Fresh, warm blood instantly spread across the ground. The owner of the blood let out a couple of gurgling breaths, unable even to put up a struggle before his eyes widened and he stopped breathing entirely.
The bright red robe that had fallen to the ground moments earlier was stained even darker by the blood. Yet Jiang Youbai did not spare the doorway a single glance, feeling only a lingering annoyance that he had failed to kill Shen Changchuan in a single strike. When he turned back around, the silver-white bamboo-jointed chain in his hand loosened as a chilling coldness wrapped around his wrists. The end of the chain, though still held firmly in his hand, had already snared both of his wrists to bind him once more, while his surging demonic powers were suppressed and sealed back down.
Jiang Youbai looked down at the chains binding his wrists, blinked, and instantly shifted into an innocent, obedient expression as he looked up. Anyone watching would never guess that the youth who had just tried to kill Shen Changchuan and pierced Zhao Tianyi through with a single feather was him. “Master, I have already learned how to control the demon-binding rope. I was merely demonstrating it for you just now.”
Without looking at him, Shen Changchuan walked toward Zhao Tianyi’s corpse lying at the entrance. Beneath his gaze lay a profound indifference that Jiang Youbai could not see, yet his voice remained calm as he asked, “Should harming a fellow disciple go unpunished?”
Though his hands were bound, Jiang Youbai’s feet were free. He walked over and sat down upon the stone stool where Shen Changchuan had previously been seated. Watching Shen Changchuan’s retreating back, he tilted his head. “He wanted to kill me. Am I not allowed to kill him back?”
Shen Changchuan answered, “He could not kill you.”
Crossing his legs, Jiang Youbai said nonchalantly, “Then should I have let him capture me and subject me to torture? How would that be any different from him killing me?”
Shen Changchuan said nothing further. With a subtle ripple of his spiritual energy, Zhao Tianyi’s corpse and the pool of blood vanished into thin air. He leaned down to pick up the fallen robe, and even the bloodstains that had soaked into the fabric disappeared without a trace.
Turning around, he folded the robe neatly and placed it on the table, pushing it toward Jiang Youbai.
Feeling a sudden slackening at his wrists, Jiang Youbai watched as the bamboo-jointed demon-binding rope retracted back into Shen Changchuan’s hand. He glanced sideways at the crimson robe on the table and raised an eyebrow. “Where did you send him?”
Shen Changchuan replied evenly, “I will handle it.”
Jiang Youbai watched Shen Changchuan standing not far away. The man’s expression was colder than mere indifference, and though sunlight spilled over him, it carried no warmth whatsoever, only the sharp bite of glacial spikes and a thousand miles of frozen frost.
He had killed a Qingshang Sect disciple right in front of Shen Changchuan. Twice.
If the first time could be chalked up to self-defense when his life was threatened, this second time was pure, unadulterated venting of his spite.
Shen Changchuan could not possibly be unaware of this, yet he had not stopped him. Or rather, his demeanor suggested he simply did not care.
Shen Changchuan was the First Seat of the Immortal Alliance, the number one person in the cultivation world, whose self-appointed duty was to eradicate demons and uphold righteousness, guarding the peace of both the cultivation realm and the mortal world. How could such a person remain completely indifferent to him murdering a sect disciple?
Jiang Youbai still harbored the distinct suspicion that Shen Changchuan had been possessed by an impostor.
Unable to read the man’s intentions, Jiang Youbai decided to probe further. “If the First Seat does not wish to see me slaughter fellow disciples, you might as well undo this seal and let me down the mountain.”
Shen Changchuan replied coldly, “Undo it yourself.”
He still showed no intention of punishing him.
Alarm bells instantly rang in Jiang Youbai’s heart. He watched as Shen Changchuan took a seat beside the stone table, then leaned forward, crossing over the crimson robe so that the vibrant red was pressed beneath his body. He stretched his upper body closer to Shen Changchuan and took a light sniff.
It was undeniably Shen Changchuan’s scent, but why on earth were the man’s actions so utterly bizarre?
“What are you doing?” Perhaps because he had leaned in too close, Shen Changchuan turned his gaze toward him. Their eyes locked in midair, their breaths nearly intertwining.
The ambiguity in the air sparked like tinder waiting for a single breath to ignite. Jiang Youbai stared into Shen Changchuan’s eyes, his own gaze as clear as a pool of water, reflecting the man’s stern and handsome features. “Are you really Shen Changchuan?”
Shen Changchuan looked at himself through Jiang Youbai’s eyes, like gazing into a mirror of water or being seen completely through by the person opposite him. He held the gaze and asked, “Why do you ask?”
Jiang Youbai could hardly tell him that he had been reborn, nor that Shen Changchuan’s current actions differed from his past life, because they were completely contradictory.
At the very least, when it came to murdering fellow disciples, it was impossible for the Shen Changchuan of his memories to stand on his side.
He could only say, “You are quite different from the rumors.”
Without changing expression, Shen Changchuan prompted, “What do the rumors say about me?”
The corners of Jiang Youbai’s lips curved upward into a slow smile. “Rumors say that the First Seat of the Immortal Alliance, Shen Changchuan, is a gentleman as pure as jade, possessing an upright and righteous character whose duty is to eradicate demons. They say he was born with divine bones, a cultivation genius who slew the previous Demon Lord while at the Void-Breaking Realm, making him the youngest Divine Transformation Realm expert in this world.”
Shen Changchuan listened to this flow of praise without blinking an eye, his expression remaining completely unchanged as if the words weren’t describing him at all.
Jiang Youbai continued, “Such a person, how can you watch me slaughter fellow disciples with total apathy, so cold and detached that you even abandon your duty to protect the world?”
As he spoke, another feather manifested in his palm, proving he had still held something back in reserve.
“You are not Shen Changchuan. Who are you?”
Lifting his gaze, Shen Changchuan moved with lightning speed to grab Jiang Youbai’s right wrist. With a light pull, he flipped the youth smoothly across the table and directly into his arms, locking him in place so he could not move. Using Jiang Youbai’s own right hand, he pressed the feather, sharp as an ice-cold arrow, straight against Jiang Youbai’s throat. With just the slightest bit of pressure from Shen Changchuan, it could easily puncture that slender, fragile neck.
Shen Changchuan looked at him, yet seemed to look right through him. “I would also like to know, if I am not Shen Changchuan, who else could I be, and who else am I allowed to be?”
Hearing this, Jiang Youbai furrowed his brows. Shen Changchuan rarely spoke in such cryptic, enigmatic riddles. While the man usually sat high upon the clouds and remained hard to fathom, it was never because of obscure speech. On the contrary, Shen Changchuan always spoke straight to the point, never using two sentences when one would suffice, keeping things concise enough for even the dullest person to understand immediately.
This was the first time he had ever heard Shen Changchuan utter such vague remarks that forced people to rack their brains in vain trying to guess his meaning.
An unbelievable suspicion took root in Jiang Youbai’s mind. “Shen Changchuan, your state of mind is unstable. Could you possibly have fallen into demonic deviation?”
He stared at Shen Changchuan, catching a fleeting trace of bewilderment flash across those cold, indifferent eyes before it vanished in an instant, accompanied by the slight relaxation of the man’s furrowed brows, a micro-expression that Jiang Youbai successfully captured.
So even Shen Changchuan had moments of confusion.
At that moment, he suddenly felt as though Shen Changchuan was a little closer to him, no longer like the distant moon in the sky that could neither be reached nor touched.
Yet no sooner had he finished speaking than he was forcefully spun around by Shen Changchuan. Both of his hands were wrenched behind his back, and the feather he had been holding was instantly snatched away by the other. Stripped of his weapon, he was promptly released.
Turning around, Jiang Youbai saw Shen Changchuan pressing his feather flat beneath his palm. He bit his lip, knowing he definitely would not be able to get it back. Instead of getting angry, however, he smiled with profound meaning, fixing his gaze on Shen Changchuan to see how the man would respond.
More than the loss of his feather, he was now far more curious about whether Shen Changchuan had truly strayed into demonic deviation.
Glancing down at Jiang Youbai’s crafty eyes, Shen Changchuan replied indifferently, “Do I radiate demonic energy?”
Jiang Youbai was left speechless. “Well, no.”
The olfactory sense and perception of beasts and demonic entities were exceptionally sharp. In truth, he did not even need to get close to discern shifts in someone’s aura. Since he had been standing right next to Shen Changchuan moments ago without detecting even a shred of demonic energy, it meant one thing:
Shen Changchuan had not fallen into demonic deviation.
Then what on earth was happening to him?
Unable to figure it out, and knowing Shen Changchuan would not tell him anyway, Jiang Youbai picked up the robe from the table. The bright red garment had been tailored precisely to his measurements. The silhouette was sleek, and at a glance, anyone could tell he would look exceptionally striking in it.
Yet the next second, Jiang Youbai’s fingertips loosened, and the robe cascaded like flowing water onto the floor. With characteristic caprice, he declared, “This clothing has been stained with blood. It is dirty.”
Shen Changchuan looked at him in silence, though his gaze clearly asked what he wanted instead.
Jiang Youbai smiled. “White is quite nice after all. I will just wear this. Master, what are you going to teach me tomorrow?”
Seeing Jiang Youbai revert to his obedient appearance as if the earlier confrontation had never happened, Shen Changchuan withdrew his gaze without a ripple of emotion. “The Spirit-Sealing Array.”
The smile froze on Jiang Youbai’s lips.
The Spirit-Sealing Array was the greatest lethal formation of the Qingshang Sect. In his past life, after his golden core was dug out, he slaughtered his way through the Qingshang Sect. The desperate disciples fought back to the death, and the ultimate encirclement formation they deployed against him was none other than the Spirit-Sealing Array. Unlike the demon-binding rope which targeted beasts and demons, this array targeted all living things indiscriminately. Any living entity that stepped into the Spirit-Sealing Array would be mercilessly slaughtered by the fatal mechanisms within it. It was also the primary protective barrier of the Qingshang Sect.
And Shen Changchuan actually planned to teach him this.
Half-joking, Jiang Youbai tested the waters. “I only just learned the demon-binding rope today, and tomorrow you want me to study the Spirit-Sealing Array? First Seat, you are asking me to fly right after teaching me how to crawl.”
Unfazed, Shen Changchuan remarked, “Few people can completely master the demon-binding rope within a single day to begin with.”
Hearing this, the corners of Jiang Youbai’s eyes curved upward into crescents. “Is the First Seat praising me?”
Refusing to confirm or deny, Shen Changchuan merely stated, “Tomorrow morning, attend a lecture at Lingyun Peak first. We will study the Spirit-Sealing Array in the afternoon.”
Jiang Youbai found it odd. “Why the afternoon?”
Shen Changchuan, however, offered not another syllable.
By the second day, however, Jiang Youbai understood the reasoning behind Shen Changchuan’s arrangement. The Spirit-Sealing Array was intimately connected to the principles of array formations, and the morning session happened to be the foundational class covering those very principles.
Jiang Youbai massaged his temples. Did Shen Changchuan actually believe that by listening to a single foundational lecture on formations in the morning, he would be able to comprehend the Spirit-Sealing Array by the afternoon?
While Shen Changchuan had tutored him in the past life as well, he had never been this way. It was hard to tell whether Shen Changchuan had an absurdly excessive amount of trust in his talent, or simply an overconfident delusion regarding his own teaching prowess.
Of course, Jiang Youbai did not need to worry too much about that. If Shen Changchuan actually managed to teach him the Spirit-Sealing Array, he would naturally have nothing to fear from the formation in the future. Although he had not experienced it firsthand in his past life, he had certainly heard tales of its terrifying destructive power. Once trapped inside, whether cultivator, beast, or demon, all spiritual power would be entirely sealed away, reducing them to desperate, cornered beasts until they perished within, at which point the array would finally deactivate.
And if Shen Changchuan failed to teach him, well, he would have the perfect excuse to demand that Shen Changchuan let him leave. If the great First Seat could not even manage to teach his student, he would lose all face to continue styling himself as his master.
Just thinking about it brought to mind the delightful image of Shen Changchuan failing to teach him, unable to scold him, and having no choice but to endure his mockery.
As the dignified First Seat of the Immortal Alliance, to have his teaching career subjected to such blatant provocation, he wondered what kind of marvelous expression would cross that glacial face of his.
It truly filled him with anticipation. This afternoon, he would simply pretend he could not grasp a single thing. Let us see what Shen Changchuan could possibly do to him then.