Su Xiaobai froze, silent for a moment, then shook her head.
“No, I won’t.”
“Although I hate her and want to bring her down, to punish her tooth for tooth, blood for blood, I will never draw my weapon against her.”
“She is my master, the woman who raised me. Without her, there would be no me.”
“At first, my answer was the same as yours.” The Book Spirit’s smile was bitter. “Once upon a time, I too believed my master and I could unify the Five Domains and Two Heavens, leading all living beings to a better future—until the arrangements of those watchful ‘Heavenly Emperor Spirit Lock Arrays’ that monitor the lives of all beings…”
“As a being of the Longevity Realm, I could not bring myself to shoot at the demons who disrupted the natural order—that would be disloyalty. As my master’s disciple and adopted son, I was unfilial for not supporting his plans, even secretly letting members of the resistance slip away.”
“My master massacred the rebellious cultivators of the Five Domains. I took part as an executioner, which is unkindness. Yet, I secretly aided the resistance members and laid traps in my own name to exterminate many cultivators, which is injustice.”
“A person as disloyal, unfilial, unkind, and unjust as I am does not deserve to live in this world. So I left my master, left the Azure Emperor Shrine, left this place I once called home, wandering through the Five Domains and Two Heavens.”
“I met many people and witnessed many events. I saw the resistance successfully destroy a ‘Heavenly Emperor Spirit Lock Array’ and personally witnessed my master’s ‘Divine Emperor Soldiers’ executing resistance cultivators.”
“Gradually, I changed my name. Though my body and hair come from my parents, someone as disloyal and unfilial as me no longer cares.”
“My Dao name is Xuantian. The character ‘Xuan’ means ‘black’—the darkness opposing my master’s whiteness. Adding ‘Zhoutian’ (the ‘Heavenly Cycle’) to the name, I call myself Zhou Xuan.”
Zhou Xuan’s expression was bitter as he looked at Su Xiaobai. “That was my past. That is my story.”
“If what you say is true, how did you cross time and return to the past?” Su Xiaobai remained cautious.
“It was Mister Bai.”
“Mister Bai? Who is he?”
“The only cultivator in that era who could stand against my master. He was the first to find a flaw in the ‘Heavenly Emperor Spirit Lock Arrays,’ organized the resistance, and it was he who sent me back to this point in time.”
“Why did he send you back?”
“I don’t know. Perhaps it was just a casual move on his part.”
The shadowy figure of Zhou Xuan clasped his hands behind his back and gazed into the distance, as if through layers of spirit arrays and stretching mountains he saw a ruin—the ruins of Qingyang Hall.
“Past me did not wish for my master’s death, nor for him to stand against the Five Domains and Two Heavens. Can you help me?”
“What do you need me to do?”
At this moment, Su Xiaobai had already believed him to some extent. This remnant soul in the book without words might truly be her future self—deeply familiar with her, able to foresee the future, and whenever Zhou Xuan taught her cultivation methods, she felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity, as if she had cultivated them before.
Of course, more importantly—
Having this self-proclaimed future self as her teacher on her current path meant her cultivation would rapidly improve. Soon, she could repay her master tooth for tooth, eye for eye, and punish the bad master severely!
“To crush her ambitions,” Zhou Xuan said.
…
【This assassination left you severely wounded, forcing you into secret seclusion to heal. Meanwhile, your blood body managed the sect on your behalf, secretly redeploying the Heavenly Emperor Spirit Lock Array.】
【The assassination attempt was made by four Golden Core cultivators. The Immortal Alliance came to investigate, but you pinned the blame on You Lu. As for what happened next, you didn’t get involved.】
【Three years later, your wounds healed. During this time, you studied the Human Dao legacy within the Human Emperor’s Three Artifacts and also tinkered with some new inventions.】
“Tsk~ Little girl, your Yin Soul Refining Method isn’t bad.”
Inside the secluded cave, a black-armored soldier over two meters tall stood upright like a pine tree, his armor seamless and terrifying, radiating a cold metallic luster and surging with Yin energy that sent chills down one’s spine.
Su Bai didn’t care for the old ghost’s praise, her brows slightly furrowed.
According to the Human Dao legacy, she should have refined a [Protector Divine Weapon], so why did she make this fierce and sinister thing?
Could it be that this time, to save on materials, she used Yin Souls as components, which led to a drop in aesthetics?
“Prison Lord, your fate is off.”
Suddenly, an old ghost in the soul prison spoke up.
“What do you mean?” Su Bai frowned.
“Qian represents Yang, Kun represents Yin. Prison Lord, because of your cultivation method, you became female, so you should be a Yin cultivator with a Yang fate. But from my recent calculations, you are actually a Yin cultivator with a Yin fate—destined to be a daughter. Your fate includes a noble benefactor. If luck is good, this benefactor will pass on to you, allowing you to soar and transform into a phoenix.”
“But if your luck is bad, you offend this benefactor, your entire fortune turns against you, and you become a bride given away to another. Tsk, tsk, tsk—this kind of fate is just a step below the phoenix. At best, you’re a peacock.”
Yin cultivator with Yin fate? Noble benefactor? Phoenix? Peacock?
Listening to the old ghost’s analysis, Su Bai thought of the [Named Important Supporting Role Aura] embedded in her character slot.
An Important Supporting Role Aura—the female supporting role counts as a supporting role, after all.
If the noble benefactor is the protagonist, then as a supporting role, the female villainess cannot outshine the heroine but can hitch onto the protagonist’s strength, join the harem, and soar high. But if she’s a wicked villainess who offends the protagonist, dies by her hand, and loses all her accumulated wealth to the heroine, she becomes someone else’s wedding garment.
Thinking this through, Su Bai tried removing the supporting role aura. Sure enough, a moment later, an incredible scream echoed from within the soul prison.
“Impossible! Fate has changed!!”
“Tsk~ Destiny Old Ghost, how ancient is your ‘Heaven and Earth Longevity Fate Scripture’ anyway?”
“We cultivators follow heaven’s will to be mortal, defy heaven’s will to become immortals. What’s the point of fate?!”
“Heh~ Destiny Old Ghost, I ask you: if you were so devoted to fate, how come your cultivation never surpassed Nascent Soul? Dead last among us!”
Perhaps stung by this remark, the Demon Old Ghost’s eyes widened, blue veins bulging on his forehead, arguing that fate cannot be defied, that what has happened will happen again, and that even rebellion against heaven is within fate.
This set the old ghosts in the soul prison to laughter, filling the Human Emperor’s Banner with joy.
Su Bai listened to their mockery for a while, then used the mighty power of the Human Emperor’s Banner to temporarily pull the Destiny Old Ghost from the soul prison and infused him into the black armored shell before her, patting his shoulder like a boss PUA.
“I admire your ‘Heaven and Earth Longevity Fate Scripture.’ From now on, no need to enter the soul prison. Live inside my Human Emperor’s Banner as a Protector Divine General.”
After speaking, Su Bai coated the originally terrifying black armor with a layer of golden light, transforming it into a majestic war god shining with radiant light.
Destiny Old Ghost: Huh?
Other Old Ghosts: Huh?
“Prison Lord, I, I, I! I want to be a Divine General too!!”
“Little lady… Honored Qingyang True Immortal, I can handle being a Protector Divine General! I’m a sword cultivator, first in killing prowess!!”
“Prison Lord, I know the Yin-Yang Reversal Technique!! I can solve your problem!! Let me out for some fresh air!!”
The next moment, countless old ghosts and demons in the soul prison erupted in a roaring chorus, competing to be chosen, no longer careless or unruly.
Their gazes fixed on the lively golden light god before them, the newly enlightened Destiny Old Ghost wept tears of joy, and a faint smile curled Su Bai’s lips. Sure enough, these unruly, abstract old ghosts had desires and demands deep in their hearts.
From now on, such Protector Divine Generals would be called—
【Divine Emperor Soldiers】