With the three junior sisters' personalities all having veered wildly off-script, Lin Xiao had no choice but to place his last shred of hope on the heavenly beauty who reigned atop Tiannü Cliff.
After taking a moment to steady his thoughts, he refocused on dragging the plot back to its original track.
With familiar ease, he donned the full mantle of a villain and barked out in a ferocious tone, "Second Junior Sister, spare me the nonsense."
"I'll be honest with you—this Senior Brother came to the Pill Tower today for a single purpose: to retrieve a certain pill. What I intend to do with it… hmph, that's none of your concern. (￣皿￣)"
These words were practically a confession. Anyone with half a brain would begin to suspect something was off, right?
Yet the last thing he expected was…
The usually cold-as-ice Second Junior Sister actually cupped both hands and offered up a small purple-black pill with a radiant smile.
Her dimples were faintly visible as she said sweetly, "Senior Brother, were you looking for this? The Sevenfold Despair Pill, yes?"
What the hell!?
How does she know!?
Lin Xiao stood frozen, utterly dumbfounded.
But to his credit, he didn't wear the villain's hat for nothing. After a quick mental pivot, he made the most advantageous choice available.
"Hmph. Hand it over."
He snatched the pill from Guo Yourong's palm and stormed out of the room with exaggerated hostility.
Surely with behavior this suspicious, that girl would start to grow wary of him, no?
Yes—she must.
That's what Lin Xiao thought.
…
"Waaah, my Senior Brother is too adorable, isn't he? Why didn't I notice it before? I must've been blind!"
Staring after the figure of her flustered, fleeing Senior Brother, Guo Yourong's eyes shimmered with stars. Her heart practically exploded in a shower of flower petals.
"But speaking of which, Senior Brother… I already had Elder Gu refine that Seven Despair Pill a second time. Its poison is ten times more potent than before."
"Once Ye Chen ingests it, his soul will shatter, his body perish, and he will be erased from the cycle of reincarnation."
A near-maniacal glint flashed across her bewitching face—an intoxicating blend of elegance and madness.
…
Atop Shenluan Peak, Tiannü Cliff.
"Disciple Lin Xiao pays respects to Master."
After safely stashing away the pill in his room, Lin Xiao knelt respectfully before the wooden lodge at the cliff's summit.
To be honest, since transmigrating to this world, he'd hardly ever seen this beautiful master of his. Even now, he felt a rare tension coil in his chest.
After all, in the original novel, although Xiao Hongling was technically the youngest of the four Peak Masters, her unrivaled talent and fierce, domineering temperament made even the sect master, Daoist Master Ziyun, cautious around her.
"Aha~ my precious disciple, you… you've arrived…"
"Come in, quickly now…"
A hazy, slightly slurred woman's voice drifted out from the hut, along with the unmistakable sound of a hiccup.
"She's been drinking again?"
Lin Xiao tensed.
It was well known that Xiao Hongling's character was entirely at odds with her breathtaking beauty.
She was unrestrained, wild at heart, addicted to wine, and fond of venturing out into the mortal realm for months at a time to enjoy the pleasures of the world.
Guo Yourong, the Second Junior Sister, was someone she'd casually rescued during one such wander.
In every way but gender and appearance, Xiao Hongling was the very image of a wandering swordsman from a wuxia tale.
It was no wonder that among the entire cast of the harem novel "Supreme Emperor," she had become the most beloved heroine among readers during serialization.
"What's this? Why are you just standing there like a log? Hmph! Are you ignoring your Master now?"
"Hurry up and get in here, or your Master will get upset! Stupid disciple!"
Again the voice came, sultry and coquettish in its indignation.
Was it just his imagination, or did she sound… like she was pouting?
Good heavens. A coquettish two-hundred-year-old woman was far more terrifying than any demonic beast.
Gritting his teeth, Lin Xiao stepped through the door.
He scanned the room and quickly found her—reclining lazily on a cold jade bed, her ink-black hair cascading like a waterfall, brows as delicate as painted strokes.
She was breathtaking.
Beneath the hem of her gauzy white dress, a pair of shapely, slender legs crossed with natural grace. She wore no shoes or socks; her snowy feet were bare, graceful and refined, a picture of untouched nobility.
If not for the fact that she was holding a wine gourd in one hand and looking a touch unkempt, she would have been the very embodiment of a jade statue brought to life.
Lin Xiao wasn't the kind of fool who turned to mush at the sight of a pretty face. He had three junior sisters of unrivaled beauty by his side.
Yet when compared to Xiao Hongling, they always fell just a little short in terms of allure and cultivated poise.
"Disciple greets Master."
Lin Xiao bowed deeply.
"Sigh… it's been a while, hasn't it? Come here. Let your Master take a good look at you."
Sipping her wine, Xiao Hongling's phoenix eyes roamed over him with an unreadable glint.
Then, they narrowed ever so slightly, and for the first time since his arrival, her tone turned serious.
"Oh? In just three short months… you've broken through to the Foundation Establishment Realm?"
"And not just that—your spiritual roots and physique have undergone a metamorphosis."
Lin Xiao's heart clenched.
As expected of the most terrifying beauty in the cultivation world—nothing could escape her notice.
And the truth of the matter… wasn't easy to explain.
She knew the limits of his aptitude all too well. With his original foundation, he wouldn't have reached the Innate Realm in a hundred years, much less Foundation Establishment.
"Disciple… was fortunate enough to receive a celestial encounter," Lin Xiao said stiffly. "But I must beg Master's forgiveness—I cannot reveal the identity of that expert."
"Oh? Such a thing happened?"
Xiao Hongling's seductive smile curled at the corners of her lips. "Very well. If that's the case, it's only natural."
"You are, after all, this Master's disciple. Being favored by the heavens… is nothing less than what you deserve."
"Haha, Master speaks with wisdom," Lin Xiao said with haste.
"By the way… you've already met the heir of the North River King, haven't you? That Ye Chen boy?"
Her voice remained offhanded, but the words struck Lin Xiao like a lightning bolt.
How does she know about Ye Chen already?
This plot was spinning wildly out of orbit!
"Forget it for now," Xiao Hongling said, setting aside her wine and turning to face him fully.
Her face, already dazzling beyond description, was now tinged with the flush of wine, giving it a dreamlike, otherworldly charm.
"Come, little disciple… accompany your Master for a bit, will you?"
Her voice was languid and honeyed, pleasant to the ear—but in the next instant, her eyes sharpened into blades.
Without warning, her snow-white hand reached out and gripped Lin Xiao's palm.
In her other hand, a sword of shimmering violet qi materialized out of thin air.
In the blink of an eye, the world flipped.
Wind roared in his ears. The surroundings melted away like smoke. He felt as if he were falling through a tunnel of time itself.
When his vision cleared again, Lin Xiao stood alone atop a steep, windswept cliff.
The night wind howled.
The beauty was gone.
A chill crawled across his spine.
"Master? What is the meaning of this…?"
He called out, but there was no reply.
Only silence.
Then, from high above, thunder rumbled behind gathering storm clouds. And from the heavens descended a voice—majestic, cold, and commanding.
"Disciple! Draw your sword against your Master—at once!"