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The bitten Demon Emperor returned safely to the ground.
His skin was too thick to bite through; only a few strands of fur were lost.
The small, snow-white beast widened its round, animal-like pupils, staring at the few strands of fur drifting to the ground. It puffed up into a large, fluffy cotton ball and let out an angry 'meow'.
Chen Moqing remained unmoved, continuing to meditate with his eyes closed.
Cang Shun: "......"
Not even an apology!
Different ways, not to be shared!
The Demon Emperor left in anger, without looking back, his figure resolute—soon, the furious, fluffy figure splashed through puddles and disappeared into the distance.
Not long after.
A damp, snow-white, muddy little furball returned, glaring coldly at the human cultivator.
He could not venture more than fifty feet away from this human.
A peculiar contract had formed between them, not difficult to break—if only he could restore half of his former cultivation... or, for now, simply kill this human.
He was a great demon born of the Primordial Void; nothing in this world could bind him.
A cold, crimson glint flashed in his demonic eyes as overwhelming demonic power surged like an invisible tidal wave, ready to crush the fragile human cultivator, as slight as a leaf on a boat.
Chen Moqing sat alone and unmoving.
Having weathered a heavy rain, his black hair and red robes were damp, yet his posture remained upright, like a bamboo soaked in mist.
At the outer corner of his left eye lay a faint tear mole, dotting his pale skin like an ink stain on rice paper.
Cang Shun stared fixedly at that tear mole, motionless, for what felt like half the time it takes to drink a cup of tea.
...A small portion of his anger inexplicably faded away.
Forget it.
He disdained to bully the weak.
The fluffy, snow-white little beast glared with its round, animal-like eyes and angrily plopped down next to the human.
Chen Moqing didn’t lift his gaze, wholly focused on circulating the beginner cultivation method, allowing the young beast to incessantly claw at the hem of his robe.
Only when Cang Shun, in a retaliatory mood, had shredded the person’s robe hem into tattered strips did he hear that clear, pleasant voice, like a cold mountain spring:
“What’s the matter? Your Majesty the Demon Emperor not killing me?”
That one sentence plunged the bright day into abrupt darkness. Amid churning gloom, a pair of crimson demon eyes gleamed cold and bright, burning like perpetual suns.
[How did you recognize Benzun?]
The Demon Emperor’s voice held no warmth. Without opening his eyes, Chen Moqing replied, “You possess the bearing of dragons and phoenixes, majestic and distinguished.”
Cang Shun: “......”
The snow-white little beast lowered its head to look at itself, straightening its fluffy spine and puffing out its soft chest a little.
Indeed.
“I also guessed you awakened by my blood,” Chen Moqing lifted his raven-feather lashes slightly, his dark eyes like a placid lake surface, “You cannot kill me.”
Cang Shun: “?”
“Meow!”
[Then why did you bite me!]
Chen Moqing: “It was convenient.”
Cang Shun: “???”
How long had he been asleep? How had the world’s morals decayed so much!
The humans of this era were truly inferior to the last!
—Wait!
Cang Shun narrowed his demonic eyes.
[You can hear Benzun's words?]
Chen Moqing neither confirmed nor denied it.
From the moment this young beast appeared, his ears had been filled not only with the sounds of mews and whimpers but also with a deep, arrogant male voice.
It wasn't mind-reading—if His Majesty the Demon Emperor didn't open his mouth to mewl, he couldn't hear the other voice either.
"The ancient demon tongue, resonant as gold and jade, is indeed extraordinary."
Cang Shun scoffed, swaying his fluffy, slender tail.
"Meow!"
[Of course]
The snow-white little beast began circling Chen Moqing again, each step landing on the hem of his trailing robe.
[Since you recognize me, and know I could crush you like an insect with a mere gesture, you're not afraid?]
Chen Moqing: "In the past, when the Demon Abyss emerged, demons wreaked havoc upon the mortal realm, and the Heavenly Dao was on the verge of collapse. The Demon Emperor used his own body as a shield. After his fall, for five thousand years, no demonic energy has been seen in the mortal realm."
After calmly stating this, he closed his eyes and resumed cultivating.
The snow-white little beast stood quietly on his robe for a moment, then leisurely hopped onto his lap and lay down.
Chen Moqing lifted a hand and brushed him off.
Cang Shun: "???"
Once he regained half his cultivation, he would sever the contract immediately!
He would not stay by this human's side a moment longer! Not even half a moment!
The snow-white little beast turned its body angrily, presenting its back to the human with a particularly aloof, rounded silhouette.
For the next day and night, the man and the demon exchanged no further words.
It was impossible to tell how many hours had passed when Chen Moqing emerged from his prolonged meditation, a burning sensation rising in his abdomen.
With his cultivation completely destroyed, he was no different from a mortal. Naturally, he grew weary and hungry.
No living creatures existed in the north, and he could not leave this place. Fortunately, wild grass grew abundantly nearby. These roots also contained baleful energy and spiritual power; it was as if the blind Heavenly Dao had briefly regained its sight for half a moment.
Cang Shun, who had been lying nearby, happened to turn his head. His perfectly round demon eyes widened in an instant.
[Are you insane?]
[Is this something humans can eat?]
[Don’t eat that! There’s mud!]
A torrent of 'meows' and whimpers overlapped with a deep male voice. The snow-white little beast hopped around Chen Moqing, continuously pushing him with its fluffy paws.
Realizing Chen Moqing ignored him, calmly continuing to eat the grass, the snow-white little beast howled even louder.
Two layers of voices rang incessantly in his ears, like lit firecrackers, making it impossible to find a moment's peace. Chen Moqing calmly swallowed the bitter, astringent grass juice, then moved like lightning, stuffing a tuft of grass roots into the young demon beast's mouth.
Caught off guard with a mouthful of grass, Cang Shun: "......"
This life is unbearable!
The next day, Cang Shun followed Chen Moqing in chewing grass roots.
For no other reason than because the Demon Emperor angrily discovered that when this human cultivator was hungry, he—who had long since transcended the need for food—also felt pangs of hunger.
—It was this human's blood that had roused him from his millennia-long slumber, and it also engraved an invisible contract, creating a connection between them that went beyond the physical, a far deeper bond.
The vegetarian Demon Emperor chewed on the infuriating contract, his eyes as cold as submerged ice.
Once they left this place, he would find another way to break the contract.
At most, in half a year, he would regain his freedom and never have to see this detestable face again.
A pale hand extended towards him, its bones finely-proportioned and slender, the curve of its fingers like carved jade or bamboo joints. In its thin, white palm lay a cluster of fresh grass blades.
Cang Shun stared at this hand for three seconds.
Slowly, he leaned over and chewed from the offered hand.
The hand withdrew.
No feeding. Eat it yourself.
Cang Shun: "......"
At most three months! He would definitely break the contract!
He absolutely would not stay with this detestable human!!
...
As soon as Xiao Jibai opened his eyes, an ancient, elegant room greeted him. A delicate, faint fragrance drifted through the air, surrounded by simple and unadorned decorations.
"Where is this?"
There was no one else in the room, yet a voice sounded out of thin air: "Host, this is Luofeng Peak."
Luofeng Peak, once the residence of Tianshu Sect's Head Disciple, Chen Moqing, now had a new master.
Xiao Jibai looked around, showing no interest in the furnishings that clearly weren't luxurious or splendid, merely nodding slightly: "Shizun still treats me quite well."
He lingered in bed for half an hour before finally getting up. With his hands clasped behind his back, he wandered around the not-too-large room, shaking his head as he looked around, "It's not even as good as the sect steward's quarters. No, tomorrow I need to redecorate."
"Host, you've been asleep for nearly half a year and have already fallen behind in your cultivation."
"What's the rush? With my current aptitude, just one minute of casual cultivation surpasses a month of hard work by others."
Xiao Jibai didn't pay it much mind, pulling a mirror from his storage sleeve.
This was a magic tool he exchanged from the system, allowing him to secretly observe cultivators whose cultivation was within one stage of his own, for a time limit of three minutes.
Soon, a figure in white robes appeared in the mirror, standing silently among a bamboo grove.
Xiao Jibai couldn't help but chuckle: "Gongsun Bushi really is infatuated, even setting up a cenotaph."
He plopped down on the edge of the bed, rubbing the plain bedding beneath him with one hand, looking around before suddenly remarking: "Actually, Senior Brother Chen was quite good to me. After my parents, he treated me the best."
He heard the system inquire: "You don't care about that sword strike?"
Xiao Jibai slowly curled his lips into a smile: "Didn't he pay for it with his life?"
The system fell silent. Xiao Jibai lay back on the bed: "I want Senior Brother's sword. How many points does it cost?"
"A sword with an owner cannot be exchanged with points. Moreover, Host, the points you owe are already split into six hundred installments."
"Ah, when you're deep in debt, a little more doesn't matter," Xiao Jibai waved a dismissive hand, tucking them behind his head, "Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west. Don't bully the young and poor!"
System: "You are not young, and you are indeed poor."
"...Once I start cultivating seriously, I'm bound to make rapid progress! Then, what sect treasures won't be mine?"
Xiao Jibai's eyes shone brightly, a surge of fervor rising in his chest.
"In the future, when I ascend to supremacy, shatter the void—"
His voice suddenly softened.
"Then, I can go home."
...
Cang Shun lay bored on a small pile of grass, his two paws crossed beneath his chin as a cushion.
That young human cultivator had been cultivating without rest for two months, day and night, not pausing for a single moment.
The baleful energy in this place was actually the lingering power left by the fusion of the long-vanished Demon Abyss and his own fallen form. Each wisp of baleful energy contained not only the all-corrosive demonic energy but also surging spiritual power derived from the Heavenly Dao.
This human continuously absorbed the baleful energy, allowing that demonic energy to corrode his flesh and blood, using his own body as a filtering vessel, ultimately leaving spiritual energy to settle in his dantian.
Such a method was startling even to the Demon Emperor. For other cultivators, even a slight touch of baleful energy could be enough to end their lives and destroy their cultivation—yet this young human had not died despite forcibly absorbing baleful energy over and over for more than sixty days, taking spiritual power at the cost of corroding his body.
Even if he didn't die, the constant, excruciating pain akin to thousands of ants gnawing at his heart was enough to shatter the sanity of any cultivator. Yet after observing for dozens of days, Cang Shun saw that this human cultivator's mental fortitude was as firm as a rock, utterly unwavering.
If this person walked the path of immortality, he would be like a great sun rising over the sky, illuminating the cosmos. If he fell into demonic ways, he would be a serpent traversing the deep abyss, seeking to devour heaven and swallow the sun.
Unconcerned with the changing gaze of a certain Demon Emperor, Chen Moqing's mind settled into deep concentration, as if sitting upon a mirror-still lake.
In the past several days, he had used all the spiritual energy he absorbed to temper his own body, as if thrown into a heavenly furnace, subjected to scorching flames and heavenly thunder strikes, refined a thousand times over.
Now, despite having no trace of cultivation, after these tens of thousands of heavenly temperings, coupled with the undying, life-renewing vitality of the Withered Wood Revival Decree, the robustness of his physique was already comparable to an ordinary early-stage Golden Core cultivator, and as his cultivation grew, it would continue to advance.
The foundation had been laid, and now was the time to once again tread the path to the heavens.
Cang Shun sensed the violent fluctuations of the surrounding baleful energy rapidly converging in one direction. He narrowed his demonic eyes slightly, his voice low:
[Defying heaven's will, seeking too hastily. Actions too fierce, may not end well]
Chen Moqing's eyes remained tightly shut, his face pale, a fine sweat beading on his forehead. Hearing this, he gave a faint smile: "And if I insist on defying heaven and changing fate."
Cang Shun remained silent, slowly rising to his feet.
Mortals are like mayflies; their lives are fleeting and not favored by the Heavenly Dao. They must wrest spiritual energy from heaven and earth just to grasp a sliver of a chance to climb the long stairway and tread the Great Path*.
*t/n; In the xianxia world, Great Path/Great Dao is the primordial, formless source and ultimate truth that can underlies and transcends even the Heavenly Dao itself. Great Path can also be defined as universe's fundamental, boundless truth cultivators aspire to master for transcendence.
Thus, the human race's cultivation journey is also called 'ascending to heaven'.
They are not like the demon race, born with the natural ability to draw spiritual energy from the world, making cultivation twice as easy—ordinary cultivators can take over ten years, or even several decades, to have an opportunity to break through the first stage of Qi Refinement.
Thereafter, ascending to heaven is like crossing a raging river, with rises and falls. A single misstep can lead to bodily death and the end of one's cultivation.
Cang Shun indifferently shifted his gaze away.
It would be just as well if he died; if he died, he would be free.
The next second, he swiftly turned his head back—the speed and magnitude of the surrounding baleful energy converging were too great, too vast. It seemed as if all the baleful energy that had shrouded the northern borderlands for a millennium was surging toward this spot!
Churning black energy, like a boundless sea, enveloped and swallowed that slender, gaunt figure. Soon, bloody energy erupted; blood mist and scattered limbs stained the layers of black fog, swirling into a crimson vortex.
[Stop! Do you have a death wish?!]
Cang Shun took a step forward. Countless thunderbolts exploded with a roar, their blazing light illuminating a pair of furious crimson demon eyes as they pressed down upon the baleful energy, yet then halted mid-air.
Hesitant, wary of accidentally harming the fragile human who could be snuffed out with a pinch, he gritted his teeth in frustration.
Time stretched endlessly, as if a millennium had passed, yet perhaps only a few fleeting moments.
The baleful energy dispersed, the wind stilled, the clouds settled. Upon the barren, cracked earth, only a solitary seated skeleton remained.
The lightning vanished instantly. Furious, Cang Shun circled nearby, claws digging deep into the ground. For a few moments, it seemed he wanted to pounce over and shatter that skeleton.
Then, in another breath, red branches wound around the stark white bones, withered wood heralding spring for all things.
Flesh and blood grew upon white bones, new skin covered them again. Life and death revolved; as if the King of Hell himself bypassed this place.
Half an hour later, Chen Moqing opened his eyes. Deep within his ink-black pupils, no light shone. With black hair and pale skin, he resembled a black serpent emerging from an ancient, sunless forest pool.
He had reached the peak of Qi Refinement.
Cang Shun: "......"
He immediately turned his head away.
[Now... are all human cultivators like you these days?]
Chen Moqing: "My aptitude is ordinary, not even a drop in the ocean compared to some. Naturally, I must strive fiercely."
Having undergone a cycle of life and death, his voice remained calm and detached, only slightly low and hoarse from fatigue.
Cang Shun didn't respond.
He kept his back turned, not sparing even a glance in his direction, and quickly ran a little farther away.
Chen Moqing looked down, saw his own state, understood, and paid it no mind. He bit his fingertip and, using his finger as a brush, drew a talisman in the air.
Soon, an ordinary set of blue robes draped over him, covering most of his pale skin. His black hair was loosely tied with a wooden hairpin, the rest falling loosely behind his waist.
His original appearance was concealed, replaced by a new, plain face, unremarkable and easily forgotten.
Cang Shun glanced at it, then turned his head away, disliking the sight.
After two seconds, he turned his head back for another glance.
Another two seconds later, another glance.
...For some reason, even though this detestable human had already changed his appearance, his eyes still couldn't be pulled away from him.
...It must be because of that damned contract!
Ignoring a certain Demon Emperor scratching the ground, Chen Moqing turned his attention inward, inspecting his spiritual sea.
In the past, when he first began cultivating, he leapt directly from the peak of Qi Refinement to the mid-stage of Foundation Establishment. Now, although his spiritual energy was sufficient, an exceptionally powerful obstacle stood between him and breaking through to Foundation Establishment.
—The Withered Wood Revival Decree.
That vibrant red token hung high above his spiritual sea, carving out a towering, insurmountable chasm that stood before him.
Henceforth, every time he crossed a major cultivation stage, he would have to climb over this chasm, as if ascending to heaven all over again.
If he failed, it wouldn't mean a mere loss of cultivation; he would die immediately, his soul scattered to the winds, forever barred from reincarnation.
Chen Moqing's spiritual consciousness stood silently at the foot of the chasm, gazing at that suspended token from afar, like the first immortal to ever ascend to heaven looking up at the vast sky all those millennia ago.
Then let's give it a try.
See if you can make me fall again.
Cang Shun had somehow wandered over to Chen Moqing's side. He glanced at the slowly dissipating talisman characters in the air and let out a soft, disdainful snort.
[So you're a talisman cultivator]
He had assumed he was a sword cultivator, considering that among all the witless cultivators in the world, sword cultivators alone account for eighty percent of them.
Chen Moqing smiled lightly, his blue robes fluttering slightly in the breeze, black hair falling by his side, "I'm leaving."
Cang Shun ignored him.
Chen Moqing: "I've heard that a Demon Emperor's fur, like dragon liver and phoenix marrow, is a heavenly treasure."
Cang Shun: "?"
Chen Moqing pointed to one side: "You don't want those, right?"
Over these days, this Demon Emperor had been rolling around everywhere, shedding plenty of his own fur.
Even when the baleful energy surged wildly earlier, it couldn't sweep away these scattered, snow-white fluffs.
Cang Shun seemed on the verge of speaking, glared at Chen Moqing for a long moment, then coldly turned his head away.
He wouldn't stoop to arguing with a weakling.
Chen Moqing: "Thank you, Your Majesty."
Cang Shun: "......"
Well, well. He even knows to use an honorific.
It took Chen Moqing the better part of a day to gather the scattered piles of snow-white fluff. He rolled them by hand into several small fur balls, tucked them into his sleeve, then pressed his palms together and offered a respectful salute to Cang Shun before turning to leave.
Cang Shun remained lying on the grass pile, looking up at the sky, leisurely swishing his tail.
—Not even the time it takes to finish a cup of tea later, Chen Moqing returned, wordlessly staring at Cang Shun.
He couldn't venture more than fifteen feet away from this great demon.
It seemed his blood, having soaked into the place where the Demon Emperor had fallen, not only awakened this slumbering great demon but also forged an invisible contract between them.
Cang Shun had anticipated this, narrowing his eyes with pleasure, swaying his long, fluffy tail, and tilting his chin slightly upward.
Looking very much like; 'Beg Benzun, then.'
Chen Moqing took a step forward, accurately and precisely pinching the soft scruff of the snow-white little beast's neck—as if lifting a kitten—and directly hoisted the Demon Emperor into the air.
Cang Shun: "???"
[How dare you—]
The snow-white little beast hung helplessly in the air, exposing its soft belly. It waved its paws furiously, loudly mewling and whining, puffing up into a large, fluffy ball once more.
Fluffy and indignant, it was carried away by Chen Moqing.
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