When a "Sea King" is Bound to a System [Quick Transmigration] - Chapter 52.1

Jiang Yan kept plummeting. In her ears, there was the sound of something breaking through the earth. She couldn’t see anything, and the burning sensation on her body was intensifying.

A long time passed, so long that Jiang Yan couldn’t tell if she was still alive. Finally, she dropped onto the ground.

She seemed to be cushioned by a thick, soft mat underneath, so she felt no pain at all. A faint herbal scent drifted into her nose. The burning sensation on her body slowly receded, and a feeling of comfortable relief spread from her skin to her bones, as if she had been reborn.

“Drip, drop, drip.” She heard the sound of water falling. Jiang Yan felt water droplets on her face, which were cool and comfortable. The sound of water grew louder, almost completely engulfing her senses.

Rain fell on the grass. The vegetation grew wildly, flowers sprouted, and all things revived.

Jiang Yan was surrounded. No matter how fierce the rain was, her body remained dry from beginning to end.

The rain lasted for a long time. Jiang Yan passed out and woke up again, but the sound of the rain continued.

She struggled to open her eyes and was stunned by the scene around her.

Was this a celestial paradise or was she dreaming? How could there be such a beautiful place?

The grassland stretched as far as the eye could see. Various flowers extended into the distance, looking extraordinarily vibrant under the moisture of the rain. Each flower radiated vitality, and when they saw her look over, they swayed slightly, as if greeting her.

The heavy rain she had thought was close was actually far away from her, forming a circle with her as the center and a diameter of one hundred meters, enveloping her within it.

Jiang Yan was amazed. She slowly stood up and tried walking outward. Wherever she went, the flowers and grass automatically parted, clearing a path for her.

She found it amusing and squatted down, wanting to touch the flowers. The moment her hand went down, the flowers and grass automatically wrapped around it and rubbed against her palm, as if they were acting spoiled.

After playing with the flowers and grass for a while, she stood up again and walked outward, feeling extremely puzzled. What kind of place was this?

Had she been burned to death by Bai Yujing’s talismans and was now a soul returned to heaven, which was why she could see such beautiful scenery?

Thinking this, she pinched her thigh hard. It hurt, very much!

She was not dreaming, nor was she dead.

So, where was she?

With a belly full of questions, Jiang Yan walked up to the rain curtain and tentatively reached out to touch it.

The rain curtain blocked her touch like a barrier. Her hand was repelled the moment it touched it. No matter how many times, the result was the same.

After confirming that she couldn’t leave, Jiang Yan gathered her magical power, preparing to conquer this strange “barrier” with force.

The result was still the same. Her magical power was repelled, and she was also subjected to a backlash, flying far away and landing exactly where she had been lying before.

It didn’t hurt, but it was highly insulting.

Jiang Yan lay on the ground, thinking for a long time, but couldn’t come up with a solution. The system was also useless. It had given her a task and then run away, leaving her to fend for herself.

Not long after, a gust of wind blew. The flowers and grass were blown askew. Jiang Yan subconsciously closed her eyes. When she opened them again, flower petals floated in the air, forming four crooked characters.

“Cultivate… Go Out…” Jiang Yan laboriously deciphered them. The petals drifted away with the wind, disappearing into the rain curtain.

“Cultivate, Go Out. What does this mean?” Jiang Yan sprang up, her mind working rapidly. “Does it mean that as long as I diligently cultivate and reach a certain level, I can leave this place?”

She murmured the thought aloud. As soon as her voice fell, a scroll descended from the sky, hitting her squarely on the head and making her tear up in pain.

“Who is it?! Do you have any public morality? Throwing objects from high altitude is a crime!”

She yelled at the non-existent “person” a few times, then opened the scroll. Inside was something like a secret manual, but it was explained simply, teaching her how to turn the absorbed plant spiritual energy into her own use, strengthening her body, and unblocking her spiritual roots.

Jiang Yan tried the method described on the scroll. It was indeed much more effective than her clumsy attempts. After the spiritual energy circulated for one small-heaven cycle, her dantian was filled with warmth, and it felt like something was about to burst forth.

She quickly adjusted her posture, focusing wholeheartedly on guiding the spiritual energy.

There was no darkness inside the rain curtain. Jiang Yan didn’t know how long she sat there. When she broke through to the Qi Refining Stage, she excitedly hugged and kissed the surrounding flowers and plants.

Wuwuwu, once she achieved success in cultivation, she would be able to protect her Senior Sister and avenge her Master.

She just didn’t know how her Senior Sister was doing now. She should have been able to escape from the people of the Purple Feather Academy, or the system would have alerted her long ago.

Thinking this, Jiang Yan had no more worries and focused entirely on cultivation.

The content on the scroll was not immutable. Every time she achieved a breakthrough, a higher-level cultivation technique and method would appear, saving her many detours and greatly shortening her cultivation time.

To prevent herself from losing track of time, Jiang Yan began to mark time with the character “正” (Tally marks) starting from the Foundation Establishment Stage. When there were one hundred and fifty “正” characters on the ground, she had reached the Great Perfection of the Golden Core Stage, just one step away from the Nascent Soul Stage.

The Nascent Soul Stage was practically one foot in the door of becoming an immortal. Jiang Yan treated it carefully, waiting for the next cultivation method to appear on the scroll. She waited for half a month, but saw no movement.

Left with no choice, she cultivated using her previous method, but she could never break through to the Nascent Soul Stage.

…

Fu Ning killed fifty disciples of the Purple Feather Academy who were attacking her, pointing her sword at Bai Yujing, her body enveloped in demonic energy, her eyes scarlet and bloodthirsty.

Bai Yujing muttered incantations. The light of the formation, which had previously dimmed, now blazed, trapping Fu Ning within it.

“My formation is not only effective against ordinary mortals like you, but even a fully realized immortal would take a while to get out.”

He planned to kill Fu Ning before she could break out.

Bai Yujing felt smug, but he failed to notice the cold smile curling on Fu Ning’s lips.

She withdrew her sword. Her left hand gripped the blade, sliding down. Fresh blood dripped onto the ground, merging with the blood she had previously dropped into the center of the formation.

A red light appeared on the ground, intertwining with the golden light of the formation itself, quickly obscuring the golden light.

Fu Ning plunged her sword into the ground, injecting powerful spiritual energy. The red light emitted a dazzling brilliance and rushed toward Bai Yujing.

Bai Yujing spat out a mouthful of blood, but dared not withdraw his hand. He had underestimated Fu Ning.

Once she broke out of the formation, she would definitely kill him without hesitation.

But this formation couldn’t hold on for long. Sweat poured down Bai Yujing’s forehead, and the confidence he had before was gone.

“Dutifully come over and be a sacrifice for my Junior Sister. I will spare the lives of the others in your Purple Feather Academy. Otherwise…”

Fu Ning raised her eyes and swept a glance over him, her expression full of disdain, like a god looking down on ants.

Bai Yujing only cared about his own survival. He didn’t care about the lives of others, so he had to wait for reinforcements to arrive no matter what.

Originally, to ensure security, he had placed a barrier near the South Courtyard, but now he deeply regretted it. People outside couldn’t hear or see what was happening here. Who would come to save him?

Fu Ning was in no hurry. She wanted to play slowly with Bai Yujing, torturing his mind, making him willingly come over to apologize to Jiang Yan.

How could he die easily? She would slowly cut his flesh piece by piece, grind it into powder, and sprinkle it on this land, only then could she honor Jiang Yan’s deceased soul.

The thought of Jiang Yan made Fu Ning’s heart clench. The demonic energy around her almost completely submerged her, and her whole person was wrapped in black mist.

Bai Yujing was soaked in cold sweat. Drops of sweat ran down his chin and fell to the ground. His eyes were filled with fear.

He had only heard that the Eldest Disciple of the Spiritual Jade Palace was a Foundation Establishment cultivator with mediocre cultivation. How did she become involved with the Demonic Cult? This was not a human, but clearly a demon!

“Fu Ning, Xuan Ying lived a life of integrity. I never expected her to take in a rebellious disciple who consorted with demons. If she knew this in the afterlife, I wonder if she would regret taking you in.”

Fu Ning leaned on her sword, a careless smile on her lips, her eyes utterly devoid of warmth. “Have you thought of your last words?”

She injected more spiritual energy into the sword, as if her power was inexhaustible.

Bai Yujing groaned, blood seeping from the corner of his mouth. As the red light intensified again, he was flung out, crashing heavily onto the ground.

“Righteous path? Demonic path? Do you know what is righteous and what is evil, what is good and what is wicked? My Junior Sister and I came here on Master’s dying wish to seek refuge with you, yet you sought to take our lives, even killing your own disciple. You are more terrifying than a demon! A demon is a demon, but you, the head of the Purple Feather Academy, the self-proclaimed greatest righteous sect, are not even human!”

Fu Ning twisted the sword in her hand, burst out of the formation, and flew straight toward Bai Yujing. Bai Yujing’s internal organs were all damaged. He had no power to fight back and could only watch helplessly as the sword came closer and closer to him.

“Senior Brother, run quickly!”

A voice rang out. He stared at the Junior Brother in front of him with a sword plunged into his chest, his eyes wide with shock.

This Junior Brother was the one he liked the least. He had suppressed him at every turn. Why was he helping him at a time like this?

“Why are you still here?! Run quickly!” The Junior Brother violently pushed Bai Yujing away, using his last bit of magical power to block Fu Ning, preventing her from leaving the formation.

Bai Yujing’s shock was momentary. After realizing what was happening, he scurried away, crawling and stumbling. He wouldn’t bother with his Junior Brother; he was an irrelevant person. He himself was indispensable to the Purple Feather Academy. He would simply erect a monument for him later.

Seeing Bai Yujing flee, Fu Ning was enraged. She quickly broke through the formation, walked over, expressionlessly pulled out the sword from the Junior Brother’s chest, and let out a cold scoff.

“Please, spare my Senior Brother!”

The Junior Brother hugged Fu Ning’s leg, pleading bitterly.

Fu Ning didn’t even look at him, kicking him away. “What are you, to dare make demands of me?”

The Junior Brother’s mouth hung open. A large amount of fresh blood flowed from his mouth. He struggled twice and then died.

Fu Ning chased after Bai Yujing. He was already gone. The entire Purple Feather Academy fell into an eerie silence, as if deserted.

Her eyes darkened. She swung the sword a few times, setting up a barrier to cover the entire academy, and said coldly, “Bai Yujing, if you come out and accept your death, I will spare your disciples. Otherwise, for every day you hide, I will kill one of them. Let’s see how long you can hide.”

Her voice echoed throughout every corner of the academy. The disciples of the Purple Feather Academy trembled upon hearing it.

Fu Ning sat down cross-legged by the central ancient tree, closing her eyes to meditate, letting the overflowing demonic energy return to her body.

She no longer forcibly suppressed the demonic energy, but accepted it naturally. If she could become stronger and avenge Jiang Yan and her Master, then what if she fell into the demonic path?

Bai Yujing was selfish and would surely not care about the lives of these disciples. Then let the Purple Feather Academy be buried with her Junior Sister.

A smile touched Fu Ning’s lips. She slowly opened her eyes. Her pupils were a dark red, and the rest of her eyes were normal, unlike the complete scarlet of before.

The next day, no one came forward. The academy was still silent.

Bai Yujing had already escaped last night. After leaving, he fled eastward and went to the Mount Tai Sect for reinforcements.

Although he didn’t care about the lives of those disciples, he couldn’t swallow this insult. If other sects found out that he had suffered such a massive defeat, the Purple Feather Academy and he, Bai Yujing, would become a laughingstock of both the righteous and demonic paths.

This was something he absolutely couldn’t tolerate. Therefore, he had to unite with other sects to capture that demon, Fu Ning, and reclaim the face he had lost from her.

The more Bai Yujing thought about it, the angrier he became. Despite his injuries, he immediately flew on his sword to the Mount Tai Sect and collapsed at their gate.

It so happened that the Mount Tai Sect Leader, Xiao Gang, was returning from outside. Seeing the disheveled Bai Yujing, he knew something had happened. He quickly had his disciple carry him inside and used his cultivation to heal him. Bai Yujing slowly awoke. Before he could speak, he coughed up a mouthful of blood, garnering sympathy.

“Sect Leader Xiao, please, you must uphold the righteous path and exterminate this demon.”

Xiao Gang still knew nothing, yet such a heavy responsibility was thrust upon him. Before he could refuse, Bai Yujing was about to bow. He quickly stopped him and agreed.

“Academy Head Bai, there is no need for such formality. Our Five Great Sects are closely united; we flourish and suffer together. How can I, Xiao, sit idly by when your Purple Feather Academy is in trouble?”

Bai Yujing’s scheme succeeded. He pretended to cough weakly a few times, then explained the situation to Xiao Gang, omitting the part where he tried to capture Jiang Yan, and portraying Fu Ning as a demon who went mad and started killing indiscriminately.

After listening, Xiao Gang slapped the table hard and said angrily, “I never expected Xuan Ying’s disciple to walk the path of evil and even kill Junior Brother Lu. This truly tarnishes the reputation of our righteous path. Don’t worry, I will immediately send letters to Floating Cloud Isle and Mount Wu to ask them to lend us a hand.”

Bai Yujing bowed his hands: “Thank you, Sect Leader Xiao.”

Xiao Gang waved his hand, signaling him to stop being so formal. In reality, he had his own hidden agenda.

A mere Fu Ning didn’t require such a large-scale operation, but the Purple Feather Academy had been suppressing the Mount Tai Sect for years. Although this was decided by strength, he was somewhat unhappy about it. Now that the Purple Feather Academy was in such a plight, it was the perfect time to suppress them. As long as the other two sects followed his lead, wouldn’t other small sects naturally be willing to submit?

Bai Yujing naturally understood Xiao Gang’s thoughts, but the priority was to deal with Fu Ning first. Other matters could wait.

Xiao Gang, an old fool lacking courage and strategy, would definitely not be able to pull him down from the top spot. Floating Cloud Isle and Mount Wu would also not allow him to dominate.

On the third day, Cheng Ming, the Island Master of Floating Cloud Isle, and Shangguan Ao of Mount Wu, each brought a hundred or so disciples to the Mount Tai Sect. After exchanging pleasantries, they decided to form a “Demon-Slaying” army and head to the Purple Feather Academy to eliminate Fu Ning.

Three disciples of the Purple Feather Academy knelt before Fu Ning, trembling and pale as ash.

She wiped her sword with the corner of her robe, a cold glint in her eyes.

“I don’t want to kill the innocent, but since Bai Yujing abandoned you, I must give my Junior Sister a reckoning. Speak, who will be first?”

One man pushed a female disciple forward and said urgently, “Her! She was the first you chose. It should start with her.”

Another male disciple shielded the girl behind him and rebuked, “How can you do this? Shi Nan is your Junior Sister, after all. How can you bear to send her to her death?”

“Should I die instead?!”

The three were in a stalemate. Fu Ning found the noise annoying. She swung her sword and cut the stone block behind them into two.

“What’s the argument? You’ll all die sooner or later. What’s the difference? Do you still think someone will come to save you? Heh, how naive!”

The three remained silent, because the logic was sound.

With their Academy Head having fled and their Master having died tragically, no one in the Purple Feather Academy could save them anymore.

Fu Ning wiped her sword for a long time, showing no intention of striking, which was pure torture for the three disciples.

Time passed. The sun set in the west. A faint smile appeared on Fu Ning’s lips. She stood up.

“Evil creature, surrender now! Today, I will cleanse your Master’s lineage on her behalf!”

A whisk carrying a sharp murderous aura struck at Fu Ning. Fu Ning’s eyes narrowed. She threw her sword out, simultaneously striking the three disciples with a palm, sending them out of the fighting range.

Cheng Ming flew in from outside the courtyard and landed in front of Fu Ning, his face cold.

Fu Ning recalled her sword and fiercely parried his whisk, forcing Cheng Ming to retreat several steps.

He had already learned the situation from Bai Yujing before coming, so he thought Fu Ning was only at the Foundation Establishment level. He hadn’t expected her to be so formidable.

Had Bai Yujing deliberately concealed her strength, or had she advanced to the Nascent Soul Stage in just three days?

Cheng Ming dared not make any more rash moves, waiting for the other three to arrive so they could confront her together.

Seeing his hesitation, Fu Ning’s eyes flashed with mockery. “Island Master Cheng, are you afraid?”

The disciples of the Purple Feather Academy watched, unafraid of death. The Sect Leaders of the other three sects were also hurrying to the scene. Cheng Ming’s face reddened at the taunt. He gritted his teeth and stepped forward, the whisk in his hand condensing powerful spiritual energy.

Fu Ning sneered, remaining stationary. She threw her sword out, and it engaged in battle with Cheng Ming’s whisk.

The whisk, controlled by Cheng Ming, was more flexible, but Fu Ning’s sword was more aggressive. No matter how Cheng Ming attacked, the sword effortlessly blocked it, giving Cheng Ming no chance to strike at Fu Ning.

After a hundred rounds, Cheng Ming had expended a great deal of spiritual energy, yet he hadn’t even touched Fu Ning.