After Cultivating the Wrong Strong, Pitiful, and Beautiful Demonic Lord - Chapter 3

Good-looking… was he?

Xuan Lang turned back in a daze, meeting Li Jian’s smiling gaze. The daylight falling over him possessed a dazzling brilliance.

He hardly dared to look directly at Li Jian’s face, fearing that his own filthiness might stain something as pristine as a deity.

Clearly, this person was even more breathtaking: clad in indigo robes with his dark hair secured by a crown, possessing an ethereal grace and jade-like elegance, he looked as though he had stepped right out of a painting.

Looking at him, Xuan Lang almost found himself believing that the heavens could not bear to watch him being ground into the dust, and had thus sent an immortal to rescue him.

“This is the first time anyone has ever told me I look good.” The youth gave him a timid look, then quickly lowered his eyes, his tone tinged with a trace of caution.

Li Jian strolled forward, placed a hand lightly on the youth’s arm, and told him firmly, “Believe in yourself! Since you look this good, you definitely have the potential to ascend to immortality and become an Immortal Lord in the future!”

Ascend to immortality?

Xuan Lang had never considered it—he didn’t even dare to dream of it.

He lowered his head, not daring to meet Li Jian’s eyes. Such resolute and bright eyes would only make him harbor wishful thinking, making him believe he truly could.

“No, impossible…” His timid voice was barely audible, and Li Jian almost thought he had misheard.

Li Jian hadn’t expected that the ethereal, sword-wielding Immortal Lord Shiyuan described by the system would turn out to be such a bullied little wretch upon descending to the mortal realm.

No wonder he needed someone to help him through his tribulation. With him being bullied like this, there was no telling whether he could even set foot on the path of cultivation at all.

What if, by the end of it all, he hadn’t even entered an immortal sect before turning completely dark and corrupted?

Thus, in that very instant, Li Jian made up his mind: he had to protect him properly. From now on, he wouldn’t let those miscellaneous rabble bully him anymore—at the very least, he had to ensure Xuan Lang smoothly entered an immortal sect to cultivate.

Yet, a second thought struck him: what if this youth grew up to be so breathtakingly handsome that, in the end, he couldn’t harden his heart to complete the mission? What should he do then?

The mere thought that he would one day have to strike this handsome youth with a sword, while confessing that he had deliberately approached him and intentionally cast him aside, made Li Jian feel like an utter scumbag.

Xuan Lang didn’t dare to converse with him for long. Muffling a soft “Thank you,” he hurried away.

Before Li Jian could react, assuming he had somehow frightened the youth, a guiding servant hurried over to inform him that the banquet had begun and Old Master Qi was inviting him to the front courtyard to view the divine statue.

Li Jian glanced in the direction Xuan Lang had departed, but the white figure was already gone. Pondering for a moment, he quietly asked the accompanying servant:

“Allow me to ask, what relation does the youth named Xuan Lang have to the Qi manor?”

The servant cast him a cryptic look. “Why is the Immortal Elder asking about Xuan Lang?”

“Oh, it’s like this: I happened to run into him just now, and hearing your Young Master Qi mention something about a cousin made me a bit curious.”

He had only caught a brief fragment earlier and hadn’t heard it very clearly, but Qi Jingyao had indeed uttered the word “cousin,” which was why Li Jian was curious.

If Xuan Lang truly was the Qi family’s cousin, then judging by their ages, he should logically be Qi Jingyao’s older brother. How could he end up living under someone else’s roof and being bullied like this by Qi Jingyao?

Besides, weren’t they saying Old Master Qi was a kind-hearted man? How could he stand by and let his own son bully his nephew?

Leading him along the corridor where few people were around, the servant quickly glanced left and right before whispering, “Immortal Elder doesn’t know, but this is a taboo in the Qi family. The Master never allows anyone to speak of Xuan Lang’s background. Word has it he’s from a distant branch of relatives whose parents died early, so he came to throw himself on the Qi family’s mercy. You can hardly call him a cousin—after all, no one has ever treated him like one. Everyone in the manor simply regards him as a servant of the Qi family.”

If the servants in the manor viewed him that way, it meant the masters viewed him identically. No wonder everyone from Qi Jingyao down to the attending lackeys could boss Xuan Lang around and threaten him at will. It seemed he genuinely led a life of dependency and humiliation within the Qi household.

The grand banquet in the front courtyard was already underway. Old Master Qi occupied the seat of honor, exchanging cups of tea with various visiting aristocratic families.

Once the tea was finished, the highlight of the banquet arrived. Several guests, unable to contain their impatience, began urging him forward:

“We’ve long heard that Old Master Qi spent a fortune searching for the finest carvers and taking over half a year to craft a statue for the Immortal Lord on Mount Donglu. Now that it is finally complete, you must let us witness it with our own eyes.”

“Indeed, Old Master Qi, we all came here for this very reason. Why keep it hidden away? Hurry and let us feast our eyes!”

“Everyone, please don’t be impatient.”

Old Master Qi beckoned, signaling the servants to bring the object forward. Seven or eight attendants cautiously hoisted a wooden crate taller than a man, carefully placing it right in the center of the courtyard.

Old Master Qi stepped forward personally to open the crate, lifting away the red silk covering the divine statue in full view of everyone. A golden-樽 and jade-carved Buddha-like divine statue, standing as tall as a man, abruptly came into full view.

“Everyone, please look! This carved divine statue is none other than Immortal Lord Shiyuan, one of the twin immortals of Mount Donglu!”

The white jade statue was pure and unblemished, vividly and lifelike portraying a white-clad Immortal Lord with clear eyes and an extraordinary demeanor. A white jade crown secured his long hair, and his robes fluttered in the wind as if alive. Beneath his long sleeves, one hand gripped the hilt of a sword, exuding a sharp, icy chill.

When Li Jian arrived, he caught precisely this scene.

The files provided by the system explained that above the immortal sects stood Mount Donglu, rumored to be the dwelling place of ascended Immortal Lords and the heavenly realm everyone yearned for.

Mount Donglu was home to two peerlessly talented Immortal Lords, jointly known as the Twin Immortals of Mount Donglu—proud sons of heaven universally praised by all. One of them was precisely this Immortal Lord Shiyuan.

According to the system, Immortal Lord Shiyuan was the most naturally gifted swordsman in the immortal realm, wielding a chilling blade that conquered the world. Furthermore, his breathtaking appearance and ethereal grace made him a rare and peerless transcendent being.

As for the other, Immortal Lord Dongli, though sharing equal fame with Immortal Lord Shiyuan, remained largely unknown to the mortal world, keeping a very low profile. It was merely rumored that he, too, always wore white robes, carried a seven-stringed guqin, and often rested beneath a century-old white pear tree, resembling a beauty stepped right out of a painting.

Because of this, apart from being one of the Twin Immortals of Mount Donglu, he enjoyed the illustrious reputation of being the greatest beauty in the immortal realm.

It was a pity that both Immortal Lords had ascended long ago, leaving behind only their legendary names echoing in the mortal world, with no one ever able to witness their breathtaking, peerless appearances again. The divine statue commissioned by Old Master Qi was merely crafted through meticulous sculpting based on the descriptions passed down from generation to generation by mortals.

The guests gathered around chorused in uninterrupted praise.

“Only Old Master Qi has such devotion, putting us all to shame. With such a congratulatory gift, I imagine the Immortal Lord will be immensely pleased.”

“Indeed! This divine statue already possesses a peerless visage; if that Immortal Lord were to truly descend to the mortal realm, heaven knows what kind of transcendent being he would look like.”

“If in this lifetime I could lay eyes on the Immortal Lord in person, it would not be a wasted trip.”

“Had it been sculpted after that Immortal Lord Dongli, I fear even spending extra months wouldn’t capture a single ten-thousandth of his grace.”

“…”

While the crowd milled around the divine statue, Li Jian shrank back, leaning against a pillar. Observing the carved statue with an analytical eye, his peripheral vision caught a white figure slipping quietly in through the entrance.

It was still the exact same set of clothes he had seen earlier. It seemed he had been persuaded by his words and hadn’t gone to change after all.

Xuan Lang hid in a corner, unlike the others who curiously crowded around to examine the statue. Instead, he maintained an indifferent, detached demeanor until he suddenly crossed paths with Li Jian’s probing gaze, causing him to lower his head in sudden tension.

Li Jian picked up the teacup on his desk and took a small sip, thinking to himself: These people probably have no idea that the very Immortal Lord Shiyuan they are praising to the heavens is standing right here in front of them, do they?

And as for Old Master Qi and his luckless son who was staring at the statue unblinkingly, they likely had no clue that the Immortal Lord they worshiped so devoutly was currently living under their roof and suffering the humiliation of dependency.

If they ever found out how they had treated Immortal Lord Shiyuan, they would probably regret it to their dying breaths.

Li Jian set down his teacup as a maidservant timely served tea and pastries. Nodding in thanks, he picked up a pastry to taste when his peripheral vision caught someone at the neighboring table drinking tea alongside him.

The maidservant served that side with pastries as well, and noticing Li Jian glancing over, that person nodded in polite greeting.

Li Jian turned his head in a daze, a vague, inexplicable sense of familiarity washing over him—soft and faint, not entirely distinct, as though it weren’t a sensation that naturally belonged to him.

This person was dressed in a white robe with a blue base, the cuffs hemmed with golden threads in an intricate pattern. His dark hair was secured with a crown, and he radiated a jade-like grace. One glance told you he was a refined young master from some prestigious family, brimming with elegance.

His appearance was likewise quite striking. The white robes, tinged with faint undertones of blue, looked luxurious and grand. Li Jian merely glanced at him once before turning back to continue drinking his tea.

Right after that, he heard someone nearby exchanging pleasantries with him.

“We have long heard of Young Master Song Zhiyuan from the Yangyang Song family—outstanding in talent and appearance, exceptionally graceful and refined. Seeing you today, you truly live up to the rumors.”

“As my good-for-nothing son mentioned, Young Master Song is deeply accomplished in swordsmanship with supreme talent. I wonder if you might offer some guidance to my rebellious boy?”

Li Jian tuned out everything that followed. His mind was entirely fixated on Xuan Lang, watching that white figure sitting motionless at the very back row, lost in contemplation, while mentally pondering how he should take the first step and get acquainted.

Shall we get acquainted first? Li Jian mused.

If it came to scolding someone, sweet-talking them, or churning out a flattering rainbow-fart, he could handle all of that effortlessly. As a corporate slave under capitalist masters, those were basic operating procedures second nature through sheer practice.

Yet right now, he was being asked to chase someone! In all his twenty-some years of life, Li Jian had never had such an experience.

He had never been in a relationship, nor did he have much interest in romance, which was why he still wasn’t entirely certain which way his inclinations leaned. Still, he harbored a vague intuition that he leaned toward men. Whether that was because in his past life he had once loved a man—only to suffer unrequited love and subsequently refuse to entertain thoughts in that direction ever again—he couldn’t be sure.

As Li Jian’s thoughts drifted, that white shadow in the corner vanished.

In the front courtyard, Old Master Qi finished displaying the divine statue and hastily ordered servants to carry it back to the back rooms, terrified that a single careless stumble might damage it. Offending the Immortal Lord would bring down unspeakable disaster.

Mortals under the protection of Mount Donglu regarded showing disrespect to the mountain’s Immortal Lords as the gravest taboo; it was a custom handed down through generations.

Behind the landscape screen, that man-sized divine statue stood in place. The grand landscape painting remained completely undisturbed, yet right before the eyes of the gathered crowd, the pristine white jade divine statue vanished into thin air!