Forming cliques (newly revised)
On the desolate summit of Liuli Mountain, where the winter wind howled, He Zian and Xin Ruien joined forces with their swords, aiming straight for Pei Jiangxi's throat.
Pei Jiangxi's face revealed a puzzling, relieved expression. This subtle change in expression caused Xin Rui'en to hesitate for a moment.
Fortunately, He Zian acted decisively and took the life of the female demon Pei Jiangxi in an instant.
He Zi'an stepped forward to comfort her, "Rui'en, are you alright?"
Xin Ruien shook her head: "I just suddenly felt that she might want us to kill her here."
He Zian was taken aback, pondered for a moment, and said, "No matter what, this attack on Liuli Mountain to eliminate demons and protect the righteous path can be considered a satisfactory ending, and it has not let everyone's sacrifices go to waste."
Shin Rui-eun nodded silently. But the eerie smile on Pei Jiangxi's face before she died kept replaying in her mind.
A gust of wind blew by, and Xin Ruien couldn't help but shiver. This also made her more awake. She looked at Pei Jiangxi lying beside her, and then at the nine strangely shaped longswords scattered around.
Xin Ruien tightened her clothes, thinking to herself, "Zian is right. No matter what, we have successfully defeated this female demon. From now on, the world will be at peace."
*
Pei Jiangxi took a deep breath, her chest still aching faintly.
Before me were straight tree trunks, sparse leaves, and a pale sky.
She transmigrated into the book, died three times, and then returned to the forest at the beginning of the novel.
Since entering this obscure novel and becoming the villain, she has experienced three cycles within the novel's world. According to the novel's timeline, this has taken more than a year.
At first, she planned to make great strides and enjoy life. But when she discovered that she could also get hurt and feel pain, and that Pei Jiangxi had a group of upright people chasing after her, she realized the seriousness of the problem.
Finally, in one of his sleep, Pei Jiangxi was infiltrated and strangled to death by members of the Beggars' Sect.
Thus, the first cycle of reincarnation ended.
In the second cycle, Pei Jiangxi decided to turn enemies into friends and actively surrendered to the prestigious sects. However, the righteous sects were as rigid in their thinking as the novel's author's writing; in their eyes, villains had no possibility of reforming.
This time, Pei Jiangxi's fate was not much better than that of the Liangshan bandits who surrendered to the imperial court. She was sent to the western frontier to eliminate evil and protect the righteous, but she was eventually framed and crippled for taking a knife for a righteous person, leaving her unable to take care of herself.
In despair, Pei Jiangxi chose to end her own life, thus ending her second reincarnation.
In the third cycle, Pei Jiangxi decided to follow the plot of the novel step by step and complete the story.
Based on the time-travel novels she had read, Pei Jiangxi guessed that the reason she hadn't been able to escape reincarnation was because she had acted recklessly in the previous two reincarnations, causing the various plot points in the novels to not unfold smoothly.
She worked diligently, filling in every detail of the novel based on her memories, and finally waited at the top of Liuli Mountain for the day when the male and female protagonists joined forces and she made a grand exit.
Pei Jiangxi was calm and had already released her grip on the sword before He Zian's sword arrived, accepting her death with equanimity.
However, things didn't go as planned. The fourth cycle of reincarnation still came.
She touched her face, looked at her attire, and confirmed that she had become Pei Jiangxi again. The story had returned to the scene where Pei Jiangxi first appeared.
The cycle of reincarnation continues.
Pei Jiangxi mobilized her internal energy, circulating it along her meridians, and soon confirmed another, even worse, matter.
As the number of reincarnations increases, internal energy weakens. Correspondingly, in this violent martial arts world, the chances of survival gradually decrease with each reincarnation.
If a way to escape the cycle of reincarnation is not found soon, and one's inner strength gradually depletes, one may be trapped in this story for the rest of one's life.
"Make your move, Pei Jiangxi." The wounded Wang Boyu lay on the ground, looking at Pei Jiangxi who was standing there in a daze, and mistakenly thought that she was deliberately trying to humiliate him. He clutched his chest and said magnanimously, "Today I am inferior in skill, but there is absolutely no way I will bow down to you."
Pei Jiangxi glanced at Wang Boyu, and an idea suddenly popped into her head.
She decided that in this life, she must ensure her own survival first, because only by living long enough could she find a way to break the deadlock.
At this moment, Pei Jiangxi's sword was only a finger's width away from Wang Boyu's throat.
Kill you? I'm not stupid. If I killed you here today, your master would hunt me down for the entire novel. Pei Jiangxi thought to herself.
“I know you.” Pei Jiangxi looked at Wang Boyu, who was spitting blood on the ground. “You are the disciple of Han Yizhi, the Sword Bone expert.”
Originally, at this point in the novel, Pei Jiangxi should have left the relentlessly pursuing man severely injured and unconscious. Afterwards, to save him, "Sword Bone" would find the female protagonist and firmly stand by her side.
In this world, those who can bear the title of "Sword Master" are all extraordinary individuals. The master and disciple share a poignant love story, but unfortunately, it ends in tragedy in the Western Frontier, becoming the catalyst for the protagonist's awakening.
In the sixteenth year of Yongqing, he personally sent his mentor, who had raised him, to the imperial prison.
"In the eighteenth year of Yongqing, he wiped out his junior brother's entire family."
"In August of this year, he crippled his senior sister's martial arts and sent her to the Cliff of Contemplation on Yijian Mountain."
Pei Jiangxi recounted Wang Boyu's deeds one by one, and said coldly, "You really don't show any mercy to your fellow disciples."
“These are all matters within my ‘Yijian Mountain’ sect. How do you know about them?” Wang Boyu looked puzzled, then his expression darkened. “They are morally flawed. I only follow the righteous path and have a clear conscience.”
“You’re not being sincere,” Pei Jiangxi said disdainfully. “You just want to give the righteous people a pledge of loyalty so they can fulfill your master-disciple relationship.”
Wang Boyu was ashamed and indignant, his face turning bright red.
“You know in your heart that what they care about is your relationship.” Pei Jiangxi paused and said, “This relationship goes against the natural order. Those people consider themselves superior, and no matter how hard you try, they will never accept you.”
What exactly are you trying to say?
“As long as those people hold high positions, you and your apprentice will never be able to turn your lives around.”
Wang Boyu remained silent.
“Let’s make a deal. Since your relationship is not tolerated in this martial world, I will create a new one that can accommodate you,” Pei Jiangxi suggested. “With my and your master’s martial arts skills, plus the power of my Liuli Palace, we have a real chance to overturn the entire martial world.”
*
Han Yizhi spotted the intertwined sword shadows in the bamboo forest from afar.
She channeled the sword intent within her body. In an instant, a cold wind descended from the sky, covering all the green leaves with a layer of frost.
The sharp sword intent separated the two people in the center of the battlefield.
"The swordsmen of Canghai Sword Manor are also on their way. You can't escape this time." Han Yizhi said in a threatening tone, shielding Wang Boyu behind him.
Han Ye-ji did not want to clash with Bae Kang-hee.
She understood that the bond between master and disciple would never be tolerated by the righteous path. Once all evil in the world was eradicated, the next targets of the righteous path would be them, master and disciple.
Her best option is to go through the motions without putting in any effort; even letting some evil spirits escape is not entirely impossible.
"I've been poisoned by this witch's sword, Master, be careful," Wang Boyu suddenly said.
“I have no intention of harming your disciple’s life; I simply wish to ask for your help,” Pei Jiangxi said calmly.
"What do you want?" Han Yizhi asked angrily, gritting her teeth.
"This is a unique medicine from my Crystal Palace. It requires my true energy to neutralize it." Pei Jiangxi sheathed her longsword. "Take it once every seven days. The poison will dissipate on its own after three months."
"You want us, master and disciple, to be your lackeys?"
"To be my partner."
"A partner who uses poison to blackmail?"
Pei Jiangxi smiled and said, "They are partners who have no prejudice against you."
More and more presences approached the three of them, and the forest became noisy.
Pei Jiangxi smiled and looked at Han Yizhi: "The first thing I wanted to ask you for has come to pass."
One by one, the heroes of Canghai Sword Manor flew out from the frost-covered, greyish-white bamboo forest, forming an encirclement from all sides and trapping Pei Jiangxi in the center.
"Sword Bone, why are you taking so long?" Li Qian, the robust young master of Canghai, held a brand-new Seven Star Sword and looked at Han Yizhi with displeasure, urging him imperiously, "Hurry up and capture this vixen."
Wang Boyu was about to reprimand him when Han Yizhi stopped him.
Han Yizhi replied politely, "Yes, I would appreciate your help, young heroes."
Han Yizhi lightly touched the ground with his toes and flew forward, followed closely by the group of talented young men from Canghai Sword Manor.
Han Yizhi suddenly stopped less than five steps away from Pei Jiangxi and brandished her long sword.
The Sword Manor members couldn't stop in time and rushed in front of Han Yizhi.
A layer of purple sword intent expanded outwards. A layer of grayish-white sword intent contracted inwards.
Li Qian and his group were trapped between two layers of murderous intent.
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