The Cannon Fodder Female Supporting Character Captured the Villainous Demon Venerable - Chapter 44

Chapter 44: You’re So Naughty, I Love It.

…Yun Wushang flopped onto Mo Xun’s bed, lying sideways with her back to Mo Xun.

Mo Xun gave her a helpless look, but ultimately flew off the bed obediently and sat on the floor to cultivate all night.

The next day, Mo Xun asked the Outer Sect Elder where she could hunt high-grade demonic beasts to obtain high-grade materials.

She did not want to harm spiritual beasts, but demonic beasts were creatures of chaos born entirely from demonic qi. They lacked intelligence and possessed only the instinct to harm others, making them acceptable to kill.

Since spiritual qi and demonic qi could convert into each other, the materials obtained from demonic beasts could also be used for artifact refining.

The Outer Sect Elder told her about a secret realm and offered to go with her, but Mo Xun refused: “I’m not the only outer sect disciple of the Artifact Refining Immortal Sect. Senior, you should stay here to guide them.”

Seeing her firm attitude, the Outer Sect Elder had no choice but to concede.

Mo Xun flew up into the air, and Yun Wushang silently followed.

The Outer Sect Elder was stunned for a moment, then hurriedly called out: “You… Yun Wushang! Where are you going?”

Yun Wushang replied without turning her head: “I’m also going to hunt high-grade demonic beasts.”

As she spoke, she took out a Thousand-li Divine Travel Talisman from her storage pouch, placed it on herself, and vanished in the next instant.

The Outer Sect Elder frowned, watching the direction she disappeared, but ultimately did not pursue her.

But my Senior Brother clearly fancies her. Constrained by my strength and fellow sect friendship, I can only let it go.

Senior Brother is impatient. Leaving aside his usual conduct, he is quite aggressive even when refining artifacts. I thought he would make a move on Yun Wushang the night before last, but yesterday morning, Yun Wushang arrived at the training ground unharmed, and Senior Brother was nowhere to be found.

Fearing to displease her Senior Brother, the Outer Sect Elder dared not send out her Primordial Spirit to check the situation around the sect. She could only wait a few days to see how things developed. Perhaps Senior Brother suddenly had inspiration for artifact refining and, unable to focus on Yun Wushang, went into seclusion to refine artifacts first?

Mo Xun sensed with her divine sense that Yun Wushang was following, so she didn’t use the Space Folding Technique, flying towards the secret realm at the normal escape velocity of an Integration stage cultivator.

When she arrived, she landed, and Yun Wushang landed after her.

Mo Xun examined the entrance of the secret realm, which was a black whirlpool occasionally showing a hint of dark red, like blood light.

She asked Yun Wushang curiously: “How do you think these secret realms are formed?”

Yun Wushang answered her: “When one reaches the Void Refinement stage and comprehends space, one can use all things as a guide to open a void realm and create a small world. If natural scenery is used as the guide, and it can be found and entered by people, it becomes a secret realm. As for naturally formed secret realms, they often exist where spiritual qi or demonic qi gathers. It is likely that the energy is too dense, and with the power of Void Refinement, it opened up space.”

“I see,” Mo Xun suddenly realized, then smiled and looked at Yun Wushang, “It has to be you. Without you, I’d be helpless.”

Yun Wushang gave a slight snort, looked away, appearing too lazy to bother with her.

Mo Xun entered the secret realm, and Yun Wushang followed closely behind.

Their luck was good. Soon after entering, they encountered a high-grade demonic beast, which had a pair of sharp black horns, shaped like ox horns, but the beast looked more like a horse than an ox, with a long face on which two vertical rows of six dark red eyes were arranged.

Demonic beasts, born from chaotic demonic qi, were mostly bizarrely shaped, yet they followed certain rules. Their bodies were generally symmetrical on both sides. If they had three legs, one would inevitably be in the center, and there would never be a situation where one side had one leg and the other had two.

Mo Xun channeled killing intent into her sword and used sword control to attack the demonic beast. The beast quickly dodged with its four sharp claws pressing hard against the ground.

Mo Xun’s expression didn’t change. She raised her hand to form a seal, channeling Wood spiritual qi, and sixteen seeds flew simultaneously toward the demonic beast: “Entangling Cage Array, open!”

With this command, the sixteen seeds sprouted while still in the air, extending sixteen flexible green vines that firmly bound the demonic beast, confining it to the ground.

Then Mo Xun controlled her sword to attack it again. This time, it couldn’t evade.

The sword passed through the demonic beast’s body. The beast let out a miserable howl, and then its body dissolved into dense demonic qi, leaving behind a pair of black horns, twelve sharp claw blades, and a palm-sized black demon crystal, with faint dark red light swirling inside.

Yun Wushang watched the entire process in silence. Only when the demonic beast’s body had almost dissipated did she speak: “Not bad. If you needed me to use a talisman just to hunt a demonic beast, then all your skills would have been learned in vain.”

Mo Xun understood her implication—that if she couldn’t win, Yun Wushang would use a talisman—and couldn’t help but smile: “Are you that worried about my demise?”

Yun Wushang: “After all, you still owe me a Nine-Grade artifact.”

Mo Xun: “…”

Mo Xun: You must have been a platypus in your past life, so stubbornly resistant.

Mo Xun put her spoils into her storage pouch with a helpless expression.

Just then, a female cultivator in purple robes flew over from afar at an extremely fast speed, calling out as she flew: “Fellow Daoist, wait!”

Mo Xun instinctively looked in the direction of the voice, but the movements of her hands didn’t slow down at all. By the time the female cultivator reached her, she had already put all the spoils into her storage pouch.

The female cultivator was dressed in purple robes, light purple as the base, and dark purple as the border. Her hair was tied into twin braids, and her sash and hair ribbons were long, fluttering in the air as she flew, like a fairy.

After landing, she introduced herself, pressing her hand to her chest: “My surname is Lin, and my name is Lin Lanyue. Fellow Daoist, are you willing to trade the remains of the demonic beast you just hunted with me?”

Introducing herself first and then asking about a transaction, instead of immediately resorting to force, gave Mo Xun a good first impression of her.

Since she had introduced herself, Mo Xun also stated her name: “My name is Mo Xun, a disciple of the Artifact Refining Immortal Sect. I collected the demonic beast remains for artifact refining and won’t trade them.”

“200,000 spirit stones!” Lin Lanyue offered immediately.

Mo Xun: !

Mo Xun was stunned. The demonic beast she had just hunted was probably between Grade 4 and Grade 5. Even if refined into a Grade 4 artifact, it would only be worth 200,000 to 300,000 spirit stones. The other party offered 200,000 directly!

Mo Xun couldn’t help but ask curiously: “What do you want to use it for?”

Lin Lanyue replied cheerfully: “I hire someone to refine artifacts for me!”

Mo Xun: Rich lady, hire me! Although I’ve only successfully refined a Grade 1 artifact so far…

Mo Xun ultimately didn’t say that out loud and asked suspiciously: “Fellow Daoist is also Integration stage. The secret realm is so big, you can easily find another demonic beast. Why do you insist on the one I got?”

Lin Lanyue sighed upon hearing this: “Is this your first time hunting demonic beasts here, Fellow Daoist? The demonic beasts in this secret realm are high-grade but extremely difficult to encounter. I have been searching here for three days and only hunted one. I finally detected this second one with my divine sense, but I was one step too late. So, I thought, if you are willing to trade, that would be best. If you are not willing…”

“What will you do?” Mo Xun watched her cautiously.

Mo Xun thought she would try to forcibly take it, but unexpectedly, her next sentence was: “Fellow Daoist, do you dare to compete with me in escape velocity? If I win, you hand over the demonic beast remains. If you win, here.”

She took out two huge black tusks from her storage pouch and showed them to Mo Xun, then said: “If you win, the demonic beast I hunted is yours.”

Mo Xun: Such a good deal?

Honestly, comparing combat power, she might not be the opponent’s match, because even though her realm had risen, her offensive power was still weak. Her Sword Control Technique was stuck at the fourth level, combining offense and defense, and couldn’t advance further.

But comparing escape velocity…

Mo Xun looked at Yun Wushang. Yun Wushang met her gaze, pondered for a moment, and then said calmly: “Senior Sister, don’t be fooled. The wind around this person was unusually obedient when she flew over. She is likely a Variant Wind Spiritual Root. If that’s the case, competing with her in escape velocity is like hitting a stone with an egg, courting disaster. If you genuinely compete, she can fly hundreds of li in one breath.”

Mo Xun: “…You’re so naughty, I love it.”

Hundreds of li in one breath… They had engaged in a chase battle that involved thousands of li in one instant.

Lin Lanyue didn’t hide her pride upon hearing this: “That’s right, I’m a Variant Wind Spiritual Root! I allow you to use any means to compete with me. How about it, dare to try?”

Mo Xun raised a hand to stroke her chin, pretending to ponder with difficulty for a moment, then said: “Well, I’m an artifact refiner. I don’t lack spirit stones. Demonic beasts can be hunted again, and materials can be found again, but opportunities to compete with a Wind Spiritual Root in escape velocity are rare. I might as well play along with you.”

“It’s a deal!” Lin Lanyue said excitedly, walking up to Mo Xun to stand side by side with her, pointing ahead: “Three thousand li ahead, there is a giant rock inscribed with four characters, ‘Came Here to Visit.’ Let’s start from here and see who flies to those four characters first!”

“Good, but…” Mo Xun looked at Yun Wushang, slightly worried about her. After all, Yun Wushang could only exert the strength of the Late Nascent Soul stage now, and this secret realm was full of dangers, only frequented by cultivators above the Integration stage.

Yun Wushang met her gaze and bowed expressionlessly: “Senior Sister, you go first. I will follow shortly.”

Mo Xun: Oh, I forgot you have the Thousand-li Divine Travel Talisman.

Since that was the case, Mo Xun had no more worries and said to Lin Lanyue: “Come on.”

The two took off together. Lin Lanyue proved worthy of being a Variant Wind Spiritual Root. She flew extremely fast, as if she had taken a Wind Control Pill in advance, instantly leaving Mo Xun hundreds of li behind.

Mo Xun chased at the normal escape velocity of an Integration stage cultivator, watching her figure disappear into the dense demonic qi.

There is actually someone who doesn’t know the immensity of heaven and earth who dares to compete with me in escape velocity! Lin Lanyue thought. Ever since I embarked on the path of cultivation, my escape velocity has always been the highest in the same realm. Competing with anyone is basically bullying.

I only hope this artifact refiner named Mo Xun doesn’t go back on her word, so we can still be friends in the future.

Lin Lanyue was obsessed with various artifacts but couldn’t refine them because she lacked a Fire Spiritual Root, so she was very happy to be friends with artifact refiners.

After a while, the giant rock inscribed with the four characters “Came Here to Visit” entered Lin Lanyue’s divine sense range, but Mo Xun, who was following her, was nowhere to be seen.

Lin Lanyue began to hesitate whether to slow down and wait for her, lest she regret it halfway and secretly slip away.

Lin Lanyue: Wait!

Lin Lanyue: What?! How is this possible!

Lin Lanyue: ?!

Lin Lanyue took a little more time to reach the base of the giant rock. She had flown the last distance with her mouth wide open, her face full of disbelief!

Reaching the two women, her first question was: “How did you do that!”

Mo Xun cupped her hands: “Thank you for the concession. Actually, I am not only an artifact refiner but also an array master, and I possess an array formation capable of spatial displacement.”

Yun Wushang took a talisman inscribed with the four characters “Thousand-li Divine Travel” from her body with her index and middle fingers, letting it dissipate into powder between her fingers, and said nothing.

Lin Lanyue was shocked with her mouth wide open for a while longer, then couldn’t help but burst into laughter: “Both of you are truly versatile and display your unique skills!”

Mo Xun watched her, waiting for her to honor her loss or try to renege.

Mo Xun thought the latter was more likely. After all, ever since transmigrating to this world, she had mostly encountered people like that.

However, to her surprise, Lin Lanyue readily took out the two demonic beast tusks from her storage pouch: “I, Lin Lanyue, am not a sore loser. This is for you, consider it a lesson learned. Great-Grandmother was right, there are indeed mountains beyond mountains and people beyond people in the cultivation world!”

After saying this, she tossed the tusks to Mo Xun and turned to leave. There were tears in her eyes as she turned, and Mo Xun wondered if she intended to hide somewhere and cry.

Mo Xun collected the tusks, watched her quickly departing figure, and actually felt a little bad: “Were we too hard on her?”

“She was the one who wanted to bully you,” Yun Wushang said calmly. “If she hadn’t competed with you in escape velocity, she wouldn’t have lost the only demonic beast she hunted to you.”

Mo Xun: “True.”

Yun Wushang: “She honors her bet, so her character is not bad. It shows the good family tradition of the Pavilion of Heavenly Secrets.”

Mo Xun: “Eh?”

Hearing the words “Pavilion of Heavenly Secrets,” Mo Xun looked at Yun Wushang in surprise, wondering how she knew about Lin Lanyue’s connection to the pavilion.

Sensing her confusion, Yun Wushang looked straight ahead and retorted mildly: “Do you know the surname of the Pavilion Master of Heavenly Secrets?”

Mo Xun: “Could it be Lin?”

Yun Wushang: “Correct. The current Pavilion Master of Heavenly Secrets is Lin Xuan’er, who is most likely the ‘Great-Grandmother’ that person just mentioned. However, Lin Xuan’er is not a Wind Spiritual Root but a Fire Heavenly Spiritual Root. Before Lin Xuan’er inherited the position of Pavilion Master, I had the fortune to meet her once. That female cultivator just now bears some resemblance to her.”

Mo Xun: “I see.”

Mo Xun stayed in the secret realm for seven days, found and hunted two more Grade 5 demonic beasts, and then returned to the Artifact Refining Immortal Sect satisfied, beginning to attempt refining a Grade 5 protective artifact.

However, after six months, she only successfully refined one Grade 4 artifact, which made her a little anxious.

She couldn’t be distracted during artifact refining, so she couldn’t perceive the passage of time. If she hadn’t asked the System, Mo Xun wouldn’t have known she had been in her room for over six months.

Just starting artifact refining, and her second artifact was already Grade 4. In the eyes of others, she could be praised as a “Heavenly Prodigy,” but Mo Xun wasn’t happy.

She didn’t know Chu Jiuqu’s current realm. She was afraid that by the time she refined another artifact, Chu Jiuqu might already be dead.

What should I do? Should I find and kill the artifact refiner who wants to use the Infernal Phoenix’s blood to refine artifacts, solving the problem from the root?

But she wasn’t sure if she could kill her. If I could convince Yun Wushang…

Thinking that she hadn’t seen Yun Wushang for over six months, Mo Xun felt inexplicably guilty.

She put away the newly refined Grade 4 artifact and sent out her Primordial Spirit to check Yun Wushang’s room.

Empty.

Then she checked the training ground behind the sect gate. Yun Wushang was also nowhere to be seen.

Did Yun Wushang leave? Did she return to the Demonic Domain or…

Thinking of the possibility of her being attacked by the Tianshan Immortal Sect, Mo Xun’s heart tightened. She grabbed her sword and was about to leave.

But before she could push the door open, she heard Yun Wushang’s clear and cold voice, transmitted directly into her mind: Done? Then get out here.

Mo Xun: This is… Sound Transmission into the Ear?

Mo Xun left her room, sent her Primordial Spirit out again, went high into the sky for a view, and sensed a dense cluster of demonic qi outside the sect. Realizing that Yun Wushang had unsealed the meridian reversal, although hesitant, she ultimately used the Space Folding Technique to appear before the demonic qi.

Yun Wushang was hovering in the air in a black robe, with one hand behind her back.

Mo Xun hovered in front of her, her scrutinizing gaze wandering over Yun Wushang: “Did you… get kicked out of the Artifact Refining Immortal Sect because your talent wasn’t good enough?”

Hearing this, Yun Wushang nearly laughed out of anger.

Yun Wushang: I came out of seclusion after half a year, and the first thing you say to me is that?

Mo Xun regretted it as soon as she said it. She felt guilty for being in seclusion for too long and instinctively wanted to say something lighthearted to break the ice, but Yun Wushang might not find it humorous… No, this will only make Yun Wushang angrier, right?

Mo Xun: I’m avoiding the issue!

Realizing this, Mo Xun lowered her gaze, took a deep breath, and adjusted her mentality.

When she looked up again to meet Yun Wushang’s eyes, her face showed no trace of playfulness: “I’m sorry. I didn’t realize refining an artifact would take so long. Thank you for waiting.”

“No one was waiting for you,” Yun Wushang said coldly, taking a storage pouch from her waist and tossing it to Mo Xun.

Mo Xun accepted it in confusion and scanned the contents with her divine sense.

A large number of demonic beast remains, with the highest grade reaching Grade 9 and the lowest no less than Grade 6.

Mo Xun: !

Mo Xun stared at these high-grade materials in disbelief. She saw carapaces, sharp claws and teeth, complete skulls and ribs, and even a tailbone resembling a spine!

“These… are all for me?” Mo Xun suspected she was dreaming.

Didn’t Yun Wushang oppose her artifact refining? Why would she help her collect these things?

Yun Wushang crossed her arms, lifted her chin, and looked at Mo Xun coldly: “I give you one year to refine a Nine-Grade artifact for me. I will go kill that person within a year.”

Mo Xun: “…”

Just for revenge? Is that true?

Mo Xun wasn’t sure if Yun Wushang was serious or just making excuses stubbornly as before. She tentatively asked: “What did that person do to you?”

Yun Wushang’s eyes narrowed slightly: “You don’t need to know.”

“Okay,” Mo Xun stopped asking.

No matter what Yun Wushang truly thought, it was better for them to be on the same side than to fight each other due to conflicting ideas.

Moreover, the problem she faced now was no longer Yun Wushang’s opposition but her own lack of strength.

Why did I only refine a Grade 4 artifact using Grade 5 materials and Nine-Grade spiritual fire?

The array pattern shouldn’t be the issue. Artifact spirit… The Evil Warding Barrier didn’t have an artifact spirit, didn’t it still reach Grade 5?

But if she claimed she made some mistake during the refining process… she felt she had done the best she could.

This feeling of knowing her inadequacy but not knowing where the flaw lay made Mo Xun restless.

What is the crucial missing step?

Mo Xun racked her brains but couldn’t find the answer herself. She suddenly thought of something and said to Yun Wushang: “I need to go to the Pavilion of Heavenly Secrets.”

“What for?” Yun Wushang asked.

“To receive Heavenly Secret Guidance,” Mo Xun replied.

Every cultivator who breaks through to the Great Perfection stage of Nascent Soul has one free opportunity to receive Heavenly Secret Guidance.

This was how the Pavilion of Heavenly Secrets established its reputation in the cultivation world, and the premise for establishing a reputation through this method was that the Pavilion of Heavenly Secrets was genuinely capable of solving anyone’s doubts.

A free opportunity should not be wasted. Perhaps now was the time to use it.

Also…

“I remember the Pavilion of Heavenly Secrets has an auction, right?” Mo Xun asked tentatively.

“Indeed,” Yun Wushang nodded. “One every twenty years. The next one is in five days.”

Mo Xun: “That’s great. I can exchange the pills and artifacts I don’t need for spirit stones.”

Yun Wushang: “What artifact did you refine?”

“A defensive bracelet, a bit like the Evil Warding Barrier, but only Grade 4. It can only block attacks from Early Nascent Soul cultivators at most, and it doesn’t activate automatically,” Mo Xun said, taking the artifact out of her storage pouch to show Yun Wushang.

Yun Wushang looked at it from afar, her expression unchanged: “What else?”

Mo Xun: “…Just this one.”

Yun Wushang: “There’s more.”

Mo Xun: “I really only refined this one.”

Yun Wushang: “I didn’t ask what you refined in the last six months. I asked what you are carrying on you.”

“What I’m carrying…” Mo Xun thought for a moment. Besides the defensive bracelet, the only artifact on her was the Grade 1 protective ring.

“Are you talking about this?” Mo Xun suspiciously took the ring out of her storage pouch.

Almost as soon as she took it out, Yun Wushang used demonic qi to pull it toward herself.

“This, you plan to exchange for spirit stones too?” Yun Wushang asked, examining the ring.

Mo Xun didn’t have that intention, but what she said was: “The auction at the Pavilion of Heavenly Secrets only auctions high-grade pills and artifacts. Even if I wanted to consign this, I probably couldn’t, right?”

“In that case, it belongs to me,” Yun Wushang said.

“Well… If you like it, you can have it,” Mo Xun replied.

Mo Xun had made this ring to Yun Wushang’s size in the first place. If Yun Wushang liked it… that was excellent.

However, since it was only Grade 1, Yun Wushang probably wouldn’t cherish it much.

I’ll refine a Grade 9 ring for her later, Mo Xun thought secretly.

Yun Wushang turned her back to Mo Xun, playing with the ring in her hand: “There’s nothing else. You can go back now.”

Mo Xun wanted to say that she didn’t have anything else to do before going to the Pavilion of Heavenly Secrets… but ultimately followed Yun Wushang’s meaning and said “Good,” turning to return to the Artifact Refining Immortal Sect.

What she didn’t know was that as soon as she left, Yun Wushang slipped the ring onto her finger.

The ring, with its dreamy color and smooth texture, fit her finger perfectly, as if tailor-made for her.

Yun Wushang gave a slight, somewhat disdainful hum, but the corners of her lips lifted uncontrollably.