When Destiny Brings the Demon

Liao Tingyan could hear the rapid thumping in her chest, unsure whether it was due to the overwhelming Tribulation Lightning Formation moments ago that still left her shaken, or because the current Sima Jiao was simply too heart-stirring.

Having just defied the heavens' great thunder, his expression remained cold and mocking, unchanged. Watching him, Liao Tingyan felt as if she had returned to their earliest days of acquaintance—back then, he often wore this same expression.

His fingers brushed lightly against her face at first, carrying an indescribable intimacy and comfort. But soon, he smirked and smeared the blood from his hand all over her face—the kind of deliberately annoying move that begged for a beating.

Liao Tingyan, suddenly blood-smeared: "...And you have the nerve to laugh? Just a second ago, the little deer in my heart went splat and died, you know? Apologize to the deer!"

Thanks to his antics, Liao Tingyan felt her heart function return to normal, and her mind cleared enough to think straight.

She grabbed Sima Jiao’s wrist, pulling him to sit where she had previously tidied up, then asked, "Such a huge commotion—won’t it draw attention? Should we leave now or what?"

Sima Jiao casually flicked away the Blood Beads on his hand and wiped the blood from his wound with his sleeve. "Thunderclap Valley is special. Tribulation Lightning here won’t manifest any anomalies outside."

He had prepared for this long ago.

The thought flashed through Liao Tingyan’s mind before her attention was dragged back by Sima Jiao’s careless movements. His slovenly lifestyle was no different from that of a modern single young man—utterly clueless about taking care of himself. She yanked his hand over, wiped the blood clean, and prepared to apply medicine.

Sima Jiao let her fuss over his hand without another word, reclining in the spot where Liao Tingyan had originally been lying. Like a noblewoman getting her nails done, he settled into position and watched her work with leisurely amusement.

As she wiped away the blood, Liao Tingyan couldn’t help but think it was such a waste. He was always scattering blood everywhere—how long would it take to replenish all that?

The wounds were still bleeding. With fingers connected to the heart, just looking at them made her ache for him.

She took out the special Spirit Medicine for injuries she had stored away, applied it to the wounds, then wrapped them with a Flesh Regeneration Talisman to aid healing. With proper care, even if Sima Jiao’s wounds healed slowly, they should still recover within a month.

After bandaging one hand, Sima Jiao splayed his fingers and waved them in front of Liao Tingyan’s face, his expression once again carrying that knowing, meaningful look. "Jade Spirit Balm and Flesh Regeneration Talismans—you never used to carry these healing medicines before. Now you’ve stockpiled quite a bit. Seems like you prepared them especially for me."

Liao Tingyan: "Yep." She didn’t even look up, answering straightforwardly.

Her blunt admission left Sima Jiao momentarily speechless.

The two fell into silence.

After a few minutes, Sima Jiao flexed his fingers uncomfortably, frowning as he started peeling off the bandages. "I don’t want these anymore. Too troublesome."

Liao Tingyan watched him. The way he tugged at the wrappings reminded her of a time when she and her colleagues had visited a cat café. There was a cat that had been fitted with little booties, and it disliked them so much it kept trying to shake them off—just like Sima Jiao now.

Liao Tingyan: "Pfft."

Sima Jiao paused and looked at her.

"What are you laughing at?"When Liao Tingyan wasn't emotionally agitated, he couldn't hear her thoughts. Like now, he couldn't guess why she suddenly smiled, so he used his Truth Buff.

Liao Tingyan opened her mouth, "I smiled because I think you're cute."

Sima Jiao looked at her with a strange expression, as if he hadn't heard clearly. After a long pause, he reached out to pinch Liao Tingyan's face, pulling her head close to his and giving her cheeks a firm squeeze.

Liao Tingyan's lips puckered from his pinching, and she mumbled, "Hand! Your hand! Don't squeeze so hard! Your wound will reopen!"

Sima Jiao: "Pfft."

Sima Jiao: "Do you know why I'm laughing?"

Liao Tingyan: "..." How would I know? I don't have an innate Truth Buff skill.

She pulled Sima Jiao's hand away and continued dressing his wound. When Sima Jiao tried to withdraw his hand, she held it firmly in place.

Sima Jiao grew displeased again—he disliked any form of restraint. "I don't want it bandaged."

Though this ancestor was hundreds of years old, spending time with him revealed a childlike stubbornness in some aspects. Perhaps it was because no one had taught him growing up, and for all these years, only a pet snake had accompanied him. Liao Tingyan gently shook his hand and cooed, "I just applied medicine. If it's not bandaged, the wound will reopen easily. Just three days, okay?"

Sima Jiao: "..."

Liao Tingyan: "Please bandage it. It looks so painful to me. Once the wound starts healing a little, we can remove it."

Sima Jiao: "..."

Liao Tingyan: "Please? I'm really worried."

Sima Jiao: "..."

Liao Tingyan watched Sima Jiao's expression, laughing inwardly. The ancestor's face was simply too amusing—utterly indescribable.

It wasn't entirely displeasure, nor was it exactly happiness. There was a hint of conflict, a touch of hesitation, as if he were wavering between "endure it for her sake" and "I don't want to listen—no bandages means no bandages."

Not being much of an actress, Liao Tingyan feared he'd notice her barely suppressed smile. So she simply threw herself at him, wrapping her arms around his neck and burying her face against his chest, steadying her voice: "You know I prepared this specially for you. If you don't use it, all my effort would be wasted. I even wore the Beaded Necklace Collar you made for me."

Sima Jiao, caught in her embrace, stared at his hand for a moment before placing it on her back, returning the hug.

"Just three days," he conceded.

Liao Tingyan bit back her laughter.

Sima Jiao scoffed coldly, disdainful. "You think I can't tell you're deliberately acting cute?"

But what did it matter if he noticed? He still gave in. The ancients said pillow talk was effective—and indeed, it was.

Liao Tingyan clung to his neck, her heart gradually calming. The deafening thunder from earlier faded into the distance, leaving only the steady rhythm of Sima Jiao's heartbeat in her ears. Suddenly, warmth surged through her body, soaking her heart in a gentle, soothing tide.

Dazed, she nestled against him, breathing in his scent—everyone had a unique smell, often unnoticed by themselves but perceptible to others. Sima Jiao carried a faint fragrance of Blood Clot Flowers, mingled with another elusive note. Near his neck, where blood flowed, the scent grew richer, as if exuding from his very veins.In this world, perhaps only she had ever been this familiar and close to the scent on him. Liao Tingyan naturally tilted her head up and kissed Sima Jiao’s chin. Sima Jiao lowered his head and kissed her back. The two exchanged a kiss effortlessly.

When they parted, Sima Jiao even pressed his lips lightly against hers again, looking as though all his ruffled feathers had been smoothed, his hand unconsciously stroking her back.

After that, Sima Jiao indeed stopped trying to tear off the bandages on his hands, only occasionally glancing at them with slight displeasure, his fingers splayed in a way that reminded Liao Tingyan of Zi Wei’s hands wrapped similarly in the childhood drama My Fair Princess .

She felt like laughing, but upon further thought, the humor faded. If it were anyone else with such high cultivation, injuries like these would heal quickly with a Spirit Pill. But not Sima Jiao.

She recalled the small pill that had once pulled Sima Jiao back from the brink of death, wondering what it was made of to be so effective.

Sima Jiao: "That was the Secret Medicine of the Upper Cloud Buddhist Temple. There’s only one in the world. If not for the Sima Shi’s past connections with the temple and me being the last of the Sima line, that pill wouldn’t have been given to me."

Liao Tingyan: "Did I say that out loud?"

Sima Jiao: "You did. Also, I’ve told you not to worry—I won’t die before you."

Liao Tingyan: "..." Could this straight man even speak properly?

She sat up: "You specifically chose this place for me to endure the Tribulation Lightning, crafted such powerful Defensive Magic Treasures beforehand, and even came along yourself. You knew from the start this Tribulation wouldn’t be simple, didn’t you?"

Liao Tingyan had initially suspected that the Tribulation Lightning targeted her so fiercely because she wasn’t originally from this world. But seeing Sima Jiao’s foresight, she wondered if it was because she had advanced too quickly, skipping past previous Tribulations, leading to this compounded severity.

Yet, Sima Jiao’s answer wasn’t any of her guesses.

He said: "Because our Divine Souls are intertwined, and you’ve been marked by my aura, you attracted the Ninth Level Tribulation Lightning."

Liao Tingyan: "Got it." So it was the classic trope of villains being struck by lightning—truly the antagonist’s treatment. Her mindset remained unshaken.

Sima Jiao: "The workings of the Luck Heavenly Law are complicated, but the near-extinction of the Sima line is tied to it. ‘It’ seeks to eradicate the Sima Shi and kill me."

Liao Tingyan: "...Oh." So it was extermination of nine generations—one person’s crime implicating the entire family.

No wonder during the lightning strikes, this ancestor had practically flipped the heavens the bird.

Liao Tingyan still felt something was off. "I remember the Gengchen History mentioned that long ago, the Sima clan had many immortal greats who ascended to godhood." By that account, the clan couldn’t be considered extinct.

Sima Jiao laughed mockingly, dismissing her mention of the Gengchen History . "Ascension to godhood is nothing but the greatest joke in the universe."

"In the past, whenever an immortal ascended, the world’s spiritual energy would flourish. Do you know why?"

Liao Tingyan recited the textbook answer: "Because when immortals ascend, the gate between the divine realm and the mortal world opens, flooding the mortal realm with spiritual energy."Sima Jiao stated bluntly, "It's because those ascended immortals never actually reached the divine realm. Instead, they dissipated into the world, their Divine Souls and physical bodies transforming into pure spiritual energy to nourish this realm."

Liao Tingyan was stunned. Wait—wasn't this an earth-shattering secret? And he just casually revealed it?

As if echoing her thoughts, rolling thunderclouds gathered overhead, rumbling like a warning.

Sima Jiao paid no heed and continued, "This was confirmed by the last person from the Sima Shi to ascend. Otherwise, why would no one dare to attempt ascension for so many years afterward?" Why else would the Shi Shi clan dare to scheme without restraint against the remaining Sima Shi, gradually usurping their place like a cuckoo seizing another's nest?

It was all because the Shi Shi had learned from the Sima Shi elders that those so-called ascended deities of the Sima Shi would never return.

All their glory and prestige were nothing but a joke.

Liao Tingyan clapped a hand over Sima Jiao's mouth. "Alright, I get it. No need to say more." If he kept going, that lightning would probably strike again—and his hand was still injured.

Sima Jiao pulled her hand away, staring intently into her eyes. "Are you afraid? Afraid I'll drag you down?"

For some reason, he didn’t use the Truth Buff.

Liao Tingyan: "Not really afraid, but... will my future Tribulation Lightnings all be like this?" If not for this unique Thunderclap Valley, anywhere else would probably see at least two mountains blown apart.

Sima Jiao: "As long as I'm here, you'll be fine." His expression suddenly turned fierce, his hackles rising.

Liao Tingyan reflexively smoothed him down. "I was just thinking, since enduring Tribulation Lightning is such a hassle, maybe I shouldn’t let my cultivation advance too quickly." That way, if she slacked off on training, the psychological burden wouldn’t be as heavy.

Sneaking out of homework and having a legitimate excuse to skip homework were two entirely different kinds of satisfaction. The latter lifted all guilt, leaving her instantly at ease.

Liao Tingyan secretly felt rather pleased. And while she was at it, she mentally grumbled—maybe they should skip the Dual Cultivation too, since it made cultivation progress way too fast.

Sima Jiao: "..."

After a moment’s thought, Liao Tingyan decided to ask all her questions at once—otherwise, she’d never bother bringing them up again. "Ancestor, just how far has your cultivation reached?" It seemed no one could truly gauge his level.

Sima Jiao, still withholding nothing, answered directly, "If not for the Fengshan Spirit Fire within me, the moment that Tribulation Lightning passed, I would have ascended immediately—only to dissolve, body and soul, into the pure spiritual energy that nourishes all living things in this world."

This man had reached the pinnacle of cultivation.