After Transmigrating into a Book as Cannon Fodder, I Pampered the Villain - Chapter 68

Chapter 68: Crisis

She deliberately drew close and permeated Yu Yingxia’s soul.

In the far west of the Southern Region lies a forest shrouded in the energy of death. The trees here are withered and gray, and within the woods, only wandering spirits roam humans, animals, and insects, all existing as hollow soul-bodies. This is the periphery of the Lost Realm of Souls.

Influenced by the secret realm, this forest has become a place forbidden to the living. A thousand years ago, Yan Qingxu, the immortal of the Yan family, stumbled into this forest in her youth and discovered the realm. Since then, the secret realm belonged to the Yan family until disaster struck.

After the fall of the Yan family, three smaller clans carved up the unclaimed resources and flourished. Eventually, none of the three would yield their claim to the Lost Realm of Souls, leading to bloody conflicts. Realizing they were all suffering losses and nearly allowing outsiders to seize the opportunity, the three families signed a peace treaty to share the interests of the realm.

“Why did the realm open so early this year? And the gate is so unstable… it’s unsettling.” Because of the fluctuations, the heads of all three families were personally standing guard at the entrance.

“Natural disasters can be resisted, but if it’s a human conspiracy…” The head of the Zhao family looked worried.

“You think it might be man-made too?”

The three patriarchs exchanged looks; they were all thinking the same thing.

“If I wasn’t worried about that, I wouldn’t have come personally. The way the Yan family fell was too bizarre. When I received their distress signal, I rushed there as fast as I could, but who would have thought…” The Zhao Family Head closed her eyes, as if seeing those horrific images again.

The Zhao and Yan families had been friends for generations. In the distant past, the Yan family had saved the Zhao family multiple times. Bound by this debt, the Zhao head had led her people to the rescue immediately. Both families were in the Southern Region, not far apart; the Zhao party arrived within an hour, but they were still too late.

The Yan estate back then was just like this forest—not a single living soul remained. Everyone had died a gruesome death. Not only that, but every corpse was shriveled and desiccated. The killers hadn’t just murdered them; they had squeezed out every drop of energy from their bodies, literally draining their flesh and blood dry!

From the highest elder to the lowest servant, none were spared.

The killers were long gone. The Zhao head had actually felt a surge of relief back then; her strength was similar to the Yan couple, and if those two couldn’t survive even together, her arrival would have only added more souls to the pile.

Later, all she could do was help collect the remains. The drained corpses shattered at a touch; she had spent a great deal of effort just to keep the skeletons intact.

She had been investigating the truth behind the Yan family’s demise ever since, but so far, she had found nothing. That fear remained branded in the depths of her heart.

“Even now, our three families combined might not be a match for the Yan family in their prime. I cannot imagine what kind of enemy could render them so helpless. If the same calamity falls upon us, could we survive?”

Her words silenced the other two. They wouldn’t even have to guess—the answer was no. If that killer truly came, no one here would escape.

“Don’t overthink it. The Yan family must have provoked an outside enemy or were targeted for their treasures. What does it have to do with us? You’re too tense,” the Wang Family Head consoled her, sounding as if he were also trying to convince himself.

“I think if the anomaly of the secret realm is truly man-made, it’s likely the remnants of the Heavenly Soul Sect we defeated together years ago! Perhaps they haven’t given up and want to seize control again!”

“I hope so.” The Zhao head’s expression remained somber. The Heavenly Soul Sect was within their power to control; if this disturbance was indeed a human conspiracy, those remnants being behind it would actually be the “best” outcome.

“The opening time was days earlier than our predictions. I wonder if everyone with a token made it. The gate looks like it’s about to close.” The Qian Family Head stared at the entrance, noticing the flickering vortex was shrinking.

“It seems two of my ‘honored guests’ haven’t arrived yet.” The Wang head looked around. A trade caravan that frequently did business with his family had purchased two tokens. Though they seemed like a mere caravan, the Wang head knew the waters behind them were deep both in wealth and the unfathomable strength of their backer.

“Did they miss it?”

“If they missed it, there’s nothing we can do. The gate’s timing isn’t up to us. This year is too unique. Since they are honored guests, we’ll just reserve their spots for next time.” Before the Qian head could finish his sentence, a gust of wind brushed past them, as if someone had just walked right by.

“Who?!” The Qian head broke into a cold sweat. To be approached so silently—if the person wanted him dead, he would have been a corpse by now. Who was this powerhouse, and why were they entering this realm?

Two figures paused at the entrance for a split second before vanishing inside. The Wang head caught a glimpse of the red-robed woman’s waist, where a token with his caravan’s mark hung. “It seems my two guests made it.”

“Good. It’s a pity they arrived so late, or I would have liked to discuss future business. I suppose we’ll have to wait until they come out.”

Suddenly, the Zhao Family Head, who had been resting her eyes, caught a whiff of blood. She snapped her eyes open and glared toward a pile of rocks nearby. A heavily injured man staggered out from behind the stones.

“Patriarch! Patriarch, something is wrong!” The man was covered in blood. He stumbled a few steps before collapsing.

The Qian head’s face paled. He recognized the man as one of his own—but he had just seen the family team enter the realm with his own eyes! He rushed forward to help him up. “What happened? Didn’t you already go in?”

“No, Patriarch!” The survivor spat out mouthfuls of blood. The Qian head immediately used his spiritual power to stabilize the man’s life.

Between gasps and tears, the man struggled to speak: “Our entire team… was ambushed on the way here. Only I lived. Everyone else is gone. We never even arrived at the gate!”

The Qian head went white. The other two patriarchs’ expressions darkened simultaneously as they looked at the entrance but the gate was already shut.

“Disaster has struck. Once they enter, they can’t receive outside messages! What do we do… the Qian family team inside is a fake!”

Inside the realm, those who had entered were unaware of the lurking danger. Yan Huaixi had known time was tight, so she had carried Yu Yingxia and rushed across half the Southern Region in one breath, barely making it before the gates closed. Even with her cultivation, such a sprint left her slightly winded.

The teleportation array at the entrance dropped them in a random corner. Since it was the “Lost Realm of Souls,” the place was naturally crawling with ghosts.

Yu Yingxia, having been carried the whole way, didn’t feel the fatigue, but her luck was poor. The moment they landed, she was nearly face-to-face with a ghost. Its death had been gruesome its face was a mess of rotted flesh. The two of them appearing startled the ghost, but the sweet scent of living beings quickly drove it to open its mangled mouth toward Yu Yingxia.

Yu Yingxia was still somewhat afraid of ghosts. Though she had improved through training, a jump-scare from a mangled spirit at point-blank range was too much. She shrieked and hugged Yan Huaixi tightly.

“Seeking death.”

Yan Huaixi’s voice was laced with chilling killing intent. She slapped the air, and the ghost that tried to bite Yu Yingxia dissipated like sand in the wind. Technically, the thing was already dead, so it was now “soul-shattered”—a mercy, in a way.

But there were many more. They seemed to have dropped into a nest of ghosts. These spirits had been hungry for ages; seeing two vibrant lives wander in, they moved closer despite seeing their companion obliterated.

Yan Huaixi hadn’t used her spiritual power for the slap, but seeing these annoying gnats persist, she simply released her Pressure. Her spiritual energy was like a surging, roiling tidal wave. Forget these wandering spirits—anyone below the Dao Integration stage would feel like they were suffocating in these “waves.”

In an instant, the chaotic surroundings were cleared.

“Alright, alright. Open your eyes. The ghosts are gone.” Yan Huaixi scanned the area, and once sure nothing scary remained, she softened her tone to coax the person in her arms.

Oh dear, what should I do? The Lost Realm is full of ghosts. If you’re this scared, you’ll have to stay in my arms the whole time.

Yan Huaixi’s lips curled into a smirk. Her teasing look made the already embarrassed Yu Yingxia flush bright red.

“I… I was just startled. Actually… I’m not that afraid of ghosts anymore.” Yu Yingxia brushed her hair down to hide her burning ears. Before they came, Yan Huaixi had explained the realm and warned her it was full of spirits, offering to call it off if she couldn’t handle it. Yu Yingxia remembered patting her chest and promising she wouldn’t be scared. Talk about an immediate face-slap.

Yan Huaixi couldn’t help but chuckle. Yu Yingxia just wanted to bury her head back into the other’s chest.

“Yes, yes. You were just startled, not scared,” Yan Huaixi teased. Yu Yingxia didn’t need to look up to know that “Bad Cat” had a mischievous glint in her eyes.

“Let’s go. Judging by the strength of these ghosts, we were sent to the outermost edge. The real treasures are further in. Let’s take the chance to bring some back.” Yan Huaixi knew she had to move past the topic before the rabbit started biting back out of embarrassment.

Yu Yingxia’s face was still hot. She pretended to be calm and looked around. The death energy here was even heavier than outside, but the difference was that the air was filled with a faint soul power—albeit one riddled with impurities.

However, since entering, the spiritual energy in her body had begun to circulate according to her manual, instinctively absorbing the soul power from the environment. Yu Yingxia was startled, fearing that “dirty things” would flow into her body along with the power.

But miraculously, as her technique ran, it automatically filtered out the impurities! Only clean power was absorbed. Within moments, she felt the strength within her soul become more substantial.

No wonder Yan Huaixi said this was the best training ground for a soul cultivator. It was extraordinary!

Yan Huaixi didn’t expect that in the moment she took to get her bearings, the person beside her had already begun absorbing this “dirty” power! This realm did have great cultivation spots, but this wasn’t one of them!

When she noticed the abnormal fluctuation of soul power in the air, Yu Yingxia had already absorbed a fair amount. Yan Huaixi’s expression changed instantly.

“Don’t absorb the power here!” Fearing the filth would contaminate Yu Yingxia’s soul, she unhesitatingly thrust her own soul power into Yu Yingxia’s body.

Yu Yingxia’s soul instinctively tried to dodge the foreign intrusion, but Yan Huaixi gave her no room to retreat, firmly enveloping her soul with her own power.

This move was extremely forward—no different from a public, intimate caress, perhaps even more excessive.

To Yan Huaixi’s surprise, Yu Yingxia’s soul was as clean as ever. It hadn’t absorbed any filth; it was as if what she had sensed was an illusion.

Yu Yingxia’s soul trembled slightly under the penetration. Due to Yan Huaixi’s “intentional” negligence, Yu Yingxia lacked basic common sense regarding soul cultivators and didn’t realize what this move signified. She could only passively endure Yan Huaixi’s actions.

Her current, pitiful state made her look even more enticing. Seeing those misty eyes caused Yan Huaixi’s breath to hitch.

The “base” instincts in her heart surged. After confirming Yu Yingxia wasn’t contaminated, instead of pulling away, Yan Huaixi deliberately pressed closer… and gave her soul a gentle “knead.”

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