At the foot of Xinghe Sect's mountain, a child of seven or eight years old, dressed in coarse cloth and hempen clothing, wandered the streets, relying on begging for survival. His eyes were clouded with confusion.
Lost in a daze, he had no idea how much time had passed until suddenly, the little beggar's eyes shone brightly.
"I'm still alive?" The little beggar crouched in a corner, surveying his surroundings.
"It seems I was not meant to die!" The little beggar sneered.
He was once Bai Wucheng, the Demon Emperor, suppressing all sides and dominating the demonic path. He was the master of the demonic realm!
The largest demonic cult in Lianyun Prefecture, the Demon Music Palace, was merely a small force established under his command.
Nothing to mention!
But when he was cultivating the final level of the Blissful Demon Scripture, something went wrong.
His physical body collapsed, and his divine consciousness shattered.
Believing he would die, he unexpectedly reincarnated.
Moreover, he retained a bit of his strength, roughly equivalent to the Foundation Establishment cultivation level.
"Since I'm still alive, I have another chance to start anew!" Demon Emperor Bai Wucheng said solemnly.
His top priority was to infiltrate a sect and cultivate in secret.
The outside world had thin spiritual energy, making cultivation difficult.
Only within a sect, leveraging the abundant spiritual energy, could one cultivate rapidly.
This was why many cultivators aspired to join a sect.
"I can't go to a demonic cult. If they discover my reincarnation, I'm doomed," Bai Wucheng muttered.
Demonic cults were always ruthless. They revered you when you had power; without it, you were nothing.
If he were discovered by the demonic cult, they would not revere him but capture him, forcing him to reveal the Blissful Demon Scripture and other treasures.
Only with power were you the Demon Emperor; without it, you were a walking treasure trove.
"Hey, did you hear? Qin Shou of Xinghe Sect seems to have captured many from the Demon Music Palace!"
"Word has spread that the Demon Music Palace tried to invade Xinghe Sect but was caught by Qin Shou."
"That's right. It's said that the Demon Music Palace's patriarch broke his seal, only to be sealed with a single palm by the Xinghe Sect's patriarch! Amazing!"
"Xinghe Sect is indeed formidable, but its Xiaoyao Peak is pathetic. The peak master is at the Qi Condensation stage, and the disciples aren't much better. It's rumored that the Demon Music Palace infiltrated through Xiaoyao Peak."
Passersby chattered.
Xiaoyao Peak?
Qi Condensation trash?
I have a hiding place!
"Even a trashy demonic cult like the Demon Music Palace can infiltrate here; how could they handle me?" Bai Wucheng sneered.
Xinghe Sect was imprisoning the Demon Music Palace's patriarch. Once I enter and consume him, my strength will surely recover swiftly!
Then...
The world will kneel before me!
"This child must be starving. Here, take a copper coin and buy a steamed bun."
A passerby, seeing Bai Wucheng grinning by the wall, thought he had gone mad from hunger.
Bai Wucheng clenched the copper coin in his small fist, crushing it.
I, the Demon Emperor, do not need charity!
Bai Wucheng's face was cold, but he looked cute when he scowled, with his fair skin and baby fat.
...
On Xiaoyao Peak.
Ye Kong held a fishing rod in his right hand and sat by the Bitter Sea, starting his daily fishing.
If fishing had levels, Ye Kong would undoubtedly be the highest.
The Elder Martial Brother suddenly appeared behind Ye Kong.
After inspecting the eight major peaks, he finally came to inspect Xiaoyao Peak.
He had intended to ascend the mountain and inquire about Ye Kong, but upon arrival, he felt it was unnecessary.
Nothing to ask.
Ye Kong spent his days fishing and had weak cultivation. Even if something happened to Xiaoyao Peak's spiritual veins, he probably wouldn't notice.
The Elder Martial Brother glanced around and left to investigate on his own.
Lin Yaoyao watched the Elder Martial Brother leave, puzzled.
"Master, what did the Elder Martial Brother want with you?" Lin Yaoyao asked.
Ye Kong turned around, frowning. "Where is the Elder Martial Brother you're talking about?"
His attention was on the pond, and he hadn't noticed anyone else.
On Xiaoyao Peak.
Master, please be more careful.
It's fine to fish, but to be so focused that you don't notice someone sneaking up on you from behind?
No, I can't let Master continue fishing aimlessly.
Lin Yaoyao looked at her master still fishing and couldn't help but glance at the fishing rod.
Tonight, I'll hide your little fishing rod, and you'll have to cultivate properly!
Ye Kong had no idea what Lin Yaoyao was thinking and continued fishing.
A day passed, and his Qi Condensation level increased by one...
At night,
Lin Yaoyao snuck out while her master slept.
She approached the Bitter Sea and looked at the small fishing rod her master used for fishing.
"Master, I'll keep your little fishing rod for you for a while. From now on, you should cultivate diligently."
Lin Yaoyao took the fishing rod and quietly left.
She dug a hole and buried it.
Without the fishing rod, Master should cultivate properly, right?
No fishing rod means no fishing, which means nothing to do, leading to proper cultivation.
Lin Yaoyao thought, covered her tracks, and left quietly.
She had buried the fishing rod right next to an ant nest.
The next day.
Ye Kong walked out of Xiaoyao Pavilion, greeted the sun, stretched, and leisurely walked to the shore of the Bitter Sea.
As he sat down to reach for his fishing rod, he found nothing.
Looking down, the ground was empty; the fishing rod was gone.
"Who took my little fishing rod?"
Ye Kong frowned and unleashed his spiritual energy to cover the entire Xiaoyao Peak.
Nothing escaped Ye Kong's divine sense within the range of his spiritual energy.
After a thorough search, he found the fishing rod.
It was buried in a hole next to the nest of little black ants.
"Little Black, are you itching for a beating?"
"Daring to steal my little fishing rod!"
Ye Kong reached out and grabbed the fishing rod, which emerged from the soil and flew into his hand.
Inside the ant nest, Little Black, who was cuddling with the queen ant, suddenly felt a suction force and was pulled out.
Little Black opened its eyes, sensing the source of the suction and not daring to resist, obediently flew out.
Ye Kong grabbed Little Black, who was now the size of a fingernail with antennae on its head.
"Little Black, stealing my fishing rod, are you itching for a beating?" Ye Kong held Little Black tightly, annoyed.
Little Black: ?
It had no idea what Ye Kong was talking about; it had been evolving in its ant nest for days.
"Stealing my fishing rod and not admitting it? No, you deserve a punishment."
Ye Kong thought for a moment and placed Little Black on the fishing hook, using it as bait for a while.
The carp dragon in the pond soared into the air, terrifying Little Black, who trembled in fear of being eaten.
After dangling Little Black for a while, Ye Kong lifted it up.
"Go, don't steal my fishing rod again, or you won't just be bait."
Little Black landed on the ground, bowed to Ye Kong, and flew away.
Although unsure of what had happened, it seemed everything was fine now.
Just as Little Black flew back to its nest, Lin Yaoyao emerged.
Seeing her master fishing again and the ant nest where she had hidden the fishing rod, she cursed the ants.
Those pesky ants! I worked so hard to hide Master's fishing rod, and you dug it up again!
Lin Yaoyao cursed silently, blaming the ants for ruining her efforts.
She had intended to teach her master to cultivate.
But her master had retrieved his fishing rod and was back to fishing by the Bitter Sea.
All her preparations were in vain.
Damn ants! Ruining my chance to properly hide Master's fishing rod.
Lin Yaoyao kicked the ant nest.
"Disciple." Ye Kong called out, noticing his disciple's anger towards the ant nest.
Lin Yaoyao quickly regained her composure and casually said, "Greetings, Master! Farewell, Master!"
With that, she turned around and left.
"Did my disciple accidentally take the wrong medicine today?" Ye Kong was utterly perplexed.
Or could it be... those special seven days of the month have arrived?
But the question is, do women in this world even have those?
With her temper flaring like that, she even kicked over an ant nest. There must be something going on.
Is my disciple experiencing menstruation? Should I cook her some brown sugar water?
Ye Kong pondered.
Meanwhile, Little Black inside the ant nest was utterly confused.
Who did I offend? Why would someone kick down my doorstep?