"Truly tenacious..."
Four-tailed Spirit Stream Demonic Cat licked its scarlet tongue. The human youth's steely resolve had far exceeded its expectations.
However.
The more tenacious he was, the stronger its resolve to kill Wei Qing became.
Suddenly.
Its pupils contracted, and an evil smile tugged at the corners of its mouth.
An even more sinister plan surfaced in its mind.
"Killing him would certainly be satisfying."
"But if I possessed this human youth..."
Wouldn't that allow it to use the human youth's identity to act openly and honorably among humans?
It could even infiltrate the Heavenly Realm Division or those cultivation sects, secretly devouring unsuspecting martial artists!
"Ke ke... Instant-level!"
The more it thought about it, the brighter its eyes grew.
Seeing Wei Qing's dispirited state, Four-tailed Spirit Stream Demonic Cat no longer hesitated. It instantly transformed into a streak of light and drilled into the center of Wei Qing's brows.
Within the sea of consciousness.
Wei Qing's mental power was in complete disarray, like a guttering candle in the wind, liable to collapse at any moment.
However.
The instant the demonic cat's mental power burst in—
"Rumble..."
Deep within Wei Qing's sea of consciousness, a ray of golden light pierced through heaven and earth, illuminating the entire mental sea of consciousness.
A blurry woman in red, like a celestial maiden descending from the ninth heaven, slowly emerged.
Simply standing there, she caused the entire sea of consciousness to tremble, nearly driving it to collapse.
Seeing this, the woman raised her hand and gently waved.
In an instant, golden starlight sprinkled across the sea of consciousness.
The golden starlight seemed to possess a life of its own. The moment it touched the sea of consciousness, it transformed into countless profound and abstruse runes.
The sea of consciousness, which had been on the verge of collapse, instantly healed.
The restored sea of consciousness shimmered with a faint golden light.
"A mere demon dares to possess him."
The woman's voice was not loud, yet it exploded like thunder, shaking the demonic cat's spirit to the brink of dispersal.
The demonic cat's eyes were filled with terror. Its soul twisted frantically as it tried to escape.
Yet it was horrified to discover that its soul seemed to have been subjected to an immobilization spell and could not move even an inch.
"Who... exactly are you?"
The moment the words left its mouth, the woman's phantom lightly tapped with her index finger.
"Perish!"
As the word fell, the demonic cat's soul suffered a crushing blow and shattered inch by inch.
"Ahhh..."
Amid its shrill screams, its soul transformed into countless points of light, floating above the sea of consciousness.
The woman's phantom snorted coldly and swept her sleeve. The floating points of light instantly condensed into a cluster of pure mental power, hovering above Wei Qing's sea of consciousness.
"This demon's mental power should last for a while."
She spoke faintly and formed a hand seal with her left hand.
The next moment.
A line radiating golden light appeared, connecting the cluster of light with Wei Qing's sea of consciousness.
Threads of mental power continuously flowed from the cluster, merging with the mental power within Wei Qing's sea of consciousness and slowly strengthening it.
After completing all this, she raised her head. Her gaze seemed to pierce through the sea of consciousness and look toward some place in the outside world.
"As for you..."
The outside world.
Zhu Huan had just recovered and was preparing to flee when his entire body suddenly stiffened.
A phantom image of a woman manifested before him.
The terrifying aura radiating from her was at least a hundred times stronger than Four-tailed Spirit Stream Demonic Cat's earlier.
Zhu Huan bit down hard on his saliva and stammered, "I... I wonder what... Senior..."
"Sign it."
A white light descended from the void and transformed into a profound contract.
"Yes."
Zhu Huan did not hesitate in the slightest. He bit his finger and dripped blood onto the contract.
The contract immediately erupted with a burst of red light that sank deep into the center of Zhu Huan's brows.
The Master-servant contract was complete!
At this moment, Zhu Huan was not afraid in the slightest. Instead, he was immensely excited.
He had never imagined that such an unparalleled powerhouse would accept a tiny Seventh-rank martial artist like him as a servant.
Next, the woman waved her hand again, and a sheet of golden light enveloped Zhu Huan.
The next moment, the demonic patterns on Zhu Huan's face gradually melted away and disappeared like snow beneath the blazing sun.
Zhu Huan had just wanted to explain.
But he discovered that although the demonic markings had vanished, his forcibly elevated cultivation had not fallen at all.
Under the golden light, he felt as if he were immersed in a hot spring. Even his old hidden ailments were healed in an instant.
The cells in his body seemed to have been reborn, sending waves of exhilaration through him.
"Thank you for your mercy, Master."
He understood the dangers of the demonic markings well.
He had never expected that his master before him would completely resolve his future troubles with nothing more than a wave of her hand.
"Your master is not me, but him."
The woman's phantom raised her hand and pointed toward Wei Qing.
"Yes."
Zhu Huan hurriedly nodded in response.
The mysterious woman had helped Wei Qing so much, which proved that Wei Qing's background was far from simple.
Following Wei Qing or following the mysterious woman—
In his eyes, it was all the same.
After speaking, the woman's figure blurred and returned to the depths of Wei Qing's sea of consciousness.
Zhu Huan, meanwhile, stood guard beside Wei Qing like a loyal protector.
Within the sea of consciousness.
Wei Qing's consciousness slowly awakened.
To his surprise, his mental power had not only avoided collapse but had instead become several degrees more condensed than before. More importantly—
The cluster of mental power floating above the sea of consciousness was still continuously nourishing and strengthening his mental power.
With a thought from Wei Qing, the system panel appeared:
[Host: Wei Qing] [Age: 16] [Realm: Seventh-rank martial artist (Beginner)] [Spirit: 357] [Strength: 236] [Physique: 235] [Martial Skill: Flowing Cloud Slash (Perfection) - Ultimate Skill: Lotus Flower] [Technique: Nanke's Dream (Minor Accomplishment)]
Sure enough.
Not only had his mental power risen by a considerable amount.
Even his martial artist realm had risen to the Seventh-rank martial artist level.
What exactly was going on?
No.
Wei Qing suddenly came to his senses. He was still fighting Four-tailed Spirit Stream Demonic Cat!
The next moment.
Wei Qing abruptly opened his eyes, only to discover that the Blood Moon space trapping him had already disappeared.
He had returned to the courtyard of Li Da Niu's home.
Seeing Wei Qing awaken, Zhu Huan hurriedly apologized, "Earlier, lard had clouded my mind. I actually betrayed humanity. I beg Master to punish me."
Master?
Punish him?
What was going on?
Why was everything wrong after he had fallen unconscious?
"Zhu Huan, what exactly happened?"
"It was like this, Master..."
Only after Zhu Huan's account did Wei Qing "understand."
It turned out that a powerful martial artist had happened to pass through this place.
That martial artist had slain Four-tailed Spirit Stream Demonic Cat and helped Zhu Huan deal with the demonic markings.
At the same time, to prevent Zhu Huan from betraying humanity again, that person had directly made him and Wei Qing sign a Master-servant contract.
Before leaving, the woman had transmitted her voice to Zhu Huan from afar, instructing him to fabricate some powerful expert and not expose her existence.
At this moment.
Wei Qing finally realized that there truly was a contract with Zhu Huan in his sea of consciousness.
Through the contract, he could control Zhu Huan's life and death with a single thought!
Seeing this, Wei Qing abandoned his intention to kill Zhu Huan and then asked, "Are there any other people in Qingcheng colluding with demons?"
"There are."
"The Fang family's eldest young master, Fang Xiang."
Zhu Huan replied respectfully.
Wei Qing's pupils contracted slightly. "The Fang family of Magistrate Fang?"
Before you continue