Chapter 320: Villain, encounter of Yin and Yang
The late summer rain showers, arriving with strong winds and heavy rain, hastily departed, leaving behind numerous muddy puddles amidst the twists and turns of the mountain paths.
Step by step—
The sturdy hooves of the horse plunged into the puddles, scattering mud and water in all directions.
In the woods outside the eastern gate of Tainan City, two dark horses traveled side by side. Perched atop the taller horse was a woman wearing a wide-brimmed hat.
She held a flute crafted from black jade, producing melodious tunes as her fingers lightly pressed the holes, drawing the attention of other travelers on horseback.
Partially obscured by the gauze curtain under her hat, observers could only glimpse the woman’s lips, lightly tinted with red glaze, as she played the flute, along with her black hair swaying in the wind. The woman’s name was Gu Mingxin.
At the age of one, she fortuitously encountered the master of the Heavenly Demon Sect and became his direct disciple.
Over the sixteen years that followed, she dedicated herself to cultivation within the sect. After sacrificing over two hundred fellow disciples, she successfully formed a demonic core, advancing to the Core Formation stage.
Three months prior, the sect tasked her with infiltrating the Emperor Sect’s territory to escalate tensions between the Emperor Sect and the Demon Clan. Ideally, this would lead to a direct confrontation between the Demon Emperor and the Central Domain Emperor.
A conflict between Void Realm cultivators would inevitably impact countless lives. If they engaged in full-scale combat, not only Tianan City but the entire Central Domain would be reduced to ashes.
As the saying goes, the mantis stalks the cicada while the oriole stalks it.
The Heavenly Demon Sect aimed to be the oriole in this scenario, waiting for both the Demon Clan and the Emperor Sect to weaken each other before breaking through the eastern wall of the Central Domain and reclaiming the land belonging to the demon cultivators.
In other words, Gu Mingxin was the first arrow loosed by the Heavenly Demon Sect towards the Immortal Family.
At this moment, a message entered her consciousness,
“Ming Xin, you truly have a peculiar taste.”
Instantly, a figure cloaked in black light appeared above her head, casting a shadow that dimmed the sunlight falling on Gu Mingxin’s figure.
With a faint smile on her lips, Gu Mingxin looked up at the figure above her. She gently tugged the reins, urging the horse towards the city gate.
Meanwhile, the young man in black riding alongside Gu Mingxin looked ahead at the east gate of Tainan City and reminded her,
“Senior Sister Mingxin, we’ve arrived.”
The melodious flute abruptly ceased, and Gu Mingxin delicately lowered the black jade flute in her hand. With a flick of her fingers, she adjusted the bamboo hat on her head and gazed ahead.
Spotting the bustling tea stall near the city gate, a glint of disdain flickered in her eyes beneath the brim of her hat.
Turning to her junior brother with a playful grin, she leaned closer and brushed her fingers through his hair,
“Junior brother, any regrets!”
The young man’s gaze fell on the jade hand near his ear, his breath quickening noticeably.
Swallowing hard, He replied,
“I am yours, Senior Sister, in life and death. Whatever you ask of me, I shall do without complaint.”
“Such a good boy,” She remarked with amusement.
As her fingers trailed down his neck, the young man seemed to lose himself momentarily, his eyes glazed and his breath erratic, nearly toppling from his horse.
Observing his reaction, a smirk played on Gu Mingxin’s lips as she gently guided the horse forward toward the city gate.
At that moment, a message entered her mind,
“Ming Xin, you have a wicked sense of humor.”
And with that, a figure emanating a black aura materialized above her, casting a shadow that even dimmed the sunlight upon Gu Mingxin by several shades.
“Xue, stop laying on my head, I can’t see the path.”
“Alright, alright…”
The dark figure known as Xue floated upwards and glanced back at the junior disciple from the Heavenly Demon Sect, still recovering from Gu Mingxin’s intervention, and said, “Ming Xin, don’t you fancy Junior Brother Xu?”
“I do.” Gu Ming responded promptly, glancing back at his junior brother. “He’s well-mannered and handsome. Who wouldn’t like him? The senior sisters in the sect dote on him like he’s something special.”
“Then why are you still carrying him along?”
“He willingly risked his life for me, so I buried him with gratitude. Isn’t that like those romance stories in books?”
Xue gave her a skeptical look, pondered momentarily, and asked, “Ming Xin, have you ever thought about finding a man? There are plenty of disciples in the Heavenly Demon Sect willing to be your companions. Just pick one and make use of him. Dual cultivation is much faster than going solo.”
“Ha, those people aren’t worthy.” Gu Mingxin smirked mischievously. “Anyone worthy of being my companion must be at least comparable with my master.”
“You fancy the old man!”
“I only meant someone like my master, not necessarily an old man like him.” Gu Ming pondered momentarily, pursed his lips, and continued, “It’s best if he’s around my age, with a mature and restrained demeanor, sharp-minded, preferably with a wife or something. As for cultivation and talent… well, I don’t care since there’s no one in this world with better talent than me.”
Xue found it fairly normal at first, but after a moment of pause, something seemed off.
“Huh! A wife!” It asked, blinking its eyes.
Gu Mingxin jokingly explained, “Well, I said ‘like’ having a wife. Just a figure of speech.”
“A woman witnessing her husband kneeling under my skirt, burning with anger but powerless to act, wanting to kill me but restrained by her husband. Such a plot… How delightful!”
“Why…” Xue sighed softly, then fell silent, gradually fading away from Gu Mingxin’s head.
Gu Mingxin readjusted her hat and strapped a sword to her belt from her storage bag before riding her horse to the city gate.
After presenting the sect identity token she had acquired from an Immortal cultivator’s storage bag to the city guards, she passed through the gate with her junior brother.
Inside the city was the Eastern District of Tianan. The streets were bustling with people, and due to the sultry weather, many immortal monks gathered in tea stalls to cool off. They could faintly hear discussions about the movements of the demon clan,
“I inquired recently, and it seems the demon clan has breached Chenan Pass and is only about a thousand miles away from Tainan City. But it’s odd, there are no refugees from the west heading this way. I thought there would be many people fleeing, so I prepared a lot of goods, but now I can’t even sell them.”
“Most likely, they were massacred in the city and didn’t manage to escape. It’s not surprising… The demon clan has always held a grudge against human cultivators. Massacring cities is quite normal for them.”
“Should we flee then?”
“Where to? Tianan City is the safest place in the Central Domain. With the Emperor of the Central Domain here, if Tianan City falls, we’re doomed no matter where we go. Besides, Tianan City is surrounded by void realm formations. The demon clan can’t break through.”
“Then should we lay siege to the city instead of attacking?”
“Then let’s besiege it. I doubt the demon clan would dare to besiege for long. And when the Xuanxing Sect from the Western Domain and the Taibai Sect from the Southern Domain arrive, it’ll be the demon clan that’s surrounded.”
…
The news of the demon clan’s violation had spread throughout Tianan City recently, but most of the city’s cultivators were indifferent, much like these individuals, not taking it seriously.
Gu Mingxin rode her horse along the street, listening to the conversations around her, a slight smile playing at the corner of her mouth,
“These immortal practitioners seem so carefree~ I wonder what expressions they’ll have when faced with the demon clan’s claws.”
“They’ll surely regret it,” chuckled the junior fellow from the Heavenly Demon Sect walking beside her. Spotting a nearby tavern, he suggested, “Sister, let’s stay at that tavern up ahead. It’s been quite a journey, and you must be tired. I’ll massage your legs later…”
Gu Mingxin glanced at him and replied with a smile, “I’m not tired, but my horse is. You can massage its legs later.”
“Junior brother would be honored.”
“Ah…”
Gu Mingxin chuckled and casually glanced at both sides of the street.
But the next moment, her sharp crimson eyes under the hat narrowed slightly, her previously relaxed gaze instantly becoming alert.
A girl carrying a roast chicken and walking along the street caught her attention. The girl had uncommon silver hair. However, what intrigued her was not the woman’s rare silver locks but the golden figure on her shoulder that bore a striking resemblance to her Xue.
Well, that’s one way to deal with the villainess, just make her fall in love with the hero. Her list of qualities describes Ye Anping so much you would think it’s destiny, but as Si Xuanji observed the guy keeps breaking destiny…