Chapter 32 | Transmigrated Into a Female-Oriented Novel, My Junior Sister Is the Villain

A few days later, the time for the Foundation Establishment secret realm to open finally arrived.

In the game, the so-called Foundation Establishment secret realm did not refer to a fixed location, but rather a special pocket dimension detached from the mortal world.

In essence, there was only one Foundation Establishment secret realm in the entire cultivation world, but its entrances would appear randomly between heaven and earth, their locations erratic and unpredictable.

More importantly, these entrances were not exclusive to the righteous path; they could just as easily manifest within the domain of the demonic races.

Though Su Yi wanted to complain about it, was it perhaps just because the developers lacked the bandwidth and only made a single map?

Moreover, unlike in the game, the frequency of these secret realm entrances appearing here was far rarer and more random.

This time around, most of the relatively stable entrances detected by various righteous factions happened to be concentrated around the peripheral territories under Divine Might Manor’s domain.

At this moment, within a valley that had been temporarily cleared out and protected by an established barrier, several portals of light—shimmering with different lusters and emitting profound spatial fluctuations—hung suspended in midair. In front of the portals, a bustling crowd of figures had already gathered.

Led by the four great sects—Ancient Sword of the Western Mountains, Divine Might of the Eastern Manor, Return to Origin of the Northern Faction, and Perching Phoenix of the Southern Abode—alongside a smattering of small and medium sects as well as solitary rogue cultivators, they formed the contingent preparing to enter the secret realm for Foundation Establishment.

Unlike usual, where Elders led the expeditions, each sect's contingent this time was commanded by outstanding disciples from their ranks.

After all, anyone above Qi Condensation could not enter, and since it was within righteous jurisdiction, having Elders lead would be an overkill.

Standing at the front of his contingent, Su Yi swept his gaze across the other familiar factions.

Before the Ancient Sword Mountain group stood a young girl with blue hair and blue eyes. Her temperament was cool and aloof; she was none other than that Heavenly-grade Ice Spirit Root talent who had shone brightly at the last Ascendance Gathering.

Leading the Return to Origin Sect was a young woman clad in green robes with black hair tied into a side ponytail and verdant eyes. Su Yi remembered her—she was the wood spirit root genius whom Shang Shuqing had paid extraordinary attention to.

Meanwhile, Perching Phoenix Pavilion’s contingent was particularly eye-catching. The yin heavily outweighed the yang, with female disciples making up the vast majority. Among them, a tall, well-built youth with an aura of fiery passion between his brows stood out prominently—the fire-attribute Heavenly Spirit Root, Shi Yan.

‘Looks like this starter trio each went to the sect best suited for them.’

As early-game characters, all of their potential was rated Rank A.

Had these three clustered together in one place, they would have held each other back, making it difficult for all of them to stand out. Now that they had gone their separate ways, every one of them had displayed astonishing potential in their new environments.

Right at that moment, something unexpected happened that caught Su Yi off guard.

Ling Qingyu of Ancient Sword Mountain, the green-robed young woman from Return to Origin Sect, and Shi Yan from Perching Phoenix Pavilion all moved almost in unison. Breaking away from the lead positions of their respective contingents, they walked toward where Su Yi stood.

Upon noticing the other two doing the same, they instinctively picked up their pace.

Su Yi raised an eyebrow, his first thought being: ‘Did Tantai Yunzhi trigger another plot event? Are these children of fortune sticking their faces out to get slapped by the female lead?’

He subconsciously glanced at Tantai Yunzhi standing quietly beside him, only to find an expression of complete bewilderment on her face as well.

“Senior Brother, why are they all heading toward us?” Tantai Yunzhi tugged at Su Yi’s sleeve, asking in a low voice.

‘Don’t ask me; I want to ask you too. Has your female lead halo activated again?’ Su Yi muttered internally.

However, the anticipated provocation or conflict did not happen.

Upon drawing close, the three exchanged glances with one another.

“Shi Yan, why did you come over to Young Manor Lord Su as well?” Ling Qingyu spoke first, her voice clear and crisp like ice beads dropping onto a jade plate.

Shi Yan scratched his head, pointing with equal confusion at another portal in the valley radiating a chilly aura. “I was about to ask you the same thing! Ling Qingyu, that passage is brimming with biting cold qi, obviously far more suited for your ice spirit root. Why come here instead of heading over there?”

The drop points of each passage were different. Choosing one matching one’s own attribute was undeniably the optimal choice.

“Everyone, what is the meaning of this?” Su Yi, the person in question, looked at the trio and took the initiative to ask, his mind full of doubt.

Hearing this, the green-robed young woman from Return to Origin Sect took a step forward, offering Su Yi an elegant, graceful bow before speaking sincerely: “Young Manor Lord Su, before departing, my elder brother Shang Shuqing specially instructed me that when entering the secret realm, following Su Yi of Divine Might Manor would spare us unnecessary trouble.”

She had heard from her brother that during the previous Foundation Establishment secret realm where Su Yi was present, Divine Might Manor suffered zero casualties—the disciples hadn’t even sustained injuries, and nearly all achieved high-grade Dao foundations.

“Shang Shuqing is your brother?” Su Yi blinked in surprise, realization dawning upon him. No wonder Shang Shuqing had paid such close attention to this girl back at the Ascendance Gathering; they were siblings. “So he was just worried about his own sister back then?”

“Yes. My name is Shang Shuyi, and Shang Shuqing is indeed my elder brother,” Shang Shuyi confirmed once more.

“Furthermore, Young Manor Lord Su seems to have forgotten—you have seen me before,” Shang Shuyi smiled softly.

To this day, she still remembered the scene when Su Yi barged into Return to Origin Sect.

“Is that so? Perhaps we crossed paths once when my father took me to Return to Origin Sect.” Su Yi did not pay it much mind. Back when he was still an illustrious genius, people from Return to Origin Sect had struck up conversations with him all the time, and he couldn’t possibly remember everyone.

With that, he turned to look at the other two, completely missing the faint look of disappointment in Shang Shuyi’s eyes.

“And you two, what are your reasons?”

At his question, Shi Yan cupped his fists, his voice booming: “Young Manor Lord Su, I am Shi Yan! Before set-off, Senior Sister Ming Xi instructed me, saying that Young Manor Lord Su owes our Perching Phoenix Pavilion a favor. If we encounter difficulties in the secret realm, we can seek your aid.”

“To be frank, I’m decent in a brawl, but leading a team really isn’t my forte. After mulling it over, I felt following Young Manor Lord Su would be much safer! Please grant your permission, Young Manor Lord Su, and let us enter the secret realm alongside you!”

‘A favor?’

Su Yi instantly recalled that stalk of Seven-Colored Rainbow Phoenix Stamen from before.

“Is that so? Well, if you trust me, then just follow along.”

“Thank you, Young Manor Lord Su!” Shi Yan was overjoyed. He had no desire to waste energy commanding a squad, and since Perching Phoenix Pavilion consisted mostly of women, it was even more of a headache.

Seeing this, Ling Qingyu spoke up as well: “Senior Sister Murong also said that when Young Manor Lord Su established his foundation back then, everything went smoothly. Following Young Manor Lord Su will save a lot of trouble.”

Saying so, she produced a sword. “This sword was personally entrusted to me by Senior Sister Murong. She said it is an apology gift for accidentally stabbing Senior Brother during the last match.”

Su Yi looked at the longsword Ling Qingyu handed over. Its scabbard was archaic and unadorned, faint ripples of flowing light shimmering across it. At a glance, one could tell it was no ordinary item.

A radiant smile immediately broke across his face. As he reached out to accept it, polite words poured from his mouth: “Aiya, Junior Sister Murong is being far too polite! That previous match was just a normal sparring session. What’s a minor wound? To go out of her way to send such a valuable apology gift, I’m almost embarrassed to accept!”

Even as he spoke, his movement to take the sword was swift, steady, and utterly decisive.

His heart was as clear as a mirror. An "apology gift" was just polite rhetoric.

Murong Yue had simply felt embarrassed to explicitly ask him to look out for Ancient Sword Mountain’s contingent. After all, despite Ling Qingyu’s exceptional talent, her experience in leading a team was likely limited.

‘Murong Yue is truly reliable—she knows how the world works!’ Su Yi thought gleefully. He loved dealing with smart, tactful people like her. It saved so much hassle!

He weighed the longsword in his hand, feeling the sharp spiritual energy contained within, and nodded in satisfaction. Then, he looked at the three powerful teammates who had "delivered themselves to his doorstep" along with the contingents behind them.

“Since all three of you have such faith in me, Su Yi,” he laughed heartily, “then we shall join our forces into one and brave this secret realm together! That way, we can watch each other’s backs!”

The Divine Might Manor disciples on Su Yi’s side naturally had no objections; the Young Manor Lord called the shots.

Seeing this, the disciples of the other three sects also breathed a collective sigh of relief. The Foundation Establishment secret realm was the venue where most cultivators saw the demonic race for the first time; practically every cultivator competed with the demons here for their first taste of spoils.

When facing demons for the first time, inexperience often led to heavy casualties. Yet they had all learned that during the expedition Su Yi participated in, everyone from Divine Might Manor walked out without so much as a speck of dirt on their hems.

Moreover, fellow disciples from that era all claimed that while Su Yi’s methods were bizarre, the outcomes were always remarkably flawless.

The usual pattern went something like: Su Yi acts bizarrely; Su Yi makes blunder after blunder; Su Yi is on his last legs; Su Yi turns the tide of battle.

Now that they had latched onto such a reliable pillar, their worries were put to rest. At the same time, they quietly adjusted their positions, subtly clustering with Su Yi at the core.