Reborn as a Human Cauldron, But I'm the Top - Chapter 68

Chapter 68: Reversal: The Heart Demon

What was the point of this disguise? They had spent so long rehearsing lines and checking their outfits, all to avoid problems.

Shen Yirong couldn’t help but glance at Shen Shuci. When she looked over, Shen Shuci was completely motionless, as if she had turned to stone.

Mei Xin opened the window. The room slowly brightened. A frail woman lay on the bed, her eyes filled with a gentle smile.

The room was somewhat small, containing only a bed and a table, with no expensive decorations. The only thing worth noting was that looking out the window, one could see the crabapple blossom path they had just walked through.

The Sect Master, with Mei Xin’s help, sat up. She was as thin as a withered branch. Her clothes hung loosely on her, her collarbones were deeply sunken, and her face was so thin she was unrecognizable.

Shen Yirong saw a slight shadow of her past self in her.

The Sect Master coughed twice. Her attitude was very cordial, as if the visitors did not include the Demon Venerable and the Vice Pavilion Master of the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion.

“I apologize. The house is simple. Please sit wherever you like.”

She said so, but the room was too small for so many people.

Shen Yirong was wary. “No need. How is your health, Sect Master?”

The Sect Master laughed freely, her facial skin pulling tight. “I don’t have many days left. It’s a great fortune to see you all before I die.”

“Cough, cough. Since you’ve all traveled so far, please stay at the Nine Heavens Sect for a few days, if you don’t mind.”

Shen Yirong looked at Mei Xin. She didn’t have much impression of this Sect Master; her main reason for coming was Mei Xin.

The highest status here clearly belonged to Song Yin, but the Sect Master only spoke to Shen Yirong. Without realizing it, Shen Yirong had become the backbone of the trio.

Shen Yirong glanced back at Song Yin.

“You decide,” Song Yin said, then closed her eyes to rest.

After receiving permission, Shen Yirong nodded and agreed. “Very well, thank you for your hospitality.”

The Sect Master smiled. “Forgive me for my poor health. I’ll trouble Venerable Mei with the rest of the arrangements.”

Mei Xin: “Understood.”

The Sect Master looked at Shen Yirong again, then slowly lay back down.

Mei Xin closed the window again, and the Sect Master’s figure sank back into darkness.

Mei Xin walked up to the group. “Follow me.”

Having Mei Xin around always felt a bit reassuring. Shen Yirong led Song Yin and Shen Shuci, following closely behind Mei Xin.

The coughing in the room continued. Shen Yirong looked back and could only see darkness. The floral scent here was the most intense.

Mei Xin was very familiar with the Nine Heavens Sect. The disciples here were also very respectful of her. She led the group to accommodations near the Star-Catching Hall.

The rooms here were very clean. Despite being a sect primarily focused on music cultivation, there were no traces of it in the room. Instead, some sword manuals hung on the walls.

Shen Yirong liked it immediately. She wandered around the room, occasionally flipping through the sword manuals.

Seeing Mei Xin about to leave, Shen Yirong spoke up. “Where is Senior Sister Mei’s residence here?”

Mei Xin led the reluctant Shen Shuci out. Hearing Shen Yirong’s voice, she turned back. “The Sect Master is unwell. I am currently living in the Star-Catching Hall to care for her.”

Shen Yirong found it strange. With so many people in the Nine Heavens Sect, why have an outsider care for her?

Still feeling uneasy, Shen Yirong said, “Senior Sister, be careful.”

A slight smile appeared in Mei Xin’s eyes. “I will.”

Mei Xin took Shen Shuci to a different dwelling, while Shen Yirong and Song Yin were arranged together again.

The room was spacious enough, and Shen Yirong had no objections.

After watching Mei Xin leave, she went to look at the sword manuals.

Mei Xin returned after settling Shen Shuci. She stood at the doorway, watching Shen Yirong absorbed in the sword manuals, and also felt a sense of disorientation.

A long time ago, Shen Yirong used to come to the Nine Heavens Sect to instruct the disciples. This place was the residence specially prepared for Shen Yirong by the Nine Heavens Sect.

Now, Shen Yirong wore the clothes she often wore in the past, stood in the house she used to live in, and was flipping through the sword manuals she once read.

Mei Xin didn’t want to disturb Shen Yirong, so she looked at the other person in the room.

Song Yin had been intently watching Shen Yirong’s back. Seeing that Mei Xin seemed to have something to say, she quietly walked out of the room.

Mei Xin led Song Yin all the way to the mountain peak. The view here was excellent; they could see the entire Nine Heavens Sect panorama.

The wild wind on the mountaintop blew off the bamboo hat on Mei Xin’s head. Mei Xin reached out and pulled the drifting hat back.

She turned and looked at Song Yin behind her. “You are not Song Yin.”

Song Yin was slightly surprised. She lowered her eyebrows and smiled faintly. “Venerable Mei is quite sharp, but I am also Song Yin.”

Mei Xin still shook her head. “No, you are not. What are you trying to do?”

Song Yin stood with her arms crossed, leaning against the nearby crabapple tree. She gave a wicked smile. “What I want to do is none of your business. But what do you want to do?”

Song Yin was genuinely curious. She chuckled softly and approached Mei Xin, her eyes swirling with crimson. “Shen Yirong can’t tell because she has amnesia, but you couldn’t possibly not feel it.”

Mei Xin was very calm. “You actually figured it out. Why aren’t you running?”

Song Yin looked indifferent. After stretching, she turned her back to the cliff, seemingly intending to fall backward.

Mei Xin quickly reached out and pulled her back.

Song Yin was still smiling after regaining her footing. She seemed to find such acts stimulating and interesting.

She chuckled twice. “Haha, interesting. You see, I don’t care about the life and death of this body.”

Mei Xin stared at her blood-red eyes for a long time. She said with certainty, “You are her Heart Demon.”

“Clever.” The Heart Demon highly admired Mei Xin’s intelligence. She deliberately lowered her voice to tempt, “Do you want to avenge your Junior Sister? If you kill me here, the matter is settled.”

Mei Xin was unmoved. “Why should I do that?”

The Heart Demon continued to tempt. “Song Yin killed your Junior Sister. Don’t you hate her?”

Mei Xin looked at the Song Yin-like figure wriggling like a maggot in front of her. She closed her eyes, then quietly took out a recording stone. After a soft click, Mei Xin put the recording stone back into her spiritual ring.

The Heart Demon immediately froze. She asked, confused, “What are you doing?”

Mei Xin was very honest. “Showing this to Song Yin when she wakes up.”

This answer completely enraged the Heart Demon. Her face became ferocious. “Hehe! Song Yin can’t come back!”

Mei Xin shook her head. She asked very curiously, “Why don’t you die now? If you delay any longer, you won’t have the chance.”

The Heart Demon snorted coldly. She seemed very confident that she wouldn’t be erased and brazenly stated her thoughts.

Or perhaps she inherited a certain trait from Song Yin: a bit of arrogance.

The Heart Demon looked at Mei Xin with contempt. “What do you know? Killing just one Song Yin is too boring. I want the lives of everyone, whether it’s you or Shen Yirong.”

Looking at the malevolent-looking Song Yin, Mei Xin skillfully pulled out the recording stone and clicked another shot.

Heart Demon: “…”

The Heart Demon was speechless. She couldn’t help but ask, “I want to kill you. Don’t you want to kill me?”

Mei Xin was still fiddling with the recording stone. This item was given to her by the Nine Heavens Sect Master. She was still unfamiliar with the latest model, and the result was that the photo she just took didn’t save.

Mei Xin frowned slightly. She looked at the Song Yin body, which was now possessed by the Heart Demon, and sincerely requested, “Can you repeat the previous movement and expression?”

The Heart Demon was on the verge of collapse, facing Mei Xin who completely refused to play along. She reached out to slap away the recording stone in Mei Xin’s hand but was restrained by the other party.

“It’s expensive. No.”

The Heart Demon felt like she was about to develop a Heart Demon of her own. She was proud of tormenting Song Yin for hundreds of years. Now that she finally had the body, she wanted to show off her moves.

Song Yin couldn’t die, but not dying was even better. This way, the Heart Demon could continuously taste Song Yin’s pain.

However, besides Song Yin, the Heart Demon also wanted to taste the suffering of others, especially Shen Yirong’s.

That’s why she had been tempting Mei Xin to kill her. Then, she would tell Shen Yirong the news. She was very curious what Shen Yirong’s expression would be.

If Shen Yirong chose Mei Xin, the awakened Song Yin would be extremely pained.

If Shen Yirong chose Song Yin, she would inevitably clash with Mei Xin, and one of them would surely be injured in the fight.

No matter the scenario, the Heart Demon wouldn’t lose.

But now, Mei Xin simply wouldn’t take the bait. The Heart Demon was enraged to the point of laughter. She inherited Song Yin’s memories, and her eyes rolled, yielding a new idea.

She stopped struggling and said with a light smile, “Has Venerable found your Master?”

Mei Xin’s eyes changed slightly. “No.”

The Heart Demon continued to tempt. “It’s too difficult to get information from the Nine Heavens Sect Master, but Song Yin knows how to find her.”

Mei Xin hesitated slightly. “How?”

The Heart Demon’s pupils became an even more vibrant red, reflecting Mei Xin’s bewildered face.

Some high-level Heart Demons can possess bodies. After possessing a body, they won’t immediately kill the host but will find ways to torment those close to the host.

After possessing the body, this type of Heart Demon will try to make others develop Heart Demons as well.

“Hiss!” Shen Yirong gasped when she saw the last line of text. She nervously closed the book.

These sword manuals were mixed with a book about Heart Demons. Some things here Shen Yirong hadn’t even seen in the Demon Palace.

Shen Yirong worried when she thought of Song Yin’s Heart Demon, but the book didn’t describe what happens to a person whose body is seized by a Heart Demon.

This Heart Demon seemed like some kind of contagious disease.

Shen Yirong turned around. “Revered One.”

The room was empty. Besides the walls full of sword manuals, there was nothing else.

Shen Yirong’s heart instantly leaped to her throat. The current Song Yin was extremely fragile; if an enemy found her, she wouldn’t survive.

Shen Yirong was about to run out to search. She was so anxious that she tripped over the threshold, but fortunately, she fell into Song Yin’s arms.

Her waist tightened, and she heard laughter from above her head. “Hehe, are you that worried about this Venerable?”

The sentence was highly ambiguous. Shen Yirong felt an electric shock run through her body. She pushed Song Yin away to maintain some distance.

Although she felt something was strange, seeing Song Yin safe made her feel much relieved.

Shen Yirong couldn’t help but scold. “The Revered One should have told me when you went out.”

The Heart Demon stepped into the room. Seeing a book about Heart Demons on the table, she casually flipped through it and paused upon seeing a certain page.

Seeing her change of expression, Shen Yirong quickly said, “The Revered One would never experience something like that.”

The corner of the Heart Demon’s mouth lifted slightly. “Of course. How could this Venerable be defeated by a mere Heart Demon?”

That line sounded like Song Yin again. Shen Yirong temporarily put aside her doubts.

Unconsciously, the sky outside had turned orange-yellow again.

Shen Yirong was too absorbed in reading to notice the passage of time.

She wondered what Song Yin had done during the time she was out?

Song Yin didn’t need to report her movements, but Shen Yirong was truly worried and couldn’t help but ask, “Where did the Revered One go?”

The Heart Demon looked drowsy and tired. She yawned. “Went out with Mei Xin for a trip.”

The Heart Demon lay down on the only bed in the room, then rolled over to face Shen Yirong.

The Heart Demon’s smile was gentle, but her eyes were shimmering, carrying a subtle allure. “Why aren’t you speaking? Are you unhappy that this Venerable went out with Mei Xin?”

Shen Yirong didn’t mean that. She quickly denied it. “Of course not.”

Shen Yirong’s answer didn’t satisfy the Heart Demon, and the surging emotions deep inside tormented her. The consciousness of the original body seemed to be screaming wildly in her ear.

“She’s actually not angry! How can she not be angry!”

The Heart Demon’s head ached from the noise. She hadn’t expected that after possessing the body, the original consciousness could still hear and see everything outside.

It’s so sour inside. I want to go crazy. I want to cry. I want to grab Shen Yirong’s shoulders and shake her frantically.

The Heart Demon felt like she was going crazy. She struggled to suppress the original consciousness, finally forcing that consciousness into slumber.

This was too terrifying. The Heart Demon eyed Shen Yirong warily, then pulled the covers over herself, leaving only her back visible to Shen Yirong.

“This Venerable is resting. Do as you please.”

Shen Yirong looked at Song Yin, who was completely bundled up except for her head. She truly didn’t understand why Song Yin was angry.

If the other party was angry, it was best not to disturb her.

Shen Yirong was very interested in everything in this room. She carefully re-read the book about Heart Demons. After failing to find any other useful information, Shen Yirong put the book back in its place.

She took up a brush and started to refine the sword manuals. While refining, she noticed that parts of these manuals were missing.

Shen Yirong suddenly became interested in restoration. She took all the damaged sword manuals to the desk and carefully deduced the missing content.

The missing parts were all diagrams. Shen Yirong drew the diagrams and set them aside. By the time she had drawn all the missing diagrams, the moon had risen overhead.

Shen Yirong rubbed her sore, stiff neck. Her bones cracked loudly as she moved.

Looking at the results on the table, Shen Yirong didn’t feel tired at all.

She picked up two of the completed diagrams to look at, but upon closer inspection, she discovered a problem.

Shen Yirong frowned tightly. She held the two diagrams side-by-side against the moonlight. The diagrams seemed to connect.

Shen Yirong quickly took the other diagrams to compare. There was indeed a connection between these diagrams.

When pieced together, the movements of the figures on these diagrams formed the outline of an eye socket.

Shen Yirong pondered the diagrams. If she remembered correctly, the two rivers outside the Nine Heavens Sect’s gate were arranged similarly.

She felt that this couldn’t be a coincidence. Shen Yirong studied it for a long time, then suddenly gasped in surprise.

This appeared to be a variation of a sacrificial array. Sacrificial arrays were no small matter. She wondered why a righteous immortal sect like the Nine Heavens Sect would have such a thing.

But perhaps it was just a coincidence?

Shen Yirong continued her research. She compared the diagram and realized that the center of the sacrifice should be the position of the pupil.

If mapped accordingly…

It was the Star-Catching Hall!

Many unsettling conjectures immediately surfaced in Shen Yirong’s mind.

The Heart Demon wasn’t asleep. She had already turned around, watching Shen Yirong fiddle with the sword manuals. She watched Shen Yirong’s actions with interest, planning how to make Shen Yirong also develop a Heart Demon.

Seeing Shen Yirong’s expression suddenly turn blank, she felt the opportunity might have arrived. She got up and walked over to Shen Yirong.

She looked at the diagrams arranged on the table. After a while, she realized she couldn’t understand them.

Shen Yirong murmured, “Senior Sister.”

Seeing the panic all over Shen Yirong’s face, the Heart Demon opened her mouth to ask what was going on.

But Shen Yirong ignored her and ran straight out, disappearing after a burst of sword flight.

Only the Heart Demon was left in the room. The paper and brush on the table were knocked to the ground by Shen Yirong’s sleeve, and the ink from the brush splattered onto the corner of the Heart Demon’s clothes.

She took a step back in disgust. When she tried to chase, she found her body was not cooperating.

Just as she was feeling frustrated, Shen Yirong flew back from the distance.

The corner of the Heart Demon’s mouth curled up. She immediately stepped forward and asked, “What happened?”

Shen Yirong looked anxious. She was in no mood to explain to anyone, focusing only on setting up various restrictions and barriers in the room.

The ignored Heart Demon was furious. She said coldly, “How dare you ignore this Venerable!”

Shen Yirong finally looked up, but the expression on her face was extremely poor.

She was crying. Shen Yirong was actually crying.

Shen Yirong also felt that she was being too embarrassing. She wiped away her tears and tried to calm down.

“Venerable, please stay here for now. I have a very important matter to handle.”

The Heart Demon still wanted to cause trouble. “Heh, what matter is making you so flustered?”

Shen Yirong only shook her head. In her current identity, she was not close to Mei Xin. If she said she was going to save Mei Xin, it would certainly arouse suspicion.

“Venerable, stay here properly. No matter who tells you to open the restriction, do not listen. This is the Nine Heavens Sect, after all.”

While speaking, Shen Yirong added over a dozen more restrictions to the area. Once finished, she disappeared again on a flying sword.

The Heart Demon was almost driven mad. She went back and picked up the papers to study, thinking that with Song Yin’s memory, she should be able to figure something out.

She arranged the papers together, imitating Shen Yirong’s movements, and then desperately searched through Song Yin’s memory, trying to decipher it.

Song Yin’s memory was indeed useful. She figured out that it was some kind of array, but besides that, she couldn’t see anything else.

Just as she was about to continue her research, Song Yin’s voice clearly transmitted to her.

“This is a sacrificial array. The array core is the Star-Catching Hall.”

The Heart Demon looked like she had seen a ghost. She said, somewhat hysterically, “Get out of my head!”

“Star-Catching Hall? Is the Nine Heavens Sect sacrificing their Sect Master? Why?”

Song Yin completely ignored the Heart Demon’s words, merely analyzing the current situation on her own.

The ignored Heart Demon couldn’t help but raise her voice. “Song Yin!”

However, her anger was useless. She realized with horror that her hand was moving upward on its own.

It arranged the papers more neatly, and finally picked up the brush from the ground and dotted the center.

The Heart Demon tried to control her hand, but couldn’t. Meanwhile, Song Yin’s voice continued.

“This is bad! She must be going to save Mei Xin!”

“She would go to such lengths for Mei Xin!”

The Heart Demon was again affected by Song Yin’s emotions. She felt that surging, sour emotion deep inside her heart again.

She clutched the clothes across her chest, panting heavily, yet still felt incredibly uncomfortable.

Normally, when hidden inside Song Yin’s body, she couldn’t feel Song Yin’s pain. Now that she had stolen the body, she got the full experience.

Who is the Heart Demon here!

Unable to resist the emotion, tears welled up in the Heart Demon’s eyes. She wasn’t as tolerant as Song Yin, so she followed her instincts and lay on the ground, rolling around.

But Song Yin didn’t seem to intend to let her off the hook, still wildly jealous.

“Why! Mei Xin, why!”

“D*mn it! D*mn Mei Xin!”

“Ah!! Why is she stealing this Venerable’s Master!”

Her stomach felt uneasy. Her intestines and stomach felt like they were being twisted. For the first time, the Heart Demon experienced the feeling of being so sad she wanted to vomit.

She tremblingly reached out and grabbed the leg of the desk, but the desk was too light. It was dragged by her, and the books piled chaotically on it lost their balance and crashed onto her.

The Heart Demon was out of options. She even considered abandoning Song Yin’s body, but she tragically discovered that she couldn’t retreat, forced to bear Song Yin’s pain.

She screwed up her face and, abandoning her pride, pleaded, “Please, stop!”

Silence followed. The Heart Demon thought Song Yin had decided to let her go, but the next second, she heard Song Yin’s voice.

“Does this array seem to absorb all consciousness?”

The Heart Demon was also a consciousness entity. She was startled to hear Song Yin’s voice.

The Heart Demon, who was originally planning to follow Shen Yirong and find an opportunity to cause trouble, immediately gave up that idea.

She covered her cramping stomach and lay back on the bed, but this provoked Song Yin’s dissatisfaction.

She threatened menacingly: Get up! Go save the person for this Venerable!

The Heart Demon wasn’t that stupid. She hadn’t suffered enough pain yet. How could she die young?

So, she put on a weak-looking face and smiled arrogantly. “No! What can you do to me?”

“Heh.”

As soon as Song Yin’s cold laugh fell, the Heart Demon’s hand became uncontrollable again. It immediately squeezed the Heart Demon’s neck, and a sense of suffocation rushed up.

After a while, the hand released. The Heart Demon could finally breathe.

“You now have two choices. One is to be tormented by me, and the second is to set off for the Star-Catching Hall to save her right now.”