CH 201

Villainous Emperor (1)

This time, the journey through time and space was not as turbulent as the previous small worlds. Song Xu Yi felt an unparalleled comfort, her body stretched out as if lying on a bed of clouds.

During this process, Song Xu Yi recalled a forgotten memory that belonged to her personally:

Song Xu Yi heard whispering with her closed eyes, in a state of half-consciousness and half-sleep.

Someone tenderly brushed aside the long hair on her cheek and touched her burning hot face, leaving a gentle kiss on her cheek.

“Xu Yi, I have developed a device,” a low voice resounded in Song Xu Yi’s ear. “I don’t know if I’ll survive, but this is my only chance. In every world, I’ve left a name that belongs to you, with a little selfish hope. Meeting you has been the happiest thing in my life. Perhaps you can bring me luck…”

The voice gradually faded away, and Song Xu Yi woke up from the pitch-black space, still feeling the lingering heartache from the dream.

Who was that person?

Did this dream really happen?

Or… was it something that occurred in the previous world?

Song Xu Yi pursed her lips and unconsciously furrowed her brow.

The memories of the previous world had gradually become blurry, and Song Xu Yi had forgotten whether she had been in love in that world. However, the memories that belonged to Song Xu Yi herself still lingered in her mind:

She still remembered how deeply and cautiously she had liked someone in real life.

That emotion, resurfacing after such a long time, had transformed from a melancholic memory into a flipped page that no longer brought sadness.

Perhaps everything could be attributed to these journeys through the small worlds.

In the first small world, Song Xu Yi remained steadfast but carried a hidden timidity within. Her entire being was taut like a string, constantly striving to prove herself. However, after experiencing so many small worlds, Song Xu Yi found that she had gradually become independent and confident, daring to pursue everything she desired. While putting in efforts, she also learned to appreciate the beauty of life in spare moments, no longer plagued by self-doubt and cowardice.

“System, have we arrived?”

As Song Xu Yi thought about having arrived in a new world, she opened her eyes.

There was no response echoing in her mind.

Before her eyes stood an ancient and elegant temple, untouched by dust. The floor was paved with marble tiles, and the four massive pillars were adorned with ancient patterns. The spacious dome extended far and wide, beyond Song Xu Yi’s field of vision, its top obscured from sight.

A faint fragrance lingered in the air, an unusual scent reminiscent of sandalwood but with an added hint of something else, arousing a curious sensation… tempting one’s appetite?

Song Xu Yi was momentarily stunned, belatedly realizing the peculiarity of her perspective—she seemed to be overlooking everything in front of her.

A certain speculation surged within her, and as she lifted her leg, unsurprisingly, the ground beneath her feet wasn’t there—Song Xu Yi began to float…

She swayed and floated in the air, and when she turned around, she saw a lifelike statue of a goddess.

The facial features of this goddess bore a striking resemblance to Song Xu Yi, about the height of a person, placed on a stone pedestal, meticulously carved from white jade. She was immaculately white and solemn, with her robes billowing gracefully, a true-to-life representation, as if about to ascend to the heavens.

Beneath the statue of the goddess, there was an altar with several cushions placed in front of it. At this moment, the cushions were arranged together, and a curled-up young girl lay on top.

The young girl hung her head, curled up into a small ball, and Song Xu Yi couldn’t see her face clearly. It was late at night, and the girl was scantily dressed, shivering incessantly on the cushion, her sleep far from peaceful.

Which troublesome child would come to spend the night at a temple?

Song Xu Yi was just thinking of finding something to cover the girl when a cheerful voice from the system sounded in her mind: “Xu Yi, good news! This time, we haven’t encountered any unidentified attacks again!”

“Although I still haven’t been able to establish contact with the Lord God, I can sense the entire main system starting to repair itself and eliminate anomalies! Xu Yi, I’m so happy…”

Song Xu Yi responded with a nod, listening to the system express its joy. When the system calmed down a bit, Song Xu Yi began to receive a summary of the storyline in this world.

This is a mythical world.

Above, there are the Nine Heavens of the Immortal Realm; below, there is the Avīci Hell. In between lies the bustling Mortal Realm.

The female protagonist, Lin Zhu, is originally the Wick of the Heavenly Lamp, a divine artifact that can overturn the universe in the Nine Heavens. After a thousand years of cultivation, Lin Zhu has become a spiritual being. Her heart yearns for the divine ruler of the Heavenly Court, Jiang Bai. Upon hearing that Jiang Bai is about to embark on a ten-life journey of cultivation in the Mortal Realm, Lin Zhu decides to accompany him on this earthly path.

Lin Zhu is deeply in love with Jiang Bai, unaware that he is practicing the Ruthless Path of the Heartless Dao. Following Jiang Bai through nine lives, she experiences sorrow and heartbreak in each incarnation, until the tenth life.

In this life, Lin Zhu is reborn as the daughter of a prime minister, enjoying an extremely prestigious status. She is renowned as a talented woman in the capital city, while Jiang Bai remains a humble farmer, orphaned and destitute.

At a time of turmoil in the country, Jiang Bai joins the army decisively. With his exceptional skill in combat, he rises to the rank of lieutenant. Meanwhile, during an outing, Lin Zhu is captured by bandits but encounters Jiang Bai, who is working undercover within their hideout.

Jiang Bai rescues Lin Zhu and they escape together.

Throughout this journey, Lin Zhu remains silently devoted to Jiang Bai, as before. Perhaps due to their ten cycles of reincarnation, Jiang Bai’s subconscious is also stirred by Lin Zhu, and in the tenth life, he begins to have feelings for her.

However, their disparate social statuses create an insurmountable divide. Jiang Bai can only strive for military achievements, hoping that Lin Zhu’s father, the Prime Minister, will consent to their marriage.

In the end, Jiang Bai’s outstanding performance gains him favor with the Crown Prince, who brings him under his command. The Prime Minister finally relents, and the Crown Prince promises to request an imperial decree from the Emperor, allowing Lin Zhu to marry Jiang Bai.

At this point, the story was supposed to reach the beautiful ending set up by the Lord God: Jiang Bai and Lin Zhu would be married, grow old together in the Mortal Realm, and their souls would reunite in the Immortal Realm.

However, since Song Xu Yi arrived here, things took an unexpected turn.

On the day after the Crown Prince promised to help Jiang Bai obtain the imperial decree, he entered the palace and never came out. The palace floors were stained with fresh blood, and almost all of the Emperor’s bloodline perished overnight. The only survivor was a girl named Jiang Ruoyu, who was born from the previous Emperor and a concubine from the Cold Palace—someone whom everyone overlooked.

The royal family’s relatives, noble families, and influential ministers each had their own calculations. Publicly, they proclaimed Jiang Ruoyu as the Emperor, but privately, they plotted to wait until she chose an Imperial Husband and gave birth to a child, intending to manipulate the Emperor to their advantage.

No one anticipated that the new Empress, Jiang Ruoyu, was truly deranged, with an intellect bordering on the demonic. All the rebellions in the country over the years were orchestrated by her hand. She secretly nurtured a large number of insurgents, supported commoners, and displayed ruthless cruelty. Before long, the noble families and aristocrats suffered heavy losses.

Lin Zhu’s ambitious father, a prominent Minister, initially clashed with Jiang Ruoyu but eventually formed an alliance with the noble families. From among the Imperial relatives, they chose another child and led a campaign against Jiang Ruoyu under the pretense of protecting the dynasty.

In the beginning, Jiang Ruoyu did suffer several defeats. Previously, Jiang Bai, the male protagonist, was the leader of the Five Originals under the command of the Divine Saint. Although he had no recollection of his past life during his reincarnation, the little Immortals under his command, eager to please him, provided him with significant advantages during battles.

Somewhere along the way, Jiang Ruoyu learned about Lin Zhu’s connection to the Wick of the Heavenly Lamp. In secret, Jiang Ruoyu captured Lin Zhu and used Dark Magic to manipulate her soul, creating the most formidable weapon since the dawn of time—the Enchanted Sword.

The power of the Enchanted Sword was immense, surpassing most Immortals. Astonishingly, the sword recognized Jiang Ruoyu, an ordinary mortal, as its master.

With the Enchanted Sword in her possession, Jiang Ruoyu wreaked havoc, committing countless atrocities and descending into darkness.

In the end, Jiang Bai, who sought revenge for Lin Zhu and regained his cultivation, was also no match for Jiang Ruoyu and perished under her sword…

Both the male and female protagonists died at the hands of Jiang Ruoyu, causing the collapse of the timeline. The Lord God rewound time, and that’s when Song Xu Yi entered this world.

As always, the Lord God adhered to the principle of having a high-status identity to accomplish tasks, and Song Xu Yi’s current body had no low status either.

A thousand years ago, the ancestor of the Jiang family, with a kind heart, saved a white fox trapped in a beast trap.

After the white fox ascended to divinity, grateful for the Jiang family’s act of saving its life, it sent its own daughter to the Mortal Realm to protect and bless the Jiang family for a thousand years, as a way to repay their kindness.

The body inhabited by Song Xu Yi was the daughter of the white fox sent to the Mortal Realm to protect and repay the Jiang family—a legendary guardian goddess of the Jiang Kingdom.

After receiving the plot summary, Song Xu Yi also acquired the memories of the body itself.

This body was originally the daughter of the white fox. However, she had a solitary and introverted personality since childhood, unlike other foxes who enjoyed lively environments. The original owner of the body was most fond of cultivation. Fearing that her daughter would become bored and sick, the white fox assigned her the duty of protecting the Jiang family in the Mortal Realm, hoping that she would experience the bustling human world and not indulge in cultivation all the time.

However, the original owner of the body was entirely absorbed in cultivation and did not want to be bothered with the affairs of the Jiang family. Taking a simple and direct approach, she plotted and schemed, ultimately assisting the Jiang family in becoming the rulers of a kingdom.

Becoming an Emperor brought numerous attendants for the Jiang family, allowing the original owner to have some time for herself.

Satisfied with completing this task, the original owner began to cultivate with great contentment…

A thousand years passed, and under the favoritism of the original owner, the Jiang family thrived for millennia, with the Jiang Kingdom becoming one of the largest kingdoms.

As a lofty deity, a thousand years were but a fleeting moment in the original owner’s long life. However, for the Mortal Realm, it was an extremely long period of time. Under the prolonged reign, the descendants of the kind and virtuous ancestors of the Jiang family gradually became morally corrupt and behaved outrageously…

Jiang Ruoyu’s father was such a ruler—a foolish monarch, indulging in lust and selfishness, causing widespread discontent among the people. Unfortunately, with the original owner’s protection, this inept ruler lived a long life, while the Crown Prince approached the age of inheriting the throne, and the Emperor remained in good health. They brought harm to countless women, including the child born from the misconduct of a concubine whom the villainous ruler had mistreated…

After receiving the memories of the original owner, Song Xu Yi couldn’t help but sigh. Although the primary cause of the future chaos in the three realms lay with the villain, upon closer examination, it was also related to the inaction of the original owner.

Fortunately, there was still time to make amends now.

Song Xu Yi breathed a sigh of relief and once again looked at the little girl lying on the ground.

The girl had turned over at this point, revealing a tiny face no larger than a palm. Despite her small and frail appearance, her delicate features hinted at her future beauty, destined to become a great beauty.

Who could have imagined that this pitiful, seemingly innocent little girl would become the notorious mastermind who would shake the three realms to their core—Jiang Ruoyu?

The author has something to say:

Who could have imagined that Song Xu Yi, as a divine goddess, would be overwhelmed by this slightly larger little girl in the future?

Raises hands in surrender.