Could it be that I am the cruel villain?
Chapter 478 - 291: Dragged to the Joyful Sect to be paired with He Zhong!

Chapter 478: Chapter 291: Dragged to the Joyful Sect to be paired with He Zhong!

"..."

His mouth gaped wide open.

Ying Ling had imagined many scenarios.

Especially upon hearing words like "ritual" and "summoning," she thought Jiang Feng would pull out something incredible.

Like a Soul Summoning Banner, a Blood Refining Bead, or perhaps the blood, flesh, and innards of a living person.

Then, using some sort of strange evil ritual, they would summon someone, somewhat like the lost Ten-Day Time Array, which could summon a person back from a thousand miles away.

Or maybe utilizing some evil power, requiring various types of blood food as a sacrifice, the stronger the cultivator, the greater the effect.

But.

Such a simple and unadorned summoning technique... Wait a moment.

Looking at the dish Jiang Feng placed on the table, Ying Ling couldn’t help but twitch her mouth, as if the essence was the same, both involving blood and innards.

Seeing this, she couldn’t help but have a doubt arise in her heart.

"Could it be that those ceremonies for summoning ancient evil spirits were just about making a good meal for them?"

Actually.

She was right.

The majority of summoning Ancient Strange Beasts or sealing evil spirits from years past essentially comes down to hunger, not physical hunger but a hunger of the mind and soul.

For example, the Serpent inside someone’s stomach; Yu Ying indeed fed half of her Divine Soul to it.

"Senior Sister, if you don’t come back soon, your beloved junior brother might be tricked away by the bad women of the Joyful Sect."

Murmuring again softly to the Thousand-Mile Sound Transmission Talisman.

"And those from the Joyful Sect have their eyes on our junior sister, claiming they’ll not only snatch her but also break your dear junior brother’s legs and drag him to the Joyful Sect for breeding."

"If you don’t come back soon..."

Ying Ling was so furious upon hearing this that she nearly couldn’t resist rushing over to strangle this blabbering idiot on the spot.

What do you mean by bad women from the Joyful Sect? And what have I tricked? Who would even care to trick you with that appearance of yours?

Breeding?

Are you a stud horse or a bull?

"You rogue, setting up all these things here just to satisfy your appetite, what nonsense! I actually believed you had a way to contact..."

Whoosh!

A whooshing sound pierced through the sky.

The people in the city only thought it was an eagle or a hawk passing by, which wasn’t a rare thing locally, especially as the sky was dark, and most people were already asleep, but Ying Ling’s expression looked off.

Because that whoosh came from afar, like a meteor streaking across the sky, endless to the sight, stretching at least a hundred miles, seemingly responding to Jiang Feng’s words.

She was flabbergasted on the spot.

She had originally thought Jiang Feng was just fooling around, but the person really came? No, do all of you at Swordmaster Peak summon people in such a simple and unadorned manner?

No earth-shattering array? No impressive Magic Treasure? Just a talisman paper, a shout, and someone comes flying over from such a distance?

"How is that possible."

"Such a distance, even Master probably couldn’t manage it, Sword Qi soaring hundreds of miles, just hearing about it sounds absurd, what realm is Liu Jianxian at nowadays?"

"Refining Void? Unifying? Or... Mahayana?"

Imagining a higher realm was beyond her, within the Joyful Sect, the number of masters reaching this realm could be counted on one hand, not to mention what made Liu Tangxi most terrifying was not her Cultivation Realm.

But that sword.

Yet Jiang Feng seemed to have long anticipated that his senior sister would respond, leisurely skewering ingredients with bamboo, inserting them into the ground, the flame roasting and heating, the aroma of spices immediately permeating the entire courtyard.

"What, surprised?"

The man just stood up, gutted the fresh fish, scaled it, knowing that at Swordmaster Peak, Jiang Feng was almost always the chef for dinner, with Su Yi assisting.

Unlike ordinary women, their senior sister appeared in white dress, cold and aloof, but contrary in taste, she preferred strong, spicy flavors, the heavier the flavor, the more it piqued Liu Tangxi’s curiosity.

No matter how much seasoning was added, sweet, sour, bitter, or spicy, Liu Tangxi always tasted it with a calm expression, even making him suspect at one point that she lacked taste, but she always made precise comments, earning his respect.

"Do you really think you can outsmart my senior sister? Think you’re such a big deal?"

Without even lifting an eyelid.

The dagger swiftly removed all the fish bones and spines, a testament to superb knife skills, though the senior sister wasn’t fond of eating fish, most people who dislike it are just too lazy to deal with the spines or the meat lacks flavor.

As for whether she likes it after it’s been properly prepared...

Guess why he spent an entire afternoon picking ingredients?

"Senior Sister intentionally took the little princess of Country Liang away, not just because a bunch of ghosts and demons were lurking outside the city, afraid to come near, whatever their purpose, with the Master around, it’s not convenient."

"In her words, when she was young, playing outside with peers, if an elder was around, she’d feel uneasy all over."

"So, to resolve it once and for all, she took the princess along, asked the old Village Chief of Cen Family Village to clean up, ensuring no worries behind, making the whole Dongliang City quiet."

"At least no old ruffians would come before us, but senior sister is really not suited for childcare, always prefers to let it happen naturally, her heart is indeed large."

"But then, if the fish hook isn’t deep, if the bait isn’t tempting, how could these three mermaid beauties be lured?"

Motionless, just quietly listening.

Jiang Feng swiftly handled the ingredients, whether it was grilled or fruit, or even desserts, he brought them all out. An octagonal table was set in the middle of the courtyard, along with three chairs.

Once again, to emphasize.

Liu Tangxi didn’t choose Yan Yurou; instead, she chose Jiang Feng, largely because this kid could satisfy her taste buds.

The woman standing in the corner of the courtyard only nodded slightly.

Originally, she expected mockery in wait, but this kid said something sensible. Though she was teased, at least he referenced a mermaid, which sounded novel.

As for feeling frustrated or defeated, she didn’t. If her little schemes were seen through by peers and were used against her, Ying Ling would likely be furious and would insist on getting even.

But if it was Liu Xianzi...

Hmm, remember well, and learn more.

"To be honest, given my and my senior sister’s personalities, even if you didn’t come to us, there’s a high chance we’d have looked for them to brawl."

"But rest assured, since we’ve agreed, my sibling and I will naturally do our utmost."

"Lin Jiangxian is my junior sister, her family matters will be handled by Swordmaster Peak, no one can interfere, including you."

"I don’t know if I can kill Xuan Yinzi, but if he returns home unharmed, hehe, then I might as well shave my head and roll to Vajra Temple to become a monk."

"I said it."

The last three words were chilling to the bone.

His eyes revealed madness and an awe-inspiring killing intent, even though he was currently slicing fruit, each cut seemed as terrifying as cutting into flesh, making Ying Ling’s skin crawl.

Exactly as the Master said.

Swordmaster Peak were a group of sober yet fiercely protective madmen.

But the killing intent from Jiang Feng immediately retracted as if nothing happened, grinning as he said, "You see, with just one cultivation technique, you can invite the top two experts from Swordmaster Peak. Isn’t that quite the bargain?"

In terms of shamelessness, Jiang Feng could be said to have reached the pinnacle, and the key was that this title was not self-proclaimed.

It was Liu Tangxi who bestowed it upon him.

Swordmaster Peak had only a few people, apart from her as the Peak Master, wasn’t their junior brother the best at fighting?

Ying Ling rarely didn’t bicker with Jiang Feng, not because Liu Tangxi was getting closer but because she didn’t know how to respond. She originally thought she had seen through this kid’s character.

But she realized her understanding of Jiang Feng only touched the surface, and it was the most superficial layer. The side he showed was what he wanted others to see.

An extremely complex personality structure, sometimes she even suspected there were two different souls within Jiang Feng.

"Hmm~ The temperature’s up."

The juice overflowed, a delicious aroma wafting in the air.

She lifted the wine pot beside her, the pot was directly hung over the bonfire, its temperature rising continuously. She remembered this wine; earlier that afternoon Jiang Feng had wandered around town buying two large jars of it.

Initially not knowing its purpose, she didn’t expect that the legendary Sword Immortal actually had a fondness for it.

Directly rummaging inside the Qiankun Bag, he took out two small jars, tearing off the seals released an extremely strong and pungent aroma. Even a few meters away, Ying Ling couldn’t help but cover her nose.

But her mind wasn’t on Jiang Feng, instead, it was on that distant sharpness, drawing ever closer, increasing its speed. Ying Ling was now just one step away from the Nascent Soul Realm, her abilities and cultivation technique had reached the Nascent Soul level.

The only lacking aspect was the accumulation of cultivation, which could only be slowly built over time. Yet, the stronger she got, the more she felt that terrifying power closing in at great speed!

Initially spanning hundreds of miles, just in the half-hour conversation with Jiang Feng, it was already within reach.

The might and power were so overwhelming that it nearly made her legs weak. She knew that in the sect, the elders and the Master most often mentioned Liu Jian and second, Liu Tangxi regarding developments at the Purple Cloud Palace.

In the Master’s words, this Liu Xianzi had the qualification to carve out her own "path."

Crack!

The raging fire accidentally burned the twigs into charcoal, causing the hanging wine pot to fall.

Yet Jiang Feng only held a large bunch of skewers, skillfully flipping them to ensure the ingredients were heated evenly. He sprinkled some seasoning as he turned them, showing no intention of intervening.

But just as the pot was about to hit the ground.

Clang—

A blur passed before their eyes.

A bamboo stick, no thicker than a finger, fell onto the ground, slanting into the earth. The protruding branch on it perfectly stopped the pot, causing it to sway back and forth, humming with vibration.

Throughout the entire process, Ying Ling could only look in near terror at the direction from which the bamboo stick had flown!

Because the bamboo had traversed at least five or six miles from outside the city, and yet it took just a blink to reach them!

If this incoming force had been Sword Qi, perhaps none of the three sisters standing here could escape.

Even after landing, the bamboo stick continued to tremble, Jiang Feng was long accustomed to his senior sister’s skills, honestly speaking.

His senior sister’s entrance was so impressive; he could never master it in his lifetime.

"The Country Liang is rich in resources, Qing Mei plums are outstanding, plump and sweet with a hint of sourness, not using them for wine-making is truly a waste. They’re only available around March or April each year."

"But it’s a pity; these days, winemaking techniques are really limited. Huangjiu’s alcohol content is not high to start with, and after a year of soaking, it gets further diluted by Qing Mei."

"The taste is a bit bland, so I mixed in some distilled spirits for flavor. This time I’ve procured plenty of fresh Qing Mei, and next year you can taste the plum wine I’ve brewed, senior sister."

"For today, let’s make do. We can boil the wine over with Qing Mei and discuss heroism. Speaking of which, how do you prefer your grilled perch? Salty or spicy?"

As soon as she finished speaking.

A jade hand reached into the fire, picking up the pot from the bamboo. Just as she lifted the pot.

The bamboo turned to ashes and faded away.