Villainous Master (15)
After saying this, Song Xuyi realized that something was wrong.
This was too risky.
After all, in the environment of Black Water Pool, teeming with demons and monsters, her own strength was too weak, and going there would only add to Ning Jingyu’s burden.
But Song Xuyi was really worried: Ning Jingyu’s complexion had looked much worse recently. Song Xuyi feared that something had happened to her body. After all, Ning Jingyu’s strength was unparalleled, yet in the original work, Ning Jingyu ultimately met a tragic end, vanishing without a trace, which undoubtedly indicated something suspicious.
Moreover, while others were unaware of the inside story, Song Xuyi knew more. As Ning Jingyu had said, Song Xuyi also felt that the mastermind behind this was targeting Ning Jingyu.
None of the missing women were unattractive, which reminded Song Xuyi of the Demon Lord from the Demon Clan. Back then, Song Xuyi had witnessed her frenzied state when changing skins. Thinking carefully, these women’s disappearances were very much in line with the Demon Lord’s style, especially since the Demon Lord happened to loathe Ning Jingyu.
The demonic energy leaking from Black Water Pool suggested that the external demons had likely allied with the demons within Black Water Pool.
Now, Ning Jingyu was in such a poor state and just happened to encounter a plot targeting her. Even though Song Xuyi understood Ning Jingyu’s strength, she still felt extremely uneasy.
But if she was uneasy, there were other ways to express it; she didn’t necessarily have to follow Ning Jingyu into Black Water Pool, adding to her burden.
Song Xuyi subconsciously wanted to withdraw her hand.
But Ning Jingyu was faster than Song Xuyi. Almost instantly, she reversed her hand to grip Song Xuyi’s.
Their hands only parted after a while. Ning Jingyu’s tightly pressed lips lifted slightly—
“Alright,” Ning Jingyu said softly.
It was her own mistake; her disciple was worried about her and wanted to follow her into Black Water Pool. The tears she had shed earlier were clearly not because Ning Jingyu had said something wrong and angered her but for another reason.
Ning Jingyu’s mood lightened instantly.
However, Ning Jingyu’s decision was not met with agreement from the others.
The disciple surnamed Wang furrowed her brows and pulled Ning Jingyu aside.
They set up a barrier. Song Xuyi couldn’t hear what they were saying, but she saw the disciple surnamed Wang’s frown deepen while Ning Jingyu remained as composed as ever.
In the end, the disciple surnamed Wang seemed to compromise, removed the barrier, and stopped trying to persuade Ning Jingyu. With a frown, she walked to Song Xuyi’s side.
“Xuyi, the Black Water Pool is filled with demons and monsters; it’s no child’s play. You have a bright future ahead; there’s no need to go in there. If something happens to you…”
Ning Jingyu interrupted her: “Rest assured, I will protect my disciple. Besides, even without this incident, I would soon take her to Black Water Pool to find a suitable weapon for her…”
?!
Not only the disciple surnamed Wang but also Song Xuyi widened her eyes: she had heard Ning Jingyu mention finding a weapon for her before, but she didn’t expect Ning Jingyu had planned to take her to Black Water Pool…
This was Black Water Pool!
A treacherous place filled with ancient demons. No one but Ning Jingyu had ever returned, yet from Ning Jingyu’s words, it sounded like a leisurely visit to her backyard…
The disciple surnamed Wang’s expression stiffened. She opened her mouth but said nothing more, then walked away with her sword to give further instructions to the other disciples.
The disciple surnamed Wang, carrying the sect leader’s token, had come with Ning Jingyu. Though no one in Xuanshu Sect had seen her before, carrying the sect leader’s token represented the sect leader. Moreover, she seemed extremely familiar with everything in Xuanshu Sect, organizing everything meticulously. She assigned some disciples to guard outside and even prepared for the worst by handing a recording jade slip to a disciple outside…
On the other hand, Ning Jingyu remained indifferent, looking more like she was going on an outing than facing a life-and-death situation.
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Over the years, besides people from Xuanshu Sect, Ning Jingyu seemed to have no other friends or family. Even if she wanted to say goodbye, she probably had no one to turn to…
Looking at Ning Jingyu’s thin profile, Song Xuyi suddenly felt a pang of sadness. She couldn’t help but approach Ning Jingyu and whisper, “Master, if I become a burden to you, you should just leave me behind. Don’t sacrifice yourself to save me out of a sense of duty. Your life is far more important to this world than mine…”
“You won’t be a burden,” Song Xuyi hadn’t finished speaking when Ning Jingyu turned to look at her: “Besides, your life is extremely important to me as well—”
Ning Jingyu always enjoyed listening to Song Xuyi, especially when Song Xuyi expressed concern. However, at this moment, Ning Jingyu couldn’t help but interrupt her.
“Don’t overthink,” Ning Jingyu said, looking at Song Xuyi’s reflection in her eyes, lowering her long eyelashes: “This is just a small matter. You must trust your master; I won’t die, and neither will you. Everything will be alright.”
After the disciple surnamed Wang finished all arrangements, the three of them entered Black Water Pool through the center of the lake.
Almost as soon as they touched the lake’s surface, the water began to boil. Strange totems appeared faintly in the water, the entire lake shimmering with golden light, and then a massive vortex appeared in the center of the lake…
This was the legendary protective formation of Black Water Pool, established with the blood of countless ancestors.
Standing behind Ning Jingyu, Song Xuyi inexplicably felt that this formation had suddenly come to life, eagerly awaiting their entry…
Before Song Xuyi could react further, a huge suction force came from the vortex, pulling all three of them into Black Water Pool.
In the spinning chaos, countless streams of spiritual power surged toward them. Song Xuyi was blown about, extremely disheveled, until she fell into an embrace—
Ning Jingyu’s embrace was cool. She appeared thin and frail, yet the spiritual power streams seemed to consciously avoid her, forming a vacuum layer around her.
Before long, the three landed on the ground.
Song Xuyi’s face was slightly red.
Even though she had long admired Ning Jingyu’s stunning beauty, seeing this face up close while being held by her felt entirely different. Even though she knew it was inappropriate, Song Xuyi’s heart couldn’t help but race, fearing that Ning Jingyu might notice her nearly explosive heartbeat…
Preoccupied with her own embarrassment, Song Xuyi didn’t notice Ning Jingyu’s slightly reddened ears.
In front of them was a deep, unfathomable valley. At the entrance of the valley were several large, blood-red characters: “Forbidden Area of Black Water Pool.”
This was the true place where the demons were imprisoned within Black Water Pool.
The sky was gloomy, showing a somber blood-red hue. The mountains were formed of black stone, seemingly swallowing all light, with occasional wails emanating from the depths of the valley, appearing extremely eerie.
At the entrance of the valley was a piece of blood-stained cloth.
Upon seeing this cloth, the disciple surnamed Wang’s pupils shrank, her face turning pale instantly: “This is Zeng Li’s cloth.”
Saying this, the disciple surnamed Wang urgently walked into the valley—
Even though Song Xuyi didn’t have much interaction with Zeng Li, it was partly thanks to Zeng Li that Song Xuyi was able to join Xuanshu Sect. So, she quickened her pace as well.
When she first entered, she didn’t notice, but as she walked, Song Xuyi realized something was off—the valley seemed to suppress one’s cultivation, and the deeper she went, the stronger this feeling became.
The canyon was deep, with constant wails of pain echoing around. However, strangely, the three of them didn’t encounter any demons along the way, as if someone had deliberately cleared a path, just waiting for them to arrive.
Even though there were no demons around, the demonic energy grew increasingly dense, making Song Xuyi feel more and more uncomfortable as she walked.
But looking at Ning Jingyu beside her, Song Xuyi couldn’t tell if it was just her imagination, but Ning Jingyu’s complexion seemed to look a bit better than it had outside.
Gritting her teeth, Song Xuyi followed behind Ning Jingyu. As time passed, cold sweat gradually formed on her forehead, and each step felt as heavy as a thousand pounds.
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The demonic energy began to gradually erode her will, causing waves of dizziness in her mind. Song Xuyi bit her teeth and forced herself to act normally, with only one thought left in her mind—no matter what, she couldn’t become a burden to Ning Jingyu.
But at some point, Ning Jingyu in front of her suddenly stopped.
By the time Song Xuyi realized it, she was already being carried on Ning Jingyu’s back.
Song Xuyi bit her lip.
This feeling was too humiliating; being carried by someone made her feel like a child.
Instinctively, she struggled, trying to get off Ning Jingyu’s back, but Ning Jingyu lightly patted her arm—
“Don’t fuss!”
Song Xuyi didn’t dare move again.
She didn’t dare look at the disciple surnamed Wang beside her and could only bury her face in Ning Jingyu’s back like an ostrich, comforting herself—maybe in Ning Jingyu’s eyes, who was thousands of years old, she really was just a child…
However, Song Xuyi’s heart couldn’t calm down. She could only force herself to stay composed and distract herself by observing the surroundings:
The sky over Black Water Pool was always a blood-gray color. The wind, like knives, whistled past her cheeks, the coldness seeping into her bones. Walking through it, it seemed impossible to feel the passage of time, with only endless oppression and ancient desolation remaining in her heart.
Song Xuyi gradually calmed down and couldn’t help but hold Ning Jingyu’s thin back tighter: What kind of feeling did Ning Jingyu face all this with when she entered Black Water Pool alone as a child?
The three of them continued to walk deeper.
It was unknown how long they had been walking when the sounds of fighting came from ahead.
The three of them exchanged a glance and quickly moved forward, only to see Zeng Li being attacked by several demonic beasts—
Zeng Li was in a terrible condition.
Her body was covered with wounds, blood dripping, making it hard to tell if it was the demonic beasts’ blood or hers. Her face was as pale as paper, and she looked like she was about to die, swaying like a blade of grass in the wind, seemingly about to break at any moment.
What was more troublesome was—Zeng Li’s core seemed to be shattered…
A cultivator with a shattered core not only experiences a significant drop in cultivation but also a shortened lifespan.
The disciple surnamed Wang’s eyes almost bulged out of her sockets at Zeng Li’s tragic state. She immediately drew her sword and rushed forward…
Song Xuyi didn’t expect the disciple surnamed Wang to be so powerful. After she joined the fight, the battle quickly turned in their favor, and the demonic beasts fled into the depths of the canyon in a panic…
The disciple surnamed Wang caught Zeng Li, who was about to fall.
Song Xuyi noticed a strange look in Zeng Li’s eyes at that moment, a mix of sorrow and irony. She struggled to get out of the disciple surnamed Wang’s embrace, but the disciple surnamed Wang held her tightly—
“Lili,” Song Xuyi heard the disciple surnamed Wang’s trembling voice. It was filled with pain, and her voice seemed to change at that moment. Song Xuyi felt it sounded incredibly familiar.
However, before Song Xuyi could think further, a dense, bloody mist suddenly appeared. The fleeing demonic beasts’ eyes turned crazed, and they charged at Ning Jingyu like mad—
Ning Jingyu originally intended to confront them directly, but with Song Xuyi on her back, she hesitated for a moment and leaped onto the nearby mountain.
This move put Ning Jingyu right into their trap.
A massive suction force suddenly came from the mountain, revealing a black cave. Thick demonic energy emanated from the spot Ning Jingyu touched. She paused for a moment, her throat moving, and then she was completely sucked into the mountain—
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Song Xuyi instinctively tightened her grip on Ning Jingyu’s waist, and before falling into the cave, she heard a woman’s delighted laughter—
“Ning Jingyu, with 70 demons gathered here in Black Water Pool, even with your great skills, you won’t make it out alive!”
That sharp laughter was exactly the same as the Demon Lord’s voice Song Xuyi had heard before!
It was indeed all aimed at Ning Jingyu.
Song Xuyi’s heart sank, and she instinctively looked back.
There were two people standing on the high cliff.
One was the Demon Lord, and the other…
Before Song Xuyi could take a closer look, her vision spun—
The author has something to say:
Kisses~ Little angels, go to bed early, while I’m still working overtime~
LP: Re-translated on June 05, 2024
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