Night.
In Fan Ya's private chamber, aboard the Floating Lotus of the Yin Yang Sacred Land.
Shang Miaoyan was no longer the quirky, infatuated girl she was in front of Pei Yuhang. Her enchanting face was now utterly cold, and a scarlet, blood-red light seeped from her pupils.
Or perhaps, this was the true face of the Demon Path Saintess. Her compromises and girlish demeanor were reserved only for Pei Yuhang.
Before her, Fan Ya Fairy—who had appeared in magnificent clothes with a dignified posture before the Cultivators of the Xuanyuan Dao Sect during the day—was now trussed up with bright red ropes and suspended in mid-air.
Feeling the Holy Daughter's icy gaze sweep over her, Fan Ya felt a bone-chilling wind lash against her body, causing her legs to tremble uncontrollably.
Seeing the terrified look on her "prey," Shang Miaoyan was quite satisfied.
She had heard that some members of the Demon Race deliberately terrified their prey before eating it, because fear made the meat firmer and more delicious.
Therefore, Shang Miaoyan felt that fear was an excellent "seasoning."
Unfortunately, this tyrannical side of her would surely displease Pei Yuhang. So, as long as he was around, she had to suppress it.
However, when it came to anyone other than her Xiaohan...
'I can play with them however I want, right? I can fully unleash the side of myself I've been holding back.'
The corners of her mouth curled into a malicious smile.
Pei Yuhang's attitude today—his willingness to die rather than return to her side—had driven her mad with rage.
At the same time, she developed a deep-seated hatred for that woman named Ye Liyuan.
Right now, Shang Miaoyan was overflowing with negative energy, and she had to vent it all out on this disobedient little maid, Fan Ya!
Fan Ya watched the Holy Daughter's face, filled with wicked amusement, and instinctively swallowed hard.
"Holy Daughter... Please spare Fan Ya this time..."
"Don't you worry, Xiao Fan Ya~ I couldn't bear to break such an obedient little thing like you."
"Believe in yourself. I'm sure you can endure it."
As Shang Miaoyan spoke, she picked up a delicate lamp emanating a misty fragrance. The crystalline oil sloshed within it.
The lamplight reflected on Fan Ya's face, and she subconsciously breathed a sigh of relief.
'If it's just this... it's not so bad...'
But the next moment, Shang Miaoyan produced a long, dark red whip from behind her back.
When Fan Ya saw the whip, her expression changed drastically, and her body tensed in fright.
This whip was called the Six Desires Indulgence Whip. As the name implied, one could tell it wasn't a Magical Artifact used by proper Cultivators.
In the Yin Yang Sacred Land, countless powerful male Cultivators had started out unyielding, only to have their minds reduced to a muddled, stupefied state after being whipped and "trained" by the Six Emotions Indulgence Whip, becoming puppets at the mercy of others.
As a Female Cultivator well-versed in the Yin Yang Dao, Fan Ya's control over her own carnal desires was immense. It wasn't as if a single whipping would completely "break" her.
Still, it was by no means a pleasant experience.
Especially given that in the hundred years since Pei Yuhang had left, the Holy Daughter's personality had become somewhat pathological and terrifying.
With tears welling in her eyes, Fan Ya hastily pleaded with Shang Miaoyan:
"Holy Daughter... Fan Ya truly knows she was wrong."
"And where were you wrong?"
Shang Miaoyan lifted Fan Ya's chin.
"I offended Sword Immortal Pei..."
Shang Miaoyan gently wiped the tears from the corners of Fan Ya's eyes and said softly:
"There, there, Xiao Fan Ya~ It will be over soon."
"..."
...
The next day, the Spirit Ship that could travel a thousand li in a day and the Floating Lotus arrived in the territory of the Xuanyuan Dao Sect. They were expected to reach the skies above the sect in another half a day.
Pei Yuhang was meditating and regulating his breath in his room, while Bai Jingjing emerged from Silence, drifting about boredly in the air like a specter.
Perhaps out of sheer boredom, she decided she wanted to tease Pei Yuhang again.
"Pei Yuhang, stop sitting there all prim and proper. Go on, head over to the lotus next door and have some fun with Saintess Shang~"
Pei Yuhang, who had been cultivating peacefully, was immediately snapped out of his meditation upon hearing this.
He opened his eyes and glared at the deadpan-faced little brat in front of him.
"Is there something wrong with you, you Sword Spirit? I haven't even settled the score with you for yesterday, and here you are, mocking me first!"
Bai Jingjing crossed her arms, propped one leg over the other in mid-air, and looked down on Pei Yuhang, completely unconcerned about the view she was giving him from under her thin, short white dress.
"You were the one who couldn't handle it. What's the point of settling scores with a Sword Spirit like me?"
"The moment you were controlled by the Demon-Planting Mark, we had already lost. How was I, a single sword, supposed to fight her?!
Isn't this loss your fault as the master?!"
Pei Yuhang's breath caught in his throat. For a moment, he didn't know how to refute her... because with Shang Miaoyan in complete control of his body, it would indeed have been suicide for Bai Jingjing to attack with Silence.
But—
"That's no excuse for leaving me to die!"
Pei Yuhang said furiously.
"How did I leave you to die? That Witch wasn't trying to kill you, she just wanted to dual cultivate with you. It would have even been beneficial for you.
Since you couldn't resist the Witch, you should have just laid back and enjoyed it. It's not like you were losing out."
Bai Jingjing said with a pout.
"Not losing out? My innocence was almost ruined! Do you think we humans are as shameless as your Demon Race, just mating with any random member of the opposite sex whenever the season comes?!"
Hearing Pei Yuhang's sweeping generalization and racial discrimination against the Demon Race, Bai Jingjing flew into a rage.
"What are you pretending to be so innocent for, Pei Yuhang? It's not like you haven't dual cultivated with that Witch before! And another thing, we of the Demon Race are far cleaner than you sanctimonious humans!"
"Nonsense! The Yin Yang Sacred Land's ancestral Yin Yang Replenishment Method was adapted from a Secret Technique of your Demon Fox clan!"
"...The Yin Yang Replenishment is a proper path that aligns with the Great Dao. How can you call it dirty..."
Bai Jingjing said, a little defensively.
Although she didn't practice this ancestral Secret Technique herself, she still had to defend the legacy passed down from her ancestors when a human slandered it.