The Villainous Demon Lord’s Handbook for Success: Rebirth - Chapter 14

Ning Fuyi froze instantly. She looked down at the “Chu Qingqiu” in front of her, then glanced up at the Chu Qingqiu standing in the doorway, and couldn’t help but let out another curse.

She knew that most immortals who reached a certain stage of cultivation possessed the art of body division. However, this technique consumed immense mental energy and cultivation, so people usually only used it at critical moments. Who could have imagined that Chu Qingqiu would be so reckless as to manifest a spiritual entity just to practice two sets of cultivation at once during her downtime?

“What are you doing?” Chu Qingqiu’s gaze remained fixed on Ning Fuyi’s hands.

“Causing trouble.” Since she had been caught, Ning Fuyi didn’t bother hiding it. She clapped her hands nonchalantly and straightened her back.

Chu Qingqiu hadn’t expected her to answer so frankly. For a moment, the words she intended to say were stuck in her throat, and a strange silence fell over the room.

“Are you truly this unwilling to practice?” After a long pause, Chu Qingqiu spoke again. Her voice sounded as ethereal as the wind, making it impossible to tell if she was pleased or angry.

“Unwilling,” Ning Fuyi replied. Since she had been caught red-handed, she didn’t feel like beating around the bush. “This disciple is hopelessly dull and truly not cut out for immortal cultivation. Why should the Divine Lord waste effort on me?”

“So you cause trouble, hoping I’ll give up on teaching you?”

“Yes,” Ning Fuyi said firmly. She then lowered her head, finished tying the half-undone knot, and turned it into a brilliant, vivid red right in front of Chu Qingqiu.

Chu Qingqiu’s grip tightened, and her expression darkened visibly.

Ning Fuyi clearly felt a sudden, powerful pressure on her shoulders. Though she appeared fearless on the surface, her heart rate accelerated, and a thin layer of cold sweat dampened her back.

Even though she had once been a demon lord and had tormented Chu Qingqiu plenty, she was currently in a young girl’s body. The fear she had felt toward the cold Divine Lord in the past could not be easily erased.

However, the tension didn’t last long. She heard a whispered “get out.” Ning Fuyi felt as if she had been granted a grand amnesty. Without looking at Chu Qingqiu, she turned and leaped out of the window, her black figure vanishing into the swaying shadows of the trees.

“Master!” A crisp voice rang out. Qiu Yi had just appeared at the door and was so shocked by the sight of the “Chu Qingqiu” on the couch that she nearly tripped. She grabbed the doorframe, fuming with rage. “Who else but that waste could commit such a sacrilegious act! Master, do not worry, I will catch her immediately and bring her here to apologize!”

“Qiu Yi.” Chu Qingqiu suddenly turned to her. Her gaze was as sharp as a blade, causing Qiu Yi to stumble over her words, unable to say another thing.

“I have said before, the word ‘waste’ is not to be used again,” Chu Qingqiu said softly.

“Master, please forgive me.” Qiu Yi quickly covered her mouth and knelt on one knee. “This disciple only couldn’t bear to see you insulted, so…”

“Leave.” Chu Qingqiu closed her eyes slightly, seemingly calming herself, and her voice softened. “In the future, do not let me hear such words again.”

“This disciple would not dare.” Qiu Yi broke into a cold sweat from the scare. Daring not to say more, she rose and retreated from the room, leaving Chu Qingqiu alone.

Chu Qingqiu slowly opened her eyes and looked at her other “body.” She walked closer and touched the two large red gardenias with her fingertips. As if remembering something, a slight smile actually tugged at the corners of her mouth despite her solemn expression.

“What am I to do with you?”

“Little demon,” she whispered to herself.

Ning Fuyi felt her prank had been effective. For at least the next two days, no one dragged her out of bed for morning cultivation at that damn Jingshan Palace. Presumably, Chu Qingqiu had finally faced reality and given up on fulfilling Ning Changfeng’s final request.

However, the next morning, as she tried to sneak out of Zhuguang Pavilion like a thief, she found the papers filled with heart incantations at the door. They had been bound into a book, categorized and annotated in familiar, elegant handwriting.

Upon flipping through the book, a strange feeling suddenly welled up in Ning Fuyi’s heart, but it vanished in an instant.

My skin is thicker than a city wall; why would I feel guilty toward Chu Qingqiu? It must be a mistake, Ning Fuyi decided.

Her life returned to its usual routine. She continued her secret study of demonic arts and practiced the Water-element heart incantations during her official lessons. As she expected, her natural dullness meant there was no progress.

Fortunately, she didn’t care.

The weather was fine today as Ning Fuyi entered the gates of Xuanliang Court. She noticed things were different; the disciples who usually waited in the North Court were all crowded in the open space by the entrance, chattering away.

“Yiyi!” A soft, sweet call came from behind. Ning Fuyi turned to see Liu Wenzhu and Rong Jin running toward her. Liu Wenzhu was holding a stone lion nearly eight feet tall, and the disciples along the way scrambled to get out of her path in terror.

“Sorry, sorry…” Liu Wenzhu apologized as she stopped in front of Ning Fuyi and set the stone lion down gently. With a thud, even the floor tiles trembled.

Even though Ning Fuyi was used to such scenes, she still opened her mouth in a brief display of shock.

“This is…” Ning Fuyi fanned away the dust and pointed at the stone lion, which was two heads taller than she was.

“Elder Yuanming asked me to move it; he said it belongs in the North Court.” Liu Wenzhu had a tea-colored velvet flower in her hair and didn’t have a single drop of sweat on her face. She smiled gently. “What is happening today? Why is everyone standing here?”

Rong Jin, who arrived shortly after, walked around the stone lion and stood still. “I just heard the news. Apparently, several senior brothers and sisters from the East Court hunted many high-level spiritual beasts while training in Tongchuan. Knowing that most North Court disciples don’t have contracted pets yet, they want everyone to take a look. If anyone finds a beast they share an affinity with, they can form a contract on the spot.”

At the mention of spiritual beasts, Liu Wenzhu’s already crystalline eyes brightened. She reached out to pinch Ning Fuyi’s sleeve and whispered, “Yiyi, I’ve been hoping for my own spiritual beast for a long time. It would make traveling long distances so much easier; I wouldn’t have to fly on a sword and end up half-dead from exhaustion every time.”

Ning Fuyi nodded with a smile, not having the heart to tell her that her future spiritual beast would be a Sacred Mountain Hedgehog when it was time to fly on a sword, she would still have to fly on a sword.

“Come with me,” Liu Wenzhu shook Ning Fuyi’s sleeve. “Though Tongchuan is dangerous, we’ll have senior disciples and elders with us, so nothing will go wrong. Besides, you’ll have me and Senior Brother Rong Jin.”

“Alright,” Ning Fuyi replied.

She naturally wouldn’t refuse Liu Wenzhu’s request. Furthermore, Tongchuan was located on the border of the Eastern Wastelands. Beyond the Eastern Wastelands lay a barbaric territory overrun by demons and monsters where cultivators rarely set foot. Consequently, Tongchuan was full of hidden dangers, but also many spiritual beasts and demons.

Most importantly, in her previous life, the demonic beast she tamed after becoming a demon—the Scarlet Flame Bird—was found in Tongchuan.

So, she wanted to try her luck.

While they were talking, several tall men and women approached. They were dressed in the blue and white robes of the East Court with golden leather belts, each carrying various divine weapons. Compared to the North Court disciples, they looked much more spirited and confident.

Most East Court disciples had broken through to the second stage of the Immortal Body and generally no longer attended standard lessons, instead traveling for experience. Thus, they appeared much more composed than the North Court disciples.

As they approached, the gathered disciples quickly turned to them and bowed.

“I assume you all know why we are here today. However, Tongchuan is dangerous. If you are unwilling to go, stay here and practice on your own.” The leader was a very tall man with a square face and a coarse voice. “Those who wish to go, head out and board the Flying Eagle Boat.”

Cheers erupted from the crowd. What cultivator didn’t long for a spiritual beast? No one stayed behind. All eighty or ninety disciples of the North Court stepped onto the deck of the Flying Eagle Boat. Joining them, aside from a few second-stage East Court disciples, was the travel-loving Daoist Yuanming, Elder Yuanming.

The Flying Eagle Boat lived up to its name; it looked like a light skiff with a prow shaped like an eagle’s beak. It looked quite imposing, and its size could be adjusted based on the number of passengers. It was the standard long-distance transport for the Yunjisun Sect.

The boat drifted above the clouds, passing ten thousand mountains in a flash. Ning Fuyi sat at the stern, watching the scenery of misty clouds and glowing sunsets unfold like a painting below.

This was the first time since her rebirth that she had left the Yunjisun Sect to see the mountains, rivers, and seas she had once grown tired of wandering alone.

The road to Tongchuan was far too long. Even the Flying Eagle Boat, which could travel eight thousand miles a day, couldn’t reach it in one day. Since Tongchuan was extremely dangerous at night, the group didn’t go directly there. Instead, as the sun began to set in the west, they landed outside Furong Town, the settlement closest to Tongchuan.

Furong Town was a border town where ordinary mortals found it difficult to live. As a result, the streets were filled with passing cultivators, as well as beast hunters and gold miners from the surrounding mountains. They wore exotic clothing and sold spiritual beasts and rare treasures, giving the town a unique and bustling atmosphere.

The group of a hundred from the Yunjisun Sect looked quite out of place among these strangely dressed people. However, most North Court disciples had never traveled far before, so they were chattering excitedly at the sight of so many novelties.

“We are staying at the Cuckoo Tower, the largest inn, tonight. Stay close together and do not wander off!” Rong Jin, walking at the end of the line, shouted at the disciples who were attempting to slip away.

“Oh, Rong Jin, just let them play for a while. It’s rare for the children to see the world. In the future, the sky will be the limit; they can’t always be imprisoned in those clouds like house sparrows,” Elder Yuanming laughed with his hands behind his back.

“Elder, this is inappropriate. This place is a mixed bag, and it’s not under the jurisdiction of the Four Great Families or the Six Great Sects. If there is danger…”

“Though it is a mixed bag, look around, how many here have high cultivation? With this elder here, what trouble could possibly arise?” Elder Yuanming waved his hand, stopping Rong Jin from going forward to pull people back.

“They all have sound-transmission jade slips. When the time comes, just call them back with those,” Elder Yuanming clapped Rong Jin’s shoulder jovially. “Come, young man, this way.”

Ning Fuyi and Liu Wenzhu walked ahead properly. When they looked back, only a few people remained from the originally massive group.

Liu Wenzhu suddenly looked flustered. She nervously grabbed Ning Fuyi’s hand. “Yiyi, we seem to have gotten separated. Where are Elder Yuanming and Senior Brother Rong Jin?”

Hearing this, Ning Fuyi was about to take out her sound-transmission jade to check. But just as she lowered her head, a familiar white shadow flashed before her eyes.

She stopped abruptly and looked up in disbelief. Her heart felt as if it had been squeezed by someone, stinging with a burning pain.

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