True Heir of Chaos: From Villainess to Empress

It had been three days since Jian Dan and Mo Su's group left Huanle City. During that time, Jian Dan had unexpectedly become Miao Yunrong's newest object of admiration. The girl no longer clung to Senior Brother Mo Su and instead looked for every chance to stick close to Jian Dan.

"Jūnshàng, you're incredible. To confess your feelings so boldly, what if you had been rejected? That would have been so embarrassing!"

"That's exactly why I was so bold. For the sake of saving face as a Divine Transformation cultivator, the other party would hardly reject me outright."

Jian Dan, in rare good spirits, patiently explained to Miao Yunrong. The girl blinked, realization dawning on her face.

"So that's it! Jūnshàng, you really are brilliant."

Then she giggled and added, "I saw it very clearly. That fellow cultivator Cao smiled, you know!"

"Jian Daoyou, you went all out just to win a beauty's smile. You even made flowers bloom across the city. Do you realize you're the hottest name in the cultivation world right now?"

"Oh? Why didn't anyone tell me?"

"I will! I will!"

Miao Yunrong jumped in immediately, smoothing the folds of her crimson robe and clearing her throat before continuing in a dramatic tone:

"The newly ascended Divine Transformation demon cultivator, Jian Jūnshàng, used supreme arts to blanket the entire city in blossoms, hoping to bring a smile to the sword cultivator he admires. We eagerly await whether this tale of demon and daoist romance will become a legendary love story!"

"Who's spreading nonsense? I just expressed some goodwill. When did it turn into a grand story about a romance between demon and daoist?"

Jian Dan didn't take it to heart and casually dismissed the rumor.

"It doesn't matter to me, but I feel bad for little friend Cao. If he already has someone he cares about, I might've accidentally caused trouble for him."

"With such a high-profile move, weren't you trying to chase away all the butterflies fluttering around him?"

"Hmm! At least you're not completely clueless."

Jian Dan raised her hand and gently brushed her tear-shaped beauty mark. That so-called bold confession a few days ago was merely a calculated strategy to achieve her goal. Everything had gone exactly as planned.

After reaching an agreement with the spirit plant guardian Liu Chuan, the two collaborated to stage a romantic declaration of affection. In secret, they used it as a cover to investigate the entire Huanle City. Since Liu Chuan was a sentient spiritual plant, he was extremely sensitive to the presence of black beetles. In his words, they reeked for three miles against the wind. It was almost impossible not to notice them.

The city-wide bloom provided excellent cover for Liu Chuan's movements. Once they had a clear map of where the black beetles were hiding, Jian Dan used her Mo pendant to immediately send the information to the nearby Enforcer Hall.

As for how the Enforcer Hall of the Heavenly Sword Sect acted on the intelligence, that was beyond her control.

Cao Chenfeng's final smile had been because the blooming flowers across the city formed a covert signal from the Enforcer Hall, indicating the mission was underway and proceeding smoothly.

As for his true identity or what mission he was on, someone at Jian Dan's level wasn't meant to know. It was enough for her to be certain that he was a fellow sect member and not the indifferent person he appeared to be.

At that moment, in Tianxiang City's Heavenly Sword Sect liaison post, Qi Hua was enthusiastically gossiping about Junior Brother Cao Chenfeng.

"That's a Divine Transformation Jūnshàng we're talking about. The aura alone is impressive, and she's young and beautiful. Just one look from her would make a crowd of male cultivators line up to be her loyal followers!"

"Our Junior Brother Cao is no slouch either! When the girls back at the sect hear about this, they're going to be waving their swords in secret out of jealousy!"

"Our Heavenly Sword Sect's male cultivators are still highly sought after in the cultivation world!"

She clearly took great pride in the men of her sect.

Always sharp and spirited, Qi Hua had already sent news back to the sect, especially the scene of the city filled with blossoms and thousands of lotus lanterns. She had been quick enough to capture it all with a memory jade.

"Want to see what it looked like?" she asked casually.

The bustling group of cultivators fell silent for a moment, then all turned their eyes toward her.

"Pay up with spirit stones!"

With a playful toss of the memory jade in her hand, Qi Hua teased the crowd.

"Grab her!"

No one knew who shouted first, but soon there was a flurry of blades, fists, and flying robes. Qi Hua was pinned down, and everyone eagerly watched the recorded scene.

Seeing it for themselves, the mood changed. It was a gesture of affection too sincere to refuse.

"If I were Cao Zhēnrén, I'd say yes on the spot!"

A starry-eyed Foundation Establishment girl sighed.

"Fortunately you're not. Cao Zhēnrén has a firm dao heart, not easily swayed."

In stark contrast to the lively chatter at the Heavenly Sword Sect base, Du Yanran was stewing in rage, confusion, and bitterness. She didn't even know how to describe her current emotions.

Shutting herself in her room, she activated a defensive array and dropped her pleasant facade. Her face twisted with fury, and she didn't notice that the black mist she had long since repressed was once again forming at her brow.

"No, it's not possible. It can't be her!"

Du Yanran muttered over and over, smashing everything in the room to pieces. But deep down, she knew. That demon cultivator in the Divine Transformation realm was Jian Dan from the nether realm.

The flowers she had conjured were roses, a symbol of love among mortals in the nether realm. The thousand silver lotus lanterns were also designs unique to that world.

She had been mingling among the curious crowd in the city and had seen Jian Dan's face clearly. Apart from the tear-shaped mark at the corner of her eye, that face slowly overlapped with a figure from her memories.

Most terrifying of all was the moment Jian Dan turned and glanced in her direction. That sweeping gaze, that faint smile at the corner of her lips, sent chills through Du Yanran's spine.

"Calm down!"

She forced herself to settle. There were several things she needed to clarify.

First, had Jian Dan also been reincarnated?

Second, had she arrived in the cultivation realm through the same teleportation array hidden in the lower realm's desert heart?

Third, Jian Dan's behavior had drastically changed from their past life, and even her appearance was different. Most importantly, she was now a demon cultivator, whereas Jian Dan in the previous life had been a dao cultivator.

What led Du Yanran to suspect this? It was that black robe and the black-gold ring on Jian Dan's hand.

In their past life, when the two of them had first arrived in this realm, their very first opportunity had been finding the storage ring of a fallen cultivator. Among the items inside had been that exact robe embroidered with Manjushahua flowers. It had withstood ten thousand years of decay, preserving the corpse it wrapped. But once the robe was removed, the bones crumbled to dust.

Back then, Du Yanran had refused to wear something from a corpse, and so they sold it for spirit stones.

Now, that very robe had reappeared on Jian Dan, radiating the imposing aura of a true demon cultivator. This made her suspect the possibility that Jian Dan had been possessed.

Say what you will about former female leads, Du Yanran's intelligence was sharp enough. Her guesses weren't entirely wrong. The only thing she hadn't figured out was that Jian Dan had shifted her path and was now cultivating both dao and demon arts.

Touching the magnolia pendant hidden at her chest, Du Yanran felt a brief sense of comfort.

Over the past twenty years, she had worked hard to replant the rare spirit herbs in her pendant's spatial realm. In fact, it was now richer than it had been back in the nether realm. All her worldly possessions were tucked away in that pendant.

Suddenly, a sharp pain stabbed through her spiritual sense. The magnolia pendant began to glow faintly and floated out from her chest into the air. Behind it, a dark vortex slowly opened.

===

The former female lead had officially stepped back onto the stage. Though there would be few face-to-face encounters, shadows and blades would clash behind the scenes. Look forward to the drama to come—I'll keep writing as fast as I can!

Thank you for the votes especially those of you who've been following this story since the beginning. Your support means the world!