Transmigrated as the Villain’s Sword - Chapter 19

On the other side, while Guan Luowei was searching for the whereabouts of the Deceptive God Zither, she suddenly felt a sharp pang in her heart. Almost instantly, she pivoted and sped toward the direction where Ling Chenyan had disappeared.

The sky was clear over Zhenxu Peak as a figure blurred through the landscape like a gale, leaving only afterimages in her wake. The faster her feet moved, the calmer Guan Luowei’s mind became.

Demonic energy overflowed uncontrollably from her body, spreading out to search every corner of Zhenxu Peak for a trace of that sword.

Following Ling Chenyan’s aura, she arrived at a forest of jagged rocks. Stepping onto the carpet of withered yellow leaves, Guan Luowei slowly walked to the spot where Ling Chenyan had last fallen. She crouched down slightly, her fingertips emitting demonic energy that attached itself to a leaf.

This was a tracking technique unique to the Demon Race. By first attaching demonic energy to the target and then finding any object they had touched, one could use that object as an array to locate them.

The leaf hovered in the air and darted deep into the rock forest. Guan Luowei followed closely, her deep black eyes shimmering with a hidden light.

Meanwhile, in a hollowed-out valley, several elders surrounded a girl and a zither. They were casting various spells, chanting under their breaths.

At one point, the spells from the elders struck the girl simultaneously. However, an unexpected situation occurred—the moment the spells touched her, they rebounded along their original paths at extreme speed.

Zhen Xuzi’s pupils shrank. He reacted quickly, dodging the blow. Some of the others weren’t so lucky; they were struck by their own spells and fell to the ground, vomiting blood.

Daoist Ling Xu wiped the blood from his mouth and frowned. “What kind of thing is this?”

Zhen Xuzi’s eyes darkened. “A Damage-Reflect Array. Everyone, be careful. I fear this woman has other arrays cast upon her.”

The group’s expressions changed, and they stepped back several paces. Seeing this, Zhen Xuzi didn’t dare act rashly either.

At that moment, the black-robed Guize stepped forward slowly. The “spiritual energy” in his palm was applied to the girl; this time, it was not reflected.

Daoist Guize withdrew his hand, his voice raspy and unpleasant. “Inject spiritual energy directly into her body. Use her body as a furnace to refine out that wisp of Source Power.”

Daoist Ling Xu’s face paled. Refining someone by using their body as a furnace… aside from the excruciating pain for the victim, the girl would most likely have her soul extinguished by the end.

“No,” Ling Xu objected. “If we kill her, what if the Witch goes on a rampage?”

Zhen Xuzi looked thoughtful, but Daoist Guize spoke again: “She is merely a spirit sword.”

The implication was clear: Who would risk their life for a replaceable spiritual object?

Ling Xu was still hesitating, but Zhen Xuzi had already made up his mind. “Then let it be so.”

The group circled up once more. In the center, the girl’s face was deathly pale, and her red lips had lost all color. As their energy was forced into her, cold sweat poured from her forehead, and painful moans escaped her lips.

Those spells destroyed her meridians, squeezing her body as if trying to force something out.

Beside the girl, the golden-glowing zither trembled violently, emitting low, mournful cries. It tried many times to interrupt the ritual, but it couldn’t even move.

Finally, a wisp of pale gold light was refined out of the girl’s body and slowly merged into the long zither. The girl, like a piece of discarded trash, slumped to the ground and transformed back into a sword.

The elders stopped simultaneously.

Zhen Xuzi held the mourning zither in his hand, took a look, and chuckled to the blue-robed elder beside him. “Indeed. After returning that wisp of Innate Source, this zither looks different than before.”

The blue-robed elder nodded, a glint in his eyes. “True. But I wonder to what extent this zither can suppress someone’s strength now?”

Zhen Xuzi pondered. “It’s unclear. Since the Deceptive God Zither hasn’t acknowledged a master, the holder can only use fifty percent of its power at most. Still, that should be more than enough.”

Daoist Chen Xu also nodded. “Before coming here, I intentionally kept some of the aura from that Witch’s sword and laid many arrays around. Even if she finds this place, she will be heavily injured by the time she arrives. Then, we weaken her further with the Divine Artifact. She will surely fall here in our Lingxiao Sect.”

“And even if she arrives unscathed,” Chen Xu continued, “there is Brother Li and the rest of you to help. This time, she definitely won’t escape.”

Thinking of his half-beard, Chen Xu’s eyes grew dark.

Li Yuan (the blue-robed elder) nodded. “If we kill the Witch this time, may I dispose of her body?”

Zhen Xuzi narrowed his eyes, his mind whirling with calculations. Finally, he smiled. “Of course.”

Just as the group was discussing how to divide the spoils, Zhen Xuzi snapped his head back, excitement flashing in his eyes. “She’s here.”

A wild wind erupted in the rock forest, snapping trees in half and swirling dead leaves and dust. A towering demonic energy covered the sky above the Lingxiao Sect, changing the very color of the heavens.

Guan Luowei hovered in the sky, her black hair fluttering wildly. Large patches of blood stained her white robes. Her face was filled with malevolence, and her eyes held a chilling killing intent, like a vengeful ghost crawled out of hell.

In that instant, she felt it—the connection between her and the silver sword was severed. She was no longer its master. In other words, the sword spirit within the silver sword was dead.

Guan Luowei remained eerily calm and asked, “Where is she?”

The world was in an uproar, and countless people looked on in shock.

“The Demon Race! It’s the Demon Race!”

Disciples in the middle of sparring, elders guarding the venues—everyone in the Lingxiao Sect looked up at the woman who seemed to have gone mad. Under that powerful pressure, many disciples couldn’t take it and fainted, vomiting blood. Only a few elite disciples and elders could remain standing, but none could summon the courage to resist.

Zhen Xuzi’s face was grim. Only now did he realize exactly what kind of existence they were facing.

Seeing the pale faces of those around him, Zhen Xuzi roared back at her, “She is already dead!”

“Dead?” Guan Luowei repeated the words softly, as if speaking to herself or to the others.

Enduring the pressure, Zhen Xuzi shouted, “The Demon Race acts with such tyranny, daring to disrupt our Sect Competition! I ask all elders of the various sects to join me in slaying this Witch!”

“Kill!”

As soon as the words fell, many eager Lingxiao disciples struck out to form an array. Zhen Xuzi reached out and plucked a zither string; a low dragon’s roar echoed, and the pressure on Guan Luowei instantly weakened.

Zhen Xuzi was overjoyed. “Everyone, follow me and slay this woman!”

With the pressure gone, the other sects who were hesitating earlier immediately surrounded her. In the cultivation world, everyone had the right to kill a demon.

The Great War was imminent.

When Ling Chenyan opened her eyes, all she saw was an endless white. She was in the middle of it, like an ant in the universe, seeing no end and no way out.

Ling Chenyan was a bit dazed. She remembered being caught by that old man Guize, then her body hurting—hurting so much she wanted to die. Then she woke up here. Wait, am I actually dead?

While in her daze, a world-weary sigh echoed from the distance.

The sigh was very familiar. In an instant, she remembered hearing the same sigh after she blocked a hit for Guan Luowei last time.

Ling Chenyan called out: “Who are you?”

No one answered, only her own echoes fading away.

Ling Chenyan blinked and asked in her heart: [Sys, you there?]

The System didn’t answer. It seemed it wasn’t here; she was alone in this world.

“I’ve heard your voice before,” Ling Chenyan said. “Last time I was unconscious, it was after hearing your voice that I felt my body recover faster. If you’re the one who helped, I should thank you.”

Ling Chenyan waited a long time, but still, no one answered.

However, she was certain she hadn’t misheard. She continued: “Am I dead yet?”

After a pause, she added, “I know you don’t want to talk. How about this: if I’m dead, let out a sigh. If I’m not, stay silent.”

The world fell into silence for a moment. Ling Chenyan slowly breathed a sigh of relief. “So I’m not—”

“Sigh.”

Ling Chenyan: “…” So I’m half-dead?

“Sigh,” Ling Chenyan sighed dejectedly. “I wonder how things are outside. If I’m dead, the Big Villain must be very sad.”

“Maybe not. After all, I’m just a sword.”

“Sigh, if she finds out I’m dead, will she kill everyone in the Lingxiao Sect?”

“Then my sin would be great. I don’t want to die, waaah. All those spiritual stones I stole—uh, found—haven’t even been spent yet. Am I really dying? This is so frustrating…”

Ling Chenyan went on and on, her “one-woman show” quite moving and tearful.

Finally, the voice couldn’t take it anymore and said, “Fine. Consider this a debt I owe you.”

Before Ling Chenyan could process what that meant, her vision blurred, and the scene before her became clear.

Guan Luowei was covered in demonic energy, her eyes blood-red from slaughter. Her white robes were completely dyed red. Ling Chenyan stared blankly, remembering how Guan Luowei had always been gentle or even overly indulgent with her. This version of Guan Luowei was someone she had never seen.

Daoist Ling Xu and the others were working together to fight her. Despite this, he had sustained many injuries. Looking at Guan Luowei’s stance—fighting with increasing ferocity as if determined to drag everyone to hell with her—he cursed under his breath.

“What the hell! Isn’t this Witch’s cultivation supposed to be suppressed? How is she still this powerful?”

Zhen Xuzi held the zither, suppressing Guan Luowei’s cultivation while boosting his own allies. Seeing how long she had held out, his face was also very grim. He sent a low-voiced transmission to Daoist Guize: “Next, I will use the Deceptive God Zither to force-seal her spiritual power for one second. You must take that second to kill her!”

Guan Luowei had many wounds, many caused by Daoist Guize’s sneak attacks. Looking at these annoying ants, she only wanted to kill them all.

The urge to slaughter stirred in her heart. Right then, a girl’s crisp voice suddenly echoed through the air.

“Stop fighting for me!” Ling Chenyan shouted with all her might. “I~ AM~ BACK~!”

The world went silent for a moment. Almost in the blink of an eye, Guan Luowei was at the silver sword’s side. She snatched the sword up, the blood-red not yet faded from her eyes. Her voice was raspy and strained as she whispered, “…Yinye?”

“It’s me, Master,” Ling Chenyan shook her blade. “I’m not dead.”

Guan Luowei went silent for a moment, gripping the sword tightly. Her mouth opened, but no words came out.

Ling Chenyan knew how she was feeling, but now wasn’t the time for a talk. She gently rubbed against Guan Luowei’s hand. “Master, let’s deal with these people first.”

Guan Luowei snapped back to reality. When she looked up, the red in her eyes slowly receded, though the killing intent remained.

The crowd finally reacted. Daoist Chen Xu was shocked and incredulous. “You’re not dead? How is that possible?”

Feeling Guan Luowei’s grip tighten further, Ling Chenyan quickly whispered comfort: “I’m fine. Look at me, I’m alive and kicking. Wait—they teamed up to bully you, didn’t they? Watch how I take revenge for you.”

Guan Luowei was slightly stunned. She’s going to take revenge for me?

Ling Chenyan didn’t care what Guan Luowei was thinking. She looked at the group of wary people and giggled, “Heh, I’m dead! Heh, I’m alive again!”

Zhen Xuzi and the group: “…”

Guan Luowei: “…”

The tight tension in her heart was eased significantly by the silver sword’s words. Guan Luowei couldn’t help but be curious about how she would take revenge.

In the midst of the silence, a black shadow flashed. A massive amount of spiritual power was about to land on them. Guan Luowei’s eyes sharpened; with a flick of her sleeve, the attacker was sent flying back.

Ling Chenyan rubbed her “face,” which had been buffeted by the energy, and said angrily, “How shameless! Actually using a sneak attack!”

She looked at Guan Luowei’s bleeding wounds and felt heartbroken. She immediately poured a pile of pills out of her storage space like beans, nudging them toward Guan Luowei with her tip. “Master, eat these to recover.”

Zhen Xuzi wasn’t about to let her rest. As he was about to strike, his gaze caught those pills, and his movement stopped. He squinted suspiciously. Wait, those pill bottles look a bit familiar…

At the same time, Daoist Chen Xu and Daoist Ling Xu stared blankly at the pile of pills. A thought occurred to both of them simultaneously: Do those pills look familiar?

In that opening, Guan Luowei had already swallowed the pills. Her wounds healed rapidly with incredible efficiency.

Zhen Xuzi’s eyes sharpened, his fingers reaching for the zither strings. Then he heard the sword speak: “Oho, not bad at all! As expected of the Sect Leader’s private collection—the effect is great! Master, try this one. It was hidden by the old man with the half-beard. Let’s see how it works!”

Zhen Xuzi finally realized where that familiarity came from. His face turned black as soot. At the thought of the possibility, he nearly vomited blood.

“You little thief! You dare—”

“Hey,” Ling Chenyan shook her tip and cut him off. “How can you say that? I found these myself. They didn’t have names on them, so how is it stealing?”

She then glanced at Guan Luowei’s wounds. “Tsk, the pills from the half-bearded old man really aren’t that great. Forget it; after all, he couldn’t even save his own beard, so I shouldn’t expect him to have anything good.”

Daoist Chen Xu’s old face turned iron-blue. Gritting his teeth, he lunged forward with his sword.

Right then, the space in front of Ling Chenyan and Guan Luowei was torn open. A laughing middle-aged man emerged. Seeing Chen Xu lunging with his sword, he let out an “Ouch” and casually waved his hand to brush him aside. He also released a flame that burned away the other half of Chen Xu’s beard.

“I am truly sorry,” the middle-aged man said with a face full of apology. “Whenever my hand sees a beard, it can’t help but want to burn it.”

Chen Xu was repelled, not sustaining much injury, but the blue flame had squarely burned off the other half of his beard.

The damage was low, but the insult was astronomical.

Chen Xu’s eyes turned red as he roared, “You old monster!”

“Hey, alright,” the man replied. “I am a bit old, but not as old as you.”

Ling Chenyan was profoundly impressed by the man’s verbal assault. She thought she was annoying enough, but this man was on her level.

Her competitive spirit was ignited. She continued, “The half-bearded old man is actually okay. He’s much better than the old guy next to him—that guy only had one or two bottles of low-grade pills, though his collection of defensive treasures is much bigger than yours.”

Daoist Ling Xu’s vision went dark as he wailed, “My life savings!!”

Ling Chenyan continued: “Hah, I only took a little bit. But you three are still quite rich. Not like that old guy in the black chicken-feather cloak—I searched his entire peak and didn’t find a single good thing.”

The old guy in the black chicken-feather cloak?

The three of them looked at Daoist Guize, who had just pulled himself out of the rocks.

Daoist Guize: “…”

The others: “…”

The moment the Demon Emperor appeared, Zhen Xuzi realized he couldn’t kill Guan Luowei today. Sure enough, thunder rumbled in the sky as massive amounts of demonic energy flooded the air, darkening the day.

Demon guards in black armor occupied the sky. Looking up at the vast, dark army, Zhen Xuzi’s face sank.

During the silver sword’s few sentences of banter, they had lost their best opportunity. Zhen Xuzi shot the sword a look of frustration and anger.

Fortunately, the Deceptive God Zither was still in his hands. If the Demon Emperor truly wanted to be an enemy of the Lingxiao Sect, he wouldn’t mind a “mutual destruction” scenario.

Zhen Xuzi said coldly, “Since the Demon Emperor has arrived, I must demand an explanation.”

“Speak,” the Old Demon Emperor replied, still smiling.

“Your Demon Princess intruded into my Lingxiao Immortal Sect without a word and began a slaughter. You must give me an account for this today!”

“Oh,” the Old Emperor nodded. “And then?”

“My Lingxiao Sect and your Demon Race have no grievance or enmity! Your Princess killed so many of our disciples, and the righteous cultivators of the world are watching! If this triggers a war between our races, no one will benefit.”

“Oh,” the Old Emperor looked thoughtful. “And so?”

The veins on Zhen Xuzi’s forehead throbbed. “So, you either leave your Princess’s life here today, or you give a reasonable compensation to my Lingxiao Sect and all the major sects!”

“That makes sense,” the Old Emperor nodded solemnly. Then, his tone shifted: “But I’m not listening.”

Zhen Xuzi: “…” Dammit, I shouldn’t have wasted words with this old fossil.

Author’s Note:

Others take revenge: Kill, kill, kill.

Swordy takes revenge: Steal your life savings.