Reborn as a Human Cauldron, But I'm the Top - Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Death and Falling in the Rain

Shen Yirong dragged her heavily injured body, fleeing into the woods. A bolt of lightning struck in front of her, narrowly missing her. The rain poured down, soaking her completely.

This body was constantly ill and always wore thick clothes because it couldn’t stand the wind. Now, the weight of the rain-soaked clothes felt like she was carrying a person on her back.

“She’s over there!”

“Hahaha! What Sword Venerable? She’s not even as good as a small Foundation Establishment cultivator.”

Shen Yirong was in a bind. Ahead was the forbidden area of the Taian Sect, and behind her were the rapidly approaching demonic cultivators.

“Host, run to the right.”

The cold mechanical voice rang out. Shen Yirong cursed under her breath and ran right, her mouth full of blood. She could barely see the path ahead, and she felt like she was about to die.

She fell in the rain, then stood up with sheer willpower. She saw someone standing in front of her and strained to reach out her hand to her, “Help.”

“Master.”

Shen Yirong heard clearly and looked up, seeing a pair of eyes stained crimson. It was Song Yin, the disciple she had banished from the sect.

The Song Yin before her was covered in injuries, with demonic energy surging from wounds deep enough to expose bone. That cold, jade-like face was intact, but devoid of smiles. Shen Yirong saw her own pathetic appearance in those crimson eyes, her white robe stained red with blood.

Song Yin was still wearing the Taian Sect uniform.

And her current state was entirely thanks to Shen Yirong.

Everyone in the Taian Sect knew that the Sword Venerable’s disciple was obedient and sensible, never complaining about the Sword Venerable’s harshness. Yet, the Sword Venerable’s heart was cold as iron, constantly finding excuses to torment her.

Usually, it was minor abuse, but half a month ago, the Sword Venerable suddenly shattered her disciple’s spiritual root and threw her out of the Taian Sect.

Shen Yirong was that wicked Sword Venerable. Facing the victim, she found herself speechless, yet she also felt a sense of relief.

No one knew she was a transmigrator bound to a system, doing all this only to make the female lead ‘blacken.’ Once the world returned to the correct trajectory, the system would return her freedom.

Now, only one thing remained: letting the female lead kill her.

Shen Yirong struggled to sit up. She sat in the mud, arrogantly raising her chin, still pretending to be the aloof, immaculate immortal sitting high above.

“Disobedient wretch.”

Song Yin’s hand holding the sword trembled constantly. If she wanted to, this sword could pierce Shen Yirong’s chest.

But Song Yin dropped the sword and embraced Shen Yirong.

Song Yin smelled very good, a delicate scent of orchids. Shen Yirong had never been held so presumptuously, but she had no strength left to resist and could only move her lips.

“Put me down.”

The usually obedient Song Yin, for the first time, did not heed her command. Her spring-like voice held a hint of compromise and plea, “I know Master despises me, but it is dangerous now. Taian is besieged by demonic cultivators and is on the brink of collapse. Come with me, okay?”

Looking up revealed the oppressive, dark sky, a result of the demonic cultivators’ dark arts. The pitch-black canopy was briefly torn open by a sword, then quickly sealed again, followed by a heavier, more pungent stench.

Taian was already showing signs of decline.

Shen Yirong knew the plot from the system. She closed her eyes, choosing temporary escape, “Alright.”

She dared not look at the tragedy above, dared not face her powerless self, and dared not meet the expectant gaze of the person before her.

Song Yin’s eyes, seeing no immediate reply, grew a deeper shade of crimson.

“I will go with you.”

The crimson in Song Yin’s eyes receded. She held Shen Yirong tightly, then gently loosened her grip, afraid of harming her Master’s fragile body.

The wind whistled past her ears. Shen Yirong gradually stopped smelling the demonic energy, only the fragrance emanating from Song Yin.

She heard Song Yin panting heavily. The wind suddenly became unstable, and the sword beneath their feet lost control. They tumbled down from the sword.

She was tightly shielded in Song Yin’s embrace and ended up completely unharmed.

Opening her eyes, she saw blood at the corner of the other party’s mouth. Shen Yirong wanted to wipe it away, but just moving a finger brought a warning from the depths of her soul. She couldn’t, so she had to give up.

Song Yin showed little emotion. In Shen Yirong’s memory, she hadn’t smiled in a very long time.

There was a stone cave nearby, covered by overlapping tree shadows, suitable for hiding.

Song Yin picked up Shen Yirong, removed her own outer robe, placed the clean side outward, and laid the person onto it.

She then found a corner for herself and quietly meditated to recover.

Shen Yirong watched her, always feeling that the demonic energy around her seemed much more docile.

There were loopholes in the system’s mission. Just like last time, the mission only said to shatter the spiritual root, but it didn’t specify the degree of shattering, so Shen Yirong held back.

Song Yin’s body was special. That level of damage had already been mended in half a month, but what about the other injuries on her body?

As she thought, Song Yin suddenly looked over. Shen Yirong quickly avoided her gaze.

Sensing that Song Yin’s gaze had vanished, Shen Yirong secretly peeked again.

The light inside the cave was dim, but Shen Yirong felt that Song Yin’s face was glowing. Song Yin possessed everything a female lead should have: beautiful looks, heaven-defying talent, and absent parents coupled with unimaginable suffering in the early stages.

However, after enduring this suffering, her life would be smooth sailing.

Recalling that the original book was a GL harem novel, Shen Yirong felt sickened. Having spent too long with Song Yin, Shen Yirong truly couldn’t imagine what this face would look like running a harem.

She could only accept one-on-one relationships!

If she were to become one of the members of this harem, she would try every means to escape.

Shen Yirong’s eyes changed. She shook her head, not understanding why she would have such thoughts. In the end, she could only look at Song Yin with eyes full of disdain, as if looking at a small cake that was about to spoil.

Song Yin was made so uncomfortable by her stare that she stopped meditating and walked over to Shen Yirong.

Shen Yirong was holding her Su Yu Sword. She saw Song Yin rummaging through her storage ring and pulling out a fully bloomed lotus flower.

The lotus flower shimmered, with spiritual energy intertwined and dancing in its center. Just smelling its fragrance made Shen Yirong feel her breathing ease considerably.

The Nine Souls Snow Lotus. This thing bloomed only once every thousand years and grew exclusively in places of extreme cold with dense spiritual energy. Spiritual beasts often guarded the lotus.

Just one petal could save a person on their last breath.

Song Yin plucked a petal and brought it to Shen Yirong’s lips, “Master, open your mouth.”

The petal was very cold. Shen Yirong’s conscience ached terribly. She suddenly understood how Song Yin got those injuries. Given the flower’s quality, the accompanying spiritual beast would have millennia of cultivation. A Nascent Soul cultivator going there would surely die, yet she…

Shen Yirong turned her head away. Using this spiritual item on her injuries would only be a waste; it was better for Song Yin to keep it for herself.

For so many years, Shen Yirong had never understood Song Yin. No matter how excessive her master was, the other party never seemed to hate her, always quietly following behind her.

Pushing away Song Yin’s hand from her lips, Shen Yirong sat up straight and said weakly, “Where are you taking me?”

Song Yin knelt before her, as if she were still the obedient disciple beneath the Sword Venerable. She carefully restrained her demonic energy, her eyes seemingly holding light.

“Wherever Master wishes to go. If Master is unsure, Wanyue Mountain is suitable for recuperation. We’ll go there.”

“Master, are you willing?”

The last sentence seemed to tremble slightly.

“Agree to her.”

Shen Yirong frowned. She felt a twinge of unwillingness, but sighed, “Then let’s go.”

The aura of demonic cultivators seemed to be moving towards them. Song Yin ignored her own injuries and picked up Shen Yirong again. This was the first time they had been this close.

Shen Yirong looked at the white clouds drifting by and felt a sense of relief that things were coming to an end, mixed with confusion and guilt towards Song Yin.

So many emotions churned in her mind, draining her of all strength.

Closing her eyes, all she saw were memories of these years. She spoke in exhaustion, “I will not treat you harshly anymore in the future.”

Song Yin’s body stiffened, and she seemed to squeeze out a single sound from her throat, “Mm.”

Song Yin said, “From now on, we will be good.”

Shen Yirong did not reply. The demonic cultivators had already caught up and surrounded them.

Song Yin shielded Shen Yirong behind her. In half a month, her sword technique seemed to have improved significantly. Facing demonic cultivators with much higher cultivation, she could surprisingly fight them equally.

Just as Song Yin was about to break through the encirclement, she suddenly felt a sharp pain in her back. She turned to see Shen Yirong’s cold face.

The Su Yu Sword stabbed into Song Yin’s shoulder, instantly locking all her spiritual meridians. Song Yin lost the ability to resist and was captured by the demonic cultivators.

Shen Yirong wiped the blood from the sword, listening to the demonic cultivators laughing heartily.

“Such deep master-disciple affection, indeed~ Too bad I already made a deal with your Master long ago. I didn’t think you’d actually show up when Taian was in trouble!”

“The Protector has been coveting her physique for a long time, but this one is like an eel, impossible to catch. Fortunately, you still care about your good Master.”

Song Yin seemed to understand something. She looked at Shen Yirong, “You lied to me.”

Shen Yirong turned around, not looking at her, “I’ll leave her to you.”

Even at this point, Shen Yirong was unwilling to say a single word to Song Yin, not even a word of sarcasm, as if Song Yin held no significance to her.

Song Yin looked at Shen Yirong’s heartless back and suddenly laughed.

It’s like this again. Always like this. I thought this time would be different. Turns out it was a deception from the start.

“Liar.”

Dense demonic energy surged skyward, throwing the demonic cultivators restraining Song Yin far away, knocking them unconscious. The rain fell harder.

Shen Yirong turned around. A sword pierced through her chest. She staggered, swaying as she fell from the sky.

Consciousness was pulled from her body. The wind and rain subsided, leaving only the system’s voice ringing clearly.

“Congratulations, Host, the mission is complete! The Female Lead has successfully blackened. The world trajectory is restored to normal. System is detaching. Choosing a new vessel for the Host. Please wait.”

Shen Yirong struggled to open her eyes. She could only see blurry figures now.

The mission was complete, and she was free. Her actions and expressions now belonged entirely to her. So, when that figure landed beside her, she forced herself to smile.

She wanted to say sorry. Seeing the person lowering their head, she used all her strength to raise her head to speak. Did she touch something?

It’s so tiring, forget it.

Song Yin probably hated her to death. She wondered what her next life’s identity would be. No matter what it was, she hoped to stay far away from Song Yin.

She can run her harem, and I’ll live my ordinary life.

Song Yin’s eyes were utterly crimson. She stared blankly at the person lying on the ground, seeing Shen Yirong smile, seemingly with something to say to her.

She asked coldly, “Do you have any last words?”

Shen Yirong’s voice was too soft. Song Yin leaned down, but the other party raised her head and lightly kissed her cheek.

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