Demoness's Art of Vengeance

Hey guys, great news!  Two more top-performing sneak peek Chinese novels licensed from Zongheng have left VIP-only and are available for you to read, each with fifty chapters and a 2/day schedule!  These novels are Yama Rising, translated by Minotauruz (who did the great translation of Demoness' Art of Vengeance) and Star Odyssey, translated by OMA who did Warlock of the Magus World and City of Sin!  Both are veteran and highly capable translators, and I'm excited to bring this to y'all.

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Jun Xiaomo was wholeheartedly invested in breaching the master formation array in the depths of the valley. The master formation array was locked by layers upon layers of defenses, and Jun Xiaomo was well aware of the fact that she couldn’t afford to make any mistakes in the process of unlocking these defenses. After all, a single mistake could lay waste to all of her efforts so far.

Then, out of nowhere, a little paper crane flitted over to her and began to peck on the back of her hand.

Jun Xiaomo had initially thought to ignore the little paper crane. However, she relented after noticing the patterns on the little paper crane’s wings. She picked it up, placed it in her palm, and began to suffuse some spiritual energy through the little paper crane.

The little paper crane’s eyes immediately glowed. Moments later, it began to project an image in front of them.

Jun Xiaomo could see from the image that there was a man who was sneaking up on her bed where her Humanoid Puppet was resting. However, the man’s appearances were hidden by the cover of night.

Jun Xiaomo squinted her eyes. For some strange reason, she felt that this man who was approaching her bed seemed incredibly familiar to her. Yet at the same time, she just couldn’t put a finger as to who this man was.

That said, it was understandable that Jun Xiaomo was unable to recognize who this man was. After all, it was reasonable for Jun Xiaomo to assume that the man sneaking up on her Humanoid Puppet right now was an enemy assailant.

Jun Xiaomo snorted coldly. Just as she was about to keep her little paper crane and return it to her Interspatial Ring, she noticed the man lift the sheets off the bed.

Jun Xiaomo immediately furrowed her brows – Lift the sheets? Is that man a fool? Why would anybody launching a sneak attack on me lift the sheets first?

If Jun Xiaomo were to sneak up on an enemy who were resting in bed, she would most certainly have sent her attacks flying at her target from ten meters away, or perhaps even more. Otherwise, how could it possibly be called a “sneak attack”? Wasn’t this man simply alerting his target to his intentions right now?

Truth be told, Jun Xiaomo was also slightly disappointed that the man had not launched a powerful attack at her Humanoid Puppet from afar. After all, she had slightly altered the constitution of her Humanoid Puppet and imbued it with a new ability – as long as it sustained any attacks from an external source, it would be able to repel eighty percent of the force of the attack straight back to the assailant.

In other words, the stronger the sneak attack on her Humanoid Puppet, the more seriously the assailant would be hurt. From her experience, the fact that this man was standing so close to her right now meant that any attack on her Humanoid Puppet would simply be lackluster.

Just as Jun Xiaomo was about to curse in her heart, the man made his move once more. He bent down, stretched out his hand, and began to gently caress the face of the Humanoid Puppet.

It was pertinent to note that this Humanoid Puppet had been created using a drop of Jun Xiaomo’s own blood, and it bore the exact same appearances as Jun Xiaomo. Thus, as soon as the man caressed the Humanoid Puppet’s face, she felt her own face began to burn up with embarrassment.

“What the hell is that fella doing?!” Jun Xiaomo gritted her teeth as she exclaimed aloud.

Ye Xiuwen had been waiting outside of the master formation array all this while, and he noticed how Jun Xiaomo had paused midway and begun to mutter to herself while looking at a little paper crane. He could even tell that Jun Xiaomo’s expressions were a mix of embarrassment and indignation right now.

Thus, he made his way over towards Jun Xiaomo and asked, “Xiaomo, is something wrong?”

Jun Xiaomo noticed that Ye Xiuwen had made his way over. Then, thinking about the image that had revealed itself on the little paper crane, she began to feel a wave of guilt wash over her heart, so she coughed dryly and responded, “It’s nothing much. I’ve just encountered a slight problem.”

“A slight problem?” Ye Xiuwen furrowed his brows, “Is there an issue with the formation array? Take a break if it’s too difficult to deal with. Don’t force the issue.”

Jun Xiaomo shook her head, “It’s nothing much. I’ll just need approximately one more hour to finish what I need to do. It shouldn’t take too long.”

As she finished speaking, her eyes subconsciously drifted towards the little paper crane in her hands again. She wanted to know who exactly this assailant was; she wanted to know why he did not attack the Humanoid Puppet on her bed; and she wanted to know why he was doing something so improper that could very easily lead to a misunderstanding.

Just then, she saw a scene unfold which made her eyes widen in shock and horror. After that man caressed the face of her Humanoid Puppet for a little while more, he suddenly lowered his head and planted a light kiss on its lips.

Jun Xiaomo was completely taken aback. Moments later, biting onto her lower lips, she put her palm over her own lips as a swathe of complicated emotions surfaced on her heart.

There was that of embarrassment, and there was that of rage. At the same time, there was also a sense of familiarity for some strange reason.

Standing in close proximity, Ye Xiuwen naturally discovered Jun Xiaomo’s peculiar reaction. He furrowed his brows and immediately plucked the little paper crane from Jun Xiaomo’s arms.

“Eh! Martial Brother Ye…” Jun Xiaomo anxiously remarked.

The image that the little paper crane had been projecting immediately disappeared from Jun Xiaomo’s view as soon as it left Jun Xiaomo’s hands. At the same time, Ye Xiuwen saw with his very own eyes the image which was privy only to Jun Xiaomo just moments ago.

Ye Xiuwen’s initially furrowed brows began to loosen slightly. However, his lips began to stretch into a thin grimace, and his eyes began to grow deep and abstruse.

Jun Xiaomo began to look nervously at Ye Xiuwen, wondering whether he would form any misunderstanding as a result of the image he saw from the little paper crane right now.

Truth be told, she felt wronged by this entire incident. Jun Xiaomo had never desired to cheat on Ye Xiuwen, and she was completely flabbergasted when she noticed such a lustful wastrel appearing out of nowhere. Why didn’t she have any recollection of who this man was?

After Ye Xiuwen finished watching the projection of images by the little paper crane, he returned it to Jun Xiaomo. At that time, Jun Xiaomo also noticed for an instant that the Humanoid Puppet on the bed appeared to have completely vanished into thin air.

Vanished? Could this man have brought it away? Jun Xiaomo tilted her head slightly with perplexity plaguing her mind.

Ye Xiuwen looked at Jun Xiaomo, and his gaze was as deep and abstruse as ever. Nobody could tell what was going on in his mind right now.

“Xiaomo, do you recognize the man in the projection is?”

Jun Xiaomo responded with yet another question, “Who is it?”

Ye Xiuwen chose to ignore her question. After a brief period of silence, he suddenly smiled and tousled her hair, “It’s fine if you don’t know him.”

“Haa--?! I thought that Martial Brother recognized who it was. Otherwise, why would you ask if I recognized who the man was?” Jun Xiaomo looked curiously at Ye Xiuwen.

“Nah, I didn’t recognize who he was either. It’s hard to tell when it’s so dark in the room.” Ye Xiuwen calmly explained, yet a glint of light flickered across the depths of his eyes.

“Oh, so that’s the case. That’s alright then.” Jun Xiaomo responded somewhat listlessly, before turning back to examine the master formation array she was trying to break into.

Truth be told, Jun Xiaomo still felt somewhat wronged about this entire incident because she simply couldn’t figure out just where and when she attracted such a lustful man from the Eternal Summit Sect – It’s so strange. I don’t recall having much interactions with people from the Eternal Summit Sect to begin with. And to think that this man had taken advantage of the fact that “I” was asleep to do such things to “me”. That’s going slightly overboard, isn’t it?!

That said, she knew that there was no reason for her to pursue such pointless thoughts. Thus, Jun Xiaomo shelved these thoughts of hers and began to immerse herself in the world of her formation arrays once more.

Ye Xiuwen looked at the serious expression on Jun Xiaomo’s face as she resumed her work on the formation arrays. For an instant there, a trace of an internal struggle surfaced in the depths of his eyes.

He didn’t know whether he was doing the correct thing right now. Truth be told, he did recognize the identity of the perpetrator within Jun Xiaomo’s room right now. In particular, the striking, blood-red eyes of his were a characteristic sign of a demonic cultivator.

Perhaps it was a result of the angle under which she had viewed the projection earlier, but Jun Xiaomo had failed to notice the fact that his eyes were completely blood-red. Thus, she had failed to recognize his identity.

This was the first time that Ye Xiuwen had consciously concealed something from Jun Xiaomo, and his heart felt ill at ease.

That said, he was certain that he found the notion of revealing the man’s identity to Jun Xiaomo completely repugnant. This was because the kiss which he had planted on the Humanoid Puppet that bore Jun Xiaomo’s exact image was simply too harsh and glaring on the eyes!

The fact that he bore an outwardly cold personality did not translate to the fact that he was unfeeling, emotionless and did not know jealousy. He wouldn’t be human if he remained completely expressionless when he saw someone kissing Jun Xiaomo, even if the object being kissed were a mere Humanoid Puppet.

Ye Xiuwen shut his eyes and cajoled himself – Let’s wait and see. After all, that fella’s going to realize sooner or later that the person in his arms right now is nothing more than a Humanoid Puppet.

Meanwhile, after finally reuniting with Jun Xiaomo and planting a heartfelt kiss on her lips, Rong Ruihan discovered that Jun Xiaomo appeared to be in a deep slumber and showed no signs of waking up. Thus, he picked her up horizontally, intending to leave the valley with her.

That’s right. The perpetrator who had snuck up on Jun Xiaomo was none other than Rong Ruihan, the man rumoured to have vanished from the face of the cultivation world. Rong Ruihan had led a nomadic lifestyle over the years. Apart from checking in with his fellow clansmen from time to time, he had spent most of his time improving his own cultivation and elevating his own abilities.

His sole desire was to take the fight to the Greenwich Kingdom and the Zephyr Sect one day, exacting vengeance for what they had done to Jun Xiaomo.

That said, before he could achieve these goals, he discovered to his pleasant surprise that rumours had begun to spread, stating that Jun Xiaomo was still alive.

Therefore, he had resolved in his heart that he was going to do all he could to bring Jun Xiaomo to a safe place this time.

Unfortunately, he immediately discovered something amiss as soon as he picked up “Jun Xiaomo – this “person” was far too light. In fact, “she” was so light that it almost felt as though “she” were weightless.

Furthermore, the fact that “Jun Xiaomo” appeared to remain in a deep slumber despite his large movements was hardly normal at all.

After a moment’s deliberation, Rong Ruihan set “Jun Xiaomo” back down onto the bed and patted “her” cheeks, “Xiaomo? Xiaomo?”

The Humanoid Puppet that Jun Xiaomo had created this time was of the most basic level. Apart from taking on its owner’s appearance and repelling a single attack back to its assailant, the Humanoid Puppet possessed no other abilities. This stood to reason as well. After all, with a party of close to twenty people, where would she have the time to prepare so many Humanoid Puppet Talismans of higher levels?

Therefore, no matter what Rong Ruihan did, “Jun Xiaomo” failed to respond to his calls.

Rong Ruihan’s heart immediately sank. He hesitated for a moment, before stretching out his hand and placing his finger under “Jun Xiaomo’s” nose to check for breath.

As expected, he detected no signs of life from her body!

“Xiaomo!” Rong Ruihan’s heart constricted with anxiety. Without considering any of the other telltale signs on the body of the Humanoid Puppet, he immediately retrieved several Soul Redeeming Pills from his Interspatial Ring and began to stuff them into “Jun Xiaomo’s” mouth.

Soul Redeeming Pills were priceless pills that were minimally of the seventh-grade, and one would never be able to buy them on the market even if one had all the wealth in the world. If his master, Old Man Chi, discovers that he had squandered a whole bunch of Soul Redeeming Pills just like that, he would most certainly denounce his disciple’s actions.

Fortunately, Rong Ruihan heard the scattering sounds of hurried footsteps from outside the room before he could stuff the pills into “Jun Xiaomo’s” mouth –

“Xiaochang! Xiaochang?! Who is it?! Who’s the one who’s murdered my dear disciple?!!!” Xiang Guqing’s shrill shriek rent the still cloak of silence that enshrouded the lands at night. Her sudden appearance was like that of a horrific banshee seeking vengeance for her lost family member.

Rong Ruihan squinted his eyes. Within moments, he flipped the blanket up once more, concealing “Jun Xiaomo’s” presence.

Just then, a woman barged into Jun Xiaomo’s room. This person was none other than the master of the valley, Xiang Guqing.

Xiang Guqing had expected to see Jun Xiaomo standing in the room, waiting for her arrival. At the very least, she had never expected to be greeted by a man wearing the garments belonging to an Eternal Summit Sect disciple.

“Who are you? Where’s Jun Xiaomo?!” Xiang Guqing glared viciously at Rong Ruihan as she began to muster and congeal a threatening ball of spiritual energy in her palms.

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