A Crimson Pact and a Ruthless Path

‘Nascent Soul cultivators are chillingly terrifying!’ Su Mo clapped a hand over her mouth. She remembered her own ancestor, a Nascent Soul cultivator, whose mere actions could cleave mountains and divert rivers. Nascent Soul cultivators were considered formidable figures in the cultivation world, though even more terrifying beings often ventured to the outer seas, rarely to return. In the face of such power, Su Mo couldn’t conceive of any escape. Even the spectral carriage, his mount, riding on chilling winds in the sky, seemed capable of devouring her whole.

“…” Xu Qingzhu’s expression was grim as he looked up at the battle unfolding in the sky. The Ghost King was clearly at a disadvantage against the Nascent Soul cultivator on the spectral carriage; it had already entered a berserk state. It wouldn’t last much longer. But that also meant Xu Qingzhu wouldn’t last much longer. The ancient runes floating around him were forbidden curses, secret arts he had cultivated in his previous life. Since they resided within his soul, he could still wield them. However, his Foundation Establishment stage spiritual energy wasn’t robust enough, requiring him to expend his vitality, life force, and lifespan. Allowing the forbidden runes to draw upon him, he had already sacrificed several days of his lifespan in this short time.

“This isn’t a sustainable solution.” Xu Qingzhu felt weakness creeping over him. He couldn’t truly exhaust all his strength and become completely incapacitated. He would still be needed to navigate the ghost-infested forest at night. Thus, he raised his bloodied wrist and offered it to Su Mo’s mouth. He spoke with a hint of urgency:

“Drink my blood.”

“Why?” Su Mo focused intently.

“Su Yao,” Xu Qingzhu’s arm appeared pale, almost devoid of color, “this is no time for stubbornness. That old monster is hunting *you*… Drink it.”

Did he truly not recognize the Nine Pendants Su Mo had picked up? Of course he did. He simply understood the secrets behind the Nine Pendants and, believing his strength insufficient, dared not touch them. But since Su Mo dared to pick them up and even seemed vaguely aware of their secret, he decided to ignore it. At that time, he had thought that if Su Mo brought disaster upon herself, he would simply abandon her. But then.

‘She saved half my life…’ Xu Qingzhu acted, setting up a Concealing Breath Forbidden Curse. Without Su Mo’s manual assistance in detoxification, he might have been half-dead for months, missing many crucial opportunities. Burning his lifespan to shield her from the Nascent Soul cultivator’s pursuit would make them even. When the time came to kill his wife, he would do so without hesitation!

‘Stripping away emotions, preventing them from influencing oneself—that is the Path of Ruthlessness, isn’t it?’ A cold glint flashed in his downcast eyes. Struck by his words, Su Mo clutched her rapidly beating heart, a suspicion forming.

“Alright.” Su Mo decisively took his bleeding wrist and embraced it. Her crimson lips pressed against the wound, and the surging blood poured into her mouth, its heat and metallic tang assaulting her taste buds. She felt a wave of nausea. Not long ago, she was a civilized modern youth who had only ever consumed cooked food. To suddenly leap to gulping down fresh blood was truly difficult to stomach.

“Sizzle, sizzle…” Under Xu Qingzhu’s intense focus, the blood flowing into Su Mo’s body converged on her back. A wave of heat engulfed Su Mo’s back, causing fragrant sweat to stream down and even wisps of mist to rise. Xu Qingzhu’s blood seeped through her fair skin, dappling it before finally coalescing into a bewitching and eerie tattoo. It was a vivid crimson curse pattern, like a coiled wreath of thorny roses, encircling Su Mo’s back and seeming to pierce into her flesh. With each breath, the curse pattern pulsed with a faint, blood-red glow, exuding an incredibly seductive aura. What she didn’t know was that if her emotions fluctuated too wildly, it would also stimulate the curse pattern to emit a red light. Such as pleasure.

Releasing his wrist, Su Mo’s eyes glazed over, and she exhaled warm breaths. A mysterious power rose within her, even stirring her inherent Nine-Tailed bloodline. She felt so hot… The blood dripping from her lips bloomed like flowers against her milky-white skin. In a single thought, Su Mo’s demeanor abruptly shifted between alluring and serene. Dangerous and deadly, secretive and ghostly.

“Xu… Qingzhu… *huff*… what… what is this?” Su Mo’s words were fragmented, her tongue lolling out as she panted.

“It’s nothing,” Xu Qingzhu frowned. “A secret art that allows you to conceal and alter your aura, making it difficult for cultivators to discern.” He hadn’t anticipated this situation; the curse pattern had actually linked with her Nine-Tailed bloodline. This curse pattern was a divine secret art he had discovered by meticulously dissecting a shapeshifting seductress snake. At the time, the seductress snake possessed an innate curse pattern within its body that granted it the ability to conceal and alter its aura at will, making it incredibly elusive. Unfortunately, it had encountered Xu Qingzhu and met a gruesome end, torn limb from limb.

Observing Su Mo’s flushed, dewy face, her hand pressed to her chest as she panted, and her utterly seductive posture, Xu Qingzhu reached out to apply acupressure to her.

“Young Master Xu… don’t… touch my feet… *mmh~*…” Su Mo covered her mouth, fearing to let out even the slightest strange sound. Yet, he held Su Mo’s soft, delicate jade feet, his fingers measuring, occasionally stroking, pressing, kneading, and rubbing. Stimulated beyond endurance, Su Mo could no longer hold herself upright. She leaned back, lying down, and gripped the weeds, trying to suppress her reactions.

‘Su Mo, you must hold on, don’t make a sound!’ she admonished herself, not even noticing her small foot instinctively kicking towards Xu Qingzhu’s face.

“…” Clamping Su Mo’s fragrant foot to his side, Xu Qingzhu focused on applying acupressure. This acupressure technique was unique, designed to stimulate potential and accelerate the absorption of medicinal properties. Applying it to himself was one thing, but applying it to Su Mo was also called acupressure. It was simply that her constitution was too sensitive, and it was her first time, which was why she reacted this way.

‘But… something’s not right.’ Xu Qingzhu’s peripheral glance caught her hazy eyes, and he suspected she might be a masochist. ‘This acupressure is supposed to cause pain, isn’t it? A piercing, bone-deep pain!’ ‘Why is she getting so aroused?’

****

Below, things were heating up; above, the heavens themselves seemed to tremble. In the sky, the old man stood with his hands clasped behind his back on the spectral carriage, his eyes turning blood-red as he looked up. Those blood-red eyes gazed at the swirling dark clouds, slowly forging a connection. Having lost a ghostly arm, the Ghost King was already contemplating retreat. It roared furiously:

“Old Daoist! You intrude without cause, disturbing our slumber! And now you seek to annihilate us?!”

“How dare a mere beast speak so presumptuously?” The old man sneered.

“Pfft…” The dark clouds rippled, and a massive, blood-red eye squeezed its way out from within. It resembled a festering sac, growing in the sky. Its descending, blood-soaked gaze bathed half the forest in crimson light. With a gigantic, blood-red eye hanging above him, the old man cast his own blood-colored gaze downwards and sneered menacingly:

“Insect, die.”

“No…” The Ghost King shrieked in terror, retreating violently amidst a swirl of chilling winds. But a crimson pillar of blood descended from the heavens, sweeping sharply across the land, cleaving the forest in two and shearing off the peaks of mountains. In the deathly stillness, the old man on the spectral carriage stood with his hands clasped behind his back in the night wind, his gaze sweeping over his surroundings again and again. Concurrently, the blood-red eye that had emerged in the sky, riddled with capillaries, frantically scoured every inch of the land. In the profound silence, the old man, his face clouded with gloom, uttered:

“Whoever stole my opportunity, I shall pursue them to the very end.”

As his words fell, the spectral carriage departed towards the horizon. Much later, the blood-red eye in the sky finally ruptured and vanished, transforming into a rain of blood that poured down. Helping the weakened Su Mo into her clothes and settling her against a tree trunk, Xu Qingzhu listened to the patter of the blood rain, shaking his head silently.

‘For her, was confronting a Nascent Soul cultivator truly worth it?’ This question had no easy answer. Looking down at Su Mo, whose breathing had slowed, who had even carelessly fallen asleep early, he gazed at her profile and couldn’t help but pat her head. ‘Satisfying.’