The Aloof Master Relies on This Cat's Kisses to Survive - Chapter 38

The West Lake Deception and Nightmare

A long, mournful cry descended from above, accompanied by a heaven-blotting black shadow.

It was a giant Ghost Crane, its tattered, dark-green feathered wings spreading as it landed. Its long legs struck the center of the stage. The creature was shrouded in black miasma, radiating a sky-piercing hatred.

Before Ming Xi could even take a second look, Ji Wu’s long sword had already pierced through the air. The sword-qi slashed horizontally with lethal intent, splitting the Ghost Crane clean in two.

It was a bit too efficient.

As expected, the Grandmaster did not care for spectating.

Because of Ji Fang’s hairpin, Ji Wu now had a medium to gather spiritual energy. Consequently, this strike possessed about ten percent of her peak power.

The Ghost Crane’s corpse slammed onto the stage. Blood tainted with black miasma splashed onto the dancers and drenched Xiao Xiyue.

Without her mask, Xiao Xiyue did not look much like that “rebellious beast” anymore. This Demon Dragon was more seductive and shorter than Ming Xi; the blue martial attire did not actually suit her well.

She lacked that sense of uninhibited elegance.

With her hair loose, Xiao Xiyue’s demonic features gradually emerged. Influenced by the yin wind, she appeared to be on the verge of a berserk state.

Ji Wu did not know why Xiao Xiyue was on this stage. Today, the corpses of those who offered dances would be taken and consumed by the High Priest. The one favored by the High Priest, however, would become the “Newcomer” of this sacrifice.

The Newcomer would enter a Underworld Covenant with the High Priest—something similar to a mortal marriage contract, or the Heart-Linking Covenant between Ji Wu and Ming Xi.

The Newcomer would not be eaten, but they would not achieve symbiosis with the High Priest through the covenant either. Instead, she would sacrifice her life for the High Priest during the ceremony to bless West Lake.

In a way, this was just another form of “being eaten.”

What a strange culture, Ji Wu thought. She couldn’t understand why Xiao Xiyue, a Demon Dragon, would be willing to comply with such traditions. The people of West Lake worshipped the Divine Lord of the Spirit Mountain, but a creature like a Demon Dragon likely held no such yearning. The Dragon clan had been extinct in Nanling for ages, and Nanling and Beiming had always been polar opposites. Even if they didn’t hate the Spirit Mountain, they certainly wouldn’t harbor any goodwill toward its Divine Lord.

Let alone sacrificing themselves for her.

“Sang Banzui!” The Demon Dragon on the stage finally moved, pointing at the High Priest in the main seat and roaring, “Give me your life!”

“Eh?” Ming Xi, sitting to the side, glanced at the High Priest. “So your name is Sang Banzui.”

It was a strange name, one that felt like it belonged in a storybook, yet carried a faint sense of being utterly casual.

As if someone had just come up with it on a whim.

“Yes, someone actually remembers my name.” The High Priest remained reclined in her seat, completely unfazed by Xiao Xiyue’s threat.

She merely took a slow sip of wine, lazily lifting her eyes to look at the demon charging toward her.

That gaze was indolent, showing even less emotion than when she had looked at Ji Wu earlier.

Ji Wu also didn’t view the frenzied Demon Dragon as a serious matter. Although the Xuanling Sect suppressed demons to settle calamities, they did not actively purge demon-kind like Xiao Xiyue, who could coexist peacefully with humans.

The Xuanling Sect advocated that those with guilt should be executed—demons and humans alike.

Ji Wu casually tore down a hanging ribbon of bells and swung it toward Xiao Xiyue, binding her to the stage.

The Demon Dragon, rushing toward the High Priest, slipped. Bound by Ji Wu’s restraint, she fell clumsily.

She turned her face back, shouting fiercely, “Let me go! Let me go! Let me kill her! I must avenge my mother!”

“You cannot kill her.” Ji Wu walked coldly past Xiao Xiyue without sparing her a second glance.

It was not easy for this Demon Dragon to cultivate a human form, and her ability to borrow the radiance of the moon tides showed good talent. Since the Dragon clan was extinct, half-demons inheriting the dragon bloodline were rare. Since Ji Wu had encountered her, she would save her if she could.

“I can! Let me go! Let me kill her! I have waited eight years!” Xiao Xiyue howled in a hoarse voice.

But the High Priest, Sang Banzui, possessed formidable strength. Even if Xiao Xiyue waited for the full moon, she couldn’t possibly get near her, let alone now.

Ji Wu was about to leap off the stage when she heard the Demon Dragon cry out again.

“She used her blood to sacrifice to the array earlier and hasn’t recovered yet! This is my only chance! Let me go!”

“What did you say—” Ji Wu’s footsteps faltered. Just as she was about to ask for details, a sudden wave of dizziness hit her.

The black yin wind before her eyes vanished, along with the fishy stench. It was replaced by a very fresh oceanic scent.

It was as if water had gained a flavor, like sunlight piercing through seawater, scattering in shimmering patterns, bringing an inherent sense of peace and tranquility.

Even the berserk Demon Dragon calmed down for a moment, staring in shock at the drastic change in their surroundings.

This place looked like a palace.

Candlesticks made of coral, lamp posts entwined with green algae, seashell steps carved with undersea scenery—the crystal palace walls featured murals painted with flowing sea sand. Occasionally, colorful bubbles drifted past, as if leading the way, or perhaps lost themselves.

Ji Wu stood at the corner of a long corridor. There were many scattered pearls beneath her feet. She looked down, and when she raised her eyes again, the scenery hadn’t changed, but the initial beauty had transformed into a distant, lonely sigh.

“Is this the abandoned Dragon Palace?” Xiao Xiyue asked.

She had never been here, of course. She wasn’t a true dragon; even when there were dragons in the palace, she wouldn’t have been qualified to appear here.

The Dragon clan was a race that placed extreme importance on blood purity. They were said to be incredibly stubborn and archaic, refusing to listen to reason from any other tribe, acknowledging only the precepts of the Dragon race.

“It should be. However, this is a Void Realm; it’s likely a Resentment Dream,” Ji Wu said, sheathing her sword and touching the crystal palace wall. It was very cold.

She had a sense of touch here, which meant this Resentment Dream was likely created by a Nightmare Demon. These spirits had deeper cultivation than Babbling Ghosts and could draw people into illusory scenes that blended the virtual with the real.

Long ago, when Ji Wu’s cultivation was insufficient, she often fell into these illusions. Like Dongfang Qianyao, she had a constitution easily disturbed by them. Xiao Xiyue had likely been pulled in as well due to her loss of control during her berserk state.

“A Resentment Dream? Did Sang Banzui create this? Whose dream is it? Hers?” Although Xiao Xiyue had stabilized her emotions after leaving the yin wind, her heart was still turbulent. “Where is she? Where is she?”

“You can’t kill her. But you just said she sacrificed her blood to an array not long ago, right?” Ji Wu asked calmly. “After that, the spiritual energy fluctuated, the spirits of the Spirit Mountain grew restless, and the practitioners became unstable, didn’t they?”

“I suppose so.” Xiao Xiyue frowned, thought for a moment, and shook her head. “I am a Demon Dragon; my cultivation relies on the Moon Tide.”

Moon Tide required a moon-worshipper or one with dragon heritage. Ordinary humans, ghosts, immortals, and demons all relied on the spiritual energy of the Spirit Mountain for their cultivation.

If the Spirit Mountain was unstable, most living beings would be unstable too. If anyone could avoid the effects, it was indeed only the dragons.

“I see.” Ji Wu nodded.

The High Priest had sacrificed blood to an array a few days ago. For what? It was certainly to awaken Ming Xi.

No wonder the Dongfang family confidently claimed they could keep the Dream Beast dormant for over a hundred years, yet she had broken her shackles and opened her eyes in the eighth year. It turned out someone else was using their life to call her back.

“Sang Banzui! Come out!” Xiao Xiyue shouted.

“What is your grudge against her?” Ji Wu asked.

“The siege of the Spirit Mountain Divine Lord eight years ago—you know about that, right?” Xiao Xiyue glanced at Ji Wu. “I don’t know you, but you seem quite powerful. You tied me up just now to save me, didn’t you?”

Ji Wu did not answer.

Xiao Xiyue continued to herself, “I thank you for that, but you don’t need to involve yourself. I must take Sang Banzui’s life. This is my only chance. If she doesn’t die today, I…”

She bit her lip, looking somewhat regretful. “I originally intended to blend in with the dancers so she would choose me as this year’s sacrificial Newcomer. Once I went with her to the bridal chamber to finalize the Underworld Covenant, I could have gotten close to her. She doesn’t recognize me; I could have killed her.”

“…” Ji Wu remained silent. This Xiao Xiyue wasn’t young, yet she was incredibly naive.

Far more naive than the amnesiac Ming Xi.

Though that rebellious beast remembered nothing and didn’t know the extent of her own power, she was never reckless.

Killing the Thought Demon, dismantling the law array, resolving the Babbling Dream, throwing the Dream Fire—every move was precise and efficient. Ming Xi was indeed playing, but she never allowed herself to go off the rails.

Ji Wu lowered her eyes, wondering why she was thinking of that “bad cat” at a time like this.

She looked back at Xiao Xiyue, listening to her continue her dream of revenge. “Eight years ago, to trap the Spirit Mountain Divine Lord, they captured our entire Demon Dragon tribe. In the end, they confirmed that my mother had the purest dragon blood…”

Xiao Xiyue’s eyes reddened, her voice trembling. “They used my mother as a living sacrifice for the Dream Array! The one presiding over the sacrifice was Sang Banzui! She was the one who chose my mother!”

Ji Wu remained expressionless but was deep in thought.

Ming Xi was the Master of the Beiming Spirit Mountain. Her Dream Fire could only be frozen by the waters of the Ling River. Using the dragon bloodline for the array was likely to summon the Ling water.

Setting the trap that way was correct, but why would the High Priest help the Dongfang family frame that rebellious beast?

Ji Wu had seen her chatting happily with that beast earlier, as if they were old acquaintances, exchanging words back and forth…

Ji Wu let out a cold snort. “She has chosen you now as well. Even if you weren’t influenced by the yin wind and hadn’t exposed yourself, you still wouldn’t be able to kill her.”

Because Sang Banzui had long ago seen through Xiao Xiyue and knew her identity as a Demon Dragon. No matter when she chose to strike for revenge, Xiao Xiyue was already the High Priest’s prey.

Eight years ago, an array needed the Demon Dragon bloodline; eight years later, it was the same.

The High Priest sacrificed blood this year to awaken Ming Xi. Although Ming Xi woke up, she lost her memory. Therefore, Sang Banzui used the Nightmare Demon to set a trap for Ji Wu, leading them to West Lake to find her, and then used another array to continue summoning back Ming Xi’s memories.

All for the sake of that rebellious beast’s terrifying cultivation.

At her peak, Ming Xi could fight Ji Wu to a draw. Ji Wu had no doubt that after sleeping for eight years, this creature would only be more formidable now.

“I can do it! I can! The full moon is in a few days. During the full moon, the Moon Tide is at its strongest. She only has half a life left anyway and is in poor condition. I’ll just perish together with her. I will definitely—”

“—Why bother? Dying together—how is that revenge?” Ji Wu shook her head. “Have you never wondered why she killed your mother?”

“To kill the Spirit Mountain Divine Lord.”

“Then why did she want to kill the Spirit Mountain Divine Lord?”

Xiao Xiyue froze for a moment, then quickly replied, “She… she is a lapdog of the Dongfang clan!”

“Fine.” Ji Wu walked forward, intending to see what this Resentment Dream was meant to do. “Then why did the Dongfang clan want to kill the Spirit Mountain Divine Lord?”

Why?

Xiao Xiyue frowned. When her tribe was captured back then, she had overheard many conversations among the Dongfang family guards.

The Spirit Mountain Divine Lord apparently knew a certain genius from the Dongfang family and was on good terms with her. But they hadn’t met for a long time because the Spirit Mountain Divine Lord did not often stay in the mortal world; she could freely enter and leave the Dream Court. Thus, when she felt the world was dull, she would stay in the Dream Court for a long time.

That friend of hers had passed away while the Spirit Mountain Divine Lord was absent.

Xiao Xiyue wasn’t clear on how she died, but it seemed it wasn’t very honorable. The Dongfang clan was likely afraid the Spirit Mountain Divine Lord would come to settle accounts, so they decided to strike first. They used that person’s name to invite the Divine Lord, who had just returned to the mortal world, to a meeting to catch up on old times.

That Dream Beast had come happily, without a shred of defense, and stepped directly into the trap.