Could it be that I am the cruel villain?
Chapter 63: The Disappearance of Thirty-Three Years

Chapter 63: Chapter 63: The Disappearance of Thirty-Three Years

Chills rose from behind.

For a moment, the young boy had an illusion, as if Liu Xianzi’s words were not directed at the giant serpent but at himself.

Her cool face showed no fear. She simply took a step forward to shield the boy, her right hand on her sword, the pressing Sword Qi making the boy retreat several steps, his eyes full of horror.

Somehow, Jiang Feng suddenly felt a faint pain in his lower abdomen.

"Hiss—"

The serpent’s hissing emitted a piercing sound.

It did not shrink back because of Liu Tangxi’s threat but instead showed fierce light in its vertical pupils, coiling its body, with its neck scales rising high. Even the nearly liquefied Spiritual Energy began to boil.

Holding his breath and focusing, the scene before him, one person and one serpent, had already surpassed his understanding, especially that serpent, with short horns on its head and four legs on its belly. Instead of calling it a serpent, it would be more fitting to describe it as a Serpent.

It was also at this time that he realized why, after reaching a certain level of cultivation, one could become an "Immortal."

Time passed by second by second.

Strangely, although both parties were on the verge of conflict, neither made a move. It seemed that these two beings, no, one person and one Serpent, were not as calm as they appeared on the surface.

In fact, what Liu Tangxi said was true. If she were to draw her sword again, the Serpent before her would surely either die or be crippled, but.

The young boy shielded behind her would also die.

She noticed that Jiang Feng had begun to clutch his aching lower abdomen. Don’t forget, they were now inside Jiang Feng’s Dantian. Just one sword strike had already caused cracks in his Dantian.

If she were to unsheathe the second sword, he would probably die on the spot.

And the best outcome would be that his Dantian would be completely destroyed, the Spiritual Energy sea bursting forth from it, directly rupturing his body. Even if by some good fortune he could keep his life, he would likely spend the rest of it bedridden, disabled for life.

"What’s going on..."

Clutching his lower abdomen.

His expression showed some pain, whereas in reality, he who was deep asleep now had his eyes tightly shut, his brows furrowed, clutching his abdomen forcefully, spasming from the pain.

And his abnormal condition also made Su Yi, who was resting in bed, somewhat puzzled. Could it be that there’s a problem with the Body Refining?

But she did not know that the young boy next to her was in a standoff between two legendary beings only found in tales, and he had already been at death’s door.

The current Jiang Feng was as dangerous as a ticking time bomb. Once the battle began, if the Dantian tore apart and the surging Spiritual Energy from within were to burst out, it would be enough to engulf the entire Ethereal Violet Pavilion, no.

Enough to swallow the entire Qingshui County.

"Hiss~"

The ferocity in the Serpent’s eyes began to flicker, seemingly holding some intention to retreat.

What flashed in its eyes was not fear, but anger. The saying ’a fallen tiger is mocked by dogs’ could not be more fitting for this Serpent; with its temper, it would definitely want to seize the young girl on the spot, but after calming down and thinking carefully, it realized that would be quite irrational.

The young girl before it was indeed delectable, and it understood that the young maiden standing before it was not an actual person, but merely a soul. Yet such a powerful soul implied that the true body couldn’t be weak.

For it, if it could devour the opposition, it might lessen the need for hundreds of years of convalescence.

But it was too weak right now.

So weak that it could not even actively exit the Dantian but had to wait for the body it had nurtured for seventeen years to actively cultivate and open the Dantian, then it could devour the other’s Divine Soul and return to the human world.

Regrettably, its deceptive scheme was still detected by Liu Tangxi.

For this reason, she had stayed in Qingshui County for a full three months, gradually uncovering the truth and even at the expense of one of her own souls.

Just to save this innocent young man.

The rolling dark clouds scattered, and the surging waves came to a halt. After calming down, the Serpent did not choose to continue being furious; what remained of itself now was just a fragmented soul, which could not withstand any further devastation.

Scales contracted, fangs retracted, the body twisted, and the lake surface churned once more. The dense, almost liquid Spiritual Energy skimmed over the two of them, yet it could not induce any change in Liu Tangxi’s expression.

The massive body sank slowly, but the huge head did not submerge; instead, it stared intently at the woman not far away.

It did not recognize the young woman before it, but judging from her Sword Qi, she was probably not to be underestimated — likely a rising star who emerged after its death.

But the ice-clever Liu Xianzi seemed to understand what was on the other party’s mind. The sharp Sword Qi on her body gradually dissipated, and the overwhelming sense of oppression slowly faded, with both parties reaching an agreement.

Jiang Feng also keenly sensed that the tearing sensation in his lower abdomen was gradually disappearing. Although it still hurt a bit, it was at least within a tolerable range. Could it be that just now...

"Is it the battle in my Dantian affecting me in the real world? So this isn’t a dream; all this is happening inside my body?"

That’s why Liu Tangxi wanted to spare his life.

Not just because of the innate wealth and prestige that he was born into, but also because she believed Jiang Feng had potential worth molding.

Thus, Liu Xianzi spoke in her characteristic calm voice: "Everyone knows that Demon Night died in the Demon Race mayhem fifty years ago. You were besieged by the six sects and twelve schools, and despite the months-long desperate battle, you were ultimately outnumbered and your Divine Soul was annihilated, with no chance of revival through Ten Thousand Tribulations."

"Yet, no one noticed that before the battle, you left a strand of your Divine Soul and half of your cultivation on a disciple from the Immortal Sect who partook in the siege, bewitching their mind, and thus allowing you to escape a calamity."

"The young man behind me is the contingency plan you prepared for yourself, isn’t it?"

Its pupils, larger than a human’s, contracted. It couldn’t believe that all its plans had been seen through by the girl in front of it. On closer inspection, her Sword Qi did bear some resemblance to that old man from the Purple Cloud Palace.

But doubt was also present in Liu Tangxi’s eyes as she continued, "However, nobody knows how you concealed that strand of Divine Soul for thirty-three years."

"Decades have passed without any trace of the Demon Lord’s appearance. That’s why the world believed your Divine Soul was completely destroyed. But seventeen years ago, you reemerged out of nowhere, exposing traces of your presence."

Even the Serpent seemed lost at this point; it also didn’t know what had happened during those thirty-three years, as if it had been in a lengthy dream.

However, witnessing silently on the side, Jiang Feng’s expression changed.

Because he remembered...

Right before he was struck dead by a mud truck in his past life, he had just celebrated his thirty-third birthday.

Without responding, the enormous vertical pupil took a deep look at Liu Tangxi, then at Jiang Feng, and finally sank its huge head completely underwater.

The whole Dantian world fell into silence, apart from the tear in the clouds on the horizon, as if nothing had happened.

Eventually, Jiang Feng couldn’t hold back and broke the silence.

"It’s huge in size, but why does this snake seem more cowardly than me?"

These words not only caused the eyes at the bottom of the lake, which had been slowly closing, to snap open in anger, but they also drew Liu Tangxi’s gaze back to the young man.

"... Tell it if you wish to die; it will grant your wish."

Without giving the young man a chance to continue speaking, she turned around. Although the fairy was half a head shorter than him, her proud temperament still caused him to feel an extreme pressure.

"Do you remember, when I last spoke to you, I mentioned that in your previous life you were an Evil Cultivator?"

"Mhm."

He nodded.

The next sentence almost made Jiang Feng bite his tongue off!

"You, are the Serpent at the bottom of the lake."