A Consequence of Opposing the Heroine’s Halo (GL) - Chapter 31

After asking Xun Qiu for help, Bai Tong waited anxiously for the arrival of the Green Wood Peak disciples. During this interval, she continuously infused Liu Sanye’s body with Water-Spirit Qi, though it seemed to have little effect.

After about the time it takes to burn an incense stick, Xun Qiu’s voice drifted in from the courtyard outside. “Sorry for the wait, sorry for the wait!”

As she spoke, she teleported into the room, calling back to someone at the door: “Yiqing, hurry up and come in! Do I really have to roll out the red carpet for you?”

Just as Xun Qiu finished speaking, a clean-looking man dressed in white Daoist robes walked in. The man’s face was as fair as jade, his lips as red as vermilion, and his temperament was gentle and elegant. Every movement he made exuded the grace of a refined gentleman; he even cupped his hands in a polite bow upon entering the room. “Pardon the intrusion.”

“Intrusion my foot,” Xun Qiu rolled her eyes, the fox fur on her tail practically bristling. She had originally wanted to call that brat Yining over, but Yining was currently protecting his Eldest Senior Sister during her Nascent Soul formation. Thus, she was forced to call this boy who followed far too many rules.

Xun Qiu felt a headache coming on just looking at him. “Saving a life is more important. And stop giving me that ‘men and women should keep a distance’ nonsense.”

Jun Yiqing, who had been about to say exactly that, silently shut his mouth. He gave a soft “okay” and turned his gaze toward Bai Tong and Liu Sanye sitting on the floor.

At this moment, Liu Sanye lay in Bai Tong’s arms in a disheveled state, her emotions highly unstable. Bai Tong hurriedly explained the situation to Jun Yiqing: “Sanye stayed in a Berserk state for too long and suffered a backlash.”

When Jun Yiqing looked at Bai Tong, he felt a strange flutter in his heart for reasons he couldn’t explain. He found it bizarre and decided to stop looking at her, instead kneeling on one knee to examine Liu Sanye’s condition. When he discovered that the turbulent external spiritual qi in Liu Sanye’s body was actually greater than his own spiritual power, he couldn’t help but feel astonished. “How could this Junior Sister draw in so much external qi?”

Bai Tong replied anxiously, “Sanye is a Top-tier Heavenly Spiritual Root.”

Jun Yiqing pondered for a moment. “No wonder.”

With that, he took a small bottle from his storage bag and poured out a pill for Liu Sanye to swallow. “This is a Mind-Quieting Pill; it can temporarily stabilize the mind and reduce pain. I will give this to her first before treating her. However, it is quite inconvenient on the floor; may I carry her to the bed?”

Bai Tong thought for a second and directly picked Liu Sanye up herself. “No need to trouble Senior Brother, I can do it.”

As she spoke, Bai Tong strained her small, thin frame to carry Liu Sanye to the bed.

Jun Yiqing, who was just about to pick her up: “…”

Xun Qiu, watching from atop her tail, silently pulled out some fruit-flavored melon seeds from her storage space and began cracking them: Crunch, crunch… truly sweet.

Jun Yiqing’s Wood-Spirit power was exceptionally pure and gentle. Before long, the crimson in Liu Sanye’s eyes began to fade. He turned to Xun Qiu and asked, “Elder Xun, is this Junior Sister practicing the Wood-Devouring Sacred Scroll?”

Xun Qiu was surprised. “Oh! How did you know?”

Jun Yiqing’s expression turned somber. “Normal Wood-Spirit power shouldn’t be as violent as what’s in her body, nor should it have such strong aggression. The power of the Wood-Devouring Sacred Scroll is domineering, rivaling Heaven-rank techniques. It was only rated as Saint-rank because of its uncontrollability.”

At this point, Jun Yiqing hesitated several times. Perhaps his conscience was ill at ease, for after a long pause, he finally revealed the truth: “Elder Xun may not know, but ever since Ancestor Su Lin disappeared a thousand years ago during the Immortal-Demon War, the Wood-Devouring Sacred Scroll has been a forbidden technique of my Green Wood Peak.”

Xun Qiu’s expression sharpened, and her pointed fox ears twitched. “Disappeared? Hasn’t your Green Wood Peak always claimed that your former Peak Master died in the war? And Su Lin’s Soul Lamp in the Soul Lamp Pavilion went out, too.”

Jun Yiqing shook his head with a bitter smile. He didn’t give a definitive answer, only saying, “No one saw whether the Ancestor actually perished.”

“Could it be…” Xun Qiu’s mouth hung open slightly as she reached a terrifying conclusion.

“That is all I can say. I only hope Elder Xun can advise this Junior Sister not to practice this method further.”

Xun Qiu paced back and forth, her brow furrowed so deeply it could have crushed a mosquito. Finally, she asked Jun Yiqing, “Is there no other way?” After all, switching techniques and restarting cultivation was no small matter.

Jun Yiqing replied, “It’s not that there’s no way. The Ancestor was fine for a long time until the demonic path launched their massive massacre a thousand years ago. To fight the demonic cultivators, the Ancestor took risks and frequently went Berserk, which led to the final…”

Jun Yiqing stopped there, but Xun Qiu understood his meaning. “So you’re saying, as long as this girl Sanye avoids going Berserk, she’ll be fine?”

Jun Yiqing replied solemnly, “It would be best to never use that method again. If she truly reaches the final step, the sect will not be able to keep her.”

Xun Qiu felt a bit angry, sensing she had been deceived. “Not a single person practicing this has ever achieved a perfect completion. Since the Wood-Devouring Sacred Scroll is so dangerous, why didn’t you report it to the Sect Leader and move it out of the manual pavilion?”

Jun Yiqing didn’t know how to answer for a moment, saying with a worried frown, “Master did not want the Ancestor’s lifelong reputation to be destroyed, so he kept the matter hidden. The Sect Leader is unaware…” He added, “I also implore Elder Xun not to spread word of this.”

If a righteous cultivator became even slightly associated with the demonic path, they would face eternal damnation and an infamous reputation, even if they had previously given everything—even their life—for the righteous faith. Feng Zhu’s decision to hide the matter to prevent his master from suffering such injustice was understandable.

But Xun Qiu still looked coldly at Jun Yiqing. “If I don’t tell the Sect Leader and other disciples practice this technique, wouldn’t I become a sinner?”

Jun Yiqing cupped his hands. “You are an Outer Sect Elder. If other disciples choose this method, you can stop them.”

Xun Qiu snapped, “And what if I’m not here? Do you want to keep up the deception forever!”

Jun Yiqing was left speechless. Seeing that he was just a junior following orders, Xun Qiu didn’t want to trouble him further. “Fine. I will go find Feng Zhu myself and get a clear answer from him.”

As soon as she finished, she vanished, clearly heading to Green Wood Peak to argue with Feng Zhu.

Their conversation was not hidden from Bai Tong. Although she didn’t understand the specifics, she understood one thing clearly: the technique Sanye was currently practicing was dangerous. She had to persuade Sanye to stop.

Bai Tong stroked Liu Sanye’s hair, her heart set on a resolution.

Jun Yiqing truly lived up to his status as the head disciple of Green Wood Peak. Before long, he had completely cleared the violent energy from Liu Sanye’s body. Liu Sanye gradually calmed down and fell into a deep coma from extreme exhaustion.

After Jun Yiqing saved her, Bai Tong thanked him with great gratitude.

Jun Yiqing felt a bit unable to face Bai Tong directly. He realized that if his gaze lingered on her face for even a moment longer, his heart would beat faster. This sensation was incredibly strange—something he was experiencing for the first time.

Thus, when Bai Tong thanked him, for the first time in his life, Jun Yiqing didn’t wait for her to finish speaking before fleeing in a most discourteous manner.

Bai Tong found this behavior very strange, but her heart was full of worry for Liu Sanye, so she didn’t think too much about it.

Liu Sanye slept for three days. During her slumber, the entire outer sect underwent a massive upheaval. Because of her performance, the Heaven Class disciples had voted Liu Sanye as the Number One Person of the Heaven Class! Her fame rose like a meteor.

As a genius who reached the late stage of Qi Refining at twelve, anyone with a brain knew that her path to immortality would be smooth. One day, she might even become an Elder, a Peak Master, or a Valley Master!

For three days, people flocked to flatter her. They carried large gift bags to their small courtyard, practically trampling their doorstep into dust. At first, Bai Tong tried to persuade them to leave, but eventually she couldn’t stop them, so she simply shut them out and ignored them. It wasn’t that she was cold-hearted; she just didn’t want them to disturb the resting Liu Sanye. Only after being shut out for three days did their enthusiasm fade.

On the third day, Liu Sanye woke up. Seeing this, Bai Tong joyfully brought out water and porridge she had warmed multiple times. “Are you hungry or thirsty?”

Liu Sanye shook her groggy head. She didn’t say she was hungry or thirsty, but instead directly raised her weak hands and hugged Bai Tong, burying her head in Bai Tong’s shoulder. It was as if she had regained light after experiencing death. Her voice was hoarse from long silence. “It’s so good to be alive to see you.”

The pain from before felt like it happened just a second ago; she had almost thought she wouldn’t make it and would leave the world forever! That would have been a disaster. It was so terrifying that she never wanted to experience it again, even if it killed her!

Bai Tong, holding porridge in one hand and water in the other, was a bit dazed by the sudden hug. Afraid of spilling them on the bed, she carefully reached out and moved the food to the tea table by the bed before returning the embrace. She lightly patted Liu Sanye’s back, whispering, “Sanye, don’t be afraid. It’s okay now. Everything is fine.”

Suddenly, Liu Sanye’s body stiffened—a “tiger-like jolt” of realization!

Wait! Why did she look so much like she was acting spoiled with Bai Tong? Good grief! She was actually acting spoiled and seeking comfort from a twelve-year-old child!

Her face turned red, and she quickly pulled out of the hug. She stuttered, “I-I’m not afraid! I was just…” She racked her brain before pointing a finger at the sky. “I was just being sentimental! Sentimental about surviving a disaster, sentimental about how wonderful the world is!”

The more she thought about it, the more right it felt, and she nodded happily.

Seeing this, Bai Tong’s eyes crinkled with a smile. She pursed her pink lips slightly and nodded in agreement. “You’re right. Whatever you say is right.”

Liu Sanye wrinkled her nose proudly, believing she had perfectly preserved her dignity.

Before they could be happy for long, Bai Tong brought up the worry she had been carrying. “Sanye, the backlash from your Berserk state was very severe this time. You slept for three full days.”

Liu Sanye bit her finger in surprise. “I slept for three days? I didn’t feel it at all.”

Bai Tong continued, “Senior Brother Jun Yiqing from Green Wood Peak came to save you.”

One second, Liu Sanye was amazed at her long sleep; the next second, there was a “snap”—she bit her own finger until it bled.

What the hell! The Second Male Lead came anyway! That cursed Protagonist Aura!

So did I suffer all that pain for nothing?! If she could, Liu Sanye really wanted to perform a dramatic display of chest-beating and wailing at the heavens.

Bai Tong didn’t know how intense the internal drama in Liu Sanye’s head was. She lowered her eyes, looking deeply worried. “Senior Brother Yiqing told Elder Xun that the Wood-Devouring Sacred Scroll you’re practicing is very dangerous. Sanye, why don’t we switch to another technique?”

Liu Sanye suddenly quieted down. “Switch? Why switch?”

Bai Tong replied, “The pain you felt after going Berserk was because of this manual. It has too many uncontrollable factors; it’s too dangerous.”

Liu Sanye frowned slightly. It wasn’t that she didn’t know it was dangerous—in the original book, the character fell to the demonic path precisely because of this technique, ending up with an infamous reputation and a tragic fate. If she had a choice at the start, she never would have picked it.

But now her view had changed. She was a Wood-root cultivator; even as a Top-tier Heavenly Spiritual Root, the best she could be was a super-powerful healing support.

Danger surrounds the heroine. Just like three days ago—if she hadn’t relied on the Berserk ability of the Wood-Devouring Sacred Scroll, she couldn’t have beaten Ma Shi. She wouldn’t have been saving people and “slapping” faces; she would have been beaten and mocked.

So, without the Wood-Devouring Sacred Scroll, what else could she use to protect Bai Tong?