The Transmigrated Male Lead Confessed to Me - Chapter 33 (Part 1)

For the vast majority of cultivators, if there was even a single major realm separating them, the gap was as wide as heaven and earth, and victory was almost impossible.

Even when both sides were in the same realm, the outcome was uncertain, and it often took a very long time to determine who would win.

That was without even mentioning a fight to the death.

Even if a sword cultivator fought a medical cultivator of the same realm, the former would usually win, but killing the latter was still far from easy.

Su Zhen believed that she no longer belonged to the category of “the vast majority”.

With the experience of her previous life, defeating cultivators of the same realm came effortlessly to her. Even when facing someone one major realm higher, winning was not difficult, at most requiring her to pay some price.

She could even find ways to deal with opponents two major realms above her.

It was just that some methods could not be used lightly.

“You are not…”

Huang Lu’s dying groan scattered into the wind.

His body had been torn into countless pieces, each fragment shriveled and shattered. The water and blood within his flesh were devoured and drained away, transformed into nourishment that fed the bewitchingly vivid red tree.

The blood-red flowering tree grew ever more luxuriant, while Huang Lu’s body withered further and further, until only a face that barely retained its outline remained, hanging at the center of the tree.

From the mouth, eye sockets, and nostrils of that head, countless crisscrossing, branching twigs extended outward.

Layer upon layer of fresh leaves grew along the branches, purple and crimson intermingling, and at the very tip, a perfectly red, round fruit was slowly taking shape.

“You… are…”

His voice became fragmented as well, barely able to form complete words.

Su Zhen stood in midair, calmly watching the scene, her heart devoid of much emotion.

She had killed far too many demon cultivators in her past. One or two more made no difference. As for how furious Xie Changfeng might be, or how heartbroken Liu Yunyao might become, those were merely incidental additions.

Su Zhen reached out and caught the fruit as it fell.

The peel was not stained with blood. It felt cold and smooth to the touch, containing within it a turbid and powerful spiritual power.

The fruit gradually melted in her palm, completely absorbed into her hand, and soon vanished without a trace.

Disorderly, fragmented memories appeared in Su Zhen’s mind.

They included how Huang Lu had previously gone to the Human Realm, to the border between the Eastern Domain and the Central Domain, intending to rescue his companions, only to be severely wounded by Pei Xun and forced to flee in disgrace.

Unfortunately, this information was of little use to her, since she could simply go back and ask her cousin directly.

However, the reason Huang Lu had appeared there was because Xie Changfeng had pulled him over.

Huang Lu and three other colleagues had originally been heading to the Central Domain on other business, but because there were cultivators in the Lower Seven Realms among them, it was inconvenient to use a boundary gate.

In principle, the most appropriate solution would have been for Xie Changfeng to send them directly into the interior of the Central Domain, but this was something he could not do.

As the caster, when pulling people from the Demon Realm into the Human Realm, the landing point could not be too far from himself.

From this, one could instead infer his true level of strength.

But for Su Zhen, this was not something particularly important for the time being.

She looked at the blood-red tree in the air and confirmed that Huang Lu was truly dead beyond any doubt. Even the power of his primordial spirit had been completely drained.

The battle just now had cost her a fair amount. The spiritual power contained in the fruit was enough to replenish her, but the memories within were rather chaotic.

Aside from the matter just mentioned, she had extracted almost nothing of value, especially no information about Shen Du.

It seemed that it would have been better to leave behind a fragment of his primordial spirit and carefully search through his memories instead.

Earlier, the fight had gone too smoothly. In a moment of ease, she had forgotten her current level of strength. Even when using the same spell, its effect was vastly inferior to when she had been at the Golden Immortal realm.

“What’s wrong?”

Xiao Yu appeared beside her.

Su Zhen shook her head. “Nothing. I just didn’t manage to find much of what I wanted.”

Shen Du, the person who caused her death in her previous life.

This man came from the foremost aristocratic family of the Northern Domain. Unlike the “male lead” Xie Changfeng, whose origins were obscure, this “male supporting character” was a genuine noble young master.

In his early years, he had entered the Wuri Palace. Because the Palace Master remained in seclusion year-round and paid no attention to worldly affairs, even though Shen Du’s aptitude was exceptional, he still failed to become a disciple of Yinfeng Xianzun. Instead, he became the disciple of a Guardian Elder, making his situation somewhat similar to Xie Changfeng’s.

Exactly when he had fallen into demonic cultivation was never written in the book.

When he appeared, he was already a demon cultivator of the Soul Devouring Sect, though he still wore the skin of a righteous cultivator. By then, he was already deeply versed in many secret demonic techniques, clearly indicating that he had fallen into demonic cultivation very early on.

At present, Shen Du’s cultivation was naturally inferior to what it would be four hundred years later. Moreover, he spent most of his days in seclusion within the sect and rarely showed himself. Still, he was someone adept at social maneuvering, and as a result, he enjoyed a rather good reputation.

Wuri Palace was the number one immortal sect of the Northern Domain and one of the five great sects. Su Zhen had absolutely no way of charging in and killing him to take revenge.

As for exposing his identity, that was no simple matter either.

For someone who dared to mix into a prestigious, righteous sect, he must have had real skills. He would not be easily exposed. Demon cultivators were different from demon clans; they were far better at hiding themselves.

Su Zhen did have methods to deal with this, but they were extremely troublesome. Moreover, if his identity were truly exposed, it would no longer be her turn to kill him.

He might not even die.

Because of the family backing him, they might find a way to intervene and secretly send him to the Demon Realm to hide.

That would be like beating the grass and startling the snake. Finding him again would not be easy. Once a demon cultivator wearing the skin of the righteous path was exposed, countless people would keep their eyes on him, eager to claim the bounty. He would inevitably hide himself with all his might.

Su Zhen wanted to kill this man with her own hands, to make him die in agony.

As long as his identity was not exposed, he would act more cautiously, but finding him should not be that difficult.

As fellow demon cultivators, she knew very well that although the one surnamed Shen claimed to be in seclusion year-round, he would secretly come to the Demon Realm from time to time.

As for how often he came and what position he held, those were unknown.

If she asked Yao Wan, he would most likely know. But Su Zhen truly did not want to look for him. The main reason was that she did not trust him, and seeing him only made her want to kill him.

Huang Lu and Shen Du had personal dealings. Although the relationship was not deep, and could even be described as superficial politeness, if she could glimpse even the slightest trace in his memories, Su Zhen could follow the trail back.

Unfortunately, those memories were far too chaotic.

“What kind of memories are you looking for? Maybe I know?”

“…Just some private business of mine.”

At present, she and that person had nothing to do with each other at all. If she said they had enmity in the past, it would not really hold up either. The gap in their strength had been far too great. If she had encountered him in the Demon Realm back then, she would certainly have died.

If she claimed to have met him in the Human Realm, she would have to fabricate other lies.

She could not be bothered to expend that effort. “Let’s not talk about it.”

Xiao Yu nodded and did not ask further. “So next… We should start looting the spoils?”

Su Zhen could not help but laugh. “Senior, you’re an old hand at this. Why ask me?”

The two exchanged a knowing glance.

The Moon-Worship Sect demon cultivators were almost entirely dead. She casually dealt with the remaining fragments of primordial spirits, then gathered up the intact qiankun bags and spatial jade accessories.

Some had already been destroyed in the battle. Others were of better quality. Even if damaged, they could still be repaired to retrieve most of the items inside.

“Senior, if there’s anything you want, just say so…”

Su Zhen flipped through the miscellaneous materials inside and picked out a few mid to lower-tier spiritual artifacts. “Though I doubt there’s anything here that would catch your eye.”

“You cleared the map. The items should naturally belong to you,” Xiao Yu said indifferently. “Do as you please. No need to ask me.”

Su Zhen did not find anything particularly interesting either, so she tossed aside the qiankun bag in her hand and moved on to the next one.

“That’s not quite how it works. If I’d come alone, their injuries would probably have healed by now. Flying all this way also cost me spiritual power…”

“That would only mean spending a bit more time dealing with them.”

Xiao Yu said unconcernedly, “Even if this entire group were at full strength, combined, they still wouldn’t be your match.”

His judgment was naturally precise.

Su Zhen did not continue to feign modesty. After packing away some rare materials and spirit stones, she stood up. “I’ll go take a look at their branch hall.”

The sound transmission stone had already shattered.

They stood in the desert, surrounded only by a small stretch of ruins. Pillars were broken, walls collapsed, and the ground was paved with rough square stone slabs, all buried beneath thick layers of sand.

She walked to the stone tile at the center and flicked several strands of spiritual power from her fingers, striking three stone slabs to the left-front and right.

After a dull rumble, the ground ahead slowly sank, revealing a downward passage. At the bottom of dozens of steps stood a bronze door, upon which three layers of barriers were set.

From those chaotic memories, Su Zhen barely extracted the method for dismantling the barrier, but the sequence was difficult to discern, and after several attempts, she still did not succeed.

“…You could just smash it open with one punch, right?” Xiao Yu watched from behind for quite some time. “You just can’t swallow this grievance?”

Su Zhen slapped a palm against the door. The barriers immediately dissipated, and the bronze door slowly opened.

“Finally.”

She let out a breath. “I just wanted to prove that those memories were at least somewhat useful. And besides, forcibly breaking the door might… Well, forget it. No need to make excuses. Senior is right.”

Xiao Yu could not help but laugh.

Su Zhen glanced back at him. “It has nothing to do with Senior.”