Transmigrating as the Heart Demon of the Ruthless Sword Venerable – Chapter 14

Heart Demon Manifested — Taken Physical Form?

Tang Wenchun: Shocked…

For several days in a row, Yu Zhaoming did not enter the Sea of Consciousness again, letting Tang Wenchun enjoy a few peaceful days.

            

But the Sea of Consciousness was ultimately boring. After Tang Wenchun had exhausted every trick with the transformation arts she’d learned under Yu Zhaoming’s relentless pressure, she felt bored again. She stared at the white mist for a while, then waved her hand and looked outward.

Yu Zhaoming had always been a cultivation fanatic. When not out on expeditions, Tang Wenchun knew from experience that she was either in secluded cultivation, practicing swordplay in the courtyard, or entering the Sea of Consciousness to beat her up. Her routine was exceptionally regular.

Now that she’d angered Yu Zhaoming enough that she hadn’t entered the Sea of Consciousness for days, she was probably meditating in cultivation.

            

The white mist parted, revealing the scene outside. Yu Zhaoming stood respectfully while Xuanjiu reclined on a lounging couch—and this couch was different from last time too, now outfitted with cushions that looked plump and soft. On a low side table sat a potted plant no bigger than a palm, and purple smoke curled upward from a bronze censer. It looked positively comfortable.

Xuanjiu produced her long pipe, took a leisurely puff, and blew out a ring of white mist. The sandalwood pipe stem tapped lightly against the armrest as she narrowed her eyes at Yu Zhaoming.

“Speak. What brings you to find your master today?”

            

Yu Zhaoming stood to the side. She dressed plainly, her posture straight as a pine tree, as though she and Xuanjiu belonged to two different worlds.

She lifted her gaze slightly, and in her eyes was a rare confusion—startling Xuanjiu into taking another puff. She looked at her disciple uncertainly, then released the pipe stem. The long pipe instantly dispersed, transforming into a slender silver-white sword that settled back at Xuanjiu’s waist.

Tang Wenchun watched without blinking, but Yu Zhaoming had long been accustomed to it. Though Xuanjiu was a sword cultivator, unlike other sword cultivators who trained solidly in sword techniques, Xuanjiu had attained enlightenment through the interplay of solid and void in swordplay, fusing illusion arts with the sword Dao to forge a path no predecessor had ever walked.

            

But precisely because no predecessor had walked it, she had fallen into a bottleneck, not advancing an inch in a hundred years.

Xuanjiu sat up straight.

“Your master recalls… you practice the Emotionless Dao, yes?”

            

Yu Zhaoming replied, “The Taishang Emotionless Formula¹—it’s a half-preserved Daoist canon in the Sword Pavilion². Currently, your disciple…”

“Stop, stop, stop. I’m not asking about that.” Xuanjiu pressed her hand to her head, still unable to fathom why someone like her—who enjoyed life to the fullest and followed the Dao of free-spirited wandering—had taken in a disciple so rigid and by-the-book.

Was this the case of villains getting their comeuppance from other villains? …Bah! She was no villain!

            

Xuanjiu gathered her thoughts. “Has your cultivation been blocked lately? Unable to progress? Don’t tell me you want to change your Dao path?”

That last question was practically gleeful.

Yu Zhaoming shook her head. “My cultivation proceeds smoothly. But there is one matter your disciple does not understand.”

            

Her disciple’s cultivation was fine, which meant whatever puzzled her hadn’t affected her Dao Heart, and she wasn’t looking to change paths. Xuanjiu’s face fell with disappointment, her spine lazily curving again, looking as though she might lie back down at any moment. “What matter?”

Yu Zhaoming thought for a moment, then said, “Does Shizun³ remember the demon your disciple spoke of before?”

Her disciple spoke so plainly and casually that for a moment Xuanjiu felt as though her disciple associating with a demon was no big deal. She rubbed her forehead. “…You’re still in contact? Wasn’t it over once the debt of gratitude was repaid?”

            

Yu Zhaoming was rarely a little downcast.

Tang Wenchun couldn’t tell, but Xuanjiu was a sword cultivator with piercing eyes. She could naturally see that her disciple’s shoulders had sunk a fraction. She rubbed her chin—what demon was worth her disciple caring so much? Maybe she should track the demon down and teach them a proper lesson. Killing them would be fine too. It was her disciple who owed a debt of gratitude that needed repaying—what did that have to do with her, the master?

“But that…” Yu Zhaoming paused. “That person doesn’t seem to appreciate the way I’ve been repaying the debt.”

            

Xuanjiu’s brow rose. “He’s dissatisfied with you? How have you been repaying the debt?”

Yu Zhaoming said, “She was simply too weak, so your disciple pushed her every day, instructing her daily…”

Xuanjiu knew all too well what a sword cultivator’s instruction looked like. Her mouth twitched. “So you went to beat him up every day?”

            

Seeing her disciple nod in earnest, genuine confusion in her eyes, even someone as fiercely protective of her disciple as Xuanjiu felt a twinge of sympathy for that nameless demon.

As for that nameless demon, she was currently rubbing her own chin in thought. “Demon, demon… getting beaten up every day… what rotten luck. Why does this sound a little familiar?”

She paused for a long while, then finally said in a trembling voice, “…Th-this unlucky wretch… c-could it be me?!!”

            

Just as Tang Wenchun let out a wail, Yu Zhaoming’s gaze lifted slightly. Her heel shifted, as if she wanted to leave, but in the end she didn’t move. She only asked Xuanjiu, “Shizun, in this situation, what should I do?”

“What do you mean ‘what should I do’! You’re asking your master! Why don’t you come ask me directly!!” Tang Wenchun, having figured it out, was so angry her face flushed red. “I want freedom! I want a physical form! I want to go outside!!”

Yu Zhaoming stood unmoving, just looking at Xuanjiu.

            

Xuanjiu was rarely subjected to such an intense stare from her disciple. She couldn’t help wiping the sweat from her forehead. “Well, this… repaying a debt of gratitude… of course it depends on what the other party wants… but, hmm, of course if he wants to kill someone you don’t have to help him kill. Or if he wants to use unorthodox methods to boost his cultivation, that’s not acceptable either.”

Yu Zhaoming shook her head. “She doesn’t want to kill anyone.” Here, Yu Zhaoming paused, confused. “And she doesn’t want to improve her cultivation either.”

Xuanjiu asked in surprise. “Then what does he want?”

            

Yu Zhaoming answered earnestly. “She wants freedom.”

Good heavens! Her disciple had actually imprisoned the other party to repay a debt of gratitude, beating them daily… no, instructing them… In that moment, Xuanjiu even felt a surge of pity in her heart for that nameless demon.

What sins must they have committed in a past life to receive such a “blessing.”

            

The way Xuanjiu looked at Yu Zhaoming became strange.

Yu Zhaoming looked up, puzzled. “Why does Shizun look at me like that?”

“Disciple…” Xuanjiu placed her hand on her disciple’s shoulder. “We orthodox cultivators, we shouldn’t, um, shouldn’t get too close to those on the demonic path. Even if you’re repaying a debt, once it’s repaid, it’s repaid. He’s been so pitiful… ah, no, I mean, his request is so simple. Grant it—let him live, and let yourself live too.”

            

Tang Wenchun nodded repeatedly, on the verge of tears of gratitude. “Yes, exactly! Let me go, and stop coming to beat me up.”

Yu Zhaoming fell silent. After a long while, she lifted her head, looked at Xuanjiu, and bowed respectfully. “Your disciple understands.”

Since it was her master’s instruction, that Illusion Wood brought back from the Divine Tomb apparently had a more suitable owner now.

            

At this point, Xuanjiu still had no idea what she’d missed. She looked at her disciple’s dutiful demeanor, nodded in satisfaction, and waved her hand. “Off you go, off you go.”

So Yu Zhaoming left, deep in thought. She didn’t walk fast. Passing through the courtyard, she could see a few Sword Sect disciples holding their swords, heads together in conversation. “I heard Han-shige⁴ was heavily punished.”

“Serves him right! Those Alchemy Peak people wanted to stand out, and they dragged us into it, even setting a trap for the Eldest Senior Sister.”

            

“But we really didn’t get anything this time… and the Sect Grand Competition in five years…”

The two disciples’ voices gradually fell. One of them looked up abruptly, saw Yu Zhaoming, and immediately stood at attention, calling out loudly, “G-greetings, Eldest Senior Sister!”

Yu Zhaoming nodded, returned the greeting, and left. Behind her came the disciples’ whispers.

            

“That—that was the Eldest Senior Sister! Why didn’t you say so earlier?”

“I didn’t see her just now… I wonder if she noticed whether my posture was more upright… I’ll go ask the Eldest Senior Sister for guidance on that ‘White Rainbow Piercing the Sun’ technique tomorrow, how about it?”

“!! A brave soul!! Come back and teach me after you ask.”

            

The disciples’ cheerful laughter reached Yu Zhaoming’s ears, and also reached Tang Wenchun’s. “Looks like not all Sword Sect disciples are bad. They really do revere you.”

Yu Zhaoming’s footsteps paused briefly. She turned her head and saw two blue-clad disciples tugging at each other, laughing and jostling as they walked forward. Because the Sword Sect practiced swordplay, disciple robes were designed for practicality, and since they wore out easily, the frayed threads and patches at the hems were clearly visible.

“So poor,” Tang Wenchun said. After a moment she added, “But somehow, it actually feels kind of warm.”

            

Their master was glamorous and seemed rather unreliable, but she took her disciples’ questions seriously and was fiercely protective of them. The disciples were easily swayed and would complain about their sect’s poverty, but their sense of belonging to the sect was also strong.

“Not a bad place, all things considered.”

Tang Wenchun concluded.

            

Yu Zhaoming turned her head. Her footsteps had grown a bit lighter, and if one looked carefully, one might even notice the corners of her lips curving upward ever so slightly. Tang Wenchun naturally didn’t notice. She only tilted her head up, feeling that the unchanging sky within the Sea of Consciousness seemed to have brightened a fraction.

Yu Zhaoming returned to her room. She took out the Illusion Wood she’d brought from the Divine Tomb, studied it for a while, and set it on the table. The moment the Illusion Wood was brought out, that food-like fragrance that tempted Tang Wenchun rose again.

Tang Wenchun couldn’t help swallowing. She hated that she couldn’t get out. This thing didn’t look edible! But why did it smell like chocolate? Tang Wenchun swallowed again, slamming her fist against the ground in frustration. “You take it out and I can’t even eat it!!”

            

But Yu Zhaoming heard Tang Wenchun’s lament. She removed Cangfeng, placed her fingers on her belt, paused, and ultimately didn’t undo it. She simply lay down on the bed fully clothed.

She lay down to sleep—not in the cross-legged meditation posture for cultivation.

“You can actually sleep!!” Tang Wenchun was astonished. She watched Yu Zhaoming lie down, and after a while, Yu Zhaoming’s breathing gradually steadied. That sweet fragrance in the air grew even stronger.

            

Tang Wenchun’s entire mind was drawn to that fragrance. She didn’t understand why this scent could reach the Sea of Consciousness. But ever since she’d transmigrated, she hadn’t eaten a single thing. Now, she had never missed food so desperately—those little snacks she’d once taken for granted, swallowed in a single bite without ever savoring them.

“Smells so good…”

“Smells so good…”

            

Appetite made Tang Wenchun’s mind seem to cloud over. She murmured low, reaching out toward the Illusion Wood. A tangible sensation came from her palm—the rough surface of the Illusion Wood rubbing against the lines of her hand, so cold it sent a jolt through her.

Tang Wenchun looked around, then quickly turned her head. Yu Zhaoming was still lying on the bed, sleeping peacefully.

“I… I’m out?”

            

Before Tang Wenchun could even be surprised, the Illusion Wood quivered gently and suddenly transformed into a bracelet, clasping around her wrist. Tang Wenchun felt her entire body lock into place—a strange, grounded sensation. It was as though she’d been floating before, and only now finally had the feeling of solid ground beneath her feet.

She couldn’t help looking down, only to find that moonlight fell upon her, casting a thin, long shadow that slanted across Yu Zhaoming’s body. Tang Wenchun gazed quietly for a moment, then suddenly slashed a cut on her own finger.

Blood flowed from the cut, crimson red, as though it had always been this way.

            

Tang Wenchun finally realized what was wrong. Right now, she was different even from how she’d appeared in the Divine Tomb—she had a true, physical body.

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The author has something to say:

Xuanjiu: Shocked! My disciple repays debts like this!

            

Tang Wenchun: Shocked! I actually have □□!

Yu Zhaoming: …

Xuanjiu: Little friend, would you like to repay a debt of gratitude?

            

Tang Wenchun: ?? Repay with what? With the physical body I just got?

Yu Zhaoming: …

Back in Chapter 4, it was mentioned: crimson blood flowed from the wound, and perhaps because she was currently a Heart Demon, dark flames burned at the wound, and in an instant, the wound had already healed.

            

So the ordinary bleeding meant she was no longer in the Sea of Consciousness.

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