Chapter 2

Chapter 2

The night wind gently brushed by, the bright moon hung high.

Lu Yuanyin stared silently at the sky, a faint thought of death in her heart.

Never before had Lu Yuanyin been so acutely aware that she was perhaps a complete unlucky wretch—nothing she did went smoothly, even drinking cold water could make her choke; the one time she tried to be malicious, she ended up provoking the ultimate crazed villain of this novel...

Last night, before sleep, she had still secretly muttered under her covers: "Thirty years in the east, thirty years in the west, don't look down on a poor girl," thinking about how she would one day take revenge, cause trouble for Lu Sisi, and rub it in their faces.

But now, with this happening, let alone revenge—once Huo Wuyan recovered his cultivation, he would definitely kill her first...

Lu Yuanyin dug her nails into her palm, feeling the pain all over her body grow more intense, making her want to curl up and cry. But since everyone around her was someone she hated, she would rather die than shed a single tear here.

She watched the flickering sword lights in the sky and heard the excited shouts of disciples from the forest, and she felt inexplicably irritated.

She stared fixedly for a while longer before withdrawing her gaze. Recalling the descriptions of Huo Wuyan in the book, she clutched her palm in despair, letting out a silent wail, feeling aches and pains all over.

She pouted—if only she could have sensed something was wrong earlier, even a hundred times more courage wouldn't have made her dare to provoke that madman!!

Even without deliberately inquiring about Huo Wuyan, from the snippets of gossip among her fellow disciples, she knew all about his brutal deeds.

The infamous madman of the Spirit Beast realm, a tyrant who was vicious, poisonous, and killed without blinking; his temperament was extremely unpredictable, to the point where even a passing dog would inexplicably get punched by him...

The Spirit Beast realm housed hundreds of clans, entrenched south of Huashan Mountain, and wherever they passed, they left nothing growing in their wake.

Spirit beasts were born with sharp claws and strong physiques. They were fierce fighters, irritable, and refused to submit to anyone. All they did was fight and cause trouble, causing fear among the people.

Internally, they were also in constant strife: the dragon, phoenix, and four symbol beast clans were locked in bitter conflict, and the cultivators caught in the crossfire suffered endlessly.

This chaos only stopped a few hundred years ago.

Amid the ceaseless battles, an evil dragon with golden flames beneath its feet and wings on its back emerged out of nowhere.

With a pair of sharp claws, it tore apart the then chief of the Red Snake clan. It trampled over countless corpses of the strong, entered the forbidden ground of the Spirit Beast realm, plucked the Polo fruit from the divine tree, and ascended the throne as king of the spirit beasts.

All who dared to resist died under its claws.

Under such brutal rule, the spirit beast clan, in chaos for thousands of years, experienced a brief period of peace.

After Huo Wuyan took power, the first person he killed was his nominal maternal grandfather. The elder dragon, a vicious and fierce former leader of the dragon clan, died at the hands of his most prized descendant.

With the elder leader's death, those arrogant, dog-like spirit beasts finally lowered their proud heads and cowered under Huo Wuyan's thumb, as docile as if they'd completely changed their natures.

Huo Wuyan's emergence made the spirit beast clan even stronger, unmatched by any other clan in the cultivation world. His temperament was violent and gloomy, his methods ruthless, causing human cultivators to give him a wide berth. But just as the spirit beast clan was at its zenith, they suddenly migrated en masse to the extreme cold lands, disappearing from the world for decades.

Many speculated they were plotting some scheme, but no one dared to investigate the extreme cold lands.

In that trashy novel, Huo Wuyan only reappeared at the very end.

As soon as he appeared, he massacred the Chongyao Sect—over seven thousand people. In one night, rivers of blood flowed, even staining the starry sky with patchy red. Lu Sisi happened to be traveling abroad and thus escaped disaster.

This incident caused a huge uproar in the cultivation world. Major sects exploded with fury. The male lead and female lead, together with Immortal Lord Changye and those factions that had long held grudges against him, set up a massive killing formation outside Huaicheng City, attempting to completely annihilate Huo Wuyan.

But these people suffered one defeat after another before Huo Wuyan. The supposedly invincible Gu Lingqiu and Immortal Lord Changye were severely wounded. The experts from various sects who came to besiege him suffered heavy casualties. This battle nearly destroyed a century's worth of the cultivation world's foundation.

Spiritual energy, mixed with blood and tears, splattered; blood mingled with corpses. Just as everyone was at a loss, the violent dragon folded its wings, coiled quietly above Chongyao Sect, and fell asleep in a single night. Blazing golden flames spread aggressively across the entire city.

While everyone was stunned, the male lead and female lead seized the opportunity to form seals to bind him there.

Only then did the crowd dare to approach and check. It was at this moment they discovered that Huo Wuyan's original form was actually the ancient divine beast, Yinglong.

The ancestor of dragons.

Even in ancient times, it was a fearsome beast that ruled the land.

This result left almost everyone speechless. No one expected that this violent madman would be such a legendary terrifying figure. No one could unravel the mystery. Fortunately, this madman had been sealed on Chongyao Mountain.

That was the end of the story. Lu Yuanyin dug her nails into her pale fingertips. Thinking of her actions over the past few days, if that person was truly the legendary Huo Wuyan... Her vision went dark, and her scalp went numb. She felt she might be torn apart like that elder dragon king.

Or perhaps even end up worse than him.

Putting herself in his shoes, if anyone dared to scold and humiliate her like that, once she got the upper hand, she would definitely hack that person into pieces. Spare even a single cut, and that would count as mercy. Let alone Huo Wuyan, who already had a vicious temper.

According to her original plan, she was going to erase his memory after the deed and dump him in some remote minor world. Now that she had mistaken the person, dealing with Huo Wuyan would not be so easy...

The more Lu Yuanyin thought, the more her head pounded. She anxiously dug her nails into her palm, and heard light footsteps behind her. Sensing something, she turned around to see a female cultivator standing behind her with an unfriendly expression. "What are you doing standing here? Plotting something again?"

Hearing the commotion, the disciples sitting on the ground also turned around. Seeing Lu Yuanyin in the bushes, they immediately fell silent, their faces unnatural. Then Lu Yuanyin pushed aside the grass with her sword, stepping out of the woods as if nothing was wrong. Dappled moonlight fell on her pale cheeks. Between light and shadow, a flicker of admiration appeared in their eyes.

But then, remembering something, their eyes turned disgusted and contemptuous. One of them said bluntly, "Lu Yuanyin, what were you hiding there for? Making so many people wait for you—don't you have any manners?"

"If you hold everyone up, can you take the blame?"

Lu Yuanyin glanced at that person. Before she could respond, Lu Sisi hurried over, her small face flushed, repeatedly comforting, "A Yin, don't take it to heart. She didn't mean it—she's just too eager!"

Seeing Lu Yuanyin's cold expression, Lu Sisi gently tugged her sleeve and whispered, "Since everyone's here, let's quickly head to the Stargazing Tower. We might even snag a good spot!"

The other disciples also made awkward excuses: "She speaks bluntly like that; don't mind her, Lu Yuanyin."

A female cultivator in blue robes, with a delicate face, forced a stiff smile. "By the way, Lu Yuanyin, do you still have those Returning Spirit Pills you gave me last time? Can you spare two more bottles?"

Most in Chongyao Sect were Sword Cultivators. Apart from those from aristocratic families, most were poor as church mice. The sect's Returning Spirit Pills were usually only given to elite inner disciples. Ordinary disciples like them could only get a few pills a month.

And the alchemists usually looked down on them; even if they brought spirit stones and herbs to their doors, the alchemists might not even be available.

Fortunately, they were on good terms with Lu Sisi. Usually, they could get plenty of spiritual pills just by asking from that trash. That was the main reason they hadn't kicked Lu Yuanyin out of the team.

That trash was useless at everything else, but her alchemy was passable.

Hearing someone take the lead, the others hesitated before speaking up: "I recently got some spirit herbs and was just thinking of asking you to refine them for me. What a coincidence!"

Lu Yuanyin looked at these familiar, hypocritical faces. Her fingers unconsciously rubbed the sword in her hand, feeling an indescribable irony. These people claimed to be upright, but while they ostracized and looked down on her, they also took advantage of her—two-faced in public and private.

They took pills from her and asked her to refine pills, initially giving symbolic spirit stones, but then grew more and more brazen, just opening their mouths expecting freebies.

Using her blood relation with Lu Sisi, they took full advantage, then talked behind her back, gave her the cold shoulder, and even secretly drugged her with that despicable medicine, eventually trying to kill her.

Lu Yuanyin's gaze lingered on their faces for a moment. She freed herself from Lu Sisi's grip and said coldly, "When are you going to pay back the spirit stones you owe me?"

As her words fell, their expressions shifted drastically. There was a moment of dead silence. The Blue-robed Female Cultivator flushed bright red and glared at Lu Yuanyin in embarrassment. "I'm not saying I won't give you spirit stones. Why are you so petty? So small-minded!"

Lu Sisi was surprised. She hadn't expected Lu Yuanyin to refuse them so bluntly. After all, although Lu Yuanyin was eccentric and harsh, she was usually generous, even giving pills for free to those in need.

She frowned, looking at Lu Yuanyin with disapproval, and whispered, "A Yin, for you, this is just a simple favor. We're all fellow disciples; you can help out."

Lu Yuanyin glanced at her and said without changing expression, "Then you can pay the spirit stones she owes me. How about helping her out yourself?"

Lu Sisi choked, at a loss. She turned to Lu Yuanyin with red-rimmed eyes and said aggrievedly, "I didn't mean that, A Yin. Don't be angry..." The Blue-robed Female Cultivator's face became even uglier. She glared fiercely at Lu Yuanyin. "What are you so smug about?! Who wants your crap? Who knows if there's something dirty in your pills!"

"You'll regret this, let's go!"

With that, she pulled Lu Sisi away, then left with a cold expression, while the other disciples snorted impatiently and turned to leave with unpleasant expressions.

Lu Yuanyin had things on her mind and couldn't be bothered with them right now.

As Lu Sisi was pulled up the mountain, as she passed a corner of the forest, she subconsciously glanced back to sneak a look at Lu Yuanyin, who was still standing there. Lu Yuanyin's eyelashes were lowered as she stared fixedly at the longsword in her hand. Her skin was fair, her lips the color of pigeon's blood red, her eyebrows resembled distant mountains, her eyes sparkling with light, and a small beauty mark adorned the corner of her eye.

A few strands of slightly wavy hair fell on her snow-white cheeks. She wore the standard disciple uniform of the Chongyao Sect, with her long hair loose. Although it was extremely simple and plain, even shabby, it was more striking and eye-catching than others decked out in mermaid silk and brocade. Her fair face was almost eerily beautiful under the moonlight.

She couldn't help but recall the scene when she saw Lu Yuanyin at the Hehuan Sect.

Most of the children of the Lu family were born elegant and delicate, fresh and refined, but Lu Yuanyin was an exception. Her appearance was bold and bright. Just standing there quietly, she made the other Lu family members seem dull and plain, even her beautiful second sister appeared dim in comparison.

As soon as she arrived, she easily stole everyone's attention...

As if sensing her gaze, Lu Yuanyin slightly raised her head and met her eyes directly.

Lu Sisi's heart tightened. She felt that Lu Yuanyin seemed even more beautiful than before. She unconsciously bit her red lips, feeling an inexplicable feeling. However, before she could think further, she was already being swept away by the group of disciples, disappearing into the night.

With their departure, the forest returned to its usual calm. The exasperated voice of a female cultivator came from not far away, and Lu Yuanyin rolled her eyes.

In her view, Lu Sisi had always been liberal with other people's money. As long as it wasn't her own money at stake, she would never feel the pain.

Author's Note:

I'm here~

Red envelopes continue tonight~