"Little Wu, hand over the spiritual field duties to someone else from now on. Your talent is so poor, you need to spend more time cultivating."
"Foundation Establishment grants four hundred years of life. Here is a bottle of Spirit Gathering Pills for you."
"Little Wu, why did you roast my Black Water Rabbit? That's too much! I'm never talking to you again! Get out!"
"Forget it. Don't let it happen again."
Wu Qin sat there quietly, the old words echoing in his head like they had happened only yesterday. He looked a little distracted as the memories played out one after another. From the very beginning, he had carried ill intentions toward Xiao Qingyue, even when he was still pretending to be the simple labor disciple called Little Wu. Yet the girl had never suspected a thing. She had trusted him completely, never once thinking there was anything dark hidden behind his grateful smiles. After Little Wu disappeared from the sect, she had probably gone back to her room alone and cried in secret, those little pearls of tears rolling down her cheeks while no one else was around to see.
Wu Qin sometimes wondered if the real reason he had gone to such great lengths to bring Xiao Qingyue back and make her his wife was simply because she was beautiful, famous across the Southern Border, and had left a deep impression on him that never faded. Her image had always been so cold and aloof, like a fairy who floated above the clouds. Whenever he had struck her in his previous life, there was an indescribable sense of pleasure that rushed through him. Her stubborn gaze, the way her face twisted in pain, and her perfect, alluring body covered in scars all held a unique kind of shattered beauty. It was both heartbreaking to watch and strangely exciting at the same time.
People always seem to enjoy tearing beautiful things apart, he thought to himself. Making a fairy fall from the heavens into the mortal world, dragging her down into the mud, and watching her step into the abyss. On top of that, she was now completely alone and helpless, with no relatives left in the world. She had become withdrawn and quiet, even abandoned by her own sect. She was someone who could only silently endure being bullied, day after day. She was too easy to bully and far too trusting of others. Her personality was simply too kind and gentle for this cruel world.
That was why, in his previous life, even when her cultivation level had grown close to his own and she clearly had the chance to backstab him and take her revenge, she never did. Instead, she had made a resolute choice to sacrifice her own life. She transformed into a bright moon that brought light and hope to all living beings in their darkest hour. She ended her life in a way that Wu Qin still considered foolish, leaving him behind to live every day after that in deep pain and crushing guilt.
Wu Qin had spent a long time reflecting on his own issues from that previous life. He had felt truly guilty and even thought about changing his ways. It was just that he could never accept Xiao Qingyue's departure. He could be certain that he loved Xiao Qingyue with everything he had. It was just that this love was too twisted and perverse, and his actions could only be described as beastly. He was trapped in a kind of obsession, a forced kind of love that he could not break free from no matter how hard he tried.
Now that he had a second chance at life, he decided right then and there to treat Xiao Yue Liang in a much gentler way. At the very least, he could not let her die again like she had before. "Eat more meat, look how thin you are," Wu Qin said softly as he placed a piece of spare rib into her bowl. He was already thinking about how he could slowly win back her favor, one small step at a time.
Xiao Qingyue stared at the spare rib sitting in her bowl. There was no joy in her eyes at all, only a deep disgust that she tried hard to hide. Sweet and sour spare ribs had once been Little Wu's signature dish, and it used to be one of her favorite things to eat back in those peaceful days. Why did it have to be him now? Lying bastard. Scoundrel! She hated him to death and knew in her heart that she would never forgive him for everything he had done.
Xiao Qingyue kept her head low the whole time, making sure the Demon could not see the emotions swirling in her eyes. If he caught even a glimpse, she might face another beating. She dared not refuse to eat the food in front of her. Just as Red Plum had warned her in secret, it was better to comply with him in the small matters as much as possible. Regarding things that were not her absolute bottom line, she could refuse once, but never twice. If she refused twice, she would only be asking for worse trouble later. Xiao Qingyue secretly vowed to herself that she must hold firm to her bottom line no matter what, otherwise he would only escalate his actions more and more. Giving an inch and taking a mile was exactly how he operated. He was a lunatic. Completely unreasonable.
Although they had held a wedding ceremony, Xiao Qingyue had refused to comply on their wedding night. Wu Qin had not forced her that time. He had simply given her a severe thrashing instead. One hundred strikes, not one less. At the time, she had truly felt like she was dying, with one foot already stepping through the Gates of Hell. It had taken her half a month of lying unconscious to even begin recovering. The main reason she survived at all was because this Demon was strangely willing to use precious medicine to save her life afterward.
Wu Qin showed a slight smile as he remembered those early days. He had only abused her for two and a half years in this life so far. There was still plenty of time and chance for everything to turn around if he was careful. In her previous life, she had endured for ten thousand long years, which was far more impressive than even King Goujian of Yue from the old stories. But in Xiao Qingyue's eyes right now, his smile at that moment looked incredibly chilling, sinister, and terrifying. Was he already thinking about how to abuse her again? Beneath his handsome exterior hid a truly twisted heart.
After they finished eating, Wu Qin ordered her to play a few tunes for him on the Jade Zither, which had always been her specialty. Wu Qin did not understand music theory at all, but even he could tell that she was distracted and playing poorly this time. It was nowhere near as pleasant and moving as the way she used to play it back on Cloud Heaven Peak. "If it sounds this bad next time, you won't need to play anymore," he said calmly. "Learn to play the flute instead."
Xiao Qingyue lowered her head in silence, thinking to herself that she already knew how to play the flute. She had only played poorly because her body still hurt too much from everything she had been through. I won't play it for you anyway, she thought bitterly. It would be like playing a lute to a cow. Wu Qin did not torment her any further that evening. He simply told her to return to the Immortal Cave and then went back to his own cave to sit down and recall the cultivation methods he still remembered clearly from his previous life.
He needed to replace the lower-grade, flawed ones he had been using. Many people who practiced demonic cultivation ended up becoming neither fully human nor ghost, developing strange temperaments along the way, and it was largely because of flawed cultivation methods. For instance, the one his master had taught him was incomplete, with modifications in several key areas that caused problems later on. He needed to fix this hidden danger before it grew worse. Also, among all the cultivation methods he had acquired for Xiao Qingyue in his previous life, he only clearly remembered the low Heaven-grade Snow Phoenix Winter Canon.
Wu Qin looked within himself and saw that his vital energy and blood were abundant and strong. Inside his Dantian sat a vast, boundless black sea that felt deep and desolate. Above it floated a mass of black flames, a chessboard, and a black bell. Those were the Strange Flame known as Ashen Sea Black Flame and his innate treasures. In the Purple Mansion, purple chains intertwined like countless long dragons. Now that the hostility value was visible, he thought, as long as he vented it regularly, there would not be any issues. These Soul Chains could be broken with time and effort.
Wu Qin wondered if there was more than one Daughter of Destiny in this world. If he found another target for venting his hostility, he would not need to torment Xiao Yue Liang anymore. Could she be one too? In the previous life, he had whipped her three times and it had surprisingly worked well. Plus, she was part of the Yao Race, naturally physically strong and more enduring than Xiao Yue Liang. But his current strength was not enough to completely crush her yet. It was too risky. It was best to wait until he reached the Void Refining Stage.
Wu Qin cleared his thoughts and focused. That future Strongest Demon Venerable of the Western Regions had endurance that was comparable to Xiao Yue Liang's. She truly was a Legendary Whipping King. If she turned out to be another Daughter of Destiny, that would be great. He would not have to hit his beloved Xiao Yue Liang anymore, and that thought eased the heartache he sometimes felt. "Cultivate!" he told himself firmly.
In this world, strength was the foundation of everything. If your fist was big enough, you could do whatever you wanted. He knew this principle better than anyone. The cultivation method he had mainly practiced in his previous life, the Demon Prison Immortal Reversal Art, began operating smoothly. His senses closed off completely, and his body became like a sealed Demon Asura Hell, emitting vast, pure demonic energy and Yang energy that felt immensely tyrannical. At his Dantian, a black bell condensed from numerous strands of demonic essence formed the core known as the "Demon Seed."
The senior who created this method had written that upon reaching the ninth layer, the Demon Seed could be transformed into a Second Cave Heaven, an Immortal Aperture containing Pure Yang True Qi. It would be capable of holding the sun and moon inside and could eventually grow into a complete world of its own. Once cultivated fully, one could defy the heavens and strike down immortals. But in his previous life, he had never found the last two layers, even after reaching the Great Ascension stage. He strongly suspected it was an exaggeration or that they simply were not present in this realm.
The inverted Demon Emperor Black Bell rang delicately and exquisitely inside him. He seemed to turn into a bottomless pit, and the prison gates formed by his 108,000 pores opened wide. All the negative energy between heaven and earth was sucked into his body, tempering his physique and transforming into fierce and scorching demonic essence. Not a single bit of vital energy was allowed to leak out. Using his body as a prison, only letting things in and never letting them out.
In the neighboring Immortal Cave, Xiao Qingyue curled up tightly on the bed. Tears rolled down her face one after another, crystalline and impossible to stop. She felt such deep hatred in her chest. She hated Wu Qin's madness and tyranny with every fiber of her being. She hated her own incompetence and weakness even more. And she hated this unfair world most of all. Her parents had been such good people, yet none of them had met a good end, and she still could not even find out who the murderer was. Now that she was imprisoned here, she had even less chance of seeking the vengeance she deserved.
"Wuwu…" Xiao Qingyue no longer carried the aura of the cold, aloof fairy she once was. She looked like nothing more than a helpless little girl. She vigorously wiped the tears from her face with both hands, but no matter how hard she tried, they would not stop. The teardrops kept tracing fresh paths onto the pillow beneath her head. The tears came from the sorrow and bitter hatred deep in her heart, and they were impossible to dispel. When would these miserable, dark days finally come to an end? Being in the dark was not the scariest part. Not seeing any hope at all was what terrified her the most. Even a tiny bit of light would have been enough to keep her going. Fear was practically swallowing her whole now. She hugged her knees to her chest and curled herself into a small ball. The tears kept soaking the pillow until it was damp all the way through.
The next day arrived quietly. In a daze, Xiao Qingyue felt someone gently stroking her face and hair. Her delicate body trembled, and she suddenly opened her eyes. There in front of her was a handsome face that did not lack masculine vigor. It was too frightening to see so close. She immediately had a panic reaction deep inside. "Did you have a nightmare again?" Wu Qin asked, his finger still toying softly with her dark hair. "Get up. I've prepared breakfast for you."
Xiao Qingyue wondered if she had misheard him. His tone was so gentle this morning. In her confusion, he almost seemed to have turned back into the Little Wu she once knew.