In the lush, dense mountain forest, a cave radiated a heavy aura of death. A little squirrel with striped fur chased after an acorn that had tumbled along the ground, and by chance, the fruit rolled right into the cave.
The little squirrel hopped along nimbly and lightly while chasing it, but the moment it saw the fruit enter the cave, it stopped dead in its tracks.
It blinked its large eyes at the cave. Inside, the cave continued to emit a deathly aura that terrified all living things. The squirrel’s fluffy tail lifted, then drooped back down.
After pondering for a while, the squirrel looked at the enticingly fragrant acorn and felt that its scent outweighed the terrifying aura. Swallowing a mouthful of saliva, it found it couldn’t simply abandon the prize.
The little squirrel crawled slowly into the cave, scrambling over white skulls, then crossing over a massive, strange cocoon of silken threads. Near that cocoon, it finally snatched up the acorn.
Just as it felt happy, it suddenly heard a very faint sound of fabric tearing. It immediately hugged the fruit protectively, its large eyes scanning the surroundings in alarm.
But the tearing sound stopped abruptly, and the cave returned to an extraordinary, deathly silence.
The little squirrel stayed where it was, afraid to move. If a snake has entered, I absolutely must not move—because snakes cannot perceive stationary objects.
But the little squirrel was wrong. The sound had not been made by its natural enemy, the snake, but by the massive silk cocoon it had just climbed over.
“Snap!” A fair-skinned, clearly defined hand suddenly burst through the silk, reaching out and grabbing the little squirrel.
Terrified, the squirrel dropped the acorn onto the ground and began to struggle in the person’s grasp, letting out squeaks of fright.
Whoosh,
The person’s upper body surged out, with beautiful, smooth black hair draped carelessly over their shoulders. The cascading hair covered their eyes. They opened their eyes slowly.
The little squirrel was stunned when it saw those eyes; the irises were blood-red. It thought gloomily, It’s over; it’s a demon, my life is finished…
But as those eyes looked toward the little squirrel, the red hue faded instantly, turning into normal brown-black pupils. However, the eyes were eerily devoid of light, as dark as ink.
“The Dark Path seeker has fallen… the Demon King… the Demon King has been reborn… I… must go find… him…”
The little squirrel didn’t understand what he was saying. Thinking that the normal-colored eyes meant he must be a normal person, it began to struggle again. The man just took one look, as if startled by the fact that he was holding it, and immediately released his hand.
The little squirrel grabbed its acorn and fled toward the entrance.
The man stood up slowly, gazing in one direction. He murmured softly, “My Lord… I have come to find you…”
But before he had walked two steps, he suddenly collapsed to the ground. He looked at his own body in shock. Have I not recovered yet? He tried to struggle to stand, but found he had no strength left at all…
He felt a flare of irritation and punched the ground, wanting to stand again, but he could not control the increasingly powerful feeling of weakness sweeping over him… He gradually slumped to the ground, growing weaker, and slowly slipped into unconsciousness… In his final moment of lucidity, he was still muttering, “My Lord…”
At this moment… on the other side of Lan Tian’s space.
Lan Tian was asking Little Mengmeng: “So, what about my main quest?”
Before Little Mengmeng could reply, a private message suddenly popped up. The system indicated this private message was sent by the “Main Quest Big Boss.”
Lan Tian was slightly puzzled and clicked open the private chat page.
Main Quest Big Boss: “We’ll bump into each other during this mission! Happy ^_^”
Lan Tian: “…What is your mission?”
Main Quest Big Boss: “My mission is to grind the protagonist’s favorability too… but… I acted too arrogant before, and now it’s hard to grind (bitter smile).”
Main Quest Big Boss: “What is your mission?”
Lan Tian: “I’m looking at it right now.” As he said this, he switched back to Little Mengmeng’s page.
Little Mengmeng finally had a gap to send the mission details.
Main Quest: Escape the Immortal Sect Academy, gather the five great guardians and one personal puppet of the former Demon King. Enhance your demonic power.
Frontline Hint: You must first complete the supplementary mission!
After reading it, Lan Tian expressed: I’m so excited, so happy! So thrilled! It looks like I don’t have to kill anyone this time…
He switched back to the chat box with the Main Quest Big Boss.
Lan Tian: “My mission is about the same as yours this time.”
Main Quest Big Boss: “Not bad, watch me lead you! After all, I’m a Big Boss!”
Lan Tian was chatting enthusiastically in the space. Outside, however, the atmosphere remained deathly still.
Yu Qiu and the others had finally finished settling the aftermath for everyone…
The white-haired Daoist let his disciples return first. After Yu Qiu reported on the beasts their academy had captured, he left without even checking the rankings.
There was no conversation along the way, just the rush to travel, so they soon arrived at their destination.
Yu Qiu walked near a small, dilapidated-looking hill. He extended his index and middle fingers of one hand in front of his chest while mumbling the incantation to unlock the barrier.
Soon, the sight of the ruined little hill slowly faded, replaced by towering, magnificent mountains shrouded in ethereal immortal mist.
A long staircase appeared before them.
“Ancestor, please go ahead. I have already notified my Master. He said he is waiting for you at the usual spot.”
Yu Qiu invited the white-haired elder toward the staircase. The elder responded unhurriedly and began to walk up the stairs. By the time he reached the third step, his figure gradually vanished into the ethereal mountain mist.
Yu Qiu knew he had already met with his Master. Once the white-haired elder was gone, he let out a long breath, and his previously upright posture slowly hunched, looking abnormally dejected.
“Junior Brother Yu, to compensate for the death of your sister, the Master has promoted you to a main disciple. From now on… you are the Third Junior Brother.” Originally, after the First Senior Brother’s death, Yu Qiu should have been the First Senior Brother, but he still didn’t want to let the First Senior Brother vanish… so he remained the Second Senior Brother.
Yu Sheng-yan did not show any signs of joy upon hearing this. In the past, he had truly envied the main disciples who had everything their way. All the disciples from the branch sects respected and revered them, never spoke ill of them, and would not bully them as they easily did to him…
But… he had obtained this by committing a grave mistake, which filled him with great pain…
“Mn, I know,” Yu Sheng-yan replied flatly.
Yu Qiu assumed he was still grieving for his sister’s death, patted his shoulder with a sigh, and walked away…
The female disciple had already left toward her own branch of the Immortal Sect.
After the white-haired Daoist vanished into the clouds, he was instantly transported into Min Yue’s room.
The man before him looked the same as before, exceptionally handsome. He sat on a stool, drinking tea with no expression. He glanced at the white-haired elder, frowned, and opened his thin lips.
“Why are you still wearing this appearance?”
“Being in the mortal world, one must naturally follow the customs.” The white-haired elder smiled slightly and walked over to his side. “How can you be like me… opening an immortal sect and living so leisurely? However… I am still surprised that the former God of War has actually started teaching children…”
He had been very aloof in front of Yu Qiu, but now, in front of Min Yue, the white-haired elder was completely at ease, even showing a hint of hard-to-detect happiness.
Min Yue remained cold-faced, slowly taking a sip of tea: “The God of Wind, Li-zi, is nothing more than this. However… I have not been leisurely lately…”
After speaking, Min Yue looked at Li-zi. He stared for several seconds, as if still unaccustomed to the old appearance, and his brows tightened slightly.
Li-zi noticed his reaction and smiled lightly. With a shift of his form, he reverted to his younger self. He had been a handsome youth when he was young, too—elegant eyes and distinct brows, exuding spirit.
Seeing this, Min Yue’s brows relaxed slightly.
Li-zi remembered he had an important matter to attend to. His expression grew serious: “I heard he is the first disciple you’ve taken in?”
Min Yue nodded slightly. He asked: “How is he now?”
Li-zi felt rather ashamed. Previously, he didn’t know who Lan Tian was, so he had attacked without holding back. Although he understood the logic—that he wouldn’t die—seeing the慘樣 (tragic state) of his shattered body… Min Yue had always been a man of few words who spoke through his strength; Li-zi wondered if he would beat him up again like he did back then after seeing his precious first disciple turned into this…
He stammered: “Uh… he has already turned into a demon…”
The hand Min Yue was using to hold the tea paused. He turned his head slightly to look at Li-zi: “Oh?”
Just a single “Oh”? A surge of immense anger and murderous intent burst forth instantly, making Li-zi feel the terror of being beaten by him all those years ago.
“You say your name is Li-zi? Then can I give you a chestnut (punch)?”
This was the first thing Min Yue had said to him back then, and Li-zi hadn’t understood what it meant. That was until he gave him a punch without another word…
Li-zi: “I’ll release him right now.”
He turned his body toward a patch of open ground and gently flicked his sleeve.
Lan Tian sensed the vibration within the space and quickly lay still, pretending to be as he was before…
Thus, Lan Tian appeared on the floor, covered in wounds and with his clothes in tattered ruins. His body was still radiating a dense, demonic aura.
Li-zi was actually feeling quite relieved. It seemed this Demon King was worthy of the name, as his recovery speed was quite fast… wait, this didn’t seem like something to be relieved about…
“Why has he become like this?” Min Yue’s tone was devoid of any waves, but Li-zi could still sense his immense fury.
He turned his face, pretending as if nothing had happened, and rubbed his chin: “Ahem, he was already like this before I arrived…”
Lan Tian didn’t understand what had happened, but hearing the previously majestic Daoist now speaking in such a subservient tone, he was extremely surprised.
Main Quest Big Boss: “Little Anti-Anti~”
Lan Tian: “!” The Big Boss could talk to him during the mission… then he must be at the scene!
Main Quest Big Boss: “Has this Li-zi done something to you before~”
Lan Tian: “…It’s alright…”
Then he sent the next message.
Lan Tian: “Listening to you say that… could it be that you are?”