Chapter 24 | How Could the Master of All Villains Be Righteous?

Taiwei City of the Heavenly Yuan Kingdom.

Three disguised figures entered the city, two in front and one behind. This time, to avoid drawing attention, Wen Li spent a fortune renting a courtyard.

Wen Li sat beneath a tree with Yao Dai cradled in her arms, soaking up the sunshine. A few days ago, when Yao Dai regained consciousness, her physical condition finally stabilized, and her injuries were steadily healing. However, her cultivation base had completely vanished.

“Master, I still can't gather any strength. I can't feel my Spiritual Root anymore.”

Yao Dai’s face was pale. Beneath her calm demeanor lay a deep sense of panic and anxiety, her hands tightening around Wen Li.

Having caught a glimpse of the vast grandeur of the cultivation world, how could she ever be content returning to life as a mortal?

She hated—hated the person who destroyed her cultivation, and hated herself for causing her Master to fall into such peril.

To save her, her Master had even told Xie Tinglan to take her away first while staying behind to hold off the enemies.

Even though her Master later passed over the chase with a few casual jokes, she knew all too well how narrow the escape must have been for a Foundation Establishment cultivator against a Soul Formation master.

If she couldn't cultivate, how could she remain at her Master's side in the future? Her Master would take on other disciples... Would she even remember someone who had faded into a mere mortal?

She was unwilling—unwilling to be forgotten by such a wonderful Master in favor of other, more favored disciples.

“Don't worry. You're still slowly recovering. We'll find a way,” Wen Li consoled her softly.

In the past, Yao Dai would never have dared to cling to her so intimately. Perhaps because she had brushed against death and feared that Wen Li might grow distant without her Spiritual Root, she became exceptionally clingy after waking up.

With tears glistening in the corners of her eyes, Yao Dai tightly hugged Wen Li's slender waist, rubbing her head against the crook of her arm. Her voice was hoarse, filled with fear and helplessness.

“Master... if I become a mortal, will you still treat me this well?”

She knew that her Master wouldn't have accepted her as a disciple for no reason.

Wen Li raised a hand to rub her head, her tone softening as she understood her worries.

“Since you knelt before me and bowed as my disciple, you remain my disciple even if you become a mortal. I will keep you by my side.” Pausing, she added with a laugh, “Even if I have to tie you to my belt, I'll take you along.”

A small laugh escaped Yao Dai's delicate face, her expression relaxing slightly. Yet beneath it, fear lingered. A mortal was just a mortal, with a lifespan under a hundred years. How could she stay by her Master's side forever?

Her dark pupils shifted as she recalled something.

“Master, I remember you once said...”

“A Spiritual Root can be stolen.”

The System gasped in horror. 【Wait, something's wrong! How is Yao Dai even more ruthless than before?】

“That's right.”

Ignoring the System, Wen Li's hand gently patting Yao Dai's head paused. She closed her eyes and sighed. She couldn't find any other way to repair her Spiritual Root. Nearly half a month had passed; if she didn't act soon, it would become even harder for Yao Dai to recover.

“I once spoke to you about an evil cultivator who was born with useless Five Elements Spiritual Roots. To cultivate, he wantonly slaughtered cultivators to cut out their Spiritual Roots, using sinister arts to absorb and convert them into his own, making him no different from an ordinary cultivator. However, an external Spiritual Root always has drawbacks, requiring new Spiritual Roots to be excised periodically to nourish it. Such evil cultivators are reviled and cursed by everyone in the cultivation world. Are you...”

Yao Dai's eyes darkened. Back when her testing stone showed no reaction for her Spiritual Root, she had thought of this method. She hadn't expected that she would still end up taking this path in the end.

“Master, I want to cultivate.”

Yao Dai pulled back from Wen Li's embrace, looking at her with desperate pleading in her eyes. “You said that the Wuji Sect does not discriminate against any evil cultivator, and that whatever path allows one to cultivate is a good Dao. You also said that as long as I live well, you don't care about anything else.”

“As long as I can become stronger, avenge myself, and protect Master, I am willing to risk anything.”

Her underlying meaning was self-evident.

Wen Li frowned, worry flashing across her eyes. “Then whose Spiritual Root do you want to gouge out?”

Yao Dai looked up without hesitation, her beautiful, clear eyes burning with hatred.

“Chen Feng!”

Her Master had told her that the attempt on her life from afar was because Chen Feng had sought help from the Taixuan Sect's Old Ancestor. The Spiritual Root she wanted most right now was his.

Before Wen Li could speak, Yao Dai remembered something. Turning her head toward Xie Tinglan, who was curled up nearby as a small black snake, she made a solemn promise.

“You are at the late stage of Golden Core. I'll lure Chen Feng out, and you kill him for me. I will owe you a favor.”

Counting the last time Xie Tinglan saved her by taking her away, she already owed him one favor.

The black snake lazily raised his cold, crimson slit pupils and spoke in human tongue, “Right now, the Taixuan Sect's Old Ancestor's birthday banquet is still underway. Do you really think you can quietly lure him out alone? Even stray dogs know to gang up for a fight. Who would be stupid enough to duel?”

Lacking full maturity, Yao Dai knitted her brows, clenching her fists so hard her fingernails dug into her palms, producing a sharp pain.

Was she supposed to give up just like this?

“Master... can it be anyone's Spiritual Root?” Yao Dai asked hesitantly, looking at Wen Li.

At those words, Xie Tinglan shot her a lazy glance. Humans really put profit above all else. How were they any different from beasts like them?

However, he actually agreed with Yao Dai's mindset. The strong survive; that was the law of the Heavenly Dao.

“Mm.” Wen Li naturally understood her meaning. “However, you were previously at the Fifth Level of Qi Refinement, so you must find someone at least at the Sixth Level. If you choose a Foundation Establishment cultivator, you could directly advance to Foundation Establishment with a secret art, but your foundation will be unstable.”

Although Yao Dai lacked combat experience, she knew full well the drawbacks of an unstable foundation. “Master, then I'll find someone at the Sixth Level of Qi Refinement. I want to take it step by step.”

Clenching her fists tight, she vowed that she would cultivate, no matter what it took.

She didn't care if people cursed her.

As Master had said: if words could become blades, what would be the point of strength?

The System shrieked, 【Host, this won't do! Yao Dai is going completely off the rails! At thirteen she already dares to gouge out someone's Spiritual Root! When she grows up, won't she be committing arson, murder, pillage, and plunder? How are we supposed to save her like this? If our mission fails, you won't be able to increase your cultivation! What are you doing?!】

Wen Li replied calmly, “She just wants to become stronger. What's wrong with that? How is she off the rails? Look at the progress bar for redeeming the villain—has it dropped at all?”

The System glanced at the interface.

【Ding! Villain Yao Dai Redemption Progress: 17%】

Ever since Yao Dai woke up and learned that Wen Li had lured away the enemy and faced a near-fatal ordeal to save her, the progress bar had recovered—and even increased.

【How did this happen?】 The System thought it was short-circuiting.

Wen Li, gently patting Yao Dai's back to coax her to sleep, was utterly composed. “This proves you don't necessarily have to make villains turn over a new leaf and become so-called good people. You just need to make sure they live well. As long as they're strong enough, who could harm them, even if it's the male or female lead? Isn't that saving them too? What does it matter whether they're villains or not?”

The System was completely dumbfounded. This was the first time it had encountered such an interpretation. Weren't the successful case studies in the operation manual provided by the System Management Bureau always about using love to reform villains into kind, righteous people who coexisted peacefully with the protagonists to boost happiness scores?