Falling into Demonic Cultivation

[Gentle beauty, scheming master x ruthless demon lord, lovesick, tragic loyalist]

Everyone said that Wu Mian was a beauty the cultivation world saw only once in a century.

His beauty was more than just his looks. It was an overwhelming, flawless splendor that left every other beauty in the dust.

When he was still learning to speak, every elder who saw him praised his excellent aptitude. When his parents died in the chaos at Gugu Jinling, the revered head of the Yao family took him in and cared for him in every way. At seventeen, he slew the Plum Fiend, who had left the great cultivation clans helpless, avenging his parents and making a name for himself in a single battle.

It was then, amid the endless snowstorms on Plum Mountain, that he took in Yi Heng, the unlucky disciple whose spiritual marrow would later be stolen.

Not long ago, people would still say to him, "If the Heavenly Dao still existed, Young Master Wu would probably have ascended eight hundred years ago! Why would he have to sit at the same table as the likes of us?"

Wu Mian would always answer with a graceful smile. When he was in a good mood, he might even add, "You flatter me... You're too kind."

But every frown and smile of his seemed to carry a bewitching spell. When their eyes met, some would immediately look away and pretend to lower their heads for tea, while others would turn to gaze out the window. Yet no one could truly take their eyes off him.

He was the very embodiment of the saying, "Who in the world does not know you?"

But everything changed after he went to Gugu Jinling under the pretense of saving someone, hoping to summon a soul, and failed.

His scheme had fallen through, and he had gone so far as to drain the spiritual marrow from Yi Heng, the disciple he had raised for over a decade, then drive him down the mountain! After that came his return to Gugu Jinling, his imprisonment, the crowds baying for his blood... and now, he was on the verge of death.

The jade-faced immortal lord who had once made people too nervous to approach was now hanging on by a single breath.

How tragic... How pitiful...

When the adoring gazes that had once followed him vanished all at once, everyone could only sigh that Yi Heng had finally gotten his revenge. At last, the world could enjoy a few years of peace!

No one expected a surprise to come just then.

"Guards! Someone's trying to break that fiend Wu Mian out!"

"Who would dare? Invading Gugu Jinling is a grave crime. Have they learned nothing from what happened before?"

"Hmph! Look at how little power Wu Mian has left. Even if some grand celestial lord came to save him, do you think he'd get away?"

What no one could have imagined was that the grand celestial lord who came really did manage to rescue him!

No, wait!

"Rescue" wasn't quite the right word. It should have been "abduct"!

Yi Heng, the very disciple Wu Mian had drained of his spiritual marrow and driven down the mountain, had come to take Wu Mian away... His baleful aura swept through Gugu Jinling. He didn't just abduct Wu Mian, he also set fire to the prison, razed the southeastern cultivation clans, and transformed that priceless land of auspicious feng shui into the demonic city of Wulang!

All glittering on the outside, rotten within!

Just like his master!

The admirers who had once been desperate to fawn over him now ground their teeth in hatred. Little did they know that Yi Heng, whom they had cursed a thousand times over, was waiting in his demonic city for the beauty to wake.

"Master, were you looking for this just now?"

Yi Heng turned the jade bracelet in his hand with an air of indifference, but his gaze on Wu Mian was filled with undisguised longing.

Wu Mian stared at his cold, pale hand, wrapped around a plum-green jade bangle, and rasped, "Why did you save me?"

The moment the question left his lips, Wu Mian secretly mocked himself.

Why else?

No matter how magnanimous Yi Heng might be, Wu Mian was the one who had taken his memories, stolen his spiritual marrow, and driven him down the mountain. What reason could he have besides revenge and collecting his debt?

He was doomed to die anyway. Better to die at Yi Heng's hands than at that person's.

So he taunted him without a care for his own life. "Yi Heng, I'm deeply grateful that you dared to save me... But I can't give you back your spiritual marrow."

Yi Heng sneered.

"Does Master think I brought you back for that?"

What else could it be...?

After being locked up for so long, Wu Mian's body was frailer than before. In just a few words, sparkling beads of sweat ran over his jade-white, delicate face and dampened the pillow beneath him.

He had schemed and calculated everything, only to end up with nothing. Now he was dragging Yi Heng back into this deadly mess all over again.

No... Absolutely not!

Wu Mian's fingertips trembled slightly... But just as the nightmare was about to swallow him whole, Yi Heng suddenly brushed his eyelashes.

He leaned close to Wu Mian's ear and lowered his voice. "Master, if you're going to go to such lengths..."

Wu Mian's breathing grew unsteady...

"Then I have no choice but to see this through with you!"

The half-open curtain was abruptly drawn shut. The eerie mist grew so thick it seeped through the glazed windows, sweeping in with the ceaseless sound of dancing outside, fierce and unstoppable.

Note: 1. The author likes flashbacks, so this story does include them, but not too many.

2. Since the story involves past and present lives, the author chose to keep the protagonists' names consistent. Please don't find it strange.

3. The story includes a bit of a substitute trope, but not between the protagonists. The couple's love is completely pure.

Entering the Demonic Path is a bold experiment for the author, and I hope all the visitors from Planet MUXI have a particularly joyful and happy experience.

Theme: What is gone from the mind is never truly forgotten