Sima Jiao still didn’t think there was anything wrong with making Liao Tingyan kill someone, but he did feel somewhat remorseful… This was the first time he had experienced what “regret” felt like—quite novel, a kind of torment completely different from physical pain.
Liao Tingyan hadn’t eaten for several days. Usually, she would take time to eat two meals every day—sometimes refined, sometimes lavish. Sometimes when the mood struck, she would even cook herself. He still remembered once when she made something called “hot pot,” filling the entire room with its aroma.
Although he didn’t understand what was so delicious about it, seeing her eat happily made him feel good too. Watching her listlessly unable to eat these past few days made Sima Jiao even more uncomfortable than she was.
Moreover, he had also witnessed what Liao Tingyan called nightmares. While resting in her spirit mansion, the usual blue skies and white clouds had changed. Sima Jiao saw in her mind the scene of a group of people slaughtering a pig. The pig was tied up, squealing earth-shatteringly loud.
Sima Jiao: “…”
How unique. In his life, this was the first time he had seen such a situation in someone’s spirit mansion. His spirit mansion, at its worst, held hellish mountains of corpses and seas of blood, but a group of blurry figures collectively slaughtering a pig… he had truly broadened his horizons.
It seemed like the squealing of slaughtered pigs had been looping in his mind all day.
This wasn’t Liao Tingyan’s fault. Apart from the recent incident, her most vivid memory was witnessing a pig slaughter at her grandmother’s countryside home when she was a few years old. That scene had given her childhood trauma comparable to seeing Sima Jiao kill someone. She subconsciously resisted killing people, so the source of her nightmare had transformed into pig slaughter.
Liao Tingyan opened her eyes and first applied a face mask to herself. Although cultivators wouldn’t develop dark circles from a night of poor sleep, she still felt extremely fatigued, her face not feeling as supple when touched.
Sima Jiao pulled her onto himself.
Liao Tingyan covered her face mask: “?”
Sima Jiao with an inscrutable expression: “Slaughtering pigs… is frightening?”
Liao Tingyan rolled her eyes while looking at the canopy, saying nothing. She didn’t know anything; don’t ask her.
Sima Jiao now understood—killing pigs wasn’t frightening, and killing people wasn’t frightening, but once Liao Tingyan couldn’t eat or sleep well, that was truly frightening.
Sima Jiao’s eyebrows and eyes were very dark, and due to his extremely pale skin, his features appeared particularly striking. Especially when frowning in deep thought, his aura seemed very sharp—as if contemplating some matter of life and death.
Seeing him like this, Liao Tingyan spoke first to comfort him, “I’ll be fine after adjusting for a few days.”
Waiting for Liao Tingyan to adjust? That was impossible. He was a person skilled at creating problems, but equally skilled at solving them.
Soon, he brought back a jade pillow.
“Use this. As long as you dream, they will all be pleasant dreams.”
Liao Tingyan held the jade pillow, recalling a popular time-travel drama from her childhood that also featured a jade pillow, though she couldn’t remember its name. That night she tried the jade pillow, finding it not as hard as expected. It was quite comfortable to rest on and indeed proved effective.
That night, Sima Jiao no longer heard pig squeals in her spirit mansion. Instead, he discovered that the flower fragrance had transformed into a rich sweet scent, like some dessert, so intense that he felt his spirit was infused with sweetness.
Liao Tingyan dreamed of her birthday, reuniting with long-missed relatives and friends, eating a large amount of cream cake. After waking up, she sighed, “It’s been so long since I’ve had cream cake.” And it had been so long since she’d seen her family and friends.
“Did you enjoy your pleasant dream?” Sima Jiao asked her.
Liao Tingyan savored her dream. In it, her missed friends and family were all smiling at her, everyone chattering noisily, urging her to cut the cake. An especially large and delicious cake, everything harmonious—idealized in the dream. Her mother would never be willing to buy such a large cake, her father wouldn’t smile so kindly, her younger sister wouldn’t be so obedient in calling her “sister,” and her friends, scattered across the country, would never gather so completely.
She still nodded, “Quite happy.” Though it reminded her of a poem: “At the time, I thought it was ordinary.”
“This pillow is so useful, why don’t you use it yourself?” Liao Tingyan touched the patterns carved on the jade pillow, thinking they looked somewhat like a long-nosed wild boar.
Sima Jiao, seeing her spirits restored, also relaxed somewhat, letting out a snort, “It doesn’t work for me.”
With his special abilities and powerful strength, correspondingly, many treasures and spirit medicines did not affect him.
Liao Tingyan now saw everything as resembling pigs, even Sima Jiao. “Why carve a wild boar on this jade pillow?”
Sima Jiao: “It’s a dream tapir.”
Liao Tingyan: “The legendary dream tapir looks like this?”
Sima Jiao: “Mere dream tapirs, worthy of being called legendary?”
The two stared at each other for a moment, then Sima Jiao sat up. “Come, I’ll take you to see dream tapirs.”
He acted decisively, grabbing Liao Tingyan and flying out. Liao Tingyan was in a daze, not knowing that such creatures as dream tapirs existed in this world. She couldn’t react in time, and by the time she did, Sima Jiao had already dragged her several miles away.
Liao Tingyan: “Wait, wait, wait—”
She gathered her hair: “I haven’t combed my hair! I haven’t changed clothes!”
Sima Jiao stopped and looked at her, quite puzzled. “Isn’t this how you usually are?”
Liao Tingyan: How can being at home and going out be the same? At home, I don’t even wash my hair or wear underwear.
She at least managed to comb her hair and put on an outer robe.
Dream tapirs were not common. The only few in the Gengchen Immortal Mansion were kept in a mountain belonging to Sect Leader Shi Qianlü’s private territory. Hearing that these dream tapirs were raised in Shi Qianlü’s domain, Liao Tingyan couldn’t help but ask: “Are we just going like this?”
Sima Jiao: “We can go empty-handed. No need to bring your barbecue grill; dream tapirs have thick skin and tough meat, not good for eating.”
Liao Tingyan felt she had asked a pointless question. There was no place Sima Jiao wouldn’t dare go, nothing he wouldn’t dare do.
Liao Tingyan hadn’t paid attention to the outside world for a long time. This time, upon going out, she discovered that the closer they got to the inner court’s center, the more bustling it became. “Is there some big event recently? Why is it so lively?”
Sima Jiao pulled at the corner of his mouth. “The Gengchen Immortal Mansion holds a grand ceremonial sacrifice every hundred years. In the eyes of other large and small immortal mountains and spirit lands, the Gengchen Immortal Mansion’s Ancestral Master—that is, me—has come out of seclusion this year, coincidentally meeting this ceremonial sacrifice, so naturally it should be celebrated grandly.”
The palace masters of Gengchen Immortal Mansion still didn’t dare make his matters public, only tightly holding their faces and enduring. For this ceremonial sacrifice, they would probably tell everyone that he still needed to remain in seclusion, continuing to conceal the matter. But the gifts he had prepared for them had already been placed, which would add to the festivities when the time came.
Liao Tingyan was indifferent to outside affairs, but hearing Sima Jiao’s words and seeing his expression, she guessed what was happening. The matter he had previously mentioned wanting to stir up was probably related to this ceremonial sacrifice.
Sima Jiao said a few words but didn’t elaborate further as they passed disciples who were chatting and laughing with joyful faces. These disciples couldn’t see the abyss beneath this majestic immortal mansion and still proudly discussed the upcoming ceremonial sacrifice with anticipation.
“We are the First Immortal Mansion. What sect dares not give us face? During the last centennial sacrifice, I still remember the Buyun Sect sent a gift, a Kong Phoenix. I wonder what they’ll send this year…”
Liao Tingyan looked back, seeing the superiority on those disciples’ faces.
The First Immortal Mansion had stood at the top for too long; everyone naturally felt superior to those ‘outside.’ There was no distinction between the four directions of heaven and earth, only inside and outside the Gengchen Immortal Mansion.
Since it was Sect Leader Shi Qianlü’s territory, even though they weren’t heading to the main peak Taixuan but to the secondary peak Taiwei, Liao Tingyan still felt somewhat concerned. Sima Jiao didn’t share her concern; he walked as if touring his garden, occasionally introducing things to her.
“Shi Qianlü likes rare spirit beasts and immortal beasts, specifically opening a secondary peak to raise them.”
“I heard he occasionally comes to look, but this isn’t an important place, so the guards are sparse.”
Just as Sima Jiao said, they entered Taiwei Mountain with ease. There were few guards at the mountain’s base, all lazy and slack, even less vigilant than the guards at the fish pond they had previously sneaked into.
That made sense. After all, it was just a zoo for relaxation, similar to a garden. If not for a few special immortal beasts, there probably wouldn’t be any guards at all.
This mountain didn’t look particularly remarkable, only exceptionally rich in spiritual energy, divided into various areas, each housing different kinds of beasts. The dream tapirs Liao Tingyan wanted to see weren’t considered very precious spirit beasts here, with their habitat at the edge of a lake marsh.
They indeed looked like small wild boars with long snouts. Their fur was black, and they were gulping water at the marsh’s edge.
Liao Tingyan watched for a while, then doubtfully asked: “They can eat dreams?”
Sima Jiao folded his arms: “I’ve heard they can, but I’m not sure. Want to catch a couple to see?”
Liao Tingyan refused.
Sima Jiao: “What are you afraid of? They’re just small creatures. Even if we’re discovered, it won’t matter.”
Liao Tingyan said honestly: “No thanks, I just think they’re not cute, so I don’t want to raise them.” That was truly honest.
Sima Jiao responded with “Oh,” then said, “There are many beautiful ones here. You can choose a few to take back.”
Liao Tingyan felt the ancestor was like someone taking her shopping at a mall; even if she didn’t want to buy anything, she had to take something. It was hard to decline such hospitality. Besides, since they were already here, she did somewhat want to raise a fluffy pet to relieve stress, so she tacitly agreed and followed Sima Jiao deeper into Taiwei Mountain.
Sima Jiao looked at several places but wasn’t very satisfied, then suddenly asked: “Aren’t there any otters here? Why not raise a few otters?”
Liao Tingyan instantly refused: “No.”
The two saw a phoenix bird with brilliant golden wings perched in a tree full of white blossoms. Liao Tingyan asked with interest: “Is this the Kong Phoenix?”
Sima Jiao had no interest whatsoever in this noble and elegant large bird. His eyes looked around, trying to find something resembling an otter, as he casually said: “A descendant of the phoenix clan. Most of them have died off; probably only this one remains.”
Liao Tingyan: “Seeing how it occupies such a large area of the mountain, it must be the most precious here.”
Sima Jiao: “Whether human or beast, when only one or two remain, they naturally become precious.”
Liao Tingyan: “…” I can’t respond to that.
The two continued along the mountain path until they reached a cliff edge. This cliff had a waterfall-like cascade of hanging vines with ordinary five-petaled yellow flowers. Liao Tingyan casually picked one, and the mountain breeze blew it from her hand toward a deep forest ravine.
Sima Jiao’s gaze followed the falling flower, his previously lazy eyes suddenly focusing.
When Liao Tingyan hadn’t heard him speak for a long time, she turned to look and found his expression very strange.
“What’s—”
Sima Jiao gestured for her to stay where she was. He walked toward the ravine, moving very slowly. After walking about ten steps, he stopped. Liao Tingyan saw him reach out his hand to explore the void ahead, and his fingertips suddenly convulsed. At the same time, the surrounding wind seemed to stop, and the bird songs disappeared.
There was an inexplicable tension in the air.
Sima Jiao took a step back and returned.
Liao Tingyan stood in place, not knowing what had happened until she heard Sima Jiao say: “Go back first. Don’t go out for the next few days. No matter what happens, don’t take a single step into the inner court’s center. Wait for my return.”
Liao Tingyan didn’t even ask, simply nodding: “Alright, I’ll wait for you.”
Sima Jiao’s unpleasant expression finally softened a bit. He took Liao Tingyan’s hand, kissed the inside of her wrist, and released her, saying: “Go now.”
After Liao Tingyan left, Sima Jiao’s expression grew cold again. He looked around at his surroundings. This place had a hidden barrier, almost as powerful as the one that had confined the Three Saints Mountain. Setting up such a barrier was not simple, so whatever was being hidden here must be significant.
This was Shi Qianlü’s territory, and whatever he was hiding here, Sima Jiao certainly wanted to uncover.
Calculating that Liao Tingyan should be far away by now, Sima Jiao moved again. This time he stepped forward, no longer controlling his power, and a cracking sound emanated from beneath his feet.
Suddenly, a bridge appeared above the verdant ravine, leading to another smaller peak.
Sima Jiao walked onto it. This bridge was no simple structure; with each step he took, spiritual energy surged around him, and mist boiled up, trying to penetrate his body as if alive. Walking in midair was like a non-swimmer walking on the bottom of a water body—attempting to move was extremely difficult.
Sima Jiao’s body became enveloped in a layer of crimson flames. When the white mist touched the flames, it shrank back, emitting high-pitched howls.
Within the mist were insects capable of devouring a person’s spiritual power and flesh—a type of demonic insect not found in the cultivation world, only in the Demon Realm.