反派师兄不想入魔

But Shixiong Doesn’t Want To Be A Villain!

Written by White Heron Loves To Eat Fish

Translated by Traven

This is a fan translation that I am doing in my free time. This is my first translation, so please do have mercy on your critiques. I do not claim to be good at this. I am also reading this as I translate it, so I’m also reading along with you all.

I am not earning money for this, and I do ask that redistribution does not occur. Please support the author by buying the novel!

Chapter 1 - I Became a Cannon Fodder Villain

Bai Fanlu was awakened by pain.

He had been sleeping soundly, feeling dazed, he wanted to turn over when he felt a sudden burning ache in his shoulder. He reflexively wanted to turn on the lights, but his hand fell empty. Falling back onto the bed, the back of his head hit the hard bedboard below with a loud thud.

Bai Fanlu’s eyebrows furrowed and his brain felt like it had been shaken into a gong, clanging non-stop.

“Shixiong, are you awake? Lie down and don’t move around…” It was the voice of an unfamiliar young man.

When Bai Fanlu heard this, his pounding brain froze for a moment.

What did he call him?

No, that was not the point. The point should be, who was this person? How did he get in his house?

Bai Fanlu squinted his somewhat myopic eyes, and tilted his head to look at the man. He saw that the man had serious sword-like eyebrows and bright eyes. He was white-clad with his long hair tied up. No matter how hard he looked, this man inevitably seemed like he was the young master in a historical drama holding a folding fan.

However, before he could figure out the identity of the other party, an even bigger surprise came—he seemed to have been robbed. The walls were empty and all the furniture and appliances were gone. Even the Simmons mattress lying beneath him had disappeared in his sleep, leaving only the bare, hard bed board.

What a merciless thief, not even leaving him a pillow…

Bai Fanlu suddenly thought of something and hurriedly reached out to the back of his head. He wasn’t able to find what he was looking for, as the movement brought an even more intense pain to his shoulder. Bai Fanlu couldn’t hold back the tears that welled in both of his eyes.

It was the stranger who distracted him. It was then that he felt as if a large area of skin on his right shoulder had been burned by boiling water and was both itching and aching in severe pain.

It was really too painful… What was going on?

“Shixiong, your wound is bleeding!” The man spoke with urgency, raising his hand as if he wanted to touch him, but was too afraid to.

Bai Fanlu’s eyes were foggy, and he could see the figure wandering back and forth in his field of vision, only making him feel dizzy and suffocated. He blinked, feeling a wisp of warm liquid slide down his cheek before his vision was finally restored to clarity.

“Shixiong, you…” The man was dumbfounded when he saw the ‘tear marks’, then his face sank severely. “Damn! How could Shidi be so cruel? Shixiong must be in so much pain, I’m going to go look for Shizun.”

He left like the wind and disappeared without a trace.

The words Bai Fanlu wanted to ask were cut off. He blinked and blinked again before lifting his hands to vigorously rub his eyes.

He saw it right, the door was still closed. The man really did just disappear suddenly from his place.

Bai Fanlu swallowed with a twitch of his lips, moving his foot to probe the wooden lines along the edge of the bed. He then used his less painful left hand to reach up at the side of his head. His phone and headphone cord were both gone.

This is a dream…

It must be…

Bai Fanlu took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and deliberately ignored the pain from his trembling right shoulder. He tried to ‘ostrich’ from reality.

When he thought he would be waking up from a dream, a sudden strange scent lingered by his nose. Immediately after that, a stream of wind that felt like light rain and was cold like a thin layer of snow gently covered his right shoulder. Almost in a flash, most of the pain in his shoulder had disappeared.

Bai Fanlu opened his eyes in surprise to a man standing quietly at his bedside.

The man was dressed in blue robes, with long silvery-white hair that cascaded and flowed like a waterfall behind him. A few strands hung down beside his face, making his eyebrows and eyes look even more beautiful and pure. Not to mention there seemed to be a celestial aura surrounding him.

At that moment, his right hand lifted to draw several times in the middle of the air, strands like fog condensing into form. This stunning special effect dazzled Bai Fanlu completely.

...An immortal!

Lying on the bed, Bai Fanlu looked devoutly at the immortal and couldn’t look away.

However, he was injured and weak at the moment. In the eyes of the immortal and the man in white who had returned after him, the expression he revealed seemed like a different kind of emotion.

A few moments later the immortal pulled back his hands and placed them behind his back.

“How does Mo’er feel now?”

Worthy of being an immortal, even his frown seemed poetic—like a song in autumn under a maple tree, brows furrowed like a cold mountain breeze.

His voice was also very beautiful, and though it was cold and detached, it was also gentle and delicate in tone. Due to an occupational habit, Bai Fanlu liked to listen to how people spoke to judge their character through their tone. With this perfect control of voice, he began to favor the immortal even more.

But, was this ‘Mo’er’ calling him?

Bai Fanlu couldn’t figure out the situation, so he didn’t dare respond hastily, and instead just hesitantly nodded his head.

Upon seeing this, the white-clothed man cupped his hands toward immortal and said, “Shizun, Shidi clearly could have stopped, but was deliberately aggressive and hurt Shixiong to this point. It’s difficult to convince everyone. Shizun, please look into it!”

Bai Fanlu didn’t understand what he was saying, but he somehow felt that the line had a strange sense of familiarity.

“I have made my decision,” the immortal said without shaking or nodding his head after listening to the man in white. “Chongyu, go back first and don’t be so reckless next time.”

“...Yes, Shizun.” The man in white made a salute with a fist placed in his open palm and seemed as if he still had something to say, but still closed his mouth, retreated as he was told, and cast one last look at Bai Fanlu before leaving.

Bai Fanlu didn’t notice the glance. He was still trying to figure out the connection between the names ‘Chongyu’, ‘Mo’er’, and ‘Shizun’, along with their conversation just now.

“...Shizun…?” By some chance, Bai Fanlu tried calling out.

The immortal looked down at the disciple on the bed and slightly nodded, “I understand.”

Understand what? Bai Fanlu was so confused, he didn’t even know the meaning as to why he called out.

As he was struggling to think about what to say next, suddenly the immortal raised his left hand, a myriad of red lights began to converge to the center of his palm. They quickly condensed into a red pill which slowly floated down before Bai Fanlu’s eyes.

The fragrant smell was assailing!

The distinct smell seemed to find its way in an instant and gathered on the pill. Before Ban Fanlu had time to react, he saw a flash of red light and the pill disappeared from sight.

At the same time, his mouth seemed to contain something cold and smooth, tasting astringent and fishy, strangely fishy, but also sweet. It was as if he had just eaten a strawberry and bit into his tongue in the process.

Bai Fanlu frowned and gagged in his throat, but was still half-forced to swallow it.

Seeing that he ate the pill, the immortal said lightly, “About Yun Zhan, I know how you think, so I only punished him for three days in confinement as a minor punishment.”

“Now, according to the customs, it’s a foregone conclusion that he will take over as the Sect Leader. I will now take him to Fuxi Mountain. For the time being, you will recuperate.” After saying this, the immortal turned into smoke and left in a flutter.

The pill began to revolve in his abdomen, gradually dissolving into a stream of heat, pouring into his limbs and bones, a deep and tremendous force seemed to rise and surge everywhere, becoming absorbed into his body…

Bai Fanlu was unable to appreciate this kind of wonder. He was stunned when he heard the name ‘Yun Zhan’ from the immortal.

After a long time, Bai Fanlu was given a start, and he abruptly sat up from the bed.

Yun Zhan!

He was the male protagonist from the novel ‘The Book of Immortals and Demons’ that he had just finished reading! The male protagonist had a white-haired Shizun named Ling Qingzi. Ling Qingzi’s second disciple was named Wang Chongyu, and his eldest disciple was called Bai Fanlu, formerly known as Bai Mo.

Bai Fanlu pinched his thigh hard with his right hand. His shoulder didn’t hurt much anymore, but now his leg was very painful.

It was not a dream! He really transmigrated into the world of the novel!

Bai Fanlu got out of bed and began to roam the house like a wandering soul. In the small room, everything was empty. There was only a small table by the corner of the window, a few paintings and calligraphy were hung on the wall, and a few landscapes were depicted, but many of which were left blank.

His hand brushed the edge of the table where an unfurled scroll lay with no ink upon it. There was also a brush next to it, but it seemed untouched.

Bai Fanlu walked over to the window, pushed it open, and looked outside. Before him was the highest point of the Jade Peak, the Qionglin Forest that flanked it, and beyond the misty Yanlan, was the Lingjue Summit.

 This was the novel’s summary of the four realms of the Immortal Realm. Bai Fanlu looked into the distance at the tumbling sea of clouds, feeling the celestial wind blowing past, a sense of perplexity and unease settling in his heart.

Did he really become the Bai Fanlu from the novel?

He inclined his head and placed his right hand on the window lattice. It was white and seemed bloodless, a half-hidden, light purple silk ribbon floating on his wrist. This must be Cangjin, the sealed magical weapon used by the original in the novel. It would be able to gradually change its illusory shape as the owner’s heart changed. The ribbon had already begun to change, the second strand slightly growing in size.

The reason was that the Bai Fanlu in the novel was seriously injured in the face of more than a thousand disciples from the eight schools of the four mountains at the Sword Summit for appointing the next Sect Leader.

And it was none other than the male protagonist Yun Zhan who hurt him.

Thinking of the plot, Bai Fanlu let out a sigh. Originally, he came into contact with the novel because it was chosen to become a radio drama, and he happened to be involved with post-production. As a result, when he saw that the name of the second character on the dubbing list was the same as his, Bai Fanlu couldn’t help but stay up all night just to finish reading the novel.

In fact, at the beginning of the story, the original Bai Fanlu in the novel did not disappoint him. As the chief disciple of the largest immortal sect in the book, not only was he excellent in cultivation, but he was also modest and magnanimous. He could be called a model for the new generation of disciples in the whole cultivation world. He was an idol in the eyes of his younger martial brothers and sisters and the successor who his Shizun had placed high hopes on.

It was a pity that this eldest disciple who was good at everything had questionable tastes. He was only interested in the male protagonist, Yun Zhan.

Yun Zhan was cold-hearted. He was rescued by the original Bai Fanlu when he was young, following and flirting with his Shixiong all day long, enjoying an immeasurable amount of love and care. However, one day he suddenly became hostile. Not only did he severely injure the original Bai Fanlu with an immortal weapon at the Sword Summit, but he also had an affair with a female immortal in front of him, and even looked coldly upon the original Bai Fanlu when he was under siege…

The original Bai Fanlu was unable to endure this sudden change in treatment, his state of mind was shaken and he fell into the abyss of the Endless Realm. He lost his mind and became a murderous Demon Lord, countless wronged souls becoming lost under his hands. Yun Zhan just used this as an excuse to unite the great immortal sects and use the Demon Killing Array to deal with the original Bai Fanlu, causing him to suffer the destruction of his body and soul, dying in hatred at the hands of his beloved.

Generally speaking, at this time in the story, the male protagonist would usually come to realize his mistakes, beating his chest in regret to chase his ‘wife’ to the crematorium, or even be reborn to see her. However, as Bai Fanlu held onto that idea and looked down patiently to see, he only found that the plot turned into a shocking reversal.

It turned out that the original Bai Fanlu in the novel was an actual genuine villain. After being awakened by the Demon Clan’s Great Elder, he hid his identity as the Demon Clan’s young master and endured the humiliation just to take revenge for his demon mother who perished in the war between immortals and demons.

As it turned out, the original Bai Fanlu had only used his Shidi, Yun Zhan. The reason why Yun Zhan treated the original Bai Fanlu that way was because he had already figured out the villain’s plot and deliberately set up a game to force him into chaos.

In the end, the truth came to light, Yun Zhan killed the villainous Demon Clan Elder, successfully saved the common people, and became the most revered in the Immortal Realm.

So… This was not a story about tragic love, but a story of how a man becomes a hero?

Bai Fanlu braced his neck until the end and almost spewed out a mouthful of blood when he finished. He felt like his heart was dying.

In the novel, the eldest Shixiong who was as gentle as jade succeeded in becoming a demon lord committed an innumerable amount of murders and he became fully blackened. It had to be said that the author’s writing was really fascinating, and Bai Fanlu always felt his hair stand on end when his name constantly appeared between the lines of the sea of corpses and blood.

But Bai Fanlu was not particularly reconciled. He had suffered internal injuries after finishing a novel for the first time. He just couldn’t let it go. Therefore, among the sea of comments denouncing the male protagonist for being a scumbag or the author's cheating feelings, a unique comment appeared to justify the name of the eldest Shixiong.

Writing more than a thousand words, he criticized the book from beginning to end, criticized the author for abuse, and pointed out that even if the eldest Shixiong himself was a demon, how could he be so powerful and self-disciplined and yet become so trapped by love making him muddled to the point of indiscriminately killing people? The author’s logic didn’t make any sense, and the ending seemed forcibly turned about.

The long comment was so sincere and seemed very heartfelt. Soon enough, the comment at the bottom began to stack so high, the review being pushed up to the top of the reviews list in less than half an hour.

Among the dense replies, a green font became particularly eye-catching.

Cloud Traveller: “Hello, thank you for the long comment. I see you are called Secular Brahma Heart. Dare I ask, how can you cultivate a Budda’s heart in the secular world? If you were Bai Fanlu could you keep your original heart?”

Bai Fanlu let out a laugh. It’s just reading. After venting he was over it, he didn’t have many more thoughts. Besides, he was Bai Fanlu.

He originally read the mindless abuse novel for the male god voice actor, Ben Ming. After all that, he thought it was time to go listen to the voice of that male god to recover his blood loss. Bai Fanlu left the story behind him, and happily turned on his mobile phone, and went to his bed to listen to the audio drama. The male god’s voice acting never failed to make him feel like he was treading on air.

Ben Ming had a voice so exceptionally pure and provocative that people would want to bear him a monkey child as soon as they heard it. However, Ben Ming had never taken over a role like Yun Zhan, who was both righteous and evil. Bai Fanlu couldn’t figure out why he was willing to play the role of such a scumbag. It was said that voice actors were strange, so he didn’t know what kind of voice would portray Yun Zhan.

Bai Fanlu had been listening and thinking when he fell into a deep dream. And when he woke up again, he had already ended up in this world.

Transmigration? That was fine, but he wasn’t able to appear before he was injured and had to deal with this hellish pain for nothing.

Finally straightening out his thoughts, Bai Fanlu let out a long and heavy sigh, and suddenly wanted to find a mirror to look at himself. He reluctantly accepted the fact that he had transmigrated and wanted to at least know what he looked like now.

The author of the novel was strange. There were many descriptions of the appearance of each character but happened to pay little attention to the description of the eldest Shixiong. There was only one instance mentioned when the original Bai Fanlu went down the mountain and had to disguise himself as a woman. When he was walking on the street he was almost molested, so he believed he should be good-looking.

Bai Fanlu couldn’t find a mirror and became frustrated. However, his right hand seemed to know what he wanted, moved on its own, and drew a symbol out of thin air, conjuring a mirror in front of him.

With the appearance of the mirror, Bai Fanlu suddenly heard a mechanical sound in his mind.

[ Congratulations on activating the system function. This ‘Reader’s Brain Fragment’ is a reward. Welcome to the world of ‘The Book of Immortals and Demons.’ ]

With the experience of transmigrating into a novel, Bai Fanlu was calmer this time, but the medicinal voice seemed to understand his thoughts, and there ended up not needing to question it because the voice sounded again.

[ The gate of time and space has closed. You cannot return to the real world until you complete the system goal. ]

“...”

[ Your goal is to not forget your original heart, stick to the truth, and not become a villain to the end. ]

Listening to this slogan-like wording, Bai Fanlu rolled his eyes powerlessly. The setting was contradictory. How could the novel end if he did not become the villain?

[ There is more than one villain. As long as the male protagonist defeats all the villains and brings great peace to the world, that could be the ending. ]

Bai Fanlu thought of the Demon Clan’s Great Elder who used the original Bai Fanlu as a pawn and understood.

As long as I don’t become a villain, I’ll get a pass? Bai Fanlu thought, to confirm the question.

[ Yes. ] The voice was straightforward.

It didn’t matter if the plot changed?

[ That’s right. ]

Getting a positive answer, Bai Fanlu lifted his lips. That was much easier to do!

He was a peaceful person, and had always been optimistic, and was able to adapt to a new environment quickly. Now that he had this idea in mind, most of his worries went away.

The mirror then flickered and gradually showed a clear image. Bai Fanlu saw a man dressed in white, similar to Wang Chongyu. He assumed that this was the outfit of the sect disciples, and his face, which was no longer familiar, was himself.

[ But I’m afraid it will be difficult. ] The voice suddenly said. [ The story of the plot has its own inevitability and rationality. ]

That sounded weird and unpredictable. Bai Fanlu shook his head and smiled. The white-clothed person in the mirror had long hair as dark as ink that was slightly swept upward. With a brilliant smile, his clear and soft face showed an extraordinary demeanor that could make people secretly startled.

Turning the mirror away, it shattered into a myriad of bright light fragments. Bai Fanlu walked through the light fragments with confidence.

Isn’t it just not becoming a villain?

Even though the original Bai Fanlu was born as a demon, his nature wasn’t bad. There was a clear distinction between kindness and resentment. It was all because the male protagonist provoked him to become a villain and murderer. In that case, he would just stay away from the male protagonist to avoid disaster. Can't he just not provoke him and hide?

As for the Demon Clan’s great elder, even without an obedient chess piece, there would be other ways to make trouble. Otherwise, how could he be considered the competent ultimate villain?

The world was so big that he could go find a happy place to live a life hidden from the world and then he could take the opportunity to experience a life free and unfettered while waiting for the male protagonist to become famous. Won’t that be wonderful!

After figuring out this juncture, Bai Fanlu planned to cast a teleportation spell to get down the mountain by following the method provided by the mirror. But after thinking about it, disappearing inexplicably would definitely make people suspicious. In order to avoid complications, he had to leave a message for someone. Otherwise, it was estimated that the whole Immortal Realm would go looking for him before he even got far.

But who should he leave the letter for? Bai Fanlu’s first thought was of Ling Qingzi.

Carrying out his idea, Bai Fanlu moved his hand and pinched his fingers together lightly causing a talisman paper to appear. Then his fingertips paused a little and writing was engraved on the surface of the paper.

What reason should he use…? Bai Fanlu was about to move his fingers again when there was a sudden commotion outside.

Two or three white figures passed by the window, too fast for Bai Fanlu to see, but then a dozen more disciples followed, each holding a sword while heading in the same direction.

Bai Fanlu frowned slightly and tried to search his mind to remember the plot.

After the Sword Summit, the original Bai Fanlu was injured by Yun Zhan and fortunately rescued by Shizun. After that, Shizun took Yun Zhan to Fuxi Mountain’s Lingquan Array to receive a trial. When the array was at a critical juncture, it was suddenly encountered by demons.

Because Yun Zhan couldn’t get away from the array, Shizun used an immortal method to heal the original Bai Fanlu. It was difficult to resist the attacks of the demons while supporting Yun Zhan in breaking away from the array. In a critical moment, the original Bai Fanlu used his body to protect and repel the demons despite his injuries…

Ban Fanlu kneaded the space between his brows and had a bad feeling.

According to the description in the novel, he should immediately go to catch a disciple, question what was happening, and then resolutely rush off to ‘sacrifice’ himself regardless of his serious injury.

Naturally, according to the original plot, the demon was originally recruited by the original Bai Fanlu. It was a case of the thief crying out for the thief, putting on a show of playing the trick of injuring oneself to gain the trust of the enemy.

Bai Fanlu closed the window silently.

He didn’t want to play the trick of injuring oneself in order to gain the favor of the enemy. It would hurt. Since on the surface it was the original Bai Fanlu who took the initiative to ask, then if he didn’t ask, could it be regarded as not knowing? No one else would know that he actually knew…

Bang!

The door was suddenly flung open by spiritual energy.

Wang Chongyu stepped in with two big strides, his anxious eyes instantly locking on Bai Fanlu who was standing by the window stunned, an innocent expression written on his face.

“Shixiong!”

As soon as his voice fell, the overwhelming cacophony of voices coming from disciples calling to each other outside came through the wide-open door. “Quick! A demon broke into Lingquan Mountain! Shizun and Shidi are in danger!”

Ah, there it was, a scene explanation.

Wang Chongyu then added righteously, “Shixiong, your injury is not healed, don’t try to be brave.”

Bai Fanlu, “...” He wasn’t trying to be.

Chapter 2 - It Was A Mistake, It Was Definitely Not A Vengeful Act!

Jade Peak was the main peak of Fuxi Mountain. On the top of the mountain was an array leftover from ancient times called the Lingquan Array.

It was said that this array was constructed by a peerless deity. Its original intention was to be the boundary that protected the peace of the Immortal Realm. Later, when the deity died, his lifetime cultivation dispersed with him. Of the immortal sects that he founded over twelve mountains, more than half were destroyed in the great war between immortals and demons 500 years ago. Only four mountains and eight sects remained. Among them, Ling Qingzi’s Tianshu Sect was the strongest and was the leading sect of the Immortal Realm.

The power of the Lingquan Array was weakened by the death of the peerless deity, and only the core of the array continued running. The protective boundary for the Immortal Realm that it held up was practically lost. However, Ling Qingzi still used it as a necessary trial for senior disciples to overcome barriers in order to achieve higher levels in cultivation.

Through Bai Fanlu’s understanding of the novel, it was basically equivalent to a mock exam. After being transferred to a higher level by the examiner, after passing the array, acting Sect Leader Yun Zhan, would obtain the best tool for refining material, which could turn his magical tool, Biluo, into a god-like weapon, causing his power to advance incredibly in a single day.

Of course, this was how the original plot would go.

Ban Fanlu, who was forced to catch up and go way beyond his ability, was adapting to the feeling of flying through clouds and riding the mist while looking out at the distant flashes of teal light and menacing wind.

He saw two main forces fighting in the air, but it was difficult to distinguish between them. The disciples in white were so battered by the wind currents that they couldn’t even get close to the demon.

Facing the battlefield, Bai Fanlu was agitated, as the novel didn’t specify the level of this demon. It only described how the original Bai Fanlu took his sword and risked his life to protect Yun Zhan.

“What a powerful demonic energy…” Wang Chongyu stood in front of Bai Fanlu and prevented him from getting any closer.

“!” Bai Fanlu had only just managed to fly the sword for the first time and almost couldn’t stop.

Now you’re going to stop me?

Thinking of the conversation that had just happened, Bai Fanlu felt more and more that he had become stuck with a troublesome teammate.

Wang Chongyu: “Shixiong! Your injuries are not healed, don’t try to be brave!”

Bai Fanlu: “...I owe Shizun a great debt for his kindness, and my Shidi is in danger, I…”

He coughed twice, pretending to be weak.

The original Bai Fanlu couldn’t be a coward knowing those two were in trouble. Bai Fanlu was not worried about keeping up his persona, but in this immortal cultivation world, if the difference was too obvious, he was afraid that he would be taken as a fake and taken to have his soul investigated. If they found out his soul transmigrated...

But the voice in his heart was screaming: Hurry up and stop me! You only need to try and stop me a little bit, and I can pretend to have a relapse and faint!

Wang Chongyu seemed to hear his cry: “Shixiong, you… Nevermind, let’s head there together without any delay!”

Bai Fanlu: “...”

A true burden.

But before he could say anything, Bai Fanlu’s feet were suddenly lightened. He was abruptly pulled into the air by a strange force and his body was uncontrollably used against his will and forced into the middle of the battlefield.

“Shixiong!” Wang Chongyu had been looking ahead but he couldn’t react in time. Only the tips of his fingers brushed the corner of Bai Fanlu’s robes.

Bai Fanlu watched Wang Chongyu flying on his sword below but he was whisked away by a black shadow. The shadow took the shape of a snake, twisting and slithering to curl around Bai Fanlu’s waist in an instant.

A sudden pressure pressed into his abdomen, and Bai Fanlu felt as if his internal organs had begun to shift. Then the black shadow split into two, then from two into three, continuing until it had divided into countless pieces, surrounding and completely isolating his sight until he could only see darkness.

A powerful sense of crisis enveloped Bai Fanlu. Didn’t this demon take orders from the original Bai Fanlu? This acting was too realistic!

“Mo’er! Catch!”

It was Ling Qingzi’s voice. Then his hand felt cold as a teal robe broke through the black fog and wrapped around his wrist. Bai Fanlu subconsciously grasped it, and the robe in his hand made a loud clang before transforming into a dagger. He swept the blade outward and the black fog dispersed immediately.

Bai Fanlu was overjoyed and continued with another slash toward his waist, dividing the black fog into two. The form quickly shortened and shrunk back into the original form of a black snake, attempting to flee...

Bai Fanlu took chase before seeing a dark shadow suspended in the air. The human shape was vaguely visible. It was the demon that had come to attack.

“How reckless. Without the protection of Bingzhui, let’s see how long you can last.” The shadow’s voice resounded into the dark fog.

When Bai Fanlu heard him say ‘Bingzhui’, he immediately realized that in his hand was Ling Qingzi’s magic weapon, which could purify demonic energy. Later, even the original Bai Fanlu was injured by it.

Without waiting for Bai Fanlu to think about it, the demon accumulated his power and sent another wave of attacks that collided into Ling Qingzi on the round platform below.

A blue-clothed youth behind Ling Qingzi sat in the middle of the round platform, his hair curling and billowing in the wind. He couldn’t see the man’s face clearly, but he could see golden lights coming from above the top of his head, curling and floating around his entire body.

He didn’t even have to guess to know that he was the male protagonist, Yun Zhan.

Bai Fanlu’s heart thumped.

Ling Qingzu maintained a seal in front of his chest with his left hand while flipping his right hand. A defensive barrier appeared in front of them and protected the two. Then, Bai Fanlu could only hear loud thundering booms as the two colors of blue and black fell into close combat.

When the wind currents dispersed, Bai Fanlu heard the shadow let out a mocking laugh and Ling Qingzi took a large step back.

At that moment, a touch of red seeped out from the corner of his lips.

How was that possible?

Bai Fanlu desperately searched his mind for the original plot. There was no instance where Ling Qingzi gave away Bingzhui and got injured.

If this went on and the demon kills Ling Qingzi, and the male protagonist dies, wouldn’t that mean he’d follow suit?

What kind of demon was this, how come it was so powerful?!

Bai Fanlu thought about the system’s sentence, ‘the development of the plot is inevitable’. There was a war going on in his mind. Was it necessary for him to go up and block it? Would the demon be generous enough to pull his attacks if he showed his face?

“Zhenyuan Immortal Ling Qingzi, are you nothing more than this?” The demon mocked him.

The black mist gathered and formed in his barely visible palm like a hurricane. The wind around him was fierce and lashing and the residual clouds looming around them had turned black like ink. The demon was clearly preparing to launch a big attack.

The plot was inevitable!

Alright, let’s go!

Bai Fanlu didn’t hesitate anymore. He held up Bingzhui and conjured an ice barrier. The demon was closest to him and seemed to hesitate and pause when he saw his movements.

Now was his chance. He wielded the blade like the wind and his feet soared through the clouds. In a flash, he arrived before the demon, protected by a shield in one hand and Bingzhui in his other.

With the blade, he sliced through, a gap appearing through the thick dark fog of spiritual energy, revealing a white frost-like complexation behind it. In the next moment, a hand stretched out from the black fog and gripped his wrist, making him unable to move.

Bai Fanlu was startled and when he raised his eyes, his whole body froze.

Those eyes…

Crimson pupils stared at him, piercing him with a gaze that was like a ghost from hell.

Bai Fanlu took in a sharp breath and instinctively pulled back Bingzhui. The blade transformed back into the long teal rope in his right hand before spitting apart, roaring toward the demon.

Bai Fanlu’s wrist was released and the demon dissipated into the dark fog, escaping being bound by Bingzhui. At the same time, a small black crystalline object flew out of the fog and Bai Fanlu hurried to dodge. As it grazed his sleeve, he saw it was some type of hidden weapon, like a small dart.

Without waiting for him to think about it, countless black crystals had begun to shoot out from the dark fog straight at Bai Fanlu!

Alright!? Wasn’t he going to stop? Isn’t this acting a little too much? Was he going to have to get hurt?

Relying on the reflexes of the original Bai Fanlu, he used the shield and his sword to parry the attacks. He couldn’t get closer to the demon, nor could he retreat any further. He was anxious in his heart. He wanted to complain about how there were so many hidden weapons. But then two darts slipped through his defense, heading straight for his face.

Bai Fanlu leaned backward, watching them graze his eyelashes and continue onward behind him.

Losing his balance, Bai Fanlu almost fell from the sky. But thanks to his flexible body, he was able to flip and land back on his flying sword. Taking advantage of the opportunity, he flicked his wrist and knocked the two hidden weapons off course, and into another direction at a faster and more thunderous speed.

“Ugh…”

Hearing the muffled grunt, Bai Fanlu had almost forgotten that there were others around him.

When he heard someone got caught in the crossfire, the demon stopped, probably curious as to which person was the unlucky one.

Bai Fanlu followed the sound and looked down——

The blue-clothed youth who had been sitting upright shuddered slightly, and slowly fell backward, casting a reluctant glance in their direction.

Bai Fanlu’s body, which was hot from the adrenaline and action, suddenly felt a piercing chill run through him….and his heart fell into disorder.

“Bold demon, you dare to harm my disciple!” Ling Qingzi’s voice was cold.

“...” Bai Fanlu pretended that his feet slipped and fell from his sword, successfully disengaging from the antagonist.

To others, it seemed like he collapsed from exhaustion and fainted.

The sense of weightlessness made Bai Fanlu regain his sense of self-preservation and began to think about how he could land lightly. Suddenly, he felt his arm being pulled by someone and it turned out that Wang Chongyu had come to help him.

But before it was over, his body shook violently and the two of them somehow fell off of Wang Chongyu’s sword together.

A true burden.

And there was no buffer time this time. Seeing the ground becoming closer and closer to them, suddenly a teal light flashed underneath them. Bingzhui was suspended and wound up to gently hold them aloft. It was Ling Qingzi!

The Lingquan Array was interrupted, and Ling Qingzi no longer had to be distracted by supporting Yun Zhan. He pinched two fingers to his chest and shouted, “Break!”

His blue robe and silver hair danced with the wind, huge fluctuations of spiritual energy beginning to wrap around him. In the next moment, power emerged with him as the center point, crashing out in all directions like thousands of waves.

Bai Fanlu wanted to see what happened, but Wang Chongyu pressed his head back down. He could only feel the impact of the powerful energy and hear a ringing in his ears.

After a long time, it finally stopped.

When he raised his eyes once again, everything around him became unusually quiet.

Bai Fanlu sat up, but Wang Chongyu was faster than him, and as soon as he got up, he immediately flew on his sword toward the round platform. Bai Fanlu followed after him.

Ling Qingzi was sitting cross-legged with his eyes closed, regulating his breath.

Bai Fanlu only then remembered something and looked around, only seeing the scattered disciples standing, sitting, or lying down. Where had the demon gone?

The first venerable immortal was extraordinary….

Bai Fanlu secretly clicked his tongue, he really shouldn’t have come to join the fun.

Wang Chongyu cupped his hands in a salute, “Shizun, a demon broke in at such a time. This disciple suspects there might be an insider.”

“En,” Ling Qingzi still had his eyes closed, “I activated the purification array, any hidden demons will reveal their true forms in half a day. You will take people to investigate everywhere. Find the demon spy and kill them with Bingzhui.”

“Yes!” Wang Chongyu followed the orders and left to gather up the disciples.

Bai Fanlu was left behind and he tried to think about what to say.

He knew the purification array had no influence on the original Bai Fanlu so he was not afraid of being exposed.

The demon just now, with crimson pupils and frosty white skin was consistent with the appearance of an important character: the final boss, the Great Elder of the Demon Realm.

But at present, the plot was only in the middle, and he shouldn’t have appeared on stage until much later. Bai Fanlu really wasn’t sure.

“Mo’er.” Ling Qingzi opened his eyes.

Bai Fanlu returned to his senses and bowed his head, “Shizun.”

“Yun Zhan was attacked by demonic energy and received internal injuries. You should take him to the spiritual spring to bathe, and so you can use the spiritual spring to heal your own injuries.”

“...”

Spiritual spring? Bath?

Bai Fanlu’s right eyelid twitched heavily.

Chapter 3 - Shixiong, You Can Leave

Legend has it that anyone who purified themselves in the spiritual spring of the Lingquan Array would be able to ascend as an immortal in one day.

It was said that the peerless deity chose Fuxi Mountain as the core of the array because of the fact that there was a spiritual spring in the mountain. Back then, the peerless deity purified himself in the spiritual spring and was able to ascend in one day. It became a legend known by many.

As a result, the spiritual spring being full of spiritual energy attracted countless immortals that wanted to utilize it. As a whole, it became a well-known scenic spot that was trampled on. Although the spiritual spring was still the same spiritual spring, it never told the legend of another peerless deity.

However, it was still a good place to heal and replenish spiritual energy.

But Bai Fanlu couldn’t care about that at the moment because he was wracking his brain.

According to the plot of the original novel, Yun Zhan was never injured at all. He was greatly successful in breaking the array, and it was instead the original Bai Fanlu who was seriously injured.

Although Ling Qingzi also mentioned that the original Bai Fanlu should also go to the spiritual spring to bathe, the original Bai Fanlu was adamant about following Yun Zhan down the mountain and didn’t hesitate to conceal the condition of his injuries. Ling Qingzi could tell he was injured, but he could also see his disciple’s infatuation with Yun Zhan, so he let him go.

The famous ‘bathing in the spiritual spring’ scene had been far later when Yun Zhan came back after being seriously injured outside, and the original Bai Fanlu went with him.

As for the consequences of going together… Indescribable.

“I need to meditate in seclusion and find another opportunity to break the array. I’ll leave Yun Zhan in your hands.”

Ling Qingzi’s voice pulled Bai Fanlu back from his wandering thoughts.

He looked up awkwardly. He saw that the bloodstain on the corner of Ling Qingzi’s lips had been wiped away at some point, but his complexion was pale and his lips were so red that it was shocking. The battle just now had obviously hurt his vitality.

“...Yes, Shizun.”

Ling Qingzi was injured in order to save him, an imitation. Bai Fanlu felt ashamed so he could only summon up his courage and go along with it.

Ling Qingzi closed his eyes once again, his clothes began to float upward and he disappeared into smoke.

On the round platform, only Bai Fanlu and the blue-clothed youth lying on the ground that he didn’t recognize were left. Coincidentally, the two hidden weapons just now happened to injure Yun Zhan’s right shoulder. He unintentionally ended up taking revenge and making it even!

Alright, he could just throw him in the spiritual spring and leave. He was not the original Bai Fanlu, so there was no reason for him to go out of his way to personally heal his wounds.

He inclined his head and sized up Yun Zhan. He was lying upright, his body looking taller and stronger than him. How could he get him to the spiritual spring?

Looking around, he saw that the disciples around were no longer there. Bai Fanlu crouched down and grabbed ahold of Yun Zhan’s arm before beginning to recite the teleportation incantation in his heart.

His vision suddenly flashed white and in the next moment, he was standing at the water's edge of a spring. He really could teleport!

But as he looked down...his hands were empty. It seemed that the teleporting mechanism couldn’t take other people. He had to teleport back.

If he couldn’t teleport people, could he use his sword? The distance of it should be quite close.

The novel said that the spiritual spring was in a cave at the end of the path behind the array. He’d have to use the more primitive method.

Bai Fanlu crouched down again, “Shidi, can you walk?”

Without getting a response, Bai Fanlu patted Yun Zhan’s face and gave him a pinch. Confirming that he couldn’t wake up, he struggled to help sit him up before he was able to haul him onto the back of his shoulders.

He was so heavy…

Bai Fanlu slowly stood up and began to hobble down the steps.

At an angle he couldn’t see, the boy who was supposed to be unconscious on his shoulders slightly opened his eyes at that moment. He stared at the white neck exposed under Bai Fanlu’s black hair, his cold eyes calm.

Compared to the bare round boulder of the Lingquan Array, the spiritual spring had a more immortal feeling to it.

At the moment, it should just be the Mao period in the morning, with the sun rising in the east and rosy clouds hovering in the sky. There were exotic flowers and ethereal grass, the singing of flying cranes, a light mist gently floating, and the sound of the rippling spring.

But Bai Fanlu was unable to appreciate such a beautiful scene.

Yun Zhan was really too heavy, and the longer he stayed on his back, the heavier he felt. Bai Fanlu’s shoulder was already injured and he had just fought with a demon. Now he was struggling to take even one breath as he slowly and painfully continued down.

He could only be glad that the spiritual spring was at the bottom of the array and not at the top. Otherwise, if he had to climb up the steps, he really wouldn’t be able to handle it.

He involuntarily complained, “Shidi, ah, shidi, eat less in the future.”

“Okay.”

A wisp of faint warm air brushed passed his ear. Bai Fanlu staggered suddenly, his feet became soft and his ankle jolted with a sharp pain. And then he involuntarily… tilted.

Before falling, he felt his shoulder shoved hard by someone, and then he went from trying to lean back to lying on a flexible body. Afterward, he fell down the stone steps with the body, the both of them rolling down together.

After rolling for an unknown number of times, Bai Fanlu’s brain felt jumbled. Hearing the sound of a crash, the two hugging each other fell into the cold water at the end of the steps.

Right away, he wasn’t able to hear anything and his vision whitened. The person he was just bound to had already risen up gracefully and disappeared without even a shadow. But the great sense of suffocation surrounded Bai Fanlu and he felt himself sinking straight down bit by bit.

It was still and aside from the gentle sound of bubbles, there was only silence surrounding him.

Shit! He couldn’t swim!

Bai Fanlu frantically kicked out his legs, struggling to remember technique after technique, but in that cirital moment, he couldn’t remember anything useful.

Guh! A cluster of bubbles flowed from his mouth.

At that moment, a figure broke through the glistening waves and swam toward him. Bai Fanlu looked over in surprise and waved his arms painstakingly, but when the figure got near his surprised expression turned into shock.

It was Yun Zhan!

To tell the truth, Bai Fanlu had to hand it to himself. It was a critical moment between life and death. He had to helplessly watch his lifeline float toward him, and thought for the first time that he was not desperately grasping during this moment, but was thinking of the beautiful text in the novel——

He opened his mouth, enveloped his soft lips, and slowly passed a breath of spiritual energy and oxygen, but they didn’t break away. Neither of them knew who secretly increased their strength. The two people were like deadly entangled water plants, fiercely overlapping one another…

!!!

Bai Fanlu was very clever. When Yun Zhan was about to meet him, he miraculously came up with a secret technique. His whole figure became like an arrow loose from a bowstring, no, more like a flying fish jumping out of the sea.

As soon as he fell onto the ethereal grass, Bai Fanlu was trying to recover from the shock, coughing and choking out the water as he patted his chest.

That was close… really close...

It wasn't that he had a good memory, it was just that the paragraph just now was one of the only two colorful descriptions in the original novel.

After he came out of the water, another person immediately appeared right after him. Bai Fanlu hurriedly jumped up to hide.

However, the male protagonist did not go ashore. He didn’t even glance at Bai Fanlu. He just swam slowly over to the shore and leaned against a stone with his shoulders rising and falling alongside his breath. He seemed exhausted and there was no other sound.

Bai Fanlu waited and waited, and unconsciously the spiritual energy on his body evaporated the water soaked into his clothes. Without noticing, the rosy clouds in the sky had even slowly drifted away. Yun Zhan still kept his original posture leaning against the stone while remaining silent.

Bai Fanlu wanted to retreat silently, but when he thought about the relationship between the original Bai Fanlu and his Shidi, Yun Zhan, he recalled that the man had just tried to help him, and decided to stay for another minute.

Just one minute and nothing more. That should be reasonable.

Yun Zhan seemed to be seriously injured. Bai Fanlu’s clothes were dry but Yun Zhan’s body was still wet. It was said that when immortals got wet, they could steam themselves dry either passively or actively. Bai Fanlu had thought that granted he had just dried himself passively, he could have a try at helping Yun Zhan.

Bai Fanlu silently recited the purification technique and brushed it toward Yun Zhan’s back. His blue robes changed from the crimson blue wet by water back into a bright blue again, with even the bloodstains being removed.

The little test was successful and easy to do.

A minute later, Bai Fanlu got up on schedule and turned to leave. When he got to the bottom of the steps, he saw a boundary pillar at the junction of the water flow that read ‘Spiritual Spring’. The spiritual spring was a holy place for healing in the Immortal Realm.

According to the original novel, disciples were not normally allowed to soak in the spring without Ling Qingzi’s permission. Of course, except Yun Zhan who was now the Sect Leader.

“...”

Bai Fanlu was just too on guard and didn’t pay attention. At the time, after thinking about it, the discomfort after his serious injury seemed to have weakened and his body felt a lot lighter as he climbed up the steps. Could it be the effect of the moment he fell into the water just now?

He looked back at the spiritual spring again and felt it was a pity that he just left such a good place to heal.

It was Ling Qingzi who told him to heal his wounds here. If he left without healing his injuries, he would be the one who suffered. More importantly, if his injury wasn’t cured and he went down the mountain to live in seclusion, the foundation wouldn't be stable.

Bai Fanlu turned back and chose a position that was farthest from Yun Zhan in a straight line and was facing each other across a distance, giving him the ability to clearly see the other party’s movements for the first time. Then, he also went down into the spring water.

Tsk, the water was freezing.

Bai Fanlu didn’t dare to go down completely. He was afraid of the experience of almost drowning just now and only put his legs in halfway. As soon as the water came into contact with his skin, the spring water moved just like it was conscious and quickly began to circle around his legs.

It was freezing cold at first but gradually felt warm and smooth. Bai Fanlu noticed that the bruise on his sprained ankle was slowly receding and in a moment, it recovered back to normal with nothing unusual in the movement.

That’s amazing. Bai Fanlu silently praised, gazing at the clear and transparent water of the spring. He couldn’t help bending over to get a closer look to see how beautiful it was.

He used a finger to brush the water, a little bit of spiritual energy flowed through his finger, causing the surface to ripple even more.

“What are you looking at, Shixiong?”

Hearing the question, Bai Fanlu froze before he slowly looked up.

But that wasn’t the question that made him freeze, but his voice, saying more than just the ‘okay’ from earlier. It sounded really good.

He was doing that occupational habit again...

“Today, I acted capriciously and accidentally injured Shixiong. Please don’t blame me, Shixiong.”

This voice, ah, it’s a pity he wasn’t a voice actor! But....ah, having a voice like that was one thing, this one could even snatch souls.

Bai Fanlu let out a light cough, straightened up with a small frown, and remained silent. This silence was a roundabout way to express dissatisfaction. Don’t blame him? How could he not? But since he had his revenge and had to maintain the relationship he had due to the original Bai Fanlu, the result was exploding by himself in silence.

In another case, Bai Fanlu was also building up a boundary line.

If the risk indication was originally thought to be five stars, then with Yun Zhan having such a good voice, it could automatically rise up to seven stars.

Bai Fanlu understood too much about the bad habit he had for voices, so he knew he must definitely stay away from Yun Zhan or else the consequences would be unimaginable.

“Shi…”

“You are seriously injured, you should concentrate on resting, don’t speak.” Bai Fanlu made up his mind to not let Yun Zhan say another word.

Yun Zhan lowered his head and gazed at the surface of the water. “As expected, you’re still angry.”

Bai Fanlu couldn’t stop him from saying these words, which were expressed in such a beautiful voice of melancholy and sadness but was not terribly distressed. Bai Fanlu suddenly had only one thought, this character's voice was absolutely perfect.

But he couldn’t forget how dark this person’s heart was.

“Should I not be angry?” Bai Fanlu asked in a calm tone that was still in line with the original Ban Fanlu’s setting.

The youth still looked lonely and depressed. A moment later, his body sank and he actively submerged into the water.

Bai Fanlu didn’t know how to respond before an ethereal voice came from his spiritual consciousness——

“Shixiong, I’m sorry, you can leave.”

Chapter 4 - Where is My Home~

Leave? Of course, he had to leave.

But he’d have to wait until he was healed.

Compared to Yun Zhan’s internal and external injuries, Bai Fanlu was only suffering from a flesh wound. Because Ling Qingzi cared for him, he soaked in the spiritual spring for half an hour.

When his whole body felt thoroughly relieved and his spiritual energy ran smoothly, Bai Fanlu left Yun Zhan without a word and disappeared immediately.

He had long wanted to find a place to live in seclusion but was delayed by the demon. Now, after playing against Yun Zhan’s cold-hearted nature, Bai Fanlu was more determined to leave. It was better to leave early than late. He would leave immediately without delay.

Back in the original Bai Fanlu’s room, he rummaged through the only small cabinet by the bed where he found a cloth wrapping.

Inside there was a gray robe that was worn by the group, as well as silver coins, medicine, and so on. It was all for good use, but just as he was about to slink away with his baggage, there was a sudden noise outside.

He hid the bag away inside his magical bag and listened to the report from the little disciple at the door.

“Eldest Shixiong, the demon spy has been caught. Second Shixiong said that Shizun and Sect Leader Shidi are not here, and to invite Eldest Shixiong to come to preside over it.”

Bai Fanlu decided to follow for the time being. The disciples had already formed a circle and were surrounding the demon spy. When Bai Fanlu came, the disciples made way for him, one after the other.

When he walked in, there was a young male disciple rolling on the ground, hugging his head as if he were in great pain. A mass of black fog entangled around him, but besides that, he seemed to be no different from any other disciple.

Wang Chongyu held a sword in his left hand and Bingzhui, which had been transformed into a dagger in his right. When he saw Bai Fanlu, he asked, “Shixiong, the demon has appeared. Do we immediately kill it?”

This was in the original plot, whether or not there was a choice, Bai Fanlu nodded.

He still remembered that there was a setting in other Xianxia novels: The blood of humans was red, symbolizing purity and cleanliness, while the blood of demons was black, symbolizing turbidity and filth. Yet, such a thing was not in this novel.

As Bai Fanlu was thinking, a burst of cold air passed by his ear. The disciple that had been rolling on the ground was stabbed by Bingzhui, the sound of flesh and blood was torn through the air, and it was quickly accompanied by a scream of pain and madness.

When an immortal was injured by a magic tool, it was painful. However, when a demon was injured by a magic tool, it was extremely painful.

Imagine two completely opposite powers fighting in the body until one side completely absorbed the other. The long and difficult process would bring extreme pain and despair to the dying.

Just like the original Bai Fanlu, he was injured by Yun Zhan’s Biluo, by Ling Qingzi’s Bingzhui, and by the Demon Killing Array. It hurt the bottom of his heart more and more.

Bai Fanlu lowered his head and inwardly held his hands behind his back. At that moment, a name was suddenly roared out from between the screaming.

“Bai Fanlu!”

Bai Fanlu’s heart trembled and he couldn’t help but look up.

The disciple knelt on the ground, crimson blood gurgling out from the wound on his chest, dyeing his white clothes red. His angry eyes were full of hatred.

“You hypocrites! Falsely claiming to be on the just path of this world, secretly plundering and slaughtering, sparing none in the process! One fine day, each and every one of you will not be able to die peaceful deaths!”

“Impudent!”

Wang Chongyu thrust forward with the palm of his right hand, Bingzhui penetrating three fen into his bone and straight out of his back. Bai Fanlu watched the man breath one last strangled breath and fall to the ground like a group of bright red rags, the expression in his eyes shining with everlasting regret.

On the pure white jade steps of the Immortal Realm, a large sheet of blood splattered out.

For some reason, Ling Qingzi’s red lips stained with blood flashed in his mind and while Bai Fanlu was in a daze, Wang Chongyu quickly performed a set of purification techniques to clean the place where the body was located.

“Shixiong?”

“Oh,” Bai Fanlu returned to his senses. “It’s nothing.”

Wang Chongyu looked at him with concern, “The demon spoke in a craze, so it shouldn’t have given him much joy.”

What joy? In the novel, the original Bai Fanlu was besieged by thousands of people, his blood had dried up and he fell into a demonic barrier. It was very similar to this scene.

Back in the room, when Bai Fanlu closed his eyes, he could still see the resentful look in the demon’s eyes when he looked at him for that last time, as well as hear the words that had shocked him.

At present, the identity of the Young Master of the original Demon Clan is still a secret. Only the Demon Clan’s Great Elder and his only trusted guard knew about it.

Bai Fanlu was not the original one, nor could he realize the feeling of being a true demon but having to watch the slaughter of demons with his own eyes. But in any case, a fresh life was turned into nothing before his eyes. For Bai Fanlu, an ordinary person, the visual impact was not normal.

The dispute between the immortals and demons was more bloody than he had imagined from the novel, and this was only the beginning.

Bai Fanlu paced back and forth in the room and finally made a decision. With a pinch of his fingers, a talisman paper appeared in the air. As his mind rolled, ink gradually fell upon the paper.

Shizun, after this incident, this disciple became aware of shortcomings in practice and felt guilty. I will return to the mortal world to gain more experience and return to the sect after I have achieved something. Shizun does not need to look into it. Bai Mo.

Bai Mo is the original name of Bai Fanlu in the novel. It was later changed to Fanlu by Ling Qingzi, which was taken from the meaning of, ‘Cleansing the path to enlightenment and supreme wisdom, Buddhist Dharma Rain .’

Strangely, although Ling Qingzi changed his disciple’s name, he never addressed him by it. Because of this, the original Bai Fanlu always called himself ‘Bai Mo’ in front of his Shizun. Bai Fanlu had an impression of this, so he paid special attention when leaving the note.

According to the original novel, Ling Qingzi had a cold temperament and was indifferent toward others. He was only fond toward his eldest disciple. Ever since he brought the child back 480 years ago, he had been carefully nurtured and brought up strictly. He helped him become an immortal in just 100 years. And after 100 years, he accepted his second disciple, Wang Chongyu.

Such things were unique among masters and disciples in the Immortal Realm. Such as, there was a rumor in the Immortal Realm that Bai Fanlu was Ling Qingzi’s illegitimate son from the human world.

Of course, this was only limited to rumors because Ling Qingzi cultivated the Lingrou One-Pulse Method, which was quite powerful. But, it cut off love and sex, in other words, it was not feasible for men and women, so the rumor was extinguished within a few years.

However, it was true that Ling Qingzi treated his eldest disciple differently.

Remembering that Ling Qingzi used a self-defense magic tool to protect him twice when he was attacked by the demon today, Bai Fanlu was still very grateful in his heart. With Ling Qingzi’s confidence in the original Bai Fanlu, if he left this note, he should be able to avoid this world for a while.

En, let’s do it and find a place where there is no male lead to live in seclusion!

Bai Fanlu took another look at the spell in his hand, and after confirming that it was correct, his five fingers gathered together, the floating piece of paper turning into shimmering specs of crystal. He knew that the paper appeared in front of Ling Qingzi’s table at that moment and that he would be able to read it in the morning when he came out of seclusion.

After doing this, Bai Fanlu lowered his head and turned around, disappearing from the room. After he left, the airflow brought by the technique became turbulent for a moment, stabilized, and then returned to tranquility.

However, after a long while, a figure slowly emerged from behind the translucent window paper, walking silently as they finally stopped in front of the door. The breeze blew lightly and the door was slowly pushed open. After a half a finger length of a gap, the corner of blue clothes was faintly revealed.

“In the end, I really annoyed him…”

When his feet touched the ground again, Bai Fanlu found that he really had come out of the Immortal Realm. Because he… felt a water duck. Right above his head, the big flippers slapped him on the forehead, blocking half of his vision.

Bai Fanlu seemed to have a quarrel with water and got straight out of the depths with a teleport.

Fortunately, the water was shallow enough to reach his waist so he stood up effortlessly. He grabbed the quacking duck on his head and released it back into the river. As soon as it was free, the little grey feathered duck with red feet hurriedly swam away. It seemed that he had frightened it.

Bai Fanlu looked around, only seeing that he was in a small river within the wilderness. Fortunately, there was no one, or else it wouldn’t have just been the little duck who was frightened.

Bai Fanlu climbed ashore, dried his clothes, and collected his sword. When he looked into the river again, he felt that he looked like a young master of a wealthy family from the mortal world. But… A young master didn’t seem fitting for someone living in seclusion.

Was there an illusion spell for changing one’s appearance? In the original novel, he had never seen it being used by the original Bai Fanlu so he didn’t dare to try it casually. Just in case he turned into a strange creature and wasn’t able to turn back.

At this time, he deeply detested the author’s perspective which made him transmigrate into this book and not as a god. He could only live on with degradation and trembling fear. Why did it have to be a villain? He really just wanted to be a group player.

Thinking of a group player, Bai Fanlu touched his chin lightly and had an epiphany!

Why did he forget that clothing? He took the cloth wrap out of his magical bag and put the grey cloth over his white robes before hefting the bag across his shoulder.

Right, and his hairstyle. He tied it completely up, wrapping it up like an old mother.

In the blink of an eye, the beautiful young master of the mortal world had become the small prodigal son of a street vagrant. As expected, clothes still made the man.

Bai Fanlu walked along the bank of the river, this world was different from the Immortal Realm. The time and season were able to be guessed at first sight. It was noon when the sun was high in the sky and early spring where the meadow was green and tender.

Not far away, Bai Fanlu could see smoke billowing into the sky from a kitchen. This pointed out that there was someone living nearby.

He quickened his pace and began to walk over there, feeling rather happy. Every step on the road was steady, and although the sky was good, nothing could compare to smoke and fire in the mortal world.

After a short while, Bai Fanlu saw a towering wooden sign archway and in front of it was written the words ‘Heguan Town’.

A name that he had never read in the novel. He could only guess it was just some little unknown place.

When Bai Fanlu teleported, because there was no clear target, he wanted to teleport to a small village with beautiful mountains and rivers with simple folk customs. This seemed to quite fit his intent.

Then there was suddenly two tones sounding out in his head——

[ Congratulations, the hidden location, ‘Heguan Town’ has been achieved. The ‘Reader’s Brain Fragments’ have been rewarded. ]

Bai Fanlu suddenly remembered, what the hell was this ‘Reader’s Brain Fragments’? When he first went through the system, he was given a reward. At the time, he had paid more attention on how to get home and completely forgot about it.

[ The ‘Reader’s Brain Fragments’ are energy fragments scattered around the world. They can be obtained by completing special events or finding hidden locations. ]

Bai Fanlu asked: “What are their usages?”

[ When a certain amount of fragments are collected, a mysterious transcript can be opened. You can not only experience different plots but also gather godly magic weapons. ]

Bai Fanlu scoffed and wondered that if he was going into seclusion to become a nobody, what did he want a godly magic weapon for? Was he just going to admire himself with it?

The answer was a moment of silence. Probably because of its failure in marketing, the system felt that it was defeated.

Bai Fanlu walked under the archway and entered the so-called hidden location ‘Heguan Town’.

At first, he was still vigilant but soon discovered that it truly was an ordinary human town. The antique architectural style, the storefronts stretching out like the wind, and the hawkers that called out from time to time all made Bai Fanlu feel extremely intrigued.

He restrained his excitement and walked over to a steamed bun stall. As soon as the boss saw him, he quickly opened the steamer on the lower level. The large white round steamed and stuffed buns were arranged neatly, like cute little dolls waving toward Bai Fanlu.

“It smells so good!”

Bai Fanlu was so gluttonous that he even ate some bread before he transmigrated into the novel. And now his stomach was growling early. Although he was now an immortal, he would still forever have a mortal heart. How could he not eat?

Bai Fanlu bought two big steamed buns and nibbled on them within their small bag and ate them while walking.

Snacking, he thought of a question. He forgot that the immortals didn’t need to eat. Today, on the steps to the spiritual spring, he complained and asked Yun Zhan to eat less. At that time, why didn’t Yun Zhan not doubt him at all, but even answered him as well?

Or was he actually already suspicious and said okay on purpose?

Bai Fanlu was too excited that he didn’t want to think about it. Whether he had doubts or not, he had already run off anyway.

Now let him just contently enjoy the happiness and glory brought by the steamed meat bun.

Woo! Another bite!

Eh? Why was the sound of people eating behind him? And it seemed to be getting louder and louder, more and more…

Who was so——

Bai Fanlu was about to turn around when he was knocked into for a moment. Suddenly, an old man carrying a pole on his shoulder dropped it and ran away. The shoulder pole hit Bai Fanlu on the foot as more people began to run while crying out and shouting.

“Run! The monster is coming! Run!”

Monster? What monster?

Bai Fanlu stood stupidly in the middle of the road, and before he could clearly see what was going on, he was knocked into again. The steam bun in his hand also stumbled out of his grip, rolling out along the way before it was trampled on.

At that moment, a little beggar spotted it and ran back through the crowd. He was about to crawl to pick up the steamed bun but was hit hard by the man running behind him, kicking him off toward the side of the road.

Bai Fanlu frowned and subconsciously moved his hand secretly, allowing the little beggar to land gently without falling onto his head.

Then, Bai Fanlu felt an invisible pressure and turned to look. He only heard the loud sound of a bang and the restaurant nearby swayed and was crushed by a huge thing.

The dust and fog slowly dissipated, revealing the face of a monster.

Chapter 5 - The Flying Sword Princess Carry

Ah, it was a shell taller and larger than the restaurant.

Yes, it looked like a shell.

He only saw the shelled monster open its large blood basin of a mouth. There were no shining pearls in it, only a tongue that occupied half of its mouth, covered with disgusting salvia. When it turned, it made a squelching sound as if it were chewing food. Obviously, it was what he was hearing just now.

Bai Fanlu soon recognized the unique appearance of the shelled monster. This was one of the four monsters described in the book, a Nieyu. It was the best at eating and drinking. It did not have any eyes and could eat anything it could catch with its large tongue. The shell was also so hard that no blade or spear could pierce it.

However, this thing only appeared after the original Bai Fanlu became the Demon Lord and slaughtered the Three Realms. Why was he running into it now?

There were demon elders appearing in the front and demon pets appearing in the back. They were all matters that didn’t appear until later in the plot sequence.

Bai Fanlu then had an ominous feeling.

He’s always had accurate hunches, and sure enough, the huge shell monster made his way over with a jump. Every time it landed, the ground quaked underfoot, causing a house to fall and a tree to topple over. It wasn’t shocking.

Of course, Bai Fanlu didn’t want to be crushed into a meat cake and he also wasn’t going to overestimate himself and try to tame this giant pet that would only want to eat him up. It was best to immediately make himself scarce and escape directly.

But just as he was about to chant a spell, he suddenly heard a child cry out next to him.

Turning his head to see, the little beggar was sitting on the ground a little bit back where Bai Fanlu let him land. He held two steamed buns in his arms, one that had been bitten into and the other wholly intact.

Why haven’t you run yet?!

Bai Fanlu thought he had already run away. He didn’t expect the child to still be there. He guessed that the child had turned back to pick up the steamed buns that had fallen to the ground. Now he wanted to run, but his legs were soft with fear after staring at the appearance of the monster, and could only cry.

Ah! The Nieyu jumped toward him in an instant.

This kid…

Tsk! Bai Fanlu couldn’t bear to see children cry the most. His emotions preceded his reason and he leapt over.

Boom! The shell pressed down on them like a mountain.

Bai Fanlu hugged the little beggar into his arms, dropped onto the wall, and was just about to take out his sword. Suddenly, he felt as if the soles of his feet stepped on something and he subconsciously looked down. He saw a pile of stinky transparent liquid that was light green and emitting a fishy odor. It seemed to be…

Disgusting! Bai Fanlu’s stomach cramped and turned upside down. Unexpectedly, similar drops of liquid began to drip from above his head, followed immediately by a huge gravitational airflow sweeping in.

The Nieyu was opening its wide mouth toward him, its dark throat was opened slightly behind its tongue, like a black hole waiting to swallow everything and anything at any time.

Immobilization Technique! Bai Fanlu exerted his strength into the soles of his feet and stabilized his body so that he wouldn’t immediately be sucked in by the airflow, but the child in his arms couldn’t be restrained.

“Gege——” The little beggar cried as he was sucked out of Bai Fanlu’s arms.

Bai Fanlu hurriedly stretched out his hand to catch him, but his hand only touched the little beggar’s foot and was unable to grab ahold. Without hesitation, he immediately gave up on keeping his body steady, and quickly rushed out to take the little beggar back into his arms.

But at the same time, everything went dark before his eyes and he was swallowed whole by the bite.

Bai Fanlu began to think powerlessly. His front foot was attacked by his fellow demons, his back foot swallowed up into the stomach of the pet. Sure enough, becoming a nobody was hard to do. Were the villains pushing against him covertly?

“Gege…”

In the darkness, Bai Fanlu felt the little beggar tightly pulling at his clothes, as if he were afraid that he would leave him behind. Bai Fanlu soothed him, “Don’t be afraid, gege will bring you out.”

It was nothing more than a Nieyu. There were tricks to deal with it in the original novel.

Although that had been in a later stage of the plot. At the current level of the original Bai Fanlu, it might not be easy to do.

Bai Fanlu began to think that if he knew this disgusting thing was here, he would have teleported to a big city instead and hid there. But it was just his luck. Who would have thought that he would meet the rare species of the Demon Lord's pet while trying to become a nobody?

This felt a little too coincidental… Was this the fate of the villain?

Bai Fanlu inwardly laughed mockingly at himself and lit up his surroundings with spiritual power. The areas illuminated by the cold light looked similar to muscle tissue, covered in a thick layer of mucus. The feeling touching the bottom of his feet felt like stepping on flesh and was smooth, tough, and full of elasticity.

Holding back the goosebumps, Bai Fanlu fumbled forward little by little.

“Gege, it hurts…” The little beggar sobbed.

“Where does it hurt?” Bai Fanlu recalled that he shouldn’t be injured.

He hurriedly moved the light toward the little beggar. His little body trembled and shrank as if it was so painful that he couldn’t speak and could only sob.

Bai Fanlu quickened the inspection until he reached the arm that was clutching onto his collar. He could see a burn mark in the middle of his thin and dirty forearm, blisters appearing on his skin which had obviously just been caused.

Bai Fanlu immediately understood and quickly extended out his spirit shield to cover the both of them. At the same time, a drop of light green liquid fell from above his head, making a sizzling sound on the shield while emitting a white vapor.

It was the digestive acid from the Nieyu which was extremely corrosive.

However, the spirit shield consumed too much spiritual energy, and Bai Fanlu didn’t know when they would be able to get out. If this went on, it would be troublesome if he ran out of spiritual energy.

“Gege, are you an immortal?”

When the little beggar saw Bai Fanlu cast the spell, he didn’t seem to be hurt or afraid anymore as he asked in a daze. His tone was full of worship, but that little face of his was dirty and rubbed with tears so he looked a little funny.

Facing the child, he couldn’t help but be soft-hearted. Bai Fanlu said, “Yes, so no need to be afraid. Gege will protect you.”

Bai Fanlu inwardly urged the spirit shield to shrink so that it only covered the little beggar.

The original Bai Fanlu was an immortal and carried the blood of the Demon Clan. He could handle this bit of digestive acid. It would save some spiritual energy for when he subdued the huge shell.

Although he thought that, the sensation of the digestive acid constantly dripping on his body wasn’t very pleasant alongside the feeling of stepping on the sticky liquid beneath his feet.

He would have to find the goal as soon as possible.

At the same time, Bai Fanlu sent out a spiritual message, but he didn’t know how far away he was from the Immortal Gate. Although he sent the message, he didn’t hold much hope. He just wanted to subdue this huge shell, let the Immortal Gate take care of the aftermath, and take this thing back.

In order to save spiritual energy and find the goal faster, Bai Fanlu extinguished the spiritual fire and tried to identify the direction in the dark. In the novel, the only person swallowed by the Nieyu was Yun Zhan. Now, he would use Yun Zhan’s method.

Bai Fanlu anxiously identified the location, and the little beggar didn’t say a word. With the promise of ‘protection’ just now, he relied on him whole-heartedly. His poor background also made the child more sensible earlier in life and he knew that he couldn’t add trouble to Bai Fanlu now.

Gradually, there was a faint light in the dark field of vision, and the closer they got, the thicker the fishy odor became, and the harder it got to keep their eyes open.

Bai Fanlu forcibly endured this discomfort and finally approached the light. It was a core buried within thin flesh and was exactly the Nieyu’s heart that was written in the novel. This monster had two life gates, other than this death hole, there was a dark vein on its shell.

In the original novel, Yun Zhan fought against the villainous Demon Lord, and after being accidentally swallowed into the stomach of the Nieyu, he was able to escape by piercing its heart.

As for the dark vein on its shell, it was the method Ling Qingzi and Yun Zhan used before the initial battle. Although it couldn’t hurt it, it could make the Nieyu lose its ability to move.

Bai Fanlu raised his sword and aimed at the heart of the Nieyu before piercing it with all his strength.

It sank into the flesh!

Chk… CHK——

A zigzagging crack appeared on the sword before it broke into several pieces with a shatter.

This… The original Bai Fanlu’s sword was so fragile?

The ground he was standing on suddenly trembled, and in the next moment, began to shake violently. A roaring wind sounded in his ears, just like the sound of the airflow when the Nieyu had swallowed them. Bai Fanlu had a flash in his mind and hurriedly looked back.

As if it was exactly what he thought, a horizontal line of light appeared in front of them. It really was the Nieyu opening its huge mouth!

Bai Fanlu fell out onto the ground and raised his head, first looking up at the Nieyu. He was about to cast a spell to deal with it, but then saw that it was motionless. Its tongue was still sticking out, and was weakly being clamped by two pieces of its shell, the black air around it gradually dissipating.

Ah?

So even though his sword broke, piercing the heart still worked?

But he was only happy for a moment, as Bai Fanlu looked over the Nieyu, he could see the blue-clothed youth standing opposite of him on the other end. All sorts of feelings welled up in his heart at the sight and words could not describe his overly complex mood at the moment.

He could only let out a sigh, “Shidi…”

Yun Zhan didn’t respond to Bai Fanlu’s voice. The magical tool, Bilou, was still placed in his palm. The primary shape of the magic tool was a kindling fire, but the green flame was currently a green sword, inserted directly into the top of the Nieyu’s head at that moment.

As soon as he pulled back his hand, Biluo returned to his side and shrunk into an invisible spot of light around his waist.

Bai Fanlu already understood that although his sword made the Nieyu open its mouth, its now more dead than alive appearance was still for the greater part, given by Yun Zhan.

However, the Nieyu only appeared in the later stages of the original novel. How did Yun Zhan know where its life gate was and subdue it with one blow? Or was it common sense that Yun Zhan already knew about it?

Bai Fanlu seemed to be able to see the difference between the male protagonist and cannon fodder.

If this was the case, Bai Fanlu would willingly admit defeat, “Shidi, good skill.”

But you’re really here, right, on, time.

A little bit later, and he would have beat this thing in a flash.

Yun Zhan glanced at Bai Fanlu and didn’t speak before his eyes fell on the little beggar.

“Oh, I just saved him in passing.”

Bai Fanlu had also noticed Yun Zhan’s line of sight and set down the little beggar. He saw a bulge in his torn collar and realized he had been carrying the steamed buns the whole time, reluctant to throw them away.

Bai Fanlu took out his remaining silver pieces from his money bag and intended to give them to him. But he heard Yun Zhan say, “That will only bring him trouble.”

“Then what should I do?”

Although Bai Fanlu wasn’t someone who tried to be good with everyone, such a young child touched a sensitive string in his heart. He still wanted to help out a little. Otherwise, after those two steamed buns were finished, what would he do afterward?

Yun Zhan took out a few copper coins and handed them to the little beggar, “Take these. There's a place for you to stay at the Ziyue Inn in Wanhua City toward the south.”

The Ziyue Inn in Wanhua City? This wasn’t in the original novel. Where was that?

The little beggar’s dirty face lit up in joy, “Thank you, immortal!” Then he turned and bowed deeply toward Bai Fanlu, “Thank you, immortal gege!”

The little beggar waved and turned to leave, but Bai Fanlu stopped him. “Wait a moment.”

Yun Zhan looked over toward him at the same time.

Bai Fanlu took out a small box from his bag and opened it, the contents bursting in medicinal fragrance. He dipped his fingers into it a tad, squatted down, and pulled over the little beggar’s arm. He pressed his fingers on the place he had just been burned and secretly injected a little bit of spiritual energy.

“Okay, be careful on the road.”

The little beggar’s eyes turned slightly red along the rims and he sniffed, “Immortal gege, you are really kind.”

With that, he stretched out his hand and wrapped his arm around Bai Fanlu’s neck before he ran away half crying, half laughing.

Bai Fanlu stood up and breathed out a long sigh of relief. As soon as he turned his head, he found that Yun Zhan seemed to be looking at him, but his eyes were a little vacant, his placement unknown as if he were in deep thought.

But in a mere moment, he returned to normal, and said lightly, “Shixiong.”

Now only the two of them were left. Bai Fanlu was still very resistant to this person alone, calmly looking for words, “Shidi, why did you come here? Could it be that you received my message?”

Though he was right to want to avoid Yun Zhan, he was still compelled to consider good and evil for the time being because he received assistance. He hadn’t expected the message he sent back to the Immortal Gate could really be heard. Bai Fanlu was surprised.

“...En.” Yun Zhan looked at Bai Fanlu strangely.

“Then what’s to be done about this monster?” The circling demon air had dispersed, but Bai Fanlu could still feel that it was still alive.

“Take it back and let Shizun handle it.”

As Yun Zhan said so, he raised a hand, released a transparent water ball, wrapped the Nieyu in it, recollected it, and had it disappear. Bai Fanlu was not surprised over these things now. He just wanted to say: Shidi, I won’t go back for the moment, go ahead and leave first.

But Yun Zhan asked him, “Shixiong, do you feel uncomfortable?”

Uncomfortable? Bai Fanlu felt fine, except that his body was a little itchy, but his feet… seemed…

Bai Fanlu suddenly lowered his head and saw that his feet had turned blacker than oil. When he wanted to move his toes, he unexpectedly could not feel anything below his ankles.

“Corrupted by the turbid liquid.” Yun Zhan said in a flat tone.

Bai Fanlu’s first thought was that they were going to need to be amputated and felt a little panicked. Goodbye, Yun Zhan, wearing a look of indifference.

“Shixiong, are you going to return?” Yun Zhan asked, unperturbed.

Bai Fanlu was in a hurry so he didn’t have the leisure to carefully understand the meaning of Yun Zhan’s words. Gritting his teeth, he said, “I’ll go back.”

Yun Zhan nodded, “Very well.”

With that, he tapped his foot gently, summoned a floating flying sword, and stepped onto it steadily. His blue robes waving like drifting clouds and flowing water in his movements.

Bai Fanlu ignored him, sat on the ground, and meditated, regulating his breath to find out his current physical condition first.

If his Dantian couldn’t go on, he was afraid that teleporting wouldn’t be a good idea.

His sword was broken and not feasible to use, his feet couldn’t move, and the novice village had encountered a late stage mini boss. This really was miserable.

But why didn’t the original Bai Fanlu not even have a stronger sword even at this stage? Even if it wasn’t as good as the protagonist’s, it shouldn’t break with a single cut should it? On the other hand, Yun Zhan had Bilou. The difference between the protagonist and the cannon fodder villain was a bit too obvious.

Did he really want to ask Yun Zhan?

No, he definitely could not bow his head to a scumbag.

He would wait and adjust his breathing for a moment and then heal his injuries with healing techniques. He really couldn’t send a message to Wang Chongyu, but there were many ways, he didn’t believe——

Bai Fanlu suddenly felt his body lighten and he bumped into a ‘wall’ that was both a bit hard and a bit soft.

When he looked up, Yun Zhan’s face was above him, his hair brushing against Bai Fanlu’s face along with the howling wind, bringing a peculiar fragrance, faint, and almost like a certain type of grass.

Bai Fanlu was shocked. Wait… Was he being held by Yun Zhan on his flying sword?

And with one arm each under his knees and behind his shoulders?

Was this actually the legendary—— Princess carry?!