The Black Lotus Villain is Saving Himself! - Chapter 1

Tonight, the Taiyi Immortal Sect was destined to be restless.

Spiritual clouds swirled and golden light pierced the long night. Disciples crawled out from their blankets to gaze at the horizon, whispering to one another.

“Is Martial Uncle Xie Yun breaking through his cultivation realm? A Nascent Soul Lightning Tribulation triggering such a heavenly phenomenon is a rare sight, occurring only once in a hundred years.”

“I heard several Supreme Elders are protecting him!”

“More than that. My cousin at Qingsheng Peak said the main hall is under martial law tonight just to ensure Xie Yun remains undisturbed while he comprehends the heavenly mysteries.”

At this time, outside the Qingsheng Hall, all was silent.

The spiritual pressure was heavy. The blizzard swirled and detoured, pressing its full weight upon the guards stationed outside the hall.

A figure slowly emerged from the depths of the wind and snow. The man’s frame was thin, yet his pace was steady, as if he were treading on jade steps rather than frozen snow.

“Halt!” a guard shouted, though his voice trembled from the cold. He was a temporary recruit from the Outer Sect brought in to bolster the numbers, having only recently reached the Foundation Establishment stage.

As the figure drew closer, the wind and snow seemed to avoid him, revealing a plain and gentle face. He presented a token and a command scroll.

His voice was soft and low, with a unique rhythm to his deliberate and unhurried speech. “The Internal Affairs Office, by order of the Azure Venerable, is here to deliver Solidifying Essence Pills to the Saint Hall. Please announce my arrival.”

The guard was startled. While the pills were excellent for stabilizing cultivation, his shock stemmed from the mention of the “Azure Venerable.” That was the foremost cultivator of the Tribulation Transmutation Stage, the Saint Venerable revered by all immortal sects.

Saints rarely meddled in mundane affairs, spending most of their years guarding the border between mortals and demons. It seemed reasonable for the Internal Affairs Office to deliver medicine to stabilize a disciple’s realm.

However, the guard hesitated. “It has been hard on you, Senior Brother. But the True Masters specifically instructed that no one is allowed to disturb Martial Uncle Xie during his breakthrough.” He glanced at the medicine box in the other’s hand. “How about I deliver it for you? I will certainly report where it came from.”

The visitor smiled and did not make things difficult. He handed over the box and turned to leave.

The guard breathed a sigh of relief. “Safe travels, Senior Brother.”

As the cold seeped into his marrow, the guard’s vision began to blur. Suddenly, a warmth spread across his shoulders. The departing man had casually brushed past him, and his spiritual power, like a spring breeze, dissolved the accumulated ice and snow on his body.

The guard looked up in a daze, but the figure had already vanished into the vast white wilderness.

Another older guard nearby approached with a sneer. “What is the use of sucking up to him? Do you know who that is? By the rules, you should also call him Martial Uncle.”

The younger guard was confused. He was not from Qingsheng Peak and could not match the faces to the titles.

The older guard reminded him, “That is the Azure Venerable’s fifth disciple, Fu Yun.”

The night was long, and every breath exhaled was freezing. They could only use gossip to keep their spirits up.

The younger guard asked, puzzled, “Then he is Martial Uncle Xie Yun’s senior brother. Why is he treated this way?”

“Because Fu Yun is a disappointment. In the thirty years since he joined the sect, he has done nothing but odd jobs in the Internal Affairs Office. Look at him now; of all the direct disciples, he is the only one who has not reached the Nascent Soul stage. He is not valued by the Azure Venerable either. Otherwise, why would he be sent up the mountain to deliver medicine in the middle of the night?”

The older guard laughed. “Fawning over him is useless. You would be better off blocking the snow for me or massaging my feet!”

The younger guard looked at the string of footprints being buried by the snow. Every step was perfectly and evenly spaced. “But he seems like a good person. He even helped clear the snow off me.”

The older guard dismissed this. “In this Taiyi Sect, cultivation, talent, and backing are the only things that matter.”

“Hello.”

The conversation between the two guards stopped abruptly as they searched for the source of the voice. The older guard suddenly shivered because someone had tapped him on the back.

The subject of his gossip stood silently behind him. “I dropped something and came back to retrieve it.”

“Mar… Martial Uncle, please speak!”

“A Memory-Recording Pearl,” Fu Yun said. “It recorded a lot of words.”

He was smiling the entire time. Looking only at the lower half of his face, he seemed like a fair-skinned scholar. But looking up, his pupils were light and his eyes narrow, peering at them intently in the dead of night.

The older guard immediately knelt. He fumbled through the snow but found nothing. Feeling those eyes staring at him, he began to kowtow in terror.

It was not until the younger guard whispered, “Martial Uncle left with the pearl long ago,” that he stood up, his face flushed with shame, not daring to say another word.

Fu Yun was already walking down the mountain path.

In his sea of consciousness, the System’s cheers rang out: “Host, you successfully delivered the medicine to the protagonist! Our conquest is off to a great start!”

This entity calling itself a System had found Fu Yun just a few moments ago. At the time, he was taking inventory of magical artifacts in the Internal Affairs Office when he suddenly received a transmission and items from his master: three bottles of Solidifying Essence Pills to be delivered to the Saint Hall.

The last time Fu Yun had sent something to his Junior Brother was when the latter had first joined the sect. Fu Yun had brought him a cup of tea made from a mixture of kitchen wastewater and tea dregs, stirred with a muddy stick to “gather the spiritual energy of heaven and earth.”

That tea had been accidentally tasted by their Master. He was well aware of Fu Yun’s malice toward Xie Yun.

Just as Fu Yun was speculating about his Master’s intentions, the System’s voice echoed in his mind. It told Fu Yun, “You are a villainous cannon fodder character in a web novel.”

The protagonist is your Junior Brother, Xie Yun. A hundred years from now, he will ascend alongside his companions. Fifty years from now, you will die. Your wicked nature will be exposed, your reputation ruined, and as a top-tier “Cauldron,” you will be sacrificed to the protagonist by the sect, ultimately leading to your suicide.

“Based on analysis, the best survival strategy is to win over the protagonist, make him fall in love with you, and have him protect you.”

From the System’s perspective, Fu Yun going up the mountain to deliver medicine was completely normal, and he even helped a minor disciple. He did not seem like the “evil cannon fodder” from the original book at all.

“I drugged the Solidifying Essence Pills,” Fu Yun thought calmly.

The System went silent. “What? Impossible. The Azure Venerable left a seal on the medicine he sent. He would know if anyone tampered with it.”

Fu Yun replied, “Before you arrived, I took several bottles of Solidifying Essence Pills from the Internal Affairs Office. The drug is in those.”

The System remained silent.

Amused by its reaction, Fu Yun’s smile deepened. “Do not worry, it is not poison. It is just a supplement.”

It was a very mild supplement. Dissolved into one of the pills, its effect was simply to keep one awake. However, after a breakthrough, Xie Yun’s sea of consciousness would be fragile. If he could not rest, it would lead to spiritual damage or, at worst, internal instability.

The supplement was colorless, odorless, and lacked a spiritual signature. It was a creation of Fu Yun’s after years of studying pharmacology. He had checked, and none of the elders acting as protectors were medical specialists. Even if Xie Yun was unfortunate enough to eat that pill and felt something was wrong, the evidence would have already vanished.

Fu Yun was not afraid of Xie Yun suspecting him. They had been enemies since ten years ago. If the so-called “protagonist” was going to cause his death in the future, then winning him over was not the answer. The answer was to destroy the protagonist.

The System emphasized again, “Gaining the protagonist’s favor is the simplest survival plan.”

Fu Yun asked, “How exactly did I die?”

“Suicide,” the System said in a heavy voice.

Fu Yun countered, “It is impossible for me to commit suicide.”

The System hesitated. Perhaps it was not. In the original plot, Fu Yun was unwilling to be used as a resource by the protagonist. His foundation was damaged during his resistance, and by the time he was dragged out, his cultivation was destroyed, leaving him lingering on his last breath.

That was not all. While the protagonist was in seclusion to heal, someone from the inner circle moved against Fu Yun. The author gave Fu Yun’s ending in a single sentence: “The clouds fall into the mud, the body becomes the road to immortality, and spring passes without a trace.”

The System continued, “In the original plot, the protagonist’s allies all lived very well. They encountered many opportunities while traveling with the protagonist, who often shared treasures with his partners.”

Fu Yun smiled and shook his head. “Nothing more than leftovers.”

He had been in the sect for thirty years, yet his cultivation was mediocre, and the sect had no interest in nurturing him. His Master was away for years, occasionally sending back treasures that were only offered to him after his senior brothers had taken their pick. He was tired of it.

The System paused. “I know you want to become strong on your own, but your body type makes spiritual energy hard to circulate. You are naturally unfit for traditional cultivation.”

Tonight, the mountains were covered in snow, and the windows were as bright as day. Fu Yun ignored the System and entered a state of meditation.

Spiritual energy circulated through his channels with great difficulty, like a dull knife scraping against bone. Suddenly, thunder roared in the distance and golden light exploded across the sky. Xie Yun had likely succeeded in his breakthrough.

Almost simultaneously, a sweetness rose in Fu Yun’s throat. He silently swallowed the blood. This was his third failure to break through to the Nascent Soul stage, and his tenth year trapped at the peak of the Golden Core stage.

A chasm lay between the Golden Core and Nascent Soul. Only upon entering the Nascent Soul stage is the soul recognized by the heavens. The gap between him and Xie Yun would only grow larger. By the time he could not even feel jealousy, he would be expected to die for Xie Yun.

He was so unwilling. “Genius” and “Material” were words that were only one letter apart, but they represented worlds of difference.

The System saw blood on Fu Yun’s hands, blood at the corners of his mouth, and blood in his eyes. In this state, he was still smiling, which was a sign of internal collapse.

The System said tentatively, “Using your natural body type to get close to the protagonist is not shameful. Does it not hurt to struggle like this?”

Fu Yun seemed to have a sudden realization. “Since my value lies in this body, I might as well put it to its best use myself.”

“How?” the System asked.

Fu Yun replied, “Reverse extraction.”

To break through a bottleneck required a vast amount of spiritual energy. His specific body type could hold infinite energy, and “extraction” could seize a massive amount of it. Fu Yun did not want charity; he would take what he needed.

“I have heard there are two paths to this. One is physical, and the other is a spiritual connection within the mind. So next, I need to find two types of techniques. First is an Extraction Art,” Fu Yun said unhurriedly. “Second is a technique to cloud the mind so I can connect with my targets.”

The System realized his intent. “You want me to help you.”

The System explained it only had access to the plot outline, not specific details, and could not determine the exact location of techniques. All it could do was report Fu Yun’s plan. “But I do not think the Main System will approve,” the System said honestly. “If you expose your true nature prematurely, it will be even more dangerous.”

“No matter. Tell me everything you know.”

Fu Yun memorized the outline provided by the System and closed his eyes in thought. Suddenly, he opened them and recited a line from the outline: “The Thousand Vines Ancient Ruins open. Xie Yun accidentally enters the core of the secret realm and obtains a special inheritance.”

“Legend has it that the Demon King in those ruins possessed an innate ability for illusions.”

The System was horrified. “You are going to steal the protagonist’s opportunity?”

Fu Yun activated a fire talisman, burning all his papers. A sliver of flame flickered in his pupils like a sharp blade. “As a villain, what is there to fear?”

The phenomena from the breakthrough gradually subsided as the auspicious light faded into the sky. Seeing that Xie Yun’s aura was stable and his realm consolidated, the protecting elders offered their congratulations and left one after another.

Xie Yun sat alone on the prayer mat when he suddenly coughed up a mouthful of blood. He possessed five spiritual roots. When striking the barriers of his cultivation, his spiritual energy was almost completely drained, leaving him extremely weak. Yet, after several hours, he found himself inexplicably unable to enter meditation to rest, causing his mind to vibrate.

After adjusting his breath, Xie Yun’s gaze swept over the jade bottles placed on the side table.

“Someone come in.”

A duty disciple entered the hall and immediately knelt. “I await your instructions, Martial Uncle.”

“Who delivered the Solidifying Essence Pills?”

“Reporting to Martial Uncle, they were sent from the Internal Affairs Office last night by order of the Azure Venerable. Is there something wrong with the pills?”

“You may leave,” Xie Yun said, his tone returning to its usual gentleness.

The hall doors closed softly. The smile on Xie Yun’s face vanished completely. There was a problem with the medicine.

But because the pills were linked to a Saint, he could not conduct a massive investigation without solid evidence. Xie Yun stood up, the pills flying into his sleeve. He exited the hall and sent a message to a guard outside: “Investigate the disciple who delivered the pills last night. Simultaneously, find a medical expert to analyze the components of the medicine.”