Transmigrating as the Heart Demon of the Ruthless Sword Venerable – Chapter 9
by Little PandaExiting the Divine Tomb
Clearly Enemies
Yu Zhaoming turned to look at Tang Wenchun. Her eyes flickered, as though she were thinking something less than friendly.
Tang Wenchun saw this and retreated a few more steps, raising her hand with Cangfeng gripped in it. “Yu Zhaoming, you’re not thinking of killing me, are you?! We just fought the enemy together!!”
Yu Zhaoming let out a long breath, almost like a sigh. “Don’t let your imagination run wild.”
Yu Zhaoming’s expression didn’t change. She beckoned to Tang Wenchun. “Come here.”
Tang Wenchun looked at Yu Zhaoming in confusion. Her hesitation, seen through Yu Zhaoming’s eyes, was like a stray kitten by the roadside.
Yu Zhaoming pressed her lips together. “I won’t kill you.”
The two of them were destined enemies, yet hearing Yu Zhaoming’s promise, Tang Wenchun still believed her subconsciously. She dawdled over to Yu Zhaoming’s side and lowered her voice. “That’s right, we’re on the same side. Let me tell you, once we’re inside the Divine Tomb, you have to get a branch of Jianmu1. That’s…”
Before she could finish, Yu Zhaoming raised a hand. Tang Wenchun’s vision swam, the back of her neck stung, and familiar darkness rushed in again.
“You… liar…” Tang Wenchun crumpled and fell forward. In the instant before she hit the ground, Yu Zhaoming caught her, sparing her the impact, then arranged her in a settled position.
The old man watched silently from the side. When he saw Yu Zhaoming finish and rise to walk forward, he finally spoke. “Are you truly not going to kill her?”
Yu Zhaoming said nothing, only pausing. The old man could hold back no longer. “Do you know what kind of place this is? If you kill her, you need never worry about her resurrecting again.”
Yu Zhaoming nodded. “My thanks. I know.”
“Then why don’t you do it?”
Yu Zhaoming’s gaze fell on Tang Wenchun. “I owe her a life, so naturally I must repay one. Though this place holds great opportunities, alas, it seems they are not meant for me.”
The old man shook his head and said no more. He could see that Yu Zhaoming’s mind was made up, and anything he said would be meaningless. He waved his hand. “Go. I’ll keep an eye on this Heart Demon. She won’t know what the Divine Tomb truly holds, nor will she know what you took.”
Yu Zhaoming paused, her gaze sweeping over Tang Wenchun, then nodded and departed.
By the time Tang Wenchun slowly came to again, she found she hadn’t returned to the Sea of Consciousness. The surroundings still looked like the Martial Arena. She widened her eyes and looked around, then rubbed the back of her aching neck. “Has Yu Zhaoming’s Sea of Consciousness changed appearance?”
“Fool.” The elderly voice rang out.
Tang Wenchun turned her head and saw the old man’s phantom, faint and indistinct, as though on the verge of dissipating. Yet the force of his insults was undiminished, showing no sign of fading. “How would a Sea of Consciousness easily change appearance? You may be a Heart Demon, but you truly lack the most basic common sense.”
That was because she wasn’t actually a Heart Demon at all. Tang Wenchun thought indignantly. She gripped her sword and looked at the old man. “Where’s Yu Zhaoming?” She paused, then showed an incredulous expression. “She didn’t just leave me here, did she?”
If Yu Zhaoming had abandoned her here, then how would she ever slay her Heart Demon and reach what supreme realm? Bah, bah, bah!! Tang Wenchun, realizing what she’d actually been thinking, hurriedly cursed herself. Had she grown so used to being killed by Yu Zhaoming that this was what came to mind?
The old man had not intended to answer, but Tang Wenchun’s reaction was entirely different from what he’d expected. He drifted in front of her and studied her.
Tang Wenchun frowned and gripped Cangfeng, putting on a brave front. “What are you going to do? I’m not afraid of you.”
The old man scoffed. “You may be a Demon Seed2, but right now you’ve barely reached the Golden Core stage by borrowing your host’s abilities. Do you think a Demon Seed like you can do anything to this old man?”
“Demon Seed?” Tang Wenchun frowned. In the book Immortal Path Hard to Find, Heart Demons were rare and elusive. If a Main Body slew their Heart Demon while comprehending the Great Dao, the Main Body would gain tremendous benefits—and such beings were invariably great powers in the text. But fortune and misfortune were intertwined; if the Heart Demon gained the upper hand, the Main Body risked having their soul dispersed and being replaced by the Heart Demon. But in none of those cases was anything said about a Demon Seed. Was this some hidden setting, or had the Heavenly Dao of this world she’d transmigrated into automatically filled in the gaps? Tang Wenchun didn’t know, but since the old man had brought up the term Demon Seed, it meant he knew something. With this in mind, she looked up at the old man. “May I ask what a Demon Seed is?”
The old man clicked his tongue in wonder. “I don’t know how much time has passed outside, but a Demon Seed is a curse laid by a Heavenly Demon3. For a Demon Seed such as yourself to not even know what a Demon Seed is… Then how do you plan to kill your host in the future?”
Tang Wenchun lifted her chin. “Why would I kill her? Maybe I’ll find a way to separate from her in the future, just like I’m doing right now.”
The old man shook his head. “Even if you wanted to separate, your host likely wouldn’t agree. All your cultivation and techniques are borrowed from her. Who would allow such a parasite to exist in the world? You and her are bound to a fight to the death.”
Tang Wenchun narrowed her eyes. “You’re a strange one. It’s one thing for you to egg Yu Zhaoming on to kill me, but now you’re egging me on to kill her. I don’t think you’re a good person either.”
The old man laughed. “This old man was never human to begin with, so where’s the question of good or bad? If you want to talk about strange, you’re the strange one, Heart Demon.”
The two of them talked, then fell silent. After a moment, the old man straightened up. “She’s back.”
Tang Wenchun looked up as well. The fog ahead dispersed, and Yu Zhaoming’s figure gradually came into focus. Cangfeng was strapped to her back. She walked closer slowly, seeming to hold something in her hand—it looked like a piece of wood.
Could that be a branch of Jianmu? Tang Wenchun examined it curiously, but the more she looked, the more she felt that the piece of wood seemed to emanate an incredibly sweet fragrance that stirred her impulse to reach for it.
Yu Zhaoming glanced at her and moved away. Denied, Tang Wenchun could only look away and snort softly. “Cheapskate!”
Yu Zhaoming ignored Tang Wenchun and looked at the old man. She bowed slightly, offering the courtesy of a junior. “Thank you, Senior. This junior has gained much, and will now take her leave.”
The old man’s gaze, however, fell on the object in Yu Zhaoming’s hand. He stared at it for a long time before finally shaking his head. “The Divine Tomb is a Divine Legacy left behind by the ancient battlefield of gods and demons. It contains countless treasures. Why would you choose this?”
Yu Zhaoming remained neither humble nor arrogant. “Thank you, Senior. But this Illusion Wood is perfectly compatible with my Shizun.”
So it was called Illusion Wood—not Jianmu after all? Tang Wenchun couldn’t help looking again at the wood in Yu Zhaoming’s hand.
The old man waved his hand and said no more.
Tang Wenchun looked at Yu Zhaoming. “You’re not hurt, are you?” She remembered that when the female lead had entered the Divine Tomb in the original story, she hadn’t encountered this strange old man—and had suffered quite a bit. Yu Zhaoming shook her head. “There was no danger inside.”
Yu Zhaoming hadn’t encountered any danger? Tang Wenchun was full of doubts but could only attribute it to the timeline being different. With this in mind, she moved to Yu Zhaoming’s side. “What do we do now?”
“Leave,” Yu Zhaoming replied. She bowed to the old man. “Thank you for your trouble, Senior.”
The old man nodded. “Are you truly decided? Once this connection ends, there will be no opportunity to return.”
“My mind is made up.” Yu Zhaoming raised her head. “In all the world, what could be more reliable than the sword in your own hand?”
The old man laughed. “Sword cultivators, sword cultivators. You truly believe you can break through everything with that broken sword in your hand? You sword cultivators—past or present, you never change.” After laughing, he sighed several times. “Unchanging is good, unchanging is good.”
Though he was laughing, his voice carried boundless sorrow. Listening to him, Tang Wenchun felt her own emotions surge, a grief welling up in her chest as though a good cry was the only thing that would bring relief.
“Focus.” Yu Zhaoming reached out and grasped Tang Wenchun’s hand.
Tang Wenchun felt Spiritual Energy flowing from Yu Zhaoming’s palm into hers. Her heart gradually steadied, and she murmured her thanks. Something about this felt strange—they were enemies, and sooner or later she would die by Yu Zhaoming’s hand. Yet Yu Zhaoming had helped her several times in a row.
Tang Wenchun, uncomfortable, tried to pull her hand back, but Yu Zhaoming only glanced at her. “Don’t move.” So Tang Wenchun stopped.
“You two juniors—with identities like yours, yet you insist on being so clingy. It’s irritating just watching you!” The old man swept his long sleeves, and a void opened in the Martial Arena. He said, “You can leave through here.”
Yu Zhaoming bowed once more, released Tang Wenchun’s hand, and stepped through first. Tang Wenchun looked back at the old man, who seemed to be simultaneously smiling and crying. After a moment’s thought, she bowed as Yu Zhaoming had done, then hurried after her.
She was afraid of being left behind by Yu Zhaoming. But Yu Zhaoming hadn’t gone far. She was waiting for Tang Wenchun just ahead.
“So you were waiting for me.” Tang Wenchun smiled. Yu Zhaoming gave a small hum of agreement, and the two walked slowly onward.
Tang Wenchun took a few steps, then turned back to see the old man and the Divine Tomb together growing indistinct, as if they were phantoms that could scatter at any moment.
Exceptionally lonely.
“Doesn’t he… want to leave?”
“He can’t leave. He’s going to dissipate.” Yu Zhaoming’s voice was very calm as she answered, looking ahead without turning back. “He is a wisp of a Sword Spirit, and I’m afraid he can’t hold on much longer.”
So this was why the female lead hadn’t encountered anyone when she came to the Divine Tomb later in the story. By that time, the old man had already dissipated.
Tang Wenchun felt a sense of loss. She walked forward a few steps and took hold of Yu Zhaoming’s hand.
Yu Zhaoming turned her head, her face showing some confusion and bewilderment, as though she didn’t understand why Tang Wenchun was holding her hand.
“No one will remember him,” Tang Wenchun said. “How pitiful.”
Tang Wenchun thought: just like her. If one day Yu Zhaoming truly severed her Heart Demon and killed her, the world would have no trace that Tang Wenchun had ever existed. She didn’t want that.
Yu Zhaoming felt there was something behind Tang Wenchun’s words, but she didn’t dwell on it. She only watched as Tang Wenchun’s figure gradually grew faint.
Tang Wenchun noticed this too, and a smile appeared on her face. “Looks like I have to go back to your Sea of Consciousness. I was happy to come out this time. Yu Zhaoming, it was nice meeting you.”
As her words fell, Tang Wenchun dissipated like foam.
Yu Zhaoming looked down at her own palm. The girl’s hand that had rested there was soft and tender, still warm—and by contrast, her now-empty palm felt all the colder for it.
The author has something to say:
Old Man: They’re clearly mortal enemies, yet they’re so clingy! This old man is about to dissipate, and I have to see this sort of thing right before I die!! Get out, get out, hurry up and get out of here!
Yu Zhaoming: We’re not…
Tang Wenchun: We are!
Future Yu Zhaoming: My wife is right.
Footnotes
- A mythical divine world tree in Chinese mythology, said to bridge heaven and earth.
- A cultivation concept: a demonic seed planted within a host to borrow their power, drawing from Buddhist imagery of spiritual defilements taking root.
- In Chinese cultivation lore, a powerful ancient demon entity of celestial rank, capable of casting transformative curses on cultivators.
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