Upon returning to the Martial King's Manor, Shi Yi didn't dive into cultivation or rest. Instead, he slipped into his tenth Heavenly Passage.
Within the small world of the tenth passage, birds sang, flowers bloomed, and a gentle fragrance filled the air.
At the heart of this world, Liu Shen sat cross-legged, still as an ancient willow, unmoving.
Only when Shi Yi leaned in, plotting some audacious move to defy his master, did she slowly open her eyes.
As her eyes opened, the starry heavens reflected behind her.
Her presence was divine, untouchable.
"Rebellious disciple, instead of cultivating diligently, what mischief are you up to now?"
Liu Shen's voice carried a trace of impatience. Shi Yi's constant pestering was starting to wear on her. Couldn't this wayward disciple, obsessed with climbing her tree, give her some space?
"Teacher, you said if I broke five Void God Realm records, you'd grant me one reasonable request."
Undaunted, Shi Yi wrapped his arms around Liu Shen's slender waist. He knew she didn't mind physical closeness—otherwise, he wouldn't have gotten this far.
Some things couldn't wait for a woman to initiate. A man had to take the lead.
To Liu Shen, this might just be normal teacher-disciple affection. As long as Shi Yi didn't cross boundaries—keeping his hands restrained, sticking to hugs—she could accept it as a sign of his attachment.
Unless someone harbored ill intentions from the start, no one would resent a disciple's closeness.
Though Liu Shen found Shi Yi a handful, she didn't reject his affection.
But to Shi Yi, Liu Shen was his white moonlight, his goddess. When a chance to get close presented itself, he seized it. Day by day, he believed he'd eventually climb that tree.
Hesitation accomplished nothing.
A journey of a thousand miles began with a single step.
Shi Yi understood.
A woman like Liu Shen, who'd lived millions of years and seen prodigies as numerous as the sands of the Ganges, was unlikely to fall for a junior like him.
Her Dao heart was unyielding, untouched by the concept of a partner. Taking him as a disciple was due to his Double Pupil, not a fleeting whim of kindness.
But some things were only impossible if you never tried. Nothing in this world was truly out of reach.
Reality was stranger than fiction. Countless aloof, untouchable women had been won over.
If you deemed it impossible, it certainly was.
Because you'd already convinced yourself it was.
Shi Yi never thought that way.
He believed he had a shot.
An older woman by three years is a golden treasure.
By thirty, she offers an empire.
By three thousand, she ascends to immortality.
By three million years… Shi Yi ran out of metaphors, but one thing was clear: clinging to this thigh promised a boundless future.
Sure, it might look like freeloading, but if it shaved decades—or millions of years—off his journey, a bit of soft rice was worth it.
At that thought, Shi Yi rubbed his stomach. His digestion wasn't great, but this soft rice—fragrant and tender—felt divine just to hold.
Liu Shen smells so good!
"Didn't you dislike the path I arranged for you?" Liu Shen's tone remained serene.
Truthfully, she couldn't fathom Shi Yi's fixation on her. With princesses, fairies, enchantresses, and peerless beauties out there, why was he so hung up on a willow tree? Her Dao heart was a fortress, impervious to such distractions.
Disciple? Fine.
Partner? Out of the question.
Her Dao heart, like unyielding stone, barred her from entanglements like romance that could hinder cultivation.
She'd walked her path alone, accustomed to solitude and silence. A disciple was already her limit.
If Shi Yi knew her thoughts, he'd tell her about water wearing through stone.
"No dislike, absolutely not! Teacher, don't say that. I just want to try forging my own path, carving my own way to the heavens. If it fails, I won't be stubborn—I'll follow your guidance then."
Shi Yi nestled closer in her embrace, her scent filling his senses.
"Such an unsteady Dao heart, wavering with indecision. You haven't even tried yet you're already planning a retreat." Liu Shen's tone shifted from calm to tinged with frustration, a hint of disappointment in her disciple.
Who plans for failure before even starting?
How could such a cautious mindset forge a path to the heavens?
"Teacher, as the saying goes, plan for defeat before victory. Keep the mountain green, and firewood will never run dry. If one path fails, I'll try another. Only fools or idiots cling to a dead end. Especially those who sacrifice themselves for the masses—Teacher, I swear, I didn't mean you!"
Mid-speech, Shi Yi noticed Liu Shen's expression darken, her gaze turning piercing. His heart skipped a beat, and he hurriedly clarified his intent.
Did I say something wrong? Did I hit a nerve?
Unbeknownst to him, his words had nudged Liu Shen closer to the abyss of darkness. Her mindset was shifting, from selfless devotion to a more personal selfishness.
She no longer felt so noble or altruistic. She even entertained a sliver of a thought of giving up, living a quiet, happy life with Shi Yi caring for her.
Indeed, in Liu Shen's eyes, Shi Yi's habit of planning retreats and hedging bets was tantamount to slacking—a weak Dao heart, lacking the resolve to commit to a single path.
But she wasn't in the mood to discuss his Dao heart. She was lost in doubt, questioning the meaning of her past sacrifices and efforts.
She could've lived well.
Why had she sacrificed for others?
Her sacrifices and devotion earned no gratitude—only betrayal, treachery, and abandonment.
She'd given so much for the Nine Heavens and Ten Lands, for the Immortal Domain, yet who cared for her? They'd wished her dead sooner.
Her death would leave her corpse and techniques as their spoils.
That was their "opportunity"—a grand one, in the eyes of the world.
Some truths were ugly to voice.
But once spoken, their reality was undeniable.
The world's so-called opportunities were often the remnants of the strong, scavenged by the weak from their corpses.
Even the famed treasure lands of opportunity were merely places where countless had died, leaving enough relics to become coveted sites.
It sounded tragic.
But that was the venomous essence of this world: humans devouring humans, beasts devouring beasts, humans and beasts devouring each other. There was no inherent darkness—humans created it, yet still sought its source.
___
Time flew, and two years passed.
In those two years, Shi Yi cultivated diligently, reaching the peak of the Spirit Transformation Realm, poised to break through to the Engravement Realm at any moment.
In truth, the Engravement and Formation Arrangement Realms were part of a single broader stage, their essence similar.
The Engravement Realm involved borrowing runes from beasts and raptors, inscribing special symbols within the body. The Formation Arrangement Realm built on these runes, forming rudimentary arrays—killing formations inscribed within to vastly amplify combat power.
Meanwhile, over the same two years, Shi Hao, who'd run away to roam the Great Wilderness, had broken through to nine Heavenly Passages.
"Two years… It's time to go home. Returning empty-handed isn't great. I heard there's a mountain treasure emerging deep in the Great Wilderness…"
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