Transmigrated as the Villain’s Sword - Chapter 21

The heavenly phenomenon dissipated, and the silver sword slowly descended from the sky, landing beside Guan Luowei.

Guan Luowei reached out to catch her, the corners of her lips lifting slightly. “Congratulations.”

Ling Chenyan was utterly bewildered and instinctively asked, “Congratulations for what?”

Guan Luowei paused, her gaze shifting subtly between a zither and a sword. “Congratulations on forming a contract with Jinjin.”

Ling Chenyan: “…”

[Sys! It’s over, it’s all over. Jinjin formed a contract with me.]

The System fell silent for a moment. […Forget it. The plot has already collapsed by a hundred thousand miles anyway; this little bit extra won’t make a difference.]

Ling Chenyan was pleasantly surprised: [Sys, you’re back?!]

System: [What do you mean? I’ve been here the whole time?]

Ling Chenyan froze. Did the System not perceive her departure when she was in that pure white space earlier?

Before she could think deeply, an angry voice drifted over: “Fine, Demon Race! Truly fine!”

Ling Chenyan looked up to see the old man with the scorched chin, his eyes filled with resentment as if he wanted to skewer them and skin them alive right then and there. She guiltily shrank into Guan Luowei’s embrace.

Guan Luowei tilted her head slightly toward Daoist Chenxu and smirked. “Thank you for the gift.”

Chenxu took a deep breath. He looked at the unconscious Sect Leader, then at the chaotic state of the Lingxiao Immortal Sect. Finally, he gritted his teeth and spat out a threat: “Regarding today’s matter, my Lingxiao Immortal Sect will surely make you repay it a hundredfold in the future.”

“Do as you wish,” Guan Luowei looked up indifferently. “I forgot to tell the Elder—please pass a message to Mu Yunze for me. Tell him I look forward to the day he grows strong enough to rival me.”

In the past, Guan Luowei only thought of killing Mu Yunze with one strike to vent her hatred. But now, she didn’t want him to die so easily.

Having finished her final words with the Lingxiao Immortal Sect, Guan Luowei prepared to return home.

Now that the Deceptive God Zither had recognized a master, no matter how much the crowd lusted after it, they didn’t dare provoke the Demon Race while they possessed a Divine Artifact.

The demons had arrived with great fanfare and left in a grand procession, leaving behind a group of cultivation sects gathered together, staring at each other in bewilderment. Although the Demon Race was untouchable for now, the Lingxiao Immortal Sect had suffered such a disaster and lost its Divine Artifact; it was the perfect time for the others to loot the burning house.

Guan Luowei departed quickly and did not witness that mocking scene. The former “Number One Sect in the World” was actually being looted by everyone following the incident. Those cultivators didn’t even unite to deal with the demons; they only exhausted their efforts thinking of how to secure benefits for their own sects.

On the way back, Guan Luowei traveled with the silver sword and the Old Demon Emperor on the Wind-Riding Boat.

Once the Old Emperor set up a barrier, his face turned solemn, completely losing his previous gentle and humorous demeanor. He sat across from Guan Luowei and frowned. “Weiwei, why were you so impulsive today? Charging into a conflict with the Lingxiao Immortal Sect alone… if I hadn’t arrived in time after you sent the message, you might have met with disaster. And…”

The Old Emperor paused. “What is going on with your cultivation?”

He remembered clearly that Guan Luowei was only at the Nascent Soul stage before, but the strength she displayed at the Lingxiao Sect today was on par with his own.

Guan Luowei’s eyes flickered. “I cannot speak of it, but this matter is not harmful to me.”

The Old Emperor sighed upon hearing this. “Fine, as long as it doesn’t hurt you, it’s fine. Those clansmen captured by the Lingxiao Sect… are they all dead?”

Guan Luowei nodded in silence.

The Old Emperor sighed again. “Give those families extra compensation when we return.”

Guan Luowei nodded without objection.

“Also, that evil entity that appeared today—it felt extremely sinister. If its final words were true, I fear the cultivation world will face a great catastrophe in the near future.”

Guan Luowei’s eyes also flashed with gravity. “I have encountered that evil entity before.”

She slowly told the Old Emperor about the creature she met in Fengxiang Town. After listening, the Old Emperor said, “The Lingxiao Immortal Sect is the number one sect; their strength naturally isn’t poor. Yet an evil entity managed to infiltrate them. What are the other sects like? And you say the one in Fengxiang Town spared the Lingxiao disciples… could it be because that creature was the same one that died today?”

However, the reason “Evil Objects” were called such was largely because they understood no human sentiment; their world consisted only of chaos and slaughter.

But if that creature didn’t belong to the Lingxiao Sect, why would it specifically show mercy to their disciples?

Guan Luowei lowered her lashes and spoke: “No, they are not the same one.”

Under the Old Emperor’s gaze, she slowly revealed her findings: “According to the strength levels of the cultivation world, the monster in Fengxiang Town was equivalent to the Soul-Splitting stage, while Daoist Guize was at the Void-Hollow stage. However, I could faintly sense that the rank of the monster in Fengxiang Town was higher than Guize’s…”

“Are you saying,” the Old Emperor said, “that there is a clear hierarchy within the Evil Race?”

“Yes,” Guan Luowei nodded. “The Fengxiang monster’s rank is higher than Guize’s, but its strength is lower, perhaps because it hasn’t fully grown yet.”

The Old Emperor took a deep breath. “If that’s true, then we’re in trouble. Pupils that can confuse hearts, and corpses that are poisonous… these two points alone are extremely troublesome.”

Guan Luowei lowered her eyes, masking a flash of light. “The Fengxiang monster definitely has ties to the Lingxiao Sect, but regardless, as long as our Demon Race remains safe, that is enough.”

She was but one person with limited strength; she didn’t want to be a great hero saving the world. She only sought to preserve the Demon Race in a chaotic age.

While Guan Luowei and the Old Emperor were talking, Ling Chenyan and the System were also discussing matters privately.

[Sys! Do you think I’m about to usurp the position of the female lead?]

[…Probably, possibly, maybe not.]

[I hope not, otherwise I’ll vomit if I have to be with a male lead like Mu Yunze.]

[…I feel like things have escaped our control.]

[Sys, what are you talking about? Haven’t they been out of control for a long time?]

[…]

[By the way, Sys, didn’t you say I count as an item spirit? But isn’t Jinjin also an item spirit? Why can he recognize me as his master? Also, I feel like the faint connection between me and the Big Villain has weakened, while the connection with Jinjin has strengthened significantly.]

[You and Jinjin could form a contract perhaps because, in a strict sense, you still belong to the human category… Moreover, I’ve checked; you are no longer in a contracted relationship with the Big Villain. For some reason earlier, you seemed to have died, but then you came back to life.]

[I wanted to tell you about that! I felt like I died, and then I went to BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP—]

System: […What are you BEEP-ing about?]

Ling Chenyan: [I’m saying I died, and then I went to BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP—]

System: […]

[Dammit!] Ling Chenyan roughly understood what was happening and said angrily, [The words after that might involve Heavenly Secrets; I can’t say them.]

[Forget it. At least you’re alive again and gained a Divine Artifact. And according to my observations, the evil entity that appeared today is likely the thing the male lead will have to deal with in the future. It’s very difficult to handle.]

[Psh,] Ling Chenyan said. [He’s the male lead; he has to do some work. Anyway, this has nothing to do with me.]

[Heh heh,] the System said. [No Divine Artifact comes for free. Furthermore, you are now involved with Heavenly Secrets. I see…]

The System paused, unable to bring itself to say that a sword might be the female lead of this story.

[…Don’t scare me, Sys,] Ling Chenyan said. [I won’t have to chip in when it’s time to fight those evil things later, right?]

[Guess.]

Ling Chenyan immediately made a decision: “Jinjin, do you want to dissolve the contract with me?”

“No, no!” Jinjin said pitifully. “Sister Yinye, are you going to abandon me?”

Ling Chenyan: “…No.”

“I knew Sister Yinye was the best!”

Ling Chenyan really wanted to say she wasn’t “best” at all; she just wanted to stay alive and had no desire to go head-to-head with the Evil Race. But what could she do? Jinjin was so cute; could she really abandon him? Besides, she had wanted to take him away from the start.

[Fine, fine,] Ling Chenyan sighed. [When the sky falls, the tall ones will block it. If all else fails, I’ll step up.]

The System spoke up quietly: [Your blade is six feet long. No one is taller than you.]

Ling Chenyan: […I can shrink!]

[Heh heh.]

This trip to the Lingxiao Immortal Sect was incredibly fruitful. Not only did they bring back many herbs, treasures, and spiritual tools, they also took Jinjin—oh, and that guy Guyue.

Thinking of Guyue, Ling Chenyan glanced at him. Unfortunately, Guyue had been in a deep sleep ever since that day. The damage from the Backlash of the Heavenly Way wasn’t something that could be settled quickly. She had done what she could; whether he could wake up now depended entirely on his own will.

Inside the Lingxiao Immortal Sect.

Daoist Chenxu, Daoist Lingxu, and a blue-robed elder were in a circle, casting spells on an old man in the center whose face was tinged with green.

The old man looked haggard, appearing as if pent-up frustration had damaged his health. As spiritual energy flowed continuously into his body, he suddenly widened his eyes and vomited a large amount of blood.

The group stopped their spells immediately. Lingxu asked, “Sect Leader, how do you feel?”

Zhen Xuzi’s complexion improved slightly after vomiting the blood, but he still looked wretched. He shook his head and asked, “How is it outside?”

At this, Chenxu’s face filled with rage. “Those people took advantage of our sect’s chaos and tried to loot us! Fortunately, Brother Li helped hold them back, otherwise our Lingxiao Immortal Sect might have lost its title as the Number One Sect then and there.”

Zhen Xuzi shook his head and looked at the blue-robed elder, cupping his hands. “Thank you, Brother Li Yuan, for your help. If you ever need the Lingxiao Immortal Sect in the future, just speak.”

The elder named Li Yuan nodded and said, “Sect Leader, was that Divine Artifact truly snatched by the Demon Race?”

Zhen Xuzi’s face turned green again at the mention. Ten thousand words turned into a single sigh as he nodded.

A light flashed in Li Yuan’s eyes as he spoke slowly, “I have a plan that can make the Demon Race return the Deceptive God Zither voluntarily. However, this method might be a bit… unrighteous…”

Zhen Xuzi hesitated for a moment upon hearing the method was unrighteous, but ultimately said, “Brother Li, there is no harm in speaking.”

A moment later, a look of relief flashed across their faces. They exchanged glances and all nodded.

By the time Guan Luowei finished her discussion with the Old Emperor, the Wind-Riding Boat was nearly at the Demon Realm.

Guan Luowei stood at the bow, looking at the approaching Demon Realm, and let out a slow sigh of relief from her heart.

She glanced sideways at the longsword hanging beside her, her gaze softening considerably.

Tong Di had already led a group to guard the entrance. Before they had even arrived, he impatiently met them.

“Your Majesty, Your Highness…”

The Old Emperor nodded. Guan Luowei stepped off the boat and said to the silver sword behind her, “Yinye, we’re home.”

“Okay! Master!” Ling Chenyan jumped off the boat excitedly.

When she looked up, she saw Tong Di with a face that looked like he’d seen a ghost. He looked at Guan Luowei, then at the silver sword, and finally gave Guan Luowei a shocked thumbs-up. “Your Highness… incredible.”

He had always thought Her Highness “played creatively,” but looking at this, it was more than just creative.

Ling Chenyan was utterly confused. After praising Guan Luowei, Tong Di gave the silver sword a very respectful, deep bow and shouted:

“Welcome back to the clan, Young Madam!”

Tong Di was excited and didn’t hold back his voice. After he shouted, the demon guards behind him followed suit, bowing and shouting loudly:

“Welcome back to the clan, Young Madam!”

Young Madam Ling Chenyan: “…?”

Author’s Note:

Swordy: You wouldn’t have this misunderstanding unless you had ten years of cerebral thrombosis.

Guan Guan (shifting her gaze): Actually, the misunderstanding is fine.