After Transmigrating into a Book as Cannon Fodder, I Pampered the Villain - Chapter 53

Chapter 53: Moving

Yingxia, we are moving.

On the steps of this altar that seemed to reach the heavens, dried blood remained. The troublesome creatures below no longer dared to advance; they cringed and huddled, seemingly terrified of whatever resided atop the altar.

Yan Huaixi put away her flute. Even without the deterrence of the melody, the monsters made no move to approach.

What is up there that they dread so much?

Yan Huaixi paused slightly, then turned and reached out her hand to Yu Yingxia, who was walking behind her.

Yu Yingxia didn’t quite understand, but she obediently placed her hand in Yan’s palm.

Yan Huaixi used a gentle force to bring the girl to her side. “Stay close to me. There might be something up there; be careful of danger.”

Yu Yingxia’s grip on her hand tightened, her expression growing solemn.

“But don’t be afraid. I am here.” Yan Huaixi used her spiritual power to shield Yu Yingxia.

Meeting Yan Huaixi’s gaze, Yu Yingxia’s nervousness eased slightly. She curved her brows and nodded.

Those following behind them did not enjoy such treatment. Yan Huaixi hadn’t lowered her voice, so the members of the Tianqiu Sect heard her warning about potential danger at the top.

Wen Xin reacted the fastest. She took out her dharma tool for defense, but after a moment’s thought realizing she couldn’t even defeat the living corpses below she figured her own strength wouldn’t matter much if they encountered something even more dangerous. Thus, she quickly shuffled forward to hide behind Yan Huaixi and Yu Yingxia. It’s safest here!

The others followed suit. Though it was a bit embarrassing to cower like this, it truly provided a sense of security!

Yu Yingxia was too focused on the unknown at the top of the altar to notice the movements behind her. Yan Huaixi, however, noticed their sneaky actions and was briefly speechless. She had rarely seen “righteous” cultivators of the Tianqiu Sect who were so… flexible in their dignity.

The ninety-nine steps weren’t particularly high, and the group soon reached the summit. Yan Huaixi arrived first, probing the altar with her spiritual energy. Only after confirming it was safe did she let Yu Yingxia step up.

In the center of the altar was a circular depression. Yu Yingxia estimated it was about three meters in diameter. The color inside was different from the outside—it looked like layers upon layers of dried, crusty blood.

“There… seems to be nothing here?” Wen Xin scanned every corner. There was no sign of an exit. The altar was stark; aside from the depression, it was empty.

Yu Yingxia couldn’t see any issues either. She looked at Yan Huaixi with confusion. “Did you find anything?”

Yan Huaixi knelt beside the circular groove and lightly tapped its edge. It felt solid.

“Step back, all of you. Watch out for blood splatter,” Yan Huaixi said to the Tianqiu Sect members who had crowded around to look. They immediately scurried to the far corners of the platform.

Yan Huaixi reached out toward the living corpses below and tightened her fingers. A randomly selected corpse flew up, howling and even attempting to counterattack. However, a blood butterfly landed on its head, and the monster’s voice died in its throat as it went limp.

She tossed the corpse into the circular depression. As soon as it fell in, the groove which had seemed ordinary a moment ago erupted with sound.

Dense red runes ignited within the circle, followed by the grinding sound of machinery. With a sharp clack, countless iron spikes thicker than a human arm shot up from the bottom, impaling the corpse.

Someone gasped.

The mechanism didn’t stop. The depression began to rotate, spraying blood and bits of flesh. Yan Huaixi stepped back, shielding Yu Yingxia from the filth.

The interior of the groove spun faster and faster, eventually erupting with a thick fog of corpse Qi. But as the fog began to drift outward, it was sucked back in by another force, seemingly stored within the heart of the altar.

Yan Huaixi smirked. As the altar cracked slightly to store the Qi, she immediately formed hand seals to lay down an array. At her level of cultivation, ordinary spells followed her whim; anything that required her focused effort to arrange was a devastating ultimate move.

Heaven itself wouldn’t tolerate such a foul, demonic thing. No wonder that old bastard hid it here!

Having set an array to trigger a Heavenly Tribulation, Yan Huaixi pulled out a sword. She wasn’t a sword cultivator, but she collected many treasures. Using her own blood as a catalyst, she placed a forbidden seal on the blade, imbuing it with a violent, murderous aura.

She chanted an incantation and thrust the sword into the center of the altar. The cracks that hadn’t yet closed were sliced open by the blade, exposing what was hidden inside.

A piercing scream erupted from beneath the altar. Cracks spread through the platform and the ground below. Even Wen Xin, at her level of cultivation, found it hard to resist the sound’s mental assault; she touched her ear and found it bleeding.

The screaming was relentless. Yan Huaixi, annoyed by the noise, changed her incantation. This time she used a soul technique. An invisible arrow of soul energy plunged into the altar, and the screaming stopped abruptly.

The Tianqiu Sect members felt their ears ringing for a long time before they realized the silence had returned. Wen Xin, her face pale, took several pills from a vial and used her spiritual power to reinforce her hearing.

“What was that underneath? A vengeful spirit or a living corpse?” Wen Xin asked, still shaken.

“Neither. It’s the product of a forbidden technique. You can think of it as… medicine,” Yan Huaixi said mockingly. She finally understood Yin Duo’s plan.

“Medicine? He… wants to eat that?” Yu Yingxia felt her stomach churn just hearing it.

“For the sake of Longevity, there is nothing one wouldn’t endure,” Yan Huaixi said. She wasn’t going to leave empty-handed. Yin Duo must have spent years nurturing this thing. If she destroyed it now, how long would it take him to start over? He likely wouldn’t live long enough to finish it again.

“He… wants to use this to extend his life?” Wen Xin was incredulous. “What’s the point? Anyone who extends their life this way is reviled by Heaven and Earth. He will never reach the Immortal Path!”

“He knows he’s fated to never reach it, so he tries to steal the paths of others. Since he’s already stealing, he can also pass his sins onto them,” Yan Huaixi sneered. “He is dying. He’s afraid he won’t finish his plans before he passes, so he must live longer, even if he becomes something neither human nor ghost.”

“This sacrificial secret method… was researched by a demonic cultivator. It’s said that by nurturing a specific ancient living corpse, one can sacrifice it to transform their body into an undying state.” The demonic cultivator Yan Huaixi referred to was the second-generation sect master of the Longevity Gate a brilliant but perverted individual.

Yan Huaixi was glad she had acted early. If he had successfully nurtured that corpse, killing him would have been even harder.

“A demonic cultivator… how long ago did he get involved with them?” Wen Xin cursed Yin Duo in her mind.

Yan Huaixi didn’t know when Yin Duo had obtained the manual, but she knew she had touched his treasure. He must have sensed it. She wondered if he would intervene to save it, or if he would abandon the place to save himself.

“Senior, can you destroy this thing?” Wen Xin asked, bowing her head in request. “We must never give him the chance to touch it again!”

“I don’t need your reminder; I know,” Yan Huaixi replied. She wouldn’t miss a chance to ruin Yin Duo’s day.

She produced a pure crystal shaped like a water droplet with a very sharp tip. She sliced her palm with it, and the crystal quickly absorbed her flowing blood.

As Yan Huaixi softly chanted a complex, archaic incantation, the blood inside the crystal formed a vortex. When one stared into it, their soul felt as if it were being dragged into a stormy ocean.

A veil woven from spiritual power covered Yu Yingxia’s eyes. She touched it, and knowing it was Yan’s power, she didn’t resist.

Nearby, a onlooker almost drowned in the vortex of the crystal until Wen Xin slapped him on the head, pulling his soul back. This was just the secondary effect of her casting; if Yan Huaixi had intended to kill, they wouldn’t even know how they died.

“Truly terrifying…” Wen Xin murmured.

As Yan Huaixi finished the last syllable, the crystal stabilized with a red flash, though the storm inside had reached its peak.

This is the last chance. Is Yin Duo still not coming out?

Yan Huaixi scanned the area but found no one. This puzzled her. Would Yin Duo really abandon the work of so many years? No struggle at all? That didn’t match the old man’s character.

Of course, Yin Duo wanted to save his life’s work. He also wanted to pin everything on Yan Huaixi and silence the Judicial Hall members who knew his secret. But he was out of time. The moment he teleported out of the Nest, he was locked onto by someone and lost the chance to return. Surrounded by Tianqiu Sect high-rankers, including the Sect Master, he had to grit his teeth and abandon his work.

Yan Huaixi threw the crystal into the altar and flew away with Yu Yingxia in her arms. The others scrambled onto their tools to follow.

She covered Yu Yingxia’s ears just as a blinding white light erupted from the altar, followed by a sound that nearly shook the entire dungeon to collapse. A pillar of light and corpse Qi punched through the ceiling. When the turbulence subsided, a weak ray of sunlight filtered through the hole.

“An exit!” Wen Xin cheered.

Yan Huaixi frowned. She had wanted to keep a low profile, but this power was a bit uncontrolled. She’d have to find a way to hide once they were out.

“Sister, the commotion from your fight was huge, and the disappearance of these people will draw attention. There might be someone waiting at Sanxi City,” Yu Yingxia noted. Her time spent hiding had made her cautious.

“True. And these people…” Yan Huaixi wasn’t sure if the two who guessed her identity would keep it secret.

She liked the little courtyard in Sanxi City the peace, the lack of bloody souls, and her peach-scented rabbit who made delicious food. It was a pity they likely couldn’t stay.

Master? I’ve finally contacted you! Through the hole above, a voice transmission drifted down. It was Si Jinglan.

Don’t come out yet. This area is surrounded by all the Tianqiu Sect masters, including the Sect Master and that idiot named Fang! Si Jinglan sounded annoyed toward the end.

That dog Yin Duo told the others your identity. They’ve set up an array waiting to catch you.

Despite how you protected that idiot Fang before, Yin Duo provoked her, and now she thinks you’re a liar who used her. She has a ‘coffin face’ on; she’s probably coming to settle the score!

Your injuries haven’t fully healed. There are three Sovereigns out there. It might be hard to leave. Do you have a plan you need me to help with?

Also, that dog didn’t even spare his own sect members. Did you see the Judicial Hall people? He suspects them of collaborating with the enemy. If they go back, they’ll likely be thrown into the dungeon and never come out.

Si Jinglan reported the situation. Luckily, they had a special connection, or it would have been hard to reach Yan.

The situation was as she expected. Yan Huaixi told Si Jinglan to stay undercover and not expose herself; she was too valuable as a mole in the inner circle to waste on this.

Yan Huaixi took Yu Yingxia’s hand and sent a transmission: Yingxia, we have to move.

Yu Yingxia froze, then nodded with a hint of reluctance. This was the first “home” she had carefully managed since arriving in this world. She had friends and memories there. Leaving immediately wasn’t easy.

Once things settle down, I’ll take you back secretly. Though they couldn’t return openly, Yan Huaixi didn’t mind using a new disguise to live there if Yu Yingxia liked it. But first, she had to kill the old man and settle the score with the Sect.

Yu Yingxia squeezed her hand. “Okay.”

Wen Xin heard the movement. She wasn’t one to return kindness with ingratitude, and knowing Yin Duo’s crimes, she suspected Yan Huaixi had been framed. She didn’t plan to betray Yan. She had even convinced her companion to play along—once they were out, they’d simply claim they didn’t know who their savior was.

However, Yan Huaixi turned to look at Wen Xin with a half-smile that gave her a bad feeling.

“Your Sect Master and Elders are all outside, waiting to catch ‘traitors’ who collaborated with the enemy.”

Wen Xin’s heart skipped a beat. “He’s outside?”

“Yes.”

“Damn it…” Wen Xin cursed. Yin Duo was indeed cunning and cruel. Even if he wasn’t sure if they had evidence, he intended to pull the roots. She realized they would share the fate of the “scapegoat” elder she had investigated before.

“I’m leaving. What do you plan to do? Since you saved my sister, I can provide a ‘tailing wind’ to help you leave. Or you can stay and explain to your Sect Master. The choice is yours.” Yan Huaixi wanted them alive; they were witnesses, after all.

Aside from the two who knew, the rest of the Judicial Hall members were confused. Traitors? Them?

Wen Xin looked at her companion and said firmly, “We must stay alive to expose Yin Duo. We can’t fall into his hands. Senior, please—what is your plan?”

“The method is simple. There are tools right here.” Yan Huaixi pointed to the panicked living corpses. The strongest among them were at the brink of Sovereign level. She had already cleared out the small fry; she wasn’t going to clean up the whole mess the Sect had made through poor oversight. Plus, she couldn’t leave these for the old man to sacrifice.

“I’ll gift these to them. When things get chaotic up there, no one will notice you. Yin Duo’s attention will be on me. You take the opportunity to escape in the other direction.”

“But the people of Sanxi City…”

“The Sect cleared the city to fight me. You don’t need to worry about that.” Yan Huaixi cast a net of power, capturing the fleeing corpses. “If you’re ready, I’ll begin.”

Above the hole, Si Jinglan, having received the signal, backed away to avoid the trouble. But seeing the stoic Fang Yuetong, she couldn’t help but ask: “Still haven’t figured it out?”

“I need to ask them.” Fang Yuetong held her sword, but she lacked murderous intent—she didn’t even show sword intent. She had no desire to fight. Her voice held a hint of grievance. If Yu Yingxia saw her now, she’d describe her as a “sad Samoyed” kicked out of the house.

Si Jinglan found it both annoying and funny. She maintained a calm, gentle facade.

Jinglan, do you think I should believe Master? Fang Yuetong looked to her for help.

Si Jinglan raised an eyebrow. Oh, the blockhead is starting to think?

But, you probably won’t get a chance to ask. If Master doesn’t want to be found, you have no chance of catching her.

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