Li Shiyin felt uncomfortable as soon as she entered the village. She hated that her perception wasn't acute enough to discern what made her so uneasy.
Now as she chased after Tian Wenjin towards the back mountain, alarm bells rang loudly in her mind. A sense of crisis and unease spread through her body, making her even more uncomfortable.
Scenes of villagers smiling at her and their whispered voices kept flashing back in her mind. The more she asked them questions, the more she felt something was wrong, yet still did not know where the problem lay.
The two Sword Immortals moved swiftly, passing through the village to the back of the mountain in just a few minutes. Before Li Shiyin could think carefully, they arrived at the entrance of a cave.
This was probably the Taoyuan Cave. The entrance was not big, surrounded by rubble. The temperature near the mouth seemed high as there was no snow around it. The ground in front of the cave had yellowed grass, tall and lush but parched yellow, as if they had grown healthily but were scorched by a big fire.
One look was enough to know this was a treacherous and bizarre cave, having nothing to do with the beautiful Taoyuan it was named after.
The Taoyuan Cave had no peach blossoms or springs; only rocks and withered grass.
Tian Wenjin stood in front of the cave entrance, seemingly about to head inside.
"Wenjin!" Li Shiyin called out as she approached.
Suddenly a gust of wind blew out of the cave. Thanks to the cold outside, the wind felt warm...and foul-smelling.
A wave of hot stench rushed into their noses and mouths.
Li Shiyin had to stop talking and immediately covered her nose and mouth. Recalling her master's caution, she circulated her mystic arts to keep the foul wind away from her.
Peering past Tian Wenjin into the dark cave, she could see nothing inside at all.
After the foul wind passed, Li Shiyin spoke again, "Wenjin, going inside?"
She did not want to enter, but was unwilling to suggest retreating and lose face as a sword cultivator. Also, this mission was led by Tian Wenjin, so she asked for her opinion first.
"What's wrong? Scared?!" Tian Wenjin said coldly.
"It's not about being scared or not..." Li Shiyin replied.
"You're one of the top ten prodigies of the Dao Sword Sect, a peerless female sword immortal! How could you be afraid?" Tian Wenjin suddenly sneered.
Seeing Tian Wenjin's back, Li Shiyin knew something was wrong with her. This was not something a normal Tian Wenjin would say.
"Wenjin!" She walked up, trying to stop Tian Wenjin by force.
But at that moment, Tian Wenjin in front suddenly moved. Her figure flashed as crisp electric crackles sounded. Bluish arcs of lightning flickered and she disappeared from Li Shiyin's sight into the cave in an instant.
Li Shiyin was too late to stop her.
Tian Wenjin was no weaker than anyone!
When Qin Ran first met Tian Wenjin, he thought she and Li Shiyin would form the most stunning pair of beauties in the sword cultivation world. Li Shiyin was a peerless genius of the sword path, and so was Tian Wenjin!
Although Li Shiyin was personally nurtured by Qin Ran while Tian Wenjin just grew unfettered like wild grass, their strength was not necessarily higher or lower if they really competed. One comprehended Sword Qi and the other comprehended Sword Intent.
Seeing Tian Wenjin enter the Taoyuan Cave, Li Shiyin hesitated briefly before following her in a rush into the pitch-black cave.
The Taoyuan Cave was a gourd cave. That is, the entrance looked very small but the interior was huge. Dashing from the tiny mouth into the interior darkness gave a feeling of sudden openness and vastness.
Li Shiyin's Qingxing Sword was already unsheathed. Holding the sword out front, she saw Tian Wenjin in the darkness ahead standing with her head lowered, blue electric currents crackling erratically around her body.
"Wenjin?" Li Shiyin called out softly. Tian Wenjin did not respond.
She took out an Illumination Pellet from her Universe Bag, tossed it upwards, and struck it with a sword qi. The pellet burst open and bright light flooded the cave, dispelling the darkness and illuminating the interior.
When the Illumination Pellet shattered, Li Shiyin reflexively narrowed her eyes. When she opened them again, she saw Tian Wenjin in front turning and attacking her with a sword.
She defended with her sword and took a quick look around the cave. What she saw made her hair stand on ends!
The entire Taoyuan Cave was densely covered in white spiderwebs, layers upon layers turning it into a spider's nest.
In the web-filled cave, ahead on open ground was a pile of white bones shattered beyond recognition. Hanging from the ceiling and suspended in midair were one after another human corpses entangled in spiderwebs!
After entering the village, Tian Wenjin's behavior gradually became abnormal. It was only after the dark-faced man took the village chief away and talked to her face to face that she completely acted erratically. She seemed to be under some influence, control, manipulation.
Just now, Li Shiyin's sword qi provoked her and she immediately went berserk...
"Why are you so lucky?!" she shrieked.
Blue electricity split the darkness, striking at Li Shiyin's vitals.
Li Shiyin was both frightened and angry. What on earth happened? Why were there so many corpses? What on earth happened to make Tian Wenjin become so strange? Unable to unsheathe her sword in time against this strike, she could only use the Immortal Seeking the Way to swiftly dodge.
But Tian Wenjin was no pushover either. She had her own advantages. While Li Shiyin had immortal arts like the Immortal Seeking the Way, her movement technique was also formidable. Bolstered by lightning-fast speed, she could chase after Li Shiyin's evasive Immortal Seeking the Way and attack her with the sword.
Fearing injury to Tian Wenjin, Li Shiyin only used one layer of the Battle Spirit Method to fight back, imbuing it with sword qi while staying on the defensive. The two of them began an intense battle in the spider cave.
Perhaps due to her condition, Tian Wenjin could not utilize Sword Intent. And Li Shiyin also did not go all out, without actively attacking. For a time, the battle was anxious and intense.
The sounds of thunder, slicing qi, explosions, and rocks shooting through the air reverberated loudly in the echoing cave.
After prolonged entanglement with Tian Wenjin, Li Shiyin still could not find a way to end the fight.
But at a certain moment, a strange force suddenly targeted Li Shiyin's sea of consciousness. Her primordial spirit within perceived it, stood up from the sea of consciousness, and ripped the force apart with a grab.
"A mental attack!" She finally confirmed, "Wenjin doesn't have a primordial spirit, her soul isn't as strong as mine, she must be under some mental control!"
Realizing this, she took out the Awakening Pill left by Qin Ran from her Universe Bag. Finding an opportunity in close combat, she popped the pill into Tian Wenjin's mouth.
"Mental attacks, primordial spirit attacks, soul attacks..." Li Shiyin muttered inwardly, "When will that lousy master procure primordial spirit divine abilities? Always passively taking hits."
After consuming the Awakening Pill and fighting Li Shiyin for a while more, Tian Wenjin gradually regained clarity. Recalling her memories from this period, she realized she had been foolish.
She quickly sheathed her sword and apologized to Li Shiyin, "Sorry, I slipped up for a moment and fell under control."
"It's fine," Li Shiyin shook her head, also relieved to see her awake.
Without further words, Tian Wenjin looked around at the horrifying scene in the spider cave.
"That thing just tried to control me too, it must be inside this cave." Li Shiyin said, seeing that Tian Wenjin had sobered up.
Tian Wenjin nodded. Borrowing the light from the Illumination Pellet, she carefully examined every inch of the cave. At one point, she fixed her gaze on a certain spot...
This was an outer cave of a gourd cave, so there should be an inner cave too.
The spider must be in that inner cave, hidden behind the webs at the cave mouth!
She signaled Li Shiyin with her eyes. Li Shiyin understood, circulating sword qi which flashed like a rainbow. With one slash, the barrier between the inner and outer caves was severed!
Suddenly, sharp screeching sounded, painfully grating on their ears.
Li Shiyin unconsciously retreated. Looking ahead in the Illumination Pellet's light, she saw a terrifyingly large black spider nimbly crawling out of the inner cave on white webs, quickly scurrying up to the ceiling.
"It's not a Rat-Catching Demon Spider!" Tian Wenjin said in a deep voice.
young master of the Shen family—a figure of immense power and wealth beyond measure—and awakened the "Destined Ultimate Villain System"! His starting scenario? Running into his icy fiancée who shows up with a mountain-descending divine doctor to break off their engagement. The divine doctor arrogantly taunts: "What does your Shen family have besides a bit of stinking money? You're not even worthy of tying Qingxue's shoelaces!" Shen Fei just smiled. He completely defied the usual script: "Fine, I agree to break off the engagement. Also, notify the finance department to withdraw all investments from the Su family." Minutes later, with its capital chain severed, the Su Group teetered on the brink of bankruptcy! The once aloof and proud ice queen CEO was thrown into utter panic. That very night, she went to Shen Fei's villa, casting aside all dignity to beg and plead desperately... From then on, in this world teeming with Sons of Destiny, Shen Fei embarked on a path of extreme dimensional suppression! A mountain-descending divine doctor? Peerless medical skills? Shen Fei: "Reporting you for practicing medicine without a license! I'll gladly take your ancient medicinal cauldron and twin sister assassins." The Crooked-Smiling Dragon King? Commanding a hundred thousand soldiers with a single order? Shen Fei: "Illegal assembly and suspected treason! Let a fleet of attack helicopters sanitize the area and teach you what the state apparatus really means!" A reborn tycoon? Knows all the golden opportunities of the next decade? Shen Fei: "A trillion in capital to reverse and pump the stock market, making you blow your margin and jump on the very first day of your rebirth!" What Chosen Ones? What bearers of Heavenly Fortune? In Shen Fei's eyes, they're all just chives (i.e., suckers/marks) waiting to be harvested! Shen Fei: "Sorry, but as the Destined Ultimate Villain, I don't play by the rules of honor. I only play the game of dimensional suppression."
g Yu was preparing for retirement when her organization decided to eliminate her. She transmigrated to a zombie apocalypse world. However, a tiny unexpected situation occurred: She somehow transformed into an adorable little girl?!
ap a wealthy young lady? Or else I'll be eliminated by the system? Ye Feng, who awakened the Kidnapper System, originally wanted to live a peaceful life but never imagined he would become a kidnapper of young women. However, after some time, he discovered that all the girls the system ordered him to kidnap were far from ordinary. "Big brother Ye Feng~ You've kidnapped my heart, and now you're not allowed to leave me ever again~" "Ye Feng~ You kidnapped me back then, now it's my turn to capture you♡" "Little Feng, you're mine! You can only be mine!" "Ye Feng, none of them deserve you. Only I love you the most♡" ... This is madness, they've all gone mad! Wait, what? Why are all the girls I kidnapped yanderes?!
ive and Ruthless] Before his transmigration, Ye Xuan was playing a game called "Severing Emotions to Attain the Dao." The game's core wasn't about leveling up by fighting monsters, but about conquering various "bad women" with wicked personalities and cold, fickle natures. There was only one method to conquer them: stay unwaveringly by their side, then die at a critical moment, driving them to madness after losing the protagonist. The higher their level of regret, the higher the player's score. To dominate the server, Ye Xuan conquered all the bad women. In the early stages, he showered them with boundless tenderness, only to choose to sacrifice himself for them later, making them weep bitterly and drown in regret. Among them were: Xia Lengyue, the unfaithful immortal wife who chased after powerful men and discarded her husband like trash. Ye Qingcheng, the Demonic Venerable of the Joyous Union Sect, who appeared pure and innocent but was, in reality, promiscuous. Wu Lingxiao, the Empress of the Great Xia Dynasty, who lusted after men and loved maintaining a harem. Bai Qiangu of the Endless Demonic Sect: a bloodthirsty mass murderer. However, when the protagonist transmigrated into the game world, he made a horrifying discovery. Eight hundred years had already passed. The bad women he had conquered had now each become deities and revered ancestors. Faced with the endless stream of toxic women coming for him, Ye Xuan could only rely on his god-tier acting skills to carve a path of survival through this world of treacherous women.
