After Refusing Marriage to the Dao of Slaughter Patriarch (20)

The process of gathering the Buddha's Whisper Flower went extremely smoothly. The demon beast was still deep in slumber and never noticed that a "despicable" human cultivator had already stolen away the spiritual herb hidden beneath its sharp-scaled claws.

Delays only bred complications, so Lu Dengming moved quickly. When he returned to the resting grounds where the Mingling Sword Sect disciples were camped and saw several fellow disciples still guarding the place as usual, the firelight illuminating the path ahead, Lu Dengming instantly relaxed as though he had finally returned home.

Everyone was safe and sound.

Under the firelight, Ji Xing's profile appeared especially quiet and delicate. Lu Dengming walked over and caught the heavy scent of blood in the air. Thinking it was simply left over from the daytime, he paid it no mind.

He only mentioned that the spiritual herb had been successfully retrieved before turning toward Ji Zhaixing.

"Daoist Ji..." Lu Dengming had only just spoken when he noticed all his fellow disciples looking over at him.

Their gazes were dark and eerie, like ghostly lights floating in the dead of night, focused yet tinged with resentment.

Lu Dengming paused.

Though he was usually the center of attention, no one had ever stared at him with such strange expressions before. It gave him a subtly bizarre feeling.

Fortunately, Ji Xing remained as calm as ever. The black-haired sword cultivator tilted his head slightly and offered him a faint smile, asking in an even voice whether the trip had gone smoothly.

Lu Dengming immediately seemed soothed and began talking animatedly, vividly describing how huge and terrifying the demon beast guarding the spiritual herb had been.

The other Mingling disciples: "..."

Senior Brother, we feel like the one sitting next to you might be even more terrifying than the demon beast you're talking about.

At dawn, they advanced a little farther toward the center of the Spirit Domain.

The demon beasts lurking on both sides, seemingly devoid of reason and consumed by savagery, still waited for opportunities to attack.

Lu Dengming silently recited a spell formula, his magical artifacts cutting through the demon beasts almost unstoppably. At the same time, he remained beside Ji Zhaixing, refusing to let danger approach him by even half a step.

Whenever they encountered particularly steep terrain, he would protect Ji Zhaixing as usual and gently remind him, "Daoist Ji, watch your footing. This place is very dangerous. Don't get hurt—"

Fang Jian could not help clicking his tongue.

And he did it loudly.

Lu Dengming's expression darkened slightly.

"Junior Brother Jian, do not be rude to Daoist Ji!"

Fang Jian: "...Fine."

Senior Brother, I'm not being rude to Daoist Ji. I'm being rude to you!

Do you even realize what you've forced a combat sword cultivator into becoming?!

Lu Dengming had not even noticed that whenever demon beasts launched sneak attacks, those disciples preferred standing closer to Ji Xing instead, as though it made them feel safer.

The Mingling Sword Sect seemed to know this Spirit Domain quite well, and as a result Ji Zhaixing had memorized nearly eighty or ninety percent of the outer-region map.

But it still was not enough.

He still had not seen any trace of Qi Baishan and the others. Either those disciples were hiding exceptionally well, or their luck had been truly terrible and they had fallen into... the inner regions of the Spirit Domain.

Even the outer edges of the Spirit Domain were filled with deadly danger for disciples whose cultivation was no higher than Foundation Establishment. If they had appeared directly in the inner regions, that would truly be an unsolvable death trap.

Ji Zhaixing remained calm to the point of near indifference in the face of such circumstances.

As long as he did not see corpses, he would not leave. From the very moment he entered the Spirit Domain, Ji Zhaixing had already prepared for the worst.

Night fell once more, and two crescent moons again hung above the Spirit Domain.

It should have been another ordinary, peaceful night—

If not for Lu Dengming's restless expression and the uneasy atmosphere among the group.

Lu Dengming removed all the talismans and magical artifacts from his Sumeru Ring and laid formations around them, his expression more serious than on any previous day.

Ji Zhaixing stood nearby without asking questions, merely watching the movements of Lu Dengming's fingers as he cast spell after spell.

The moment Lu Dengming turned around, he saw him watching.

For some reason, he even found Ji Xing's slightly confused expression somewhat adorable.

"This is Daoist Ji's first time entering the Spirit Domain, correct? Then you probably don't know..." Before Lu Dengming could finish speaking, Fang Jian abruptly cut in.

His eyes shone brightly as he eagerly leaned closer and explained, "Once every month, the Spirit Domain experiences an extremely special day known as Retrospection Night. All living beings within the Spirit Domain fall asleep. That includes cultivators like us, and naturally those demon beasts and spirits as well."

Ji Zhaixing softly asked, "Even those demon beasts fall unconscious?"

"They should," Fang Jian replied. "After all, no one's ever woken up after Retrospection Night to find the cultivator beside them eaten."

Having his chance to speak with Ji Xing stolen away, Lu Dengming inexplicably felt annoyed. He knocked Fang Jian lightly on the forehead and coldly said:

"That's exactly why precautions are necessary. Otherwise, you might become the first person in history to experience it."

Then Lu Dengming turned toward Ji Zhaixing, his tone gentler.

"When cultivators fall asleep during Retrospection Night, they dream of terrifying things. You must remember that it is only a dream. Don't be afraid."

......

Remember that it is only a dream.

When Ji Zhaixing looked up and saw the third crescent moon appear in the sky, he almost could not tell whether this was the sign of Retrospection Night arriving—

Or whether he had already fallen into a dream.

The white-robed sword cultivator slowly lowered his lashes. Amid the utter silence, broken only occasionally by the breathing of living creatures, he stood up.

Lu Dengming, the Fang brothers, those Mingling Sect disciples—

All of them silently melted away like snow resting in one's palm.

And without noticing at all, Ji Zhaixing lifted his black-sheathed sword and walked down the path leading deeper into the Spirit Domain.

He was not entirely sure why he was walking forward.

It felt as though he had received some kind of summons, and ahead of him lay a hidden treasure of irresistible attraction.

On both sides of the path, the lurking demon beasts quietly poked their heads out. Yet after letting out only two low growls, they curled back up again like small beasts trapped in their nests.

Step by step, Ji Zhaixing continued forward.

His black hair flowed like a waterfall, his white robes like snow. Carrying his sword, he resembled a wandering soul freed from worldly ties. Even the Appearance Concealment Spell had lost its effect.

Ji Zhaixing vaguely realized that the weakest demon beast lurking nearby possessed at least early Nascent Soul cultivation.

Thus every inch of his body remained in an extreme state of alertness. His grip on the sword hilt and sheath was perfect, allowing him to draw and strike at the fastest possible speed—

Yet those demon beasts always maintained an extremely cautious distance from him.

As though afraid of frightening this human cultivator.

Above the heavens, the three crescent moons were nearly merging into one.

The forest rustled softly. Under the pale moonlight, the shadows stretched long while darkness quietly spread across the ground.

A gigantic demon beast suddenly charged toward him from behind. The violent wind it stirred made it impossible for Ji Zhaixing to pretend he had not heard it.

He turned around.

Spiritual energy gathered along the edge of his sword. His body reacted even faster than his consciousness. In a single motion, he slashed through the empty air before the blade plunged into a mass of fur.

The vicious sword, which had tasted countless lives before, suddenly seemed to become greedy for survival. It merely slid harmlessly across the demon beast's fur before bouncing away.

Ji Zhaixing: "..."

He could sense that this demon beast's cultivation was likely above the Nascent Soul realm.

The demon beast had now fully revealed itself.

Unlike the many grotesque monsters of the demon realm, it was not ferocious at all. In fact, it looked somewhat adorable.

Its snow-white soft fur trembled slightly beneath the moonlight. Its eyes were round like a cub's, icy blue in color, and it had a pink three-petaled mouth.

That mouth now moved close and sniffed at Ji Zhaixing before opening—

Beasts like this typically fed on essence blood to become so powerful. Ji Zhaixing rapidly recited the Wood Defense Art to defend himself.

Yet instead of swallowing him whole, the demon beast simply licked him once with its soft-spined tongue.

It nearly licked Ji Zhaixing from head to toe.

The Wood Defense Art protected against attacks, not licking. His robes were soon soaked damp.

Immediately afterward, the demon beast flopped onto the ground, exposing its fluffy white belly as it rolled around and rubbed itself against Ji Zhaixing.

It was so enormous that Ji Zhaixing staggered backward from the force, even having to stabilize himself with a spell to avoid being knocked over.

Still unsatisfied, the demon beast changed positions repeatedly, yet only a little of its fur managed to brush against the young sword cultivator's chest.

It instantly let out several aggrieved howls.

Ji Zhaixing: "..."

The demon beast looked extremely eager to shove its entire body into Ji Zhaixing's arms.

After a bit of effort, it clung onto Ji Zhaixing. Its body shrank while its limbs lengthened. That snow-white fur transformed into soft silver fabric.

It had actually transformed into a humanoid form identical in size to the black-haired sword cultivator.

The demon beast raised its eyes. Some beastly features—its ears and tail—had not fully transformed yet and drooped adorably.

Like this, it happily rolled into the young sword cultivator's arms, rubbing against him while letting out an excited little "Mii!"

Ji Zhaixing staggered back another two steps under the weight.

"..."

Though it looked cute and obedient, it still retained the original weight of its beast form.

Heavy. Extremely heavy.

Heavy enough that it knocked Ji Zhaixing's sword to the ground and left faint bruises blooming along his wrist.

It was probably at that moment that Ji Zhaixing heard a voice from afar.

The voice was clear and pleasant, tinged with slight astonishment.

"Mo Xuan, you transformed?"

Ji Zhaixing thought the voice sounded strangely familiar.

That figure slowly approached and effortlessly lifted the transformed demon beast away.

He held the beast by the back of its neck as though it weighed nothing at all, while the creature flailed its limbs in the air in a rather ridiculous manner.

Ji Zhaixing slowly looked up and saw silver hair framing the face of a handsome man.

Almost instinctively, he picked up his sword from the ground and pointed it toward the other man. His dark eyes sank into wary coldness.

Ji Zhaixing had never expected to meet him here.

"Yun Shu."

He softly spoke the name.

The man opposite him seemed startled.

Though he too possessed silver hair white as frost and snow, dark eyes cold and detached as though indifferent toward all living beings, and a face almost identical to Patriarch Yun Shu's—

His reactions were far more expressive than Yun Shu's, making him seem unexpectedly approachable.

The man even tilted his head slightly and smiled at Ji Zhaixing.

"Is that the name you've given me?"

His eyes lit up brightly.

"Then from now on, my name will be Yun Shu."

That face paired with such a tone...

It made Ji Zhaixing feel deeply strange.

But that Elder Yun Shu would either stab him with a sword upon seeing him or regard him as nothing more than dust beneath his feet. There was no need for him to care, much less pretend not to know him in order to deceive him.

Ji Zhaixing even began considering the possibility that Yun Shu had lost his memory—

Though the possibility was extremely small.

He truly could not imagine what kind of danger could leave a Soul Splitting Realm cultivator appearing so defenseless before him.

Ji Zhaixing lowered his sword. Rather than answering the man's question, he instead asked:

"Where is this place?"

Yun Shu paused.

It seemed he simply did not know how to refuse people.

In a subdued voice, he replied, "I don't know."

"From the moment I became conscious, I've been here."

For thousands upon thousands of years, he had always remained in this place.

The demon beast called Mo Xuan, which had been struggling in the man's grasp, quieted after being lightly patted. It withdrew its flailing claws and softly let out another "Mii," gazing at Ji Zhaixing with watery eyes.

"You are the first human cultivator I have ever seen here," the man added gently. "And you even made Mo Xuan transform. He always refused to take human form because he thought humans were ugly and strange. But after seeing you, he seems to think it's not so bad."

"As thanks, I can grant you one request..."

Ji Zhaixing said, "Send me away from here."

Yun Shu froze.

For some reason, seeing Ji Zhaixing's cold and distant expression suddenly made his chest ache strangely.

As though this person ought to have treated him gently and warmly.

Not like now, where even one extra glance seemed filled with annoyance.

He looked at Ji Zhaixing and swallowed back the question he had wanted to ask about his name.

Softly, he replied:

"...Alright."

......

A night of grand dreams.

When Ji Zhaixing opened his eyes, he still clearly remembered everything that had happened the night before.

The demon beast that had transformed into human form.

And the man who looked exactly like Yun Shu.

Several cultivators nearby had already awakened, Lu Dengming among them. Others gradually woke as well.

Fang Jian loudly complained, "Why did we have to run into Retrospection Night? So annoying."

"I dreamed I was chased by demonic cultivators all night. I'm exhausted from running."

"I got swallowed alive by demon beasts in my dream and chewed into pieces—ugh, it hurts so much. Why does my body still ache?"

"You don't know, last night..."

"Daoist Ji." Lu Dengming walked over and sat beside him. "What did you dream about? Your complexion looks poor. Would you like two Soul-Calming Pills?"

Could it be that Yun Shu was his terrifying nightmare? Ji Zhaixing thought.

Though things between him and Yun Shu were awkward and conflicted, it was not to the point where he feared him.

"I dreamed of being chased by a demon beast and bitten once," Ji Zhaixing replied. "There is no need for Daoist Lu to worry."

But none of them expected the second Retrospection Night to arrive so quickly.