Inside the cave dwelling, the light was dim.
Yue Qingfeng looked at the figure walking ahead of him and, unable to hold back any longer, said, "Fellow Cultivator Cangshu, perhaps this is a misunderstanding. I have been on Mount Chongyang for so long and have never found any traces of demonic beasts."
Cangshu Bai did not answer, not even bothering to glance back.
He was truly arrogant, especially considering he was in someone else's territory.
Yue Qingfeng frowned slightly. "Fellow Cultivator Cangshu, my master has been in secluded cultivation for many years and is absolutely not involved in the rearing of demonic beasts. When we see him, I ask that you speak to him respectfully."
Faintly, a sneer escaped the white-haired young man.
Yue Qingfeng knew that Cangshu Bai hadn't taken his words to heart at all. His grip on his sword hilt remained tight.
On a stone platform deep within the cave, a gaunt, skeletal figure sat cross-legged.
His features were indiscernible, but an aura of pure righteousness seemed to radiate from him.
Ever since Master Yuwei went into secluded cultivation, only Yue Qingfeng was permitted to enter this cave dwelling when important matters required Master Yuwei's guidance.
Cangshu Bai was only the second person to walk in here since Master Yuwei's seclusion.
Yue Qingfeng was a man who strictly adhered to etiquette. He stopped in his tracks, advancing no further, and bowed to the meditating figure. "Your disciple greets you, Master."
The figure spoke, "Please step forward for a moment, young friend."
Cangshu Bai did not lower his guard at the invitation. His steps were incredibly steady as he slowly walked forward.
Until that "righteous" figure suddenly lunged forward.
The figure that originally belonged to Master Yuwei instantly shed its Daoist robe, transforming into a sky-blotting black mist of evil. A foul-smelling, malevolent aura wrapped in bone-chilling coldness rushed straight at his face.
"A rat hiding its head and tail."
Instead of retreating, Cangshu Bai advanced. The blood-red malevolent aura that had been lingering in his palm suddenly surged, condensing into a solid black spear that swept out like a soaring dragon.
With a crisp clash, the malevolent aura and the black mist collided violently, sending shockwaves rolling through the air.
Cangshu Bai sharply twisted his wrist, and the spear shattered the black mist with irresistible force, scattering it in all directions.
The evil entity let out a shrill shriek, its form twisting as it attempted to condense once again.
Right at that moment, the sound of rushing wind arose from behind.
An evil force even fiercer than the black mist launched a sneak attack, tearing through the air to pierce straight toward the back of Cangshu Bai's heart.
"Fellow Cultivator, watch out!"
Yue Qingfeng kindly warned him, his voice urgent and sincere, looking entirely like a loyal ally rushing to help. He pushed off the ground, leaping forward with his sword in hand, its tassel fluttering with his movements, seemingly intending to block this fatal ambush for Cangshu Bai.
But unexpectedly, the moment Yue Qingfeng rushed close, a strange blue-black glint flashed in his eyes, and the longsword in his hand abruptly changed direction.
No longer aimed at the evil force behind them, it instead pierced viciously and with flawless precision right into Cangshu Bai's right shoulder.
The cold blade pierced through flesh and blood instantly spurted out, soaking Cangshu Bai's cyan clothes and dripping down the length of the sword.
The blood-red aura surrounding Cangshu Bai suddenly stagnated. He slowly turned his head, his eyes meeting Yue Qingfeng's.
In the depths of Yue Qingfeng's eyes, there was no longer a trace of his usual righteous observance. All that remained was a vortex formed by the power of an illusion, deep and treacherous, carrying a soul-stealing beguilement that instantly entangled Cangshu Bai's divine sense.
The next moment, Cangshu Bai felt the world spin. The dimness of the cave, the severe pain in his shoulder, and the malevolent aura around him all vanished completely.
An illusion suddenly arose.
He stood in his small home in Hulu Village. Mu Ran was sitting under a tree, boredly counting the ants on the ground.
Seeing him appear, her eyes lit up. "Jinzhi, you're back!"
Mu Ran lifted her skirt and ran over, her eyes sparkling, her features carrying the gentleness he knew so well. She said softly, "I'm so bored being home alone. Don't leave again, stay here with me, okay?"
The ruthlessness in Cangshu Bai's expression disappeared. Gazing at the girl's face, he said, "Okay."
Outside the illusion, the dimness inside the cave remained suffocating.
Cangshu Bai maintained the posture of having a sword thrust into his shoulder, freezing in place, devoid of the icy ferocity he had shown while fighting the evil entity just moments ago.
His head hung low, the loose hair on his forehead completely obscuring his eyes so no expression could be seen. Only the blood continuously seeping from his shoulder dripped slowly down the cold blade, blooming into a small pool of dark red on the ground.
His divine sense was trapped in the illusion. He was as deadly still as a sealed stone statue, completely sunken into this woven land of tenderness, without the slightest awareness of the outside world.
The black mist that had originally been scattered by the spear slowly condensed back into a black humanoid figure. It coughed and said, "I thought you were going to watch me die without ever intending to make a move."
Yue Qingfeng withdrew the sword in his hand, his fingertips gently wiping away the blood droplets on the blade. He stood tall and elegant, still maintaining his appearance of a gentle, upright man who strictly followed etiquette, as if that ruthless sneak attack had never happened.
He looked up at the figure formed by the black mist, his tone calm and unrippled. "I do not like doing such things."
"Have you played the good guy for so long that you've forgotten your own identity!" A furious voice came from the black mist. "You are me, and I am you. Even if you've worn human skin for so long, you cannot change this fact. If I die, don't even think about living!"
Yue Qingfeng did not speak.
The black mist continued, "Do you think changing your identity can erase the fact that you devoured your disciples to survive in the past? Whether it's Master Yuwei, Yue Qingfeng, or the many generations of disciples before them, their deaths are all inextricably tied to you!"
Yue Qingfeng remained silent.
The black mist gritted its teeth.
"It must be that disciple named Wang Aotian who escaped a thousand years ago. He discovered our plan and even stole the Life-Borrowing Scroll technique, committing murder and possessing bodies on the outside. That's what drew Cangshu Bai's attention! It's all your fault. If you hadn't held back and let him escape with his life back then, we wouldn't have attracted so much trouble now!"
"First it was Cangshu Linfeng, then Cangshu Bai, and also that Cangshu Fenming who escaped a few days ago. Perhaps we'll even draw the attention of the entire Zhenyue Mountain City later. However... fortune favors the bold."
"If it weren't for this, we wouldn't have obtained such a fine body now."
Greed bled into the black mist's voice. It circled around Cangshu Bai and laughed aloud in excitement.
"Originally, I thought the risk of trying to get his body was too great, but I didn't expect him to deliver himself right to our door. It's a good thing you've played the role of a good-natured saint so well and for so long, allowing him to completely lower his guard and be ambushed by you. Otherwise, since neither of us is at our peak, we might not have actually been able to handle him."
The black mist drifted back to Yue Qingfeng's side. "Hey, for all these years, I've been the one tirelessly rearing demonic beasts, researching how to reconstruct bodies, and striving for immortality. But considering you put in some effort today, I won't say you were completely useless. Let's get one thing straight, though: this body is mine."
Yue Qingfeng cast a cold glance over. "Have you forgotten who the master is?"
