The Villainous Senior Brother Doesn't Want to Wash White [Transmigration] - Chapter 26

“Someone from the Ji family?”

Hearing those words, Ji Yanqing’s left eyelid couldn’t help but twitch. A bad premonition surfaced in his heart.

The person from the Ji family waiting outside as a reinforcement… it couldn’t be Ji Yanhui, could it?

Ji Yanqing quickly dismissed this premonition.

As the saying goes: a twitching left eye brings fortune, while the right brings disaster. Since it was his left eye, he surely wouldn’t be that unlucky.

Besides, Ji Yanhui was notoriously lazy. In the novel Path of the Demon Immortal, he ventured out no more than three times. Twice, he stayed inside his “Flying Phoenix Star-Luan” carriage without even showing his face. He was the ultimate shut-in powerhouse of this world.

He definitely wouldn’t personally come to a place like a ruined temple in the wild to act as a backup.

“Does Fellow Daoist Zhang have an acquaintance in the Ji family?” Seeing Ji Yanqing fall silent, Liu Ningyun sensed something and asked.

Ji Yanqing instinctively denied it: “No, no, no. I’ve only met Shen Xiao once.”

“Mn.”

A trace of suspicion flickered in Liu Ningyun’s eyes, but he didn’t press further. He nodded slightly, and a soft white light enveloped him, restoring his previous appearance as a delicate, veiled woman.

Qi Ye had entered the black gate, and the current situation was unknown. Liu Ningyun had shared the information about the reinforcements only to put Ji Yanqing at ease. Since Ji Yanqing had spoken as he did, they naturally wouldn’t dwell on the question of who the Ji family’s reinforcement actually was.

Ji Yanqing addressed the Fox Demon directly: “Did you once come here with Ling Yunjian?”

The Fox Demon was astonished: “How did you know?”

Ji Yanqing replied: “…There is a portrait of you in the secret chamber. The brushwork is identical to the one hanging in the Sword Immortal Hall.”

When he had entered the secret chamber earlier, Qi Ye’s reminder had drawn his attention to the portrait on the wall. Although the person in that painting looked slightly different from the Fox Demon’s current form, the spiritual sword at the waist was identical. Combined with the fact that the artistic style matched the portrait in the Sword Immortal Hall, Ji Yanqing easily guessed that the Fox Demon and Ling Yunjian had come to the Ling Estate together and made this place their promised meeting spot.

Later, the portrait of Ling Yunjian was enshrined by the Ling family as a “Sword Immortal,” while the Fox Demon had hidden his own portrait away.

Hearing Ji Yanqing’s answer, the Fox Demon suddenly realized: “No wonder your Dao companion recognized me as a Fox Demon the moment I appeared in the secret chamber.”

Dao companion?

Liu Ningyun wore a veil, so his expression was hidden, yet one could see his gaze sharpen slightly. He had clearly noticed the choice of words.

Ji Yanqing noticed Liu Ningyun’s look and was about to explain, but the Fox Demon suddenly thought of something and spoke up: “By the way, there is one other place that might hold a clue.”

With that, he walked toward the exit of the dilapidated Sword Immortal Hall.

“Fellow Daoist Liu, please stay here. If I find a clue, I will inform you immediately.”

Upon hearing there was a clue, Ji Yanqing didn’t bother explaining anymore and hurried to catch up. Before leaving, he didn’t forget to hand a refined golden earbud to Liu Ningyun—it was a sound-transmission artifact Ji Yanqing had DIY’d himself.

“Mn. Be careful.”

Looking at the strangely shaped… thing in Ji Yanqing’s hand, Liu Ningyun dithered for a second before accepting it and nodding.

The situation was urgent, so Ji Yanqing had no time to explain how the gadget worked. He turned and ran after the Fox Demon.

The Fox Demon headed straight for the backyard of the Ling Estate.

The Secret Realm was already crumbling, but the path to the backyard was exceptionally smooth. After a short while, Ji Yanqing saw the Fox Demon stop in front of a cave entrance.

Ji Yanqing looked around. Before them was a rockery surrounded by desolation. He asked curiously, “We’re here? Where is this?”

“Mn. This is where I lived while I was hiding in the Ling Estate.”

Ji Yanqing’s face twitched: “You lived here?”

“You actually can’t tell that this is a door?” the Fox Demon said with surprise. He pulled a jade pendant from his robes; it was made of high-quality white jade and brimmed with abundant spiritual energy.

The Fox Demon placed the pendant against the rockery. The jade emitted a burst of white light, and as the light dissipated, a cave entrance appeared before them.

It… really is a door? But if this cave is also constructed from illusions, why didn’t I sense any abnormality just now?

Ji Yanqing pondered. By the time he snapped out of it, the Fox Demon had already entered. Ji Yanqing hurried to follow.

The entrance looked small, but the interior was quite spacious and clean, furnished with a stone bed and a stone table.

The Fox Demon approached the stone bed, his eyes gradually filling with tender nostalgia: “I once suffered a heavy injury. A group of cultivators saw through my identity and wanted to capture me for sword-forging. At that time, my soul was nearly extinguished, and my physical body was mangled; I could neither see nor hear. It was a person who saved me. I stayed here with him for a time, and he gave me this jade pendant.”

Judging by the Fox Demon’s expression, his feelings for the person who saved him were quite profound.

When he saw Ji Yanqing and Qi Ye earlier, besides wanting to “burn the lovebirds,” he had also been reminded of this past with that person.

However, his expression soon turned somber: “But later, before I had fully recovered, he had urgent business and had to leave. Before leaving, he told me he was giving this jade to me. He said there were two such pendants in total; he gave one to me, and said if I wanted to find him, I must first obtain the Clear Sword Heart.”

“After I recovered, in order to get the Clear Sword Heart and find that person, I went looking for Ling Yunjian immediately. But his sect members told me that Ling Yunjian had fallen long ago. He only left this item for me, saying it contained the clue to the Clear Sword Heart.”

A clue?

Ji Yanqing’s spirit lifted instantly, and he stared intently at the Fox Demon.

He saw the Fox Demon pull out a lotus-shaped artifact. It was covered in dust, suggesting the Fox Demon hadn’t taken it out for a very long time.

Ji Yanqing realized that things wouldn’t be that simple; the clue wouldn’t be easy to obtain.

Sure enough, the Fox Demon placed the lotus artifact on the table and continued: “To open this Lotus Secret Casket, one needs the cultivation level of a Golden Immortal.”

Ji Yanqing: “???”

Ji Yanqing was deeply confused. Leaving aside the fact that a Golden Immortal must survive the “Four Tribulations and Five Decays,” the Fox Demon could only start undergoing tribulations after obtaining the Clear Sword Heart. How was Ling Yunjian’s condition any different from telling someone: “The condition to become a millionaire is to first become a multimillionaire”?

However, since the Fox Demon had brought him here, there was obviously a turn of events. He continued: “But I discovered that the restriction on the Lotus Secret Casket seems to have loosened. It only requires the Spirit Severing (元神 – Yuan Shen) stage to open.”

Ji Yanqing’s current cultivation was only at the Soul Manifestation (神魂 – Shen Hun) stage. To reach the Spirit Severing stage, he would first need to form a high-grade Golden Core. He could only state with regret: “Unfortunately, I am not at the Spirit Severing stage.”

“But, you have a way.” The Fox Demon looked at him steadily, his tone quite certain: “You have that Heavenly-grade artifact. The ‘Incense Jade Bell’ (焚玉鐘 – Fényù Zhōng) can stimulate a cultivator’s potential, raising their level by up to half a major realm.”

Ji Yanqing could guess that the Fox Demon had likely caught a glimpse of the Incense Jade Bell when he pulled out that pile of artifacts earlier. In that case, the fox should also know how dangerous that bell was.

The name “Fényù” (Burning Jade) was taken from the idiom “Burning jade and stone alike” (total destruction).

The user can briefly stimulate their potential to raise their realm, but they will suffer a backlash of True Qi from the artifact. If they don’t have enough True Qi to sustain it, they will explode and die on the spot.

Although this was only an illusionary realm, the consequences of using the artifact would not change. With the Fox Demon’s current cultivation, he would likely vanish from this Secret Realm before he even finished opening the casket.

Ji Yanqing advised: “Perhaps there is nothing in this casket, or perhaps the Clear Sword Heart is elsewhere.”

Seeing Ji Yanqing’s hesitation, the Fox Demon thought he was reluctant to part with a Heavenly-grade treasure. After a moment’s thought, he unbuckled his spiritual sword and handed it to Ji Yanqing: “I am certain. I have searched everywhere else; this is the only clue. According to our previous agreement, I am giving this spiritual sword to you.”

Ji Yanqing didn’t hesitate for long. Almost driven by bodily instinct, he handed the Incense Jade Bell to the Fox Demon.

Holding the Heavenly-grade spiritual sword, Ji Yanqing knew that as long as he handed this sword to Qi Ye, the mission would be complete. He would gain a full 300 Villain Points!

Ji Yanqing felt there was no reason to hesitate. The sword was in his hand, and the Fox Demon was just a virtual character. Even if the fox vanished, it was his own choice; there was no need for Ji Yanqing to waste time on him.

As for the method to leave the Secret Realm—with reinforcements outside, it wasn’t a difficult problem.

With these thoughts, Ji Yanqing forced himself to walk toward the cave exit.

Inside the cave, the moment the Incense Jade Bell was activated, the Fox Demon felt a searing pain as if his meridians were being torn apart. Possessing power far beyond his realm meant he could be consumed by the bell’s backlash at any second.

Attack after attack struck the Lotus Secret Casket. Seeing the restriction gradually loosen, the Fox Demon felt his True Qi failing…

Must I really give up?

No! Even if I die, I cannot let go of this chance!

The Fox Demon gritted his teeth. The True Qi required by the bell was like a bottomless black hole. But just then, the Fox Demon felt a surge of True Qi that didn’t belong to him pour into the bell.

“You… why?”

Seeing Ji Yanqing, who had returned at some unknown point, the Fox Demon widened his eyes in surprise.

Choosing to return here made Ji Yanqing feel like an idiot himself.

Isn’t it better to just leave with the sword and turn in the quest? However, after he left the cave, he found he couldn’t take another step. Especially after sensing the vortex created by the bell absorbing True Qi, he felt as if he were drawn to that vortex. His body had returned to the cave against his own control…

Ji Yanqing certainly wouldn’t voice this internal struggle. He said in a deep voice: “Rather than waiting for death, it’s better to stake everything on one throw. Rather than waiting for others to save us, it’s better to rely on ourselves.”

Such sound logic; I almost believe it myself, Ji Yanqing thought.

Though he said that, as he felt his True Qi rapidly draining, he couldn’t help but hope the Fox Demon’s judgment was correct. Under their combined attack, the restriction on the lotus casket finally collapsed completely.

With Ji Yanqing’s assistance, the Fox Demon successfully stowed the Incense Jade Bell.

His realm immediately plummeted back to the Soul Manifestation stage, but he didn’t care in the slightest, looking into the Lotus Secret Casket with frantic anticipation.

Inside the casket Ling Yunjian had left for him lay a jade pendant.

And that pendant was identical to the one the Fox Demon already held in his hand.