Chapter 45: Disciple and Wife
“I was cultivating in Ten Directions City when a sudden wave of dread jolted me awake. I opened the door and saw that tribulation lightning, heavy with oppressive power, striking down in the Ten Thousand Mountains.”
“It was the first time I’d witnessed a tribulation of that magnitude. It made me feel so insignificant, like a mayfly. I couldn’t shake the feeling for days.”
“Someone actually developed a heart demon from watching the tribulation. They’ve been jumpy at every loud noise since. Pathetic, really.”
“Does anyone know which sect’s elder was undergoing the tribulation? There’s been no news of any ancestor’s fall.”
“I haven’t heard anything either. But the fall of a Mahayana elder would be a devastating loss for any sect. They’d keep it quiet.”
“True. They’d want to bury it as deep as possible.”
“I heard from my elders that the last time a heavenly ascension tribulation was seen in the Radiant Realm was a thousand years ago…”
These words settled over the inn, silencing the patrons as they recalled the spectacle.
Even from thousands of miles away, the sight of the sky-blotting tribulation clouds had been unforgettable. Purple-black lightning bolts seemed to tear at the heavens. It was a chilling reminder for any cultivator striving against fate.
Outside, a storyteller seized the opportunity, setting up his stall. With a resounding clap of his gavel, he launched into a dramatic retelling of the events of ten days prior, fueled by the cheers of the crowd.
This story wouldn’t grow stale for at least three years; there would always be an audience.
As cultivators recounted their experiences of that day, a slender young woman in simple clothes slipped unnoticed through the gates of Ten Directions City, the closest city to the Ten Thousand Mountains.
Her face was unremarkable, her aura subdued. Her clothes were plain and unadorned, her dark hair partially pinned up with a wooden hairpin, the rest braided and draped over one shoulder.
She was the type to blend seamlessly into a crowd, not even qualifying as modestly pretty.
Tao Ning suppressed her aura as she walked down the street. Her clothes were bartered from a peasant woman outside the city in exchange for hunted game.
While she had been inconspicuous on the road, she stood out in Ten Directions City.
Conspicuously poor.
Ten Directions City was on the outskirts of the Hanshan Sect’s outer territory, still a considerable distance from the inner territory, let alone the sect itself.
Consequently, the city was mainly populated by low-level cultivators and ordinary people, content with their lives.
Even those who didn’t cultivate still needed to live, and that meant earning money. Ten Directions City, with its extensive trade routes and proximity to the resource-rich Ten Thousand Mountains, was a natural supply hub, enjoying considerable prosperity.
Even the little girl selling cabbages on the street was dressed better than Tao Ning, making her look like a beggar.
A place this affluent probably didn’t have beggars.
As Tao Ning pondered this, she noticed a charitable young lady distributing porridge nearby. As soon as the stall was set up, a crowd of beggars, bowls in hand, materialized out of nowhere, lining up in an orderly fashion.
Tao Ning observed the throng, their clothes less patched than beggars in other cities, then looked down at her own dusty attire.
She decided to keep her distance, lest she be mistaken for one of them.
Feeling tired, she sat down on a nearby stone to rest.
“Ten days to reach Ten Directions City, and still so far from the Hanshan Sect… 520, should I borrow more money to upgrade you? Once this is over, you can give me the male protagonist’s location. I remember he was a woodcutter before joining the sect. He might be closer than the Hanshan Sect itself.”
520 was puzzled. 【Why do you need his location?】
Tao Ning: “To address the root of the problem.”
Though not entirely understanding, 520 was touched. It whimpered electronically. 【You’re so kind, Host. But even if you sold yourself, you wouldn’t have enough money to upgrade me.】
Tao Ning sighed dramatically. “What a pity.”
“Were you unable to get any? I saved a bowl for you. Here.” A clear, childish voice interrupted Tao Ning’s lament.
A steaming bowl of porridge appeared before her.
Tao Ning’s gaze lowered, settling on the young miss dressed in fine silks, seemingly caught off guard.
The young miss, looking down at her own clothes, asked, “Is something wrong?”
Her two maids, initially thinking, She’s not bad looking. How did we miss her earlier?, now shielded the young miss, eyeing Tao Ning with suspicion.
“Miss, let’s go. She seems… not quite right in the head.”
“She’s pretty, but a bit daft.”
The young miss, influenced by her maids’ apprehension, hesitated, then said, “Don’t be mean. She’s probably just very hungry.”
Tao Ning finally spoke. “Are you offering me this porridge?”
The young miss nodded. “You look pitiful. Everyone else has eaten, but you haven’t.”
Tao Ning thought, Pitiful? Me?
520 went silent, desperately trying to contain its laughter.
The Host being mistaken for a beggar is just too funny!
It had definitely captured Tao Ning’s momentary look of stunned disbelief. Photographic evidence existed.
The young miss whispered, “This bowl doesn’t have any sand in it. Eat it quickly before someone steals it.”
She then delivered the final blow. “I heard your stomach growl.”
This was true. After ten days of rough living, with no money for food, Tao Ning’s stomach was rumbling loudly.
Briefly weighing starvation against accepting charity, Tao Ning chose the porridge and steamed bun.
Taking the warm bowl, she said, “Thank you. May I ask your name, Miss?”
A maid began to answer, “My mistress is…”
But the young miss spoke first. “My name is Pang Xueting.”
Tao Ning paused, taking another look at her. “Pang Xueting. A beautiful name.”
The young miss fidgeted with her silken skirt, smiling sweetly, then quickly covered her mouth, remembering the gap in her teeth. “I often distribute porridge.”
Tao Ning lowered her head and ate slowly. “You’re very kind.” Quite the opposite of the notorious demonic seductress she would become, preying on countless victims, even the male protagonist.
The name Pang Xueting was familiar. In the original storyline, she was a bewitching temptress from the Demonic Realm, cultivating the Way of Sensual Pleasures, using others to enhance her own cultivation. Her Pleasure House boasted one hundred and eighty-eight beauties, each a vision of loveliness.
She first appeared as a Nascent Soul cultivator, described as possessing snowy skin, flower-like beauty, and a voice like silver bells, despite being barely a hundred years old.
Reaching the Nascent Soul stage at a hundred was rare in the Radiant Realm, a feat achieved by less than a hundred individuals throughout history, each a prodigy, most of whom ascended to the heavens.
Pang Xueting had dual spiritual roots. Even with exceptional talent, she shouldn’t have been able to achieve Nascent Soul so quickly.
Rumors circulated that she had drained the previous owner of the Pleasure House to achieve her breakthrough. There were also whispers about her origins as the ordinary daughter of a merchant, living an unremarkable life until the age of ten, when she was taken to the Pleasure House.
Such a character should have been difficult to sway, yet the male protagonist won her over with a simple gesture.
He located the graves of her birth parents, knelt with her before them, and promised to cherish her as his wife.
At the time, he was already betrothed to the daughter of the Illusion Moon Island’s leader and was being pursued by her jealous admirers when he stumbled into Pang Xueting’s territory, finding her in need of someone to alleviate the burning effects of a bone-penetrating poison.
Deeply moved, Pang Xueting helped him break through to the Nascent Soul stage on their wedding night, offering him both the Pleasure House and her loyalty. While retaining the title of mistress, she became his subordinate, her one hundred and eighty-eight beauties joining his ever-growing harem.
Their happiness was short-lived. Pang Xueting, her cultivation weakened, was killed by agents of Illusion Moon Island, fading into obscurity.
The male protagonist then avenged his concubine, attacking Illusion Moon Island, slaying his enemies, and taking the island leader’s daughter… as another concubine.
In short, like the original host, she was destined to be a stepping stone for the male protagonist.
The two maids, older and more worldly than their kind-hearted mistress, saw things differently.
Initially dismissing the beggar as plain and frail, they now questioned their eyesight. There was nothing ordinary about her.
Her posture was impeccable, her back straight, her demeanor composed, her eating unhurried. She seemed more like a dispossessed noblewoman.
This thought only intensified their pity.
Unaware of the pity she had inspired, Tao Ning returned the empty bowl, glancing at the queue still waiting for porridge.
Those caught by her gaze looked back, but couldn’t pinpoint the source, turning back to search until their eyes landed on the pink-dressed young miss standing before Tao Ning.
They also noticed the plainly dressed Tao Ning, a stark contrast to the elegantly attired trio, but quickly dismissed her.
A mere Qi Refining cultivator, barely a novice, only slightly stronger than an ordinary mortal. No threat at all.
Tao Ning addressed the young miss. “You’re very kind, Miss, taking the trouble to personally distribute porridge. However, I observed the celestial signs last night and foresee unfavorable weather approaching. It would be best to stay indoors and keep your windows closed, lest you catch a chill.”
The three were speechless.
The maids felt even more pity for Tao Ning, now convinced she was a beautiful but slightly unhinged young lady driven to rambling by her family’s misfortune.
Tao Ning looked directly at the bewildered young miss. “Do you believe me?”
The young miss, who had been considering offering Tao Ning shelter and work, found herself unable to speak. The intensity in Tao Ning’s eyes compelled belief. She gave a small, hesitant nod.
Tao Ning: “Go home. It’s getting late.”
It wasn’t until they returned to the Pang estate that the trio questioned why they had obeyed her.
Ten Directions City finally quieted down late into the night, most of its inhabitants asleep.
In the stillness of the late hours, guards patrolled the Pang estate, yawning as they went.
Moments after a patrol passed, a dark figure scaled the wall, flitting across rooftops like a shadow, moving silently through the darkness.
Moonlight revealed a hunched back beneath a dark cloak, giving the impression of a hunchback.
The figure moved with surprising stealth, using a rudimentary cultivation technique to enhance their speed, heading towards the city gates. Tao Ning watched from the shadows, a look of disdain in her eyes as she observed the clumsy attempt at kidnapping.
520, initially wondering why Tao Ning wasn’t sleeping or traveling, but simply standing there for hours, gasped as the figure passed overhead. 【A flying hunchback!】
Then, as the figure descended, the cloak shifted, revealing glimpses of clothing and a bare foot. Clearly, they weren’t hunchbacked.
520 declared, “They’ve kidnapped someone!”
Tao Ning stepped out of the shadows, following the figure. 520 asked, 【Where are you going?】 It knew its host wasn’t the heroic type.
“I repay kindness. I ate her porridge, so I owe her a favor. I won’t stand idly by.”
520 realized, 【The kidnapped person is Pang Xueting?】
Tao Ning extended her spiritual sense, her footsteps light as she harnessed the wind, following the kidnapper like a shadow out of the city.
The dark figure stopped at a waiting horse hidden in the shadows outside the city walls. Their cultivation was too low to fly on a sword, relying on a horse for transport.
The kidnapper rode off, unaware of the shadow trailing them to a rendezvous point.
By a riverbank, under a tree, a simple carriage waited. Two figures sat by a fire, warming themselves. Hearing the approaching hoofbeats, they looked up as the rider arrived.
“Did you get her?”
“Of course. Those guards are idiots. They didn’t suspect a thing.”
“Born with the perfect constitution for the Way of Sensual Pleasures, and dual Water and Wood spiritual roots. The higher-ups will reward us handsomely.”
“All that time pretending to be beggars, eating that gritty porridge… Ugh, it was disgusting!”
The kidnapper carrying Pang Xueting untied her. She hadn’t fully succumbed to the drugs, her eyes fluttering open as she struggled weakly.
The three laughed at the kidnapper’s failure to completely incapacitate her, then tossed her into the carriage with other children.
These children, all with delicate features and promising spiritual roots, were destined for the Demonic Realm.
“This one is truly exquisite, the best of the bunch… Who’s there?!” The most powerful of the three sensed something amiss, looking up sharply.
The other two followed suit, but saw nothing in the darkness, only the chill night air.
Still, they didn’t dismiss their companion’s wariness. The aura they felt belonged to someone stronger than them, at least at the Foundation Establishment stage.
“Foundation Establishment, Qi Refining, peak Qi Refining…”
A voice echoed through the night, sending a chill down their spines despite their own cultivation.
Looking up, they saw a figure perched in the tree above them, looking down, having observed them for who knows how long.
The Foundation Establishment cultivator paled. “When did you get here?”
The one who kidnapped Pang Xueting was even more shocked, having been completely unaware of being followed.
Tao Ning dropped down from the tree, casually assessing their cultivation levels. “To save time, let’s do this together.”
“Who are you?!” These were their last words.
The night remained undisturbed. A pair of hands dipped into the river, swirling the water, washing away the blood.
Tao Ning walked across the damp grass to the carriage, unlatching the door. It was empty.
At least, to ordinary eyes.
Tao Ning scanned the seemingly empty space, plucking a bead from the frame. The carriage’s interior transformed, revealing a group of huddled children, their soft cries filling the air.
They looked at the figure silhouetted in the doorway, radiating a more potent aura than their kidnappers, and cried even louder.
Ignoring them, Tao Ning looked at Pang Xueting.
Lying near the door, dressed in thin clothes, Pang Xueting was still fighting the drug’s effects. Though unable to move, her eyes lit up when she saw Tao Ning.
Tao Ning considered giving her a Cleansing Heart Pill to counteract the drug, but realized the child’s mortal body couldn’t handle the potency of her Heaven-grade pill, and she would likely explode.
Best not to kill her in the process of saving her.
Drawing on the last vestiges of her spiritual energy, she pressed two fingers to specific acupoints, neutralizing the drug.
Pang Xueting’s awareness returned, and she sat up immediately. “What are you doing here? Did you save me?”
A strange scent drifted on the night air. Pang Xueting wrinkled her nose. “What’s that smell?”
Tao Ning, shielding her from the gruesome scene behind her, gently pushed her back down and closed the carriage door. “Stay put and hold on tight. My driving is… terrible.”
Pang Xueting, still reeling from her rescue, assumed her savior was joking. Moments later, everyone in the carriage was violently ill.
When the door opened again, they tumbled out, too sick to be afraid, vomiting onto the grass.
Tao Ning, frowning, stepped away from the retching children, addressing the green-faced Pang Xueting. “You can talk to me after you’re done.”
Pang Xueting swallowed her urgent words.
Tao Ning: “…”
The pampered young miss probably found the whole experience disgusting. Her face turned an even sicker shade of green.
Tao Ning continued, “Your spiritual roots are exceptional. Dual Water and Wood, complementing each other, creating a cycle of life. An ordinary merchant family cannot protect you. You should join a cultivation sect, seek their protection.”
Pang Xueting shivered in the cold. “Can I become your disciple?”
Tao Ning: “I’m afraid not. My standards for disciples are quite rigorous.”
Pang Xueting jumped down from the carriage. “Where are you going?”
“Leaving.” Tao Ning mounted the horse, flicked the reins, and rode off into the sunrise.
Pang Xueting called after her, “What’s your name…?”
Suddenly remembering something, she turned and saw the gates of Ten Directions City.
With a horse for transport, Tao Ning’s journey progressed much faster. She even had time to cultivate at night.
Her cultivation advanced rapidly, unusually so for a beginner.
520 noticed Tao Ning’s mood darkening again. While the horse rested and grazed, she would often sit in a daze or meditate.
Though she asked about the male protagonist’s location less frequently, she still scrutinized any young woodcutter she encountered, even reducing one to tears.
520 worried. It had high hopes for this host. Please don’t do anything rash.
Tao Ning was generally well-behaved, but she couldn’t avoid those who weren’t. Her journey was punctuated by encounters with bandits, extortionists, would-be kidnappers, and shady innkeepers.
All were dealt with swiftly and decisively, their ambitions permanently extinguished.
520, observing the carnage, wanted to warn them: Seriously, don’t mess with a widowed, debt-ridden woman.
Lethality: extreme.
Tonight was no different. Tao Ning flicked the blood from her blade, eyeing the now-dulled edge with distaste before discarding it and commencing her usual routine of relieving her victims of their valuables.
These bandits were small-time, accustomed to preying on passing cultivators. They had anticipated an easy target, a lone young woman. They didn’t even manage a second sentence before finding themselves reunited in the afterlife.
Tao Ning wasn’t particularly greedy. She simply needed something to occupy her time.
They were disappointingly poor, with few spiritual stones and mostly junk.
The sound of flapping wings broke the silence. A small bird landed lightly on Tao Ning’s shoulder, tilting its head, its beady black eyes studying her curiously.
Tao Ning tilted her head back, meeting its gaze. After a moment, she shrugged. “Move over there.”
She wasn’t comfortable with weight on her left shoulder, a habit exacerbated by her recent widowhood.
The little white bird seemed to understand, hopping onto a nearby rock, continuing to observe her.
Tao Ning, assuming it was just a bold little bird, continued her work, gathering the bandits’ belongings into a cloth sack.
But the bird’s unwavering attention drew her gaze back. She noticed it wasn’t entirely white. A single, crimson feather adorned its left wing.
At first glance, it looked like the bird had somehow stuck a red feather onto itself.
Tao Ning wondered, “What kind of bird is this?” It didn’t seem to possess any spiritual energy, not even qualifying as a spirit beast. Just an ordinary white bird.
Small, barely the size of her hand, with fluffy white plumage and elegant tail feathers, it resembled a miniature white phoenix.
But white phoenixes didn’t have crimson feathers. The splash of red against the white was striking, like a brushstroke of color on a monochrome painting.
Unable to identify it, Tao Ning concluded, “A mutant, I guess.”
The little white bird: “…”
Finished with her task, Tao Ning felt the sticky blood on her hands. Her horse was dead, so she set off on foot to find water to wash.
As the slender figure disappeared into the darkness, the white bird remained perched on the rock, its beady eyes reflecting the scene.
Suddenly, a soft white light illuminated the night. A woman in white, carrying a long zither, appeared in the bamboo grove.
Her aura was pure and otherworldly.
Her white robes brushed against the rock as she examined the bodies Tao Ning had casually discarded. “Spiritual cultivators, killed by someone of a higher realm,” she concluded.
Turning towards the direction Tao Ning had taken, Cen Dianshuang’s eyes narrowed in thought. “Someone from the Demonic Realm?”
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