"This place of ours isn't some charity hall that talks about reason or benevolence."
Fei Yan gently spun the parasol in her hand, her tone carrying a familiar indifference:
"There are only two paths before you. Either become nourishment for some people's Cultivation; your Bloodline, which seems quite special, might even be more effective."
She saw Castorice's small face instantly turn pale, smiled with satisfaction, and continued.
"Or… join us and become one of us. After all, our Holy Spirit Cult has always been all-encompassing, rejecting no one."
As she spoke, a barely perceptible gloom flashed in her red eyes, as if recalling some unpleasant past events that belonged to her.
Once upon a time, perhaps she didn't willingly step into this quagmire. It was only under the coercion of fate, with no other path, that she ultimately chose to embrace the darkness and become a terrifying Evil Soul Master.
Therefore, she didn't care about Castorice's flimsy lies.
In this place, the past was meaningless; only survival and power were eternal themes.
She didn't care what secrets Castorice hid; she only cared if this secret could be used by the Holy Spirit Cult, or if this interesting little one could survive in this cruel environment… and bring some new entertainment.
"So, little Castorice."
Fei Yan smiled, using the sweetest tone to pose the cruelest choice.
"Do you want to become nourishment, enriching this land? Or do you want to… join us and become a glorious Disciple of the Holy Spirit Cult?"
Her lies ruthlessly exposed, the feigned panic and helplessness on Castorice's face receded like a tide.
She lifted her small face, and her amethyst-like eyes regained the placid calm of an ancient well—a tranquility and detachment that was profoundly unsuited to her age, almost as if she had seen through everything in the world.
"Then, do I have a choice?"
Her voice was clear, yet devoid of any emotional fluctuation, as if merely stating an established fact.
Fei Yan looked at the little person who had instantly changed her expression. Instead of getting angry, she seemed to have discovered some peerless treasure. Her smile became even more brilliant and eerie, and a glimmer of excitement flickered in her scarlet pupils.
"That's right~ Little Castorice is so smart!"
She echoed sweetly, her tone carrying a mesmerizing rhythm.
"Heaven and Hell, we never have the right to choose; only the destiny… of being chosen."
This statement, rather than a warning to Castorice, was more of a sigh from Fei Yan about her own past.
She seemed to see in this overly calm little girl before her the past self who had also been cornered and ultimately embraced the darkness.
An inexplicable emotion, almost like a sense of shared suffering, mixed with her long-standing boredom and desire for entertainment, suddenly gave rise to an unprecedented thought in her Mind and nature.
To take her as a Disciple.
Such a Mind and nature, plus… Fei Yan keenly sensed the faint but extremely pure Soul Power fluctuation within Castorice, which was clearly at Rank 10.
Given her bone age, she must have Innate full Soul Power. Such talent, even within the Holy Spirit Cult, was top-tier.
"It's decided."
Fei Yan's smile became a few shades more genuine, carrying an unquestionable meaning.
"From today onwards, you are my Scarlet Douluo Fei Yan's only Personal Disciple."
As she spoke, she extended her fair, slender hand with a touch of intimacy, naturally wanting to take Castorice's hand.
In her view, this was both a gesture of acceptance and a hint of closeness.
Castorice's eyes flickered. She was well aware of her body's characteristics. Her lips had just parted, but before she could speak a warning, Fei Yan's warm fingertips had already touched her cool palm.
"Hiss—!"
The moment of contact, a sudden change occurred.
An invisible, formless, yet terrifying power containing absolute deathly stillness, like an awakened Vicious Beast, instantly reversed and encroached upwards from the point of their contact.
On Fei Yan's fair arm, bizarre and grotesque purple patterns spread at a visible speed. Wherever they passed, the Life Qi beneath the skin seemed to be instantly drained, bringing with it a chilling and decaying sensation that made one's Soul tremble.
"What?!"
Fei Yan's smile instantly froze, replaced by horror.
She felt the cold breath of death approaching, a sensation she hadn't experienced in a long time.
It was a power of annihilation that disregarded Rank, ignored defense, and directly targeted the Origin of Life.
"Boom—!"
Almost instinctively, a vast, ocean-like terrifying Soul Power erupted like a volcanic explosion from her delicate body.
The dark-red Soul Power aura formed a tangible shockwave, mercilessly sending Castorice, who was close by, flying.
"Bang!"
Castorice's small body crashed against a twisted ancient tree in the distance, grunted, and slid to the ground, a trace of blood spilling from the corner of her mouth.
But at this moment, Fei Yan had no time for anything else.
Her face was deathly pale, and cold sweat instantly drenched the clothes on her back.
She fully circulated the immense Soul Power of a Rank 97 Super Douluo. The vast energy surged like a rushing river towards the arm being corroded by the power of death, desperately blocking and wearing down the purple patterns that continuously tried to spread upwards.
Dark red and eerie purple fiercely clashed on her arm, emitting faint but grating "sizzling" sounds.
It took several breaths before the terrifying purple patterns were forcibly suppressed and repelled under the absolute disparity in strength, finally dissipating slowly.
But the patch of skin on Fei Yan's arm, once fair, seemed to have lost all its luster, becoming somewhat dim and withered.
She clutched her arm with lingering fear, and when she looked at Castorice, who was struggling to get up in the distance, her gaze was filled with suspicion, shock, and a hint of unconcealed… greed and fanaticism.
"Such terrifying power of death…"
Fei Yan's voice carried a dryness she herself hadn't noticed.
"In that instant… if my Cultivation hadn't far surpassed yours, a Spirit Emperor would probably have been completely corroded, if not dead, then half-crippled. Even a Spirit Saint, without special means, would never dare to touch you."
She stared intently at Castorice, as if examining a peerless weapon of destruction.
"If you were to grow, if that power were to become stronger… I'm afraid even a Titled Douluo would be killed by you in an instant."
This realization made Fei Yan's Mind and nature beat violently.
How was this a harmless little girl? This was clearly a nascent grim reaper walking among humans.
She was determined to take this Disciple.
Just as all the Evil Soul Masters present were stunned and at a loss by this sudden turn of events.
Fei Yan, having decided to take in this strange girl, was about to speak to stabilize the situation when a languid yet supremely authoritative female voice, as if from the depths of the Nine Hells, resonated without warning in everyone's Soul:
"Such unpolished jade, Fei Yan, I'm afraid you cannot sculpt it."
The voice was calm, yet carried a chill that froze one's Soul.