Villains Aren't Stepping Stones!

Chapter 84: Chapter 84: Master And Disciple

Saint Burial Realm.

Conferred Pagoda.

At this moment, the air at the summit of one of the pagoda’s peak was thin and perpetually cold, a sharp contrast to the humid, floral heat of the Fragrant Flower City in that unknown corner of the world.

Here, the Conferred Pagoda, the undisputed sovereign of the Saint Burial Realm, held its court.

The architecture here was a testament to a power that did not belong to this world; soaring spires of black obsidian and white jade that seemed to pierce the very veil of the sky, anchored by ancient formations that hummed with a low, bone-deep vibration.

Currently, in a small, secluded pavilion perched on a jagged outcropping of rock, a beautiful young woman sat in a deep meditative trance.

She wore a black robe with an entirely open back.

And engraved upon her pale skin was a complex, tribal tattoo in pitch-black ink, its lines writhing like living shadows.

This was the mark of the ”Asura’s Descent”, a forbidden cultivation technique that few dared to tread, found by her teacher in some ancient ruins.

You can only start practicing this Cultivation Technique when you are still at the Body Refining realm, as practicing this would completely reforge the practitioner’s body and gave them a special physique comparable to a Sacred Physique - The Descending Asura Demonic Physique.

Once cultivated to its peak, this physique would give the practitioner an unparalleled combat power, capable of summoning an avatar of an Asura that can suppress hell and hold the heavens.

Cultivating this technique also comes at a cost, as the user would always be bombarded with evil thoughts, an impulse to slaughter, nightmares, and insomnia.

If they cannot resist the urge to slaughter, they will surely fall into the demonic path and be punished by the heavens.

However, the benefits of this technique also outweighs the cons. Two years ago, she was merely a 9th Stage Body Refining realm expert, and now, two years later, she is already at the Foundation Establishment realm, on the verge of breaking through to the peak of the realm!

Around her, wisps of malevolent, purple-black Qi flickered like dying embers, swirling in a miniature cyclone that centered on her heart.

The spiritual pressure in the pavilion began to rise, the stone floor cracking under the weight of her breakthrough.

Then, with a sudden, violent burst of power that sent a shockwave rippling through the mountain mist, the woman finally broke through the bottleneck!

She snapped her eyes open, revealing a pair of blood-red pupils that shimmered with a predatory light.

She stood up, her movements fluid and lethal, a cold smirk touching her lips. ”Finally... the 9th stage of the Foundation Establishment realm. One more step, and I shall touch the threshold of the Core Formation.”

”Congratulations, Ling Luochen,” a cool, ethereal female voice sounded from behind her.

The young woman, Ling Luochen, was momentarily startled—her senses were sharp, yet she hadn’t detected a single footfall.

She quickly turned around, and instantly the lethal light in her eyes was replaced by a mask of deep reverence as she cupped her hands and bowed low. ”Master.”

Standing at the entrance of the pavilion was a woman who looked like she was carved from moonlight.

She had long, bluish-silver hair that cascaded down her back like a frozen waterfall, and she wore a pristine white robe that seemed to repel the very dust of the earth.

This was Shangguan Mu’er, one of the Seven Great Elders of the Conferred Pagoda, and a peak Nascent Soul Realm expert and was one of the ten most powerful beings in the entire Saint Burial Realm.

”Amongst the younger generations of our Pagoda, you are certainly the most talented,” Mu’er said, her voice devoid of flattery, stating it as a cold fact. ”I believe that even in the Upper Realms, where the stars are closer and the Qi is pure, you could still be called a genius of your era.”

Indeed, while Luochen might not be considered a top-tier ”Child of Luck” in the Central Region of the Prime Origin Realm, her talent was sufficient that she would have been snatched up by the Great Clans of the Eastern or Southern Regions in a heartbeat.

”It is all thanks to Master’s teachings and the resources of the Pagoda,” Ling Luochen said, her voice humble. ”Without Master, I would probably still be struggling in that backwater place, tied to a useless contract with a waste of a man.”

Mu’er stared at her for a long moment, her gaze unreadable. ”It is all due to your own efforts, Luochen. I, as your master, merely provides you the path, but you are the one who had the heart to walk it. Most would have crumbled under the pain of that tattoo.”

Indeed. Even Mu’er was actually surprised when Luochen persisted until the end and she successfully Cultivated that thing.

Luochen didn’t say anything more, her mind briefly flickering to the memory of Jiang Chen—the ”trash” she had discarded.

But she shook her head, after all to her, he was now a shadow in a mirror she had already broken, nothing worth remembering.

She looked back at her master. ”Master, is there something you need? You rarely visit me during the midday sun.”

Mu’er nodded, her expression turning uncharacteristically solemn. ”A distinguished guest is coming. A guest of such magnitude that the Head of the Pagoda has personally come out of his three-hundred-year seclusion. All the Great Elders are currently preparing for their arrival. You are my only disciple, so you should come with me and witness this event.”

”A distinguished guest?” Luochen tilted her head, her brow furrowing in genuine confusion.

In her mind, there was no one in the entire Saint Burial Realm that the Conferred Pagoda would consider a ”distinguished guest.”

Even the Emperors of the Great Empires and the Sect Leaders of the ancient Sacred Lands would have to wait at the mountain gates for days just to catch a glimpse of an Elder.

To the people of this world, the Conferred Pagoda was not just a sect; it was the proxy of the heavens.

After all, for the top experts of Saint Burial Realm, the War of Conquest hundreds of years ago, where the Conferred Pagoda had challenged the world and completely suppressed them, was still fresh in their mind.

”They are a guest from the Upper Realm,” Mu’er said, her voice dropping to a whisper as if the words themselves might invite a lightning strike.

”The Upper Realm!?” Luochen exclaimed, her composure finally shattering as her heart hammered against her ribs.

Although it had been an open secret among the people of the world that their organization was a branch established by powers from the ”Heavens” above, this was the first time in documented history that a direct descendant or envoy from the Upper Realm would actually descend to visit this shattered world.

Mu’er nodded slowly. ”The ancestors who ascended to the Upper Realm centuries ago have already sent word through the Void Mirror. They say the one who will descend has a very special and important identity. So important, in fact, that they gave us a terrifying warning: if even a single strand of his hair is missing when he returns, we might have to say goodbye to the Saint Burial Realm.”

”So exaggerated!?” Ling Luochen cried out in disbelief. ”To destroy an entire world over a single person?”

Mu’er shook her head, a trace of fear flickering in her eyes. ”It is not an exaggeration, Luochen. You are still young. And you think a peak Nascent Soul expert like me is the pinnacle because I can incinerate several kingdoms with a single attack. But those from the Upper Realms... they operate on a scale we cannot comprehend. To them, this realm is but a garden, and we are merely the insects tending to the weeds.”

Indeed, although they didn’t know the specifics, they were correct to be afraid.

If Leng Shuang, the Tyrant Empress, decided to clench her fist in the Imperial Capital at this very moment, the resulting spatial collapse would instantly crush the entire Saint Burial Realm into a singularity.

Mind you, the realm was the size of a galaxy, but to a Heavenly Saint like her, a galaxy was just a marble.

Even a peak Profound Saint like Qing’er, who followed Haoran, could swallow every single stars of this realm with her shadows if she so desired.

”Prepare yourself,” Mu’er said, turning away to look at the swirling clouds beneath the peak. ”Cleanse your Qi and put on your most formal robes. If you can catch the eye of such a person, it might be your only opportunity to leave this graveyard and truly see the stars. A single word from them could change your destiny forever.”

With that, Mu’er’s form blurred into a streak of white light, and she vanished, heading toward the main pagoda.

Ling Luochen was left alone in the pavilion, the wind whistling through the open arches.

Her brows were furrowed in deep thought, her fingers tracing the tribal tattoo on her back, and a cold, ambitious fire began to burn in her blood-red eyes.

”A guest from the Heavens...” she whispered.

She couldn’t help but think about her future.

If nothing else happened and she remained here, with her talent, she would surely reach Spirit Ascension Realm and ascend to the upper realm.

But, due to the scarce resources of this world, that might take hundreds of years if she is lucky, but by then, she would probably already be too old and would not be valued by the forces up there.

She does not want that. Ling Luochen believes that her talent was not inferior even to those geniuses in the upper realm, she doesn’t want to be buried here in the dust!

That’s why, no matter what, she must take this chance!

She turned and walked into her private chambers to prepare, her face set in a mask of absolute determination.