Chapter 039: Master Above, Disciple Bows Once

Chapter 039: Master Above, Disciple Bows Once

That night, in the demon palace bedchamber, a few ghost-fire lanterns flickered with hellish light within the fanged skull decor.

Inside the translucent red gauze bed curtains, two figures were entangled in ultimate intimacy—the woman's fragmented moans and the man's satisfied growls mingled like raindrops falling on the ghost-fires, threatening to extinguish them. The flames wavered, flickering dim and bright.

The man coaxed her over and over, saying that if only his master would call him "husband," this would be the last time. But whenever his goddess-like master, so breathtakingly beautiful, softly uttered the word "husband," his crimson eyes grew eerily more excited, and in return, he trampled ruthlessly into the depths of the peach blossom grove—his true haven, where he could find peace and do as he pleased.

Unable to endure such demands, a hand reached out from the bed, slender fingers clutching the red gauze curtain. She pushed him away with difficulty, stumbling out of bed to leave. Her fair body, waist-length ink-black hair, and cold, stunning face now flushed with lingering passion, her whole body covered in red marks from being fiercely loved—a living, breathing picture of seduction.

"Master, where are you going?" Yan Mi waved his hand, and the gauze dissipated. He rose lazily, naked, propping himself up on his hands. Black hair, red eyes, and the mark of demonic possession between his brows.

After two days of intimacy, his body bore blood scratches from her nails. With his current cultivation, he could erase them with a single thought, but he didn't. Instead, he remained unabashed, without a shred of shame, resting his hand on his bent knee, revealing his excellent physique.

Pu Shu had no clothes to cover herself. She blushed, her entire body flushed with an enticing pink. Her long hair barely covered her buttocks as she tried to open the door, but no matter how she pulled, it wouldn't budge. In frustration, she remembered—she had no spiritual power left.

"Yan Mi, I am your master! Although... although I took you as my disciple with an ulterior motive, you can't treat me like this..." Pu Shu's voice wavered with uncertainty.

"Master, how am I treating you? Your disciple loves and respects you with all his heart. Since I am my master's cauldron, I will do my best to fulfill that role. I won't let you down." Yan Mi smiled, his androgynous, demonic face incredibly alluring, his eyes filled with sticky, obsessive love.

"I never wanted you to be a permanent medicinal guide. Just... just once is enough..." Pu Shu felt on the verge of tears. If she could turn back time, she would never have brought him back. Honestly, as a medicinal guide, she only needed to use him once—to cure the love poison in her body.

And to make it up to him, she had diligently taught him cultivation and gifted him treasures. That was genuine!

Yan Mi could overlook her earlier words, but seeing regret in Pu Shu's eyes, his murderous rage spiraled out of control. His blood-red eyes were terrifying, and he roared in fury: "You're still thinking about that damned Master Qingfeng, aren't you!"

Dark, ominous energy filled the room—an absolute, terrifying suppression. Pu Shu's face paled. She covered her fair chest and backed away, shaking her head repeatedly. She knew too well: whenever Yan Mi fixated on this nonexistent matter, he lost all reason, and she was the one who suffered.

"Hahaha, Master, you always find a way to anger me. I knew it! I knew you were still thinking of him! But thinking is useless—I made his soul scatter into oblivion. How pathetic, dying with his eyes open."

Yan Mi laughed maniacally. Then, in the next second, his face darkened, expressionless like a vengeful ghost. He said in a sinister tone, "Master, be good and come to me on your own. Don't make me do it myself, and don't make me say it twice—or you won't step out of this door for ten or twenty years."

He had always been a madman. He said what he meant and followed through. Just like when he crawled into her bed during her love poison flare-up and used dark means to bind them together in a forbidden intimacy—or else they would both explode.

A wise man submits to circumstances. Pu Shu still wanted to leave and continue her cultivation. Only Yan Mi knew how to cure it. Blushing, she moved slowly toward him. With no clothes on, she didn't know where to put her hands. Yan Mi stared at her intently. Pu Shu was naturally cold on the outside but conservative and shy inside. After their recent intimacy, and with countless times together, it was easy to arouse feelings.

"Yan Mi..." Pu Shu stood before him, her toes curling into the plush carpet. But Yan Mi just looked at her, motionless—the implication clear.

Pu Shu took a deep breath. She reached out, wrapped her arms around his neck, and burrowed into his embrace, tilting her head to kiss the corner of his mouth. Her beautiful amber eyes were clear and innocent, but Yan Mi remained expressionless. Despite his obvious physical reaction—like a branding iron pressing against her—Pu Shu felt her inner thigh would be scalded and peeled. Her face burned.

She bit her lower lip, but Yan Mi cupped her chin, his fingers stroking her lips and forcing them apart. Her white teeth were faintly visible, her tongue tip tender red. That way, she wouldn't bite her plump, rosy lips. Yan Mi's face was gloomy. "I told you not to hurt yourself. Breaking the rules means punishment. You know that, Master."

Pu Shu's heart ached. She had clearly raised her disciple all wrong. It was her first time taking a disciple, and she ended up with a rebellious apprentice who defied his master. He had consumed her completely, inside and out.

She took Yan Mi's finger into her mouth, slid down, and lowered her head... Yan Mi's forehead bulged with veins from restraint, but he couldn't help pulling her up, shifting positions, and lowering his head to kiss her.

After a moment, listening to Yan Mi's swallowing sounds, Pu Shu was flipped over again. Already dizzy, she didn't react until she was fully taken again. His warm breath brushed her ear along with sickly sweet words: "Master, they're all bad. Only I am good to you. You know that, don't you? They're all using you, hurting you. Master, love me, okay? I love you, Master. Can you feel it? It's okay if you don't say it. I can feel it. Hmph, my master's body is so honest. It always clenches so tightly, unwilling to let me go."

"..." Forget the first part—that last sentence was slander. He was the one who kept her trapped every day. Pu Shu's ears burned. Her body went limp; if Yan Mi hadn't been holding her waist, she would have collapsed. She couldn't help but scold in a low voice, "Rebellious disciple, shut up!"

"Master, Master... I give everything to you. Everything is yours forever..." Yan Mi's expression turned from cloudy to sunny. He laughed softly, his chest vibrating, like a neurotic madman. Only by irrigating her daily and marking her inside and out—no one would dare covet his master again.

Pu Shu wanted to cover her ears. This rebellious disciple had a strange fetish. Knowing she couldn't bear hearing such intimate talk during intercourse, he called her "Master" even more eagerly. How could his skin be so thick?

She could never understand how things had turned out this way.

But in the end, the root problem was herself. She hadn't taken a disciple with pure intentions—she had planned to use him as a medicinal guide. She couldn't blame Yan Mi. She had brought this upon herself.

——

Back to the beginning of this twisted fate.

Pu Shu was the Seventh Elder of the Liuyue Sect, the youngest junior sister, and exceptionally talented. Her parents, both cultivators, had already fallen. She was an immortal fetus, reaching the Golden Core stage at just fifteen, so her appearance remained fixed at that age—though over time, she matured slightly into an even more stunning face with a cold, ethereal aura.

The Golden Core stage was a watershed in cultivation. Advancing further became increasingly difficult. At the Golden Core stage, one could already open a peak and accept disciples. But Pu Shu didn't take any. She immersed herself in cultivation, secluding herself for decades. At two hundred years old, she reached the Nascent Soul stage, earning the title "Venerable Liushu," a genius renowned throughout the cultivation world.

After emerging from seclusion, she happened to encounter an evil cultivator harming disciples of the sect on a training expedition. She took charge of the rescue mission.

This evil cultivator's cultivation wasn't deep, but his methods were bizarre. He specialized in abducting female cultivators for draining dual cultivation, sapping their cultivation for his own use, reaching the Golden Core stage in a short time.

Logically, Pu Shu's Nascent Soul stage cultivation should have easily crushed such an evil cultivator. And indeed, it did—except she was caught off guard once. The evil cultivator had too many heretical tools and treasures looted from murder victims. She inadvertently fell victim to a poison called "Union Love Poison" that the evil cultivator inflicted on her as he lay dying.

This poison was vicious. It made her whole body itch unbearably, as if she desperately needed someone to relieve her. Worse, when it flared up, using spiritual energy to suppress it only intensified the pain. She could only endure it bodily. It flared once a month, growing more agonizing each time.

Pu Shu endured for several days until the poison subsided. She returned to the sect without showing any signs of poisoning, still the cold, beautiful Venerable Liushu on the surface.

She privately investigated the poison and discovered it was an ancient toxin. To cure it, one needed to copulate with a man of pure yin constitution and innate spiritual body. This poison was inherently yin-based, designed to harm; naturally, the antidote wasn't righteous either.

But innate spiritual bodies were rare enough, let alone pure yin men. A pure yang body would be easier to find—but pure yin? It was like searching for a needle in a haystack in the cultivation world.

Pu Shu had her pride. She wouldn't let this despicable poison ruin her reputation. If absolutely necessary, she would rather give up her life and self-destruct.

But no one wants to die. She was no exception—especially having reached the Nascent Soul stage after such arduous effort.

She went into seclusion again upon returning, trying to find another way to cure the Union Love Poison. Unfortunately, she found none. Then she received a mission from her senior brother, the sect leader, Master Qingfeng.

"Junior Sister, it's time for the various sects to recruit disciples. This recruitment mission will be your responsibility."

Master Qingfeng was handsome in a righteous way—no cultivator was ugly.

He smiled at Pu Shu, his gaze gentler than with other junior brothers and sisters. "You've reached the Nascent Soul stage. You can't keep refusing to take personal disciples. On this trip down the mountain, if you find a suitable disciple, bring them back to the sect and accept them as your own."

It was a small favor—she could go early to examine the disciples' talent first. If she found a good one, she could take them before other elders snatched them up.

The other elders were fellow disciples, some older and already retired to focus on cultivation. The same master's direct disciples were only him and junior sister. But junior sister was beautiful to the point of coldness, and as senior brother, he couldn't get too close or disturb her.

Besides, cultivators tended to be solitary, disliking crowds. They each found their own caves and insights for cultivation, without much emotional companionship.

"I understand, Senior Brother." Pu Shu nodded slightly. With a wave of her hand, an Ice Lotus appeared beneath her feet, and she quickly disappeared from the hall.

Master Qingfeng stood in silence, gazing at the sky for a long time. His hands clenched behind his back as he thought silently: Junior Sister, when will I see other emotions on your face for me? But it should be soon—when you can no longer bear it, you will surely come to me for help.

Master Qingfeng curved his lips, full of confidence.

·

Beneath each immortal mountain lay a mortal realm under their governance. When recruitment began, mortals seeking to test their spiritual roots would rush to the place where immortals descended.

Recruitment happened once every ten years. Without good prospects, some sects might not take a single disciple for decades.

Pu Shu didn't need to do much. The sect's personnel arranged everything. Her presence was merely to showcase strength and demonstrate the might of the Liuyue Sect.

She sat cross-legged on a transparent Ice Lotus, eyes closed, hands in a mudra, cultivating. Frosty energy surrounded her like a snow maiden.

She had always been a cultivation maniac, unconcerned with worldly matters, only focusing on improving her cultivation. To put it nicely, she was aloof and uninvolved; to put it bluntly, she was unworldly.

For two hundred years, Pu Shu had secluded herself in the Liuyue Sect for cultivation. Occasionally emerging, it was only to discuss cultivation insights with Senior Brother or a few elders. Or when encountering a secret realm, she would join for training, gain insights, and immediately go into seclusion again. She rarely appeared in the sect.

That was why she hadn't refused Senior Brother—she understood that as the Seventh Elder of the Liuyue Sect, she had to do something to repay the sect.

Even if she disliked showing her face in public or being stared at, she endured it, patiently staying here until the recruitment was over.

At this moment, the disciples who had come to seek apprenticeship looked up and saw her, their eyes filled with envy and admiration. The Seventh Elder of the Liuyue Sect was so powerful! And so beautiful!

"An evil demon is causing mischief!" Pu Shu suddenly opened her eyes, a cold gleam flashing within them. An ice sword appeared in her hand, forged entirely from ice and engraved with a lotus pattern.

This was her life-bound sword. Her spiritual root was an ice spiritual root, and the cold ice used to forge this sword was taken from beneath a thousand-year cold snow. It was immensely powerful, its blade radiating a chilling aura.

"Jianmu, stay here. I'll be back soon." Pu Shu instructed Jianmu, the inner disciple who was arranging the spiritual root testing.

"Yes, Seventh Elder." Jianmu nodded.

He watched as the Seventh Elder vanished from sight as soon as her words fell, leaving behind only a chill in the air. He felt deep admiration and resolved to train hard, hoping to become as strong as the Seventh Elder one day.

·

Outside the city, under the setting sun.

Young Yan Mi was being chased by two beggars. He clutched a roast chicken wrapped in wax paper, which they spotted and reached for. But unlike before, Yan Mi didn't hand over his gains after begging for good things in the city. This angered the two beggars, who shouted that they would catch him and teach him a lesson.

Yan Mi ran fast, almost outpacing the beggars, and dashed into a forest where one could easily get lost. He tripped and fell, landing beside a large tree. The fragrant roast chicken rolled out of the wax paper, giving off a tempting aroma.

"Run, keep running, you little bastard!" the two beggars panted tiredly, grinning as they approached. The one in front stared at the roast chicken, drooling.

One clever beggar abandoned his companion and rushed ahead to grab the chicken first, so he could get more bites.

But just as he was about to reach Yan Mi, the boy stood up, unfazed, brushed the leaves off his clothes, and pulled a hidden rope.

Suddenly, a sharpened wooden stick flew through the air at just the right height and speed, piercing through the beggar's throat with a squelching sound.

He froze in place, clutching his throat with both hands, not daring to pull out the stick. Blood gushed uncontrollably, his mouth wide open, able only to make muffled grunts. Blood flowed out staining his face and clothes. He fell, eyes wide open in death, his death utterly horrifying.

"You... you..." The other beggar was stunned, his legs giving out, staring at the eight-year-old Yan Mi in terror. A chill ran through him—they had provoked a demon.

"Ha ha ha, how boring. You fell for it so easily." Yan Mi laughed heartily, tears streaming from the corners of his eyes.

The next moment, he wiped his eyes. His youthful face turned cold, showing a twisted, sinister look, "So ridiculous. Two idiots like you wanted to steal from me."

An orphan like him survived not by luck, but by using his hands and wits to kill anyone who harmed him. It was one of his few pleasures.

Over the years, he had killed more people than he could count on both hands. That was why he moved from place to place, a wanderer.

He had only arrived here recently, and these two fools had targeted him. He didn't even get angry when robbed. He secretly set a trap, waiting for the prey to fall in.

The beggar, driven by fear, trembled and turned to run. Yan Mi smiled. Today, he was determined to take both their lives—no way he'd let them escape alive!

However.

Just as he was about to act, a loud *bang* resounded. The big tree next to him was blown up, along with the corpses on the ground, all reduced to dust. He was left untouched, caught in a warm, soft, fragrant embrace.

Yan Mi was stunned. He looked up at the person, their eyelashes so beautiful—was she a goddess?

"Are you alright?" Pu Shu set him down gently. Seeing the child dazed, she asked with rare concern.

"N-no, I'm fine." Yan Mi shook his head, his voice soft, tinged with timidity, confusion, and fear.

He quickly masked his recent ferocity, blinked, and became a very obedient child. A thin, weak child was a good way to gain pity.

"Thank you, goddess, for saving me."

Yan Mi was reluctant to leave the soft, fragrant embrace—it was so comfortable—but he was set down. A twisted feeling brewed in his heart, but he didn't show it.

"I am not a goddess. My Dao name is Venerable Liushu." Pu Shu said coldly, her face indifferent, reminding him.

Yan Mi silently repeated the name to himself: Venerable.

So she was an immortal. That made him an ant.

But even an ant can crawl upward, right?

"Roar—"

A wolf demon leaped out, shaking the ground. It could even speak human language, holding fire in its hand.

"Nosy immortal race, today I'll offer you as a sacrifice!" The wolf demon was arrogant.

Pu Shu didn't bother with pleasantries. She set up a protective barrier around Yan Mi, took her ice sword, and flew off to deal with the wolf demon.

Earlier, when she arrived, it was digging out a human heart to eat.

Yan Mi watched the battle in awe, his eyes fixed, his heart pounding fiercely.

Especially when Pu Shu moved with graceful and sharp techniques, walking on snowflakes, her robes fluttering, looking unreal—deeply imprinted in Yan Mi's heart.

Soon, the wolf demon was slain by her move "Ice Lotus Blossom." A demon core flew into her hand.

Pu Shu clasped her hands, and the demon core dissipated.

Such evil things shouldn't exist.

Pu Shu turned back. The child was still staring at her, quite brave—a mortal seeing demons and monsters without fear.

But...

Pu Shu placed her fingertip on Yan Mi's forehead, closed her eyes, and probed with her spiritual sense. After a moment, she opened her eyes, surprised.

This child had a naturally spiritual body, and it was pure yin!

"You have a good spiritual root, an extraordinary talent. Would you be willing to become my disciple, follow me to the immortal sect, and cultivate to become an immortal?" Pu Shu hesitated a few seconds, then quickly made a decision.

Although it was a bit unfair, by the time he grew up, only about ten years would pass—a blink of an eye for cultivators.

By then, she would take his pure yang essence to cure the poison in some other way, without letting him know it was taken by his master, preserving their bond.

Apart from that, she would be a good master, helping him in his cultivation.

Yan Mi hadn't expected such a surprise. He had been thinking of how to get close enough to follow her.

"Master above, your disciple is willing." Yan Mi knelt down neatly and kowtowed.

"What is your name?"

"Yan Mi."

"Very well, Yan Mi, let's go."

An ice lotus appeared under Pu Shu's feet. Her cold, ethereal face was calm as she extended her hand.

"Yes."

Yan Mi wiped his hands several times before carefully placing it on hers.

Her hand was very white, her fingertips tinged with a healthy pink color, especially beautiful. But his hand was rough skin, dry and thin like a chicken claw, ugly.

Yan Mi felt a sense of inferiority, but also a strong determination: he absolutely must become stronger, so that in the future when Master took his hand again, the two of them wouldn't look mismatched.

This was his first encounter with immortal cultivation. The flying vehicle was so fast it made him dizzy.

But just before returning, Pu Shu suddenly stopped.

"Yan Mi."

"Master."

"This time going to the immortal mountain, you will not descend for ten years, decades, or even a hundred years. If you have any worldly affairs left unfinished, I can let you go settle them."

Yan Mi wanted to say no, but he was very clever and could read people, able to guess with eighty to ninety percent accuracy from their expressions.

He knew that Master wanted him to settle worldly affairs so that he could cut off worldly thoughts and cultivate well, rather than being restless.

"Master, your disciple does have some unfinished business. I want to say goodbye to someone who once helped me." Yan Mi lifted his head; because he was thin, his eyes looked larger, appearing especially sincere.

"Mm, go ahead." Pu Shu waved her hand, and a cloud brought Yan Mi to the ground.

"If you finish your business, crush this snowflake, and it will bring you to me."

Pu Shu had already disappeared into the air, leaving only these words echoing in Yan Mi's ears. He lowered his head and saw a beautiful snowflake hanging around his neck.

Yan Mi carefully touched it; the feeling was a bit cold, like holding Master's hand. He lifted it, brought it to his lips and kissed it gently, then revealed a cunning, sly smile.

His divine Master seemed a bit cold and innocent, but that was even better, wasn't it?

That night.

Yan Mi came to a ruined temple outside the city and found a beggar trembling in the corner, who had taken advantage of the chaos to escape.

Seeing Yan Mi enter, the beggar was so terrified that his legs trembled and he stuttered, "Wh-what do you want?!"

"Of course I'm here to see an old acquaintance and settle worldly affairs." Yan Mi tilted his head with a smile, playing with a dagger in his hand, revealing a very dangerous smile. "My things aren't so easy to take. You'll have to pay with your life."

He had been here for five days, and they had robbed him for five days. Of course, he had added something extra to the food.

"Spare me, please, spare me! I'll never do it again..." The beggar wept bitterly, prostrating himself before Yan Mi, kowtowing and begging for mercy from a boy more than ten years younger than him.

This was also why he could neither run nor resist; the food had long been drugged by Yan Mi. Eating a little each day, the poison built up and incapacitated him.

"Who are you calling a little bastard?" Yan Mi stood in the darkness, only a sliver of moonlight fell on him. Though small, he was not weak; he lifted his foot and kicked the beggar's face.

"Little bastard is me, little bastard is me."

"You're quick to beg for mercy, but I'm the type who, once I decide to kill today, I don't put it off till the next day." Yan Mi laughed, crouched down, grabbed the beggar's head, and under his terrified expression, thrust the dagger directly into his chest. When he pulled it out, the blade dripped with blood. Yan Mi was still laughing happily, like a night demon engaged in a joyful killing feast, having a blast.

"Want to go down and tell the stinking King of Hell about me? This mouth won't be needed anymore, and these eyes, I'll take them too." Yan Mi swung his knife, cutting off the beggar's tongue and blinding him, leaving streaks of bloody tears.

Once the man was dead, he tossed him aside in disgust. "Too easy to take down. Died so fast."

Yan Mi had no interest in staying to stare at the corpse, nor did he intend to clean it up.

The death of a beggar without identity or residence registration, not even considered human, only the rats in the ditches cared, since it meant a feast.

Under cover of night, Yan Mi walked fearlessly on the wild path. Even ghosts, upon seeing him, might flee in terror.

He walked far until he reached a river. Looking at his reflection in the water, he held the dagger and, without even flinching, gave himself several cuts. He was confident they were not fatal, just made him look bloody.

"Like this, Master will surely feel bad for me. I can't wait to see." The dagger was dripping with his own fresh red blood. Yan Mi licked the tip of the blade, rolling his tongue, the metallic-sweet taste of blood flowing down his throat. He laughed even more joyfully, his eyes filled with excitement and a depraved gleam.

With a splash, the bloody dagger was thrown into the river and disappeared.

Yan Mi, with his bloody hand, reluctantly pinched and crushed the snowflake, and he vanished on the spot.

When he reappeared, he was already in the inn room, and Pu Shu was sitting cross-legged on the bed in meditation.

She knew Yan Mi had arrived. Opening her eyes, she saw his injuries and frowned slightly, "How did you get hurt?"

"Mas-Master..." Yan Mi's acting was already flawless. He put on a weak and helpless expression, staggered a few steps, then fell into Pu Shu's arms. And just as he closed his eyes, pretending to faint, he secretly smirked. Master was already worrying about him.

Ah, but he had dirtied Master's clean and pure clothes. What a pity.

Then let it be punishment for him to prepare many clean clothes for Master in the future. It's settled like that.

Pu Shu helped him up and noticed his breathing was weak, her brow furrowing.

But she was not a healing cultivator; she only had pills. An ordinary person's body could not use them; they would explode and die.

"Jian Mu, I'll take my disciple back first. You stay and be in charge of the disciple recruitment."

Pu Shu sent a voice transmission to the disciple Jian Mu, then took Yan Mi back to her own peak. She first sealed his physique, turning it into a mixed spiritual root before inviting a medical immortal to treat him.

This was not purely for her sake, but for Yan Mi's safety. His constitution could easily be captured and turned into a puppet; it could not be exposed before he had the ability to protect himself.