"You—!"
Hong Qianye's cold voice trembled with fury as dark red flames surged from his palms. The scorching heat distorted the air, sending ripples through the void like waves on a boiling sea.
You keep pushing me. Do you really think I have no temper?
Ye Junlin simply stared back at him with a calm smile, completely unfazed.
"My dear disciple," he said lazily, "you seem quite eager—since you've conveniently heated the water for me."
That shameless grin. That insufferable smugness.
Hong Qianye's entire body twitched.
He had reached the limit of what a proud former cult leader could tolerate.
He was ready to burn this insufferable Soul Formation cultivator into charcoal.
"Listen here, I—!"
But just as he was about to erupt, a panicked voice came from outside the room.
"Two Immortals! Forgive my intrusion, but I have urgent news regarding the strange phenomena in the Wei Kingdom!"
Ye Junlin narrowed his eyes and released a strand of divine sense through the door.
"State your identity," he said coolly.
"I am the eldest Prince of Wei Kingdom."
Outside stood a man in lavish brocade robes, posture deferent, hands cupped respectfully in salute.
"What is it? Speak."
Hearing the voice of the immortal echo from within, the eldest Prince immediately dropped to his knees, his tone nervous and deliberate.
"Supreme Immortal, I have long hidden this secret from my royal father… but I can keep it no longer. I believe the evil spirits plaguing the kingdom may originate from the mountains behind the palace."
He paused, then added, "One night, I happened to see black bat-like monsters sneaking into a cave there. Since then, palace servants—maids, eunuchs—have vanished without a trace. I suspect these disappearances are connected."
He pressed his forehead against the cold stone floor, voice earnest and full of desperation.
"I've heard of the Immortal's might for years, your power to split the heavens and shake the stars. Only you can save the Wei Kingdom from this disaster. I beg you, Immortal Master—destroy the bat demons that dwell in the rear mountains!"
Ye Junlin's expression remained unreadable.
He spread his divine sense across the mountains behind the palace—scanning every crevice, rock, and shadow with meticulous precision.
But…
Nothing.
No demonic qi, no spatial fluctuations, no anomalies.
He sensed nothing unusual at all.
Still, something about the eldest Prince's plea itched at him.
Half an hour later.
Creak—
The doors to the palace residence opened slowly.
The eldest Prince raised his head just in time to see a figure step into view.
A black-robed youth with long, silver-white hair cascading to his waist. He looked like a painting come to life, every inch imbued with immortal majesty.
"I greet the Supreme Immortal."
"Take me to this cave," Ye Junlin said flatly.
"Yes!"
The eldest Prince immediately rose, but as he turned to lead the way, a flash of cold light flickered in his pupils.
Barely perceptible, but undeniably sinister.
When his gaze swept past Hong Qianye, that coldness transformed—into something more… covetous.
Hong Qianye's face had returned to its usual frost-like expression, but the crimson flame mark between his brows burned visibly, casting a strange and alluring charm over his already ethereal features.
The eldest Prince lowered his head to hide the glint in his eyes.
Far behind, on a shadowed corridor.
The little princess clung to a pillar, peeking around it to watch the scene unfold.
She had seen everything—the false humility, the secret meeting, the subtle malice behind her elder brother's eyes.
Her lips trembled.
Eldest Brother… How could you…
Among all the siblings, only she knew how shameless and cruel her brother truly was.
Even their father, who had scolded him countless times, never fully understood just how rotten the eldest Prince had become.
And now, he dared to meet the Immortal Masters of Xuantian Sect alone?
He was planning something.
Something awful.
"I have to tell Father right away!" she whispered urgently, then turned and bolted down the hall without another word.
…
In the back hills behind the palace—
Weeds choked the jagged terrain, and crooked rocks jutted from the ground like bone fragments.
The eldest Prince led the way with smooth confidence, Ye Junlin walked behind him with casual ease, and Hong Qianye followed silently, a subtle frown etched across his face.
Something felt wrong.
"We've arrived," the eldest Prince announced, turning around with a strange smile curling at his lips.
Ye Junlin scanned the surroundings and asked calmly, "Where is the cave where the bat demon is hiding?"
"There is no bat demon, you idiot!" the eldest Prince shouted, his expression twisting into madness. "This is your grave!"
He crushed a jade slip in his hand.
Swish—!
A crimson five-pointed star formation erupted beneath their feet, flooding the area with violent, blood-red light. Terrifying waves of energy surged outward.
The eldest Prince vanished in a flash of light—instantly teleported out of the formation, protected by a sphere of spiritual energy.
Reappearing at a distance, he stood proudly and sneered. "Elders, it's your turn!"
Whoosh—
Spatial distortions flickered all around the formation. Five figures cloaked in black emerged from the shadows, each taking a position at one point of the star. Their robes flowed unnaturally, their presence sinister.
From beneath their wide-brimmed hats, their faces were pale and cruel. Cold smiles tugged at the corners of their mouths.
"Master Ye Junlin of Xuantian Sect," said the leader, a one-eyed elder with a raspy voice, "you've made quite the name for yourself recently."
Another elder sneered. "We expected you to come. The net was cast long ago. Even you will die today."
All five were cultivators in the Nascent Soul Realm. One among them had already reached the Late Stage. Backed by this specialized formation, they were confident they could slaughter any cultivator below the Soul Formation Realm.
Ye Junlin sighed and shook his head. "Just call your master out. I'm not interested in chatting with minions."
He had known from the beginning that the eldest Prince was plotting something. But he hadn't cared—he was even curious what sort of trick the mastermind would pull.
In the end, it was just a few Nascent Soul has-beens. The disappointment on his face was clear.
"Bastard! You dare look down on us?!" the one-eyed elder roared.
Standing off to the side, the eldest Prince folded his arms and smirked.
"Kill that silver-haired brat," he ordered. "As for the red-robed woman… destroy her cultivation and leave the rest to me. I want to enjoy her."
"What did you say?" Hong Qianye's voice turned to ice.
At first, he hadn't taken the situation seriously. But upon hearing the eldest Prince's depraved command, his killing intent surged like a volcanic eruption.
His eyes gleamed with a cold, crimson light. His long black hair whipped in all directions, as if possessed by demonic fire. The ground cracked. The air ignited.
He raised his palm—and in one strike, obliterated the five-pointed formation.
Boom!
The elders spat blood and staggered back as if struck by a divine thunderbolt.
"Soul Formation Realm?!"
Their voices were full of horror.
What kind of sick joke was this?
Since when did Xuantian Sect have a cultivator in the Soul Formation Realm?
Hong Qianye vanished in a blur and reappeared before the eldest Prince.
Her voice was sharp enough to freeze marrow. "Repeat what you just said."
The eldest Prince was frozen like a statue, his mouth trembling, his eyes wide with disbelief. Fear overtook him. A dark stain spread down his leg as he collapsed to his knees.
"F-Fairy… please… please spare me…"
Fairy?
Hong Qianye's expression twisted in contempt. Without a word, he raised his hand and fired a stream of flame directly into the prince's abdomen.
Ahhhhhhh!
The eldest Prince screamed like a dying beast. His skin turned red-hot, blistering and bubbling. He writhed on the ground, howling in agony. It was a pain beyond torture—a living inferno.
Ye Junlin clicked his tongue in amusement.
"So tragic. Truly tragic."
"Supreme Immortal!"
A voice echoed from beyond the ridge. The Imperial Guard rode in formation, clearing a path for Emperor Wei, who appeared astride a white horse, the little princess sitting in front of him.
"Father! Father!" the girl cried out. "Eldest Brother is right there!"
Emperor Wei's eyes snapped to his son. Then he turned and took in the scorched battlefield, the shattered formation, and the five cloaked elders.
His heart sank. He already understood.
"You traitorous scum! You actually conspired with evil cultivators?! You nearly killed the Immortal Masters of Xuantian Sect!"
He roared with fury, his voice trembling with shame and wrath.
Ye Junlin chuckled. "Your son is quite capable. He betrayed the kingdom and almost caused a national collapse. You must be so proud."
"What?!"
Emperor Wei's mind reeled. So the true enemy had been in his own palace all along?
He turned toward his son, eyes bloodshot. "Why? Why would you do this?"
Hong Qianye snapped his fingers. The fire qi receded slightly, just enough for the eldest Prince to speak.
The man coughed up blood and laughed bitterly.
"You never intended to pass the throne to me. You ignored me, humiliated me, favored others. Why should I stay loyal?"
He sneered. "Once this is over, I'll be emperor. With the help of my new allies, I'll become a cultivator too—and live forever!"
"You… fool!" Emperor Wei's voice broke. "Three billion people have died in this kingdom! Innocents slaughtered for your ambition!"
"If you rule over nothing but bones and ash, what kind of emperor will you be?"
"Heh… doesn't matter. The peasants mean nothing to me. Once I become immortal, I'll build my own world."
"You—!!"
Emperor Wei vomited blood, his face pale with heartbreak.
Meanwhile, the elders had regrouped, terror etched across their faces.
Ye Junlin's gaze shifted to them with casual contempt. "You still think you can deal with me?"
"Call your leader. I'm getting bored."
"We… we will never betray our master!" the one-eyed elder shouted, trembling.
"Fine," Ye Junlin said. "Then die."
He raised his hand and pointed.
Bang!
One elder exploded into gore.
Bang!
Another was torn apart, reduced to red mist.
Bang!
A third vanished, soul and body both extinguished.
With every flick of Ye Junlin's finger, another elder died.
Everyone on the field stood frozen, their scalps tingling, unable to look away.
"Who the hell said he was only Nascent Soul?! This… this is Soul Formation!!" the one-eyed elder screamed.
Soul Formation cultivators were legends. Only a handful existed across the Eastern Region. And now… there were two?
"This is insane! Run! Run!"
One of the elders activated a secret escape technique. His body flickered and reappeared a thousand meters away.
But in that moment—his skin crawled. A cold dread seized him.
"No—!"
Boom!
He exploded into mist mid-flight.
Ye Junlin turned to the final elder.
"You're the last one."
The one-eyed elder's face turned white as bone. Cold sweat streamed down his temples.
He could barely breathe.
And in that moment, he did the only thing left—
He screamed.
"MASTER—SAVE ME!!"
Boom!!!
The entire mountain range trembled as if it were alive. A blood-red pillar of light, ten meters wide, shot into the sky, piercing the clouds and distorting the heavens themselves.
The wind howled. The sky cracked.
The light pulsed violently, its crimson glow surging outward in waves that shook the very air.
Hong Qianye's eyes widened. For a moment, his mask of cold indifference shattered.
"That aura... it's really him," he whispered in disbelief.
Ye Junlin flicked his fingers, smiling with curiosity. "Hah. So you're the one I've been waiting for."
The blood pillar roared, sending ripples across the land. In the capital below, panic erupted.
Everyone—nobles, servants, civilians—collapsed to their knees, trembling in fear, too terrified to even look up.
"Master!!"
The one-eyed elder fell to the ground in tears, overcome with emotion.
From within the pillar of light, a towering figure emerged. He was broad-shouldered, dressed in black and red robes that fluttered with demonic qi. Crimson hair flowed wildly behind him, and the pressure he exuded felt like that of a primordial beast.
When his gaze swept the battlefield, even the clouds seemed to flinch.
Then his eyes landed on Hong Qianye—and burned with recognition.
Two piercing beams of light erupted from his pupils.
A slight smile tugged at his lips. "Is it really you?"
Hong Qianye's expression darkened, but he quickly regained his composure.
"Long time no see, Blood Demon. I didn't expect you to still be alive."
The man chuckled with a tinge of nostalgia. "Blood Demon... I haven't heard that name in a long time."
His identity was now clear.
This was Shi Tianjue, the infamous Blood Demon who had supposedly died over two centuries ago, slain in a joint crusade by the Central Region's righteous and demonic sects.
Like Hong Qianye, he had once aspired to reach the realm of True Immortal.
In his prime, the Blood Underworld Sect he founded had eclipsed even the Flame Demon Sect in sheer terror.
Shi Tianjue's path to immortality had been nothing short of madness.
He devoured human blood to enhance his body. He taught forbidden arts to his followers, encouraging them to slaughter innocents across the land.
When their cultivation reached a certain level, he turned on them—devouring their essence to fuel his own rise.
It was a plague.
A virus that spread through the Central Region like wildfire. No one was spared—not righteous sects, not other demonic cultivators. All suffered.
In time, every major power united against him.
The Blood Underworld Sect was annihilated. Shi Tianjue was cornered and obliterated—struck down by multiple immortal weapons, his very blood evaporated from existence.
Or so the world thought.
Now, the nightmare had returned—and in the Eastern Region's most remote corner, no less.
"How did you survive?" Hong Qianye asked coldly. "Many saw your body destroyed. Your blood was vaporized. There should've been no possibility of survival."
Shi Tianjue grinned.
"Those fools underestimated me. Before the battle, I sealed a drop of my natal blood essence and hid it deep underground. Once my body was destroyed, the blood awakened and allowed me to be reborn."
He clenched his fist. "But I had to start from scratch. Even my Immortal Blood Body had to be rebuilt."
He glanced at the distant mountains.
"To avoid detection, I retreated to the Eastern Region and cultivated in secret. But I drew attention again—so I fled here, to the Wasteland Province. I've been surviving on the blood of low-level cultivators. Progress is slow, but it's safer."
"I see," Hong Qianye murmured.
He sighed inwardly. As expected of the most cunning demon in the Central Region. Shi Tianjue had faked his death, hidden for centuries, and was slowly rebuilding his path to immortality.
The alliance that had wiped him out all those years ago had included both righteous sects and demonic clans. He wasn't just hated—he was universally reviled.
Compared to what Hong Qianye had faced, Shi Tianjue's situation was ten times harder.
And yet… he had survived.
"It seems you and I share the same fate," Shi Tianjue said softly. He could see that Hong Qianye no longer carried the aura of a True Immortal.
Hong Qianye gave a bitter chuckle but didn't answer.
The meaning was obvious.
"Master! Save me! This bitch is trying to kill me!"
The Eldest Prince screamed desperately, crawling across the ground toward Shi Tianjue as if he were a god.
But before Shi Tianjue could even respond—
Hong Qianye's eyes flashed coldly.
With a flick of his fingers, the Eldest Prince's body instantly vaporized into blood mist, which curled upward like smoke and was inhaled directly into Shi Tianjue's lungs.
"No!!" the little princess shrieked.
"Hao'er…" Emperor Wei whispered, his voice hollow. His shoulders sagged as if decades had passed in an instant.
"Hey," Hong Qianye muttered, raising an eyebrow. "Wasn't he your disciple?"
Shi Tianjue snorted. "That trash? He had no right to call himself my disciple. If you wanted him dead, I simply helped."
He placed his hands behind his back, crimson hair dancing in the wind. His gaze softened slightly when it landed on Hong Qianye.
"You know my feelings for you."
If any of Shi Tianjue's former enemies had seen his expression, they would have passed out on the spot.
The Blood Demon… showing affection?
Hong Qianye looked away, deeply annoyed.
This again.
Back in the Central Region, Shi Tianjue had already shown an… unhealthy interest. Even after learning the truth about Hong Qianye's gender, the man had never given up.
No matter how many times he was rejected—he kept returning.
Ye Junlin rubbed his chin as he watched from the side, amusement flickering in his eyes.
"My disciple really is a human gender-bender," he muttered. "He's turned more straight men than a corrupt cultivation manual."
With a pop, he opened a small bag of caramel-flavored melon seeds and began munching, utterly unbothered.
The entire mountain was on the verge of destruction—and he was spectating like it was street theater.
Hong Qianye shook his head slowly, gazing at Shi Tianjue's towering form.
"It's impossible between you and me."
Shi Tianjue let out a quiet, sorrowful sigh.
"For the past thousand years, I've admired only one among the new generation of demonic giants. You."
He clenched his fist.
"But you've never given me the slightest chance."
His voice dropped.
"You rejected me then… and now, even after all this time, you still won't look at me."
His crimson eyes burned.
"My patience… is at its limit."
Boom!
A terrifying surge of spiritual pressure erupted from Shi Tianjue's body. It fell like a collapsing mountain, shaking the air and splintering the earth beneath their feet.
Cracks snaked outward from where Hong Qianye stood, and his knees trembled slightly under the weight.
Yet his voice remained calm.
"Blood Demon," he said coldly, "what exactly do you mean by this?"
Shi Tianjue's smile twisted into something darker.
"My cultivation is still incomplete," he said, voice low and guttural. "And now that I've met an old friend… a former immortal… I must show extra care."
His eyes gleamed.
"If you insist on rejecting my affection, then I'll simply kill you—drain your blood, and merge it with mine. That way, we'll be together forever."
The final words were delivered with a gentle tone that made the statement even more disturbing.
Ye Junlin narrowed his eyes. "Now that's twisted."
His tone was casual, but he was already gauging the man's strength.
Shi Tianjue's cultivation aura was clear now—he had reached the Peak Stage of the Soul Formation Realm.
"Lunatic," Hong Qianye spat, his voice like frost. "You really think you can take me down?"
Boom!
An infernal pressure erupted from Hong Qianye's body in turn.
He rose into the sky like a dark red comet, twin golden flames blazing within his eyes. His long black hair lifted in the wind, his red robes snapping like banners in a storm.
He stood suspended in the air, encased in a vortex of raging flame.
"Don't waste your strength," Shi Tianjue said dismissively. "Your foundation is shallow. You're still in the Early Stage of the Soul Formation Realm. You can't possibly defeat me."
The implication was clear—Hong Qianye was challenging three sub-realms above his current level.
It was a gamble no ordinary cultivator would dare.
But Hong Qianye was no ordinary cultivator.
"I won't know unless I try," he replied with a sneer.
His eyes lit with battle fervor, and he activated the Three Thousand Flames Sutra.
His aura exploded again—this time fiercer, denser, hotter.
He performed a one-handed seal, and a swirling mass of flame erupted from his palm—each strand a different hue, weaving into a radiant, five-colored blaze.
Then he hurled it toward Shi Tianjue without hesitation.
Shi Tianjue's eyes narrowed.
That energy—
"This is…"
He didn't dare be careless.
He thrust out his own palm, conjuring a roaring wave of blood-red light. The technique surged forward like a tsunami, within which countless wailing faces twisted and screamed.
Blood Fiend Palm!
Ziiiii—!!
The moment the Blood Fiend Palm collided with the Five-Colored Divine Fire, the blood wave sizzled and disintegrated. Screaming phantoms were instantly reduced to ashes.
The divine fire tore through the technique, continuing forward like a meteor.
Shi Tianjue's pupils shrank.
He raised both arms, conjuring a defensive blood barrier to contain the remaining flames. It took everything he had to snuff them out.
When the flames finally vanished, he was left standing—singed, drenched in sweat, his breath slightly ragged.
A single bead of sweat trickled down his temple.
"What kind of fire was that?" he muttered. "So tyrannical... It destroyed my Blood Fiend Palm completely."