Chapter 14: Fine, I’ll Kill You Next Time…

At the edge of the towering cliff, a demon beast of indiscernible form raised its sharp forelimbs, ready to savor its victory.

Not far in front of it, a small creature, visible only in the split-second flash of lightning, lay motionless on the ground.

Feng Xixing had never been this enraged.

Even in his past life, when Lin Chuyun betrayed him, he had suppressed his hatred, calmly escaping from Star Point Sect. Only after he had gained sufficient power did he return to the sect to take his revenge.

But now, seeing the little black cat lying on the ground, its fate unknown, Feng Xixing could not hold back the killing intent surging within him.

The Demon Spider’s movements halted. It had keenly sensed the danger and narrowly dodged the Ice Sword aimed at its head. However, the area that the sword had grazed began to slowly freeze. Even the spider’s own venom couldn’t corrode the Ice Frost.

The frozen area quickly spread to its legs, and the Demon Spider crashed heavily to the ground. Struggling to escape, it was ruthlessly pinned down by six Ice Swords.

The Demon Spider fixed its eyes on the suddenly appearing human. It could clearly sense the residual Spirit Power still emanating from him. This human was its original target tonight—the Human Cultivator undergoing Core Formation!

He was just a human cultivator who had barely achieved Core Formation…

The Demon Spider’s eyes were filled with violent malice. It suddenly raised its head and spat out a strand of highly toxic spider silk. The silk shot toward the human cultivator at high speed. If it touched him, even a little, the potent venom would corrode him.

Feng Xixing looked coldly at the Demon Spider, showing no intention of dodging. The spider silk landed on him, but in the blink of an eye, it was frozen solid by the chill emanating from the Ice Void Robe and shattered onto the ground.

“You dare touch someone under This Venerable’s protection…”

A wave of Ice Qi surged from beneath Feng Xixing’s feet, rapidly spreading to the Demon Spider. It lifted the spider off the ground and trapped it in mid-air. Feng Xixing’s eyes, usually pale, were gradually being overtaken by a crimson red. The Devil Qi that had been suppressing his tear mole also began to stir restlessly.

The Demon Spider’s eyes were filled with terror. This human cultivator had clearly just formed his core, yet the aura emanating from him made it tremble involuntarily. It wanted to beg for mercy, but its mouthparts were sealed shut by the Ice Qi.

“How should I punish you…” Feng Xixing spoke slowly, as if seriously contemplating the question. “How about… we start by breaking a few legs.”

As soon as the words fell, one of the Demon Spider’s legs was brutally torn off and rolled down the cliff edge. The spider thrashed in agony, but there was no escaping the suppression of the Ice Qi.

Soon, only four of its original eight legs remained. Dark purple venom-blood dripped steadily from its body. The Demon Spider had no more strength to struggle; its eyes, fixed on Feng Xixing, were filled with regret.

Had it known this human cultivator was so terrifying, it would never have targeted him!

Feng Xixing stared coldly at the Demon Spider. His Spiritual Consciousness was a chaotic mess, and the Devil Qi was constantly disrupting his thoughts, but he remembered only one thing: he had to kill this demon beast before him.

The Devil Qi was ecstatic. It hadn’t expected Feng Xixing to suddenly lose his mental stability on his own. Although it didn’t know the cause, this was a golden opportunity. As long as Feng Xixing indulged in slaughter, he would eventually Enter the Devil Path once more!

“Kill…” The Devil Qi spread bit by bit, merging with the crimson in Feng Xixing’s eyes.

Feng Xixing slowly walked to the Demon Spider, his Ice Sword raised high—

“Meow…”

A faint cat cry, almost imperceptible, sounded on the cliff.

A startling thunderbolt cut through the night sky, illuminating everything on the cliff. The Devil Qi was alarmed to find that Feng Xixing’s suppression over it was slowly reawakening.

The thunderbolts in the sky, as if discovering something that shouldn’t exist in this world, came crashing down one after another. Finally, with a deafening clap of thunder, torrential rain poured down.

In the instant the rain fell, Feng Xixing abruptly regained his senses. He turned and rushed swiftly to the little black cat’s side, kneeling down to shield it from the heavy rain.

“…Shizun?” Feng Xixing called out softly.

Lin Chuyun was in constant, severe pain because his body had suddenly absorbed too much Spirit Power. The light spot within his Qi Sea, seemingly having absorbed sufficient Spirit Power, began to flicker on and off.

Hearing his little disciple’s familiar voice, he slowly came back to his senses and opened his eyes. Just then, a thunderbolt flashed, illuminating Feng Xixing’s face perfectly.

Lin Chuyun had never seen Feng Xixing look so disheveled. The hair on his forehead was wet and plastered together by the rain, and the dust on his cheeks mixed with the water to form muddy streaks on his pale face.

Even the tear mole at the corner of his eye was smudged with dirt, making it more prominent than usual.

“Meow…” I’m here…

Seeing Feng Xixing, Lin Chuyun instinctively tried to stand, but a sharp pain shot through him, and his feet gave way, causing him to fall. This time, however, he landed in the warm palm of Feng Xixing’s hand.

So… his little disciple had arrived just in time to save him?

Lin Chuyun relaxed. The soreness all over his body became more pronounced, as if something was trying to burst out from within him.

He couldn’t help but want to extend his claws and scratch something, but then he realized he was on Feng Xixing’s palm. In the end, he could only curl himself into a ball and bite down hard on his own tail tip, trying to maintain a sliver of clarity.

Feng Xixing hadn’t yet recovered from the surprise that Lin Chuyun was alive when he saw the little black cat in his palm start biting its tail fiercely.

Thinking Lin Chuyun was simply low on Spirit Power, he hastily condensed dozens of Ice Crystals and pushed them all to the black cat’s mouth.

The moment those Ice Crystals touched the little black cat’s whiskers, they transformed into Spirit Power and flowed along Lin Chuyun’s meridians into his Qi Sea. The light spot joyfully absorbed this power, its flickering becoming increasingly brighter.

Lin Chuyun felt as if his body was about to explode, completely beyond his control.

The little black cat suddenly leaped swiftly from Feng Xixing’s palm. Startled, Feng Xixing reached out to grab the Little Black Ball, but he could only watch as a blinding light emanated from the creature.

When the light faded, the palm-sized black cat was gone. In its place, a familiar figure was half-prone on the ground, its back facing him.

Feng Xixing froze, his fingertips stopping mid-air.

Lin Chuyun hadn’t yet realized his situation. He felt intensely hot all over, like he’d just been boiled, and desperately wanted to roll around in the rain. But for some reason, his fur, which he usually found warm enough, was inexplicably starting to feel cold.

Finally, the heat within his body slowly dissipated, and the chill of the rain took over.

“Ah-choo—” Lin Chuyun couldn’t help but sneeze.

He rubbed the tip of his nose and abruptly stopped. He looked down at his hands, then at the clothes on his body, and finally turned his head back in bewilderment to look at his little disciple.

Feng Xixing was just a short distance behind him, as if he hadn’t quite processed what had happened. His gaze on Lin Chuyun was complex and unreadable. After a long silence, Feng Xixing spoke, his voice icy cold. “Shizun, it’s been a while.”

Lin Chuyun shivered violently, inexplicably feeling that this wasn’t what Feng Xixing truly wanted to say.

Supporting himself on a nearby stone with one hand, he staggered to his feet. Having been accustomed to walking on four paws for so long, suddenly returning to human form felt somewhat strange. His clothes were still on—thankfully—or else he’d have put on quite the show.

The heavy rain continued to fall. Although Lin Chuyun’s clothes were dust-repellent, they weren’t waterproof. Coupled with his still-empty internal Spirit Power, Lin Chuyun could only silently wrap his clothes tighter. Clearing his throat lightly, he suggested, “Shall we… find a cave to take shelter from the rain first?”

Having lost his Cat Pupils, Lin Chuyun couldn’t see Feng Xixing’s expression clearly in the dark, rainy night. He just sensed that his mood seemed terrible. But eventually, he heard Feng Xixing respond, “Yes, Shizun.”

Cold and detached. It was completely different from his tone when he was a cat.

Lin Chuyun pursed his lips, suppressing the strange feeling in his heart, and followed Feng Xixing up the mountain. The Demon Spider had either been chased off or finished off by his little disciple; only a pool of blood remained on the ground.

The blood was splattered almost everywhere along the cliff edge. The battle must have been fierce. He wondered if his disciple was injured.

Lost in these random thoughts, Lin Chuyun followed Feng Xixing back to the cave. The boulder at the cave entrance had shattered, scattering debris everywhere, a clear testament to how frantic Feng Xixing must have been when he rushed out.

But why was his little disciple suddenly ignoring him now?

Lin Chuyun sat on a stone inside the cave. Feng Xixing had carefully cleaned the dust off it. However, before Lin Chuyun could offer his thanks, Feng Xixing left the cave again, returning shortly with a few relatively dry pieces of wood.

After starting a fire, Lin Chuyun thought Feng Xixing was finally going to talk to him. Instead, the young man simply said flatly, “Shizun should rest early,” then lay down on the opposite side in his clothes and closed his eyes as if to sleep.

Lin Chuyun: “…”

He really felt like hitting his disciple. The urge was strong.

But recalling Feng Xixing’s previous devotion to him, Lin Chuyun pursed his lips and started a conversation. “That… Demon Spider?”

“Dead,” Feng Xixing replied curtly, his back to him.

“…Were you injured?” Lin Chuyun asked again.

“No.”

“…Thank you for saving your teacher.”

“…”

The cave fell completely silent. Extremely awkward, Lin Chuyun gave up trying to coax this moody Little Brat.

He casually tossed another log into the fire. The young man with his back to him remained motionless, as if he’d already fallen asleep. Lin Chuyun quieted his movements. After a moment of hesitation, he stood up and walked to the edge of the cave.

Only when Feng Xixing heard the sound of the person behind him leaving did he open his eyes.

His tightly clenched fist relaxed slightly. He hadn’t dared to look at Lin Chuyun earlier, fearing that if he looked one more time, he would desperately want to draw his sword and kill this man.

Feng Xixing stared expressionlessly at the stone wall, the shadows cast upon it dancing with the flickering firelight. His tone had been so perfunctory earlier; Lin Chuyun was surely furious and had probably already left alone.

His cat was gone too.

No, it wasn’t his cat to begin with.

Feng Xixing closed his eyes, suppressing that hint of disappointment. Because Lin Chuyun had been here before, he had found a place to rest every night. Now that he was alone, he could speed up his journey to the center of the grotto.

Just as he thought this, Feng Xixing sat up, only to feel something bump against his side twice.

He lowered his head slightly and saw three bright red fruits lying beside where he had just been resting. They were a type of Spirit Fruit he had given the black cat a few days ago. This type didn’t contain much Spirit Power, but it was very sweet.

Feng Xixing picked up the fruits and looked across the cave. Lin Chuyun, whom he’d thought long gone, had returned at some point and was sleeping soundly against the opposite stone wall.

Looking at the Spirit Fruits in his hand, Feng Xixing was silent for a moment, then he flipped off the ground and stood up. Ice Qi swiftly condensed in his hand, forming an Ice Sword. He lightened his footsteps and walked over to Lin Chuyun.

Lin Chuyun slept without a shred of vigilance, not even waking when someone stood before him. Feng Xixing stared at him coldly, the Ice Sword in his hand slowly rising to rest at Lin Chuyun’s neck.

With just a gentle movement of his hand…

Before Feng Xixing could finish the thought, Lin Chuyun, as if uncomfortable in his sleep, frowned and shifted twice, leaning toward the direction of the Ice Blade.

Instinct moved faster than thought. Before Feng Xixing could react, the Ice Sword in his hand had already dissipated. Only his hand remained, now supporting Lin Chuyun’s cheek.

And Lin Chuyun still hadn’t woken up! He even habitually nuzzled against Feng Xixing’s palm before continuing to sleep.

Feng Xixing was silent for a long while. He bent down and sat beside Lin Chuyun, gently resting Lin Chuyun’s head against his own shoulder. He himself sat with his knees drawn up, quietly eating the three fruits.

Fine. I’ll kill him next time.