Chapter 90

Two dazzling streaks of light tore across the sky, followed by an earth-shattering roar.

The Moonlit Waters collapsed, ice and snow mixed with rubble raining down, and the remaining demonic entities vanished amidst the brilliant, deafening sound. As the dust settled, Kong Muhua sheathed his two massive, multicolored axes, adjusted his robes, and stepped gracefully into the cave with a delicate, lotus-like gait. With feigned shyness, he addressed Bai Zihao, "Zihao-gege, I’ve been searching for you so desperately."

Bai Zihao wanted to flee, but it was already too late—his expression darkened.

Back then, he hadn’t understood demon cultivators and naively believed this person was a girl. Though his speech was somewhat affected and his actions overly dramatic, he seemed cute and had a decent personality. Kong Muhua didn’t care about his past and pursued him ardently. Bai Zihao was moved and thought he might have stronger feelings for women—until one drunken night, he shyly confessed his feelings, only to be coaxed onto the bed by Kong Muhua. By the time he realized something was off, it was too late—he was relentlessly tormented all night…

Afterward, he only wanted to summon the *Frozen Wasteland Scroll* and kill this shameless peacock.

Reflecting on his pain, he resolved never to have such relations with men again and decided to stay far away from Kong Muhua.

Yet, at the Indestructible Peak, everyone witnessed the thunderous breakup spectacle—except for the Divine Lord, who was the only one not amused.

"Brother Zihao, it’s my fault," Kong Muhua wept, his face streaked with tears, tugging at him to apologize. "I gave you my chaste body because I wanted to live a good life with you. You can hit me, scold me, but don’t abandon me. You said, ‘I’ll marry you’ in bed… You can’t take it back."

The peacock wasn’t lying—it truly was his first time, his body truly untouched…

Which was why he had no idea what to do and just relied on instinct and brute force.

Bai Zihao was stunned by Kong Muhua’s weeping, instinctively reaching for a handkerchief to comfort him. But as he shifted slightly on the bed, the lingering soreness jolted him back to reality… After finally escaping the Golden Phoenix Manor and breaking free from the fate of bowing to men, how could he willingly return?

He coldly rejected Kong Muhua’s outlandish pleas, adamant about breaking up.

But Kong Muhua was relentless. He chased Bai Zihao every day, whining, acting pitiful, crying, and making scenes—no lovelorn heroine in any storybook rivaled his obsession. With endless schemes, he pursued Bai Zihao for over a thousand years, wearing down his resolve until he succeeded several times…

Each time afterward, Bai Zihao regretted it and beat the shameless peacock in frustration. Kong Muhua, being a demon cultivator, appeared delicate but had formidable defenses, completely unfazed by a human mage’s flailing blows. Yet, to please his beloved, he pretended to be mortally wounded, moaning pitifully and playing the role of a wounded patient—only to take advantage of Bai Zihao’s sympathy.

Somehow, this was witnessed and ended up in the cultivation gossip rags.

As a result, Immortal Lord Bai became known as the coldest, most heartless scoundrel for beating his "fragile" "girlfriend," while Kong Muhua was painted as the "foolish woman" who abandoned all dignity and principles for love, allowing her heart to be trampled. Countless romance novels were published using them as prototypes, each story featuring a villain and doormat in a tragic, toxic romance.

Kong Muhua bought every single one, reading them with relish and recommending them to all his colleagues.

Bai Zihao suspected these novels were tied to his perverse preferences—but he had no proof…

……

Kong Muhua was used to his dark expressions and pretended not to notice, latching onto his arm with a smile. "Did you know? The Indestructible Peak is about to have a Divine Consort. The Divine Lord is choosing suitable gifts for them." He glanced subtly at Bai Zihao’s shocked expression and sighed dramatically. "The person the Divine Lord fancies must be the most beautiful woman in the world, right?"

He deliberately lingered on "beauty" for half a beat longer.

Bai Zihao froze for a long moment before recalling the Medicine King Immortal’s appearance. He realized Kong Muhua must have misunderstood and explained, "The Divine Lord doesn’t like women—it’s a man. I remember his looks were plain, but—"

"Don’t be jealous," Kong Muhua cut him off, offering experienced comfort. "Forget the Divine Lord already. He’s marrying a Divine Consort now. Look at me more—I may not be as handsome as the Divine Lord, but my devotion to you is as clear as daylight…"

Back then, the Divine Lord had taken Bai Zihao out of the Golden Phoenix Manor and personally trained him for a time, employing many ruthless methods. Bai Zihao endured it all. After forming his Golden Core, he began voluntarily handling minor troubles for the Divine Lord. Now, his Snowstorm Tower operated as a subsidiary of the Indestructible Peak, ostensibly taking on bounty missions—but in truth, it was the Divine Lord’s assassin organization, tasked with eliminating rats hiding in the gutters or wearing human skins.

Kong Muhua always felt the Divine Lord treated Bai Zihao differently—with more patience. The same mistakes that would earn others severe punishment resulted in lighter penalties for Bai Zihao. Bai Zihao, too, held a reverent affection for the Divine Lord, though he always insisted it was merely gratitude. Yet, whenever he mentioned the Divine Lord, he would smile, his eyes gleaming with admiration…

Kong Muhua was jealous—but he couldn’t bring himself to resent it. He was inferior to the Divine Lord in every way…

He fretted, "You’re really not upset?"

Bai Zihao was baffled. "Why would I be?"

Kong Muhua pressed, "The Divine Lord has someone he likes."

Bai Zihao smiled. "He always has."

He quietly touched his right wrist—the lessons of the past were still fresh in his mind. No one was allowed to harbor delusions.

……

Three thousand years ago, the Divine Lord of the Indestructible Peak descended upon the Golden Phoenix Manor with countless demon cultivators. Soul Division experts fell one after another, and the extravagant manor turned into a blood-soaked hellscape.

At the time, Bai Zihao was Jin Feiren’s cultivation partner. Jin Feiren tried to escape with him, testing countless magical tools and teleportation arrays.

But the fiery barrier not only sealed the entire manor—it spread for miles. Strange, enormous vines writhed beneath the earth, while crimson butterflies of death filled the skies. The Divine Lord’s Divine Sense blanketed all space. It was as if he knew Jin Feiren’s methods inside out, anticipating every escape route and leaving no gaps.

Forced to fight, Jin Feiren told Bai Zihao to hide.

But Bai Zihao didn’t know where to go. Everywhere he looked was a crimson haze—dismembered limbs and the stench of gore choked his throat with nausea. He had never seen so many corpses, such a horrific scene. The demon cultivators of the Indestructible Peak slaughtered freely, but so did the Golden Phoenix Manor’s cultivators—even guests, in their despair, turned their hatred toward Jin Feiren, blaming him for the disaster and seeking to kill him and Bai Zihao in retaliation.

The beasts in this manor had lost all reason, surrendering to their vilest instincts. The chaos only worsened.

Terrified by the malicious intent around him, Bai Zihao’s tears spilled over.

His mind blank, he could think of nothing—until instinct drove him to the courtyard where he had first stayed upon arriving at the manor. There was a small oubliette here, used to punish disobedient new slaves. When Bai Zihao first arrived, he had been locked inside once for defiance, leaving him with vivid memories of the place.

The oubliette was soundproof and lightproof…

Few outside the Golden Phoenix Manor knew of it.

Bai Zihao daubed his face in gore and quietly slipped into the courtyard, finding most slaves had fled in the chaos. The few remaining cowered on the ground, weeping in confusion. He led them into the oubliette, freed those imprisoned inside, explained the situation outside, and set up wards to mask their qi. They shivered in unison, hoping to survive the slaughter and escape when it ended.

But misfortune did not spare them.

A few cultivators found the oubliette and drew their swords.

They dragged Bai Zihao out, declaring that before death, they would sample the Water-aligned Spiritual Root—Jin Feiren’s most treasured person.

Though Bai Zihao’s cultivation hadn’t been stripped, most of his years had been spent on frivolous arts—flower arrangement, tea appreciation, calligraphy, and painting. Jin Feiren had taught him that his body was too delicate for martial progress, that only pills could elevate him. Believing every word, Bai Zihao soon accepted he was a worthless trinket—only good for serving men’s pleasure to secure a comfortable life…

Now, faced with violence, he lacked even the strength to resist.

In the Golden Phoenix Manor, he had seen many slaves treated this way…

He dared not resist, could not resist. He closed his eyes, pretending not to see, telling himself to endure—that he would grow accustomed to it, that it would eventually feel good.

Everything happening to him now was retribution…

Bai Zihao forced his eyes shut, relaxing his body as his robes were torn away, steeling himself for the horror to come.

Endure. It would pass. Just like submitting to pleasure, he would grow to like it. Even beatings and violence—he would adapt. Endure, and it would pass…

But—

"No!" Bai Zihao’s eyes flew open. Summoning every ounce of courage, like a cornered hare, he fiercely bit the hand trying to violate him.

How could he endure this?!

His feeble resistance was futile. A stinging blow struck his face, his tongue bitten until blood seeped out. Dazed, his resolve crumbled. One of the brutes seized his hair, dragging him onto a table, pinning him down while spewing vile threats—promising to kill him here so he could continue serving men in death.

Bai Zihao wept silently. He had tried, but it was useless…

No more struggling. Just die like this.

As he abandoned hope and prepared to submit, a few beautiful scarlet butterflies drifted into the oubliette, illuminating the darkness like the kindest mercy in hell. Then, stunned, he watched as the butterflies landed on the brutes’ heads and bodies—their flesh slowly rotting away as they screamed in agony… Bai Zihao slowly rose from the table, staring in shock at the scene before him.

The Divine Lord slowly walked in through the main gate.

Drops of blood stained his pure white snow-feather cloak, and his beast-hide gloves bore traces of grime. Behind the heavy veils, emotionless dark golden phoenix eyes stared coldly at him.

Bai Zihao realized his robes had been torn open, revealing the marks from days of torment in the bedchamber—he looked a complete wreck. He lowered his head, trembling as he avoided those vaguely familiar eyes, too terrified to meet them. With the Golden Phoenix Manor slaughtered, as the lord’s cultivation partner, he had no chance of survival… He could only pray for a quick death, free from prolonged suffering or unspeakable horrors.

He dared not look at anything…

The Divine Lord turned away, ordering the demon cultivators behind him to take Bai Zihao and the slaves away to the main hall to await judgment.

Along the way, one of the demon cultivators tossed him an ornate golden embroidered robe, so he wouldn’t look so disgraceful.

Bai Zihao didn’t dare raise his head. Afraid of dirtying the garment, he carefully wiped away the bloodstains before putting it on and adjusting the collar. But his tears fell again despite himself, falling onto the embroidery and staining its colors. He whispered an apology, ashamed, “I’m sorry… I don’t think I can repay you…”

No one stood behind him—only the sound of wings cutting through the air. Faintly, carried by the wind, someone murmured, “Fool.”