Becoming the Villainess: I Dominate the Cultivation Realm with My Wok!-Chapter 224

This was a replica of the Demon-locking Pearl, recreated during the time Cen Lizhui was investigating the Black Qi at the Immortal Sect, based on initial impressions.

To be precise, it was recreated with the generous support of Uncle Yun Chi, which specifically manifested as Yun Chi tossing a whole pile of Spirit Stones at Cen Lizhui for him to use freely. When Cen Lizhui took them, he realized they were the same ones he provided during the last Barrier creation session.

However, this Demon-locking Pearl couldn’t lock the formidable creature that was the master of the Black Qi; it merely collected a small portion of its residual power while tracking the Black Qi.

For most people, this residual power remained harmless, and the purple substance that appeared in the previously transparent Demon-locking Pearl after encasing the Black Qi was what Cen Lizhui desired.

Back then, it was this purple Qi that caused the culprits to lose consciousness instantly, saving Xiaohua’s life. According to Cen Lizhui’s analysis, the ability to transform into purple Qi mainly came from the Black Qi entity’s consciousness. After the entity was locked, its power would be worn out by the pearl, and when it was released, with the assistance of purple Qi, the affected individuals could be more easily possessed.

The strength of this purple Qi was astonishing. Even Yun Chi, when caught off guard, fell victim to it and later found out that his beloved shiny stones were gone.

Those shiny, transparent stones, though devoid of Spiritual Power, were very beautiful, capable of refracting a lot of light, and so large that even Yun Chi rarely found any!

Chen Muxue took out the replica Demon-locking Pearl and, following the instruction of the Thousand Paper Cranes, umm, no, Cen Lizhui, tossed it directly towards the guards.

"Who’s there?!" The four guards were all above the Nascent Soul Stage. They turned around suddenly with their weapons aimed at her, almost making Chen Muxue’s hair stand on end.

"Someone..." Before they could finish, the purple Qi rose, and the four Nascent Soul Stage experts collapsed limply, akin to a sudden disconnection.

Chen Muxue hesitated a bit, wondering if she was being pranked.

But hearing the approaching footsteps of the patrol, she went straight through the door, not forgetting to drag the two guards outside with her.

"Hey, I mean, if the patrol sees there’s no one guarding the door, with the door closed, won’t they find it strange?"

Chen Muxue closed the door, locked it, and stacked the four guards as human barricades at the entrance.

"If you could fly, this would be much easier."

Chen Muxue looked on reluctantly. On the main building and the Book Collection Pavilion, the two tall structures beside them, with at least ten arrows glaringly pointed at the sky here, visible just beyond the wall.

"Well... if you were in the Mahayana Realm, you could just storm right in," Cen Lizhui’s voice came weakly.

Chen Muxue couldn’t be bothered to roll her eyes, but even if she did, he wouldn’t see it: "If I were one step away from becoming an immortal in the Mahayana Realm, why would I care about the Chu Family or any Black Cat? I’d just get a black panther, no, a whole pack, and directly establish Wakanda, Wakanda Forever!"

Caught off guard? In the teahouse, Cen Lizhui and Chu Wuyi exchanged glances, confirmed that they didn’t understand the look in each other’s eyes, and felt relieved. It wasn’t their own ignorance, but Chen Muxue’s nonsense.

As she entered the courtyard, a chill crept up her spine. The surroundings were eerily silent, seemingly devoid of even a single bird. The flowers, grass, and trees, whether dead or alive, appeared withered and limp well before autumn. At a glance, it seemed she had stepped into a world of gray and yellow.

The blue bricks and green tiles had faded in color, with a layer of dust covering everything, as if no one ever walked there. Yet the expensive clothes drying in front of the houses clashed incongruously with the age-old surroundings.

"Now this is what you’d call a godforsaken place..." Chen Muxue muttered to herself.

"Caw!" A crow seemed to protest, flying and dropping a pile a few meters before her. 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

This call set off a flurry among the branches dotted with remaining leaves, sending many crows flapping into the air, scattering the fallen leaves all around.

The sudden flight of the crows added an unsettling sense of fear.

Chen Muxue shrank her neck, wanting to call out to see if anyone was around, but feared alarming the Chu Family guards outside before receiving a response from those inside. So she slowly and cautiously moved her feet.

"Don’t be afraid, I’m here too."

The sudden voice startled Chen Muxue: "Stop talking nonsense! Are you crazy?"

"Meow."

Hearing the familiar cat cry, Chen Muxue’s eyes lit up: "Black Cat? Maomao!"

The Black Cat, who was initially lunging at the crows, stopped and looked back in confusion at Chen Muxue, much like a regular stray cat wary of a stranger. After observing her for a moment and seeing her approach, it immediately ran off and disappeared.

Chen Muxue was puzzled. Was it really this Black Cat? Could it be that she was unfamiliar with Cultivation and mistook it? Was this just an ordinary Black Cat, and not Xiaohua’s Cat Demon?

"What’s going on? Why did the Black Cat run away?" Cen Lizhui peered through the copper mirror, barely seeing a thing and was perplexed, "Could this not be the right Black Cat?"

Being absent on the scene, Cen Lizhui couldn’t easily identify it after all, considering pure black fur and green-eyed Black Cats all looked virtually the same.

Chen Muxue also wasn’t sure: "Maybe I got it wrong."

As she spoke, she continued walking forward.

"A newcomer?"

Chen Muxue encountered a rocking chair with a dry "elder" lying in it. She was uncertain because this person was skin and bones, with a very aged demeanor, yet not quite like a genuine old woman. Though the skin was in poor condition, it didn’t sag from the effects of gravity over the years.

Compared to the Fourth Madam’s youthful state of twenty-five, this person’s skin indeed resembled that of a twenty-five-year-old, yet her hair was already gray, and her skin, not that wrinkled, also lacked the moisture youthful skin typically had.

Could she be parched from desert-like dryness?

Chen Muxue cleared her throat slightly: "Ah, yes, I’m new here. Senior, you are?"

The person seemed to struggle as she turned slightly to glance at Chen Muxue, squinting her eyes: "You don’t look it."

"What doesn’t look it?"

"She’s back, no longer sending adults like you. Newcomers should be infants." The person’s head turned back, the chair rocking as she lay facing the sky, resting her eyes.

She? Chen Muxue guessed that "she" probably referred to Chu Wuxin.

It seemed that Chu Wuxin was relatively significant to the Chu Family, as her absence forced the family to send women here who were not destined at birth?

"Not of the Chu Family, the backlash is doubled," the person slowly stated, "While you can still stand, walk around more, remember the feeling of running..."

Sending women of external fates? Isn’t that a crime?

Chen Muxue frowned slightly. No wonder the Sixth Prince eventually abandoned the Chu Family; otherwise, it would become his blemish upon ascending the throne.

"Meow!"

While Chen Muxue was deep in thought, the Black Cat appeared again, with an unexpected person standing behind it, smiling warmly at her.