Chapter 0009

Chapter 9: The Hundred-Year-Old Girl Who Can’t Help Herself

Zhou Tong lifted Mu Rong Ya and helped her sit upright with effort. “Master, I am going to help you with Suppressing the Heart Demon,” he said, pointing at the sky. “Can you block that Heavenly Mirror? I do not like being watched.”

“That is easy. Even if I am a spent arrow, I can still destroy a mirror,” said Mu Rong Ya. Her eyes sharpened. Power began to gather in the distance.

“Don’t you dare!” Mo Liu Su snapped. The Heavenly Mirror was a sect treasure. If it was destroyed, she would be punished. But if she withdrew it, she could no longer watch Zhou Tong. She weighed the choices, then made her decision.

“Don’t get smug,” she said. “The Joyous Union Sect will disappear before long. I want to see who can protect a loser like you then.” With that, she removed the Heavenly Mirror. Mu Rong Ya coughed blood again, and her aura grew dim.

At the same time, black smoke seeped from Mu Rong Ya’s body, filled with cruel, poisonous rage. It was a demonic obstruction, the sign of a heart devil made real.

“Little one, step back,” said Mu Rong Ya in a worried voice. “Do not touch this. It kills the spirit. Anyone with weak will can be destroyed in a breath.”

“Who do you think I am? A mere heart devil is nothing to me,” said Zhou Tong. He didn’t hesitate. He reached out and touched Mu Rong Ya.

“Don’t… ah!” Mu Rong Ya’s face changed. She wanted to stop him, but she felt two hot hands press against her soft waist. In a flash, her whole body trembled like it had been shocked. Maybe because of the heart devil, her body was very sensitive. Her soul-stealing eyes grew misty, and she looked as lovely as a dewy flower.

She was about to get angry when a calm, powerful spiritual force surged from Zhou Tong. In an instant, it pressed the heart devil down. Relief spread through her chest. “This… this is your spiritual power?” she asked, truly surprised. It was pure and strong, the perfect enemy of any heart devil.

She did not yet know that this was only the tip of Zhou Tong’s strength. In his last life, he had been one step from the Emperor Realm, and his spiritual power had already crossed into it. In this new life, his cultivation base did not carry over, but his spiritual power remained whole. In today’s world, he was first. Almost no one could claim second.

“Little one…” Mu Rong Ya’s lips moved, but waves rolled in her heart. [Could this child be my fated lucky star? Maybe the Joyous Union Sect is not doomed.] At that thought, she couldn’t help but smile.

For an instant, heaven and earth lost their color. Her unmatched charm seemed to take form, like ripples of light. It brushed the wild grass, the rotting wood, the barren ground, and the long, empty sky. Zhou Tong was startled to see life stirring in the very air around them. It broke common sense. [The Joyous Union Heavenly Art can move the world like this?]

He shook his head a little. [If the art were really this strong, the Joyous Union Sect would have become an emperor-level sect long ago. To enchant all things with a smile… perhaps only Mu Rong Ya can do it.]

Steadying his mind, Zhou Tong moved his hands slowly over key points on Mu Rong Ya’s body, weaving spiritual power into her important acupoints.

She shivered and gasped: “Mm… you… little one, be gentler. I can’t take it.”

“Hold on. It will be over soon,” he said. He quickened his pace. Threads of spiritual power drilled into her and stirred the blockage.

“Hah… ah… huff… you brat, don’t go too far… ahhh…” Mu Rong Ya’s reaction grew stronger. She shot Zhou Tong a blaming look full of spring-like charm, as if accusing him of being a rogue.

Zhou Tong scowled and said: “I know a heart devil makes you more sensitive. But you are the sect master of the Joyous Union Sect. Can’t you handle this much stimulation?”

At that, her eyes watered with grievance as she said: “Why are you so fierce? So what if I am the sect master of the Joyous Union Sect? I have lived for over a hundred years, and no man has ever touched me before.”

Zhou Tong froze, mouth open. He never imagined that the sect master of the Joyous Union Sect was actually a hundred-year-old maiden. [This is unreal.]

“Then I will be lighter. Please hang on,” he said. His movements became even gentler, and his focus sharpened so her charm would not distract him.

At first, Mu Rong Ya was tense. But when she saw Zhou Tong was truly saving her with a calm heart, she finally let down her guard. [This little one… he is not like those filthy men. And he is so very cute.] Thinking so, she couldn’t help wanting to reach out and touch his cheek.

“Can’t you behave? Still trying to tease me? Looks like you need to be taught a lesson,” Zhou Tong said with a huff. [She really has no idea how dangerous her charm is. That clean yet alluring air could turn anyone into a beast. Isn’t she afraid I might misbehave?]

“Ah!” Mu Rong Ya squeaked like a startled rabbit and covered her flushed face with both hands. She wanted to hide in the ground.

“I’m back!” the little demoness called just then. She rushed in, rusty cauldron in her left hand and a bundle of herbs in her right. “Are these enough?”

Zhou Tong glanced over them and nodded, and she let out a long breath.

“You really mean to refine a seventh-grade pill? You can refine pills?” she asked.

“Of course,” Zhou Tong said without humility.

“How did I not know that?” she muttered.

“There is a lot you don’t know,” he said.

At that, the little demoness blinked fast. Her long lashes fluttered. One pink cheek puffed up a little. She did not look pleased. Mu Rong Ya couldn’t help laughing. She knew her precious girl was pouting.

“Rise,” Zhou Tong said. Without delay, he exploded with spiritual power and qi at once. In a flash, he lit the Divine Fire and began refining.

“What control,” murmured Mu Rong Ya, her eyes soft as she looked at the little demoness. “Girl, you picked up a treasure.”

Fire wrapped the cauldron. Time beat on. Sweat beaded Zhou Tong’s brow, yet he stayed steady as a mountain. A seventh-grade pill was no challenge to him.

After half a day, the alchemy cauldron trembled. With a bang, the lid blew off and flew away. A stream of brilliant light, mixed with a holy aura, shot out. The little demoness gaped. Even though she knew nothing of pills, she knew he had succeeded.

Rumble. The sky suddenly filled with dark clouds. The earth began to shake. Something was about to happen.

“Careful,” Zhou Tong said, face serious. “When a seventh-grade pill is born, heaven’s lightning and earth’s fire will come.”

…

Meanwhile, in the main hall of the Jade Purity Sect, Mo Liu Su’s face was cold as ice. “That traitor dared to block the Heavenly Mirror. He has no idea how to live,” she said.

“Please calm your anger, Master,” said Tang Qi with a gloating smile. “Without your protection, senior brother cannot do anything.”

“That is true,” Mo Liu Su said. “Do you think he can really make a seventh-grade pill?”

Tang Qi lifted his chin with pride and said: “You worry too much. Senior sister once said my skill in alchemy has already surpassed senior brother’s and that I can be called the first among the young generation. Yet even I can only refine fifth-grade pills. Do you think senior brother could possibly succeed?”