CHAPTER 55
— The Hidden Inner Demon —
"S-Senior Brother Su, could you tell me how to get to the training grounds?"
—Awkward.
"This... is a gift for you."
—Shy.
"Senior Brother, Senior Brother, look! It's lit!"
—Excited.
"Su Yan, I'm telling you, I'm angry... I don't want to be friends with you anymore!"
—Annoyed.
"Don't push yourself, hey!"
—Urgent.
"Where are you hurt?"
—Concerned.
......
Different expressions, yet all the same face.
Scenes of familiar memories flashed by like a revolving lantern. Unknowingly, this face had completely invaded her memories, occupied her sea of consciousness, and filled every corner.
Who was it? So noisy?
Yet it made her feel an inexplicable warmth flowing through her heart?
Who was it? So worried?
Yet it gave her a reason to smile?
Was it her...
Tong Tong.
Two crisp syllables suddenly echoed in her mind, like a bolt of lightning tearing through the dark sky, illuminating the entire lightless world before her eyes—Su Yan's phoenix-like eyes flickered, and her sword-wielding hand paused—the crimson light blazed brilliantly but abruptly halted just above the girl's head, unable to descend any further.
"Senior Brother..." The delicate-looking girl grinned carelessly, then dissolved into countless specks of light before her eyes, gradually fading into the deepening darkness of the sea of consciousness.
"D@mn it." Only then did the one whose thoughts and actions had been manipulated come to a sudden realization. Powerlessly lowering her sword-wielding arm, she silently gazed in the direction where the specks of light gathered and dispersed. Her lips moved slightly, yet her eyes betrayed an unconscious sense of emptiness.
With a sigh, Su Yan's lips still curled into a helpless yet serene smile—no matter how much she tried to deceive herself, the fact remained unchanged: Tong Tong had become her inner demon.
When had she started to care for that foolish girl, to pay her any mind? Without even realizing it, she had allowed Tong Tong to occupy a corner of her heart, where she took root, blossomed, and bore fruit, until it became impossible to ever drive her out again...
Though she cultivated the Demonic Path, she had never imagined she would experience such a state of obsession, as if truly possessed.
Love, unknowing in its origin, grows ever deeper.
—Was it fate? Or a calamity?
She had to admit that from the moment she first softened her heart toward Tong Tong, she had lost any possibility of ever removing her from her life...
Unable to k!ll her, yet unable to let her go... just like the path she cultivated, neither fully dark nor wholly light.
It was a contradiction, yet also a balance.
So be it—let nature take its course.
A flash of white-gold lightning flickered and vanished. Su Yan's body began to glow with a soft, radiant light as her true essence and inner energy overflowed, and her flesh and sinews started to reorganize. In just the time it took for an incense stick to burn, her already smooth skin became as delicate as a peeled egg, tender and flawless. Without the concealment of the Purple Gold Flame Dragon Jade, her handsome features now appeared even more refined, carrying an ethereal elegance that surpassed her pre-Nascent Soul state.
After a few more moments, the pained expression on her face disappeared, replaced by one of peace and tranquility.
The last shreds of her clothing turned to dust, but her Qiankun pouch had been set aside by Ye Zhiqiu earlier, sparing it from destruction.
While she struggled with her inner energy, seizing the opportunity to form her Nascent Soul, something broke through the restrictive spells and escaped the confines of the Qiankun pouch. It glowed with a deep, dark light, resonating with the towering demonic aura emanating from her body—it was a small, pitch-black box, its surface engraved with intricate, cryptic characters. This was the only treasure she and Tong Tong had obtained from the underwater cavern in the Nichang Valley.
The black box trembled violently, as if something alive inside was desperately trying to break free. The dense, ink-like glow it emitted grew increasingly dazzling. If not for the fact that Luoxia Peak was remote and secluded, far from human habitation, and strictly forbidden to trespassers—and if Ye Zhiqiu hadn't laid down hundreds of powerful restrictions around Su Yan during her Nascent Soul formation—such a commotion would have long attracted the attention of the entire cultivation world, drawing experts from all directions to investigate.
Protected within Ye Zhiqiu's formidable barrier, Su Yan was able to calmly proceed with the final step of forming her Nascent Soul.
Above her head, a halo of blue-gold light materialized, slowly condensing into a beautiful young girl, identical in appearance to Su Yan—yet only the size of three fingers.
The tiny figure sat cross-legged just like her, its expression serene, yet exquisitely delicate and adorable, like a miniature doll—this was Su Yan's newly formed Nascent Soul!
Gradually, the miniature Su Yan became clearer and more refined, lifelike in every detail. Finally, Ye Zhiqiu's furrowed brows relaxed.
Suddenly, Su Yan's tightly closed eyes snapped open. A flash of violet flickered in her pupils before they returned to their deep, crystalline black. Her gaze sharpened, and a surge of k!lling intent condensed and then receded, yet her aura now radiated power countless times stronger than before.
—The Nascent Soul had been successfully formed!
Ye Zhiqiu, who had been standing guard not far away, suddenly furrowed her brows tightly. Although the trace of baleful aura was well concealed, her cultivation level allowed her to detect significant fluctuations of demonic energy. It turned out that Su Yan had successfully formed her Nascent Soul, but her inner demon remained only partially resolved, ultimately planting a hidden danger...
Alas, in matters like this, no matter how high her cultivation as her master, she was powerless to intervene.
"Can the will of heaven be defied?" Her clear, profound eyes gazed at the sky, now cleansed and azure after the tribulation clouds had dispersed, as if piercing through time and space... A moment later, the corners of her lips slowly curled into a mocking smile. "I insist that this heaven bends to my will!"
Her pristine, jade-like palm cradled a black box, making her hand appear even more exquisite than white jade. Yet, the smile in her eyes held a grace that even the snow lotuses blooming freely atop the northernmost celestial pool could not rival.
During the days when Su Yan was consolidating her Nascent Soul and stabilizing her realm, Tong Tong on the other side was not idle either.
Although her beautiful master had promised to send someone to investigate Ding Ding's whereabouts and carry out a rescue, Tong Tong still felt an underlying unease—a sense of impending storm, as if the wind heralded the coming rain. It wasn't that she had been overly influenced by television dramas, but rather that she firmly believed her passive skill had finally activated!
That was the legendary sixth sense, also known as—a woman's intuition!
Even though Tong Tong, as a young girl, had a flat figure with no curves to speak of, barely an A-cup, and almost zero appeal to the opposite s3x, this couldn't negate her rights as a female. Of course, it might be more appropriate to call that premonition the "instinct of a single-celled organism."
Tong Tong felt that without personally participating in the rescue mission for Young Master Ding, without hearing firsthand news of his safety, without seeing with her own eyes that he was unharmed and in one piece—she could still eat as usual and fall asleep on time... Yet, her heart felt as heavy as if weighed down by a stone. She even ate one-fifth less of her favorite meals and snacks, and her sleep quality, which used to be so sound she could drift off as soon as her head hit the pillow, had declined slightly. This simply wouldn't do!
Thus, after pondering over a lunch and an afternoon tea, Tong Tong realized that to fundamentally resolve the anxiety plaguing her about Young Master Ding's safety, there was only one solution—improve her cultivation, become stronger, and persuade her beautiful master to let her join the rescue plan!
—What? Safety concerns?
She had already thought it through. Once Su Yan recovered, she would pester him to go together!
It was time to wield the bonds of sisterhood and master-disciple affection! Even if Su Yan refused, she would beg her beautiful master to agree!
Going down the mountain together on a mission was absolutely a great opportunity to foster feelings! How could she miss it?
When the time came, she could use her personal charm to make the great iceberg fall for her, and then this and that... Oh ho ho ho!
So, improving her cultivation was key!
Moreover, if the gap between her and Su Yan grew too wide, there would be no happiness in the future!
Distance could sometimes be beautiful, but at other times, it only brought sorrow. For the sake of the long term, she must seize the moment, cherish the time, study hard, improve every day, and strive for the day when she could win over Senior Brother Su and live a life of luxury!
Tong Tong clenched her small fists, cheering herself up with determination as she soared toward Lianhua [Lotus] Peak on her flying sword—she had been capable of flight since reaching Foundation Establishment, but always tagging along with Su Yan, her "all-purpose" senior brother, meant free labor and no need to travel on her own. Plus, she could sneak in a chance to tease him—only a fool would pass up such perks!
Now, however, she had no choice but to rely on herself, wobbling unsteadily as she set off alone to find Lu Xianrou, whom she had parted from not long ago, and her master—Yuan Qiongshuang.
Indeed, that day, her Beautiful Master's words had implied she had long known about Lu Xianrou's master and had tacitly allowed her concealment. As for the reason, it was not something Tong Tong could delve into deeply.
So she simply took the elixir and pastries handed over by the cold-faced Yuan Qiongshuang, thanked her repeatedly, and headed back. Thus, she missed Elder Yuan's meaningful smile and muttered curse: "What a heartless, clueless little brat!"
Undoubtedly, even if the Obasan pointed at her nose and cursed, she could only rub her nose and endure it without retort, right? After all, after all this time, she was still nothing but a weakling with attack power, health, and influence all at a measly five...
"Junior Sister Little Rou~" Tong Tong jumped off the Biling Sword and immediately began shouting noisily, with a stubborn, almost desperate energy—in truth, she had a little scheme in mind: Yuan Qiongshuang preferred peace and quiet, and Lianhua Peak had few people. If she heard her making a racket, she would surely come out to scold her... Ah, to achieve her goal, she had even resorted to the "bitter flesh [Self=injury]" tactic!
Tong Tong was both proud of her deep scheming and couldn't help but shed a tear of sorrow for her own fate—the Obasan clearly looked like someone who wouldn't hold back!
Just as she had predicted, before Lu Xianrou even appeared, someone had already intercepted the reckless, shouting Tong Tong—but it wasn't Yuan Qiongshuang!
Tong Tong rubbed her throat, which had been silenced, and rolled her eyes in annoyance: Do all these high-level cultivators have some kind of illness where they enjoy turning people mute? This illness needs to be cured!
Silencing people at the drop of a hat is utterly inhumane...
She looked up angrily to see who dared to block her, the dignified White Robe, the direct disciple of Sect Leader Ye, the Seventh Disciple of Qiuye, the great Tong Tong—and at that sight, she froze on the spot!
The newcomer wore a purple, spiral-patterned wide-sleeved robe embroidered with unknown exotic flowers and plants—clearly the Obasan's typical attire. But that face was completely different from the expressionless Obasan Tong Tong was familiar with—her delicate eyebrows arched like distant hills, her dark hair rich as spring mist, her beauty indescribable... like gazing at the moon in water or bamboo through clouds, too much would be excessive, too little would be lacking, truly fitting the phrase "rouge and powder would only tarnish her beauty."
—What was this "shining creature" that only existed in 2D doing here? The System must have made a mistake!
Tong Tong covered her face, ashamed that she had been momentarily stunned—her s3xual orientation wouldn't waver just because she saw a pretty girl!
She was steadfastly fond of the Iceberg Senior Brother!
Well, of course, that included Senior Brother's handsome face... Wuwuwu, everyone loves beauty, after all!
But even if the girl before her was a tiny bit prettier than Su Yan, she wouldn't change her feelings!
...At most, she'd just feast her eyes a little, hehe.
"How long are you going to stare?" the unbelievably beautiful girl suddenly spoke, her willow-like eyebrows slightly raised—even this impatient gesture was indescribably lovely. Could it be that everything a beautiful person does is beautiful? That's not scientific!
What was even more unscientific was that this girl's voice was exactly the same as the Obasan's!
Tong Tong widened her eyes in shock, her gaze sliding rather impurely to the area below the collarbone and above the abdomen—confirmed, 36D!
She wouldn't mistake these weapons she had observed up close for anything else!
So—beautiful girl = Obasan?
Did she take a quick trip to South Korea in the last two days?! Such high skill? Why not form a tour group and go again!
Yuan Qiongshuang touched her flawless, smooth face and helplessly glanced at Tong Tong, who was still lost in fantasy with a silly expression. She sighed inwardly: Going out without disguising herself was a mistake... and letting this troublemaker see her was an even bigger mistake!
Should she knock her out and erase her memory?
Stroking her chin, Elder Yuan began to seriously consider the idea...
Thus, Tong Tong—who had originally intended to learn alchemy and swordsmanship from Lu Xianrou but accidentally stumbled upon some incredible secret—received a "warm" reception from Elder Yuan. Under her "personal" guidance, she embarked on a "joyful" journey of learning various skills.
—Let us offer her our sincerest schadenfreude! Amen!
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