Chapter 70 The Inner Demon Born in Anticipation… part 1
“Where is Wuxiang? Where did you put him?” Yun Xinyang grabbed the Black Mist Bird’s beak, prying it open to look inside. Seeing nothing, he grabbed the bird by the leg, held it upside down, and started shaking it: “Spit him out quickly!”
“Let go, you insolent brat!” The Black Mist Bird hadn’t engaged in close combat with a human in a long time. It had just expended some energy sending Yun Wuxiang into the true inheritance ground to see Daoist Venerable Jiangzi. Suddenly grabbed by Yun Xinyang, it didn’t react immediately. It stared with its bird eyes, being shaken a few times before coming back to its senses.
It twisted its body to break free from Yun Xinyang’s hands, slapping him with a wing and sending him flying. He crashed into a scorched boulder like a bowling ball. With an explosive crack, the boulder shattered into a pile of rubble.
The Black Mist Bird raised a wing to brush off non-existent dust from its body: “Hmph, rude brat.”
Clatter! A hand emerged from the stone pile. Yun Xinyang slowly crawled out of the rubble, shook off the dust on his head, and marvelled: “Huh, it doesn’t hurt that much. I’m still alive. This body is really sturdy.”
[Mind your image, don’t reply, manage your facial expressions. Even though I’ve probably been exposed already, as long as I haven’t been directly unmasked, I can still deceive myself.] 3339 said, fighting a losing battle as it watched Yun Xinyang open his mouth to reply.
[Oh, right, okay.] Yun Xinyang kept his head down, constantly dusting off his clothes while trying to adjust his facial expression.
“How did you get covered in dirt?”
A gentle breeze swept over Yun Xinyang, and the scorched black ash that refused to rub off his clothes vanished without a trace. He looked up at the sound of the question, and the person he was just searching for in the bird’s beak was standing right in front of him: “Wuxiang… who is this?”
His gaze fell on the woman appearing beside Yun Wuxiang, and Yun Xinyang’s tone instantly became polite and respectful.
Yun Wuxiang introduced her: “My First Master.”
‘First Master’ meant that Daoist Venerable Tianqing was his Second Master.
“Greetings, First Master.” Yun Xinyang bowed respectfully, wondering in his heart: First Master… is this fairy surnamed Da (Large)? Is there such a surname?
Daoist Venerable Jiangzi replied faintly: “En, call me Martial Aunt. I see you have some talent as well. Caituan, you teach him to cultivate the Qingdi Record.”
“Who is Caituan? Such an unrefined name, I certainly do not know this bird.” The Black Mist Bird craned its neck high, turning its head to look elsewhere.
“It’s been so many years, Caituan. I thought you would have adapted to this name by now.” Daoist Venerable Jiangzi raised a hand and patted the Black Mist Bird’s head. The Black Mist Bird turned to look at her, narrowed its double pupils, opened its beak, and pecked at her: “You accomplice to a tyrant!”
The beak passed through Daoist Venerable Jiangzi’s illusory fingers, pecking empty air. The Black Mist Bird paused for a moment. The black mist dispersed, revealing a plump, colorful Chongming Bird: “I snatched Tianqing’s disciple away.”
Daoist Venerable Jiangzi: “Did you not ask Tanyun for his Daoist title?”
“That scoundrel Tianqing gave you the Daoist title Tanyun?” Caituan, now free of the black mist, stared at Yun Wuxiang with wide eyes, looking utterly betrayed: “Why didn’t you say so earlier?”
Yun Wuxiang: “You never asked.”
The feathers on Caituan’s neck bristled in anger: “Preposterous! Then what were Song Yilou and I scheming to separate your mortal soul and physical body for?!”
“Because you believed that without the cover of Yun Xinyang’s physical body and soul, I could only cultivate the demonic path. When Song Yilou told you he was willing to fill the void in my soul, were you also moved by it?”
Yun Wuxiang crossed his arms. Catching the shocked and humiliated look in the Chongming Bird’s eyes, he knew his guess was correct.
The corner of his mouth twitched, forming a half-mocking sneer. Touched by Song Yilou? What a massive joke.
Through its double pupils, the Chongming Bird saw a thought flash through Yun Wuxiang’s mind: [Didn’t expect it, did you? There’s actually someone in this world whose wish is to stuff themselves into another person’s soul.]
Caituan: “…” Sick in the head!
Daoist Venerable Jiangzi ended the conversation: “Alright, Tanyun. Leave your brother with Caituan, you can be at ease. Come with me.”
Demonic qi swallowed the figures of the two, and they vanished from the spot. Yun Xinyang and the Chongming Bird looked at each other: “Um, Teacher Caituan…”
“Shut up, I am Mosha Prison! Forget that stupid name!”
The Chongming Bird once again donned the disguise of black mist, glaring fiercely at Yun Xinyang. The boy’s inner thoughts floated across its vision: [The name Caituan is quite cute. Such pretty colorful feathers, why make yourself all pitch-black?]
The Chongming Bird closed its eyes and huffed lightly: “Brat, circulate the first form of the Qingdi Record for me to see.”
Yun Xinyang: “Um, I haven’t read the Qingdi Record, I don’t know how.”
“I have already transmitted the Qingdi Record into your sea of consciousness. Circulate the true qi in your body according to the technique.” Caituan opened one eye, giving Yun Xinyang a look meant for an idiot.
Yun Xinyang returned a look of pure, unadulterated foolishness, blinking shyly and timidly: “Um… where is the sea of consciousness?”
Caituan’s breath hitched. By the Heavenly Dao, what kind of person was it supposed to teach?
Inside his sea of consciousness, 3339 facepalmed. To make a modern person understand these concepts, they would probably have to first forget some knowledge from nine years of compulsory education and let their worldview shatter entirely.
While Caituan was furiously and depressingly guiding Yun Xinyang to shatter his worldview, Daoist Venerable Jiangzi brought Yun Wuxiang back to that battlefield, instantly switching from an amiable Master to a sharp-tongued, strict instructor.
Her gaze swept over Yun Wuxiang’s soul body: “Unstable foundation, unsteady soul, superficial cultivation, crude divine mansion. You have the realm of a Demon Lord but your actual standard is worse than Tianqing when she was still a Heavenly Immortal. One look and it’s obvious you took shortcuts.”
“Drop your realm and cultivate again.”
Yun Wuxiang had no objections to this. He knew his own condition clearly; his cultivation was just stacked up using sacrificial arrays and forbidden techniques—a mere castle in the air.
“I thought this cultivation was just an illusion. Does advancing without even undergoing a lightning tribulation count?”
Daoist Venerable Jiangzi smiled faintly: “Once you leave the Dao Mansion, the lightning tribulation will naturally come looking for you.”
“Whatever your cultivation level was when you entered here, it is best if you are only one major rank higher when you leave. Otherwise, crossing multiple ranks will cause the lightning tribulations to stack. Tianqing did such a foolish thing once—advancing from Earth Immortal to Demon Lord, stacking a Nine-Nine Heavenly Tribulation onto a Demon Lord Great Tribulation. She was almost hacked to ash.”
Recalling the past, a look of nostalgia flashed in Daoist Venerable Jiangzi’s phoenix eyes. She looked at Yun Wuxiang and warned seriously: “You must not learn from her.”
Yun Wuxiang nodded sincerely: “I won’t.”
He couldn’t learn it even if he wanted to. Daoist Venerable Tianqing was almost hacked to ash; if he tried that in his current condition, he would literally be courting death.
Daoist Venerable Jiangzi: “And that Dao Companion of yours. I see your relationship cannot be viewed with common sense. Do you want to remain fused with him like this, or separate him?”
Yun Wuxiang’s eyelashes fluttered slightly. His eyes grew dark and he said firmly: “Dig him out.”
After speaking, he saw a look of understanding appear in the eyes of the noble and distant woman before him. Yun Wuxiang felt she had probably misunderstood something.
“After digging him out, then what? Do you understand the meaning of the words ‘Dao Companion’?”
Daoist Venerable Jiangzi asked. Looking at the first and only disciple she had after her death, her clear, wise eyes pierced through his calm and composed exterior, seeing a soul that was still naive regarding emotions.
“A Dao Companion is someone who will advance and retreat with you throughout the long years of cultivation, accompanying you for the rest of your life.”
“You are still young and do not know the loneliness of passing time. To meet a close friend or Dao Companion who can constantly be by your side is a fortunate thing. You might as well wait and think it through before making a decision.”
Yun Wuxiang had his own ideas: “No need to wait for the future. Dig him out and dissolve the Dao Companion contract. I don’t need a Dao Companion.”
Daoist Venerable Jiangzi looked at him calmly, thinking: I see you are treating my words like wind passing your ears.
“Having him be a pet is fine.” Yun Wuxiang always felt that the most suitable position for Song Yilou was as a pet.
Hearing this, Daoist Venerable Jiangzi’s eyes narrowed slightly, and she let out an ambiguous chuckle: “Still too young.”
I already told you there is a marriage line between you, yet you still want to keep him as a pet.
Never mind, she couldn’t control the affairs of the younger generation too much. A Ghost Gu whose wish was to use himself to complete his Dao Companion’s soul, though a bit extreme, wouldn’t pose a threat to her disciple’s life.
Let them be.
…
Yun Wuxiang nominally had three Masters. The first was the worldly expert from Cangfeng Island, who only left behind a name before committing suicide to reunite with his Dao Companion.
The second was Daoist Venerable Tianqing, whom he met only once, heard her voice but never saw her true face, before she dumped a sect revival quest on him and threw him into the secret realm.
The last was Daoist Venerable Jiangzi. Compared to the first two unreliable individuals, Master Jiangzi was undoubtedly the most competent. For the first time, Yun Wuxiang felt the title ‘Master’ wasn’t just a name; it was actually useful.
Black chains clashed with a spear, coiling around the spearhead to force it down. One foot stepped on the chained weapon, leaping up to dodge a long whip attacking from behind.
The whip struck the red-haired Flame Demon wielding the spear. The Flame Demon hastily ducked down. In that gap, Yun Wuxiang, leaping high off the spear, turned around and locked his gaze on the ambusher behind him. The chains shot out, rushing towards the target.
“Azure Heaven Overturning Rain, All Beings Bow Down.” Demonic qi transformed into dense, fine needles, sweeping outwards in all directions like scattering flowers in the rain.
Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!
“Wow, amazing! AOE sweeping attack! Wuxiang is so awesome!” Yun Xinyang applauded and cheered.
A pair of double pupils lit up in the darkness behind him, and a wing spread open, slapping the back of his head.
“Have you memorized the meridian pathways? Are you proficient in circulating the second form of the Qingdi Record? You come here to watch others cultivate when your own homework isn’t done. If you had half of Tanyun’s diligence, why worry about not learning the Qingdi Record!”
“Wah! Ow! Teacher, I was wrong, stop slapping, stop slapping! Don’t hit my head, what if you make me stupid?!”
“You are already stupid enough! Maybe hitting you will open your mind!”
Caituan gnashed its teeth as it slapped him, delivering a strike with every pause in its sentence.
Time in the Mosha Prison was controlled by Caituan, who could adjust it at will. So, after Daoist Venerable Jiangzi said, “Tanyun’s combat awareness is acceptable, but he lacks combat experience. Caituan, find him some opponents.”
Time reversed. The demons who were mostly dead came back to life to serve as Yun Wuxiang’s sparring partners. Yun Wuxiang’s own cultivation reverted to its original point, but Song Yilou’s soul body was not separated from him.
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