The afternoon passed leisurely.
In the evening, Ying Ran and Xu Liling took a post-dinner stroll and encountered an outsider—an elderly man delivering Mysterious Path manuals to Xu Liling.
The old man saw Ying Ran holding Xu Liling’s arm, his eyes widening, hesitating to speak.
Xu Liling led her to a tree stump to sit: “Rest here for a bit.”
The old man snapped out of it.
Ying Ran watched Xu Liling and the elder walk into the nearby darkness to talk.
She couldn’t hear their conversation, only noting the elder’s white hair and beard, exuding an immortal aura, not at all demonic. She guessed he might be an immortal path cultivator forced into the demonic path with Xu Liling and smiled at him warmly.
Her appearance was charming and delicate. Though she’d entered the Mysterious Path, she looked like a frail girl without the strength to truss a chicken.
Sui Canghai’s expression was odd as he handed the transcribed manuals to Xu Liling: “My lord, as you instructed, I went to Yixuan Dao Yi’s Scripture Pavilion, broke the hidden array, and transcribed the Yin-Yang Path manuals within. I didn’t kill anyone or steal the originals.”
“Yixuan Dao Yi didn’t lose their originals. Those Mysterious cultivators, wary of me—who they think turned demonic and joined Yixuan Dao—won’t dare make a fuss if this gets out. They’ll just swallow the loss.”
As a former Tianxiao Immortal, Yixuan Dao Yi initially thought he’d escaped the Holy Demon to seek refuge with them.
They didn’t want to shelter him but feared losing face for the Mysterious Path.
He claimed the Holy Demon had cursed him, and he needed to check the Scripture Pavilion for a cure, promising to leave after. To get rid of him, they agreed.
Sui Canghai found it amusing but was puzzled: “But why go to such lengths, my lord? Is it because—”
He glanced again at the girl waiting on the stump.
If Sui Canghai were an ordinary demon, he’d never question Xu Liling’s actions.
Demons never doubted the Holy Demon.
But Sui Canghai wasn’t.
He’d once been the master of Tianxiao’s Thousand Peaks Immortal Palace, briefly mentoring Xu Liling before he became the Holy Demon.
That fleeting teacher-student bond had dissolved when Xu Liling captured and tormented him. Now, he was merely a demonic slave under Xu Liling.
Yet, he couldn’t view Xu Liling’s actions as inherently justified, like true demons did.
Xu Liling: “She is my wife.”
Sui Canghai was stunned: “Wife?!”
In a flash, he recalled over two years ago, when Xu Liling awoke and patrolled Holy Demon City, discovering a rift to the outside world. From then on, he’d frequently pass through it, leaving the city.
Back then, Sui Canghai hadn’t regained his body—just a head, hung with other immortal friends on the lampstand in Changgeng Hall, unaware of Xu Liling’s whereabouts.
He and his friends assumed Xu Liling was preparing to attack Tianxiao.
Until one day, Xu Liling returned with a green bamboo umbrella.
Umbrellas were something Xu Liling hadn’t used since turning demonic.
Especially since it was just an ordinary oilpaper umbrella used by mortals.
Curious, when Xu Liling placed it above their heads on the lampstand to shield it from demonic aura, they asked: “My lord, whose umbrella is this? A Tianxiao immortal’s? Or from Yaoyu’s Qiongyu?”
Xu Liling: “It belongs to a woman.”
A woman?
They’d seen countless women approach Xu Liling—some spies, others thinking they could redeem the demon of demons. None ended well.
They didn’t think much of this woman.
But after retrieving the umbrella, Xu Liling left Holy Demon City more often.
One day, he returned to take some clothes from his Yiwang Continent travels, untainted by demonic aura.
The heads on the lampstand asked: “My lord, where are you going?”
He said: “I’m getting married.”
After waking from a 500-year slumber, he seemed colder and more detached than before.
His expression when saying this was utterly flat.
They were stunned for a while, arguing after he left, finally concluding: They’d misheard.
Xu Liling, marry? Impossible.
“Not marry, but muster! He’s building a new demonic army to attack Tianxiao again!”
Convinced, they debated for years when Xu Liling would deploy them.
Two years passed without news.
Recently, Xu Liling came to Changgeng Hall, ordering someone to transcribe Yin-Yang Path manuals from Yixuan Dao Yi, detailing every step.
Sui Canghai eagerly took the task, thrilled at the chance to regain his body, without thinking much.
During execution, he found it tedious: Xu Liling’s plan minimized impact, leaving Yixuan Dao Yi no grounds to pursue.
Xu Liling, who’d once crushed Yaoyu’s Holy Crown before its venerables just to mock them, had never been so restrained.
Sui Canghai couldn’t figure it out.
Until he saw the girl holding Xu Liling’s arm.
Until he noticed she cultivated the Mysterious Path, not the demonic, perfectly suited for the Yin-Yang Path manuals.
Until Xu Liling calmly said, “She is my wife,” as if it were the most natural thing.
Sui Canghai understood but still couldn’t believe it:
Xu Liling, who saw the world only in terms of life and death, gender irrelevant—even having once transformed into a woman—had taken a wife!
A Mysterious Path cultivator, no less!
Sui Canghai was deeply shocked. After a long pause, he nodded to Ying Ran, unsure how to address her, offering a smile as a greeting.
Ying Ran returned a radiant smile.
Sui Canghai couldn’t fathom how such a girl married Xu Liling.
But he wasn’t about to meddle. He quickly bid farewell to return to Holy Demon City.
Xu Liling hummed, saying little.
But a single glance made Sui Canghai understand: Back in Holy Demon City, his body would be taken, and he’d return to the lampstand.
Sigh…
Sui Canghai didn’t dwell on it, cursing Xu Liling inwardly while smiling outwardly, agreeing before heading back.
Seeing the elder leave, Ying Ran walked over: “Why didn’t you invite him for tea at home?”
She linked arms with Xu Liling, walking home.
Xu Liling: “He wouldn’t dare.”
Ying Ran, puzzled: “Why not?”
Xu Liling: “Because I don’t want him to.”
Ying Ran laughed: “If you don’t want him over for tea, just say so. Why say he wouldn’t dare?”
Xu Liling smiled too, his smile faint and teasing.
Ying Ran didn’t linger on the topic, shifting to the manuals.
Xu Liling produced a palm-sized treasure box.
The treasure box was exquisite, like a glass jewel case, but it was enveloped in dense demonic aura, making Ying Ran instinctively want to avoid it.
Seeing Xu Liling hold it casually, she still reached out: “This is what he gave you? It’s so small.”
“Don’t touch it; the demonic aura harms people.” Xu Liling blocked her hand. “It’s a storage box.”
Ying Ran obediently withdrew, eyeing the tiny storage box with delight: “How much can it hold?”
If it could store a lot, it’d be convenient for her and Xu Liling to travel.
Xu Liling saw her thoughts: “You can’t use it; the demonic aura is too heavy.”
Ying Ran felt a pang of disappointment but quickly reasoned: If it were easy to use, Huai Zhen would’ve brought it out sooner.
She asked, “Once I cultivate the Yin-Yang Path, can we use Mysterious Path storage bags?”
Xu Liling took out the transcribed manuals from the storage box: “Yes, but I don’t have any.”
He only had demonic storage artifacts.
Storage bags, space rings, mustard seed bracelets… Holy Demon City had every kind of storage treasure in the world.
None were usable for her.
With the power of his Dao Pearl, he crushed the demonic immortal-grade storage box, turning it to ash instantly.
Ying Ran poked the eight Yin-Yang Path manuals in his hand: “These I can touch, right?”
She added, “We don’t have Mysterious Path storage bags now, but we can save spirit stones to buy one later.”
Xu Liling: “Yes, you can touch them.”
Ying Ran treated him like a portable bookshelf, pulling manuals from his hand to flip through.
She couldn’t understand them, skimming one before putting it back and picking another, asking, “Which one should I cultivate?”
Xu Liling: “Which one do you want to cultivate?”
Ying Ran: “I don’t know.”
Xu Liling: “The Yin-Yang Path is a broad school. Its cultivation branches into Talisman Path, Incantation Path, Technique Path, Fate Path… You need a basic understanding of all, but most choose one to specialize in.”
He explained in detail, but Ying Ran wasn’t particularly interested in any.
She looked troubled, unable to decide.
Xu Liling: “Then cultivate as fate guides.”
That sounded good.
Ying Ran nodded: “Okay.”
Xu Liling: “When do you want to start?”
“Tomorrow,” Ying Ran said. “Do I need to forge my body?”
“The Yin-Yang Path doesn’t emphasize physical techniques. A strong body and robust qi can actually hinder it.”
“How do I fight others then?”
“Commanding.”
“What’s commanding?”
“Using techniques as incantations to control soul envoys, technique envoys…”
Ying Ran listened intently, asking questions now and then, gradually walking with him from the dim forest night back to their courtyard.
The courtyard glowed with candlelight, illuminating their path home in the darkness.
Though the Yin-Yang Path didn’t require body forging, building a foundation was still a long and exhausting process.
Ying Ran had to absorb the morning sun’s breath at dawn, the midday sun’s qi at noon, and the moonlight’s spirit at midnight.
Her sleep was fragmented, and she had to study manuals and memorize heart techniques.
In just seven days, dark circles appeared under her eyes, her face showed fatigue, and she had no appetite, constantly sleepy.
While eating, her eyelids drooped, as if she’d fall asleep any moment.
Xu Liling brought a bowl of fish soup from the kitchen: “Drink it while it’s hot; it’ll taste fishy when cold.”
She hated fishy smells.
Ying Ran obediently held the bowl, sipping slowly.
Xu Liling: “From now on, cultivate three days, rest four.”
Ying Ran was surprised: “Can I do that?”
Xu Liling: “Yes.”
He figured she couldn’t eat more but asked anyway: “Want more food?”
Ying Ran shook her head: “I’ll stop after the soup.”
Her expression drooped: “Guan Yi once told me that cultivators practice day and night, through heat and cold, and resting one day sets you back a lot. How can I be so lazy?”
Xu Liling cleared the dishes: “Blind diligence is what fools do.”
Big Flower and Little Yellow were still gobbling their food nearby, afraid the other would steal if they slowed down.
Seeing the lively duo, Ying Ran smiled, leaned back in the wooden chair, and closed her eyes.
The sunset faded, and a pleasant evening breeze blew.
From the kitchen came the sound of water and clinking dishes as Xu Liling washed up.
Big Flower and Little Yellow finished eating, sprawling by Ying Ran’s feet, purring contentedly.
The world was quiet and serene, and Ying Ran gradually fell asleep.
When Xu Liling came out from the kitchen, she was sound asleep in the chair.
He didn’t wake her, boiled hot water, wiped her hands and face, and carried her to bed.