After that, Yino gently extracted a considerable amount of spiritual energy from Yuyan’s dantian.
As her energy depleted, Yuyan felt another wave of fatigue, so when the energy channeling was over, Yino didn’t linger, he simply said goodnight and left, closing the door behind him.
Her words had put him in a good mood for the entire evening.
After all, it meant he had established a level of trust with Yuyan that exceeded his expectations.
Yino himself felt the pace was a bit fast; he even suspected that Yuyan might be halfway to liking him.
Maybe it wasn’t full-blown love yet, but at least she no longer recoiled from his touch.
Yino thought that maybe there was no need to put these cold, beautiful sisters on a pedestal; beneath their aloof exteriors, they were just ordinary people, capable of crying, laughing, and feeling shy. Even though his cultivation was far from Yuyan’s standards for a partner, she was just saying it with her mouth; her body had already opened up to him in many ways.
As for whether he could eventually take her home as a wife, Yino saw it as something that would happen naturally. There was no need to rush.
After all, he had something more pressing to deal with—the Azure Forest.
The forest was actually located to the southeast of Wuji Sect, within the scope of the Western Region.
The so-called “secret realm” was essentially a naturally rich ecosystem with high concentrations of spiritual energy, sealed off by the Immortal Alliance to limit human exploration.
The higher the spiritual energy density, the more valuable the spirit beasts and plants it nurtures. Conversely, it also becomes more dangerous for cultivators, as humans are part of the secret realm’s natural sustenance.
Overall, secret realms were more valuable than dangerous.
And because of this, the Immortal Alliance would seal off high-energy secret realms, only opening them periodically for righteous cultivators from the Great Dragon Dynasty.
But opening it for righteous cultivators didn’t mean that evil cultists couldn’t sneak in.
The Azure Forest spanned millions of hectares, and despite the Immortal Alliance’s efforts, they couldn’t perfectly protect the entire area. So, every year during the opening, some cultists would find ways to infiltrate.
Once inside the realm’s barrier, it became a lawless land where cultists could go on a rampage.
“Lawless, a killing spree…”
At this thought, Yino’s eyes gleamed with excitement, and his steps down the mountain became lighter.
After all, inside the secret realm, there were not only cultists but also a buffet of righteous cultivators, which for Yino was like an all-you-can-eat feast.
As a righteous cultivator, killing cultists was a given, and he could even claim rewards from the Immortal Alliance based on his kill count.
But who said righteous cultivators couldn’t have a kill count?
The Mother Goddess of the Full Moon Sect was so pitiful, eternally sealed in the dark abyss. And as the saying goes,
Filial piety is the first of all virtues.
Sacrificing a few stray righteous cultivators to feed the Mother Goddess was justifiable, right?
The Mother Goddess surely wouldn’t shortchange Yino, her nine-lifetime devoted son!
[Master…]
[You’re really not a good person, are you?]
On the way down the mountain, a girl with pale golden hair suddenly spoke up, her cute tone delivering words that stung Yino’s heart.
Yino looked back to see Wangxue running down the mountain after him.
Over the past month, Wangxue had been recovering her vitality, spending more time in human form each day.
Like now.
Although she had short legs, her energy was boundless, sprinting down the mountain with her little legs. She had just bumped into Yino’s backside, sending him flying quite a distance, narrowly avoiding a fall off the mid-mountain cliff.
“Hey, why do you keep bumping into my butt?”
Yino stood on the cliff’s edge, rubbing his backside.
He turned around to see the deer spirit girl standing with her hands on her hips, looking smug:
“Because master is a big baddie!”
“Baka Deer, I think you want to go pay respects to the Mother Goddess.”
Yino, with swift reflexes, didn’t give Wangxue a chance to run; he lunged forward, grabbing her small antlers.
He lifted Wangxue to eye level, his gaze reproachful.
“Are you wrong?”
“Wangxue is not wrong! master was clearly thinking about slaughtering innocents!”
The deergirl was defiant, even when suspended in mid-air by her antlers, she puffed out her chubby cheeks, opposing Yino.
“Ha, you…”
Yino was taken aback.
Ever since contracting with Wangxue, she had often overheard his mutterings.
Yino thought for a moment and changed his approach.
“Wangxue, you’re missing the point.”
“Gu Wanglan is a righteous cultivator, too. Is he not evil?”
“Oh, right…”
The little deer blinked, immediately confused by Yino’s logic.
Seeing how easily she was swayed, Yino decided not to tease her further. Instead, he cradled her in his arms like a daughter and continued down the mountain, explaining further: freeωebnovēl.c૦m
“You see, there’s no real distinction between good and evil in this world. Righteous cultivators might do terrible things behind closed doors too.”
“True…”
“Would you\\just follow some random righteous cultivator because they offered you candy?”
“No way! I won’t be bribed with just one piece of candy!”
Wangxue puffed out her cheeks, her eyes determined.
Yino couldn’t help but laugh at her, then continued:
“So, think about it. Has your master ever killed an innocent person?”
“Chen… Chen Jianxin…?”
“That was Gu Wanglan’s doing. I couldn’t save him, so I tearfully inherited Brother Jianxin’s destiny.”
“Oh, I see…”
“On the contrary, I’ve saved many people. Didn’t I rescue you little deer?”
“You did!”
“Wangxue, is there a chance that your master’s sword is the ruler that measures the righteousness of this world?”
“A ruler?!”
The deer was in shock.
Yino gave a cold, charming smile, summoning the black sword he had picked up from Gu Wanglan with a wave of his hand:
“Yes, Wangxue, think back. Hasn’t every person I’ve killed deserved it? Weren’t they all bad people?”
“Master makes a lot of sense!”
The deer has been convinced.
After that, Yino casually placed the black sword underfoot and, while still holding Wangxue, they both jumped onto the blade.
“Okay, it was tough on you before, always carrying me.”
“Now that I’ve reached the Core Formation stage, for being so understanding, I’ll let Wangxue experience riding on top of me for a change.”
With that, Yino hoisted the little deer onto his shoulders.
Wangxue’s eyes lit up, quickly wrapping her arms around Yino.
As the wind howled and the little deer let out excited shouts, the two vanished in a deep red blur from Ranmo Peak.
….