Stepping in for the Heroine to Crush the Protagonist Group [Transmigration] - Chapter 20

When Hu Li awoke, her lower body was caught in a thicket, and her upper body was covered in branches and leaves.

She shook her head from side to side, tossing off the foliage obscuring her vision, and surveyed her surroundings.

It was a dense forest, deserted and so quiet that all she could hear was the rustling of the wind passing through the branches overhead.

The Water Moon Secret Realm (Shuiyue Secret Realm), the location for this year’s Grand Immortal Sect Tournament.

Hu Li quickly realized where she was. She then crawled out of the brush and asked the System, “Where is Gu Sheng?”

The System activated its positioning function, unfurled the map of the Water Moon Secret Realm in Hu Li’s Sea of Consciousness, and marked a flashing red dot: “Host, the female lead is here.”

Afterward, remembering Hu Li’s terrible sense of direction, it also marked Hu Li’s current location with a blue dot.

With the prompt, Hu Li immediately flipped out of the bushes, using all four paws to rush toward Gu Sheng’s location.

The distance between her and Gu Sheng wasn’t far. After running approximately a hundred steps, Hu Li arrived at the location of the red dot in her Sea of Consciousness.

However, unexpectedly, she didn’t see Gu Sheng’s figure at the red dot. All she found were an identity token and the white Daoist robe.

Hu Li frowned. She thought, Even if Gu Sheng wanted to hide the token, she wouldn’t just leave it out in the open like this. Suspicion arose in her heart, and she raised a paw to examine the identity token.

The token was still jade green, and the groove carved with the name hadn’t lit up, meaning Gu Sheng hadn’t verified her identity yet.

Hu Li: “System, locate Gu Sheng again.”

The System flickered, re-scanned the map of the Water Moon Secret Realm, and replied moments later: “Host, the female lead’s location is only showing this spot in the entire Water Moon Secret Realm. Of course, there’s one other possibility: the female lead left her things here and fled the Grand Immortal Sect Tournament.”

Fled the tournament? Absolutely impossible. It must be that something went wrong during the Secret Realm’s teleportation process.

Thinking this, Hu Li pulled off the bracelet on her wrist, replaced it with the ‘Scent-Veiling 2.0’ that Gu Sheng had given her, and transformed into her human form.

Gu Sheng hadn’t entered the Water Moon Secret Realm, but Hu Li still had to complete her mission.

Therefore, Hu Li quickly brainstormed several plans, finally settling on the one most convenient for her to execute.

She put on Gu Sheng’s white-based Daoist robe, then chanted a spell, transforming herself into Gu Sheng’s appearance. She then picked up the identity token and input her information.

“Tianyan Sect’s Gu Sheng, entering the Grand Immortal Sect Tournament.”

The identity token chimed, and a beam of white light immediately flew out of the Water Moon Secret Realm, connecting to the Water Moon Mirror that monitored the realm’s situation.

In front of the four Water Moon Mirrors, the accompanying elders of the various sects gathered, solemnly observing the events unfolding in the Water Moon Secret Realm.

“Oh, so this is the Young Sect Master of your Tianyan Sect? First time seeing her, indeed.” A gray-robed, goatee-bearded old Daoist mocked.

He was the accompanying elder of the Piaomiao Sect, Lingqing Zhenren. Because the Tianyan Sect always outperformed them in previous years, seeing the sect send only these three young women this time made him unable to resist running his mouth.

“That’s right. I hear this Young Sect Master Gu has been sickly since childhood. I don’t know how Sect Master Gu could bear to send his precious daughter here to suffer this hardship,” echoed a male cultivator, cross-dressing with a face full of rouge and powder.

He was Elder Que Xiang of the Hehuan Sect. The Hehuan Sect constantly relied on the Piaomiao Sect, so everyone in the sect, from the Sect Master and elders down to the inner and outer disciples, always fawned over the Piaomiao Sect members.

Hearing this, Yu Shibai’s face alternated between red and white. Although he felt they had a point, he defended his disciple. “Sheng-yatou is quick-witted and intelligent. Even if her body is weak, with her mind, she will surely make the brutish louts and pretty-boy dummies you brought look bad.”

“Brutish lout” Lingqing Zhenren blew on his beard and immediately retorted, “We’ll see about that.”

Having said that, he ignored Yu Shibai and kept his gaze fixed on Hu Li in the Water Moon Mirror.

Hu Li was unaware of the verbal bloodbath happening outside. She held a twig, squatting on the ground, poking a woman lying at her feet, her mind racing.

The woman was from the Miaoyin Sect, named Fang Lanshi. She had passed by earlier and tried to sneak attack Hu Li, but Hu Li instantly knocked her out.

Hu Li stared at her, pulled off the token at her waist, but didn’t rush to crush it. After a moment of thought, she removed the Gu Sheng token from her own waist and hung Fang Lanshi’s token there instead.

Next, Hu Li memorized her appearance, stood up, and transformed herself into the woman’s image.

This was the beauty of the fox clan’s Illusionary Visage technique. She could become whatever she wanted.

Hu Li smiled, pulled the red jade hairpin from her sleeve, and transformed it into a transverse flute, which she held.

Everything ready, Hu Li pulled the little coal ball out of her storage pouch. She then tucked Gu Sheng’s identity token into the coal ball’s arms and instructed, “You take this token and run as far as you can. Hide when you see people, run when you don’t. Understand?”

The little coal ball, holding a token twice its size, nodded at Hu Li. It then tossed the token onto a nearby lake and quickly used it as a raft to begin its drift.

Hu Li glanced at it, then lowered her eyes to Fang Lanshi, who was still unconscious and likely wouldn’t wake up for three to five days. She placed a high-grade invisibility talisman, which she’d snagged from Shang Miaoyun, on her.

With the person hidden, Hu Li, using Fang Lanshi’s identity, began wandering aimlessly.

Most of the other sect disciples had already grouped up. Hu Li, traveling alone, didn’t plan to look for Shang Miaoyun or Min Xiuhe.

That’s because, while she was sunbathing on the immortal ferry, she’d heard Shang Miaoyun say that with too many people participating in the tournament, she chose to use an invisibility talisman and act like an ostrich the whole time.

As for Min Xiuhe, that ‘wife-obsessed maniac’ would naturally follow Shang Miaoyun’s lead and couldn’t be relied upon at all.

Hu Li sighed, feeling lost about the path ahead, when the identity token at her waist suddenly chimed twice:

“Wanfo Sect’s Jing Si eliminated. Piaomiao Sect’s Su Weiyun token count plus one, ranked first.”

“Wanfo Sect’s Jing Nian eliminated. Piaomiao Sect’s Su Weiyun token count plus one, ranked first.”

A double kill, apparently. Hu Li was startled, thinking those two from the Wanfo Sect were truly unlucky to run into Su Weiyun right at the start.

In the original novel, Su Weiyun was the Piaomiao Sect’s once-in-a-century saber-wielding genius. She was arrogant and looked down on everyone, yet she was also a shrewd schemer, shattering the stereotype of saber cultivators being “all muscle and no brains.”

Hu Li folded her arms and walked toward the Miaoyin Sect’s main base, praying she wouldn’t cross paths with her.

It wasn’t that she couldn’t win, but she was wearing the Gu Sheng persona and couldn’t afford to slip up, or the elders at the Water Moon Mirror would notice and realize something was wrong.

In front of the Water Moon Mirror, Lingqing Zhenren looked at Hu Li and sneered: “Deputy Sect Master Yu, you weren’t wrong earlier. This Young Sect Master Gu is indeed clever, knowing to blend in with the Miaoyin Sect to hide. Unfortunately, she can only hide for a moment, not forever. I imagine it won’t be long before our Sect’s Weiyun sends her out of the arena.”

“What do you mean by that, Zhenren? Are you looking down on my Miaoyin Sect?” Elder Shen Heyin of the Miaoyin Sect coldly looked at Lingqing Zhenren, toying with the jade flute in her hand.

Lingqing Zhenren instinctively shivered when their eyes met and offered a placating smile: “Elder Shen, you misunderstand. My meaning is that Weiyun intends to cooperate with the Miaoyin Sect. When she sees this Young Sect Master Gu, she’ll surely spot something amiss instantly and help your Miaoyin Sect eliminate a hidden danger.”

This year, the Piaomiao Sect had already discussed a plan with the Miaoyin Sect and the Wanfo Sect. While the Wanfo Sect firmly insisted on remaining neutral, the Miaoyin Sect agreed to cooperate with the Piaomiao Sect to first eliminate the Tianyan Sect, who won the championship every year, and then compete amongst themselves.

Therefore, even if Shen Heyin strongly disliked Lingqing Zhenren, she didn’t pursue the matter further.

Yu Shibai was left out in the cold, listening to their conversation and boiling with anger. He could only stare at Hu Li in the Water Moon Mirror, hoping she could earn some face for the Tianyan Sect.

Then, he watched as Hu Li bumped squarely into Su Weiyun.

Su Weiyun had just seized a token from a Wanfo Sect disciple. Hu Li, standing behind her, couldn’t manage a smile.

“Miaoyin Sect’s Fang Lanshi, I greet Fairy Su,” Hu Li said softly, bowing.

Su Weiyun glanced indifferently at Hu Li, her gaze falling on the token at her waist, and asked, “Have you seen the Tianyan Sect’s Gu Sheng?”

At the moment, her Piaomiao Sect was cooperating with the Miaoyin Sect, and she already had a Miaoyin Sect token in hand, so she didn’t intend to strike this seemingly frail young woman yet.

Hearing this, Hu Li casually pointed in a direction, then grabbed the corner of Su Weiyun’s clothes, her eyes slightly red, as if she’d suffered a grave injustice. “I ran into her over there earlier. She almost stole my token. She scared me half to death.”

Su Weiyun frowned, staring at Hu Li’s hand, wanting to push it away. But when she met Hu Li’s eyes, she felt a strange softening in her heart, and her ear tips began to flush.

“I, I will go take care of her for you,” Su Weiyun said, patting Hu Li’s shoulder, trying to comfort the teary-eyed girl.

Hu Li discreetly glanced at the hand on her shoulder, released Su Weiyun, and took a step back. “Fairy, you are truly kind.”

Su Weiyun’s hand holding her saber paused.

Over the years, people had called her strong, called her powerful, and others had called her hypocritical and ruthless, but Hu Li was the first person to call her kind.

This feeling was so strange that even as Su Weiyun was about to leave Hu Li, she didn’t forget to ask, “Your name is Fang Lanshi, is that right?”

Hu Li smiled faintly, her eyes narrowed. “It is.”

Su Weiyun avoided Hu Li’s gaze, her cheeks slightly flushed. “I’ve made a note of it.”

With that, she hurried off to search for Gu Sheng’s whereabouts.

Hu Li breathed a sigh of relief watching her back. Yu Shibai outside the Water Moon Mirror also sighed in relief, then mocked Lingqing Zhenren: “Your Sect’s Weiyun truly is an exceptional talent, but unfortunately, she was completely fooled by my Sheng-yatou .”

Lingqing Zhenren, having lost face, let out a cold snort: “We’ll see about that.”

Yu Shibai rolled his eyes at him smugly and continued watching the Water Moon Mirror.

In the Water Moon Mirror, Hu Li had just gotten rid of Su Weiyun when she ran into Jing Hui, the Buddhist Saint of the Wanfo Sect.

She crouched in the bushes, offering a ‘death smile,’ thinking, Could an African Chief’s luck really be this bad?

But since she was here, she might as well make the best of it. Hu Li watched the Buddhist Saint, who was busy fighting a rogue cultivator, for a while. Then her gaze dropped, landing on the string of beads at the Buddhist Saint’s waist.

Those were the Beads of No Delusion (Wuwang Zhu), the prayer beads the Buddhist Saint loved to handle most.

Hu Li mused for a bit, and a wonderful idea popped into her head.

The Buddhist Saint, absorbed in the fight, had no idea of the deep abyss that was about to open up beneath him.

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