Stepping in for the Heroine to Crush the Protagonist Group [Transmigration] - Chapter 24

Sunlight glinted off the silver blade, reflecting a blinding glare.

Su Weiyun stared at the Buddhist disciple’s solemn expression, inwardly scoffing, Since I’ve already offended the Wanfo Sect beyond repair, might as well wipe them out completely and eliminate any future threats.

Her thoughts solidified, Su Weiyun twisted her wrist. A sudden gust of wind seemed to swirl around her feet as she lunged at the Buddhist disciple, her blade slashing through the air with lethal force. This time, she meant business.

The Buddhist disciple recognized the danger. He knew he could hold his own against Su Weiyun, but his junior disciples were innocent. As he raised his staff to block her strike, he swiftly tossed a Teleportation Talisman behind him, sending his disciples to safety.

In the same motion, he gripped his staff to parry Su Weiyun’s blade while rapidly forming a hand seal. As Su Weiyun reached for his waist, he struck her shoulder with the Spirit Sealing Mark, a technique that temporarily sealed her Spiritual Meridians, preventing her from using spiritual energy.

Su Weiyun glanced sideways at the mark, her breath catching in her throat. Then, with a furious clench of her fist, she crushed the token she had been holding.

“Wanfo Sect’s Jing Hui eliminated. Piaomiao Sect’s Su Weiyun’s token count increases by one, securing first place.”

The announcement rang out. Su Weiyun glared down at the Buddhist disciple, a cold smile twisting her lips.
“A mere Spirit Sealing Mark? What can it possibly do to me?”

Even without spiritual power, Su Weiyun could still claim the Champion title of the Immortal Sect Grand Competition with just her blade.

[Sister, kill me!]
[I’m in love! This is too cool!]
[Haaah… Sister, give me a chance!]
[Hubby, please let me cuddle!]
[Su Weiyun, I love you! So loud!]
[Su Weiyun, look at me! I refuse to believe your eyes are empty!]

Hu Li raised an eyebrow, shifting her gaze from the sky filled with cries of “Sister, kill me!” to Su Weiyun.

She hadn’t expected Su Weiyun, despite having her spiritual power sealed, to be able to crush the token with her bare hands. Her strength was truly not to be underestimated.

Hu Li twirled the flute in her hand, pondering her next move, when a Sound Transmission Talisman suddenly flew into her palm.

“Senior Sister Qin, return immediately!” Yu Yan’s voice echoed from the talisman.

Hearing this, Su Weiyun turned to Hu Li, her brow furrowing into a deep frown.
“Yu Yan is calling for you?”

Hu Li met Su Weiyun’s gaze and nodded.
“I brought ten disciples here, and half of them have already been lost in less than half a day. Young Sect Master Yu is understandably anxious.”

Su Weiyun paused before saying,
“Yu Yan probably suspects the Piaomiao Sect of harming the Miaoyin Sect.”

Half of the Miaoyin Sect’s disciples had fallen at the hands of the Wanfo Sect, while the Piaomiao Sect and Hehuan Sect remained unscathed. Yu Yan was likely overthinking things.

Hu Li had already guessed this much. She took Su Weiyun’s hand and whispered reassuringly,
“Senior Sister Su, don’t worry. I’ll make Young Sect Master Yu believe you’re a good person.”

Her gaze was sincere, her beautiful fox-like eyes sparkling like they were filled with starlight.

Su Weiyun’s heart stirred slightly. Her hand, which had been gripping her blade, paused. Then she suddenly embraced Hu Li, saying,
“Junior Sister Fang, I’m so glad you’re here.”

Hu Li stiffened, wanting to push Su Weiyun away. But before she could react, Su Weiyun stepped back and handed her a lightweight short blade.

“This blade is called Rain Caller. It’s the companion to my own blade. It will protect you for me.”

Hu Li lowered her gaze to the exquisitely engraved short blade and refused,
“Senior Sister Su, this isn’t appropriate.”

Su Weiyun could give this blade to anyone else, but giving it to her was highly inappropriate.

Even setting aside her plans to trick Su Weiyun later, the very act of a Blade Cultivator gifting a blade carried profound meaning. She couldn’t accept this hot potato.

“Senior Sister, Yunzhi can protect herself,” Hu Li said with a faint smile, stepping back before turning to join the other five Miaoyin Sect disciples who were pushing through the crowd.

They too had received Yu Yan’s Sound Transmission Talisman, and the ten eyes they glared at the Piaomiao Sect and Hehuan Sect seemed to spit fire.

“Let’s go back to Miaoyin Sect,” Hu Li interrupted, pulling out the Teleportation Talisman Yu Yan had given her from her Storage Bag.

Anger, like a simmering pot, only grows hotter the longer you suppress it. Each step back feels like a greater loss.

Hu Li now guarded these five powder kegs with her life, knowing she couldn’t let them explode just yet.

Without hesitation, she pinched her jade fingers together and chanted the Teleportation Incantation.

The Teleportation Talisman glowed, and a flash of light enveloped her.

Su Weiyun, still clutching her dagger, snapped out of her dejection. Her gaze fixed on Hu Li as she gradually faded away. A flicker of regret crossed her eyes—she shouldn’t have let Hu Li leave.

She twisted her wrist, ready to sever the Teleportation Talisman and keep Hu Li here.

But just as she was about to strike, a soft voice drifted into her ears:
“Senior Sister Su, you’re so kind. I must help you overcome this crisis.”

Su Weiyun jerked her head up, meeting Hu Li’s smiling gaze. The pounding of her own heart echoed in her ears.

She cares about me. Su Weiyun’s breath caught in her throat. She turned away, unable to face Hu Li any longer.

Hu Li watched Su Weiyun’s retreating figure from afar, letting out a long sigh of relief.

Thank goodness I noticed Su Weiyun’s distress in time. Otherwise, we’d have been finished.

The light from the Teleportation Talisman faded. When Hu Li opened her eyes again, she and the five powder kegs had returned to the Miaoyin Sect’s encampment.

Yu Yan rushed forward as soon as she saw Hu Li return, her voice urgent:
“What happened? Why did the Wanfo Sect suddenly target the Miaoyin Sect?”

The Miaoyin Sect had already been dwindling in numbers, and now with five more casualties, only seventeen members remained. How could they possibly hope to claim the Champion title in the Grand Competition?

Hu Li pressed her lips together in silence for a moment before sighing.

The five “firecrackers” beside her, seeing her reaction, erupted into a flurry of accusations.

“Young Sect Master, it was all Piaomiao Sect’s scheme!”
“We followed Junior Sister Fang’s instructions and kept a close watch on that Su Weiyun wretch. But we never expected her to betray five of our fellow disciples right before our eyes!”

Yu Yan frowned.
“Betray my Miaoyin Sect right in front of you?”

One of them nodded, his voice brimming with righteous anger.
“Exactly! I saw it myself—when the Buddhist disciple attacked, the Hehuan Sect disciples pushed our brothers forward as shields!”

The Hehuan Sect disciples were, in essence, Su Weiyun’s lackeys.

Yu Yan pondered briefly, then clenched her fist and pressed,
“Why would the Buddhist disciple harm our Miaoyin Sect disciples?”

Hu Li explained in a low voice,
“Our senior brothers tracked Gu Sheng to Wanfo Sect. A Hehuan Sect disciple claimed Gu Sheng had infiltrated their ranks and incited our brothers to attack the Wanfo Sect disciples.”

Hearing this, Yu Yan couldn’t believe her own allies had betrayed her. She turned to the “firecrackers” for confirmation.
“Is this true?”

Their eyes met hers, their voices ringing with conviction.
“It’s the truth!”

Yu Yan took a deep breath, barely suppressing her murderous impulse.
“Did Gu Sheng really hide in the Wanfo Sect?” she asked again.

The “powder kegs” exchanged glances, recalling how Su Weiyun had wiped out the Wanfo Sect, including the Buddhist disciple, yet Gu Sheng remained uneliminated. They shook their heads.
“Probably not.”

Yu Yan closed her eyes, gritting her teeth.

After a long moment, she regained her composure and sneered.
“I see now.”

Hu Li raised an eyebrow.
“Senior Sister Yu, what do you mean?”

Yu Yan opened her left palm and curled two fingers of her right hand, activating the Tracking Technique. A holographic screen materialized above her left palm.

The screen displayed the locations of all identity tokens within the Secret Realm. One cluster of tokens marked the combined position of the Piaomiao Sect and Hehuan Sect.

“Junior Sister Fang, look where Gu Sheng is,” Yu Yan said.

Hu Li’s gaze snapped to the screen, her breath catching.
“Piaomiao Sect.”

Yu Yan nodded.
“Now do you understand?”

Hu Li continued the line of reasoning.
“You mean the Piaomiao Sect hid Gu Sheng and used her token to deliberately provoke a conflict between us and the Wanfo Sect?”

“Exactly,” Yu Yan confirmed.

Hu Li feigned shock.
“The Piaomiao Sect’s schemes are truly vile!”

Outside the Water Moon Mirror, Lingqing Zhenren listened to this exchange and sneered inwardly. You black-hearted little viper are the one with the truly vile schemes.

He stared lifelessly at the ceiling, the image of Su Weiyun gifting Hu Li the dagger flashing through his mind again.

This dagger, identical to the one Su Weiyun carried, had been exchanged by her parents as a token of their love. Now, by giving it to Hu Li, the implications were painfully clear.

Lingqing Zhenren never imagined Su Weiyun would stumble over matters of the heart during the Immortal Sect Grand Competition. He sighed deeply, hoping that after claiming victory, she would finally see Hu Li’s true nature and break free from this ill-fated entanglement.

Meanwhile, Shen Heyin, seated beside Lingqing Zhenren, looked no better. Yu Yan’s words, “I understand now,” echoed in her ears, her smile more wretched than tears.

Understand? What do you understand? Just because you think you do!

Shen Heyin crushed the teacup in her hand, wishing she could storm into the Water Moon Secret Realm, bash Yu Yan over the head, and demand she get a new brain.

While the Piaomiao Sect and Miaoyin Sect camps were shrouded in gloom, Yu Shibai’s side was—

Completely empty.

Yu Shibai wasn’t in his seat. Having drunk too much tea earlier, he had gone to relieve himself again.

Within the Secret Realm, another dark night descended.

This night felt even more oppressive than the previous one.

By now, all the rogue cultivators and members of smaller sects had been eliminated from the Water Moon Secret Realm, leaving only the disciples of the five major sects, each with their own agendas, scattered across three locations.

Among them, the surviving disciples of the Wanfo Sect clashed with those of the Miaoyin Sect. After clarifying the “misunderstanding,” the two factions decided to cooperate and jointly target the Piaomiao Sect.

Hu Li had already retrieved Fang Lanshi’s token and reverted to her original disguise. She sat beside Yu Yan, listening as Yu Yan and the Wanfo Sect disciples discussed their plan to annihilate the Piaomiao Sect.

As for the Tianyan Sect’s initial goal, Yu Yan declared,
“Once we’ve crushed the Piaomiao Sect, capturing Gu Sheng will be child’s play.”

The Miaoyin Sect and Wanfo Sect’s deliberations continued until midnight, under the high-hanging full moon.

As the crowd dispersed, Hu Li remained seated beside Yu Yan, pulling out Fang Lanshi’s identity token and placing it before her.
“Senior Sister Yu,” she asked, “now that we’re no longer cooperating with the Piaomiao Sect, what about this token?”

Before Hu Li could finish, Yu Yan snatched the token and crushed it in her hand, dismissing the matter with a casual wave.
“Junior Sister Fang, I’ve already seen through the Piaomiao Sect’s true nature. You don’t need to risk yourself any further.”

With that, she rose gracefully, listening to the announcement from the token:

“Hehuan Sect’s Fang Lanshi has been eliminated. Miaoyin Sect’s Yu Yan’s token count increases by one, ranking her second.”

Yu Yan hummed a cheerful tune as she strolled away.

Hu Li remained seated, watching her retreating figure, a faint glimmer flashing across her fingertips.

Moments later, Su Weiyun received a Sound Transmission Talisman.

“Senior Sister Su, Yunzhi is useless. Young Sect Master Yu discovered my identity, and I’ve implicated you.”

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