My Secret Cultivator Spouse Is the Demon Lord - Chapter 8

“We were bound by a marital contract, yet I have nothing left to leave you,” Ye Ming’s voice echoed. “Only my golden core remains intact. Inside the wooden box I gave you, there is a dagger. Use it… and cut out my inner core.”

“No…” Xu Xianqing shook her head. She couldn’t do it. She couldn’t bring herself to commit such an act.

As if anticipating her reaction, Ye Ming let out a soft, low laugh. “My dear wife, if you don’t take it, grave robbers will come in a few days, and my golden core will fall into their hands. Would you truly wish to see me disgraced like that?”

Xu Xianqing shook her head again.

Ye Ming’s phantom smiled softly. “Be good, my wife. Take it.”

Xu Xianqing opened the cloth bag at her side, unlatched the wooden box, and drew the dagger from within. It was remarkably sharp, glinting cold and bright under the moonlight.

The blade felt impossibly heavy in her grasp, making her hands tremble. Ever since she had descended into the tomb, the very thought of desecrating Ye Ming’s body was something she couldn’t bring herself to do.

“Don’t be afraid, my wife.”

Xu Xianqing took a deep, shaky breath, steadying her grip. Moving swiftly, she brought the blade toward Ye Ming’s lower abdomen…the location of her dantian. But just as the tip was about to touch her skin, she hesitated.

She didn’t dare. She didn’t want to. She refused to.

Ye Ming’s projection had stopped speaking. Xu Xianqing stared at her image, feeling as though their eyes were locked in real-time.

Closing her eyes, Xu Xianqing steadied her frantic breathing. When she opened them again, she used the dim moonlight to guide her hands, carefully inserting the blade and quickly extracting the golden core.

It was crimson, wrapped in intricate fire-like patterns…the mark of a fire-element cultivator’s golden core. Gold and red intertwined, casting a faint, warm glow in the moonlight, though the light quickly began to fade.

Staring at the core, Xu Xianqing recalled what Miss Ye had said to her back at the Ye residence:

‘Though my days are numbered, my golden core remains intact. Should anyone try to bully or humiliate you, I can still avenge you.’

Xu Xianqing clutched the golden core tightly, bursting into uncontrollable tears.

“My wife,” Ye Ming’s voice spoke again. “Inside the wooden box is a longevity lock with a peach-wood bead left by my mother. Take that bead and swap it with my golden core. Then, place the peach-wood bead into my coffin. Light a fire, and burn all of this away.”

Xu Xianqing climbed out of the tomb. She opened the wooden box and found the longevity lock’s collar, which held a wooden bead roughly the same size as Ye Ming’s golden core.

She swapped the bead for the golden core.

Descending back into the tomb, she gently placed the peach-wood bead into Ye Ming’s hands.

Securing the dagger, Xu Xianqing tried to push the heavy coffin lid closed. To her surprise, a gentle shove was all it took for it to slide smoothly into place.

She didn’t know how that was possible, but she knew it must have been part of Ye Ming’s meticulous arrangements before her death.

“My wife.”

Ye Ming’s voice called out softly one last time. Xu Xianqing gathered firewood from around the area, blew on her tinderbox, and ignited the tomb.

She watched the shadow-stone project its lingering image, feeling as though Ye Ming were standing right beside her in the flesh.

When the fire had consumed the tomb, Ye Ming’s voice whispered, “My wife, leave now. From here on out… take care of yourself.”

The recording on the shadow-stone came to an end, its spiritual energy nearly exhausted. Xu Xianqing didn’t throw it away; she picked it up, wiped it clean, and tucked it away like a priceless treasure.

As the flames died down, Xu Xianqing forced her numb, aching legs to move, beginning her arduous departure.

Passing by the tomb-keeper’s small wooden hut, she suddenly froze. Was the old tomb-keeper’s death the work of those grave robbers?

She felt an urge to track down the robbers, but she was useless…a cultivator with a broken foundation. Even if she could find them, what could she possibly do?

Xu Xianqing let out a self-deprecating laugh. This world was utterly absurd.

Returning to the city, Xu Xianqing cleaned herself up and bought some dry rations.

Just as she was stepping out of the inn to take her leave, she ran straight into Zhao Xing.

“Senior Brother Zhao?” Xu Xianqing asked, taken aback. “What are you doing here?”

Zhao Xing looked at her with a complex, hesitant expression. “Are you leaving the Isolated City?”

“Yes.”

“Where are you headed?”

“South.”

Zhao Xing frowned, pulling her over to a nearby wonton stall where they sat down. After ordering two bowls of wontons, he spoke up: “Can’t you stay?”

Xu Xianqing remained silent.

Zhao Xing asked softly, “Did the Heart-Melding Contract take effect?”

“Yes,” Xu Xianqing nodded. She could already feel a sensation like gnawing insects in her chest. But after witnessing Miss Ye’s death, robbing her tomb for her core, and burning her body, Xu Xianqing realized her heart had grown completely numb. When you are numb, the pain doesn’t hurt quite as much.

Zhao Xing reached out, wanting to check her pulse, but Xu Xianqing stopped him. “There’s no need. Things won’t get any better, nor will they get any worse. Ignorance brings peace of mind; knowing only leaves me helpless.”

Zhao Xing could only yield.

After finishing their wontons, Zhao Xing pulled out a storage pouch. “I traded with an elder senior brother for this. Even an ordinary person without a cultivation base or spiritual energy can use it.”

It was undeniably a valuable treasure, likely costing a fortune.

Xu Xianqing tried to refuse, but Zhao Xing pressed: “I searched it out specifically for you. Once we part today, we may never see each other again. If you don’t accept it, how can my Dao heart find peace? If I ever have the luck to face the Heavenly Tribulation, won’t I be consumed by inner demons?”

Faced with such heavy words, Xu Xianqing had no choice but to accept it. Thinking for a moment, she pulled out a high-grade spirit stone to give to him in return.

Seeing this, Zhao Xing immediately pressed down on her wrist. “You’re traveling far, and a traveler always needs funds. Keep it. It’s useless to me anyway.”

Won over by his insistence, Xu Xianqing put the spirit stone away.

“Thank you.”

“No need to be so formal with me,” Zhao Xing replied.

Xu Xianqing fell silent again, and Zhao Xing sat with her in quiet companionship for a while longer.

Finally, Zhao Xing broke the silence. “Next month is the Ye family’s youth trial. Even though I’m not a core branch disciple, I’m still eligible to compete. I need to head back now.”

“I see. Take care.” Xu Xianqing stood up.

Both knew that this farewell was likely final. Zhao Xing, a grown man, felt his eyes turn red, while Xu Xianqing remained outwardly cold and emotionless.

Only after Zhao Xing had walked away did Xu Xianqing turn to leave…leaving the Isolated City, leaving this place behind, heading south, as far as her legs could carry her.

She walked for a long time, encountering many travelers along the way. But because she lacked a cultivation base and was considered useless, proper cultivators didn’t spare her a second glance. Those in a similar plight as her were equally disinclined to cause trouble.

In this quiet manner, she managed to leave the territory of the Isolated City unscathed.

After leaving the city, she spent several days braving the elements until her dry rations ran out. Far off in the distance, she spotted a roadside tea shop.

It was situated along a narrow trail. According to the map she had bought, this path offered a shortcut to the next town, which was why she had chosen it.

“Customer! Looking for a bite to eat or a place to stay?” the shop assistant greeted her warmly as she approached.

However, as soon as he got a closer look at her, his smile faded, replaced by a trace of disdain…he had gauged her cultivation level.

She had no spiritual energy at all; she was a useless mortal.

In the Realm of Spirits, even a shop assistant possessed a ninth-stage Qi Refining cultivation. Naturally, he looked down on a useless person who couldn’t cultivate.

Such was the cruel nature of this world.

Xu Xianqing pulled out a low-grade spirit stone. “Just two flatbreads, please.”

“Wait here.” The assistant took the spirit stone, went inside, and returned with two flatbreads, handing them to her.

He then asked, “Need a room for the night?”

Xu Xianqing glanced at the sky, then unfolded her map to check her position.

Watching her, the assistant let out a chuckling sneer. “Rushing your journey? Let me tell you, at this hour, if you don’t stay at our inn, you’ll have to spend the night up ahead on Mount Bai’an. That’s a nasty place…unruled by any city, and home to several major bandit dens.”

Before he could finish, a woman stepped out from the back. She looked like the landlady of the shop.

Covering her face with a cattail fan, her laughter rang out crisp like silver bells. “Bandits don’t just rob anyone, you know. Looking at this young lady, I doubt the bandits would even bother with her. However, that mountain is crawling with spirit beasts. You’d better stay here for the night. We have plenty of warriors and escorts passing through. If you’re lucky, you might bump into a group heading over the mountain tomorrow. You can swallow your pride and tag along…at least it’ll keep that little life of yours safe, wouldn’t you say?”

Xu Xianqing remained silent for a moment before nodding. “I’ll take a room then.”

“Five low-grade spirit stones. Fetching hot water costs extra.” The landlady gestured with her fan.

Xu Xianqing pulled seven spirit stones from her storage pouch and handed them over. “I’d like water, and some food as well.”

“Easy enough.” The landlady shot the assistant a look. “Show our guest to her room to rest.”

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