Chapter 35

Chapter 35: Setting Conditions

Second Lady Hu’s eyes shone with feverish joy. She extended her divine sense, reaching for the Devil-Suppressing Cauldron.

A treasure like this had long since developed a spirit. It instinctively resisted her intrusion, its light pulsing with warning.

Second Lady Hu snorted and forced her way through the restriction.

The Devil-Suppressing Cauldron’s power had already been drained heavily by the Parasol Tree. Ling Bu Fei didn’t know how to control it. After a brief struggle, it was pried open.

In an instant, the world went dark.

Illusions unfolded—layer upon layer—so vivid they blurred the line between memory and reality.

Storm clouds churned overhead. Beneath a jagged cliff, the black waters of the Ming River roared past, soaking countless bones and scraps of flesh.

On the far bank, misshapen Devil Creatures crawled from the clouds and surged toward the Nine Provinces.

Wave after wave of sect disciples charged to meet them.

On the cliff stood a heroic-looking woman, belly swollen with pregnancy. She frowned and raised the banner in her hand—

Only for someone to grasp her wrist.

A man who looked almost exactly like Ling Bu Fei said in a low voice, “Don’t move. I’ll go.”

Then came slaughter without end.

Spells streaked across the battlefield. Bodies fell—Devil Creatures and cultivators alike. Even the waters of the Ming River seemed to glow red.

One horned Devil Creature was the most terrifying. Wherever it moved, no disciple could stop it.

When it charged toward the cliff, Immortal Lord Ling Yun Zhou shouted, “Stop it!”

The Devil Creature spat a cloud of black mist.

A female cultivator beside Ling Yun Zhou yelled, “Watch out!”

Dense strands of Red Thread appeared around her, nearly weaving into a net to block the mist—

But the corrosive power was beyond imagination. The Red Thread melted in an instant.

The Devil Creature struck with its palm.

“Ah!”

The female cultivator’s protective glow shattered. She dropped—falling straight into the Ming River.

“A Chou!”

Second Lady Hu cried out.

The illusion shattered.

Darkness peeled away. The Devil-Suppressing Cauldron’s glow faded, and it sank swiftly back into Ling Bu Fei’s dantian.

Second Lady Hu stood there for a long moment, unmoving. Tears gathered in her eyes until they spilled.

The Red Threads dispersed. Ling Bu Fei collapsed, his legs giving out. Bai Meng Jin caught him before his head hit the ground.

“Do you have medicine?” she asked softly.

Ling Bu Fei nodded, trembling with exhaustion. With his last bit of strength, he fished a jade bottle from his sleeve.

Bai Meng Jin tipped a pill into her palm and fed it to him, then took his hand again, sending her power in to help him circulate.

With her support, the medicine dissolved quickly. Color returned to his face.

Ling Bu Fei lifted his gaze toward Second Lady Hu. “Was that your daughter?”

Second Lady Hu didn’t answer. She wiped her tears with the back of her hand, jaw tight.

The silence was answer enough.

“So you kidnapped me,” Ling Bu Fei said evenly, “because you wanted to know whether my father was responsible for your daughter’s death.”

Second Lady Hu still didn’t reply. She turned and walked out of the hollow alone.

Neither Bai Meng Jin nor Ling Bu Fei moved.

They were still trapped in the weight of that battlefield—the roar of the Ming River, the flash of spells, the moment a person fell and didn’t rise again.

After a long while, Ling Bu Fei spoke. “After that war, my father disappeared. Some people said he fell into the Ming River. Others said he defected to the Devil Clan.”

His voice was flat, practiced. “By coincidence, the last person responsible for inspecting the Devil-Sealing Barrier was my father. So some people decided he must be the traitor.”

“So the people last night were…” Bai Meng Jin prompted.

“Half and half,” Ling Bu Fei said. “Some of them lost family or disciples in that war. They want the truth—and revenge. Others believe the rumors. They think my father left something on me that can break the Devil-Sealing Barrier… or help them go further.”

Bai Meng Jin understood at once. “So you’re a priceless treasure. And everyone wants to grab you the moment you step outside.”

Her phrasing made Ling Bu Fei huff a laugh. “And everyone wants to beat me up too.”

They shuffled back to the straw pile. Bai Meng Jin asked, “Does it still hurt?”

Ling Bu Fei shook his head, then looked at her oddly. “Something does bother me.”

“What?”

“That was the first time I’ve ever felt Dao Arts power circulate,” he said slowly. “How did you do it?”

His acupoints had all been devilized. If he tried to circulate spiritual power on his own, his meridians would shatter—crippling him, or killing him.

So he’d never once tried.

Bai Meng Jin smiled faintly. “Didn’t Second Lady Hu already say it? I have a Jade-Tempered Body. And I reached the Golden Core Stage with a devil heart.”

“So?”

“The Jade-Tempered Body is naturally pure,” Bai Meng Jin explained. “It isn’t corroded by devil qi. It can hold both spiritual power and devil energy.”

She tilted her head. “In other words, if I were the one flooded with devil qi back then, I wouldn’t end up with severed meridians like you. I’d leap straight into being a high-level cultivator.”

Ling Bu Fei stared. His expression was a mess of disbelief and envy. “What kind of chosen one is this?! No wonder you’re already at the Golden Core Stage. Did you get your cultivation that way too?”

Bai Meng Jin nodded.

Ling Bu Fei groaned to the sky. “Why couldn’t it be me?”

“My spiritual power is special,” Bai Meng Jin went on, “so it can pass through your devilized acupoints without trouble. Just now, I wrapped yours in mine, and it could circulate normally.”

Silence.

Then Ling Bu Fei grabbed her wrist, suddenly urgent. “So from now on, you can help me cultivate too? I won’t be a cripple anymore?”

“More than that.” Bai Meng Jin’s voice grew quieter, but steadier. “I have a devil heart. I can control devil qi. I might even be able to pull the devil qi out of your acupoints entirely. If that happens, you’ll be normal again.”

Ling Bu Fei froze.

Joy and disbelief fought across his face until he looked almost dazed. “How could something this good ever happen to me?”

“Otherwise,” Bai Meng Jin said, “why would Second Lady Hu say we’re a perfect match?”

Ling Bu Fei snapped back to himself. His eyes burned with sudden determination. “Don’t go to the Cinnabar Cloud Palace. Come to the Limitless Sect. The Cinnabar Cloud Palace can offer you whatever it wants—I can offer the same. Better.”

That was exactly what Bai Meng Jin had been waiting to hear.

Once she’d been certain her life had restarted, she’d had no desire to go to the Cinnabar Cloud Palace. But the Bai Family relied on it, and Perfected Chang Ling had stepped in to help. She’d had no clean way to refuse.

Her plan had been to slip away on the road—quietly, carefully.

Instead, she ran straight into Young Sect Master Ling.

Now everything fit.

If she latched onto him, she could shake off the Cinnabar Cloud Palace and gain a powerful ally. Later—when she dealt with Ning Yan Zhi—she wouldn’t be alone.

The thought made her want to grin.

But she didn’t agree right away. She only looked at Young Sect Master Ling and smiled with meaning.

“What?” Ling Bu Fei said, suddenly wary. “You have conditions? Say them.”

He waved a hand, generous to the point of swagger.

Bai Meng Jin said slowly, “I’m afraid you can’t.”

Ling Bu Fei scoffed. “Even if I don’t have that much real power yet, I can still make arrangements for you. Spirit stones, magic treasures—say the word.”

“I don’t want spirit stones or magic treasures,” Bai Meng Jin said. “My condition is something someone already brought up last night.”

Ling Bu Fei froze. He searched his memory hard, then frowned. “What are you talking about? Didn’t they just want to capture me last night?”

“Think further back,” she prompted.

Further back—

Oh.

Ji Xing Ge.

Bai Meng Jin’s smile turned sweet. “That’s right. I also want to be the future Sect Master’s Madam.”

She held his gaze. “Young Sect Master Ling, can you make that happen?”

Almost there.

Almost there.

She could definitely turn this around.