Villainous Fox’s Sickly Beauty Master - Chapter 4

Jiang Jinheng’s words left 007 in a state of sudden realization. True, given Mo Tong’s current status, being able to enter the Canglan Immortal Sect was already a bargain for him. If he were truly given the position of First Disciple of Shuiyun Peak as the Heavenly Dao designed, with all the resulting resources, it would indeed be gifting him a massive fortune. However—

In that case, wouldn’t it be difficult to track his every move? When I followed other mission-takers before, they usually worked hard to get close to the key figures.

007’s point was valid, but Jiang Jinheng had anticipated this from the start.

“That’s not important. Our priority now is to seize the opportunities he might obtain. Even if we can’t keep Mo Tong by our side to watch him constantly, as long as we know where those opportunities are and when they happen, we’ve achieved our goal.”

Having said that, Jiang Jinheng immediately added: “Besides, don’t I have you? From what I can see, your abilities aren’t small. If there’s any movement on his end, you can surely manage to give me a heads-up, right, Little Qi?”

For some reason, even though Jiang Jinheng was clearly praising it, 007 felt something was off. It used its digital brain to scan the sentence three times but still couldn’t pinpoint where the strangeness lay. However, since it was a “Good System” dispatched by the Administration to help mission-takers, and since Jiang Jinheng had a need and was asking so gently, it was determined to do its best.

Alright, then! Leave it to me. I’ll keep an eye on him for you.

Seeing 007 agree so readily, Jiang Jinheng felt a bit sheepish. Just then, there was movement from the girl leaning in her arms.

Eh, she’s waking up, she’s waking up!

Jiang Jinheng noticed as well. She watched the girl slowly come to, looking around in a daze. The moment their eyes met, Jiang Jinheng actually saw a flash of overwhelming hatred in those depths.

Stunned by this, Jiang Jinheng’s expression froze, and deep doubt surged in her heart. But in an instant, the emotion in Fu Yi’s eyes vanished. The girl half-lay in her arms and asked clearly: “What just happened?”

This reaction was normal. Jiang Jinheng began to explain what had occurred while she was unconscious, placing particular emphasis on the other surge of spiritual energy she had sealed.

“Your body currently cannot withstand such a powerful force. Once you form your Golden Core later, I will release the seal and help you refine it.”

Jiang Jinheng didn’t ask Fu Yi if she knew where this power came from or when it entered her body. Everyone had secrets they didn’t want others to know; perhaps it was related to her half-demon bloodline, or perhaps something else. Compared to that, Jiang Jinheng was more concerned about the fleeting hatred she saw. She shared her doubt with 007, but the system simply said she might have misseen it.

Perhaps I really did missee it…

Thinking this, Jiang Jinheng lowered her head to check Fu Yi’s pulse once more. Finding nothing unusual, she helped her up. Once the girl was steady, she said: “The assembly bell has already rung. Once all the applicants have tested their spiritual roots, the Master Selection will begin. If you can move without trouble, go join them now. I have matters to attend to and will leave first.”

With that, Jiang Jinheng vanished.

Fu Yi stared at the spot where the woman had disappeared for a long time. Then, her gaze swept across her surroundings with disbelief. Her previous silence and calm were entirely an act; she had only done it for fear that the woman would notice something.

Testing spiritual roots. The Master Selection.

She was… back to the time before the apprenticeship?

Suddenly, Fu Yi clutched her chest. Through two layers of clothing, she felt a long-lost heartbeat rather than a gaping, unhealable hole. Her breathing grew heavy, her eyes turned dangerously red and bloodshot, and finally, she couldn’t help but let out a loud laugh.

But the laughter eventually died down.

She suddenly felt something hanging against her chest. Realizing what it was, she yanked it off and threw it to the ground, where it shattered into pieces.

It was the jade whistle Jiang Jinheng had given her when she was ten, which she had worn around her neck all these years.

But whenever she thought of this woman, she felt a bone-deep, heart-piercing pain. It was this very person—the one she had called “Master” for decades—who had plunged a sword into her heart on the day her true identity was revealed.

The life force of the demon race is exceptionally strong; one does not die simply from having their heart or liver removed.

She had been locked with demon-suppressing chains in the water dungeon at the very bottom of Shuiyun Peak. Her tail, bones, essence blood, and even that broken demon heart—everything except her demon core and her skin—had been taken to forge artifacts or refine pills. At the very end, when she was truly about to draw her last breath, she saw the culprit who had turned her life into this purgatory.

Fu Yi still vividly remembered the smugness in Mo Tong’s voice back then. She had been locked in that dark, sunless place every day, while his cultivation had soared, making him the youngest Body Integration cultivator in the sect. That day, he had just extracted three of her ribs, only to return shortly after, saying he wanted to see her off on her final journey.

The floor of the water dungeon where she was held was black-red and sticky with her own blood. That man had stepped in with apparent disgust, solely to curse her for being “ungrateful.”

“If you had followed me back then, how could you have suffered such pain?”

Even without her cultivation and missing her bones and tendons, Fu Yi had made the chains slam against the ground with a loud clang.

Sensing her rage, Mo Tong had laughed excitedly: “You thought that by telling Jiang Jinheng, she would help you? Let me tell you, this whole world is on my side, including your beloved Master. How much of your current misery do you think is thanks to her?”

Fu Yi hadn’t had the heart to wonder why he looked hateful when mentioning that long-unheard name. She was simply drowned in despair and endless pain. It took a long time before she had the strength to speak, and even then, she only said:

“Kill me.”

“You don’t need to tell me that.” The man laughed maniacally, reaching toward her dantian: “After all, you have to help me one last time.”

The moment her demon core left her body, Fu Yi lost consciousness. In her haze, a flash of green appeared in her mind. If she had any strength left, she would have surely smiled bitterly; even then, she couldn’t forget the only woman who had ever given her warmth.

As her breath faded and her thoughts became increasingly chaotic, Fu Yi gradually forgot who she was and what she had experienced. It was like a great dream; her body was burning hot, yet she couldn’t wake up.

After an unknown amount of time, a cool breath spread from her dantian throughout her body. At first, she instinctively leaned closer, but at the moment of contact, she became inexplicably more restless. Later, this breath domineeringly occupied her entire body, and she finally opened her eyes—only to see that face she could never forget.

Unlike the undisguised disgust the woman had shown during their last meeting, Jiang Jinheng was now smiling slightly, looking as if she deeply cared for her.

But in that moment, the hatred in her heart had outweighed her shock, showing itself involuntarily. Only after spotting the woman’s confusion did she quietly hide it again, pretending to be ignorant. Even now, she was still a bit dazed.

She had truly been reborn.

Fu Yi looked down at her hands, which were free of any scars, before she dared to be certain of this fact.

After the excitement came a moment of confusion. Although she knew exactly what would happen in the coming years and could be on guard, the fact that Mo Tong was favored by destiny was something she couldn’t change.

In this new life, could she truly defy heaven and change her fate?

Or should she learn to evade him and not waste this rare opportunity?

Fu Yi looked at the two paths before her, unsure of how to choose. Suddenly, she felt a sharp pain in her heart. Recalling that unforgettable sword strike and the years of torture, her eyes turned a deep crimson. Remembering the words Jiang Jinheng left her, she sat down to meditate, closing her eyes and sending a thread of consciousness to probe her dantian. Finally, she saw the purple-red spiritual energy tightly bound by ice-blue chains.

That familiar aura surprised her, but it also brought a surge of wild joy. When she opened her eyes again, Fu Yi’s gaze was significantly different from before.

She heard a voice in her heart say to her.

You must stay. You must make those two pay the price. You have already endured so much torture; at worst, it’s just death. What else is there that you cannot bear?

Back on her high seat, Jiang Jinheng’s thoughts were still occupied by Fu Yi. However, this body was truly inadequate. Whether it was due to using her powers or catching a chill, she hadn’t stopped coughing since her return. This prompted many people to come and check on her, and after a round of greetings, she lost track of the situation below.

007, seeing her in such distress, said it could apply for an advance on her “Luck points” to exchange for cough suppressant pills. It went on about how “System products are always high quality” and guaranteed they would be more effective than any medicine in this world. Although it meant well, Jiang Jinheng couldn’t help but laugh; despite 007’s persistence, she declined the offer.

Jiang Jinheng still had no concept of these “Luck points” or how easy they were to obtain. Besides, her body was just like this—a temporary fix only treated the symptoms, not the cause. It would likely settle down on its own after a while.

To her surprise, the entity that had been chattering in her head non-stop began to sulk after being rejected, not saying another word.

This was fine. Although the process wasn’t what Jiang Jinheng wanted, the result was quite good. If 007 knew what she was thinking, it would surely jump out and argue for three hundred rounds. Fortunately, it didn’t know.

After these minor interludes, Jiang Jinheng finally had time to focus on Fu Yi. Seeing her still standing in the same spot, she felt a bit puzzled. But before long, she saw the girl head toward the gathering crowd.

For some reason, Jiang Jinheng felt that after she had blocked Qi Ranyan’s slap for her, Fu Yi had become a bit strange.

The image of that arrogant, unruly purple-red spiritual energy appeared in Jiang Jinheng’s mind again. Lost in thought, she watched as the girl stepped onto the Spirit Testing Platform.

As Fu Yi placed her right hand, a burst of bright red fire shot out from the Spirit Testing Stone. The Law Enforcement Hall Elder in charge of recording seemed somewhat excited.

“Pure Fire Spiritual Root! Grade Twelve!”

Not long after he shouted this, a strange phenomenon occurred. The bright red fire gradually turned purple-red, appearing to be accompanied by the crackle of electricity.

“Wait! It’s a Mutated Fire-Lightning Spiritual Root!”