On a flying vessel bound for the Wandao Sect.
A woman in a red dress nad Blood Demon was drinking at the vessel’s prow.
Xiao Mo and Jiang Xin sat on the other side, watching the woman warily.
Just four hours ago, the Danyang Sect had been annihilated.
Aside from the Danyang Sect, not a single cultivator from the Mountain Ghost Sect was left alive, save for their Sect Leader.
From the fragnts of conversation he’d overheard between the Mountain Ghost Sect Leader and Blood Demon, Xiao Mo had pieced together what happened.
Essentially, the Mountain Ghost Sect and the Danyang Sect held a grudge against each other. The two Sects were already at daggers drawn, and it was only a matter of ti before war broke out.
In order to strike first, the Danyang Sect Leader had attempted a premature breakthrough into the Nascent Soul Realm. He planned to use ninety-nine young boys and girls with decent Root Bones in his alchemy, hoping to use them to achieve his breakthrough.
However, what he hadn’t expected was that the Mountain Ghost Sect Leader would have a chance encounter with Blood Demon.
As it happened, Blood Demon needed the souls of at least three thousand cultivators for a blood-sacrificial alchemy ritual.
Without a mont’s hesitation, the Mountain Ghost Sect Leader offered to sacrifice his own Sect. He even offered to lead her to the Danyang Sect and have his cultivators fight them to the death.
In that scenario, both Sects would suffer countless casualties, and she could easily harvest the cultivators’ souls.
In return, the Mountain Ghost Sect Leader only wanted to join the Wandao Sect and beco a Deacon.
For a cultivator at the Immortal Realm like Blood Demon, annihilating small Sects like the Danyang Sect and the Mountain Ghost Sect was a trivial matter. She had no need for the Mountain Ghost Sect Leader’s surrender at all.
But Blood Demon found it amusing, so she agreed.
What followed was the Mountain Ghost Sect’s invasion of the Danyang Sect, which was what Xiao Mo had walked into.
Another two hours passed, and Blood Demon’s flying vessel entered the territory of the Wandao Sect.
The Wandao Sect was one of the Ten Great Demon Sects of the Western Regions. It was situated among towering mountains and precipitous ridges, its territory vast and expansive.
Immortal mist drifted around every peak, where celestial cranes flew to and fro.
From its appearance alone, it didn’t look like a Demon Sect. It looked more like one of the Renowned and Righteous Sects.
"The Wandao Sect... as its na implies, there is no single, dedicated path to immortality in this Sect."
Blood Demon explained to Xiao Mo, leaning against the prow.
"In the Wandao Sect,
so seek enlightennt through drunkenness.
So seek it through dual cultivation.
So seek it through murder.
Ten thousand paths to the Great Dao—that is the Wandao Sect.
And in the Wandao Sect, there are no rules to speak of.
Strength is the only thing that matters.
You can do whatever you want here, but the prerequisite is that you survive the consequences.
As my disciple, no one will dare to touch you, so you can be as arrogant as you please.
I will act as your protector.
However, I will only intervene if your opponent is at least two major Realms above you.
If soone one major Realm higher than you tries to kill you, I, your master, will not lift a finger.
If you die, you die. Your death would only prove that you were trash!
Do you understand what your master is telling you?"
"I understand," Xiao Mo replied coldly.
A smile played on Blood Demon’s lips. She tilted her head back and took a long drink of wine. The liquor trickled down her pale chin and neck, finally disappearing into the deep, snowy valley of her cleavage.
She walked up to Xiao Mo. "I know you’re not happy with , but I don’t care. I’m teaching you Cultivation so that my legacy won’t die out. If you beco stronger than one day, you can do whatever you want to . You can even kill ... if you have the ability."
Xiao Mo: "..."
As she spoke, the flying vessel descended upon a mountain peak.
The vessel gradually shrank, and Xiao Mo and Jiang Xin found themselves standing on the loose gravel of the summit.
"This place is called Blood Sin Peak. I used to be the only one on this entire mountain, but now, with you two, that makes three of us."
Blood Demon tossed a Storage Pouch into Xiao Mo’s arms and then strode away, her voice echoing across the summit:
"Go take a bath in the Spiritual Spring to the north. You both stink, and the sll is bothering .
From now on, you’ll live in the side courtyard.
Xiao Mo, you will begin your training tomorrow.
Rember this, Xiao Mo. You are my disciple, but Jiang Xin is not.
The only reason Jiang Xin is alive is because she is the person you want to protect.
If you fail to et my expectations, I will kill you.
And if you die, I will kill her too."
Just as she finished speaking, Blood Demon walked into the courtyard and shut the door behind her.
Gazing at the closed door, Xiao Mo said nothing. He simply led Jiang Xin to the Spiritual Spring, let her bathe first, and waited for her from a distance.
After Jiang Xin finished, Xiao Mo also entered the Spiritual Spring to wash himself clean.
The Spiritual Spring was remarkably effective.
In less than the ti it takes for half an incense stick to burn, Xiao Mo felt the fatigue in his body lessen significantly. It even felt as if many of his body’s impurities had been washed away.
When Xiao Mo climbed out of the Spiritual Spring, he felt as light as a feather.
After they both finished washing, the two returned to the courtyard.
Before Xiao Mo could go to his room to rest, Jiang Xin pulled him down to sit on a stone bench in the yard.
Jiang Xin fetched a bucket of water and, with a handkerchief, began to scrub Xiao Mo’s hands relentlessly.
Over and over.
Jiang Xin scrubbed his hands an unknowable number of tis, changing the basin of water more tis than he could count.
At first, Xiao Mo was confused about what she was doing.
But gradually, he began to understand what was on her mind.
"Ah Xin, it’s no use. You can’t scrub them clean," Xiao Mo said, shaking his head. "Once you’ve killed soone, the blood on your hands can never be washed away."
Hearing Xiao Mo’s words, the movents of Jiang Xin’s hands gradually slowed.
But she still didn’t stop. She continued to earnestly wipe Xiao Mo’s palms.
As she wiped, glistening teardrops began to fall from her eyes.
Her small hands trembled slightly, and her soft whimpers were heartbreaking.
Xiao Mo reached out and gently wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes. "Ah Xin, I killed your Sister Ah Zi. Do you hate ?"
Hearing his words, Jiang Xin froze for a mont, then shook her head vigorously. "Xiao Mo, how could I ever hate you...? You did it all for ...
If it weren’t for , you wouldn’t have been captured.
It’s all my fault, all my fault..."
As she spoke, Jiang Xin pressed her forehead against Xiao Mo’s chest, her sobs growing louder. The tears that fell were warm against his skin.
"You’re not at fault."
Xiao Mo gently patted her back.
’She’s just a nine-year-old girl,’ Xiao Mo thought. ’What could a nine-year-old girl possibly understand?’
On the contrary, for a nine-year-old girl, she had already endured far too much.
"Ah Xin, you must rember, you are not the one at fault. The world is."
Xiao Mo stroked her long hair.
"From now on, I’ll be the one who kills. I’ll be the one whose hands are stained with blood.
Ah Xin, you just need to stay the way you’ve always been.
You don’t need to carry any burdens, and you don’t need to change at all.
Because only then, when I’ve walked so far that I no longer know where I’m going, I can look back and at least see a lighthouse.
Maybe that way, I won’t be completely lost in the darkness."
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