When Destiny Brings the Demon

Liao Tingyan: Why can I never keep up with this big shot’s train of thought? Every time, I feel like I must have missed ten episodes of the plot, leading to this complete breakdown in communication.

Sima Jiao was still staring at her, urging her to answer, but Liao Tingyan was so covered in question marks she couldn’t even begin to pluck them off.

A man saying he was willing to give his life to her—that should be incredibly touching. In any romance novel, this would be the scene where the male lead confesses his love to the female lead. But this big shot, Sima Jiao, had the unique ability to make such words sound like a death sentence.

Liao Tingyan had no experience dealing with this kind of situation. After a pause, she said, “Eep eep eep eep eep?”

Sima Jiao glared. “Speak human.”

I’m a freaking otter right now, isn’t this the sound I’m supposed to make?

Sima Jiao: “Do you want my life or not?” Truth Buff activated!

Liao Tingyan blurted out, “Uh… no thanks.”

Sima Jiao frowned at her, almost as if he was disappointed in her lack of ambition. “Isn’t this your mission? Even if you don’t want to kill me, my death at your hands would still benefit you. How can you have so little drive?”

Liao Tingyan was baffled. She still hadn’t fully grasped the setting she was in. But he was right about one thing—she really didn’t have any ambition. Some people in the world worked hard and struggled, while others preferred a relaxed, ordinary life. She was the latter.

“Look, my mission isn’t important. I don’t want to kill anyone, and I don’t want your life. You seem mentally stable right now, not like someone about to die. Maybe you should find someone to take a look at you, or take some Spirit Pills? I think you can still be saved—don’t just give up on treatment like this.” Liao Tingyan was actually kind of nervous, watching the blood drip from him. She really wanted him to go see a doctor.

Sima Jiao: “You really don’t want it?”

Liao Tingyan: “No.”

Sima Jiao: “I’ve given you your last chance.”

Liao Tingyan suddenly felt a chill down her spine. She reflexively reached a paw back to scratch it, only to hear Sima Jiao say, “In that case, you’ll die with me.”

Liao Tingyan: …How the hell did you reach that conclusion?

“Are you sure you don’t want to take some medicine?” Liao Tingyan couldn’t take it anymore.

No sooner had she spoken than Sima Jiao coughed up a mouthful of blood right in front of her. Liao Tingyan jolted, her first thought being: What a freaking waste! That stuff is super valuable!

Sima Jiao flicked his fingers, and flames erupted out of nowhere, burning the spilled blood to nothing. Seeing Liao Tingyan staring, he actually chuckled and said, “When I die, my body will be burned clean by these flames too. Not a single drop of flesh or blood will be left for them.”

Cremation, huh? You’re pretty modern.

Sima Jiao beckoned her. “Come here.”

Liao Tingyan flew over, carefully standing upright on his thigh. There was blood everywhere—not the best landing spot. Sima Jiao looked down at her, his expression strange, his tone slow. “I thought you’d run. I’m about to make you die with me—why aren’t you running?”

Liao Tingyan had two reasons: one, she knew there was no way she could escape under this ancestor’s watchful eye, and two, she suspected he was waiting for her to run. If she tried now, she’d probably be turned to charcoal in three seconds flat. Even though they hadn’t spent much time together, she already had a pretty good grasp of his sadistic tendencies.Sima Jiao: "Why don't you just run away." This wasn't a question but more of an exclamation, as if he couldn't understand.

Liao Tingyan felt this man was truly living in torment, unsure what exactly he wanted her to do. He claimed he was about to die, yet his mind was still preoccupied with tormenting her, his supposed ally. Meanwhile, Liao Tingyan just thought he should go see a doctor—and she really couldn't stand the sight of him covered in blood.

"Ancestor, if you won’t see a physician, at least change your clothes and clean up a bit?" Liao Tingyan didn’t know why she still felt an inexplicable calm, as if a work deadline had passed unfulfilled, yet she remained unbothered—even tempted to loaf around.

Sima Jiao stroked the fur on her body with his bloodied hand, smearing red all over her. "It doesn’t matter what I look like. I’ll just be burned to ashes anyway."

Liao Tingyan, noticing her fur was now a tangled mess: This bastard is really too much.

Sima Jiao idly petted his otter, slouched in that ordinary chair like an old man waiting peacefully for death. His agitation gradually subsided, replaced by a rare look of confusion and emptiness—though his hand never stopped stroking the otter.

"If I die just like this, the expressions on those people’s faces will be priceless. The Fengshan Clan will be utterly extinct, the roots of Gengchen Immortal Mansion severed. These flowers of prosperity, nourished by blood and flesh, will wither swiftly. The fall of the foremost immortal mansion will come within a mere century." After saying this, Sima Jiao burst into laughter, sounding like a deranged madman.

Just then, an overwhelming pressure suddenly descended upon the courtyard from outside.

Sima Jiao’s laughter cut off abruptly.

His expression darkened as he looked outside. Though the walls blocked his view, his divine sense could already perceive the massive crowd dozens of miles away—Palace Master Shi Qianlv leading a group of elders and palace masters, who would surround him within moments.

"Sima Jiao, we cannot let you live another day!" The voice arrived before the man.

The usually gentle, humble, and benevolent demeanor of Palace Master Shi Qianlv was nowhere to be seen. Anyone could tell he was furious beyond measure.

And how could he not be? For thousands of years, the Shi Clan had toiled meticulously, scheming to establish Hundred Phoenix Mountain just to seize full control of Gengchen Immortal Mansion and finally break free from the Sima Clan’s grip. Now, on the verge of success, everything had collapsed—their millennia of effort gone in an instant. No one could endure such a blow.

And the worst had yet to come. Sima Jiao, this lunatic, had deceived him, striking at their vital point and destroying the Shi Clan’s life’s work. Now he intended to drag Gengchen Immortal Mansion down with him in death. If he succeeded in extinguishing the spirit fire completely, that would be the true catastrophe. They had stood at the pinnacle of the cultivation world for too long—being cast down from divinity would be worse than death.

They had to seize Sima Jiao’s life before then—no matter the cost!

Inside the room, Sima Jiao sneered. "You want my life? Wishful thinking. These worthless things can’t subdue me." He stood up, no longer appearing like a man on the brink of death, but rather like a reaper ready to harvest lives.The ancestor suddenly reignited his will to survive, preparing to take down another wave before his own demise.

Weren't you just peacefully waiting for death moments ago? Now that others come for your life, you're suddenly pumped with adrenaline. Liao Tingyan found the situation absurd—what kind of bizarre scenario was this? Thanking the enemy for motivating our big boss's survival instincts?

Once again, she became an accessory as Sima Jiao carried her onto the rooftop. To avoid ruining the grand villainous aura of this ancestor, the overly cute-looking Liao Tingyan temporarily nestled inside his robe. Thank goodness for her small otter form—otherwise, there'd be no place to hide.

Both sides were seeing red, and the killing was just a few words away.

Sima Jiao was completely reckless. Flames erupted from his body, transforming into a sea of fire—clearly intending to drag everyone down with him. But Shi Qianlv and the others valued their lives too much to casually join him in death. They wanted to beat Sima Jiao half to death, not completely kill him, so despite their numbers, they remained restrained.

Liao Tingyan had seen Sima Jiao fight before. She knew he was powerful, an ultra-super big boss, but it wasn't until this battle that she truly understood just how heaven-defying his strength was.

Aside from Shi Qianlv, many reclusive seniors had come—around three hundred in total. Liao Tingyan couldn't discern any of their cultivation levels, meaning each was at least one major realm above her Transformation Stage, possibly more.

Had nearly half of Gengcheng Immortal Manor's top experts come? Probably everyone who could be mobilized was here—this was a life-or-death matter after all. Liao Tingyan clicked her tongue, figuring today might be her last. She calculated her vacation days and decided she should be satisfied.

Sima Jiao killed two more people, his laughter dripping with villainy. Even without looking, Liao Tingyan could imagine the ugly expressions on those dignified seniors' faces.

"Don't let him get close! He drains spiritual power and cultivation!" Shi Qianlv shouted, ordering everyone to scatter.

The sea of fire beneath Sima Jiao's feet expanded further, forcing the retreating crowd back against their will.

"Useless." Sima Jiao seemed to merge with the flames, becoming one with the inferno. Even his silhouette transformed into a strange fiery apparition—the enlarged form of the Spirit Mountain Fire.

He mercilessly slaughtered his attackers. At first, they held back, unwilling to kill him outright, but soon realized restraint was futile—without using their trump cards, they'd be the ones dying.

Though Shi Qianlv's side appeared to be losing ground, helpless against Sima Jiao, Liao Tingyan looked up and saw the terrifying veins bulging on Sima Jiao's neck. The skin and blood vessels on his hands had cracked open like scorched earth—gruesome and horrifying. Nestled in his robe, she could feel blood slowly soaking through the inner garments, threatening to dye her entire otter form crimson.

Only now did Liao Tingyan truly realize—this ancestor was indeed at his limit, his body on the verge of collapse.Sima Jiao seemed oblivious to how dire his condition was. His eyes were filled with a crimson haze as he laughed wildly under the fearful or resentful gazes of the crowd. Swinging his arms, wherever his blood landed, flames erupted into a sea of fire.

They battled in the sky, the inferno spreading across the heavens while the heat melted the buildings below. Attacks from others occasionally streaked down like falling meteors, crashing into the city beneath. The people screamed and fled in panic. Low-level cultivators, under the overwhelming pressure, were no different from ordinary mortals—shrieking and scrambling to escape the city-turned-battlefield.

None of the cultivators on the battlefield paid any attention to these people. Though in the eyes of many mortals, the lofty cultivators were righteous and benevolent immortals who protected them from evil spirits and demons, this was merely a naive and beautiful illusion. In truth, these cultivators cared little for mortal lives.

This was something Liao Tingyan had long understood with perfect clarity. So she was perhaps the calmest person on the battlefield, even taking the time to organize the space she had carved out within her consciousness while waiting for the war to end.

The battle dragged on far longer than Liao Tingyan had anticipated. The sky darkened and brightened, then darkened again, yet it still showed no signs of ending. There was only the seemingly eternal blaze and Sima Jiao, who devoured his enemies like a vengeful ghost.

Curled up in his arms, Liao Tingyan dozed off briefly. When she woke, she found herself covered in his blood. The once ice-cold embrace now felt like a blazing furnace—no longer chilly, but unbearably hot.

For a moment, she wondered if he had already bled dry.

Unable to resist, she reached out a paw and lightly touched Sima Jiao’s stomach. The next instant, a damp, bloodstained hand pressed down on hers.

"Are you scared?" Sima Jiao rasped. "What do you have to fear? The ones who should be terrified are those bastards over there."

Liao Tingyan didn’t understand why he insisted on spitting blood every time he tried to act tough. She figured he was barely holding on—probably at his limit.

Gently stroking the ancestor’s stomach, she said, "If it hurts too much, just let go. Since we’re going to die anyway, there’s no need to prolong your suffering for their sake."