“Venerable One, we have already led them all into the cave, and there are still two venerables guarding the entrance.”
In the blink of an eye, the people who had just been fighting for their lives immediately dropped to one knee, speaking in respectful tones.
“Watch them well. If any harm comes to my junior martial brothers and sisters, I will hold you all accountable.”
Shen Wang raised the folding fan in his hand, and the injuries on his body instantly healed as good as new.
The blood-stained Dharma robes were destroyed, and the scene was cleaned up thoroughly without a trace.
The kneeling figures trembled slightly, then lowered their heads deeply and acknowledged the order.
Shen Wang unfurled his folding fan, a warm and gentle smile gracing his features as he boarded the spirit boat and swiftly returned to the Xuantian Sword Sect.
Had it not been for the fact that his identity could not be exposed just yet, he would have likely torn through the void and returned instantly to Bai Qiuluo’s side.
The spirit boat was loaded with top-grade spirit stones, doubling its speed, but even so, Shen Wang was filled with eager anticipation, feeling that the journey was still too slow.
He had gone through such a massive detour, trapping Su Wanwan and Fan Chen inside that cave, precisely so he could return and spend time alone with Bai Qiuluo.
During this period, the peak of Tianxia Ravine belonged exclusively to the two of them.
As dusk gathered, Shen Wang’s spirit boat came to a stop at the foot of the Misty Peak.
“Greetings, Senior Brother.”
“Senior Brother took a trip down the mountain and has returned so quickly.”
“Greetings, Senior Brother. How come Junior Sister is not with you?”
Faced with these greeting disciples, Shen Wang responded to each of them with utmost cordiality.
“Junior Brother and Junior Sister found Kuncheng interesting and decided to stay there for a little while longer.”
Step by step, Shen Wang walked back to Tianxia Ravine. As he gazed at the rustic palace atop the peak, he felt a faint touch of homesickness mixed with nervous anticipation.
Bai Qiuluo, who was cracking melon seeds alongside the system, stiffened abruptly. His divine sense swept across the peak, only to discover that Shen Wang had returned entirely alone.
With no one else on the entire peak for the past few days, Bai Qiuluo, a natural introvert, had finally been able to let loose and embrace his true nature.
System Xiao A had even projected several movies, and the two of them one human, one system spent their days cracking melon seeds while discussing the plots, living a life of ease and comfort.
“He’s back.”
With a wave of Bai Qiuluo’s hand, the mountain-like pile of melon seed shells was instantly pulverized and obliterated without a trace.
“This disciple pays respects to Master.”
Lowering his gaze respectfully, Shen Wang pushed open the grand doors. Inside the dwelling, Bai Qiuluo looked down upon him from a high position.
His snow-white skin was wrapped in black Dharma robes. The interwoven contrast of black and white created a minimalist aesthetic that made it impossible to look away.
“In the past, Master always wore white. Why have you changed into black today?”
Shen Wang smiled like a spring breeze, though the lust deep within his eyes intensified significantly.
His gaze fixed directly on Bai Qiuluo. After just a few days apart, his master seemed to have undergone an even more captivating transformation, his delicate, fair skin glowing as if from within.
“Where are your junior brother and junior sister?”
Ignoring the question, Bai Qiuluo looked at Shen Wang with a distant and detached expression, resembling an indifferent deity untouched by joy or sorrow.
“Junior Sister and the others are still staying in Kuncheng for a while longer. They will return when the secret realm opens.”
With a look of complete sincerity, Shen Wang gazed at Bai Qiuluo, his eyes greedily burning the image of his master into his mind.
Not sensing anything amiss, Bai Qiuluo maintained a calm and serene expression. His robes billowed like drifting clouds, his profile was as smooth as jade, and his long eyelashes cast soft shadows. The entirety of his aura exuded the tranquil purity of ice and snow.
“Master, this is a thousand-year-old frost flower. Although it might be negligible to someone of Master’s stature, it is nevertheless a token of our sincerity. Junior Sister went to great lengths to acquire it.”
Holding up a jade box, Shen Wang walked steadily toward Bai Qiuluo.
Bai Qiuluo sat cross-legged in meditation on a straw cushion, his black robes draped across the ground like a winding, blooming flower.
“Master.”
Dropping to one knee, Shen Wang opened the jade box in his hand, revealing a crystal-clear frost flower presented before Bai Qiuluo.
[Hokey molly! This villain is actually quite thoughtful toward you. He secretly swapped this thousand-year-old frost flower for a thirty-thousand-year-old one. If someone with ordinary ice spiritual roots consumes it, they will definitely evolve into mutant ice spiritual roots.]
[If you consume this frost flower, your spiritual roots could be purified to one hundred percent. It probably wasn’t easy for the villain to find something like this.]
[Furthermore, the energy of this frost flower is completely pure; he hasn’t tampered with it at all. In the ten years since I arrived late, what on earth did you do to the villain to make him go to such lengths for you?]
Xiao A was thoroughly bewildered. In the original text, Shen Wang was supposed to be a vicious and ruthless villain.
Lowering his gaze, Bai Qiuluo looked at the frost flower before him. Dewdrops frosted its perimeter, and a mist-like chill radiated outward. Just coming close to it was enough to evoke a piercing coldness.
“Please partake of it, Master.”
Kneeling on both knees, Shen Wang looked up at him with eyes full of youthful reverence, noting that Bai Qiuluo had yet to make a move.
A quiet smile touched his thoughts. It seemed that ever since his true identity had come to light, his master had become wary of the gifts he offered.
Setting the jade box down, white frosty mist spilled over the edges, quickly coating the floor in a thin layer of vapor and enveloping the entire dwelling in an ethereal, fairy-like haze.
He knelt before Bai Qiuluo and, just as he used to do when he was a child, rested his head upon his master’s lap.
This was a habitual gesture Shen Wang often made when acting spoiled, his arms opening to wrap securely around Bai Qiuluo’s slender waist.
The moment Shen Wang rested his head there, Bai Qiuluo’s body tingled as if struck by lightning, every single sense amplifying a hundredfold.
Especially when Shen Wang embraced him, a numbing sensation spread through his waist, nearly causing him to collapse limply to the ground.
“Damn it! Xiao A, you never mentioned that physical contact would be this sensitive!”
Silently cracking melon seeds and watching the scene unfold with the demeanor of a spectator eating popcorn, Xiao A offered no help.
Instinctively, Bai Qiuluo’s hand came to rest upon Shen Wang’s long hair, his five fingers threading through the strands like a comb to gently smooth them out.
Habits formed over several years could not be altered overnight.
Before Bai Qiuluo discovered that Shen Wang was merely an avatar of the Demon Lord, he had truly treated the boy like his own child, pouring his heart and soul into gently nurturing him as he grew.
Sometimes Shen Wang would complain about how exhausting sword practice was. Though Bai Qiuluo would scold him sternly on the surface, he would ultimately indulge Shen Wang whenever the boy acted spoiled.
Back then, Shen Wang had loved resting his head on his lap, and Bai Qiuluo would gently massage his head to help him relax.
This scene felt once again as though they had returned to Shen Wang’s youth right up until Bai Qiuluo belatedly realized he was currently massaging the Demon Lord’s temples.
He could even feel the rhythmic pulsing of blood beneath the temples, the steady flow brimming with vibrant vitality.
“Master, why did you stop?”
Enjoying the massage in peace, Shen Wang kept his arms firmly locked around him.
Lowering his gaze, Bai Qiuluo looked down at Shen Wang resting across his lap.
As a villain, the man undeniably possessed a bewitching and handsome appearance.
His facial features were deep and refined, with smooth and three-dimensional contours. Especially now, as he rested upon his lap, the clean and clear lines of his jaw were fully exposed.
Looking down at Shen Wang from his elevated position, Bai Qiuluo watched the raven-feather-like eyelashes flutter gently.