The Passerby Female Supporting Character – Chapter 66
by Little PandaAn Unbelievable Possibility
[Refresher: Cultivation Levels: Qi Refining > Foundation Establishment > Golden Core > Nascent Soul > Divine Transformation > Integration Void Refining > Great Ascension > Tribulation Transcendence]
Song Linlin sat frozen in place, momentarily stunned by the appearance of that figure. She just stared blankly ahead, her mind empty, unsure what to do.
At this moment, it wasn’t just Song Linlin whose gaze was fixed on the black-clothed woman’s back. Tan Bixuan hadn’t deliberately lowered her voice when she spoke, and the others nearby had also heard her. Everyone turned to look at her.
Perhaps sensing that aside from the Guardian Elder, there was no one else within the entire Secret Realm worthy of her attention, Tan Bixuan could feel gazes converging on her from all directions, but she didn’t care about their scrutiny at all.
It didn’t matter if they saw her. They were all people she could easily dispose of anyway, posing no threat to her. Might as well let these people serve as her audience; appreciating the fearful expressions of the weak wasn’t without its amusement.
After all, who would worry about being harmed by stray cats and dogs watching from the roadside?
The priority now was naturally to snatch this Tongyou Fruit. Once she had it, if there was still time, Tan Bixuan wouldn’t mind dealing with these people afterward.
Song Linlin wanted to scoot back, to get as far away as possible from where the battle was about to erupt, but her back was against a large rock, leaving her no room to retreat.
Regarding this person who had suddenly appeared and clearly wasn’t friendly, the surrounding crowd looked at each other in dismay. The vast majority here hadn’t even heard of the Tongyou Fruit, but they figured it must be some kind of rare Heavenly Material or Earthly Treasure.
Otherwise, that person wouldn’t have been surprised enough to speak out loud, revealing herself, and judging by her stance, she was preparing to seize the Tongyou Fruit.
“What’s a Tongyou Fruit?”
“How should I know…”
“Never heard of it.”
Some people were whispering amongst themselves.
A man sitting at the very edge stood up. He had a righteous-looking appearance, and being closest to the suddenly appeared woman, he saw her aggressive demeanor. He immediately stood up, took a few steps towards Tan Bixuan, and questioned loudly:
“Who are you?”
“You don’t look like someone from the Xuanyun Sect, do you? What is your purpose here?”
Watching from afar, Song Linlin’s heart pounded, and she couldn’t help but gasp. This big bro is way too brave! she thought. How dare he approach her at a time like this?!
Charging forward without even knowing the opponent’s background… especially since the woman had managed to stealthily approach this spot unnoticed by so many people. You could figure out with your toes that the enemy’s strength was definitely not weak!
The Guardian Elder had frowned the moment he spotted Tan Bixuan. The opponent had likely sensed the aura emitted by the Tongyou Fruit within the Secret Realm and had specifically come here seeking its source.
Furthermore, the fact that she could identify it as a Tongyou Fruit from a distance indicated her considerable knowledge. Coupled with her ability to arrive silently in the core area, it further proved this woman’s strength was certainly not weak.
Seeing a disciple dare to step forward now, the Guardian Elder immediately shouted at him, “Be careful! Retreat quickly!”
However, just as the Guardian Elder spoke, Tan Bixuan moved even faster. With a wave of her hand, she sent the disciple flying. He was merely a Foundation Establishment stage disciple; facing an attack from someone so many cultivation realms higher, he naturally had no resistance.
Immense power swept over him. The man instantly spat out a mouthful of blood mixed with internal organs. His body flew backward, snapping two large trees in half before finally coming to a stop. Judging by his mangled, bloody state, he was clearly dead beyond dead.
Tan Bixuan had struck so quickly that the Guardian Elder hadn’t had time to intervene before the disciple was hit. Now, his corpse lay on the ground.
The disciples watching from nearby were dumbfounded. Just a moment ago, their companion had been talking; the next second, he was swatted away by a single slap…
Some who were closest to the disciple even had his blood splattered on their clothes and skin; the liquid was still warm.
Tan Bixuan felt no psychological burden for having just killed someone. Dealing with the one who stuck his neck out was necessary. Otherwise, she was about to snatch the Tongyou Fruit; if the group of disciples behind him all recklessly charged forward to stop her, dealing with that many people would take some effort and definitely delay her acquisition of the fruit.
This was killing the chicken to scare the monkeys1—displaying her strength from the start to make the others afraid to approach.
The Guardian Elder’s face darkened. Ten of the Deacons and Elders originally guarding the Tongyou Fruit here had been dispatched to deal with the Beast Tide. They currently lacked the manpower to protect the remaining disciples. He could only shout to the others, “All of you, fall back! Do not come near here!”
Several disciples who had witnessed their companion’s death and were initially determined to help were halted by the Elder’s shout. They extinguished their thoughts of immediate revenge and silently retreated with the crowd.
Retreating now was exactly what Song Linlin wanted. She immediately scrambled up from the ground, pulling Chi Qianning along to withdraw with the main group. This place was too dangerous. If possible, Song Linlin even wanted to run out of the Profound Yin Realm right now, far away from this land of trouble.
Unfortunately, such a large group of disciples couldn’t retreat very far. The core area wasn’t large, and its borders were already surrounded by numerous demonic beasts. They couldn’t hide in the territories of those dominant core area beasts either.
After so many days, the easier-to-handle beasts in the core area had long been hunted down by Ye Tingran and her group. The remaining ones were beasts whose strength was far beyond what this group could handle.
If one or two people slipped in, perhaps the beasts wouldn’t notice. But with so many people now, stepping into those territories would definitely draw out the beasts within to investigate. If the crowd fell into chaos and scattered throughout the core area, then even without the external Beast Tide entering, this group alone would be enough to trigger a beast riot within the core area.
So, while they called it a retreat, these many people actually had nowhere to go. An enemy was ahead trying to seize the Tongyou Fruit, a Beast Tide was behind, and powerful beasts surrounded them. The group merely moved back symbolically by a dozen meters or so before stopping again.
Song Linlin, mixed in the crowd, couldn’t escape now anyway. She simply joined the others in looking forward, observing the battle situation in the very center.
In the heart of the Secret Realm, the Guardian Elder crushed a jade stone, signaling that someone was attempting to seize the core treasure of the realm. This information would quickly reach the Elders guarding outside.
The Guardian Elder looked at Tan Bixuan, releasing his divine sense2 to gauge the pressure3 emanating from her. He confirmed her cultivation realm was the same as his, both at the Divine Transformation stage.
Since they were in the same realm, he wasn’t afraid this young woman could easily snatch the Tongyou Fruit. What worried him most was that she might massacre the disciples nearby.
Tan Bixuan wasted no words and directly charged at the Guardian Elder. She could see that this old man was the strongest existence in the entire Secret Realm. As long as she dealt with him, the others were negligible and easily handled. Then the Tongyou Fruit would naturally be hers for the taking.
In less than the blink of an eye, Tan Bixuan’s figure was already close to the Guardian Elder, slightly startling even him. Her speed was somewhat too fast.
Tan Bixuan primarily cultivated movement techniques and related skills. She attacked quickly, moved agilely, and her escape speed was also very fast. Otherwise, she wouldn’t dare stir up trouble in the territories of righteous factions all the time; successfully escaping after causing chaos also required strength.
With this strike, Tan Bixuan instantly felt like she had hit a turtle shell. She hadn’t broken through his defense at all, unable to injure the Guardian Elder from the start. The subsequent battle would be much more troublesome. This made Tan Bixuan somewhat anxious; she felt she had run into a tough opponent4 this time.
She didn’t have much time. She had to fight fast and end it quickly. Otherwise, the longer it dragged on, the more likely the truly powerful figures from the Xuanyun Sect would arrive. By then, even if she succeeded, she wouldn’t be able to escape.
Watching from afar, Song Linlin and the others saw the black-clothed woman swiftly thrust her sword at the Guardian Elder. Her speed was a blur, seemingly unstoppable. In Song Linlin’s mind, this strike should have shattered his defense in one move.
But less than half a second later, as the sword neared the Guardian Elder, its tip stopped dead against the protective barrier he manifested, emitting a piercing sound upon impact.
Song Linlin was bewildered. Wait, how is this different from how it felt in the book?
Isn’t she the major villain? How is she only this strong?
Meanwhile, the other disciples sighed in relief upon seeing the Guardian Elder easily block her sword strike.
After Tan Bixuan had sent a disciple flying with one slap, the others had worried her strength was too overwhelming. What if the Guardian Elder wasn’t her match? Wouldn’t their own lives be in danger?
Seeing this situation now, those worries vanished. Everyone’s anxious hearts settled, and even the heavy atmosphere eased considerably.
“The Sect’s Elder is truly powerful!”
“I thought she was some incredible figure, turns out she only knows how to bully us weaker disciples!”
“The Elder will definitely defeat her and avenge Chai Yuan-shixiong5!”
…
The crowd discussed animatedly. Song Linlin focused on the distant battle. The black-clothed woman attacked with great momentum, but the Guardian Elder faced her with complete confidence. It was the woman who seemed to grow increasingly anxious as she fought.
Although Song Linlin definitely couldn’t beat the black-clothed woman, seeing her suffer setbacks at the hands of the Guardian Elder made her want to ask:
Is this Hong Ye really that weak?!
Song Linlin seriously suspected that if the fight continued like this, judging by the current situation, the first one to lose would definitely be this black-clothed woman!
No, no, she’s supposed to be the villain in the book, right? How could she be this weak?
Song Linlin pondered silently for a few seconds before remembering: it seemed the book described Hong Ye as being seriously injured when she came to snatch the Tongyou Fruit. That was why she came for it—to recover her strength.
This brought a sudden realization to Song Linlin; she felt she had discovered the truth. So it’s because she’s seriously injured that she can’t exert her full original strength right now, hence why the fight is so difficult!
In that case, the Guardian Elder might be in danger later on.
Song Linlin’s allegiance was, after all, with the sect, so internally, she naturally hoped the Guardian Elder would win. But if things didn’t proceed according to the original plot, then her only advantage as a transmigrator would be gone.
So Song Linlin felt very conflicted now. She didn’t want to see the Elder actually lose, but if Hong Ye didn’t win, who knew how the subsequent plot would deviate.
Meanwhile, at the core location.
The longer Tan Bixuan fought, the more alarmed she became. This Guardian Elder’s strength somewhat exceeded her expectations. Originally, both being at the Divine Transformation stage—with Tan Bixuan at the late stage, plus her speed advantage—she should have succeeded easily. She didn’t know how many people of the same realm she had killed.
But this Guardian Elder was already half a step into the Void Refining stage6, and had even grasped some unique power characteristic of that stage. This made it impossible for Tan Bixuan to break his defense.
Can’t drag this out any longer, or this old fellow will really wear me down!
Tan Bixuan halted her relentless attacks, preparing to use some trump card techniques for a decisive blow.
She was very confident in this move. Of course, if even this move failed to defeat him, Tan Bixuan would choose to flee immediately, giving up on the Tongyou Fruit.
After all, no matter how precious the Tongyou Fruit was, she needed to be alive to use it!
As Tan Bixuan temporarily stopped attacking, the battle suddenly quieted down. But this undoubtedly felt more like the calm before the storm. Everyone knew that the next moment would likely be crucial.
Song Linlin watched the two combatants. “Finally going for the ultimate move?”
Next, Hong Ye should probably win, right…
The sky in the core area suddenly began to darken. Although the Secret Realm was dimmer than the outside world, it was currently noon, the brightest time within the realm. The change in the sky was quickly noticed by everyone. It looked like a very powerful technique; they just didn’t know about its attack range.
If the attack range was very wide, and the battle’s aftershocks reached here, it could probably kill most of the people here instantly.
“Retreat quickly! We’ve punched a channel directly through the Beast Tide! Fall back!” The Elders who had come from outside to rescue them had received the message and finally managed to establish a safe passage just in time, allowing the disciples to leave the dangerous core area first.
This news came at the perfect moment. Everyone scrambled to retreat backward. But there were too many people on site, and the channel maintained by the Elders was too narrow, not enough for so many people to pass through all at once. They could only proceed two abreast.
Song Linlin had been in the front group when they arrived, so now during the retreat, she naturally ended up in the last batch. She could only stand at the edge of the line, watching others retreat dryly.
Just then, the attack Tan Bixuan had been brewing in the core location finally descended. A dazzling flash of light erupted, and the resulting energy shockwave kicked up a huge gust of wind. Song Linlin stumbled, nearly blown away by the gust. Luckily, Chi Qianning stood beside her and managed to yank her back.
Song Linlin clung to Chi Qianning’s arm, still shaken. The people around her had also been affected by the blast wave, all knocked over and falling heavily to the ground.
This attack is too powerful!
Song Linlin turned her head. With an attack of this magnitude, the outcome should definitely be decided. However, the strong wind had kicked up dust and soil from the ground, completely obscuring the situation within.
At this point, no one was pushing to squeeze through the channel anymore. All eyes were fixed on the core location. However, to Song Linlin’s surprise, the black-clothed woman suddenly shot out from the swirling yellow dust cloud, heading rapidly towards the Secret Realm’s exit. She was clearly fleeing.
Song Linlin was shocked. What the hell?! Hong Ye actually fled???
Tan Bixuan herself was terrified at this moment. Damn it! She had used even that move, yet still failed to break the Guardian Elder’s defense—not even a scratch!
This was too terrifying. Without any hesitation, Tan Bixuan fled at her top speed, heading straight for the exit.
However, from within the rolling yellow dust, the Guardian Elder let out a cold snort. “Hmph! You think you can escape after barging into my Xuanyun Sect’s Secret Realm?”
The light of a formation array flared. Countless chains shot out from the sky, moving even faster than Tan Bixuan’s escape speed. The chains instantly clamped onto Tan Bixuan’s limbs. Her entire body’s power was sealed in an instant; she could no longer feel the strength within her, causing her levitating body to plummet to the ground.
Tan Bixuan lay prone on the ground, her face ashen. She knew she had truly been too arrogant this time. That Elder could probably have defeated her much earlier; he had only been dragging things out to capture her alive.
This time, Tan Bixuan likely wouldn’t be able to escape.
Cheers erupted beside her: “The Elder won! We don’t have to run!”
“I knew the Elder could beat her!”
“…”
Song Linlin watched, completely dumbfounded, staring at the figure tightly bound on the ground, hardly believing her eyes.
No way? Hong Ye lost…
Not only lost, but she was even captured alive!
The feeling of the major villain, whom she had considered top-tier in strength, being captured alive so easily was just too absurd. Song Linlin even wondered if her eyes were playing tricks on her. But the continuous cheers from the surrounding crowd told her she hadn’t seen wrong—it really was that woman who had been defeated.
And defeated so thoroughly. She had unleashed her ultimate move, yet her opponent hadn’t even suffered a scratch, while she herself was captured alive by the enemy.
This is just too pathetic…
For a moment, Song Linlin even felt like Hong Ye’s fearsome reputation might have been all hype. Otherwise, how could she have been taken down so easily?
Just then, Song Linlin felt the hand she had hooked around Chi Qianning’s arm being pulled down by a cold palm. No one else had such a body temperature except Chi Qianning. So Song Linlin turned her head, looking at Chi Qianning in confusion, not understanding what she intended to do.
Chi Qianning glanced towards the core location, then turned back to look at Song Linlin and said calmly, “Go somewhere farther away. No, better yet, just leave the Secret Realm. They definitely won’t stop you. Wait outside, I’ll find you later.”
“???”
Song Linlin still wore a questioning look, but Chi Qianning had already started walking towards the core location. Startled, Song Linlin feared others would notice her abnormality and quickly reached out to grab the corner of her clothes, but caught nothing.
The surrounding people were still cheering. Chi Qianning walked past them calmly, and it was as if they were blind, seemingly unable to see her at all. Only Song Linlin remained standing there dumbly, staring blankly at her retreating figure.
Song Linlin saw the ring on Chi Qianning’s finger begin to twist and deform, finally becoming a thin sword glinting with cold light, held in Chi Qianning’s hand.
Suddenly, an idea struck Song Linlin, a possibility that made her afraid to believe it.
She had met Chi Qianning by accident, brought her back to the inn, and eventually to the sect. But none of this happened in the original plot.
Without her involvement, Chi Qianning’s carefully chosen recuperation spot would have been exposed. After killing those two demonic cultivators, she would have had to move elsewhere to recover.
However, Chi Qianning was at the peak of her period of weakness back then. If someone continued to reveal her location, enemies seeking revenge would undoubtedly keep coming after her. This was a reasonable deduction.
Following that, Chi Qianning would constantly fight others. Due to her poor condition, she would suffer serious injuries. Next, she would definitely need to find a way to heal or directly escape her weakened state.
Finally, Chi Qianning somehow learned that there was a Tongyou Fruit in the Xuanyun Sect’s Secret Realm. Under those circumstances, she would definitely come to seize this Tongyou Fruit to escape her weakness and severe injuries.
…
By now, Song Linlin was drenched in cold sweat. She stared blankly at the retreating figure, still clinging to a sliver of hope that she must have guessed wrong.
At this moment, Chi Qianning had already walked out of the crowd and appeared in the core area. The yellow dust kicked up by the previous battle had mostly dissipated. An inexplicable pressure suddenly emanated, covering the entire Secret Realm. Everyone’s gaze turned towards the very center. Even the previously rampaging demonic beasts now tucked their tails between their legs, trembling as they prostrated on the ground, daring not to move.
Veins pulsed on the Guardian Elder’s forehead. He immediately fixed his eyes on Chi Qianning’s direction. Just standing there quietly, she exerted immense pressure on him.
The newcomer wore light-colored robes. He couldn’t clearly see her features or hair color; her entire upper body seemed blurred. Yet, even from this distance, he could feel the sharp sword intent radiating from the silver thin sword in her hand.
Seeing these physical characteristics and the aura she emitted, the Guardian Elder’s pupils suddenly contracted. He recalled an experience from long ago.
He instinctively tried to crush another jade stone in his hand—an emergency contact item to notify the Grand Elder guarding this entire region, only usable when encountering an enemy far surpassing his own strength.
However, his movement paused. His hand closed on empty air. The jade stone had vanished strangely, reappearing in the opponent’s hand, only to be casually tossed at her feet.
The Guardian Elder’s expression turned utterly grim, filled with unprecedented gravity, as he uttered a name: “Hong Ye…”
The author has something to say:
Finally, the identity reveal!7
Footnotes
- 殺雞儆猴 | shā jī jǐng hóu | Lit. “kill the chicken to warn the monkey”; Meaning: To make an example of someone to frighten others into compliance.
- 神識 | shénshí | Spiritual Sense/Divine Sense; an ability in cultivation settings to perceive surroundings beyond normal senses.
- 威壓 | wēiyā | Aura/Pressure; a suppressive force emitted by powerful cultivators.
- 硬茬 | yìngchá | Lit. “hard stubble”; Colloquial term for a tough opponent or difficult person/situation.
- 柴垣 | Chái Yuán | Name of the disciple who was killed.
- 練虛期 | liànxū qī | A very high cultivation stage, lit. “Void Refining Stage”. LP: I checked and it seems the author changed it. Previously ‘Integration’.
- 掉馬 | diào mǎ | Lit. “fall off the horse”; Internet slang meaning someone’s identity or cover has been blown/revealed.
Imagination truly is a wonderful thing