The Cannon Fodder Female Supporting Character Captured the Villainous Demon Venerable - Chapter 50

Chapter 50: Why Did You Come to Save Me?

“Spiritual energy controlling fire, ninth-grade white flame,” Luo Baozhu exclaimed in awe, followed by a period of silence.

She was silent for a long time, seemingly hesitating. Yun Qianchong, standing beside her, glanced at her and spoke, “With such talent, since she is willing, what harm is there in taking her as your disciple? If you are preoccupied with artifact forging and neglect her guidance, I can discipline her on your behalf.”

“Very well,” Luo Baozhu decided. “Then, from today onward, I am your Master.”

“Yes, Master,” Mo Xun bowed expressionlessly, her tone flat.

She couldn’t smile now, nor could she be excited, because the emotions piling up in her chest were all negative.

Fortunately, both Luo Baozhu and Yun Qianchong were meeting her for the first time and didn’t know her usual personality. They only assumed she had been stripped of her spirit by being ordered around by the Demon Venerable Yun Wushang.

The two Great Ascension stage immortal cultivators led the group of cultivators back to the Heavenly Mountain Immortal Gate. Mo Xun silently followed behind them, feeling a thorn stuck in her heart the whole way. She couldn’t pull it out, so she just let it remain, enduring the resulting pain.

If she could have refined a little faster, just a little faster—a few months earlier, or even just half a day—this would never have happened.

But at the same time, she knew that for things that had already happened, instead of dwelling on how they could have been avoided, it was better to put all her energy into figuring out how to remedy the situation.

Mo Xun, in her coarse cloth clothes, was conspicuously out of place among the group of gold-robed cultivators.

Upon arriving at the Heavenly Mountain Immortal Gate, Luo Baozhu said without looking back, “Follow me.”

“Yes, Master,” Mo Xun followed her.

Luo Baozhu flew down to a mountain where a golden pavilion was built. With a wave of her hand, her Nine Heavens Demon Suppressing Pagoda went from small to large, standing next to the pavilion and soaring into the clouds.

Mo Xun watched, her emotions fluctuating for a moment before she quickly suppressed them.

Luo Baozhu flew into the pavilion, and Mo Xun followed closely.

The pavilion, which looked small from the outside, was discovered to have a space expanded several times upon entry.

Luo Baozhu led Mo Xun to a room and said to her, “You will live here from now on. This Venerable lives at the highest point of the Qionglou. Change your clothes and come see me.”

Mo Xun replied, “Alright.”

Hearing the words “This Venerable” from Luo Baozhu’s mouth made her uncomfortable all over.

When Yun Wushang used those words, there was always a feeling of forced composure, making her utterly adorable. But when Luo Baozhu said them, Mo Xun only found it pretentious and wanted to smash her face.

Luo Baozhu turned and left, heading toward the highest point.

Mo Xun mentally grumbled, “She even named her dwelling ‘Qionglou’ (Jade Tower), comparing herself to an Immortal. This person is utterly arrogant.” As she entered the room, she first set up a layer of anti-peeking restrictions, then took off her clothes and changed into the golden robes of the Heavenly Mountain Immortal Gate.

In fact, the robes of the Heavenly Mountain Immortal Gate were white at the base, but the gold-brown collar, edges, and sash were embroidered with gold thread patterns, and the hem was draped with a layer of gold gauze, giving the overall impression of a shimmering golden color.

As Mo Xun put on the clothes, she recalled Yun Wushang once wearing this set of sect robes, which gave her pause for thought.

Mo Xun: In the past, she joined my Water Moon Immortal Sect to heal her injuries. Now, to save her, I have joined the Heavenly Mountain Immortal Gate where she once stayed.

Everything felt like a pre-arranged cycle.

But regardless of whose plan this was, Mo Xun had to rescue Yun Wushang.

Mo Xun changed her clothes, removed the restriction, and headed toward Luo Baozhu’s location, the highest point of the pavilion.

Upon reaching it, she found that the highest point was only a pavilion with an unobstructed view of the surroundings. It clearly wasn’t like this from the outside. Evidently, the pavilion Luo Baozhu called “Qionglou” was an illusory realm.

Mo Xun bowed to Luo Baozhu’s back, who was sitting in the pavilion: “Master.”

Luo Baozhu spoke, still facing away from her: “What artifact did Yun Wushang want you to refine for her?”

“To answer Master, it was for escape,” Mo Xun replied.

There was no way she would tell Luo Baozhu that Yun Wushang wanted to use a ninth-grade magic treasure to kill her.

Luo Baozhu sneered upon hearing this: “True to her nature, she doesn’t dare to fight us head-on, only running and hiding like a timid rat in a sewer, dark and cowardly.”

Mo Xun clenched her fists. Her nails, which hadn’t been trimmed in two years, were somewhat long and dug into her flesh as she tightened her grip, causing piercing pain.

She fiercely refuted Luo Baozhu’s words in her heart, yet on her lips, she could only say, “Master speaks wisely.”

After a pause, she probed, “The Demon Venerable is in the Great Ascension stage. I wonder if Master’s magic treasure can suppress her? What if she breaks through from the inside and continues to threaten me to refine artifacts for her…”

“Break through from the inside?” Luo Baozhu laughed scornfully, suddenly rising from the pavilion. “Very well. Since I have decided to take you as my disciple, I will take you to see the interior of the Nine Heavens Demon Suppressing Pagoda so you know that it is impossible for her to break through from the inside, even unto death!”

Luo Baozhu said this and used her Great Ascension stage spiritual power to envelop Mo Xun, taking her directly from the top of the pavilion, passing through the illusory to the real world.

Luo Baozhu flew toward the location of the Nine Heavens Demon Suppressing Pagoda. Mo Xun followed behind her, her heartbeat accelerating uncontrollably. She could only pretend to be afraid to conceal her excitement.

She hid behind Luo Baozhu the entire time. Luo Baozhu scorned, “With me here, are you still afraid that the Demon Venerable will devour you?”

“…This disciple is timid. I disappoint Master,” Mo Xun cautiously moved to Luo Baozhu’s side and slightly behind her.

Only then did Luo Baozhu silently chant an incantation, opening the main door of the Nine Heavens Demon Suppressing Pagoda and flying in.

The Nine Heavens Demon Suppressing Pagoda, despite the name “Nine Heavens,” only had six floors. Luo Baozhu took Mo Xun to the very bottom floor.

In the unbelievably vast space, a woman was suspended in mid-air by two huge chains.

The space was so immense, and the chains were thicker than an arm, making the person seem as tiny as an ant.

Two chains wrapped around each of her wrists, and her feet were tens of meters off the ground, leaving her body to swing loosely in the air.

Who else could that person be but Yun Wushang?

Her hair was unbound and draped messily over her body, covering her face as her head hung low.

Her sleeves slid down her hoisted arms, revealing heavily scarred skin—a horrifying sight.

How did these scars appear?

The answer lay in the countless high-grade magic treasures suspended around her, continuously tormenting her body.

Whip-shaped artifacts struck her body, tearing her black robe and slicing her skin. A cone-shaped artifact repeatedly pierced her body from one side and exited the other, spilling crimson blood onto the ground.

Every artifact mercilessly created shocking wounds on Yun Wushang, yet Yun Wushang merely twitched, never uttering a single cry of agony from beginning to end.

Mo Xun’s nails dug deep into her palms, piercing the skin, but this pain did nothing to relieve the suffocating ache in her chest.

At this moment, she suddenly understood.

Why didn’t Yun Wushang allow her to refine artifacts?

Why did Yun Wushang hate Luo Baozhu so much that she loathed all artifact forgers?

This was absolutely not the first time Luo Baozhu had tormented her this way!

“Do you see?” Luo Baozhu admired the sight of Yun Wushang being tortured, speaking to Mo Xun with a triumphant tone, “Demons taken into the tower will be continuously weakened in demonic energy, their strength reduced to less than one ten-thousandth of their original power. Breaking through from the inside? Unless she can break through to the True Demon Realm. But unfortunately, there is no demonic energy here for her to cultivate.”

Mo Xun let out an “En.”

Hearing Mo Xun’s voice, Yun Wushang’s body shook, and her already clenched fists tightened further.

But she still didn’t raise her head, nor did she say a single word.

“Your Master just refined a ninth-grade magic treasure and needs to go into seclusion for a while to summarize the experience. During this time, if you have any questions about cultivation, seek guidance from the Sect Master,” Luo Baozhu said.

Mo Xun said “Yes,” then tentatively asked, “May I ask, Master, if Mo Xun can frequently enter the tower to check on the Demon Venerable’s condition during your seclusion? She enslaved Mo Xun for many years and has become a knot in my heart. If I don’t confirm that she is properly imprisoned, Mo Xun cannot focus on cultivating.”

Luo Baozhu narrowed her eyes upon hearing this: “You aren’t trying to rescue her, are you?”

“Heh, how could I be?” Mo Xun let out a cold laugh, transforming her hatred for Luo Baozhu into a flawless performance. “I would love to kill her with my own hands! To slice the flesh from her body piece by piece and feed it to the dogs! But, with my current cultivation, I cannot…”

Luo Baozhu tilted her head, giving her a sideways glance for a moment, then turned back: “I thought so. You successfully refined such an excellent fifth-grade magic treasure, only to have it stolen by her, and you don’t even have a protective artifact yourself. You must hate her deeply. But even if you wanted to save her, with your current cultivation, it’s a pipe dream. And even if she could escape this tower, she wouldn’t escape the Heavenly Mountain Immortal Gate. Since that’s the case, there’s no harm in telling you.”

Luo Baozhu transmitted the incantation for entering the Nine Heavens Demon Suppressing Pagoda into Mo Xun’s ear.

Mo Xun bowed toward her: “Thank you for your accommodation, Master. From now on, Mo Xun will only follow Master’s commands.”

Having seen Yun Wushang’s miserable state, the two left the Nine Heavens Demon Suppressing Pagoda.

Luo Baozhu then went to the highest point of the Qionglou for seclusion. Mo Xun patiently pretended to cultivate in her room for a day, making sure Luo Baozhu had entered seclusion, before leaving the Qionglou and flying into the Nine Heavens Demon Suppressing Pagoda using the incantation Luo Baozhu had taught her.

In just one day, Yun Wushang had gained many new injuries. Each one made Mo Xun’s heart ache immeasurably, wishing it was her who was suffering the wounds.

She said nothing, released her divine sense, and began searching for the array patterns in the tower.

For her, taking Yun Wushang out of the tower without anyone noticing would be easy. Her “Nest of the Two Poles” wasn’t refined for nothing.

However, to unlock the chains binding Yun Wushang without being detected by Luo Baozhu, she couldn’t rely on brute force. She had to patiently decipher the array patterns.

Fortunately, not all artifact forgers were like her, integrating the array patterns like a skeleton inside the artifact. Eventually, Mo Xun found a large section of array patterns near the corner of the wall. Part of it was identical to the Demon Suppressing Pagoda array patterns she had seen at the base of the Artifact Forging Immortal Gate’s inner tower.

Evidently, this magic treasure was not refined out of thin air but was an improvement based on the Demon Suppressing Pagoda.

Sometimes, with the same appearance and array patterns, the quality could differ simply due to the use of different materials and different details etched during refinement.

Mo Xun had seriously studied the Demon Suppressing Pagoda array patterns to refine her spatial magic treasure. Therefore, even though the Nine Heavens Demon Suppressing Pagoda’s array patterns were slightly different, she quickly analyzed them and immediately took out several spirit stones from her storage brocade pouch to construct an array that could counteract the effect of the tower’s array patterns.

Luo Baozhu would never have imagined that her new disciple, who was two major realms below her, possessed talent in array formations and artifact forging far superior to her own, having successfully refined an eighth-grade magic treasure while only in the early Void Refinement stage.

As the array activated, the chains around Yun Wushang’s wrists unlocked with a “crack,” and Yun Wushang’s unsupported body immediately plummeted downward.

Mo Xun quickly flew over and caught her in an embrace in mid-air, which transitioned into carrying her horizontally upon landing.

A strong scent of blood assailed her senses. Mo Xun’s arms, holding Yun Wushang, trembled uncontrollably.

Yun Wushang’s head rested weakly on her shoulder. After a long pause, she emitted a weak voice: “You… cannot escape the Heavenly Mountain Immortal Gate.”

“I can escape,” Mo Xun replied firmly. “Trust me, I can take you back to the Demon Realm.”

“Cannot… go… to the Demon Realm.”

“I have already broken through to the Void Refinement stage. Besides Meiyan, no demon is my match. I will not let anyone hurt you again.”

“You are… an immortal cultivator.” Yun Wushang wanted to say that an immortal cultivator’s strength would be greatly weakened in the Demon Realm, but she lacked the strength to say the whole sentence.

Even so, Mo Xun understood her meaning: “Then I will heal you first, and then we will go. I can do it. Wushang, don’t think about anything now, don’t say anything, just leave it all to me.”

As Mo Xun spoke, she took out the Nest of the Two Poles from her storage brocade pouch.

Sensing the aura of an eighth-grade magic treasure, Yun Wushang struggled to open her eyes. Her vision pierced through her messy hair, and she saw a pink heart.

The palm-sized, three-dimensional object had the exact same shape as the symbol Mo Xun had carved on the jade bracelet. It was entirely pink and gave no clue as to its function. It didn’t seem to be a protective artifact or a weapon.

“Wushang, hide inside. Don’t come out until I tell you to,” Mo Xun said.

Yun Wushang raised her hand and clutched Mo Xun’s collar, looking utterly terrified that she would be sealed into the magic treasure right then.

Based on Mo Xun’s words, she guessed it was a spatial magic treasure. She was willing to trust Mo Xun, but before that, there was something that needed to be done.

“Mo Xun…” Yun Wushang’s knuckles were white from exertion. She tried her best to bring her lips close to Mo Xun’s ear so she could hear her voice.

Mo Xun willingly leaned her ear closer.

Yun Wushang: “Meiyan is… on the third floor… kill her.”

Mo Xun: “Alright.”

Yun Wushang did not explain why her location was exposed to the Heavenly Mountain Immortal Gate, but this sentence, filled with extreme hatred, said it all.

Mo Xun carried Yun Wushang horizontally and flew up: “I will take you to kill her now.”

Yun Wushang reached out and wrapped her scarred arm around Mo Xun’s neck.

Mo Xun circulated her water-attributed spiritual energy to heal her while simultaneously flying her to the third floor of the Nine Heavens Demon Suppressing Pagoda.

Like Yun Wushang, Meiyan was also suspended in mid-air by chains, unable to move, but there were no artifacts “serving” her.

Seeing her, Yun Wushang’s demonic energy violently surged: “Why? Why doesn’t she have to suffer…”

“It’s alright. I will make up for it now,” Mo Xun said. With a thought, the eighteen beads on her wrist detached from the bone bracelet and flew toward Meiyan, transforming into eighteen claw-like curved blades during flight.

These sharp blades continuously pierced Meiyan’s body, intentionally avoiding vital points.

Meiyan screamed, then frantically begged for mercy: “…Demon Venerable, I was wrong! I know I was wrong! I have already paid the price for my stupidity! Immortal cultivators are all liars! Men are liars, and women are too! I will never betray you again! Please…”

Yun Wushang: “Too noisy.”

Mo Xun: “I’ll make her shut up now.”

A blade pierced Meiyan’s mouth, severing her tongue.

Meiyan: !

Meiyan let out painful whimpering sounds, but at this point, her regret was useless.

As soon as Luo Baozhu came out of seclusion, she told her Yun Wushang’s location, intending to use Luo Baozhu to get rid of Yun Wushang and take her place. She never expected that Luo Baozhu, upon learning Yun Wushang’s location, would first capture her without a word!

Damn it, damn it, damn it, damn it, damn it!

Meiyan was deceived in love by a male cultivator when she was cultivating immortality and almost became his cauldron. After killing him out of hatred, she fell into the demonic path, cultivating through ruthless indulgence. She killed hundreds, if not nearly a thousand, male cultivators. In contrast, fewer than ten female cultivators died by her hand. She never expected to ultimately die from a woman’s betrayal… Wait, could this be the reason Yun Wushang hated that artifact forger?

By the time Meiyan figured this out, it was too late.

After Mo Xun used the Bone Bracelet Eighteen Blades to pierce her body like a sieve, the last two blades, one pierced her forehead and the other stabbed her heart.

Her consciousness dissipated amidst intense pain and regret.

After ensuring she was dead, Mo Xun looked down and asked Yun Wushang in a calm and gentle voice, “Are you satisfied with this?”

Yun Wushang gently rubbed her head against Mo Xun’s shoulder and hummed an “En.”

Mo Xun conjured the Nest of the Two Poles again. This time, Yun Wushang no longer struggled, allowing Mo Xun to take her into the spatial magic treasure.

Mo Xun circulated water spiritual energy to clean the bloodstains on herself, hung Meiyan’s corpse where Yun Wushang had been suspended, creating the illusion that Yun Wushang had not been rescued, and then dismantled the array formation.

The spiritually inert artifacts began to attack Meiyan’s corpse, whipping it and making it sway violently.

Mo Xun put away the Nest of the Two Poles and left the Nine Heavens Demon Suppressing Pagoda.

She returned to her room in the Qionglou, waited quietly for a while, made sure it was safe, and then set up five layers of restrictions. She pretended to enter seclusion for cultivation but actually took out the Nest of the Two Poles, entered it herself, and checked on Yun Wushang’s condition.

Inside the Nest of the Two Poles, one half was filled with spiritual energy, and the other half with dense demonic energy.

Yun Wushang was lying on the side with dense demonic energy, looking weak and frail, but her injuries had actually improved significantly under Mo Xun’s treatment.

Mo Xun quickly rushed to her side, knelt on the ground, and gently held her in her arms: “I apologize. Time was short, and I didn’t have time to add furniture. I’ve wronged you.”

Yun Wushang stared at the robes Mo Xun was wearing for a moment: “…Your clothes are very ugly.”

“You are right. I’ll take them off now,” Mo Xun said, reaching to untie her sash.

Seeing Yun Wushang’s currently distressed state and knowing that it was all because she had taken too long to refine the artifact, Mo Xun felt guilty. At this moment, she probably wouldn’t refuse anything Yun Wushang asked her to do.

However, Yun Wushang grabbed her hand, stopping her: “…There’s no need.”

Yun Wushang didn’t have the strength to do that right now. Was Mo Xun going to strip naked in front of her just to let her look but not touch?

Mo Xun said, “Alright,” and did not remove her clothes, instead holding Yun Wushang in her arms and treating her injuries.

In fact, Yun Wushang’s injuries at this moment were not as severe as when they first met. The main issue was the exhaustion of her demonic energy, leaving her unable to exert any strength.

But when they first met, all of Yun Wushang’s injuries were hidden beneath her clothes. Now, her clothes were torn, and her entire body was covered in bloodstains—a horrifying sight.

Every time Mo Xun looked, her heart ached, and her throat felt constricted, making every word incredibly difficult: “I’ll treat you for a bit longer, then I’ll go buy you some clean clothes, a soft bed, and…”

She was interrupted mid-sentence by Yun Wushang: “Why did you save me?”

Mo Xun froze, looking at her in surprise, astonished that she would ask such a question: “How could I not come to save you?”

Yun Wushang closed her eyes in her embrace and said, “I am the Demon Venerable. Saving me means going against the entire cultivation world… The Life-and-Death Contract between us has been dissolved, and you have never owed me anything. If anything, I was the one who kept trying to bind you to my side. Now that you are free, why didn’t you return to your Water Moon Immortal Sect? Why did you come to save me?”

“You talk as if you could hold me,” Mo Xun said, both distressed and slightly annoyed. “Have you forgotten how I escaped from the Demon Realm to the Artifact Forging Immortal Gate?”

Yun Wushang: “If I hadn’t tacitly allowed it, did you truly think you could escape from my grasp?”

Mo Xun: “I don’t care to argue with you. Focus on healing here.”

“Mo Xun,” Yun Wushang suddenly called out, her voice slightly trembling. “Do you… really like me?”

“What else?” Mo Xun was very frustrated, knowing that Yun Wushang hadn’t taken her confession seriously from the beginning.

However, in the beginning, it truly was just a measure of convenience. Later… Love sprang from nowhere and deepened over time.

“I just like you, and for you, I would not hesitate to go against the entire cultivation world. So what?” Mo Xun didn’t want to explain anything. She just wanted to tell Yun Wushang that, at least now, she genuinely liked her. “Once I reach the Great Ascension stage and refine the ninth-grade magic treasure, I will help you kill that artifact forger and avenge you.”

Yun Wushang: “How many years until you reach the Great Ascension stage?”

Mo Xun: “One year. You said it yourself: one year to refine a ninth-grade magic treasure for you, and one year for you to kill that person.”

Yun Wushang: “That was three years ago. Three years have passed, and you have broken your promise.”

Mo Xun: “Yes, but back then, I hadn’t refined an eighth-grade magic treasure yet and didn’t realize that high-grade artifacts needed so much time to refine. But now, I have a clear idea. I will not break my promise again. I guarantee it.”

Yun Wushang: “I don’t believe you.”

Mo Xun: “Refining a ninth-grade magic treasure within one year is indeed difficult, but within one year, I will definitely break through to the Great Ascension stage.”

Yun Wushang: “I don’t believe you.”

Mo Xun sighed, lowered her head, and kissed Yun Wushang’s forehead. She no longer argued with her: “Be good and heal here. Unless I die, you will absolutely be safe.”

Yun Wushang did not repeat the words “I don’t believe you,” pursing her lips and falling silent.

Mo Xun carefully placed her back on the ground, then left the Nest of the Two Poles and put it into her storage brocade pouch.

The storage brocade pouch had built-in anti-peeping restrictions; no one could look inside without physically touching it.

Mo Xun kept the pouch containing the Nest of the Two Poles pressed against her chest, then removed the restrictions and attempted to leave the Heavenly Mountain Immortal Gate.

She already had a complete plan to break through to the Great Ascension stage within a year, and she needed to implement it.

However, just as she approached the Sect-Protecting Array, a person appeared behind her and asked coldly, “Where are you going?”

Recognizing the voice, Mo Xun broke out in a cold sweat and hurriedly turned to bow: “Greetings, Sect Master.”

Yes, the person behind her was the Sect Master of the Heavenly Mountain Immortal Gate, Yun Qianchong.

Mo Xun: Drat, I was so focused on guarding against Luo Baozhu that I forgot about Yun Qianchong. Could she have seen everything I did? But neither the Nine Heavens Demon Suppressing Pagoda nor the Qionglou can be peered into from the outside. Even if she sent out her divine sense, she should only know that I visited the Demon Suppressing Pagoda after Luo Baozhu went into seclusion.

Thinking this, Mo Xun quickly composed herself and replied, “To answer the Sect Master, I am going to the Heaven’s Secret Pavilion. A cultivator named Lin Lanyue from the Heaven’s Secret Pavilion commissioned me to forge a seventh-grade artifact for her. I don’t know her requirements, so I plan to go and ask.”

Yun Qianchong’s icy gaze landed on Mo Xun. After a thorough examination, she said indifferently, “Since that is the case, I will accompany you part of the way, lest you be abducted by another demon cultivator.”

Mo Xun: “…Then I thank the Sect Master.”