously pulling the warm, tender body in her arms a little closer.

The skin of the person in her arms was as soft and smooth as fine jade, so fair it was dazzling. Even in such dim light, nothing could obscure her peerless elegance and beauty.

When she was awake, she was unmistakably cold, detached, and aloof. Yet when asleep, she unexpectedly evoked a sense of tender pity.

No matter how many times she woke up like this, Bai Xiaoxiao still found it hard to believe that such a person could ever be entangled with her.

After all, just a month ago, she was merely an ordinary college graduate in modern society, facing the dilemma of immediate unemployment upon graduation.

To avoid starving to death right after finishing school, Bai Xiaoxiao had frantically sent out resumes. Unfortunately, her major was rather awkward, making the odds of finding a decent job extremely slim.

Fortunately, even searching for a needle in a haystack would eventually yield results. One company sent her a response, inviting her for a trial period.

Bai Xiaoxiao was thrilled. At least the first step of her life plan was off to a good start. So, even though nothing was finalized yet, it was already a great outcome for her—at the very least, she could temporarily stay in the city.

However, all her wonderful expectations came to an abrupt halt on her way home from the interview.

When bad luck strikes, even a sip of water can choke you; that idiom fit her situation perfectly.

Who could have guessed that on a street she knew like the back of her hand, a brick would suddenly fall from the sky and land squarely on her head?

Up until the moment she collapsed, Bai Xiaoxiao hadn’t even processed what was happening. Just before her consciousness faded, she caught sight of a figure leaning halfway out of a building, staring straight down at her—actually smiling.

Bai Xiaoxiao felt that fate really had a twisted sense of humor. Anyone who lost their life right at the dawn of their adulthood due to someone else’s intentional malice would feel deeply unwilling to accept it.

She was naturally no exception.

Working her way up from a small town to a big city, Bai Xiaoxiao knew she had worked hard enough.

Perhaps because she was born prematurely, she was rather dull as a child and slow to learn everything. Abandoned at an orphanage because of her congenital defects, getting into university had required several times more effort from her than from an ordinary person.

Unfortunately, it all ended there.

The moment she closed her eyes, Bai Xiaoxiao thought her life was over, never expecting she would ever have a chance to wake up again.

Even though she was born in modern times and had been exposed to a vast array of information, it still took her quite a while to barely accept the fact that she had transmigrated—and turned into a tiny, vivid green snake.

The world after transmigration was entirely different from the one she knew. This was the Cultivation World, though it existed inside a book.

Bai Xiaoxiao originally assumed her transmigration was just a freak accident, until a entity calling itself the “Villain Counterattack System” bound itself to her. It had brought her soul into this book’s world, demanding that she cooperate with tasks to earn points so she could survive.

And the content of her task was—

To romance the protagonist’s master, the Bright Moon Sword Venerable, Shen Zhiyue, and to ruin the protagonist Rong Qingqing’s opportunities.

According to the System’s analysis, the main reason the protagonist Rong Qingqing enjoyed smooth sailing in this book was that she had taken on a great master.

After all, her master was none other than Shen Zhiyue—a figure who reached the Nascent Soul stage at the age of one hundred, and currently held the title of the “Number One Incarnation Realm in the Nine Provinces” as the youngest Incarnation Realm cultivator.

Not only was her cultivation realm high, but her combat prowess was also exceptionally terrifying, precisely because Shen Zhiyue was a sword cultivator.

As everyone knew, aside from being poor, sword cultivators were universally acknowledged for their formidable combat strength.

Yet, the Shangqing Sword Sect, to which Shen Zhiyue belonged, happened to be an anomaly. This sect, where over ninety percent of the disciples were sword cultivators, was not poor at all.

Consequently, Shen Zhiyue’s path of cultivation had been remarkably smooth due to abundant resources. Up to the present day, she who once needed the sect’s nuture was now able to give back to it, earning fame far and wide.

Every cultivator under heaven longed to join the Shangqing Sword Sect, or even better, to be taken under Shen Zhiyue’s wing.

Only after the System pointed it out did Bai Xiaoxiao realize she had actually read this novel. Though she had only skimmed through it, she knew the general plot and possessed a clear understanding of Shen Zhiyue’s power and noble stature.

Therefore, she felt completely unqualified to be a task-taker, let alone in the role of a cannon-fodder villain.

However, the System threatened her: if she slacked off passively, she would be forcibly erased after three failed task executions. That meant true dissipation into thin air, with no possibility of a future life.

Bai Xiaoxiao actually felt that being erased wouldn’t be so bad. Perhaps she really couldn’t handle setback well; after pouring in all her effort only to end up with nothing, she suddenly saw through it all.

As one might expect, when the System issued the first task, she had no intention of completing it at all.

Yet when the countdown ended, the System forcibly took over her body. Finding herself unable to struggle free, Bai Xiaoxiao, carrying a subtle sense of resignation, was controlled by the System to head toward the task location—

Which was precisely the forbidden area of the Sword Sect: the boundary at the center of the Wuxu Valley.

Bai Xiaoxiao remembered it very clearly. On that day, Wuxu Valley was shrouded in dense fog. Being a newcomer, she couldn’t adapt and remained in a state of dizziness throughout.

However, the moment she raised her head, Bai Xiaoxiao felt a sudden urge and saw an ancient lamp suspended in mid-air within the barrier.

Bai Xiaoxiao knew that was the Immortal Artifact: the Yin-Yang Life-Extension Lamp.

According to her memory of the novel, she was supposed to be preparing to steal the Yin-Yang Life-Extension Lamp at this moment.

“I don’t even know how to channel spiritual energy. Taking a step back, even if I could, with my meager cultivation, I couldn’t possibly open the barrier. This task is inherently impossible to complete, isn’t it?”

Helpless, Bai Xiaoxiao flattened herself into a straight snake stick, slowly voicing her doubts.

Even though she had been brought to the central barrier by force, she had only just transmigrated. Controlling this tiny snake body was hard enough, let alone channeling the spiritual energy inside her.

Was expecting her to break the boundary and steal the treasure really anything more than a pipe dream?

“Host, I never said you needed to break the barrier.”

Bai Xiaoxiao paused for two seconds, looking genuinely bewildered for once. “Then why did you make me come here…?”

Yet the System remained mysterious, refusing to spill the details, telling her only to wait.

Having tried to leave but failing to even slither forward because she was unfamiliar with being a snake for the first time, Bai Xiaoxiao let out a long sigh. Adopting the mindset of taking things as they come, she simply flattened herself back down.

Out of boredom, however, Bai Xiaoxiao’s gaze was naturally drawn back to that lamp.

It was truly hard to imagine that such an ordinary-looking lamp could actually be an Immortal Artifact capable of bringing the dead back to life.

Regrettably, although the Yin-Yang Life-Extension Lamp was called an Immortal Artifact, its essence was closer to that of a demonic artifact.

A thousand years ago, Li Wuyi, the fourth Sect Master of the Shangqing Sword Sect, had used the Yin-Yang Life-Extension Lamp once in an attempt to save her lover, Immortal Bitong.

Li Wuyi’s cultivation had already reached the Mahayana stage back then. Activating an Immortal Artifact was somewhat taxing, but entirely doable for her.

In the end, she indeed succeeded. However, the resurrected Immortal Bitong fell into demonhood overnight, turning cold to all her loved ones and driving a sword straight into the dantian of Li Wuyi, who had lost half her cultivation at the time.

The newly demonized Immortal Bitong almost instinctively poured demonic qi into Li Wuyi’s body. With her cultivation damaged and her dantian shattered, Li Wuyi had no way to resist the invasion of demonic qi.

By the time the Sword Sect noticed something was wrong and burst in, they were greeted by a heart-wrenching scene that made their eyes bleed with rage.

Li Wuyi was mortally wounded, yet until her last breath, she kept preventing the rest of the Sword Sect from killing her lover. The chaos lasted a whole night, until just before dawn, when Li Wuyi witnessed Immortal Bitong escape before closing her eyes forever.

The death of the Sect Master could not be hidden from the public, and as expected, the incident caused a massive uproar. The Sword Sect plunged into chaos over Li Wuyi’s death; had the Sect Ancestor not emerged from secluded cultivation to take charge, the Sword Sect might well have disbanded long ago.

Ever since then, the Yin-Yang Life-Extension Lamp had been sealed away.

In truth, sealing the Yin-Yang Life-Extension Lamp was not solely because of that tragedy; more importantly, it was used to suppress demonic beasts.

Back then, after long-accumulated friction and grievances among the various races on the Nine Provinces continent, a race war broke out. The Cultivation World fought back with all its might, securing a tragic victory.

The Demon and Demon-Beast races were forced back into their respective territories, and the passages between the three realms were naturally closed. Unfortunately, the passages were closed too hurriedly, leaving behind demons and beasts from both races who didn’t manage to retreat in time. The Cultivation World tried its best to purge them, but there were still a few powerful demons and beasts that could not be slain immediately.

Thus, after deliberation, the major sects unanimously decided to seal away the powerful demonic and beastly creatures they couldn’t kill for the time being.

And one of them was suppressed right here in the Wuxu Valley, with the Yin-Yang Life-Extension Lamp serving as the array eye.

Since it was an Immortal Artifact anyway, if it couldn’t be used, making the best use of its power was the only option left.

This suppression had lasted for a thousand years.

It wasn’t until the middle of the novel, during an experience trial outside the sect, that the protagonist Rong Qingqing accidentally crossed paths with a cultivator who had fallen into demonhood.

That cultivator recognized the mental cultivation method she used and realized she was a disciple of the Shangqing Sword Sect. The cultivator abducted her, thereby uncovering an ancient secret to the readers and ushering in the plot for the latter half of the story: the master plan of the demonic cultivators.

And that cultivator who had fallen into demonhood was none other than the Dao companion of the fourth Sect Master Li Wuyi—Immortal Bitong.

When Bai Xiaoxiao read that part, she had lamented the fickleness of fate. Li Wuyi was undoubtedly a favored child of heaven, yet met such an end, while Immortal Bitong was also a legendary figure of her time, only to fall into demonhood because of that Immortal Artifact.

She just hadn’t expected that one day, she would personally experience what “fickle fate” truly meant.

As Bai Xiaoxiao looked absentmindedly at the lamp inside the barrier, she suddenly noticed a dark glint flashing across its ancient lamp base.

Thinking her eyes were playing tricks on her, Bai Xiaoxiao subconsciously slithered closer to the barrier to get a better look.

The next second, the System’s stern voice resonated in her mind: “Host, dodge quickly!”

Bai Xiaoxiao froze, completely unable to react in time. She only had time to turn her head before being struck by a fierce, piercing sword qi.

Even though her body automatically mobilized a sliver of spiritual energy for self-defense at the critical moment of life and death, the attacker’s cultivation was far superior to hers. Bai Xiaoxiao had no power to resist and was sent flying straight into the barrier.

Tragically, because the barrier’s defensive mechanism was triggered, it reflected the attack back at her.

And so, Bai Xiaoxiao took two consecutive hits. By the time she slammed onto the ground, her consciousness was already hazy.

Piercing, excruciating pain seeped deep into her bones; her internal organs were likely shattered. As she lay helplessly on the ground, she could see what appeared to be bits of shredded flesh mixed in the blood she had spat out.

Transmigration was truly not meant for ordinary people like her. Living in modern society was her greatest safeguard. Transmigrating to the Cultivation World meant that even with a System, she wasn’t the protagonist and faced the constant threat of death.

Her treatment here couldn’t even compare to her life in modern society. Perhaps her life was going to end right here and now.

After a muddled train of thought, Bai Xiaoxiao realized she hadn’t fainted; instead, her mind unexpectedly cleared up for a brief moment.

The surrounding temperature was dropping rapidly, bringing an icy, bone-chilling cold.

Bai Xiaoxiao struggled to lift her head. The first thing that caught her eye was a pair of plain-colored long boots embroidered with auspicious clouds, followed by the hem of a celadon-green skirt.

Despite such a plain color, the aura and pressure emanating from the person made her clearly aware of her extraordinary nature.

Realizing something, Bai Xiaoxiao painfully shifted her gaze upward, wanting to confirm her suspicion.

As her eyes slowly moved up, she finally caught a clear view of the newcomer’s face.

With just a single glance, Bai Xiaoxiao was utterly stunned.

Because Wuxu Valley suppressed a demonic beast and was shrouded in thick fog year-round, not even a breeze could blow through it.

Yet at the moment she raised her eyes, it felt as though a gentle breeze brushed past, lightly swaying the black hair hanging by the side of the immortal-like woman before her.

The immortal lowered her eyes slightly, her gaze carrying the crisp coldness of a snowy mountain peak—neither sorrowful nor joyful, filling one with a awe that dared not meet her eyes directly.

Bai Xiaoxiao hurriedly withdrew her somewhat offensive gaze, terrified of disturbing the immortal before her. Yet from beside her ear came words that made her heart skip a beat.