11 Chapter Eleven
Did you like me in your past life?
Lu Yue slept soundly; the molting period was her most vulnerable time. In her hazy state, those vague memories of the past became clear again.
In other species, mothers nurture their offspring, but the snake race is different. From birth, they live alone, and can even devour their own kind, let alone expect protection from the group.
From the moment Lu Yue opened her eyes, she walked alone in the world. The little girl hid on the damp moss, curiously opening her vertical pupils to look at this vibrant mountain forest.
The tall trees blocked out the sun, with only a few faint rays of light filtering through the leaves. The chirping of insects and the calls of cicadas rose and fell, and low growls echoed from the depths of the dense forest. Cool dew slid down the veins of a leaf and dripped onto her head, startling her so much that she hurriedly ducked her head back into the grass.
At first, Lu Yue survived on wild fruits and other food in the mountains and forests. Later, her body gradually grew stronger, and she was able to hunt wild beasts larger than herself. After spending countless years in the vast mountains and forests, she finally cultivated human form.
Near the mountains where Lu Yue lives, there is a small Taoist temple. The Taoist priest inside has a very high level of cultivation, but there has always been no trouble.
She preferred quiet and had witnessed all her living creatures turn into corpses, until she met that noisy Taoist priest. He had his hair tied up with a wooden hairpin, wore a plain gray robe, and always smiled as he said strange things to her.
Do you have a name?
"How long have you been cultivating?"
"Would you like to listen to my sermon?"
name?
She doesn't need a name.
That Taoist priest was very noisy, but he was the only one in the entire quiet mountain forest who wasn't afraid of her. Lu Yue would occasionally lie in a tree and watch him practice his sword in the courtyard, whether it was the lush spring sunshine or the vast winter snow, he never stopped.
Even in the chilly autumn rain, he calmly practiced his swordplay amidst the golden fallen leaves of the sycamore trees.
And so a long time passed, until decades later. The handsome Taoist priest's temples were streaked with white, and the abandoned baby he had raised was now able to stand on his own.
But the small Taoist temple he guarded was engulfed in flames at night, illuminating half the sky. Lu Yue knew this was the work of his disciple, who had abandoned the dilapidated temple to join a stronger sect.
She watched the bloody slaughter with detached indifference, and in her confusion, she understood. So, besides the snake race, humans also kill each other.
Thinking of the Taoist's Golden Core cultivation, Lu Yue was truly reluctant to give it up. Her cultivation was not shallow, but she was still confined to this mountain forest. Once she entered other territories, she would either kill the other party or be killed herself.
Lu Yue walked into the raging fire and saw the Taoist priest lying on the ground.
He was very weak, but he still smiled and said, "You've come. I'm about to die, but I still don't know your name."
"I don't need a name; everyone who has seen me is dead."
"Really? I've always called you Yue."
"moon?"
"We met under the moonlight, and I remember your scales were beautiful."
The Taoist priest noticed her when she was still a young Taoist. In the quiet night, a gentle breeze rustled through the bamboo forest. She sat on a high treetop with her hair down, the moonlight shining behind her, blurring her face so that only her purple eyes were visible.
Indifferent yet pure, like a mountain god protecting all living beings.
"You're going to die."
Lu Yue stared at him intently, her eyes completely unmoved.
Even as he faced death, the Taoist priest feigned nonchalance and chuckled, saying, "So you came to see me on special occasion?"
Although he is already in his forties, his eyes are still as clear and pure as when he was young.
Lu Yue said bluntly, "Your cultivation level is very high. I want to eat you."
"Really? That's good too, it's a way to build a positive connection."
Lu Yue had expected to see surprise, anger, or resistance from the other party, but he simply accepted it without question.
Unbelievably calm.
"Aren't you angry? The disciple you raised with your own hands killed you."
"Perhaps it's karma. If I hadn't saved him, he wouldn't have killed me. It's also my fault as his master for corrupting him and confining him to these mountains without freedom."
Lu Yue didn't understand; she only thought he was incredibly foolish. She wanted to ask more, but the Taoist's breath grew weaker and weaker, and he closed his eyes.
The once-thriving Taoist temple, which had flourished for a century, gradually collapsed in the flames. She rebuilt it on the original site, replicating its original appearance, to serve as her residence.
The story spread like wildfire among the people, and it became known that she coveted the Taoist priest's cultivation level, which is why she killed the old Taoist priest in the temple. Many righteous people entered her territory to uphold justice, fearing that she would harm the villagers.
But those people were as insignificant as ants in her eyes, and she had no desire to eat them.
Lu Yue prefers tranquility, so when righteous people step into her territory, she naturally chooses to clean it up.
They arrived in waves, causing her cultivation to rise rapidly. The powerful demons nearby also became interested in her.
But they all died at her hands.
There was an arrogant swordsman who, even as he faced death, raised his head and said angrily, "At least I'll know your name before I die."
She thought about it seriously and realized that she liked killing and enjoyed hearing the sound of her snake tail snapping someone's bones.
“Lu Yue, my name is Lu Yue.”
After the sword cultivator got his wish, he offered up his golden core. Just as he was about to die, Lu Yue hesitated.
Looking at his face, which was almost identical to that of the Taoist priest, she thought that he must be the reincarnation of the other.
Therefore, Lu Yue unusually did not kill him.
She was an adult, with the desires that came with it. Looking at the sword cultivator's handsome face and his strong, sensual body beneath his tattered Taoist robes, she instinctively took him by force. His pure, clean primordial yang energy was a great tonic for her, making her cultivation comparable to five Golden Core cultivators.
The first time, he was very uncooperative, and Lu Yue had to break his arms with her snake tail before he would finally obey.
The second time, he remained stubborn and arrogant, nearly biting his tongue to commit suicide. Lu Yue forcefully pried open his lips and fed him some snake venom before he obediently submitted.
The third time, he stopped struggling and silently endured it.
For a while afterward, he became much more obedient and stayed by Lu Yue's side for a long time. But thinking that he was no longer of any use and perhaps fearing her reputation, no righteous cultivators had entered for a long time, so Lu Yue threw him back in hopes of attracting more cultivators.
But no one came for a long time, so Lu Yue went to his sect to see what was going on. She found him hanging in front of many disciples in a disheveled state as a warning to others.
His snow-white clothes were covered in blood, and demon-devouring nails had been driven into his fragile frame.
Lu Yue was confused because the Demon-Devouring Nails had no effect on humans, only increasing their pain. She hid in the crowd, listening to people whispering about it.
"The brilliant and talented number one sword cultivator has actually become entangled with a snake demon; he has truly lost his Dao heart."
"Isn't it just to survive that you endure this humiliation?"
Who knows?
"It's a pity that the disciple whom the Heavenly Profound Sword Master painstakingly trained has been ruined like this."
Lu Yue remained unmoved by the gossip, silently watching as his master personally tortured him. Interestingly, his master was the disciple he had raised and then betrayed in his previous life.
Thinking of the foolish Taoist priest's talk of cause and effect, Lu Yue couldn't help but laugh. She came to the sword cultivator at night and told him everything about her past life, wanting to see if he would break down.
He must be unable to accept that the master who raised him was the disciple who killed him in a past life.
But to Lu Yue's surprise, the sword cultivator asked her a strange question.
Did you love me in your past life?
Lu Yue's indifferent eyes widened slightly. What is liking? She was a loner, far removed from the hustle and bustle of the world, so she didn't understand many things.
He was in a sorry state, and after watching Lu Yue remain silent for a long time, he suddenly laughed.
"Lu Yue, remember my name..."
What was his name again? Lu Yue couldn't remember. This happened so long ago, almost five hundred years. She only remembered that shortly after his death, his master sought revenge on her. But for some reason, before Lu Yue could even make a move, he watched as her residence descended into madness.
He knelt and kowtowed repeatedly before a tree that had long since withered.
Lu Yue saw several horizontal marks of varying depths on it, but she didn't know what they were for. In any case, the Sword Master, who was highly respected in the Dao, became her excellent tonic.
Lu Yue thus smoothly reached the realm of carefree ease. Her territory expanded considerably, but she also began to feel bored, followed by endless suffering.
Xueji noticed the person behind her had a furrowed brow, but it was obvious that the matter at hand was the most troublesome.
Aman, who suddenly entered the secret realm, attempted to break through the formation, but fortunately, he quickly reinforced it with another layer. However, it was clear that the opponent was still trying to break through the boundary, and the formation was gradually collapsing.
"There seems to be some activity in the secret realm." Wu Yan's brown eyes flickered slightly.
"His Majesty's orders forbidding anyone from approaching the secret realm." Hu Mei swayed her nine tails and continued drinking the wine in her cup. She was merely following orders and had not disobeyed His Majesty's decree.
Wu Yan asked, "Wen Ruo isn't here?"
"Who knows? A tiny insect daring to covet the Demon Lord's position is quite audacious."
Hu Mei chose to protect herself, since killing Aman wouldn't benefit her at all. She was simply curious about Wen Ruo's whereabouts; she had received a secret report that the young master had been taken away by Heng Ji.
In the Pure Fox Territory, Heng Ji heard that Yan Qing had not left his room and couldn't help but ask him about it, but he still hid in a corner and refused to speak.
Looking at his bewildered face, she said gently, "Why don't you go out and take a look? The scenery in Chunhu is quite nice."
Yan Qing ignored it. He had been in the secret realm the whole time and didn't know what it was like outside, but he was happy as long as he was by the Venerable's side.
“Lu Yue definitely wouldn’t like to see you like this. I promised her I would take good care of you.”
Yan Qing finally spoke: "His Majesty never allows me to go out."
"Um?"
Hengji couldn't help but feel sorry for this child, whose identity was hidden from the public eye, destined to remain forever in that small, isolated world.
"Does His Majesty no longer want me?"
Yan Qing had heard from his father that the Venerable One had banished him because he was useless. How could he become useful? He missed the Venerable One, even though it was a long time before he could see him again.
Hengji felt sorry for Yanqing and said softly, "It's not that I don't want you. I'm marrying you. Chunhu will be your home."
Yan Qing bit her lip, a look of confusion on her fair face: "Then why can't Your Majesty marry me?"
Heng Ji was terrified, her face turning pale: "She's your mother?"
Even if she wasn't his biological child, the fact remains that she raised Yan Qing to this day.
Yan Qing asked doubtfully, "Can't Mother marry me?"
Heng Ji then realized that Yan Qing seemed to be ignorant of the ways of the world, and wondered how Lu Yue had raised him.
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