Reborn as the Novel’s Villain: Cultivation Lost, Female Leads Take Control - Chapter 178

“First of all, I’m not a mount—I’m the mount of a mount!

Second, are you sick? Master has already said he won’t accept mounts, yet you’re still so eager to be one. I get your determination to cling to the thigh, but if the thigh doesn’t let you cling, you can’t force it!”

Even while his mouth and nose weren’t completely free, Little Black managed to voice his thoughts, fearlessly glaring at the Black Tortoise Emperor.

“Do you know what the consequences will be if you do this?” Little Black demanded.

The Black Tortoise Emperor’s disdainful eyes bore into him. He said coldly, “This emperor won’t kill you—only teach you a lesson. Otherwise, with your attitude, you’re bound to cause trouble for your master.”

Who’s the one causing trouble here? Little Black thought furiously. And who is your ‘master’? My master hasn’t even acknowledged you as a mount!

Realizing reasoning was futile, Little Black opted for his final resort:

“Help! Someone come quickly! The spiritual pet of Purple Cloud Peak, Sang Biao, is being bullied!” he shouted at the top of his lungs.

It’s not my fault, Little Black rationalized. This Black Tortoise is too arrogant and domineering—I have no choice but to call for reinforcements!

Inside the mountain gate.

The commotion outside quickly caught the attention of the sect. Seven or eight figures flew out immediately—seven deacons and one elder in the Divine Transformation realm.

When they arrived and saw Master Xu’s pet, Sang Biao, being pinned down by the Black Tortoise Emperor, their expressions darkened.

The elder wasted no time. With a wave of his hand, his magic power enveloped Little Black, freeing him from the Black Tortoise Emperor’s grasp.

Staring coldly at the Black Tortoise Emperor, the elder asked sharply, “What is the meaning of this?”

The elder’s tone carried a weight that silenced the air. This was no trivial matter—Master Xu had only recently broken through, and now demons were attacking his spiritual pet. This could only be seen as a deliberate provocation, a blatant disregard for Master Xu’s authority!

The Black Tortoise Emperor’s followers immediately stepped forward, their voices ringing with indignation:

“This is outrageous! How dare this beaver act so insolently toward my master?”

“My master has come here, all the way from the demon clan, to offer his service as Master Xu’s mount. Yet this beaver refuses to even report to Master Xu!”

“My master is a descendant of a divine beast, noble in status and power. How can you humans treat him with such disrespect?”

The elder ignored their tirade entirely. Turning to Little Black, he asked, “Are you alright?”

“I’m fine now, thank you for saving me!” Little Black bowed respectfully, handing over a broken thousand-year-old spiritual object as a token of gratitude.

Dusting himself off, he turned to the Black Tortoise Emperor and said, “I’ll warn you one last time—leave now. Otherwise, if you truly provoke my master, you’ll end up as a dead turtle!”

Though his words were harsh, there was genuine concern beneath them.

Little Black knew his master’s temper well. Once provoked, Master Xu had no qualms about annihilating clans or villages. While the Black Tortoise Emperor might be a divine beast with an impenetrable shell, he likely wouldn’t survive a single strike from Master Xu.

And truthfully, Little Black’s concern wasn’t purely altruistic. His master’s command had been clear:

If you can’t solve the problem, then you will be the problem solved.

He had no intention of becoming collateral damage.

The Black Tortoise Emperor’s followers, however, refused to back down.

“Elder, did you hear that? This Sang Biao just called my master a dead bastard!” one shouted angrily.

“He relies on his status as Purple Cloud Peak’s spiritual pet to behave so arrogantly. Are you just going to let him tarnish Master Xu’s reputation?”

“My master is a descendant of a divine beast, while this Sang Biao is nothing but a common beaver. The difference between them is like heaven and earth! Yet he dares to insult my master—is this acceptable?”

Their anger was palpable. Some were already itching to take action, their eyes filled with fury as they glared at Little Black. If not for the elder’s presence, they might have pounced on him already to settle the score with brute force.

The elder stood firmly on Little Black’s side without hesitation. He had spent considerable time interacting with Sang Biao recently, and he was certain of one thing: this beaver would never act so boldly without Master Xu’s consent.

Sang Biao represented Purple Cloud Peak, and Purple Cloud Peak represented Master Xu. Supporting Little Black was equivalent to supporting the future of the Qingming Sect.

“The words may be blunt, but they hold truth. Since Sang Biao has chosen not to pursue this matter further, you should leave quickly. Do not block the mountain gate or create unnecessary trouble,” the elder said firmly, his deep voice echoing across the mountains.

“I will not leave without seeing Master Xu.”

The Black Tortoise Emperor’s expression darkened. He hadn’t expected even the elder of Qingming Sect, a human no less, to treat him with the same dismissiveness as Sang Biao.

“In that case, I’ll have to ask you to leave!”

The elder’s patience had run out. He wouldn’t tolerate anyone—divine beast or not—disrupting the Qingming Sect or defying Master Xu’s wishes. With a flick of his sleeve, his overwhelming spiritual power erupted, sending a terrifying shockwave across the mountain gate.

Boom!

The sheer force of his attack tore through the air like a tornado, leaving the gathered demons trembling in awe. The elder of the God Divine Transformation realm unleashed his full strength—not to harm the demons, but to forcibly send them beyond the sect’s borders.

Followers of the Black Tortoise Emperor were thrown to the ground like leaves in a storm. Their magic power proved futile against the elder’s might, and some were even on the verge of being swept into the sky.

But the Black Tortoise Emperor remained unmoved.

“I said I will not leave until I see Master Xu,” he stated coldly, his voice carrying an undeniable authority.

To him, the Qingming Sect was merely a mortal force—not worth his respect. The only person he truly acknowledged was Master Xu.

When the elder dared to act against him, the Black Tortoise Emperor’s patience snapped. Two brilliant beams of extreme light shot from his eyes, slashing directly at the elder.

Puff!

The elder staggered, clutching his chest as blood seeped through his robes. His face paled, and it was clear he had suffered a severe injury.

“How dare you harm our elder!”

The seven remaining deacons drew their magic weapons, their eyes blazing with fury as they glared at the Black Tortoise Emperor.

“This emperor merely taught him a lesson on behalf of the master,” the Black Tortoise Emperor replied coldly. “Otherwise, with his arrogance, he’d only cause trouble for the master in the future!”

To the Black Tortoise Emperor, everyone in the Qingming Sect seemed deeply flawed.

In this world, the strong should command respect, he thought. Yet not a single trace of awe can be seen on the faces of Sang Biao or these humans.

He couldn’t shake the thought: what if it hadn’t been him at the gate today, but a saint or an even more powerful being? With such a dismissive attitude, the Qingming Sect might have faced utter destruction.

For Master Xu’s sake, I must correct their attitude and prove my value.

Meanwhile, Little Black had no such lofty thoughts. Watching the Black Tortoise Emperor attack the elder, his heart sank.

This guy is finished.

A supreme, oppressive presence suddenly descended upon the scene, its gaze locking onto the Black Tortoise Emperor like a predator eyeing its prey.

The Black Tortoise Emperor stiffened, his pride dissolving in an instant. Kneeling on the spot, he bowed his head low and admitted his fault humbly:

“Master, I was wrong! Please punish me!”

Little Black, too, felt the immense pressure and quickly prostrated himself.

“Master, I am incompetent!” Little Black exclaimed. “Please punish me!”

From the void, a calm yet commanding voice echoed:

“Go back to the peak. I’ll punish you by having you copy your name 10 million times.”

“Yes, Master,” Little Black replied, his voice tinged with bitterness.

Ten million times? That’ll take an eternity!

Fortunately, his master had given him a simple name. If it had been something long and complicated, the task might have been his end.

Not wanting to linger, Little Black scampered back to Purple Cloud Peak without a second thought, completely uninterested in staying to watch what was sure to be a one-sided battle.

Just as the Black Tortoise Emperor was about to argue further, an unbearable pressure suddenly descended upon him. It was as if thousands of sacred mountains were pressing down on his body, forcing him to kneel on the spot.

Behind him, his followers fared even worse. Flattened under the oppressive force, they lay sprawled on the ground, bleeding from their seven orifices. Their bones creaked under the strain, their faces pale as death.

“Please forgive me, Master Xu!” the Black Tortoise Emperor pleaded, his voice trembling. “I only injured the elder because he and that Sang Biao were in cahoots and refused to report to you…”

The Emperor gritted his teeth, enduring the suffocating pain. “Master Xu, I, the descendant of Xuanwu, am willing to be your mount and worship you as my master for eternity!”

Despite his bravado, fear consumed him. With a mere thought, Xu Yang had suppressed him to the brink of death—neither alive nor dead. The power Xu Yang exhibited was unimaginable, and the Black Tortoise Emperor shuddered at the thought of facing him directly.

Xu Yang’s voice echoed coldly from the void, carrying an undeniable weight:

“You don’t truly wish to be my mount. You’re merely afraid for your life. There’s no point in saying more. But since you’ve injured a sect elder, justice must be served.”

As his words fell, the void trembled.

A massive hand materialized from above, vast and divine, covering the sky. It was surrounded by radiant divine light, its power immeasurable and suffused with endless changes.

Each finger was thicker than a mountain, resembling the Five Finger Mountain of legend. The air itself seemed to quake under its presence, and the gathered demons and monsters felt an overwhelming sense of doom.

“Master Xu, I came here with sincerity!” the Black Tortoise Emperor roared in desperation.

As the colossal hand descended closer, he felt death creeping toward him. His heart filled with despair, and his body instinctively tried to resist.

Yet he was powerless.

Frozen under the weight of Xu Yang’s supreme power, he couldn’t even summon his innate magical abilities. His magic was sealed, his body immobilized, and he could do nothing but scream.

“Master Xu, I was wrong! Please let me go! I swear I will never approach Qingming Sect again!”

The Black Tortoise Emperor was utterly terrified now. He had severely miscalculated. He thought his divine beast bloodline would earn him favor, that Xu Yang would welcome him as a mount. But he now realized that to Xu Yang, there was no difference between an ordinary beast and a divine one.

“You cannot kill me!” he shouted in desperation, grasping at straws. “My uncle is the Great Sage Xuanwu!”

Finally, Xu Yang’s voice responded, calm and resolute:

“I said I wouldn’t kill you.”

But before the Black Tortoise Emperor could feel relief—

Boom!

The massive hand fell, crushing his tortoise shell, his body, and all his followers into a pulp. The ground shook under its force, leaving nothing but devastation in its wake.

Yet, Xu Yang had kept his word.

Amid the carnage, a faint shadow floated—a remnant of the Black Tortoise Emperor’s soul.

The soul tried to flee into the void, but a hand of divine light snatched it mid-flight. Struggling in vain, the Black Tortoise Emperor could only watch as he was sealed inside a jade bottle.

“I said I wouldn’t kill you. I’ll leave you your soul. Let your uncle come and redeem you.”

Whoosh—

A gust of wind swept through the mountain gate, and the enormous hand dissipated into the void as if nothing had happened. The aftermath was silent, almost dreamlike.

But before the presence vanished completely, a bottle of elixir dropped gently from the void, landing before the injured elder.

The elder, still clutching his chest, stared in disbelief at the spot where the massive hand had disappeared. He then noticed the elixir at his feet.

Picking it up, he examined it closely. His eyes widened with realization, and his voice trembled with excitement.

“It’s the Soul-Transforming Pill!” he exclaimed. “This elder has hope—there’s hope of breaking through to the next realm!”

Overcome with gratitude, the elder knelt on the ground, kowtowing repeatedly in the direction where the divine hand had vanished.

“Thank you, Master Xu, for your gift!”

The seven deacons who had witnessed everything were awestruck. Hearing that the Soul-Transforming Pill was a rare and precious elixir capable of helping a Soul-Transforming Realm cultivator break through, envy flickered in their hearts. For a fleeting moment, they wished they had been the ones injured by the Black Tortoise Emperor.

Qingming Palace.

“Evil disciple, what’s wrong with you?” Ji Hongluan asked, noticing Xu Yang’s momentary distraction.

“It’s nothing. I was just distracted,” Xu Yang replied casually.

“Hmm?” Ji Hongluan’s frown deepened.

“Master,” Xu Yang said, changing the subject with a teasing smile, “after practicing the technique I gave you, has your cultivation advanced faster?”

“Shut up!” Ji Hongluan snapped, her cheeks flushing.