As he spoke, Demon Lord Baili once again started picking through Yuehua’s relatives. “Which one is closest to you? Let me see.”
“I’ll cultivate, I’ll definitely cultivate diligently.”
Yuehua was on the verge of collapse. She couldn’t bear to see her loved ones die at the hands of this demon because of her.
“Be good, won’t you?”
“In that case, let’s set a small goal.”
“If you can break through a realm within six months while at the Foundation Establishment stage, then I won’t kill them.”
“For every month you complete my task early, I’ll let one person go. But if you’re late by even a month, I’ll randomly pick one of your relatives to become my dinner.”
After hearing that, Yuehua focused all her attention on cultivation.
According to the time set by Baili, she reached mid-stage Foundation Establishment in just four months. Baili Demon Lord randomly released two people. Then, to reach late-stage Foundation Establishment, she took only five months. Baili Demon Lord again released two people. To break through to the Golden Core stage, she spent one year and eight months. Given the two-year deadline from Baili, she was four months ahead of schedule, and he released four more people.
However, after reaching the Golden Core stage, the time required for cultivation increased significantly. But every time, she still managed to finish ahead of schedule. Thirty years passed, and by the time she was thirty-five, she had reached peak Nascent Soul stage. Her great-grandmother and great-grandfather had died of old age, and the rest of her relatives had all been gradually sent back to the human world by Baili Demon Lord.
Around this time, chaos erupted in the Demon Realm, and they launched an attack on the cultivation world. Many demon cultivators and demon clans, led by the Demon Ancestor Chu Tiange, went to war with righteous cultivators. It was during this chaos that she managed to escape.
With joy written all over her face, she returned to the Yue family estate. But the plaque of the Yue Manor had already been changed to another family’s name.
“Ah, you mean the Yue family?” someone said. “About twenty years ago, the entire Yue family suddenly disappeared one day. Their whereabouts are still unknown.” “That’s what the old residents of the manor say.”
Yuehua asked in disbelief, “In all these thirty years, not a single Yue family member has appeared?”
“Not even a body was found.”
Learning the truth left Yuehua deeply shocked. Maybe… her family had just moved away?
For a long time afterward, she kept searching for news about the Yue family.
Until, on the battlefield between the immortals and demons, she encountered one of Baili Demon Lord’s subordinates. That demon cultivator was on the verge of death, and before dying, he revealed the truth.
“The Demon Lord never let your family go. Every time you thought someone had been released, they were immediately captured again and made into the Demon Lord’s dinner.”
“Also, don’t think you can run. All of us from Baili’s line—both demon cultivators and demon clans—have memorized your face.”
Upon learning the truth, Yuehua broke down completely.
All of it—the pain, the hatred, the truth—was burned into Yuehua’s heart and mind. It was also then that she made a vow to kill all the demons in the world.
From that moment on, she shaped her cultivation path. Her Dao Heart was: to slay demons. She was born in this life to kill demons, and she would die for the same cause.
Having clarified her cultivation goal, Yuehua could already feel the threshold of the Divine Transformation stage. It wouldn’t be long before she broke through.
That night, as usual, Gu Zi was carefully preparing spiritual tea for his Senior Brother Lin Mo. Just at that moment, the hidden Ye Kai secretly sprinkled “Demon-Burning Powder” into Lin Mo’s cup. The white powder dissolved instantly upon contact with the tea.
Gu Zi’s cultivation level was too low to sense anything unusual. He carried the freshly brewed tea slowly toward Lin Mo’s room.
Meanwhile, Ye Kai spoke with the girl inside his ring.
“Wanwan, are you sure that powder won’t be discovered?”
“Don’t worry,” she replied. “The raw ingredients for the powder all come from top-grade demon plants in the Demon Realm.”
“It’s colorless and tasteless when mixed in tea. For demons and demon cultivators, it’s a nourishing tonic.”
“But for a cultivator, it will ruin their foundation and secretly generate demonic energy within their body—and the person won’t even notice it.”
Upon hearing this, Ye Kai’s face showed a lecherous grin.
“Not only can it ruin Lin Mo’s foundation, it can also seed demonic energy in him. This is practically the miracle drug I’ve dreamed of!”
“Wanwan, having your help is truly the greatest fortune of my life!”
Wanwan smiled on the surface, “I feel the same.” But in her heart, she thought: Humans are just humans. Their minds are far too simple.
Ye Kai’s nature did suit that of a demon. But unfortunately, his brain didn’t seem to match. But it didn’t matter anymore—either way, he would be reduced to fuel for her cultivation in the end.
“It’s you I’m curious about. Why haven’t you gone to see your old flame?” Wanwan asked with a teasing smile.
“Old flame?” “You mean Shen Ke’er?” Ye Kai asked. “Of course. Who else could it be?”
Hearing the girl in the ring speak that way, Ye Kai assumed she was feeling jealous. He quickly tried to explain, “Wanwan, don’t overthink it. I only pretended to be close with her—it was all an act.”
“I never even touched her body. I got close to her just to mess with the people on Qingzhu Peak and to stir things up between her and Lin Mo.”
“Oh?” Wanwan said with meaning in her voice. “So, you don’t actually like her? But she’s seriously ill now—on the verge of death. She doesn’t have many days left, and you’re not even checking on her?”
“How could I ever like that stupid woman?” Ye Kai said with disgust. “Once she’s served her final purpose, she can rot for all I care. I have absolutely no interest in a woman who throws herself at others.”
Hearing that, Wanwan laughed even more happily.
She was delighted not because Ye Kai was distancing himself from Shen Ke’er, but because Ye Kai was so utterly rotten—bad to the core, indiscriminately cruel to both people and beasts.
Only Ye Kai was still naively convinced that he’d won Wanwan’s heart.
These days, back in the sect, every night Lin Mo would tell Gu Qingxue and Qu Ruyan stories from previous lifetimes or old folk tales.
Tonight, he had just finished the story of Fa Hai and Xiao Qing & Xiao Bai.
Gu Qingxue asked curiously, “So in the end, did Xiao Qing manage to break Fa Hai’s spiritual resolve?” “And why were there two snake tails in the water? What were they doing?”
Lin Mo chuckled and replied, “That last question, Qingxue—you got it right.” “Huh? What did I say?” Gu Qingxue looked completely confused.
Lin Mo said no more. Some things could only be grasped intuitively, not spoken aloud. Whether Qingxue could understand would depend on her own comprehension.
In her cat form, Qu Ruyan drooled and asked, “Senior Brother, would Xiao Qing and Xiao Bai taste good?”
Lin Mo, exasperated, pinched Qu Ruyan’s cat head. “Is eating all you ever think about?”
He was truly speechless—just yesterday when he told the story of Journey to the West, Qu Ruyan had asked whether Zhu Bajie would taste good.
How would he know that?
As he spoke, Lin Mo’s mouth started to feel dry, and right on cue, Gu Zi gently entered the room. “Senior Brother, the spiritual tea I prepared for you is ready.”
Perfect timing.
Once Gu Zi came in, Lin Mo picked up the teacup and drank several gulps.
As soon as the tea went down, he felt an incredible sense of comfort throughout his body. His back no longer ached, his legs weren’t sore, and even the spiritual and demonic energy within his Golden Core began to grow stronger and denser.
Seeing Lin Mo’s surprised expression, Gu Zi felt confused and asked, “Senior Brother, did I not brew the tea well?”
“It’s excellent—absolutely excellent,” Lin Mo replied, though he was puzzled inside.
It was the same kind of spiritual tea as before, and the taste hadn’t changed. Why was the effect so powerful this time?
Could this batch of tea have grown in some celestial spring of the Immortal Realm?
Once Gu Zi left, Lin Mo immediately sat down to meditate and absorb the essence of the tea.
That session lasted the entire night.
In the days that followed, Lin Mo drank the same spiritual tea every day, and it continued to have this miraculous effect.
He had just stepped into the early Golden Core stage. Normally, it would take at least half a year of hard cultivation to reach mid-stage. But after only a few days of drinking the tea, he broke through.
Hidden in the shadows, Ye Kai was completely dumbfounded.
“Wanwan, why do I feel like Lin Mo’s aura has grown stronger? Did he break through?” Wanwan also sounded surprised. “Seems like it.”
Ye Kai began to panic. “Didn’t you say that the powder from that demonic plant you got from the Demon Realm would damage his foundation? Why has he broken through instead???”
“Shut up,” Wanwan said coldly.
Ye Kai immediately fell silent.
He still needed the girl’s help, so of course he had to stay on her good side. If he made her angry, it wouldn’t end well for him.
Wanwan was confused too. She didn’t know what had gone wrong. Could it be that the powder she carried had lost its effect?
In the end, Wanwan blamed the outcome on one thing:
“The powder must’ve expired from not being used for too long,” she said.
“Right, right,” Ye Kai quickly agreed, giving Wanwan a way to save face.
“Still, I really don’t get it. Why did Lin Mo break through like that…”
Ye Kai added another sentence.
“What’s so strange about that? That person just has good talent and aptitude,” Wanwan said with understanding.
“Anyway, don’t let Lin Mo get off so easily,” she added. “There are plenty of methods—we just need to switch tactics and let Lin Mo become tainted with demonic energy.”
“For the next few days, keep a low profile. Until Lin Mo is tainted, don’t make any sudden moves.”
“From what I can see, your foundation has mostly recovered. Once Lin Mo is infected with demonic energy, you can finish up the follow-up work.”
Naturally, Ye Kai listened to Wanwan.
And indeed, his own foundation had more or less fully recovered.
Even during cultivation now, he no longer felt pain in his meridians.
All of this was thanks to the methods Wanwan had taught him.
He continued hiding at Qingzhu Peak for some time, waiting for the right opportunity. Finally, Ye Kai found another chance.
Because Lin Mo had previously gifted a piece of treasure from the flood dragon to Duan Susu, she now wanted to return the favor.
She’d been holed up in the artifact refinement room for the past few days, intending to craft a magic item for Lin Mo.
After much thought, she decided to forge a ring that could enhance spiritual energy absorption.
Coincidentally, when she returned to the refining room, she found a spirit-gathering stone.
Hidden inside the artifact room, Ye Kai asked, “Wanwan, this time there won’t be any problems, right?”
The girl inside the ring replied confidently, “Absolutely not. Soon, I’ll transfer a portion of my cultivation and seal my demonic energy into that ring.”
“As long as Lin Mo wears it regularly, the demonic energy will definitely enter his body.”
Ye Kai and Wanwan didn’t hesitate.
While Duan Susu was resting, Ye Kai carefully brought the ring containing Wanwan close to the one Duan Susu was crafting for Lin Mo.
A wave of demonic energy poured from his ring into the new one intended for Lin Mo.
“This time, there’s no way it can fail—unless Lin Mo refuses to accept it,” Ye Kai reasoned.
And he truly believed that.
He watched with his own eyes as Wanwan sealed the demonic energy into the ring.
If Lin Mo wore that ring and still came out fine… then he’d eat shit.
A few days later, Duan Susu personally delivered the completed ring to Lin Mo’s small courtyard.
As usual, after finishing his daily cultivation during the day, Lin Mo spent his evenings either playing chess with Gu Qingxue or teasing the cat-shaped Qu Ruyan.
“Senior Brother, I’ve come to return the favor,” Duan Susu walked up to Lin Mo and presented the refined ring.
“This ring can help you absorb spiritual energy more efficiently.”
Lin Mo thought of the high-grade spirit-gathering stone he already had. Honestly, the ring wasn’t of much use to him.
But since it was a kind gesture from his junior sister, of course, he accepted it.
