The demon slave did not respond.
Its human form was incomplete; its legs were covered in a layer of fine scales, muscles taut, the scales shifting subtly like living things, breathing faintly. Unable to defy its “master’s” command, it expressed resistance through its half-demon form.
Fu Yun stepped onto the demon slave’s thigh, the scales scraping against the sole of his shoe, emitting a soft, rustling sound.
The demon slave winced in pain but curled its lips into a smile, laced with dripping malice, each word squeezed out clearly: “Disgusting. trash like you, even if you knelt and begged me, I would.”
Before it could finish, a water chain forced its way into its mouth cold, pressing deep into the root of its tongue. With a slight twist, the taste of blood flooded upward.
Fu Yun spoke gently: “You must call me master.”
He thought for a moment and declared, “From today onward, your name is Little Demon.”
He decided to postpone the energy absorption. First, because absorption techniques were primarily designed for cultivators, with few methods involving demon races, and he feared complications. Second, because primordial essence was precious; only by absorbing it with certainty could it help him break through his bottleneck.
But the demon slave remained unruly and needed to be tamed.
Vines moved according to Fu Yun’s will, coiling around the demon slave and dragging it to the flowers by the shore. Its human form fit perfectly within the petals as a pink mist spread, carrying an ambiguous scent, enveloping the demon slave.
The demon slave was first bewildered, then its eyes filled with terror as it looked down at its lower body
How was this possible?
It was still young; before its trials, its clan had sealed its essence gate with a restriction to prevent it from falling into traps. Could the master-slave contract be this domineering?!
Water chains bound its hands and feet.
It was in agony but unable to move. The more it suffered, the deeper its hatred for Fu Yun grew, while a wave of helpless resentment surged within it. If it were its true master, they would never humiliate it like this.
What the demon slave hated most was that Fu Yun kept watching it.
Watching it exposed in its ugly state of desire, gasping and panting. Its lower body revealed a serpent’s tail, the tip instinctively coiling around an ankle. Realizing whose ankle it was, it immediately retracted.
Even with the demon slave’s dark complexion, the flushed shame and bone-deep resentment were unmistakable.
Its serpentine eyes glared venomously at Fu Yun.
“Ah!”
The great demon covered its eyes and cried out in agony so painful, so unbearably painful. It feared its eyeballs had been gouged out, but they remained intact.
A cold finger pried open its eyelid, followed by a pair of indifferent eyes drawing near. Amidst the hazy flower mist and the burning poison of desire, the great demon’s eyes ached, yet its body shamefully reacted.
Those eyes continued to watch it.
A fear of corruption seized the great demon, as if from this moment on, pain and desire would become inseparable.
Fu Yun’s face showed no expression, but his voice carried a semblance of pity: “You can’t even see through the simplest illusion. How could your clan let you venture out with such ease?”
“Get away.” The great demon’s eyes were bloodshot, on the verge of collapse, its pupils contracting and dilating as it drifted in a sea of desire. Fu Yun manipulated the chains to tighten around the great demon, preventing it from releasing its essence.
After adding a few more seals, Fu Yun tapped the flower mark on its collarbone and returned to his cabin on the spirit vessel.
The spirit vessel began its return journey the next day, and Fu Yun had only one thought.
Xie Yun, that damned man.
In the morning, he blocked Fu Yun’s door to greet him; in the afternoon, he inquired about his well-being. Xie Yun’s every move attracted attention. By putting on this act, he not only tied himself closely to Fu Yun but also stirred envy among others, adding to Fu Yun’s troubles.
Many disciples, seeing Xie Yun’s attentiveness, began to murmur among themselves.
Those familiar with Xie Yun exchanged glances before entering the secret realm, Xie Yun had hardly held favorable feelings toward Fu Yun.
Xie Yun was adept at handling affairs with tact and grace. Whenever a fellow disciple he was on good terms with had a joyous occasion, he would personally offer his congratulations. Yet, Fu Yun lived on the Qing Sage’s subsidiary peak, and Xie Yun had never once visited.
How could his attitude shift so drastically after just one secret realm experience? What was even more astonishing was that the head of the Internal Affairs Department had also spoken up for Fu Yun?
For a time, Fu Yun became the center of heated discussion. But upon closer inspection, there wasn’t much to dig up about him gentle, diligent, and without any scandals.
There was, however, one old story that could barely be considered a pleasant anecdote. “You mean Senior Brother Fu? Back then, he actually wanted to join the Sword Venerable’s peak, but the Sword Venerable wouldn’t take him. In the end, when the Qing Sage returned to the sect, he took pity on him and accepted him as a disciple.”
“That’s not right. The Venerable One wasn’t acting out of pity he genuinely wanted to take in Martial Uncle Fu! I still remember, the Venerable One broke off a branch and gave it to Martial Uncle as a sword. That tree, infused with the Sage’s spiritual power, hasn’t shed a leaf in thirty years.”
“I heard about that too. I was so envious back then. I begged my master to make me a sword as well, but she brought me a ruler instead and beat me with it for thirteen years, sob”
On the deck, Xie Lingjun was practicing sword forms, twirling his blade. After hearing the story of the “Sage’s bestowed grace,” his sword tip paused. He turned to Xie Yun and asked, “Chunjun, how is Martial Brother Fu’s relationship with the Qing Sage?”
Just as Xie Yun was about to speak, a derisive snort came from nearby
“Whether he’s innocent or scheming, only a fool wouldn’t see it. He took a spot and inserted himself into the team, playing hard to get to attract attention. And now, it’s worked out just as he planned”
The disciple felt a chill by his mouth, and a few strands of hair drifted down, turning to dust mid-air. The murmurs ceased abruptly. The disciple looked up in shock to see Xie Lingjun sheathing his sword with indifference.
If you don’t want to hear gossip about your beloved, why not go challenge your rival instead!
The words churned in his stomach for a long moment, but the disciple gritted his teeth and swallowed them back. Not only because of Xie Lingjun’s status, but also because of Xie Yun standing behind him.
After Xie Lingjun drew his sword, Xie Yun’s smile vanished.
Cold sweat broke out on the disciple’s back. He stamped his foot and turned away, avoiding the faces of the two.
As soon as Fu Yun returned to his residence, he sensed an unusual atmosphere on the peak.
In the depths of winter, plants and trees were sprouting tips from beneath the snow. Disciples on the peak had all paused their tasks, standing quietly by the path.
The Qing Sage had returned to the sect.
A Nascent Soul cultivator could be called a True Person, a Great Ascension cultivator a True Lord, a Divine Transformation cultivator who established their Dao heart became a Dao Venerable, but only a Tribulation Transcension cultivator was honored as a Sage.
In the current immortal sects, the Qing Sage was the only publicly acknowledged Tribulation Transcension cultivator.
Some junior disciples were so excited their legs trembled, nearly prostrating themselves to kowtow, but a gentle breeze lifted them up. This breeze carried the fresh, moist scent of plants. The disciples took deep breaths and looked around no one had knelt.
The Qing Sage disliked extravagant displays. His incarnations always returned to the sect quietly late at night, and each time, he would meet with the sect master and Xie Yun. A daytime return like this was a rare occurrence.
As the breeze passed, Fu Yun also bowed respectfully.
The pure spiritual energy drifted upward, which should have made one feel light and refreshed, with a clear mind. Fu Yun appeared the same, his eyes bright and clear. No one knew that faint shadows of inner demons were flickering before his eyes.
He saw two figures one was the Sword Venerable, the other was his master.
He saw the beginning of it all that disciple acceptance ceremony.
Back then, Fu Yun had sought to become a disciple of one of the Sword Venerable’s followers.
There weren’t many disciples in that session, and Fu Yun was fortunate enough to rank near the top. He thought that since everyone in the cultivation world flew on swords, he should learn the sword as well.
At that time, Fu Yun was twelve. His family belonged to a minor clan, and his mother was an inferior furnace vessel, taken as a concubine by the main family. He was named Yun not out of high hopes, but because his mother was called Yunji.
The Sword Venerable said Fu Yun’s worldly heart was impure.
His dream of returning home in glory shattered.
On the way back to his quarters, it began to rain, the wind fierce. Fu Yun had spent the entire day practicing sword flight and hadn’t learned any warming spells. His hands were swollen from the cold, and his control over the sword was shaky, nearly sending him tumbling into the ditch.
The disciples nearby couldn’t help but burst into laughter. Fu Yun accepted it he truly had no talent for swordsmanship.
The initiation ceremony lasted three days, during which disciples were not allowed to be absent. Fu Yun stood there awkwardly for all three days.
The final day was the second day of the second lunar month, the Dragon Raising Festival, when all things were renewed.
A gentle breeze blew, and the Cloud Sovereign lowered his gaze, casting a glance upon the ordinary masses a glance that would change the course of Fu Yun’s life.
The wood spirit was profound. Fu Yun guessed who it was and looked up, staring directly at the clouds. The presence did not withdraw. His heart raced wildly as he did the boldest thing of his life.
Steeling himself, he cupped his disciple token in both hands, thinking that at worst, he would only be rejected once more.
The mocking gazes of thousands converged on him, but after the Azure Sovereign evaluated Fu Yun as having “above-average aptitude,” bestowed him with a jade token, and accepted him as a disciple, all doubts faded away.
The Azure Sage presented Fu Yun with a disciple’s sword, but Fu Yun dared not accept it. Unexpectedly, the Azure Sage broke off a branch from a nearby tree. In the blink of an eye, the branch was carved into a sword. The mountain-guarding tree, stirred by the wood spirit, even sprouted buds, though they withered just as quickly.
“The Sword Peak knows no spring, but the Azure Mountain holds affection” so the saying later spread throughout the sect.
The sect believed Fu Yun possessed some extraordinary quality, yet after years of entry, his cultivation remained mediocre. He asked himself in the dead of night, why couldn’t he break through?
Why!
Why?
Why.
“We welcome the Azure Sovereign.”
Fu Yun and the other disciples bowed their heads. The Sage bestowed heavenly grace, and in an instant, all things on Azure Sage Peak revived, transitioning from winter to spring.
Upon returning to the sect, the Azure Sage first summoned Xie Yun.
They spoke in the hall for a short while, and no one knew the content of their conversation. At the same time, Fu Yun headed down the mountain to the Internal Affairs Department to handle miscellaneous tasks.
Just then, a mountain-guarding disciple arrived on a crane, delivering a summons to Fu Yun the Azure Sage wished to see him.
After nine years, Fu Yun entered the Sage Hall once more, but this time, there was no joy in his heart, only cold calculation.
Outside the hall, Xie Yun and Xie Lingjun walked out side by side. Fu Yun passed them by, and a voice transmission entered his ear it was Xie Yun: “Be careful in everything, speak no falsehoods.”
The tone was more urgent than ever before.
The hall doors opened.
Fu Yun looked up.