Among the thousand elite disciples gathered in the arena, everyone was the child of a great family in the Gengchen Immortal Manor. From birth, they had enjoyed better talents and more resources than ordinary people. These winners in life were figures that smaller sects outside could not hope to reach—with a wave of their hand, they could determine countless lives and deaths. Yet today, before Daoist Lord Cizang, they too had become mere ants, as if their status had been completely reversed.

Sima Jiao sat casually on the jade steps, looking merely like a somewhat gloomy young man. But after countless bloody lessons, no one dared to take him lightly. The more capable, cunning, and prestigious a person was, the less they dared to openly offend him, for they knew more secrets than ordinary disciples and thus feared Sima Jiao all the more.

The two disciples who had been fighting with restraint on the platform heard Sima Jiao’s words and began calculating in their hearts. They knew this Daoist Lord Cizang killed people on a whim, unlike other powerful beings who cared about factions and their value. He disregarded such concerns—he was merely a powerful madman. So when he said he wanted to kill, he truly meant it.

One of them changed his expression, looking at the disciple opposite him. When he attacked again, killing intent had already appeared in his moves. He thought clearly that even if his family elders arrived later, they probably couldn’t stop this death match. After all, one of his family elders had been killed at Three Saints Mountain before, yet Daoist Lord Cizang still stood there perfectly fine.

As he changed his approach, the disciple facing him also noticed. Though the two had some face and friendship between them, it couldn’t compare to their own lives. In an instant, both began fighting in earnest, deadly moves frequently appearing. Both disciples had excellent cultivation, clearly having been well-nurtured. Now fighting for their lives, the scene was truly spectacular. The watching crowd of disciples couldn’t help but observe closely, while Sima Jiao, who had initiated this match, sat above unmoved, already selecting people for the next match from the crowd.

Liao Tingyan sat beside him, with the large black snake coiled around both of them. Neither had any interest in this fighting back and forth. Liao Tingyan had never enjoyed watching fight scenes, much less seeing people die. The sun was rather strong, so she leaned back against the big black snake’s cool scales just like Sima Jiao, feeling much more comfortable. She turned her head to look at the crane flock flying over the distant mountaintop, counting them to pass the time.

When the Sect Master and others arrived at Lingyan Mountain Platform, the victor had just been decided—one severely injured, one dead.

Not only had the Sect Master come, but all eight Palace Masters had arrived as well, along with well-informed members of various families both large and small. These big shots who rarely appeared in public had rushed over together, all because they feared Sima Jiao might suddenly go mad and uproot all these elite seedlings.

“Daoist Lord Cizang.” Everyone bowed to Sima Jiao. The Palace Masters showed no joy or anger on their faces. Only those whose promising disciples had died showed traces of resentment, though they dared not display it too obviously.

The Sect Master maintained his usual good attitude, stepping forward to say, “Ancestral Master, what brings you to watch these young disciples’ matches?”

Sima Jiao leaned against his black snake, looking at this group of well-dressed, immortal-like people, and said, “I was bored. I’ve just watched one match. Let’s continue—choose two more people, still for a death match.”

The Sect Master had self-control, but some people lacked such composure. With many disciples in their families, they inevitably had favorites they cherished. How could they bear to let them perish here easily? Immediately, a branch leader stepped forward reluctantly to advise, “Daoist Lord Cizang, it’s merely a match. Perhaps we could change the death match to…”

Sima Jiao said, “But I just want to see people die.”

He looked over everyone’s expressions one by one, then suddenly said, “I once heard that many years ago, disciples in the Immortal Manor frequently engaged in death matches, improving themselves between life and death. Hence, talents emerged in abundance at that time. Today, it seems our Gengchen Immortal Manor has already declined.”

His tone shifted: “Today if any disciple present can win twenty death matches, they will receive a petal from the Blood Coagulation Flower of Feng Mountain.”

Liao Tingyan knew that one petal of this flower represented a thousand years of cultivation. But what she knew wasn’t complete. The flower’s miraculous property was that it directly increased cultivation regardless of talent—and the poorer one’s talent, the better the effect. For instance, if someone’s cultivation was at the Qi Condensation stage, they could directly advance to the Nascent Soul stage, bypassing the Foundation Establishment and Golden Core barriers completely. For those with profound cultivation, these thousand years of cultivation might directly help them break through bottlenecks with absolutely no side effects. Furthermore, if someone had reached the age limit but their cultivation was at a critical point and couldn’t increase, using this flower to suddenly gain a thousand years of cultivation might just help them cross this hurdle to the next realm, essentially giving them another life.

When Sima Jiao finished speaking, both the Sect Master, branch leaders, and many disciples below all fell silent. Every person’s expression was clear to Sima Jiao, whose excessively keen perception now made him feel as if he stood in an ocean of greed, almost suffocating.

Liao Tingyan was playing the role of a decorative vase when suddenly Sima Jiao pulled her over. Seeing his furrowed brows and agitated expression, she didn’t dare move even when he buried his face in her back to take a breath.

Are you treating me like a cat? Liao Tingyan thought to herself. Today my reputation as his gorgeous favored concubine has been firmly established.

Sima Jiao calmed down a bit, and when he spoke again, his voice had become much gloomier. “Begin.”

This time no one interfered, and some disciples voluntarily stepped forward. Ten death matches, killing twenty people—this wasn’t particularly difficult. After all, when everyone gathered together, there were inevitably some who were powerful and some who were less so. The difficulty lay in the factional power struggles behind these people—which ones to kill to minimize trouble was something everyone was considering.

People were unwilling to make enemies for no reason, but faced with benefits—benefits they couldn’t refuse—how many could remain unmoved? Now, the situation had evolved beyond Sima Jiao’s doing; it had become about the choices of those profit-seekers. In their view, no one was indispensable; if someone couldn’t be sacrificed, it was only because the benefit wasn’t tempting enough.

On this day, over a hundred disciples died here. Sima Jiao watched them slaughter each other indifferently until sunset when he returned to White Deer Cliff. Liao Tingyan followed behind Sima Jiao, watching his tall figure and black hair, and asked, “Ancestral Master, are we going again tomorrow?”

“What, you don’t want to go again?” Sima Jiao said flatly.

Liao Tingyan replied, “If we’re going again tomorrow, I’ll prepare an umbrella and cushions.” She had been baking in the sun all day—if not for her naturally beautiful complexion, her skin would have darkened immediately. Plus, she had sat on those steps all day—did they think her bottom wouldn’t hurt?

Sima Jiao halted his steps, turned to look at her, and suddenly burst into wild laughter.

Here we go again, the boss is going crazy again.

“Weren’t you afraid of seeing dead people? Are you not afraid now?” Sima Jiao asked.

Liao Tingyan rarely spoke to him without her truth buff, so she carefully considered her answer: “I am afraid, that’s why I didn’t look in their direction while they were fighting today.” One moment she turned left to look at the mountains and birds, the next moment she turned right to watch the group of big shots—she had been doing neck exercises all afternoon.

“Oh, I’ve troubled you then,” said Sima Jiao.

Liao Tingyan couldn’t quite tell if his words were sincere or sarcastic. Given his poor communication skills, she guessed it was probably sarcasm. Seeing that his mood seemed relatively calm, Liao Tingyan couldn’t help but ask him: “Those lotus petals today, they all seemed to want them badly, but didn’t you say they needed your blood to use them?”

“Not my blood, but the blood of the Feng Mountain clan,” Sima Jiao walked among the mountains, his sleeves brushing against the flowering trees beside him, dropping pink petals everywhere. “Didn’t I tell you before, the bodies of Sima clan members disappear after death, leaving only a bone pearl? The reason their bodies don’t remain is because their flesh and blood are spiritual medicines, which are divided among the families in Gengchen Immortal Manor. Although now only I remain, there used to be others before. With years of accumulation, they naturally have some usable blood and flesh in their possession.”

Liao Tingyan was caught off guard by this revelation and felt nauseated, letting out a gagging sound.

Sima Jiao was once again amused by her reaction. He casually picked a flower from nearby and brushed her face with it: “You can’t even handle this? It’s just cannibalism. In this world, where isn’t there man-eat-man?” Looking at Liao Tingyan’s expression and sensing her emotions, Sima Jiao increasingly felt this Demon Realm spy was truly strange. She seemed much more righteous than they were. Was she really from the Demon Realm?

Sima Jiao hesitated: “Are you really from the Demon Realm…” His voice carried doubt.

Konjac? What the hell, calling me Konjac, what kind of little cookie are you? Liao Tingyan cursed him silently.

“Never mind.” Sima Jiao had wanted to ask, but changed his mind, thinking it didn’t matter where she was from.

After returning to White Deer Cliff, Liao Tingyan lay in her room for a while. Seeing it was almost evening, she tried requesting dinner from the puppet people. Shortly after, she spotted a beautiful immortal crane flying over with a meal box in its beak outside her window.

That’s amazing—you cultivators have cranes as your dinner delivery personnel, flying super fast!

The meal box didn’t look big, but it was spacious inside, filled with various foods. Liao Tingyan felt like an empress, sitting motionless while watching the puppet people serve her food and drinks, arranging everything before her. Since they were eating outside, puppet people also brought beautiful crystal lamps that, together with the flowering trees nearby, created an unparalleled atmosphere.

Boss Sima Jiao had vanished mysteriously again, disappearing who knows where, so Liao Tingyan ate alone, which felt fantastic. Everything was delicious and full of spiritual energy—not only filling and satisfying, but she could also feel the spiritual power surging within her body. That feeling of the experience bar rising rapidly was truly wonderful. She had just started eating when the big black snake slithered out from somewhere and nudged her hand with its head.

With great colleague-like affection, Liao Tingyan poured delicious fruit juice for the big snake, and the human and snake feasted together.

After eating, Liao Tingyan took a walk to digest. The entire White Deer Cliff had only her and Sima Jiao, with the rest being puppet people serving them. Walking alone in the darkness, she was honestly a bit scared and brought the big black snake along for company. The big black snake followed the principle of loyalty to whoever fed it, and after being fed by Liao Tingyan for some time, it would wag its tail and follow behind her, at times making Liao Tingyan suspect she was walking a dog.

“That’s enough exercise for today. Let’s wash up and go to bed. Tomorrow’s another early workday.” Liao Tingyan was very satisfied with this new workplace because food and clothing were provided, and there was even an outdoor pool for bathing.

The puppet people led her to the bathing pool, and upon seeing it, Liao Tingyan eagerly stripped off her clothes and jumped into the water. The pool was large but not deep—standing up, the water reached her chest. Around the pool grew spiritual trees that drooped to the water’s surface. These trees formed a natural wall, densely screening the entire pool, creating their secluded world. Moreover, these spiritual trees were in full bloom, with red petals falling onto the water’s surface, creating a natural flower petal bath. Crystal lamps hung from the trees, illuminating the water’s surface with a misty glow.

Liao Tingyan felt carefree—this was the feeling of a vacation! In life’s difficult times, one must learn to adjust. Now she had completely dispelled the unpleasant matters from earlier in the day, immersing herself in this wonderful scenery and gentle pool water.

It was very quiet, with only her there. Bath time was perfect for doing freely whatever one pleased, like singing off-key songs, splashing the water vigorously, circling a large patch of petals to stick on her arms and face, or holding her breath and submerging herself completely underwater.

There was a dark figure in the water.

“Pff, cough cough!” Liao Tingyan emerged from the water, coughing hard. Sima Jiao stood up from the pool, completely naked. He pushed back his long hair, revealing his smooth forehead, and walked toward her. As Liao Tingyan covered her chest, he passed by her with an expressionless face, climbed out of the pool, turned his head, and said softly, “You’re noisy.”

Then he just left.

A lone man and woman, a flower petal bath, a romantic atmosphere, and nothing happened.

Liao Tingyan pondered for a moment and felt she could confirm that the Ancestral Master truly was impotent. Excellent—she felt much more at ease now.