When Destiny Brings the Demon

After leaving the pool, Sima Jiao returned to his residence at White Deer Cliff. He didn’t deliberately dry himself, but as he walked, the moisture on his body naturally evaporated, as if some unseen fire burned within him.

His expression was dark, brows tightly furrowed, with faint red veins visible in his pitch-black eyes. White Deer Cliff, usually teeming with spiritual creatures, had fallen into an eerie silence. Every living being with even a hint of awareness could sense an oppressive presence, instinctively holding their breath. The white deer in the mountains trembled as they crouched low to the ground, while the cranes that soared above the clouded peaks descended into the pine forests, not daring to take flight again—only gazing from afar at the palace at the heart of White Deer Cliff.

Inside the palace, Sima Jiao pressed a pale hand against the jade-tiled floor. Instantly, crimson flames surged from his palm, spreading outward. In mere moments, the hard jade began to melt like ice meeting fire, dissolving into a sizable pool at the center of the chamber. Standing at the edge, Sima Jiao stretched his fingers toward the window and made a grasping motion. The white mist shrouding the entire cliff stirred, pouring into the empty pool. As the mist gathered, it condensed into icy, frigid water.

Still clad in the same robes, Sima Jiao stepped into the freezing pool and submerged himself beneath the surface.

Liao Tingyan, soaking in the open-air flower pool, paused her singing when she suddenly felt the temperature around her rise. Even the white mist hovering above the water had noticeably thinned. The air was thick with an unnatural stillness, and the spiritual flowers beside her trembled without wind, shedding petals onto the water’s surface.

She scratched her cheek and resumed her bath-time singing. After finishing, she returned to her room to sleep. Truthfully, White Deer Cliff was far more comfortable than the Central Tower. The furnishings in her room were exquisite, and the bed was especially luxurious—though she had some reservations about the rose-red bed curtains. Lying on the enormous, cloud-like bed adorned with floral embroidery and drawing those delicate rose-red curtains around her made her feel like some sort of ostentatious seductress.

Assuming that Big Black Brother had already drunk his fill and wouldn’t come looking for a midnight snack, Liao Tingyan securely closed all the doors and windows. Yet, in the dead of night, she was roused from sleep—not by Big Black, but by an icy chill. It felt as though someone had aimed an air conditioner’s vent directly at her head, jolting her awake.

Outside, rain poured down. The windows were wide open, the door ajar—and beside her lay another person. Liao Tingyan barely stifled a scream, nearly biting her tongue in the process, because the texture of the hair beneath her fingers told her exactly who it was: Sima Jiao, the man who held her life and livelihood in his hands.

This ancestor of a man had somehow slipped in without her noticing and now lay sprawled across her bed as if it were the most natural thing in the world. Though still fully clothed, Liao Tingyan couldn’t help but wonder if he had ulterior motives. Heavens, sneaking into my bed in the middle of the night—does he plan to sleep with me?! Holding her breath, she peered at him in the darkness. His body radiated a bone-chilling cold, like frozen pork straight from the freezer—or worse, like a corpse. The thought sent a shiver of dread down her spine.After hesitating for a while, she stealthily reached out to touch the ancestor's hand—it was ice-cold. Strangely, even after her touch, he showed no reaction. She touched it again, still nothing. At this point, Liao Tingyan felt a chill run down her spine. She half-sat up and carefully observed Sima Jiao beside her. His eyes were closed, his cheeks pale and lifeless even in the darkness, and she couldn't hear any breathing.

Could he be... dead? The thought startled her, but she quickly dismissed it as impossible. Hesitantly, she pressed her hand against his chest.

There was a heartbeat—slow, but present. Thank goodness, he wasn't dead. Relieved, Liao Tingyan lay back down, pulled the blanket over herself, and closed her eyes to sleep.

Just as she was about to drift off, the corpse-like Sima Jiao suddenly spoke, "You're just going to sleep like this?"

Liao Tingyan jolted awake, cleared her throat, and replied uncertainly, "Ancestor... do you want the blanket too?"

Sima Jiao: "..."

He didn't answer. She felt the woman beside her lift the blanket to cover him as well, waiting to see if he'd react further. When he remained silent, she seemed to decide everything was fine and prepared to go back to sleep.

Sima Jiao didn't understand. In Gengchen Immortal Mansion, no one dared not fear him—even the seemingly venerable sect leader Shi Qianlv mostly regarded him with guilt, wariness, and an unacknowledged dread. Yet this person beside him, though she appeared afraid of many things, her fear was superficial, like a mortal startled by ghosts, not the deep-seated terror of death.

Her fear of corpses was genuine, yet she could sleep so peacefully beside someone like him, who killed without hesitation. It was baffling. Sima Jiao knew others found him inscrutable, but to him, this woman was equally strange and unfathomable.

Tonight, his head throbbed unbearably, fueling his irritation and bloodlust. With only the two of them on White Deer Cliff, he had come here. Standing by the bed, he watched her sleep soundly for a long time, and inexplicably, his boiling murderous intent faded somewhat. His headache persisted, so he simply lay down beside her. He remembered the rare good sleep he'd had when lying next to her in the Central Tower.

He had wondered how she'd react upon waking—perhaps startled and trembling, unable to sleep; or like those with ulterior motives in the past, drawing close to expose their vile desires. But he hadn't expected her to be briefly startled before carrying on as if his presence beside her at night was perfectly normal.

Sima Jiao was unreasonable, a troublemaker with many quirks. If he lay there uncomfortably, he'd shake Liao Tingyan awake.

"Get up. No more sleeping."

Liao Tingyan: ...Ancestor, what now? Lack of sleep causes dark circles—have some consideration for a beauty's dedication to her looks, please!

Summoning her energy, she humored this suddenly erratic ancestor. Having mentally labeled him as a lunatic, she took everything he did in stride. Now, swaying slightly as she sat up, she asked with a deep breath, "Ancestor, is there a problem?"Sima Jiao: "How can you still sleep?"

Liao Tingyan: "Huh? Why wouldn't I be able to sleep?"

Sima Jiao: "I'm here."

Liao Tingyan: "Actually, with the blanket, it's not that cold."

Looking at his expression, Liao Tingyan belatedly realized what he meant. His implication was "How dare you sleep with a murderous maniac like me beside you?!" rather than "How can you sleep with a human refrigerator like me here?"

But this wasn't the first time. Last time when he had used her as a body pillow to sleep, had she complained? She would have liked to show some inner conflict, but was it her fault for having such good sleep quality?

In the end, Liao Tingyan didn't get any sleep that night. Her cultivation was practically nonexistent, incomparable to Sima Jiao, this supreme grandmaster. Deep in the night, unbearably drowsy, she was forced to prop open her eyelids and sit on the bed staring back at him. Brother Black Snake came by for a midnight snack, but upon seeing them—mainly seeing Sima Jiao sitting on the bed—it turned tail and fled, not daring to think about its late-night meal anymore.

The next day, Sima Jiao went to the Lingyan Mountain Platform again. This time, Liao Tingyan didn't forget to bring a cushion and an umbrella, but they turned out unnecessary. A special viewing platform had been erected for the Patriarch, the Sect Leader, and others to observe the battles. Not only were there comfortable couches to sit on, but there was also food. Liao Tingyan noticed something—the food inside was all her favorites. Had her preferences been completely figured out after just two meals outside? She paused for only a moment before obediently sitting down beside Sima Jiao, pretending she hadn't noticed anything.

Meanwhile, Sima Jiao looked at today's Lingyan Mountain Platform and suddenly smirked. In the past, the platform had been filled with elite disciples, but today there were many clueless ordinary disciples mixed in. Clearly, these were the sacrificial lambs prepared by the various faction leaders for their juniors. A few deaths wouldn't matter as long as they weren't their own precious disciples. With the power they wielded, a single word from them would have plenty willing to sacrifice themselves.

Sect Leader Shi Qianlv smiled and said to Sima Jiao, "Patriarch, shall we proceed as we did yesterday?"

Sima Jiao: "No. Today, a hundred will fight to the death."

Shi Qianlv acknowledged the order, his gaze faintly sweeping over Liao Tingyan sitting beside him, before instructing, "Then let the disciples begin."

Many of the disciples below today were from minor branches. He had specifically arranged for several Clear Valley Heaven disciples to be among them—this was a test. Sima Jiao's tolerance of a woman by his side had aroused his suspicions and conjectures. Today's small test was directed at Sima Jiao, but also at that seemingly unremarkable junior disciple, Liao Tingyan.

This woman could coldly watch others live or die while following the ruthless Sima Jiao. But if it were someone she knew, would she try to stop him? And if she did, how would Sima Jiao react?Shi Qianlv was over there spinning dramatic scenarios in his head, but unfortunately, Liao Tingyan on this side hadn’t even clearly seen who was on the stage. She wasn’t the original Liao Tingyan and had only met her master, Dongyang Zhenren, a handful of times, let alone anyone else. The people she was slightly more familiar with were probably the young attendants responsible for greetings and farewells in Clear Valley Heaven and the minor stewards in charge of managing the warehouses and meals. The original Liao Tingyan had kept to herself after entering Clear Valley Heaven, rarely interacting with fellow disciples, so even if she were here now, she probably wouldn’t recognize the Clear Valley Heaven disciples below.

As the fights began below, Liao Tingyan, who hadn’t slept all day, felt her eyelids grow heavy. Unconsciously, she leaned back on the soft couch and drifted off to sleep.

Shi Qianlv occasionally glanced her way and saw her gradually sliding down, dozing off right under everyone’s watchful eyes. Sima Jiao was already the center of attention, and since she was by his side, she naturally drew scrutiny as well. Seeing her slump over and actually fall asleep, everyone’s expressions turned a bit odd. Sima Jiao stopped watching the fights below and frowned at her instead. The couch they were sitting on wasn’t very large, and as Liao Tingyan shifted in her sleep, she instinctively found a comfortable position—resting her head on Sima Jiao’s lap.

The high-ranking elders, led by the sect leader: "!!!"

To sleep with her head on the lap of Cizang Daojun, the great demon king—how audacious! Truly, ignorance breeds fearlessness. Shi Qianlv’s expression flickered with subtlety as he stole glances at Sima Jiao, waiting to see how he would react. Would he impatiently toss her down the steps or simply snap her neck? Judging by his expression, impatience seemed more likely. Based on his understanding of Sima Jiao, he’d probably kick her away.

Sima Jiao reached out and tugged the sleeve she was using as a pillow free, but he didn’t otherwise disturb her, allowing her head to remain on his thigh—neither venting anger nor flying into a rage. The higher-ups of Gengchen Immortal Mansion saw this clearly, their astonishment nearly breaking through their composed and dignified facades.

It was confirmed—the notoriously difficult ancestor, Cizang Daojun, had truly fallen for a woman.