“Master, I have fallen in love with someone. I yearn for that person without any hope of return, breeding an obsessive attachment in my heart. How does Master think I should overcome this inner demon tribulation?”
Shen Wang’s gaze grew increasingly profound as he looked at Bai Qiuluo, though Bai Qiuluo, absorbed in his own thoughts, failed to notice it.
“Since you have already given rise to such an obsession, why not follow the inclinations of your heart?”
After pondering for a long time, Bai Qiuluo figured that the villain falling in love with the female protagonist was simply going along with the flow of the plot.
Why not humor Shen Wang’s words and let him go pursue the female protagonist instead?
“Cultivators place the highest value on acting in accordance with one’s heart. Since your heart holds an obsession, you should go and claim it.”
“This disciple will obediently heed Master’s teachings. However, the obsession rooted in my heart will likely require Master’s personal assistance to resolve.”
“Is this Shen Wang out of his mind? If he likes Su Wanwan, he should go chase her himself—what on earth could I possibly do to help?”
Hearing Bai Qiuluo’s inner voice, Shen Wang kept his expression entirely unperturbed, merely making a deliberate mental note of the name “Su Wanwan.”
This description sounded quite similar to the mortal romance scripts Su Wanwan loved to read, yet these words had slipped out from his master’s inner voice.
A myriad of thoughts churned within Shen Wang’s mind as he faintly felt he was brushing against a fragment of his master’s secrets.
“Master, the person who holds my obsessive heart is none other than you. This disciple has transgressed all bounds and fallen in love with Master. I beg Master to help me overcome this inner demon tribulation.”
Laying his cards completely on the table, Shen Wang cast aside whatever misunderstanding led Bai Qiuluo to believe he fancied Su Wanwan.
Right now, he intended to make it crystal clear to Bai Qiuluo that the person he loved was none other than him.
Normally devoid of expression, Bai Qiuluo widened his eyes in absolute shock, a trace of sheer disbelief bleeding through his usually calm demeanor.
“Little Xiao A, did you hear that? The villain just said he’s fallen in love with me?”
[Calm down, Host. What if this is just some diversionary tactic of the villain’s?]
Munching on potato chips with supreme detachment, Xiao A looked on like a spectator watching a juicy drama, completely unbothered by whether his host lived or died.
“You make a fair point. For all I know, this crafty Demon Lord is doing this on purpose, deliberately spouting nonsense to fracture my state of mind.”
Bai Qiuluo drew a deep breath. His face remained calm, though the perennial snow atop the peak refracted a dazzling glare beneath the sunlight.
The hem of his black robes fluttered wildly in the wind, betraying the turmoil raging beneath his composed exterior.
“Shen Wang, such words are thoroughly lawless and rebellious. There are only the two of us upon this peak; I will pretend you never uttered this nonsense.”
“Only a fool would believe this. The Demon Lord is confessing his love to me, if anyone says there’s no conspiracy here, even ghosts wouldn’t believe it.”
“He fancies the female protagonist, so he’s probably just using me as a convenient shield.”
Bai Qiuluo muttered inwardly, completely unaware that Shen Wang remained oblivious to his conversation with the system.
With a light chuckle, Shen Wang unfurled his folding fan, projecting the very picture of elegance and romance.
“Yet, Master, my heart is genuinely drawn to you. This obsession clings to me relentlessly, and I wish to remain by Master’s side, I would spare no price, even if it means sacrificing everything.”
“I’d have to be out of my mind to believe a single word of your nonsense. This Demon Lord is truly full of deceitful chatter. Clearly, he’s only after the Tianyuan Sword resting within Su Wanwan’s body.”
Taking the confession with a grain of salt, Bai Qiuluo refused to take it seriously. Besides, the righteous and demonic paths stood in irreconcilable opposition; they were destined mortal enemies.
He certainly didn’t believe the Demon Lord could genuinely fall in love with him. At best, this was just some whimsical cruelty or a mocking insult conjured on a whim.
Deepening his gaze, Shen Wang accurately guessed Bai Qiuluo’s line of thought and understood why trust was lacking.
He saw no immediate need to offer explanations; confessing to his master today served primarily to pave the way for his next steps.
“Shen Wang, you are truly absurd. Do you have any idea what would happen if word got out that you’ve fallen in love with your own master? It would be enough to utterly ruin your reputation.”
“Take back those words. I shall pretend you never spoke them at all.”
With a sharp look in his eyes, a fierce wave of cold intent surged from Bai Qiuluo’s body, sending visible ripples distorting through the empty air.
Invisible sword qi pierced right through the pavilion, its razor-sharp edge locking directly onto Shen Wang.
When an Integration-stage immortal flies into a rage, heaven and earth change color.
Heavy snowflakes began to drift across the peak in an instant, blanketing the surroundings in a fresh layer of pure white within moments.
Snow accumulated layer upon layer across the Tianxia Ravine. The biting cold radiating from Bai Qiuluo enveloped the entire pavilion, coating it in a layer of crystalline frost while the steaming teapot froze solid in a fraction of a second.
Faced with such overwhelming sword intent, Shen Wang remained unyielding, raising his head to meet Bai Qiuluo’s gaze head-on without flinching.
“Master, you are the obsession nestled deep within my heart. If staying by Master’s side means drawing the ridicule of the entire world, so what?”
“And if the people of this world dare to stand between Master and me, then I shall simply eradicate this world.”
Shen Wang spoke with the same breezy, gentle, and composed expression as before.
Though his tone carried not a shred of murderous intent, Bai Qiuluo could easily perceive the terrifying imagery of corpses piled like mountains and oceans of blood lurking beneath his calm demeanor.
“Rebellious disciple!”
“Shen Wang is certainly putting on quite a convincing act. He’s gone so far just to make me believe his little story.”
“Even if I refuse to stay with him, as the supreme ruler of the Demon Realm, won’t he eventually wipe out the realm of cultivation anyway, stepping over the corpses of cultivators to achieve immortality?”
Though cursing him as a rebellious disciple out loud, Bai Qiuluo remained entirely unbothered internally.
The ascension path of the Demon Realm had long since been sealed shut. If Shen Wang wanted to attain immortality, his only option was to rely on the Tianyuan Sword and utilize the ascension path belonging to the cultivation realm.
Once Shen Wang achieved ascension through that path, the passage would inevitably be contaminated with demonic Qi, completely cutting off any hope of future ascension for ordinary cultivators.
Simultaneously, demonic Qi would flow backward in reverse into the cultivation realm, converting the natural spiritual energy of heaven and earth into demonic Qi and forcing everyone to fall into the demonic path.
All of this was recorded explicitly in the original text, which explained why Bai Qiuluo accepted Shen Wang’s threat to destroy the world with relative ease.
“Master, can you truly bear to watch this disciple perish beneath an inner demon tribulation? Though my heart yearns for you, Master, I do not demand that we bind our fates together forever.”
“Grant me just a brief span of time by your side. Through these stolen moments alone, I can weather this inner demon tribulation. I beg Master to show mercy and allow this disciple to continue coming and going alongside you during this time. Would you grant me that?”
After taking such a massive roundabout journey, Shen Wang finally laid bare his ultimate objective.
Every preceding word of confession had merely served as a stepping stone to pave the way for him to share a bed with Bai Qiuluo.
Once you pitch a request so outrageous that it borders on unacceptable, you can always retreat a step and make a secondary demand.
Surely few people would refuse that second request much like Bai Qiuluo right now.
Shen Wang understood Bai Qiuluo’s personality inside and out; he knew precisely what words would back his master into a corner.
“Very well. Since it is to assist you in overcoming your inner demon tribulation, I will consent to this request.”
“Bear in mind that you must never harbor any further reckless delusions; I am, and always shall be, your master.”
Warning him word by word, Bai Qiuluo stared at Shen Wang sternly, while Shen Wang merely adopted a posture of humble obedience.
“This disciple will faithfully obey Master’s teachings.”
“Host, it’s not that I want to nag, but back when I assigned the mission for you to share a bed with Shen Wang for a few days, if you had just honestly completed it, you wouldn’t have had to undergo body modification, would you? And now look at you, practically jumping at the chance to sleep with him…”