The Villain Marked the Male Lead's Fiancée (Transmigration into a Book) - Chapter 4

A tingling pleasure swept through A Luo’s body, and he subconsciously squirmed, letting Yun Xiao have her way.

Passing cultivators clearly sensed the spiritual energy fluctuation but saw nothing, so they had to give up.

The sun moved west, and the sky gradually darkened.

The flying spiritual artifact, which had concealed its tracks, reappeared. Yun Xiao, now clad in her Dharma robe, looked down and saw no sign of towns or villages, only green mountains and clear waters.

It was inconvenient to travel at night, so it seemed they would have to camp in the wilderness tonight.

Finding an open space to land, Yun Xiao volunteered to gather firewood and look for something to eat.

A Luo lightly lifted his eyelids to glance at her, not bothering with what Yun Xiao was doing. He took out a prayer mat from his storage ring and placed it under a tree, then sat down to cultivate.

Yun Xiao returned quickly. Without disturbing A Luo’s cultivation, she piled up the gathered firewood and lit it.

Estimating the time, she skewered a marinated Swift Wind Rabbit leg onto a sturdy branch and slowly roasted it over the fire.

In no time, an enticing aroma drifted around.

A Luo opened his eyes and threw a mid-grade fourth-tier defensive formation onto the open ground. This would both block sneak attacks from cultivators below the Golden Core stage and isolate the scent from spreading, preventing the attraction of demonic beasts.

Yun Xiao cut the roasted rabbit meat and orderly placed it onto a wooden plate.

The colors were too monotonous, so she took out two spirit fruits and placed them on the plate, presenting it to A Luo: “Try it. The spiritual power contained in a third-tier Swift Wind Rabbit replenishes faster than meditating.”

Thinking of Yun Xiao’s presumptuousness on the flying spiritual artifact earlier, A Luo glared at her but took the rabbit meat and began eating it in small bites.

Yun Xiao also recalled that incident and guiltily raised a hand to touch her nose: “I was just trying to help you quickly, help you.” She dared not say the last few words out loud, afraid of being hit.

Turning back to the fire, she picked up a rabbit leg, roasted until crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, and took a bite. The meat was firm and not dry—delicious.

Suddenly, a spiritual energy fluctuation came from outside the defensive formation.

Yun Xiao turned her head to look. A female cultivator, covered in wounds, was fleeing toward them in panic.

Seeing them, the female cultivator saw a savior. She clasped her hands and bowed, saying, “Junior Lou Min respectfully asks the two seniors for help.”

A cultivator who could afford a fourth-grade defensive formation must be wealthy. Even if she couldn’t discern their cultivation level, they could surely help her escape the group relentlessly pursuing her.

The bloodstains on Lou Min’s face and her tattered Dharma robe made Yun Xiao feel a flicker of pity.

She glanced sideways at A Luo, who was still eating slowly and seemed not to have heard Lou Min’s plea.

Hesitating whether to offer some advice, she sensed several more spiritual energy fluctuations. In the space of two blinks, three cultivators—two men and one woman—charged fiercely toward Lou Min.

Among the three cultivators, the older man had the highest cultivation, already at the late Golden Core stage; the other two were only at the middle Foundation Establishment stage.

Seeing the three drawing nearer, Lou Min grew increasingly panicked: “My maternal grandfather is the head of the Song family in Qingcheng. If the two seniors can lend a hand, I will certainly offer a generous reward.”

The Golden Core stage male cultivator stepped forward a few paces, his attitude respectful: “Greetings to the two seniors.” Without waiting for Yun Xiao and A Luo to reply, he introduced himself, “I am Duan Zhenghong, a guest elder of the Tianlan City Lord’s Mansion. I am here by the City Lord’s order to apprehend a thief.”

Yun Xiao did not know of the Song family in Qingcheng, nor had she heard of the City Lord of Tianlan City, but that didn’t stop her from understanding the threat in Duan Zhenghong’s words.

If she rescued the seeking Lou Min today, she would be making an enemy of the Tianlan City Lord.

Lou Min guessed Yun Xiao’s apprehension and quickly denied it: “I merely took the relic my mother left for me. How can that be called thievery?”

Duan Zhenghong used his gaze to deter his companion who was about to rush forward and attack: “I, too, am just following orders. If you have anything to say, you can personally tell the City Lord.”

Ignorance is not to blame. He could not see through Yun Xiao’s cultivation but could sense that A Luo’s cultivation was above his.

The two were together. No matter which one of them interfered in this matter, a fierce battle would be inevitable.

Lou Min knew that once captured, she would find it difficult to ever leave the City Lord’s Mansion, so she gritted her teeth and said, “I am willing to offer the supreme treasure my mother left me, only asking that the two seniors help me.”

With that, she took a jade box from her storage bag, opened it, and exposed the Nine-Revolving Golden Lotus inside to Yun Xiao and A Luo.

The Nine-Revolving Golden Lotus is the main ingredient for refining the eighth-grade Soul Nourishing Pill.

The eighth-grade Soul Nourishing Pill, as the name suggests, can repair soul injuries in high-level cultivators and also elevate a cultivator’s soul by a major stage. No wonder the people from the City Lord’s Mansion were so determined to capture Lou Min.

Having already developed a soft spot, and now with a generous reward, Yun Xiao stood up and stepped out of the defensive formation, shielding Lou Min behind her: “I will save this person.”

The man and woman behind Duan Zhenghong immediately drew their spiritual artifacts and attacked Yun Xiao.

Yun Xiao lightly raised her hand. The two suffered a backlash and fell clumsily to the ground.

The female cultivator, whose offensive was the fiercest, spat out a mouthful of blood and stared at Yun Xiao unwillingly: “Think carefully. Are you sure you want to be an enemy of our City Lord’s Mansion?”

Yun Xiao said nothing, releasing the pressure of her Nascent Soul stage cultivation.

Duan Zhenghong, who was planning a sneak attack, was so suppressed by this pressure that his movements slowed, and the two on the ground couldn’t move at all.

“Do you still want to fight?” Yun Xiao tilted her head and asked Duan Zhenghong.

Duan Zhenghong knew he was no match for Yun Xiao. He hid the malevolence in his eyes and conceded, “Farewell.”

Hearing the answer she wanted, Yun Xiao immediately withdrew her pressure.

Regaining his freedom, Duan Zhenghong turned to leave with his two juniors, but a sudden wind blade struck, instantly claiming the life of the male cultivator.

“This is going too far!” Duan Zhenghong formed a seal with both hands and attacked Yun Xiao.

Yun Xiao, who reacted quickly, shoved Lou Min into the formation with a smooth motion, thus missing the triumphant and calculating look in Lou Min’s eyes.

This was her second time exchanging blows with a human cultivator. Perhaps due to the original body’s memory, she could effortlessly use various spells. Moreover, thanks to her higher cultivation than Duan Zhenghong, she completely suppressed him throughout the fight.

The female cultivator, seeing the situation was bad, tried to escape.

A Luo struck again, but this triggered a life-saving talisman on the female cultivator, and a Soul Transformation stage clone suddenly appeared in the air.

Is this the senior coming after the junior was defeated?

Even though it was only a clone, Yun Xiao was still breathless from the pressure it exerted and knew she had provoked a major trouble this time.

She didn’t dwell on regret, gritted her teeth, and hurled a bolt of lightning at the Soul Transformation clone.

With the pressure lifted, she glimpsed Duan Zhenghong trying to escape and threw another bolt of lightning at him.

She used ninety percent of her strength in this bolt, and Duan Zhenghong died instantly.

This action was tantamount to provoking the Soul Transformation clone, who roared in fury: “Arrogant child, this venerable one will take your life today!”

A major stage separates a cultivator by a chasm. Even a clone was not something Yun Xiao could defeat.

After more than thirty exchanges, she was covered in wounds.

Was today the day she would die here?

No, she hadn’t ascended yet and hadn’t gone back to see her mother. She couldn’t die.

Transforming into her original form, Yun Xiao tossed a top-grade spiritual herb into her mouth. Her spiritual energy instantly surged, and every move she made carried sixty percent of the power of thunder.

Whenever her spiritual energy was depleted, she would throw another top-grade spiritual herb into her mouth, which further enraged and made the Soul Transformation clone jealous.

A Luo, who had retreated to a distance, also felt quite complicated, especially when he saw Yun Xiao break through during the battle, the surprise in his eyes deepening.

Temporarily dismissing the thought of helping, he focused on observing Yun Xiao’s fight against the Soul Transformation clone.

Lou Min watched the situation with anxiousness. She didn’t understand why A Luo had not acted all this time—weren’t they companions?

Would she still be able to leave with the Nine-Revolving Golden Lotus?

That’s right. From the beginning, she never intended to hand over the Nine-Revolving Golden Lotus. She also knew the female cultivator had a life-saving talisman and was only waiting for Yun Xiao and the other to fight the clone to the death so she could seize the opportunity to escape.

Seeing Yun Xiao about to let the three leave earlier made her desperate. She wanted to find a chance to sneak attack, but A Luo suddenly striking saved her the trouble.

She glanced at A Luo again and cautiously backed away.

After only two steps, she found her body unable to move even an inch. Realizing something, she looked at A Luo in horror.

A Luo cast another spell seal on Lou Min and continued to watch the battle in the distance.

With Yun Xiao’s breakthrough, the released power of thunder was more profound. Coupled with an inexhaustible supply of spiritual herbs to replenish her energy, the Soul Transformation clone was beginning to feel overwhelmed.

Yun Xiao had a strong learning ability and was good at synthesizing; she became more courageous the more she fought.

“This venerable one will remember you.” The clone struck Yun Xiao once and quickly retreated.

The battle-ready Yun Xiao was unwilling to let the person escape and hurled two consecutive bolts of lightning at the Soul Transformation clone.

The Soul Transformation clone was caught unaware and struck by the lightning. Even though he was injured, he did not abandon the female cultivator in his hands.

This greatly encouraged Yun Xiao. She pressed her advantage, vowing to destroy this Soul Transformation clone so that the main body could not seek revenge on her anytime soon.

The Soul Transformation clone roared with rage: “I advise you to quit while you’re ahead!”

The reply he received was a purple lightning bolt thicker than a water bucket.

The power of the purple lightning was comparable to three times the power of the usual lightning. This was something the original owner had managed to save up during her tribulation.

Having personally witnessed the Soul Transformation clone turn into ashes under this purple lightning bolt, Yun Xiao secretly decided to accumulate more from the Heavenly Dao when she underwent her next tribulation.

The Soul Transformation clone could not escape the purple lightning, let alone the Foundation Establishment stage female cultivator, who also turned into dust along with the clone.

The female cultivator’s wide-eyed, furious look before she died lingered in Yun Xiao’s eyes. The cultivation world is one where the strong prey on the weak. Had she not been lucky enough to kill that Soul Transformation clone today, she would be the one dead.

Even knowing this, her claws were still trembling.

The battle ended. A Luo walked straight to Yun Xiao and threw the captured Lou Min at Yun Xiao’s feet.

The dull thud of the landing brought Yun Xiao’s thoughts back. Although A Luo said nothing, she understood his meaning.

Lou Min knelt on the ground, looking up in panic at Yun Xiao, who had reverted to human form, and tried to defend herself: “I—I didn’t know she had a life-saving talisman on her. If I had known earlier, I definitely would have told you, senior.”

Yun Xiao was angered into laughter. Lou Min had personally said the Nine-Revolving Golden Lotus was her mother’s relic, which was enough to prove Lou Min’s extraordinary relationship with the City Lord’s Mansion. Yet, Lou Min now claimed she didn’t know the female cultivator had a life-saving talisman—was she treating Yun Xiao like a fool?

Stopping her laughter, she said coldly, “Are you going to hand it over yourself, or should I take it?”

Lou Min was only at the great perfection of the Foundation Establishment stage, no match for Yun Xiao. However reluctant, she could only present the Nine-Revolving Golden Lotus.

Lifting her hand to receive it, Yun Xiao struck Lou Min with a palm: “This strike is the price for your scheming against me.”

Lou Min coughed up blood, raising a hand to tightly cover her injured left shoulder, and said gratefully, “Thank you, senior, for sparing my life.”

Fearing Yun Xiao might change her mind, she didn’t dare to delay, tearing two haste talismans and fleeing.

A Luo glanced at Yun Xiao and moved away from the area.

The previous major battle had already alarmed many people. When else should they leave but now?

Yun Xiao tossed a middle-grade spiritual herb into her mouth, followed behind A Luo, avoiding the rushing cultivators, and hesitantly asked, “Did you already expect this?”