On her way back, Liao Tingyan spotted Sima Jiao. He stood amidst a sea of crimson flowers, his dark silhouette resembling a malevolent ghost wandering in the dead of night. The flowers were of an unknown variety, emitting an overwhelmingly rich fragrance that was almost suffocating, drowning out all other scents.
From a distance of seven meters, Liao Tingyan called out, "Ancestor Master? You're still awake?" The atmosphere felt straight out of a horror story, and she half-expected him to turn around with no face.
Sima Jiao turned, crushing a red flower in his hand—his face was perfectly normal.
Liao Tingyan noticed he seemed to enjoy casually destroying things—flowers, fruits, or... human heads.
"You're already at the Transformation Stage, yet you still sleep?" He stepped carelessly over the beautiful flowers as he approached.
Liao Tingyan earnestly informed her boss, "Sleep isn't necessary, but I want to sleep. Food isn't necessary, but I want to eat."
Sima Jiao: "You're strange." He tossed the crushed flower aside.
Too kind—nowhere near as strange as you.
Recalling earlier, Liao Tingyan tentatively asked, "Ancestor Master, did you hear everything just now? So you know my identity?"
Sima Jiao: "I've known all along. No one can hide anything from me."
But I don’t even know myself yet. She ventured, "What do you say my identity is?"
"You're here to kill me." Sima Jiao leaned in, brushing his finger across her lips. "Tell me, should I kill you?"
How was she supposed to answer that? If he killed her now, wouldn't yesterday's rescue have been for nothing? The thought alone gave her a headache—what was even the point of all this? And could he please remove his finger before speaking?
"What are you thinking?" Sima Jiao's eyes held a hint of red.
Liao Tingyan: "Your hand just crushed a flower, and now it's touching my mouth without being washed." Such blunt honesty was clearly the work of the Truth Buff.
Sima Jiao deactivated the Truth Buff, unwilling to hear such atmosphere-ruining sincerity. He resumed his villainous interrogation: "Should I kill you?"
Liao Tingyan took a deep breath. "I don't think you should."
Sima Jiao: "Oh? Why?"
Liao Tingyan: "I've already turned over a new leaf. I'm on your side now."
Sima Jiao fixated on an odd detail. "I'm the 'new leaf'?"
Liao Tingyan instantly corrected herself. "I've abandoned the light for the dark."
Sima Jiao: "You change your tune quickly." It was almost amusing—compared to the Demon Realm, whether he represented light or darkness was genuinely hard to say.
"Earlier, you were utterly useless—you couldn't even handle a Nascent Soul cultivator," Sima Jiao suddenly remarked.
Now Liao Tingyan understood who had sent that "ex-boyfriend" flying.
"Yeah, I thought so too." She forced a smile. "Of course, I could never compare to someone as formidable as you, Ancestor Master." Ugh. I’ve only been at the Transformation Stage for a day—no one could master all the combat skills that fast!
Sima Jiao studied her fake smile, then suddenly grinned himself. He grabbed her hand and started dragging her back the way he came. "You'll get used to it after killing a few more people."
Liao Tingyan panicked. "Where are we going?!"
"To kill people, of course. I became this strong by killing many." His tone was sinister.
Liao Tingyan immediately dropped to her knees, sitting on the ground. "I'm not going."
Sima Jiao tugged at her hand like a mother dragging a stubborn child. "Get up."Liao Tingyan said, "No, I don’t want to kill anyone."
Sima Jiao replied, "What if I insist you do?"
Liao Tingyan lay down on the spot. "Then just kill me instead."
Sima Jiao’s expression darkened. "Do you really think I won’t kill you?"
To be honest, Liao Tingyan genuinely believed he wouldn’t—she didn’t even sense any danger. In any case, she refused to kill, and as for this ancestor of hers, he could do whatever he pleased. But she was different—what she didn’t want to do, she wouldn’t, even if it meant death.
Sima Jiao really did feel like slapping her to death. In the past, anyone who dared speak to him like this would be dead the next second. But her? She actually had the audacity to act so unafraid. He raised his hand, then lowered it, before finally scooping her up in his arms.
"Let’s talk this out properly—no need for rash actions." Liao Tingyan panicked when she realized the ancestor had carried her high into the air, instinctively tightening her grip around his waist.
Sima Jiao ignored her. Spotting a distant white swan-prowed flying pavilion passing by, he reached out and grabbed it.
That flying pavilion belonged to Yue Chu Hui, the daughter of the Moon Palace’s Palace Master. This favored daughter of heaven was a notorious little tyrant within Gengchen Immortal Mansion, accustomed to arrogance and domineering behavior. Her mother, the Moon Palace’s Palace Master, indulged her every whim, allowing her to run rampant through the mansion, with everyone fawning over her.
When she wanted a pavilion that could fly through the skies, the Palace Master ordered disciples to scour the land for the finest materials and commissioned the only celestial-grade artificer to craft this treasure—a flying pavilion brimming with spiritual energy and formidable defenses.
Yue Chu Hui had always loved lounging in this pavilion, commanding performances of song and dance, and often taking her close friends on joyrides across the skies. Recently, with the news of Taoist Lord Cizang’s emergence from seclusion, the Moon Palace’s Palace Master had repeatedly warned her daughter to steer clear of him.
But Yue Chu Hui was different from others. She believed that Taoist Lord Cizang, despite his fearsome reputation, was a figure of lofty seniority and profound cultivation—someone she deeply admired and longed to meet. So these past few days, she had often had her flying pavilion linger near White Deer Cliff, hoping for a chance encounter with this mysterious grandmaster.
Today was no different. She sat by the window on the pavilion’s second floor, gazing at White Deer Cliff under the moonlight, her thoughts far from the song and dance behind her. Beside her sat a junior sister, with whom she was quite close and often spent time.
At that moment, the junior sister brought up Taoist Lord Cizang. "I heard that the other day, Taoist Lord Cizang watched the disciples’ sparring at Cloud Rock Mountain Terrace, and Liao Tingyan even rested her head on his lap. Everyone saw it—such shamelessness. She must have no sense of propriety."
The moment Yue Chu Hui heard Liao Tingyan’s name, her temper flared. She flung the delicate, paper-thin jade cup in her hand outside. "Enough! I don’t want to hear about her. How could someone like Taoist Lord Cizang take a liking to such a lowly disciple? It’s beyond comprehension!"
Just as she spoke, she felt her white swan-prowed pavilion suddenly lurch toward White Deer Cliff.
"Senior Sister Yue, don’t be angry—stop this! Master explicitly told us not to approach White Deer Cliff!" The junior sister, also sensing the pavilion’s movement, assumed Yue Chu Hui’s temper had flared again and quickly tried to dissuade her.
Yue Chu Hui paled. "It’s not me! I can’t control the pavilion—what’s happening?!"
The junior sister shrieked, "Ah! Over there—that’s…!"Sima Jiao pulled the ostentatious flying pavilion from afar into the range of White Deer Cliff, then carried Liao Tingyan into the pavilion. The defensive mechanisms of the flying pavilion seemed nonexistent to him. Yue Chu Hui, who controlled this spiritual artifact, couldn't even struggle before losing control over it.
She, along with her junior sister, a room full of attending servants, and the dancers and musicians brought for entertainment, were all stunned by the sudden turn of events. Especially when they saw Sima Jiao entering directly through the second-floor window with Liao Tingyan in his arms, everyone stared blankly, unsure how to react.
"Cizang... Taoist Lord?!" Yue Chu Hui exclaimed excitedly.
Sima Jiao kicked this enthusiastic fan out the window.
Yue Chu Hui: "Ah—"
After tossing out the owner of the flying pavilion, he bundled up everyone else and threw them out beyond White Deer Cliff as well. Then he locked Liao Tingyan alone inside the White Goose Flying Pavilion, saying to her, "Stay here and reflect on your actions. You can come out once you've properly repented."
The beautiful White Goose Flying Pavilion hovered above White Deer Cliff, now empty except for Liao Tingyan.
Liao Tingyan: "Eh, heh?" Isn't this the flying pavilion carried by the flock of white geese she had seen earlier? Back then, she had been so envious and wanted to come up for a look! And now... her dream had come true?
The White Goose Flying Pavilion truly lived up to its reputation as a masterpiece crafted by the Moon Palace Master for his beloved daughter. Every detail was exquisite—aside from the small building, there was also a garden courtyard. When the pavilion floated in the air, it was so close to the bright moon in the sky that it seemed within arm's reach. Sitting by the second-floor window, one could overlook the sprawling lights of Gengchen Immortal Mansion, making it the perfect spot for nighttime scenery.
She loved it here—she wouldn't mind living here permanently. The second floor still had plenty of food and wine originally prepared for Yue Chu Hui, all of which now conveniently fell into Liao Tingyan's hands.
So... was that ancestor genuinely locking her up here for reflection? Letting her enjoy the peaceful moonlight and delicious food alone, then allowing her to sleep soundly?
She really couldn't understand his thought process.
Delighted, she explored the pavilion from top to bottom, discovering a hot spring. She took a relaxing bath, changed into a new dress, and then lay down on the terrace to admire the moon.
"Ah—the moonlight is so beautiful—"
It was much more enjoyable lying here quietly all by herself.
The next day, the head of the Yuan family from the Plum Branch of the Four Seasons Palace arrived at White Deer Cliff with the corpse of his eighteenth son, Yuan Shang. There, he encountered the cold-faced Moon Palace Master, who had come to demand an explanation for his daughter's humiliation, and Sect Leader Shi Qianlv, who had brought Dongyang Zhenren of Clear Valley Heaven to pay respects to their grandmaster.
"Sect Leader, my son died under suspicious circumstances—I must demand an explanation from Cizang Taoist Lord!" The Yuan family head was seething with anger.
"Sect Leader, yesterday my daughter was humiliated, and even the gift I gave her was taken away. I want to ask Cizang Taoist Lord—is this how a grandmaster should behave?" The Moon Palace Master's expression was icy.
Shi Qianlv remained unperturbed. "Ah, then let us all go together to see our grandmaster and hear what he has to say."
What did Sima Jiao say?
First, he glanced at the Yuan family head. "So what if I killed your son? Don’t you have over twenty sons and hundreds of grandsons? What’s one less? Don’t think I don’t know why you’re really here. If you annoy me, I’ll kill every other son of yours I come across."Then he turned to the Moon Palace Master: "Your daughter wants her things back? Fine. If she dies, those things will be ownerless."
Finally, he looked at Shi Qianlv: "My patience is thin today."
Shi Qianlv responded, "Elder, please calm your anger. Liao Tingyan, a disciple of Dongyang, has been serving by your side. Today, I specially brought him to visit my disciple."
Sima Jiao fiddled with a green leaf stuck to his wrist: "She angered me."
Shi Qianlv was startled. There was only one outcome for displeasing this demon—death. He thought it was a pity but also unsurprising. How could anyone survive too long by Sima Jiao's side? "What of Liao Tingyan's remains?"
Sima Jiao: "There are no remains."
Shi Qianlv understood—utter annihilation, then.
Sima Jiao's expression grew increasingly impatient. Rubbing his temples, he kicked and shattered a nearby jade pillar. "If you have nothing else, get out!"
Shi Qianlv, ever composed, took his leave. He mused to himself that Sima Jiao was growing ever more violent and bloodthirsty—the day he awaited couldn't be far off.
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