Villain Master, my disciples all want to backstab me

(I see. Is this the effect of the "Purifying Spirit Smoke"?)

Bai Yuan remembered.

This item, previously featured in the original storyline of "Asking the Immortal," temporarily removes all negative debuffs, even high-level insects like the "Blood Tide Heart-Eating Gu" (likely a typo or a typo), temporarily putting them to sleep. Jiang Rao used this to sever her connection with the "Blood Kite," allowing the player's character to successfully kill their master.

In the game's plot, the "Blood Kite" did not come to the "Yuankong Secret Realm", so there was no scene of Jiang Rao using the "Purifying Divine Smoke" in advance.

It seems that this is the butterfly effect brought about by her time travel.

If that's the case...

"We need to speed up."

Bai Yuan stood up and calmly called out to Ye Shuang'er, "Let's go, Little Green Fish. The environment in this secret realm may change in the near future. To avoid any further complications, we need to hurry."

"Oh!"

Ye Shuang'er stood up and followed.

As for Ji Tingxue, she was sitting on the ground under a tree not far away, resting her eyes. When she heard the noise, she immediately stood up.

The three of them set off again.

……

Although the main goal of this trip is the reshaping technique.

However, Bai Yuan naturally could not ignore all the scattered opportunities and treasures on both sides of the route.

such as……

"Let's go over there and take a look."

"According to the sect's records, this 'Yuankong Secret Realm' was opened once two hundred years ago. At that time, a patriarch of my Qingxin Sect came here and retrieved a 'Biyue Ziyun Flower'. He said there are still a few left there, and they should be ripe now, perfect for picking."

……

"...This place, the ancestor also mentioned, seems to have a 'black crystal mine', which is an excellent material for making magic tools."

……

"And that bamboo forest at the foot of the mountain over there, it seems to be the 'Seven-Turn Mysterious Jade Bamboo'..."

……

Since he had already made up a lie in this regard before, Bai Yuan simply went along with it and attributed all the sources of information to the fictitious "founder of the Qingxin Sect".

Well...it's not necessarily groundless.

After all, the Qingxin Sect was a well-established sect with a history spanning hundreds of years, boasting seven or eight successive patriarchs. While the "Yuankong Secret Realm" had indeed been opened in history, no one had kept records of the cultivators entering and leaving. Even if one were to ask the current leader of the Qingxin Sect about this, she wouldn't be able to explain it.

Because they couldn't fly the sword, they had to run a lot to search for rare treasures. Occasionally, they would encounter monsters in the mountains or forests, and a battle would break out.

It's still quite troublesome.

Ye Shuang'er obeyed Bai Yuan's words and naturally had no objections.

As for Ji Tingxue...

She came here primarily to have fun. With her "Innate Enlightenment Ancient Tea Body," she didn't have many natural treasures to draw upon, and even if she did, the Ji family could provide them. Therefore, Ji Tingxue only shared a token portion of the things she had gained along the way, serving solely as a tool for Master Bai Yuan and his apprentice.

As a result, Bai Yuan felt a little embarrassed.

"Well, actually, I have some knowledge in alchemy and weapon refining. Once these materials are refined into elixirs and magical tools, I'll send some to you, Fellow Daoist Ji."

"No need."

Ji Tingxue initially refused, then paused briefly. "If you want, you can. It's just that the Ji family's residence is quite secluded, and the members of the clan don't like to interact with outsiders. If they offend anyone, I'll apologize in advance on their behalf."

"You're too polite, Fellow Daoist Ji."

While talking.

Bai Yuan's expression suddenly changed, and he vaguely sensed something.

Ji Tingxue beside him seemed to have the same feeling. He directly grasped the hilt of the sword, then turned his head to look to the side in front of him, his eyes slightly closed: "Who? Come out!"

The air was silent for a moment.

Then, they heard a rustling sound coming from that direction. It turned out to be several monks in various clothing, coming from the vast sea of ​​trees and standing in the air about a hundred meters away from Bai Yuan and his group.

Several of them exuded an evil aura, clearly demonic cultivators. The leader, a tall, thin man with a sinister expression, possessed a Golden Core realm. He gazed at Bai Yuan and the other two with a sinister, greedy look, his throat rolling as he visibly swallowed.

"Hey, you three, which sect are you from?"

"This secret realm is very dangerous. It's too dangerous for you delicate little beauties to walk here. How about walking together? That way you can look after each other."

"Don't worry, you don't need to pay any fees. Just send one person to make us happy, hahahaha."

Bai Yuan frowned as he heard the dirty words coming from the other side.

Ji Tingxue's face turned even colder. He raised his hand and swung his sword forward. A bright sword light immediately streaked across the sky and was smashed to pieces by the male cultivator in the Jindan realm with a powerful punch.

"what?"

Ji Tingxue raised her eyebrows slightly.

Bai Yuan spoke softly, "It's the 'Flame Demon Fist' of the Red Flame Sect. This guy must be a disciple of the Red Flame Sect. That sect has many disciples, and most of them are arrogant and evil, committing all kinds of evil, burning, killing, looting, and other crimes. They are truly demons. To deal with such evil demons, there's no need to talk about the code of conduct. Let's all join forces... ahem, just kill them!"

"I see."

Ji Tingxue nodded to show that she understood.

However, Ye Shuang'er secretly glanced at Bai Yuan, with an unnatural expression on her face: Just a joke, "Blood Kite Demon Lord" called others "evil demons".

If these vicious disciples of the Red Flame Sect were before their master was injured, they probably wouldn't even be worthy of carrying her shoes...

Chapter 37 Xia Ji's Eight Slashes

While Bai Yuan and the others were whispering to each other.

Across from them, the eyes of the several Red Flame Sect disciples also turned cold. "Hmph, you're really not going to take my toast! Since you don't appreciate my courtesy, let me, on behalf of your master, teach you a lesson!"

The words have not yet fallen.

A demon cultivator rushed forward, brandishing a heavy ghost-head knife with a terrifying momentum.

Bai Yuan stood there without moving.

When the guy got within 20 or 30 meters, Ji Tingxue suddenly took a step forward, leaving a blurry afterimage in the forest. The next second, he appeared in front of the demon cultivator. In the moment they passed each other, a flash of sword light appeared, and a bloody head shot up into the sky!

"So fast!"

Next, Ji Tingxue drew his sword and charged towards the opposite side.

Bai Yuan ordered Ye Shuang'er to go over and help, while he himself lagged behind a few steps and watched the swordsmanship of the Ji family's saint from the perspective of a bystander.

According to the setting of "Asking the Immortal," Ji Tingxue's swordsmanship is actually a set of ancient swordsmanship with a long history. It is an unnamed swordsmanship created by the ancient "Ji Lingyun" by combining the strengths of various schools. However, it has gradually been lost in the circulation of nearly a thousand years. By the time it was passed down to the generation of "Ji Taimei", only seven or eight moves remained.

——Therefore, she was nicknamed "Xia Ji's Eight Slashes" by players.

Ji Tingxue can use moves other than these eight, but according to the setting, the "Lingyun Sword Technique" focuses on meaning rather than form, and the sword moves are left behind only to facilitate learning for future generations. However, after truly understanding it, they will no longer stick to fixed forms when using it, so it is difficult to replicate.

"What a shame! It would be great if there was a player panel. I could just click on the areas I don't understand, and I wouldn't have to practice on my own..."

Thinking of this, Bai Yuan couldn't help but feel disappointed with his own useless system.

【what? 】

【Why is there something about me? 】

(Shut up, it's your fault.)

It only took half a cup of tea.

Several demonic cultivators from the Chiyan Sect were killed to pieces. The male cultivator in the Jindan realm had one arm cut off by Ji Tingxue and fled in panic. The others were basically killed on the spot.

Bai Yuan suppressed the habit of "touching corpses" he had developed as a player. He simply picked up one of the sword cultivators' longsword with his toes, flicked it with his fingers, and then, with a melodious humming sound, sheathed it. He then handed it to Ye Shuang'er beside him, "This sword is of good quality. Take it and use it."

"Hey, but I already have a handful of 'Spring Rain'..."

"Oh, so you don't want it?"

"……want!"

Seeing Bai Yuan about to retract the sword, Ye Shuang'er quickly reached out and hugged it, saying with a smile: "As long as it is given by Master, Shuang'er wants it."

"Ah."

Looking at the little girl's happy face, Bai Yuan pursed her lips and smiled, then glanced at Ji Tingxue.

If I remember correctly, the sword in the latter's hand was the [Ni Shui Han] left by Ji Lingyun in the past. It was the weapon with the highest attributes in the entire "Asking the Immortal". Compared with it, the swords of these demon cultivators were pure garbage, so there was no need to give them to her as trophies.

……

Two hours later.

Several more monks came to this clearing in the forest.

One of the younger monks was shocked when he suddenly saw the corpses lying on the ground. An older monk next to him walked forward and began to check the condition of the corpses with an experienced look.

"How about it?"

"It's from the Red Flame Sect. I've seen this guy outside before. Ding Xu, an inner disciple of the Red Flame Sect. He just condensed his golden elixir this year and is considered a rising star in the demonic realm. I didn't expect... the person who killed him was very powerful. His moves were quick and decisive, with almost no effort wasted. Such precise control is probably only possible with a few disciples of the Sword Sect."

"Oh? Could it be that the Tianyuan Sword Sect did it?"

The monk who asked the question looked surprised.

The person examining the body hesitated for a moment and shook his head: "It's hard to say, it could be someone from the Demonic Path."

"According to Fairy Yue's divination, the 'Eternal Flame' is in this direction. If we continue to pursue it, we will likely encounter the people who killed them. Be prepared to fight. If words don't convince us, then we should just be decisive and eliminate the root of the problem. Don't leave any future troubles."

"it is good."

Several monks took a short break and then set off again, looking much more nervous than before.

……

Half a day later.

Another group of monks passed by here, following the traces of the spiritual beast "Golden Money Rat" and heading in the direction where Bai Yuan and others left.

……

"has a problem."

After another small-scale conflict, Bai Yuan began to feel something was wrong.

There were likely quite a few people entering the Yuankong Secret Realm with them this time. Judging from the scene they had seen outside, there were probably several hundred cultivators. However, the Yuankong Secret Realm was vast. After these people were scattered throughout the secret realm, it would not be easy for them to meet again. At least the chance of meeting was no higher than that of encountering the demonic beasts within the secret realm.

and so……

From a probabilistic point of view, the number of times they encountered other monks in the past two days was a bit too many.

"Did Jiang Rao do this?"

Bai Yuan thought of this possibility.

In her previous life as a player, Jiang Rao was her favorite heroine. She was very useful both in public and in private.

"Yu Gong" means that no matter how difficult the task, as long as she is given it, she will complete it perfectly. And no matter what secret information, as long as she is asked, she will basically get the answer. She can be said to be an indispensable soul of the player team.

As for "privately"...it means exactly what it says.

As Blood Kite's second disciple, Jiang Rao was older than Ye Shuang'er, and her physique had fully developed. Furthermore, due to her long-term undercover work, she was very adept at playing different roles, especially when portraying her master, Blood Kite. She was able to capture both form and spirit, making her a perfect substitute for Blood Kite's retirement...

Ahem, that’s too far off topic.

all in all.

People like Jiang Rao can be reassuring when they are teammates, but when they are opponents...

It will only give people a headache.

Bai Yuan had no good solution for this, so he could only calmly urge Ye Shuang'er and Ji Tingxue to speed up as much as possible and rush to the pre-determined destination.

at last.

After once again crossing the forest and climbing a hundred-foot-high peak, Bai Yuan and his party arrived at a vast expanse of thick fog. This was exactly where the cave was located, but it was surrounded by layers of mazes. Without knowing the correct incantations and the correct entrance route, even a Jindan-level cultivator would be lost.

of course……

For Bai Yuan, this is not a problem.

Just the back panel.