Jiang Huai embarked on the road back to the Eastern Region. The parting wasn’t too difficult, though Bai Li held him for a long time, whispering in his ear, telling him not to look back when he left. Bai Jin and Bai Li watched Jiang Huai leave from where they stood. Only when the Spirit Boat had flown far away did Bai Li finally lift her head, her eyes reddening slightly.
Just as Bai Jin was about to say something to comfort her, Bai Li gently shook her head and whispered, “I’m fine.” Back when she was in the Eastern Region, she often experienced partings. They would only reunite when descending into secret realms together. Perhaps because she was accustomed to being alone, her eyes never welled up back then. The next time they would see each other would be in the harsh winter, as this Five Regions Grand Competition was to be held in the Northern Region.
Jiang Huai sat alone on the deck. Wind and thunder still churned in the clouds, but luckily the Spirit Boat’s protective shield was active, so the rain didn’t fall on him. The drizzling raindrops hit the transparent shield like they were falling on clear glass, slowly sliding down. He sat there quietly, watching for a long time.
Suddenly, a sigh echoed, and he turned his head in an instant, finding Jiang Zhi standing beside him, her eyes gazing at the rain in the sky along with his. She was wearing a goose-yellow palace dress, her hair unbound, her skirt hem rustled by a slight breeze.
Jiang Huai quickly brought a chair and placed it beside him. As Jiang Zhi sat down, he cautiously asked, “Sister, have you come to collect a debt?” Jiang Zhi turned her head, but her eyes were no longer playful and charming as before. Instead, there was an indescribable calmness. Hearing Jiang Huai’s question, her words held a hint of mockery, “So eager to be punished by my foot?”
“Not at all,” Jiang Huai muttered softly. He fell silent again, gazing at the rain screen. The two of them sat side by side, and after a while, Jiang Huai softly said, “I’ve always had a question I wanted to ask.”
“Speak.”
“Why are you so good to me, Sister?”
“So, in your eyes, I am considered good to you?”
“Of course, you are.” Despite being heavily mocked and humiliated by Jiang Zhi, Jiang Huai could still discern whether Jiang Zhi was good or bad to him.
Jiang Zhi turned to gaze into his eyes, seeing the curiosity and anticipation within them. After a moment of hesitation, she softly said, “Shall I tell you a story?”
“Okay,” Jiang Huai nodded gently.
“A long, long, long time ago, about two thousand years ago, I was a cauldron servant raised by a sect.” Jiang Zhi’s eyes gradually drifted, recalling the past two millennia. “Back then, I was just a girl captured by a cultivation sect. Because I possessed the ‘Wedding Dress Spirit Body,’ my constitution could convert the essence of spirit medicines for those who performed Dual Cultivation with me. Therefore, they locked me in a dungeon, awaiting the maturity of my constitution. I spent my childhood in that lightless dungeon, eating the food and the physique-enhancing spirit medicines that were sent to me, rolling around in my room, staring blankly at the pitch-black space. It was like being a pig in a sty, waiting to be eaten after maturing.”
“Back then, I didn’t understand what loneliness was, nor did I understand what it meant to be alive. Until one day, an unbelievably beautiful immortal appeared before me. She told me she would give me everything I desired and asked if I was willing to become her disciple.”
“So, I became her disciple and followed her to cultivate for many years. During that time, she was never harsh or punitive towards me, but she also never showed me tenderness. It was as if I were just a puppy she raised. However, her powers were immense. Both then and now, no one in this world could take a single sword strike from her.”
“In those years of interaction, I vaguely felt that she was not from this world. Perhaps she was reincarnated from a higher realm. She possessed many Daoist magic techniques unknown in this world. Later, when I was at the peak of the Eighth Realm, she left me and ascended to the Upper Realm alone.”
“The verses she left behind, I guess… are poems from her previous world. You recognized those verses, and I guess… you must also be from that world, right?” Jiang Huai was slightly stunned, then nodded gently, “Yes, but my previous world had no such Daoist magic, and I wasn’t reincarnated from a higher realm. My previous world had no means of cultivation; everyone was just an ordinary mortal.”
A hint of confusion appeared in Jiang Zhi’s eyes, but she didn’t ask any further questions. She softly said, “I see the shadow of that person in you, which is why I’m willing to help you. I believe that one day, your cultivation will break through to the Ninth Realm and you will become a Tenth Realm Immortal Venerable, gaining the ability to Ascend to the Upper Realm. When that time comes, I hope you will take me with you.”
Jiang Huai scratched his head, “Actually, I don’t have any plans to Ascend…” Jiang Huai had heard long ago that once a cultivator’s cultivation reached the Tenth Realm, they could tear open the gate of heaven and Ascend to the Upper Realm. The Upper Realm had more cultivation resources and allowed one to reach even more powerful realms. However, this was akin to reaching the maximum level in the beginner village and then forcing oneself to go out and be beaten.
“If you Ascend to the Tenth Realm one day, I hope you will take me to the Upper Realm,” Jiang Zhi said softly.
“Okay,” Jiang Huai nodded gently, then asked curiously, “I’d like to know, what is your cultivation level, Sister?”
“Ninth Realm, Seventh Level,” Jiang Zhi stated calmly. Jiang Huai’s pupils suddenly constricted. Even though he had long anticipated that Jiang Zhi’s cultivation level was unfathomable, the moment he heard “Ninth Realm, Seventh Level,” he subconsciously held his breath. With her cultivation, she could probably slay several Dragon Clan members with a single sword strike. There was no opponent left for her in this world, yet he suddenly felt an inexplicable sadness.
He could actually understand the mentality of cultivators who wanted to Ascend. When one becomes invincible in this world, with everything they desire within reach, and becomes devoid of desires, the eternal vortex of emptiness will gradually gnaw at their heart. That’s why they want to explore a broader world and feel their heart beat again when they encounter goals beyond their reach.
“I cannot Ascend. No one in this world can Ascend anymore. If there is anyone, it can only be you.”
“Why?” Jiang Huai was stunned.
“Because you are special, you don’t belong to this world, which is why you can open the gate of heaven at the Tenth Realm. This is the rule. You’ll understand when you reach the Tenth Realm.” Jiang Zhi had lied. She had promised her Master certain things she couldn’t tell Jiang Huai yet, so she wove a lie. Fortunately, Jiang Huai didn’t suspect her and simply nodded, “I see. If I have the opportunity to reach the Tenth Realm in the future, I will open the gate of heaven for you, Sister.”
Jiang Zhi glanced back at Jiang Huai. His eyes were very sincere, and he didn’t doubt anything Jiang Zhi said. Yet, looking at his clear eyes, a sense of inexplicable anger suddenly arose in her heart. He didn’t have to do anything to receive his Master’s immense favor, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t even get her Master to cast an extra glance at her. This anger quickly turned into complex emotions. She shifted slightly towards Jiang Huai, looked into his eyes, and said faintly, “The story is over. Let’s collect the debt.”
The tender feet in her sight were delicate and lustrous, bare of shoes or socks. The ankles beneath the skirt hem were slender and fair. Her White and tender little feet were as exquisite as the most perfect porcelain in the world, yet such a perfect creation was about to be used for such a shameful act. Before Jiang Huai could even speak, her slender white leg was lifted, and her White and tender little feet were placed on Jiang Huai. A moment later, Jiang Zhi tilted her chin slightly, her eyes calmly looking at him, “I haven’t started yet, and you’re already so hot with excitement?”
“This, this…” Jiang Huai certainly wouldn’t tell Jiang Zhi that when no one else was around, seeing her exquisite and perfect snow-white feet engaged in lewd acts, coupled with her condescending, disdainful, and cold gaze, was extremely stimulating. He felt no shame at all; it was pure enjoyment! It felt as if he were participating in some strange play with Jiang Zhi.
“It seems this can no longer shame you?” Jiang Zhi suddenly sneered. A moment later, her eyes shimmered, and Jiang Huai’s head spun. He was abruptly pulled into an illusion. However, in this illusion, he was forced to kneel on the ground. When he looked up, the person standing before him was not Jiang Zhi, but… Chu Xianning. It was Chu Xianning in a white dress, looking down at him from above, her voice cold, “You deserve punishment.” With that, the Chu Xianning in the illusion raised a delicate jade foot. Jiang Huai, his head swimming, immediately struggled, “No, no, you’re not allowed to defile my Master! No, no, no, no!!!”
Perhaps because his desire to struggle was too intense this time, the world of the illusion collapsed. He gradually woke up from the illusion, his eyes still holding a stubbornness as he looked at Jiang Zhi, “You’re not allowed to insult me with my Master. This, this is my bottom line!”
“Bottom line?” Jiang Zhi raised her eyebrows.
“Yes.” If Chu Xianning were to punish him harshly as in the previous illusion, Jiang Huai would certainly comply obediently. But to be humiliated by someone else through an illusion, that was not acceptable.
“I thought that a thick-skinned person like you would no longer have a bottom line.”
“Master raised me, so of course you wouldn’t understand,” Jiang Huai pouted. Looking at the White and tender little feet resting on his leg, soft and smooth, he suddenly thought of something. He reached out, gently grasped her delicate, tender jade foot, and said softly, “I’ll collect the debt later. Shall I give Sister a massage?”
Jiang Zhi didn’t refuse and instead turned her gaze to the rain curtain outside the barrier. So, Jiang Huai patiently began to massage her White and tender little feet. But as he massaged, his posture became more like he was caressing them. Jiang Zhi’s skin was already very sensitive. At first, she didn’t want to show weakness in front of Jiang Huai, but as his actions became more outrageous, her delicate pink toes were pried apart one by one, and he pressed on the acupoints on the sole of her foot. Her calf tensed slightly. She turned her head to look at Jiang Huai, who, however, appeared extremely serious, as if he genuinely just wanted to massage her and make her happy. She gave him a cold, indifferent glance and said, “Open your mouth.”
“I don’t eat,” Jiang Huai answered almost instinctively. Jiang Zhi was stunned for a moment, then crossed her arms and sneered. She raised her White and tender calf, and her delicate pink, jade-white feet were lifted slightly in front of his cheek.
“If you lick me to my satisfaction, I’ll reduce your debt by ten times.”
