Jiang Youbai arrived riding the light. Darkness gathered before him, making it impossible for people to clearly see his expression. Yet his tone was raised, carrying a hint of a smile. He did not look angry at all, yet his presence caused the three people in the room to stand up simultaneously.
His gaze swept across the three of them, and he walked over uninvited to take a seat. He did not look like an outsider entering someone else’s domain at all; instead, he sat down with complete familiarity, as though he were the master of the house and the other three were the intruders.
He poured himself a cup of tea, cast a casual glance toward Zhao Tianyi and Yang Hua, and said unhurriedly, “Weren’t you going to complain to Shen Changchuan? Why did you only run over to chat with Elder Man instead? Is it because you cannot see Shen Changchuan?”
He deliberately omitted the title of Master entirely, calling Shen Changchuan directly by his full name.
Man Shuosheng tried to speak several times, but no voice came out.
Utterly rebellious! Completely outrageous!
Zhao Tianyi’s face flushed red. “You… even if you are the sect master’s personal disciple, you cannot show such disrespect to your own master.”
Jiang Youbai let out a cold laugh, the curve of his lips expanding slightly. If these people knew that he even called that man by his name right to Shen Changchuan’s face, wouldn’t they point at his nose and curse him?
He leisurely took a sip of tea. “Then go tell him yourselves. What is the use of telling me?”
Zhao Tianyi: “…”
Yang Hua: “…”
Man Shuosheng: “…”
“Xiaobai has a lively disposition and likes to joke around with people. Please forgive him, everyone.”
A warm and jade-like voice came from the entrance, dispelling the awkwardness in the room. Tang Ci walked inside. “Master is still choosing an auspicious day for the apprenticeship ceremony, which is why you all do not yet recognize this Junior Brother of mine. However, Master dotes on him very much, so it is best not to casually pin the hat of disrespecting elders on him.”
The expressions on the faces of the several people instantly became difficult to maintain. How could they not recognize him? They had a deeply profound impression of Jiang Youbai!
However, upon seeing Tang Ci, Zhao Tianyi’s face showed a flash of joy. Everyone knew that the Senior Brother currently managed all affairs of the Qingqing Sect on behalf of others, and he was the most impartial in enforcing the law. He hurriedly stepped forward and said, “Since it is the sect master doting on the Junior Brother, then it is indeed us meddling. It is just that we also had good intentions in reminding him, but Junior Brother forcefully broke our hands in half, which was going a bit too far.”
Tang Ci looked at the two of them with a smile. He had just received instructions from Master to investigate what happened when Xiaobai went to Baiyuan Peak, and he did not expect these two to bump into him first.
He asked unperturbedly, “Although Xiaobai is a bit lively in disposition, he is not an unreasonable person. Did the two of you truly just offer a kind reminder and do nothing else?”
Zhao Tianyi’s eyes flickered evasively. It seemed Jiang Youbai had not mentioned the fact that they had tried to harass him. But then again, mentioning such a thing would be useless anyway; no one had seen it, and if they denied it, what could anyone do to them?
Therefore, with an unblushing and unpounding heart, Zhao Tianyi said, “Perhaps Junior Brother was in a bad mood that day, or perhaps we offended him somewhere.”
Between the lines, he was still implying that Jiang Youbai had a bad temper and was moody.
Jiang Youbai smiled as he watched the two of them turn black and white. To be honest, their technique was inferior even to the Son of Heaven from his past life. Waiting for the two of them to finish speaking, he asked leisurely, “So, are my new clothes ready?”
Zhao Tianyi and Yang Hua hadn’t taken Jiang Youbai’s words to heart at all yesterday, focusing solely on figuring out how to chase him away. Now that Jiang Youbai brought it up, the two of them were speechless for a long time, casting pleading gazes toward Man Shuosheng.
Taking in all of their expressions, Jiang Youbai put down his teacup and rested his crossed legs on the table, a posture that made his legs look straight and slender. “Look, you complained to the wrong person, and now you are pleading with the wrong person as well. I am right in front of you; what use is it for you to beg Elder Man?”
Zhao Tianyi’s gaze lingered on Jiang Youbai’s legs for a brief moment. Right now, because Jiang Youbai relied on being the sect master’s personal disciple and had Tang Ci backing him up, they couldn’t touch him. He had always been someone who could bend and stretch according to circumstances. Snapping back to reality now, he hurriedly compensated with a smile: “There are simply too many matters on Baiyuan Peak, and we didn’t finish handling them yesterday. Tomorrow! We will definitely deliver the clothes to you tomorrow. Junior Brother, please don’t be angry anymore.”
Jiang Youbai glanced at him, a thought stirring in his mind as he rocked unsteadily while propping himself up against the chair behind him. “I am not angry. But seeing that the two of you are somewhat foolish and have nothing to do all day long staying in the Qingqing Sect, why not retake the basics?”
Zhao Tianyi: “Ah?”
Jiang Youbai chuckled, his brows and eyes suffused with a smile, as if he had genuinely thought of something amusing. “In that case, you can be counted as new disciples and call me Senior Brother. That isn’t asking too much, is it?”
Zhao Tianyi froze on the spot. “Senior…?”
His gaze slowly drifted toward Tang Ci standing to the side. Everyone knew that in this Qingqing Sect, only Tang Ci was addressed by the disciples as Senior Brother.
Tang Ci laughed helplessly and shook his head, though his eyes held boundless indulgence. Watching Jiang Youbai on the chair, looking as though he might tumble off at any second, he only felt that this Junior Brother of his was both cute and lively. “I was wondering why you were smiling so happily. So you had designs on my title.”
Jiang Youbai glanced at him and said indifferently, “Second Senior Brother sounds unpleasant, and I don’t like others calling me Junior Brother either. Senior Brother, won’t you grant it?”
Tang Ci shook his head with helplessness. “A form of address is nothing. If you like it, just call me that.”
The corners of Jiang Youbai’s lips curved upward slightly. “Since that is the case, Senior Brother, why don’t you call me that as well and let me hear it?”
Tang Ci fell silent for a moment. “That won’t do. To me, you will always be my Junior Brother.”
The smile that had just risen on Jiang Youbai’s lips fell back down. He pulled back his legs, stood up, and walked outward. “Tomorrow, just deliver the clothes directly to Lingyun Peak. I am going to learn the demon-binding rope from Shen Changchuan and will not come to Lingyun Peak.”
Early the next morning, Jiang Youbai had no excuse left and was forced to learn the demon-binding rope from Shen Changchuan. The pear blossoms were still falling in a rustling shower. Shen Changchuan sat on a stone stool, his robes trailing on the ground, carrying the absolute demeanor of an immortal. If anyone were to barge in here, they probably wouldn’t even dare to speak loudly, for fear of disturbing the banished immortal in the courtyard.
However, Jiang Youbai was precisely afraid of not disturbing the other man. Pushing the door open and seeing Shen Changchuan, he raised an eyebrow and crept toward Shen Changchuan with light, cautious steps.
Yet before he could fully approach Shen Changchuan, that person spoke first with his back turned to him: “Want to stand facing the wall again?”
Jiang Youbai’s gaze paused at Shen Changchuan’s neck, where a faint bite mark was vaguely visible. He smiled. “What are we teaching? The demon-binding rope?”
Hearing Jiang Youbai change the subject, Shen Changchuan did not pursue Jiang Youbai’s childish stunt from a moment ago. His palm materialized a bundle of demon-binding ropes. “I will teach you the incantation, and you will control it.”
Jiang Youbai looked at the demon-binding rope in Shen Changchuan’s hand. That rope was different from the one Liu Yingling had used to tie him up on Spirit Mountain; the one Liu Yingling controlled was merely a section of hemp rope infused with spiritual energy, whereas Shen Changchuan’s demon-binding rope was a chain resembling silver bamboo segments. Spiritual energy wound around the chain, and the bamboo segments were slender, appearing to lack any imposing deterrence and probably not even as sturdy as hemp rope. Yet held in the palm of Shen Changchuan’s hand, no one would ever question the power of this section of chain.
Jiang Youbai learned the incantation and cast a spell toward the silver bamboo-segmented chain. However, that chain lay motionless in Shen Changchuan’s palm.
He tried several times with no response, then suddenly thought of something and lowered his hand. “I haven’t learned how to use spiritual energy yet, and you’ve sealed my demonic energy as well. I’m no different from an ordinary person. How is an ordinary person supposed to control a demon-binding rope?”
“Why don’t you lift my seal?”
Shen Changchuan glanced at Jiang Youbai. The craftiness in those eyes met his gaze brazenly, yet he nodded. “Alright.”
Jiang Youbai: “?”
Shen Changchuan agreed? When he made the suggestion just now, he was merely speaking off the top of his head and had never expected that Shen Changchuan would actually agree.
Perhaps because the other man agreed too quickly, Jiang Youbai grew suspicious instead. “Really?”
Shen Changchuan was not someone fond of uttering idle words. His gaze rested on Jiang Youbai for a split second, and Jiang Youbai immediately felt the sluggish demonic energy within his body begin to flow slowly, circulating through his limbs and bones. Perhaps due to the demonic energy stored inside him, his meridians ached slightly. He frowned faintly and said nothing.
However, he quickly discovered that the demonic energy within his body had not been completely unsealed. What he could control was merely a tiny fraction, like taking a single ladle of water from a vast ocean, insipid to consume, yet a pity to discard.
Jiang Youbai bit his lip, feeling somewhat annoyed. “Didn’t you say you were unsealing it for me? As the dignified First Seat of the Immortal Alliance, are you toying with me like this?”
Shen Changchuan’s expression remained unchanged as he handed the demon-binding rope in his hand over to Jiang Youbai. “I never said I would unseal all of it for you.”
Jiang Youbai: “…”
Jiang Youbai had no choice but to use his pitifully meager demonic energy to tug at the demon-binding rope, only to hear Shen Changchuan add, “Once you can control the demon-binding rope, I will seal the demonic energy back up.”
Jiang Youbai manipulated the demon-binding rope nonchalantly while asking, “I am a demon beast. Why must I learn your human spells?”
Shen Changchuan: “For self-defense.”
Jiang Youbai suddenly looked at him and burst into a smile. “The First Seat of the Immortal Alliance is actually teaching a demon beast how to deal with disciples of the immortal sects. Shen Changchuan, what are you thinking?”
Shen Changchuan showed no reaction whatsoever to Jiang Youbai’s misinterpretation. In fact, once Jiang Youbai managed to control the demon-binding rope, he prepared to teach him the next steps.
However, Jiang Youbai suddenly manipulated the demon-binding rope. The silver bamboo segments danced in the air, abruptly darting toward Shen Changchuan like a silver serpent.
Perhaps because the demon-binding rope was Shen Changchuan’s own item, without even needing his jade token to appear, the silver chain bound Shen Changchuan’s hands and waist, trapping him in place.
Jiang Youbai revealed a triumphant smile and walked toward Shen Changchuan. “First Seat, even the most meticulous plan has its oversight.”
Although he only possessed a tiny shred of demonic energy right now, plucking a plume feather from his tail would be more than enough to kill Shen Changchuan.
He drew close to Shen Changchuan, grabbed a section of the silver chain, and manifested the plume feather in his hand once more.
Shen Changchuan’s gaze didn’t even fall upon that plume feather. His tone carried something impossible to tell whether it was regret or helplessness: “There will be no next time.”
Jiang Youbai did not know what no next time meant to Shen Changchuan, but he knew that right now was a wonderful opportunity to kill Shen Changchuan!
Just as the plume feather was about to descend, Jiang Youbai had already begun to anticipate the feeling of Shen Changchuan’s warm blood splashing across his face.
“Sect Master? No, wait! There is demonic energy! You are a demon beast!”
A terrified voice rang out from the entrance. A heavy object dropped to the floor, as Zhao Tianyi, who had brought the completed robes to deliver to Jiang Youbai, unexpectedly ran right into this scene.
The visual impact before his eyes was immense. For a moment, he didn’t know whether to feel astonishment, terror, or something else entirely.
At this very moment, the First Seat whom everyone revered was bound by a demon-binding rope made of silver bamboo segments. Right opposite Shen Changchuan stood Jiang Youbai, radiating a dense and pure demonic aura.
Yet Jiang Youbai was clearly human.
Could it be that the person the sect master had broken precedent to accept as a personal disciple was actually the legendary humanoid demon beast?
Humanoid demon beasts were inherently rare, something everyone pursued avidly. No wonder Demon Lord Xie Qingli wanted to take such a stunning humanoid demon beast as his own and even use him as a cultivation furnace.
So that was it! So that was it!
In an instant, greed surged aggressively from the depths of his heart. Zhao Tianyi had already wanted to make Jiang Youbai submit to him, and having held in a head full of frustration yesterday, this moment presented a justified and righteous opportunity to capture this demon beast: “Sect Master, I have come to assist you!”
He never even stopped to consider that Shen Changchuan was right here, or how he intended to bypass Shen Changchuan to get his hands on this humanoid demon beast. His sole thought was to capture Jiang Youbai first and force that person to kneel before him and beg for mercy!
Jiang Youbai merely glanced at him coldly. The plume feather in his hand, originally intended to pierce Shen Changchuan, abruptly shifted direction. With a flick of his fingertip, the plume feather flew toward Zhao Tianyi at a speed impossible for the naked eye to catch.
“I am able to hold Shen Changchuan in the palm of my hand. What makes you think you are qualified to capture me?”
The plume feather pierced through Zhao Tianyi’s throat like an arrow.