Chapter 31: Day 31

“You… you know of the Blood King Sect?”

“Vaguely.”

Cheon Seo Ah responded to Elder Bloodfiend’s surprised question with a noncommittal grunt.

Her demeanor shifted; she wouldn’t foolishly maintain her arrogant facade against someone far stronger. If someone was being a prick and was stronger than her, she’d simply bide her time.

A cultivator’s revenge was a dish best served cold, even if it took a century.

Elder Bloodfiend, intrigued, continued.

“I overheard something interesting just now.”

“Oh?”

“Something about consuming this woman’s Golden Core and heart.”

Cheon Seo Ah remained silent.

He was right. She had said that. But admitting it outright could provoke him.

He might decide to kill her for even suggesting such a thing to a Blood King Sect member.

Elder Bloodfiend chuckled.

“If you’re interested, I’m willing to give you her Golden Core.”

“Elder! What are you…!”

The old woman gasped, horrified. Give her Golden Core to this brat?

Elder Bloodfiend simply smiled, a predatory glint in his eyes.

“Not for free, of course. In exchange for her Golden Core, let me see…” He feigned contemplation, the old woman watching anxiously.

Finally, he spoke. “One hundred years. If you take her place for one hundred years, the Core is yours.”

One hundred years of servitude… Cheon Seo Ah glanced at the old woman. If she was right, the old woman’s job was…

“Guarding this place. Monitoring those who enter the Blood King Sect’s territory, and dealing with intruders like me.”

“Precisely. What do you say? Not a bad offer, is it?”

Cheon Seo Ah considered this.

One hundred years as a guard dog in exchange for a Golden Core. Not a terrible deal.

She was barely twenty, and a Golden Core at that. She had a millennium ahead of her. One hundred years was a small price to pay. But…

“I refuse.”

“Hmm? Why? This is a chance to obtain a Golden Core, at the cost of a mere century of service.”

“Simple. I have no desire to be a guard dog.”

Elder Bloodfiend chuckled, a sound that seemed approving but held a hint of something darker.

“Aren’t you being a bit too greedy? You came to the Blood King Sect seeking something, didn’t you? A wandering Demonic Beast like you has her limits.”

“That’s true. But I have no intention of wasting a century, even just a century, stuck here as a guard dog.”

Elder Bloodfiend’s expression hardened.

His amusement had vanished, replaced by displeasure.

He didn’t like being refused.

The gentle aura of Demonic Qi around him sharpened, like a honed blade, threatening to tear Cheon Seo Ah apart at the slightest provocation.

Undeterred, she continued.

“I can guess why you made that offer. This old woman barely has a century left to live. Perhaps less.”

“So?”

“You want me to replace her. So let me ask you a question.”

Cheon Seo Ah’s eyes gleamed with madness, her breath carrying a faint toxicity.

“Do you truly intend to give me her Golden Core after a hundred years?”

“Are you questioning me?”

Anger laced Elder Bloodfiend’s voice. His Demonic Qi coalesced into hundreds of shimmering blades that surrounded Cheon Seo Ah. One wrong word, and she would be shredded.

But she showed no fear.

“Yes. Frankly, if she dies while I’m stuck here, and the Blood King Sect hides her Golden Core, how would I ever know?”

Ha! Haha-!

Khahahaha!

Elder Bloodfiend roared with laughter, the sound shaking the very air around them.

Cheon Seo Ah stumbled, a suppressed groan escaping her lips.

He was a Nascent Soul cultivator.

Despite her unusually large Golden Core, she was freshly minted, while he had likely lived for over a thousand years.

If he truly wanted her dead, she stood no chance. Yet, her eyes still blazed with madness.

“Little one, are you prepared to face the consequences of your words?”

“I don’t think I said anything that warrants consequences.”

“You’ve insulted me, and the entire Blood King Sect.”

“A matter of perspective.

A difference of opinion. If the Blood King Sect has no intention of deceiving me, it’s a question you can easily dismiss. Unless…” She paused. “Unless you were planning to deceive me?”

With that, she moved.

Demonic Dragon Soaring to Heaven, Lightning.

She shot into the air, a demonic dragon ascending.

Several of Bloodfiend’s Demonic Qi blades slammed into the ground where she’d been standing.

“Familiar movements.”

Cheon Seo Ah’s blood ran cold at the sound of his voice behind her. The Demonic Dragon Soaring to Heaven, particularly the Lightning technique, was one of her fastest movement skills. He’d matched it. There was no time to be surprised. She propelled herself through the air again, but it was useless. He remained right behind her, a persistent shadow.

“You’re no mere wandering Demonic Beast. What is your connection to the White Snake Gate?”

He’d recognized her movements. Cheon Seo Ah suppressed her surprise and answered cautiously.

“I was briefly taken in by the White Snake Gate.”

Bloodfiend’s feigned surprise couldn’t mask his interest.

The White Snake Gate was the leading sect of the Xu Empire, one of the three most powerful nations on the continent. Their history and power were not to be underestimated.

They were notoriously selective about their disciples, and the technique she’d used…

‘Demonic Dragon Soaring to Heaven, was it? The original must be…’

…White Dragon Dance. A technique taught only to inner disciples. So, she had been an inner disciple? Why, then, was she a wandering Demonic Beast?

Intrigued, Bloodfiend acted. With a flick of his wrist, chains of blood erupted from the ground, coiling around Cheon Seo Ah.

Clank-.

“Ugh!”

She groaned as the chains tightened, but Bloodfiend ignored her, his gaze fixed on her, examining her intently.

“What the…?!”

He muttered, disbelief evident in his voice. He had assumed a rare constitution, perhaps a three, or at least a two, spiritual root affinity. But she possessed something far more extraordinary.

“The Chaotic Demonic Spirit Body…!”

He groaned again, the words laced with shock. Cheon Seo Ah’s mind raced.

The Chaotic Demonic Spirit Body? It seemed to be her constitution, something even the White Snake Gate hadn’t recognized. A truly ancient Demonic Sect, indeed. But now…

“Ninefold Demonic Mask!”

[The price?]

“Ten years of my lifespan.”

[Insufficient.]

Cheon Seo Ah gritted her teeth. Ten years was too little to escape a Nascent Soul cultivator.

“Thirty years, and Demonic Qi equivalent to sixty years of cultivation.”

[Insufficient.]

Damn it! Still not enough? She was getting desperate. Elder Bloodfiend was recovering from his shock. This was her last chance.

“Fifty years of my lifespan, and Demonic Qi equivalent to one hundred and twenty years of cultivation!”

[The deal is struck.]

A wave of exhaustion washed over her as darkness enveloped her.

“You! Where do you think you’re going?!”

Bloodfiend reacted, his hand lashing out, but it was too late.

The blood chains reached for her, but she, enveloped in darkness, had already vanished, tearing through space.

Just before she completely escaped…

[Get yourself out of here!]

Despite her exhaustion, she sent her will to Baekho. Her first spirit beast. She couldn’t just leave him to die.

‘If you can’t escape, then it can’t be helped.’

Don’t worry, Baekho. If that old man kills you, I’ll avenge you.

With that final thought, Cheon Seo Ah lost consciousness.