The Villainess Always Tries to Seduce Me - Chapter 15

To say she was vengeful was an understatement; this was clearly payback for the last time Yun Chuanzhi had pinched her face while she was unconscious. Yun Chuanzhi drifted her head with difficulty while still held in Bai Fenghe’s palm.

This woman was truly strange. A few days ago, she was guarded and testing her; today, seeing her about to open her spiritual root, she was instead watching the spectacle. Wasn’t she afraid of a rebellion once Yun Chuanzhi restored her cultivation?

Forget it, there was no point in trying to guess Bai Fenghe’s thoughts. Yun Chuanzhi snatched her face back from the woman’s palm and rubbed it expressionlessly as she stood in the center of the four pieces of thousand-year-old ice.

Sunlight pierced through the transparent ice, transforming into rainbow-colored spots of light that converged at Yun Chuanzhi’s feet. Yun Chuanzhi waved at Cheng Jinshu, who was sitting nearby in a daze.

“Immortal,” she apologized, “how do I open this?”

Cheng Jinshu, having witnessed the interaction between the two, stood by with a complex expression. In her memory, Bai Fenghe’s behavior was ruthless and unpredictable; she couldn’t tolerate the slightest offense. Now, after being blatantly lied to by a little immortal servant, she was actually willing to forgive her; how could this not be shocking?

She couldn’t understand it. She really couldn’t.

Still, she stepped forward and twisted the pieces of ice several times until a series of clicks, like locks being released, echoed around them. Only then did she let go.

Yun Chuanzhi was initially looking around for where the legendary three gates would appear when the ground beneath her suddenly gave way. With a half-stifled scream, she vanished from the spot instantly.

The pebbles that had disappeared earlier quietly slid back into place. A sweet breeze blew away the fallen grass leaves, leaving the area peaceful and quiet, as if no one had ever been there.

“Dagou!” Cheng Jinshu couldn’t help but call out her name. She pressed her ear to the ground to listen, murmuring, “It’s over. She doesn’t even have a defensive spiritual tool. She won’t die in there, will she?”

Looking up at Bai Fenghe, the latter clearly didn’t care. In fact, her expression was quite pleasant. She had summoned a white jade coral couch from her sleeve and was leaning back lazily, holding her skirt. She produced a plate of melon seeds from nowhere and began cracking them with her pearly teeth.

“Want some?” Bai Fenghe pinched a seed and smiled at Cheng Jinshu.

While things were peaceful and quiet above, Yun Chuanzhi had landed below in a disoriented heap. She lay on the ground like a pile of mud, unable to get up for a long time.

That Sect Leader Mingcun was so inconsiderate. Could she not have placed a soft cushion when she put the Eastern Divine Stone underground?

Yun Chuanzhi struggled to pull out the bottle of pills Bai Fenghe had given her. She popped one into her mouth, suppressing the metallic taste of blood rising in her throat.

Only then did she brace herself and stand up. Looking around, she couldn’t help but gasp in awe.

The ground was like water, rippling when touched, yet leaving her shoes and socks dry. The ripples extended for thousands of miles into the distance, narrowing into a single line at the horizon, with no end in sight.

Stars flickered overhead, converging into a galaxy in dense areas and slowly dispersing like crushed diamonds. Beneath the sky stood three pitch-black gates, appearing like three orderly mountains, standing in silent solemnity.

The surface looked ordinary, but beneath it was this breathtaking sight. Yun Chuanzhi felt inexplicably nervous, so she took a deep breath and stepped into the first gate.

The stars and ripples vanished, replaced by a massive, square stone chamber. A black stone chair sat in the center, and a humanoid stone sculpture protruded from the opposite wall.

The face of the sculpture shifted constantly; at times it looked like a gentle woman, and at others, like a fanged demon.

“Who comes here?” a gentle female voice asked. Though gentle, it was rigid, like a puppet reading text, completely devoid of emotion.

“This slave, Cui Ergou,” Yun Chuanzhi answered softly.

“Liar!”

The moment the words left her mouth, the voice that had been as smooth as silk transformed into a demonic, piercing roar. The sound was so loud that Yun Chuanzhi staggered back several steps, her eardrums throbbing in pain.

Simultaneously, countless nearly invisible silver threads extended from the walls and ceiling, writhing like snakes as they pierced into Yun Chuanzhi’s body. The needle-like pain made her legs go weak instantly. She hurriedly shouted, “Yun Chuanzhi! I am Yun Chuanzhi!”

The silver threads were abruptly withdrawn. Yun Chuanzhi slumped against the wall, panting heavily, her pain making her want to curse.

In her past life, opening a spiritual root was easy with that person’s help, just a few chants and mental techniques. Now, in a new body, she had to endure such agony.

Yun Chuanzhi had never had much ambition; in this life, she just wanted to lie flat. If cultivation required this much suffering, then forget it.

At worst, she would just go out and take a whipping. It surely wouldn’t be half as painful as those needles.

As she complained internally, the statue switched back to the female voice: “This gate is called the Body-Sculpting Gate. Only those with great endurance may pass. Cultivator, please take your seat.”

“I’m not sitting. I have the least endurance of all. Send me out.” Yun Chuanzhi wiped the sweat from her face and patted her clothes as she stood up.

“What?” The statue’s previously flat tone suddenly spiked like a real person’s, nearly cracking.

Is it that surprising? Yun Chuanzhi looked up at it. “I said I give up. Send me out.”

“No!” the statue exclaimed, leaning out from the wall in its anxiety. “There is no logic in leaving halfway through a trial!”

Seeing this reaction, Yun Chuanzhi became curious.

“I’ve given up anyway. I won’t sit. If you want to drag me up there by force, then do it. My life is lowly to begin with; at worst, I’ll die here. That would be a complete ending.”

She finished speaking, lay down on the floor, and closed her eyes.

The statue was, after all, just a statue with no cunning. Its anxiety was now plain to see. Its voice became shrill, changing from a woman to a child: “What would I want your life for? Just sit down! I’ll let you hurt a few times, you endure it a bit more, and won’t this stage be over?”

Yun Chuanzhi laughed inwardly at its excitement. The more it acted this way, the more indifferent she became. She simply covered her ears.

The statue eventually began to plead: “I beg of you, just consider it helping me, alright?”

Hearing this, Yun Chuanzhi slowly sat up. She was genuinely curious: “Why do you want me to pass this gate so badly?”

“To tell you the truth, I am but an evil spirit of these mountains. Thousands of years ago, I made a small mistake and took a few lives. I was captured by that Xie Cun and placed here, embedded in this statue to guide newcomers.”

“She stated that once the divine power within the Eastern Divine Stone is exhausted, and provided I take no more lives, I can regain my freedom.”

“Now, only the last sliver of divine power remains in the stone. As long as you pass the trial and take that power, I will be free.” The stone face of the statue visibly pulled into a crying expression, looking quite comical.

Xie Cun, that must be Bai Fenghe’s master, Sect Leader Mingcun.

So that was it. Yun Chuanzhi lowered her head to hide her smile, coughed twice, and sighed with a solemn face. “But I am a person who is extremely afraid of pain.”

“Then I’ll just count it as you passing! Don’t you dare give up!” the statue said hurriedly. A silver thread peeked timidly from the wall, placing a red pearl into Yun Chuanzhi’s palm.

Then another silver thread brought out a blue pearl from the side and gave it to her as well.

“I am also in charge of the second gate. Now I am giving you the fruits of both gates. Once you get the one from the third gate, you can use these three fruits to find the Eastern Divine Stone.”

The two silver threads made a pleading gesture toward her. Yun Chuanzhi’s vision darkened and then brightened again. The stone chamber had vanished, and the first two gates were gone.

Only the final gate remained standing.

She hadn’t expected it to be this easy. Yun Chuanzhi looked down at the pearls in her palm, a sense of unreality washing over her. Something felt wrong.

Even if she had given up and left, others would eventually come seeking the stone. In the Qianyuan Realm, where cultivators were revered, there was no shortage of people wanting to cultivate.

Could it be that someone had arranged this on purpose, specifically wanting her to step into the third gate?

Yun Chuanzhi put away the pearls, smiled to herself, and walked in.

The surroundings didn’t change at all, but the gate behind her vanished. She was still standing beneath the vast galaxy.

A dark shadow stood not far away. As she walked toward it, the shadow became clearer, yet it remained a shadow; no face, no color.

The shadow slowly turned around. Its hem fluttered like solid fabric and then settled. Long hair seemed to disperse in the wind; it was the shadow of a woman.

Yun Chuanzhi felt a flicker of familiarity. For once, her heart was in turmoil. She hurriedly stepped forward. “Sister Guiren.”

“Who are you?” the shadow spoke aloud, its voice like celestial music, solemn and ethereal.

Yun Chuanzhi’s footsteps stopped abruptly. Her reaching hands dropped. Realizing she had mistaken the person, a sense of loss filled her heart, and she gave a bitter smile.

This must be a wisp of Sect Leader Mingcun’s divine sense. Yun Chuanzhi sighed and answered, “I am Yun Chuanzhi.”

“I know,” the shadow said. No smile could be seen on the black face, but her voice sounded pleasant. “Asking just makes for better conversation.”

Is the world-renowned Sect Leader Mingcun this humorous? Yun Chuanzhi remained expressionless.

“You are not of our Qianyuan Realm,” the shadow said with a smile. “The aura on you is different, more crisp and clear.”

Crisp and clear? She came from the hellish, foul-smelling Wujian City; her body should be filled with turbid air. It seemed this Sect Leader’s nose was quite unreliable.

Yun Chuanzhi didn’t speak, so the shadow continued: “What brings you here?”

“To open my spiritual root,” Yun Chuanzhi said honestly.

“I know,” the shadow said again. Ignoring Yun Chuanzhi’s eye-roll, she waved a hand cheerfully. “Come here.”

Yun Chuanzhi walked forward slowly. The shadow took her hand and opened it; in the blink of an eye, a glowing green pearl appeared in her palm.

That easy? Yun Chuanzhi frowned warily.

As if reading her mind, the shadow spoke softly: “Naturally, it is not so simple. You must promise me one thing and swear an oath.”

“What is it?” Yun Chuanzhi asked.

“If my poor disciple encounters another disaster, could you exhaust all effort to protect her and keep her safe?” The shadow stopped laughing, her voice solemn.

Disciple? Yun Chuanzhi froze for a moment before realizing the disciple she was referring to must be Bai Fenghe.

“Since that is the case, your oath is established.” The shadow let out a long sigh and affectionately patted Yun Chuanzhi’s hand, which she had been forced to clench into a fist.

The touch of the shadow was strange, neither like human skin nor any known object. Yun Chuanzhi immediately raised her voice: “When did I say I would swear an oath to you!”

“Ah, look at the time. Take the fruits and find the stone. Exit and turn right. Safe travels.”

Yun Chuanzhi wanted to argue, but the shadow had already fled in a hurry. Her vision shifted between light and dark again, and she found herself standing before a giant stone.

Unlike the darkness around it, the stone was a pure, translucent white, like jade without impurities, yet whiter than any jade.

Today was truly bizarre. Yun Chuanzhi felt exhausted, but at least she had finally found the spiritual stone; the trip wasn’t a total waste.

As for some oath, to hell with it.

She held out her palms; the three pearls turned into fine dust, and a vast light erupted from the surface of the stone, making the surroundings as bright as day.

When the light faded, warmth fell on her shoulders. Yun Chuanzhi squinted and looked forward. The area was lush with greenery and flowers; she was back in Yizhen Garden.

The slivers of divine power belonging to the stone were sinking into her brow, flowing toward her limbs and bones.

“Heavens, Liu Dagou, you actually did it! And so quickly!” Cheng Jinshu’s joyful voice flew toward her. Just as she was about to embrace her, she was pulled out of Yun Chuanzhi’s sight by a force.

In a daze, Bai Fenghe’s voice rang in her ear, melodious like the strings of a guqin.

“Thank you,” she said with a smile. She gripped the back of Yun Chuanzhi’s neck and leaned down. The moment their brows touched, the divine power that had been rapidly spreading through Yun Chuanzhi’s body was suddenly sucked into her own.

Sucked away until nothing was left. Clean and empty.

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