[Ding. The target of your seduction, Shang Daoling's favorability…]
[Skill "Supple Body": Upon activation, the target's jade-like form topples like a mountain yielding to a willow's grace, bones melting into natural allure that flows unbidden. Do not say bonelessness cannot bear weight—this body was made to wind around one's finger.]
It was even written as a poem…
With a minor skill used, the Jiang family patriarch who had just escaped "Lotus Step Light Shift" immediately began to tilt and sway like "winding around one's finger," and conveniently, there was a grand armchair nearby for him to lean against—what a sight of a thirty-year-old man reclining askew against a chair. Disgusting.
Shang Daoling was clearly amused as well: "Patriarch, is this how 'you' use your divine power?"
Rong Chunsong's face remained cold: "Keep yapping and I'll use it on you too."
"Yapping…?" Shang Daoling let out a quiet snort inwardly. This Ghost Immortal was likely from some foreign land, with such strange turns of phrase.
Never mind that—the priority was to cut down Jiang Yi quickly.
The Ghost Immortal had told him that her divine power could only temporarily control the Jiang family patriarch for two quarters of an hour.
Two quarters of an hour was not only sufficient—it was more than enough.
The pitch-black longsword pierced into the chest of the so-called patriarch, slowly rotating.
The densely packed eyes opening in the void began to scream madly, bleeding without end.
All the avatars were wailing, but only the main body of the Jiang family patriarch, upon whom Rong Chunsong had used the "Supple Body" skill, could only strike a pose like Xishi clutching her heart in pain.
This minor skill was a bit hard on the eyes, but it was indeed extremely effective.
Shang Daoling, who was "executing" Jiang Yi, also seemed to find the sight of the thirty-year-old man clutching his heart like Xishi rather unsightly. He kept a sword's length away, standing six feet apart, slowly tormenting the other with the edge of his blade.
Until the Ghost Immortal said: "Hurry it up."
Shang Daoling let out a cold snort, drove the blade forward, and pierced straight through the man-eating cultivator—then, tilting the sword tip diagonally, he split the entire body in two along the slant.
Crimson blood splattered.
Though cut in two, the man-eating ogre who crashed to the ground had not yet breathed his last, his eyes fixed dead on this youth who bore some unknown sorcery.
And so, his eyeballs were soon gouged out by Shang Daoling as well, tossed in an arc through the air before rolling and tumbling to the ground.
Shang Daoling sheathed his sword.
Long brows pressing over dark eyes, black hair against pale skin, the orange-red glow of the setting sun casting him in light like a blood-soaked red lotus—eerily beautiful.
But Rong Chunsong had no interest in admiring this blood-stained handsome man, because—
"That one isn't dead yet."
Shang Daoling turned to look. Indeed, the intestines and other organs spilling from the half-severed body began to twist together, re-knitting themselves into the semblance of a lower body.
It seemed that using Human Pills to enhance one's cultivation meant that destroying the physical body alone would not be enough to kill him.
Then the only option was to cut out this fellow's Inner Core and completely sever his cultivation.
Jiang Yi, who had just begun to regenerate, could not speak for the moment, only letting out faint gasps.
Finally, he managed to speak in fragments: "You… damned… brat…"
The young man smiling before him paid his furious expression no mind at all.
At the instant he was about to launch another attack, a swarm of yellow paper cranes flew out from beneath the wide sleeves of Shang Daoling's Daoist robe.
The talisman-folded paper cranes landed all over the "revived" Jiang Yi in an instant, yellow wings fluttering as they burrowed into the cross-section of his lower limbs, gnawing and pecking deep—soon, one talisman crane stained through with blood pulled out a pitch-black Inner Core with its long beak.
The blood-red paper crane fluttered its wings and flew back into Shang Daoling's sleeve. On the ground, the once-formidable Jiang family patriarch had completely dissolved into a pool of lifeless, rotting flesh.
She'd had the thought of killing and devouring his core during the fight, and now there happened to be a perfect opportunity right in front of her.
But that Ghost Immortal had cast all sorts of bizarre spells on the Jiang family patriarch. Just thinking about the man's ridiculous posturing—mincing little steps and clutching his chest like a delicate maiden—was enough to kill her appetite.
"Lord Cult Leader, do you want this Inner Core? If you do, I'll find a place to burn it as an offering to you later. If not, I'll just crush it, so no stray cat or dog passing by can eat it."
Burn what burn? The way she spoke was so snide, as if she were making an offering to a ghost.
[Skill "100% Chance to Fall onto Target" activated.]
The moment before, Shang Daoling had stood tall amidst the crimson, striking a pose like a blood-red Guanyin. The next instant, she collapsed into the pool of blood on the ground. Her black Daoist robe was stained with gore.
Rong Chunsong said calmly, "You'd best show me a bit more respect when you speak to me."
Shang Daoling climbed back to her feet, grinding her teeth. "This is my favorite Daoist robe. You really are—"
[Ding. Target Shang Daoling's Favorability Value +1. Current Favorability Value: -14.]
Oh.
So the male lead actually liked being mistreated!
He was grinding his teeth, and yet his favorability had gone up by 1 point.
Should she test the waters a little more?
"So what if it's your favorite Daoist robe? I think all your robes look pretty much the same. Last time I saw you, you seemed to be wearing this same one."
[Ding. Target Shang Daoling's Favorability Value +1. Current Favorability Value: -13.]
Not only did he like being mistreated, he liked being talked back to.
Rong Chunsong cleared her throat, then put on a deep, solemn air. "This kind of ragged clothing? If you work hard for me, I can wave my hand and buy you a hundred, a thousand of them."
[Ding. Target Shang Daoling's Favorability Value +1. Current Favorability Value: -12.]
So it wasn't just that he liked being mistreated and talked back to—he also admired power, fawned over wealth, and had a bit of a gold-digger streak.
Confident that she'd now figured out this male lead's "type," Rong Chunsong's elegant voice drifted through the void: "A mighty and peerless Heavenly Venerable and Cult Leader like me, who's willing to give his subordinates a taste of the good life—you should count your lucky stars you get to follow me. As long as you serve diligently, wealth, glory, and overwhelming power will never be lacking for you."
[Ding. Target Shang Daoling's Favorability Value +2. Current Favorability Value: -10.]
This ghost woman who put on such airs—she just kept bragging endlessly.
What Heavenly Venerable, what True Lord—they were all a bunch of stuffy old Daoists, every one of them stern and rigid. They would never speak so flippantly and irresponsibly. If she was going to put on an act, she could at least conjure up a deeper, steadier voice, instead of speaking to him in the natural voice of a young woman.
But with an opportunity right in front of him, it would be a waste not to seize it.
Heavenly Venerable or ghost woman—as long as she could be used, there was no difference to him.
All the man-eaters in the hall were dead, and the Myriad Spirits Cauldron was in hand. His black brocade boots waded leisurely through the pool of crimson blood as Shang Daoling prepared to go turn in his mission and collect his reward.
But suddenly, the Ghost Immortal's voice sounded in his ear again.
"By the way, why is it that your body can keep regenerating, yet one of your arms is severed?"
Shang Daoling smiled languidly. "Oh, that? When I was a child, an old Daoist captured me to study the curse on my body. He used every ounce of his strength just to cut off one of my arms."
When did this happen?
Rong Chunsong brought up the original work panel and searched through it, but there was no such passage.
Was it a hidden plot?
As if thinking of something, Shang Daoling smiled carelessly again. "Sect Master, you chose me—surely you're not also thinking of capturing me for some kind of research? Otherwise, helping me for no reason at all would make even my conscience feel a bit uneasy."
This fellow couldn't accept others being too good to him. Only when he was being used and made to feel it was a mutual exchange of interests could he feel at ease.
Rong Chunsong said directly, "I can't be bothered to help you for no reason. You have something I need."
The young man's footsteps halted amid the sea of blood.
"Oh? What do you need?"
"First, your power is decent. It's quite useful when wielded for me. Take these fellows who disregard life—you wiped them all out in one go."
Wiped out? This Ghost Immortal certainly had a strange way of speaking.
Rong Chunsong continued, "Second, watching you look so unwilling and resentful is rather amusing."
"Of course, beyond all that, you have even greater value. But I won't tell you for now. At your current level, you're not yet qualified to know the secrets of this sect. Don't worry, I can't be bothered to harm you, nor do I want your life. Keeping you alive is far more useful to me." Moreover, in her day-to-day governance of subordinates, she had always prioritized benevolence and was unwilling to casually kill.
In this sect of only her and him, there were actually levels.
Shang Daoling laughed inwardly. This Ghost Immortal who had only recently attained the Dao had probably only recruited him as her sole "follower"—otherwise, why would she always come running out to lend him a hand?
Since he had received her kindness twice, he didn't mind helping her out a few times before ending this sect-master-and-disciple relationship that was like playing house…
"By the way, I haven't asked you yet—what's your view on these people using innocent humans to refine pills?"
"What view do I have? I of course… think they're very evil and utterly despicable." Shang Daoling smiled. Despicable was true—only daring to prey on mortals was truly tasteless. Evil? He wasn't so sure. At the thought that cultivators might also be subjected to Core Extraction and refinement, he felt a trace of eagerness to try.
Such righteous words were, of course, not this male lead's true feelings. One look at his grinning face and his motionless Corruption Value made that clear.
Since patient guidance couldn't lower this book's Darkness Value, then he'd try physical correction!
So Rong Chunsong also smiled slowly and leisurely. "If you dare have any crooked ideas, I'll use those spells on you too."
He looked up to see the moon's shadow frost-cold, its radiance ethereal.
Though he couldn't see this woman's face, this female voice, like a gentle warm breeze, was at this moment entirely a tone of control and domination. Her words were clearly light and unhurried, yet carried ultimate boldness, flowing with the leisurely elegance of one looking down from above.
For an instant, he was actually overawed by her. Truly… utterly ridiculous.
A baffling woman—first she flaunted her power before him, then said she valued his "worth." Yet in her eyes, his worth didn't seem to be for her to study, unlike all those immortals and Daoists who, upon learning the secret of his undying body, became incomparably excited.
She also said he wasn't qualified to know her intentions.
If she wasn't going to study him or dissect him, what else could her intentions be, if not simply—
To make him offer up his body for her amusement.
Otherwise, why would she have repaired his appearance and healed his disabilities when they first met?
This goal, compared to those old Daoists, could be called noble, yet it was even more offensive than they were.
If not for the fact that she was indeed a bit stronger than him…
[Ding. Target of conquest Shang Daoling's Favorability Value +10, current Favorability Value 0.]
After Rong Chunsong thought through these both majestic and teasing words, following the style of this male lead who won't respond to soft approaches but will to hard ones, the Favorability Value should have increased.
But instead, it was wiped clean in one go.
This was her routine against those certain self-proclaimed arrogant and lofty retainers in the City Lord's mansion. Toward this kind of power-worshipping poser who only responds to hard approaches, you directly unleash your authority, then pivot and affirm their value—you can't leave them without any sense of workplace recognition, after all. Carrot and stick, and one round of maneuvering leaves them docile and obedient.
She hadn't expected that applying this move to this male lead would work even better than anticipated.
Perhaps he rarely encountered people stronger than himself, or perhaps among the powerful figures he held in high regard, few had ever appreciated him. No wonder in the book, the moment he gained power, he made sure to show them what it meant to be poor while young, and crushed all those mighty ones who had once despised him, hahaha.
In any case, it seemed the System's recommended routines were a pile of nonsense—things like transforming into a delicate beauty, attracting the male lead, attaching herself to the male lead—she gave them all a thumbs-down.
A mere conquest? She only needed to sweep aside all routines and be herself.
As for this male lead, this fierce dark horse, this venomous serpent with cold, glimmering scales—she already had him firmly in her grip, completely under control! After all, he was ultimately just a tiny fairyland virtual pet in the palm of her hand.