Could it be that I am the cruel villain?

"Wait, Senior!"

"I am Xuan Xiaozi, my father is Xuan Sha, and my master is Xuan Jingzi, the thirty-seventh generation disciple of Xuanyin Sect. This time, it was I who failed to recognize Mount Tai and didn't realize this child was your reincarnation, Senior."

"If I have offended, please forgive me. I will leave immediately!"

He reacted swiftly.

Reporting his identity at the first opportunity, in front of such a monster, he could only hope his master's name would intimidate him. After all, his master was quite a renowned figure back in the day.

When he heard the names "Xuan Sha" and "Xuan Jingzi," a hint of interest flashed in the black serpent's vertical pupils, indicating that Demon Night True Monarch indeed knew these two people during his life.

But it didn't bring intimidation.

Instead, it brought mockery.

After years of recuperation and absorbing so many souls, the serpent was clearly much larger than before. It continued to stare at Xuan Xiaozi, motionless, as if time froze at this moment.

Hiss—

The flicking of its forked tongue filled Xuan Xiaozi with a sense of danger.

Especially the creature's smirk, that seemed to see him as a fool, or like a cat toying with a mouse.

"Does Senior truly intend to annihilate me?"

His voice turned colder.

Feigning a strong stance, he desperately scanned the area behind him with his divine soul, searching for a way out.

His eyes darted around, finally settling on a shabby hut by the lake, filling him with joy.

"There it is, there it is! This is the place!"

He vaguely remembered entering Jiang Feng's dantian from here, indicating this odd little hut was the entrance and exit to this realm.

Without revealing his intentions, he slowly moved toward the hut, his legs tense, ready to burst into action. The serpent watched his subtle movements with an expression akin to observing a fool.

"Time to run!"

He kicked with both legs.

His entire being dispersed, splitting into numerous directions, rapidly converging back at the broken-down hut, forming his shape again with incredible speed.

Standing at the entrance, filled with joy, it seemed the dim-witted demon beast hadn't realized he could escape. Just as he was about to enter the hut—

Bang—

The door slammed shut.

He stood there, dumbfounded.

"What's going on, open, open up for me!"

"Xuanyin Mystical Method, King of Light Descends! Break down for me!"

Boom!

He exerted all his strength to attack the shabby hut before him, but against Xuan Xiaozi's aggressive assault, the dilapidated door remained stone-like and unmoved.

The serpent, with only its upper body above the water surface, towering over a hundred meters, looked down on him like a fool. Clearly, Xuan Xiaozi did not realize there was a third party in this realm besides the two of them.

"Junior Brother was right,"

Liu Xianzi merely brushed off the dust from her hands after latching the door, then sat down leisurely inside the small hut, looking relaxed.

"Some people are indeed inherently lacking, with low intelligence. I should indeed heed his advice, let go of the urge to help others, and respect their fate."

"For prying into others' bodies without knowing their place, and not contemplating why I chose him, or why I dared to let him venture out alone to stir trouble."

"Now seeing forbidden things and wanting to retreat, not considering whose territory this is, even if this is just a remnant soul, the Spiritual Energy Lake holds the combined cultivation of an Immortal Monarch and a Demon Lord."

"Even with my full strength, I could only carve out this little hut in this realm. If not for the Nine Swords of Evil Extermination Array left by the ancestor, I wouldn't even be able to manage it."

"Serves him right."

Clatter—

The sound of mountains and seas came from outside.

Even without looking, she knew what fate awaited Xuan Xiaozi. With her understanding of the serpent, it likely wouldn't devour Xuan Xiaozi immediately but would instead choose to toy with him first.

Once it grew tired of the game, it would then rip him to shreds, devouring him in one gulp...

This seemed to be the first time Liu Tangxi reached a certain agreement with the serpent at the lake's bottom.

The Serpent didn't even try to stop them from leaving, as if it knew long ago that Liu Tangxi would inevitably shut the door directly, because it was the body of her junior brother.

You, an Evil Cultivator, someone who practices the way of flesh and blood cultivation, have directed your attention to the junior brother's body. If she doesn't close the door, who will?

In regular times, if someone accidentally stumbled upon them without malicious intent, Liu Tangxi would mostly try to find a way to preserve the other's life. Last time, Yu Ying accidentally peeked and almost got killed.

Actually, she should have been killed outright, but Liu Tangxi reacted quickly, grabbed a piece and threw it out.

Greedy enough to swallow an elephant, this saying appropriately describes the pitifully escaping Xuan Xiaozi. Originally he had succeeded in seizing Jiang Feng's body, although not completely controlled, he had undoubtedly gained most of the upper hand.

He only needed time to slowly refine it, unless someone noticed the anomaly, otherwise it was basically a sure thing. It's known that the Serpent wouldn't care who controls the body or who temporarily occupies it.

All it needed was not to die before this body matured enough to withstand its power, only then would it occupy, regarding who has the control now, it never mattered.

However...

Some people are just unlucky.

Whoosh!

A meteor streaked across the sky over the Purple Cloud Palace.

The speed was so fast, the surrounding space seemed a bit distorted, and within the shattered Martial Arts Arena, a huge three meters tall Exotic Beast was searching through the rubble.

With great claws, it clawed a few times, finally finding Jiang Feng among the boulders, it opened its mouth and bit onto his head, then threw him out.

"How is it?"

"Ow~ Ow!"

It made a sound of resignation.

Clearly, it didn't know what had truly happened inside.

The rest of the disciples saw the commotion at the mountain top cease and hurried forward, especially those disciples in the Core Formation Stage who maintained the Sword Array form. Seeing the Blood Mist dissipated, Yan Fengchun immediately strode forward to check if his brother was still breathing.

But as he saw Liu Tangxi standing with an unchanged expression, his step halted.

"Greetings, Peak Master. Is this... uh, Jiang Feng okay?"

He sneaked a glance.

Although Jiang Feng, Mr. Jiang, was unconscious now, and covered in blood, there didn't seem to be any obvious wounds from the marks on his body.

"He's fine, not dying."

She glanced at him.

She reached out, grabbed the head directly; the action had a bit of a taste of Nine Yin Bone Claws, grabbing by the Heavenly Spiritual Sense and lifting it up.

Feeling carefully, she found indeed a rip in her junior brother's Divine Soul, but inside that rip no other Divine Soul existed, just some residue from previous attachments.

The physical erosion was even more severe. Xiao Xuan was originally a meticulously selected vessel by Xuan Xiaozi, unfortunately, his talent fell short slightly, the body couldn't endure his Divine Soul, pushing it to near explosion.

That's why Jiang Feng felt Xiao Xuan's physique was a bit weak upon first meeting him.

Exploding flesh and blood, processed through Xuan Xiaozi's Cultivation Technique, attempted to integrate all refined Essence Blood and flesh into Jiang Feng's new body, which is why Jiang Feng couldn't control his body ultimately.

She hefted him in her hand; she was sure her junior brother was unharmed, not only that but had gained nearly seven or eight pounds, although this action made Yan Fengchun's heart jump, fearing a tug might break his brother's neck.

"He's fine."

After a moment, Liu Tangxi finally said.

"He just fainted, the body's frail, a few days of rest will suffice; the culprit lies executed, and it seems killed by his own hands."

Now Liu Xianzi had learned to lie without a hint.

Frail?

Frail, my foot!

His face looked pale, barely alive, which was just a facade crafted where Xuan Xiaozi pooled the blood near the torso and the heart.

Jiang Feng now had quite the replenishment, besides the torn Divine Soul needing time to recover, everything else seemed as if he had taken a tonic; a pure surge of flesh and blood directly infused into his body.

If guessed correctly, this should be Xuan Xiaozi's original body.

Phoenix Eyes glimpsing, seemingly detecting someone approaching from afar, Liu Tangxi, without a word, lifted Jiang Feng's head and led him away from the site. She didn't want anyone learning her junior brother's body secrets, but her expression showed a bit of resignation.

"Extracting the Human Soul, absorbing the Essence Blood."

"I, Liu Tangxi, am straightforward and open, but somehow taught a person in the ways of evil cultivation..."