Aftermath of the Test

With the thud body of Xuanyuan Wentian collapsed on the ground, there was a hole in his chest. A stab wound, which went right through his heart.

Qianye Ying'er swung her golden sword removing blood and then made the weapon disappear, it was after all a construct of Profound Energy.

With hand motion she motioned for the red ring to come off and float over to her side, she then pulled out the ring's case and made it float into it.

Once she secured the prototype Ring of Corruption she proceeded to turn invisible with her Brahma Art Great Splendorous Brahma Shadow. She mastered this art to the peak, it's perfect to sneak around, and with her ring's ability, it makes one think that she ceased to exist or just popped out from existence.

'The ring is powerful, too powerful and obvious,' She thought about the Ring of Corruption, that thing was too powerful and obvious, people will eventually notice it and will try to seal it away or stay clear of it.

Such a ring would be useless in the Realm of Gods after causing initial chaos.

Though if he wants to create quick chaos, this is the way to do it.

A few seconds later the doors blasted open and more elders rushed in, the talisman linked to their Sword Master was destroyed, which means their leader was dead!

The elders swiftly went to investigate and they found Xuanyuan Wentian on the ground, with a sword wound.

"Quick! Send the word! We have a murderer on the loose! The rest send word to all disciples and elders! Recall everyone!"

The blonde smiled as she saw how quickly things got out of control. Their treasury, armoury, pill storage, herbs gardens, everything was empty.

After a while, the corpse was collected…

"T-This! Whatever it was, it collected everything the Sword Master had!"

Everyone realised that the Sword Master was acting weirdly, he was giggling and laughing at random intervals, as well as acting in a deranged manner.

"Heavens, what is this!? Who could have done this? At such an important time as well!"

"We only had a single enemy! And that is the Supreme Ocean Palace."

'Not wrong, but not right either…' 

Qianye Ying'er hummed to herself as she saw how everyone was entering panic mode.

She knows how Sects start to act when something bad happens, they seal themselves away.

But in this situation, they have no wealth, they have no Purple Veined Crystals to power their arrays. Their arrays are chunky and not as elegant as the ones built by Xiao Long.

"Are you saying the Supreme Ocean Palace found a way to deal with someone from inside!?"

'Hehehe, how amusing they are even going to start questioning each other… this place will fall apart without me even doing anything extra!'

Once everyone left the main hall, the blonde sneaked out and proceeded to simply fly away.

She was done here, normally she would turn this place into rubble but Xiao Long wanted to milk them so that they could work and buy things from him. 

Completely depended on him.

Well, she doesn't care either way, her job is done.

~~~

Just as Qianye Ying'er predicted once the snake's head was severed, chaos broke out. In a normal situation, this would mean nothing, but everyone noticed how the Sword Master behaved. Then he was found with a sword wound in his chest. 

A wound which was inflicted on their leader in the heart of their Sacred Ground.

This made the old men panicky, the grounds were sealed off. Elders and juniors were to be recalled.

Xuanyuan Jue, the 9th Elder of Mighty Heavenly Sword Region frowned when he got the notification to return at once, including all members who were with him.

This was out of nowhere, and they were so close to the tournament as well.

'Did Sword Master strike a deal?'

The old man swiftly called his daughter. She arrived a few short minutes later.

"Yufeng, the mission has been aborted."

"W-Why?"

"I do not know. I have to leave and so are the Sword Attendants."

"B-But what about the deal?"

"The deal is still on, if you can get Young Master Xiao to reveal his secrets then you will have the gratitude of Mighty Heavenly Sword Region. The elders would fulfil your requests."

Relief filled the Villa Mistress, it appears she can still salvage this. Over the months her brooding against Ling Yuefeng has festered. It has been months but that fool was like a lost puppy because Chu Yuechan was now with Xiao Long.

Yes, it has been reported people saw Chu Yuechan with the Young Master in the capital. The precious 'Frozen Beauty' is reduced to a maid.

It was disgusting for her to watch how her husband was still obsessed with this woman-turned-maid!

This is why even if she won't get anything from Mighty Heavenly Sword Region she will still try to seduce Xiao Long.

Just so that she could make both Ling Yuefeng and Chu Yuechan jealous.

She wasted years in this place!!!

~~~~~~Floating Cloud City~~~~~~

The first thing Qianye Ying'er did when she arrived at the sect was to see the Young Master.

Though the moment she saw him she started to laugh as she saw the state of Xing Tong who was with Xiao Long.

The girl had cat ears!

The Heavenly Slaughter Star God was reduced to a house pet just like she said she will!

*GROWL*

"Why don't you start hissing like a kitty?"

Xing Tong's eyes narrowed for a bit.

"For your information, I have been working hard the whole time! I am two small realms above you!"

"What of it? You sound as if it's difficult to cultivate." The blonde brushed her hair while saying that. 

"..."

"Unlike useless you, I have been useful to our Master." As she said that she walked over to Xiao Long who completely ignored the bickering pair.

He was busy with something.

"Master Long I am back~~ and I got gifts for you~"

"Hmm?"

"Yes~ the ring you gave me allowed me to ruin Mighty Heavenly Sword Region, the biggest possible threat to you Xuanyuan Wentian is dead as well."

"Good, he was a crafty person."

"Yes, well, he was until he was not. The ring turned him into a drooling mess."

"Oh?" Xiao Long had a curious look, he looked at the redhead who was pouring her Profound energy into the wheel.

"We are taking a break Xing Tong. Recover your energy." as he said that the wheel disappeared.

"R-Right." 

The Crimson Cat nodded as she dropped into the lotus position and proceeded to regain her strength.

"Let's go, Ying'er."

"Yes~"

~~~

Once the pair were in his warehouse, the blonde ended up on his lap, being hugged by Xiao Long. This made her heart flutter from his affection towards her.

"Well, you can start with your report."

"Of course!" She got a hold of herself before starting to explain.

"Finding people to follow was not hard, what was difficult was to remain hidden and infiltrate the Sword Region.

Getting into Outer Court was not hard, but Core itself was very difficult, the whole place is run by two families, Ling and Xuanyuan. Though Xuanyuan are the rulers and Ling are the lackeys.

It would take a while, but then you gave me those two rings. After that I only needed a single afternoon to dismantle the whole Sacred Ground."

"Good, tell me about the performance of the ring of corruption?"

She slowly nodded before pulling the ring box out of her Space Storage and handing it over to him.

"The ring is powerful and far too obvious. It's good for short-term use but long-term? People will realise far too quickly what it does."

He hummed at her words as he slowly took the box and opened it.

The Young Master gazed at the red ring before casually making it float on one of the tables. 

Soon after it landed and a bunch of command tablets popped into existence.

He made them float over with a hand motion.

"That's because I made the corruption at its maximum. I wanted to gather information on how it will affect people, especially Xuanyuan Wentian."

"You knew it would end up with him?"

He just looked at her for a second.

"That much was obvious. He was extremely power-hungry and was willing to use Devil's power to improve himself."

This made the blonde slightly uncomfortable, she realised that they were quite similar in that regard…

"This is why the ring records how quickly it corrupts its users."

A specific tablet flew over.

"First user was a Throne, the second one was a middle stage Monarch and the last one was Peak Monarch.

Three users, the last one was easiest to corrupt, the other two lasted a few minutes longer."

"Yes, what you just said was right. I observed the whole thing." The blonde nodded at what he just read.

"Indeed, you even went further and beyond and figured out that you can command them."

This was where she pouted at him for a second.

"Yes! And you didn't say that I can influence them!"

"I thought you like finding extras like that yourself?"

"...True."

The beauty quickly stopped pouting and instead relaxed in his hands.

"Good to know. Apart from it appears it was easy for everyone to use the powers added to the ring."

"Yes… even when they are deranged and crazy they do not fail to use the ring powers."

"Good, because the more you rely on them, the more corruption has an easier time spreading."

She nodded at him, he was right, even though she enjoys the new powers which come with her ring.

"Indeed, this test run was what I needed, this means I can proceed with the main project."

"Oh? Are you going to use more of these in the Realm of Gods?"

He smiled at her and made her stand up, he then got himself up from his comfy chair and motioned for her to follow him.

The pair walked to a shelf full of some sort of boxes, these boxes were either from fancy wood or crystalline in different sizes as well!

The blonde wondered what kind of crazy stuff he has in these.

And no…she won't be touching any of these.

Her encounter with Ring of Corruption made her self-aware of how dangerous this stuff can be.

He pulled one from the middle of it and channelled some profound energy into it.

Runes lit up and the top opened up like a chest.

Inside of it were nine rings, they were red just like the Ring of Corruption. 

"These…"

"The Nine Rings of Artificer True God, who lived in the Primordial Era alongside the Creation Gods and other True Gods, loved to make artefacts inspired by Heavenly Treasures.

His dream was to create or even surpass these Heavenly Treasures." He explained with a grin.

"..."

"What do you think about the backstory for these? Of course, you are a very talented and crafty woman. You can add two bits of your ideas for this back story."

Qianye Ying'er for a second nodded, she never thought about it in this way. Create a fake True God and use it to spread rings which will cause chaos? It's so simple! And devious!

But, there is a small issue about it.

"Quite a devious idea, but, to pass it as a 'real' Legacy the profound energy has to be old, some remnant of Godly essence has to be in the air as well. 

I am no stranger to ruins which has legacies inside them, I even found the location where Creation God left things behind." Qianye Ying'er said while crossing her hands.

"That won't be an issue."

"...No?"

"Not at all, I will leave a whole trial behind. The trial will be a spiritual one."

"...Ohhh…"

"You will be targeting the blind spot." She said with realisation.

"Indeed. My trials have more than enough examples of Soul manipulation, this includes memories and perception inside." 

"...Trials? As in multiple?"

"Indeed, while you were away we found the location of Primordial Azure Dragon Trials."

"..."

"I assume you acquired everything?" She asked him as she now understood that he was taller and his eyes were blue now."

"Yes, he will be reborn just like Phoenix, I have acquired his blood, rebuilt the trials and acquired hundreds of thousands of profound cores at Overlord and Monarch Realms."

"...I see…"

She shrugged before giggling, eventually she just…didn't bother anymore.

"Back to the trials, since I have two to base off, I could implement them and add some context."

'Exactly, I could apply my knowledge of the books, like, for example, the trials came online because of Devil Emperor's return to Primal Chaos.

I can insert BS into truth…'

He thought to himself as he explained to the blonde.

"In that case, you would only need to work in the background and explain about this 'Artificer True God', of course, I assume you will adjust the rings?"

"Of course. What you played with was nothing more than a toy. It was something I made just to test the potency of corruption."

As he said that he picked up one of the rings.

"These are the real deal, they are not finished but the superiority it gives over Profound Energy is real."

He showed how the interior of the ring is full of small letters, they are glowing in choreographic patterns. 

"These rings give a boost in sheer cultivation, the power comes from Primal Chaos itself according to the Language of True Gods.

Followed by senses, perception, ability to bend Profound energy to one will, which allows the usage of Profound Constructs, which you have already tested."

The blonde nodded, this was just like her ring.

"But, the real bonus is for the soul, anyone who will have this on their finger will understand that they are getting better, mentally, their cultivation is faster, and their profound entrances are opening on their own."

Her eyes slightly widened when she realised that. 

"...This…if it improves them this much, won't they realise the true nature of the ring?"

"Nope, because the ring would lead them by their nose, and they will have base Slaughter, Brahma and Phoenix patterns. Of course, these powers are rebuilt from the ground up and have no connection to these three legacies. 

On top of it all, there will be purification power in it. Which is similar to 'holy' or 'light'.

They have no idea that corruption itself is not some black energy, it comes in all sorts of colours."

*Gulp*

The blonde realised that he will be targeting all of the weak spots. 

Greed for power, easier cultivation, it's not Devil in nature, so it can't corrupt! It even can purify! How will people realise the true nature of the rings!?

And most of them all, the corruption is at a soul level, the blind spot which no one has any idea about.

"So you realised." He saw her expression.

"...Yes. The only thing you need to do is adjust the corruption power."

"That's where your test came to play, Ying'er you did it for me. Now I know the peak potential, and I can adjust to make it gradual."

She stiffly nodded, before a smile blossomed on her lips.

"Does this mean I was useful to you?" 

The beauty proceeded with her advances. To which he accepted and pulled her closer into his hands after putting the ring back in the box and putting it back into its place.

"You were. Very useful. Now come with me. Let me tell you something which could interest you."

"Hmm? Oh? You have something for me!? another present!?"

Xiao Long smiled at her and saw how the blonde had put her ring finger on her left hand. It was as if she was married to him or something, how does she even know about this? Or is it just a random choice?

"In a way, you see, a while back I found Mirror of Samsara."

Her eyes widened for a short second, it was a heavenly treasure but she had no idea about its proper use.

"And I became its proper Master."

"Y-You did!?"

"Yes, and I already tested its power."

As he said that he lifted his left-hand red aura surrounding it.

"This is Star Slaughter God's Godly essence. I can wield reincarnation. So if you have someone you want to bring to life you can tell me."

At that moment something inside of her just snapped. A beautiful smile blossomed on her lips.

"...If you can bring my mother back to life, then my soul, my mind and my body are yours."

"Oh, they were not before?"

"...Semantics, but this time around you won't need things to chain me, I will do that myself~" She teased him.

As she said that she started to look more coy and more lively, it was as if she found her true and most pure reason to exist.

If he can truly bring her deceased mother back then her life will be truly fulfilled!

"I see. Since you want to see if this will work we will try it with Xing Tong's brother."

*Snort*

"Sure. He will be a good test subject. Though what will his uses be? From my understanding, he won't have his Heavenly Wolf Star God Legacy." Qianye Ying'er had no use for him and she could not see any use for her darling Xiao Long could have, she was biassed here but it's just how it is.

"Don't know, don't care. He can join the Sect and become something. All I care about is that I will have a cat off my back for a while."

"...Hehehe, cat! you truly made her into a household pet! Never thought I would see the day!"

Oh, what a fantastic day for the blonde! Her mother might return to life, she saw that brat reduced to a cat! Then she might see chaos like no other when those rings are on loose.

"Yes, well, she wanted something but had no means to pay back for what I did. In the end, I decided to make her into a cat.

At least she can use her cuteness to brighten the day."

*Amused Snort*

~~~

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