Conquering That Great Demon Lord [Xian Ni Fan Fiction] - Chapter 4: Primordial Yin

Chapter 4: Primordial Yin

Li Muwan stroked the Spirit Beast’s fur as Wang Lin watched for a moment before preparing to leave.

“Senior Brother, are you going out?” Li Muwan approached while holding the Spirit Beast.

Wang Lin unusually turned back to meet her gaze.

Having been frightened by his piercing eyes before, Li Muwan instinctively avoided his stare and lowered her head. “I noticed dew forming outside the cave residence this morning, so I took the liberty of collecting some. Dew condenses the essence of heaven and earth. If it might be useful to you, please accept it.”

When Wang Lin remained silent, she added, “The Spirit Beast also needs dew water to accelerate its recovery from injuries. Moreover, tea brewed with dew tastes particularly fresh and sweet.”

“Senior Brother, I have no ulterior motives.”

Wang Lin’s gaze fell upon the table behind her where tea simmered in a pot. In his peripheral vision, he noticed the coral decorations and Spirit herbs she had arranged throughout the cave residence. She certainly had the leisure and refinement to enjoy life.

Li Muwan watched his movements from the corner of her eye.

Only now did she notice Wang Lin was wearing the gray robe she had made for him. “Senior Brother, you’re wearing the clothes I made for you. Do they fit well?”

She could already tell the fit was perfect with just one glance, but she wanted to hear him acknowledge it himself.

Wang Lin had no intention of continuing the clothing discussion. He took the dew water and left without another word.

Li Muwan watched his retreating figure, a triumphant gleam sparkling in the corners of her eyes. Her peach-blossom eyes, slightly upturned, held an especially captivating charm.

Unaware of her own expression, she often approached the glacier-like man with such eyes and an innocent, harmless smile. But the icy fortress remained solid, unlikely to thaw in the short term.

[Li Muwan: The Fiend doesn’t like to talk, but he accepted my dew water and is wearing the clothes I made. Soul Pearl, has his favorability changed?]

[Soul Pearl: Detecting Fiend’s favorability change: 5%]

[Li Muwan: Finally, it’s no longer zero! For now, the Fiend’s wariness toward me is gradually decreasing. As long as I do more for him, he’ll accept me. Then conquering him is just a matter of time!]

Li Muwan’s confidence surged, though the Soul Pearl seemed to have unspoken reservations. She petted the Spirit Beast several times as the little rabbit burrowed into her embrace seeking treats. Li Muwan retrieved some fresh fruits she had picked that morning from her Storage Bag and fed them to the creature.

She then studied Blood Moon and murmured, “Why aren’t you afraid of the Fiend? In the future, keep your distance when you see him. His moods are unpredictable, and I can’t guarantee when I might upset him again. If you value your life, you’d better stay close to me and not wander off.”

Blood Moon seemed to half-understand, nuzzling against her a couple of times.

Wang Lin returned to the cave residence after three days away.

Recently, every time he emerged from the Stone Chamber, Li Muwan had noticed his brow furrowed tightly.

Was he leaving because he had reached a bottleneck in his cultivation?

Or was it because the Death Curse Technique he practiced required him to periodically go out for Yin Gathering to aid his cultivation?

The thought sent a chill down Li Muwan’s spine, making her shiver involuntarily. She quickly suppressed any further speculation.

The Spirit Beast lay curled on the table where incense burned. Li Muwan used the incense to track time while refining pills, ensuring the Elixirs’ success rate.

Several bottles of freshly refined Elixirs and some fresh fruits sat on the table. She had set aside a portion for the Spirit Beast, saving the remainder for Wang Lin.

Noise from outside the cave residence disturbed the drowsy Blood Moon, who scurried out to investigate. Wang Lin had already entered. Although he had injured the creature last time, he had also transferred Spiritual Power to heal it. The Spirit Beast showed no fear, circling around Wang Lin excitedly.

The creature’s movements forced Wang Lin to slow his pace. Li Muwan rose to greet him, wearing her usual sincere smile. “Senior Brother, you’re back.”

Holding a teacup in both hands, she presented it: “Senior Brother, this is tea I just brewed.”

Wang Lin looked down at her but did not take it.

“Senior Brother, there’s nothing wrong with the tea.” Thinking he was wary of her, Li Muwan immediately took a sip herself before offering it again.

Wang Lin’s brow furrowed slightly. Realizing her mistake, Li Muwan’s cheeks flushed pink. “Let me get you a fresh cup.”

“No need.” Wang Lin cut her off.

Turning away, she caught sight of the lively spirit beast from the corner of her eye. With an apologetic expression, she picked it up.

After some internal deliberation, Li Muwan asked, “Senior Brother, about that Fifth-Grade Elixir Furnace I asked you to find earlier – have you located one?”

Wang Lin remained silent, his gaze fixed on the small creature in her arms. Li Muwan subtly shifted her position to conceal Blood Moon, fearing he might covet the spirit beast.

“Blood Moon is just an ordinary little creature, not even a low-grade spirit beast. It offers no help in cultivation advancement.” She deliberately explained this, afraid Wang Lin might want the spirit beast’s inner core to aid his cultivation.

“I’ll find one.” Ignoring her hidden concerns, Wang Lin headed toward his stone chamber.

“Senior Brother, wait!” Li Muwan hurriedly fetched some fresh fruit from the table. “These are spirit fruits I picked from the mountain rocks outside the cave residence. They quench thirst and can restore some consumed spiritual power. I saved them especially for you.”

Cultivators at the Foundation Establishment Stage no longer needed sustenance, consuming food merely for pleasure rather than nourishment. Worried Wang Lin might refuse, she specifically mentioned the fruits’ effects.

Wang Lin glanced casually at the fruits, then stared again at the spirit beast in her arms, his eyes seemingly contemplating a possibility.

“They’re not its fruits! These were specially reserved for you, Senior Brother.” Reading his expression, Li Muwan quickly explained, terrified the fiend might think she was giving him fruits meant for the spirit beast.

“Mm.” Wang Lin responded indifferently, accepting her goodwill before entering his stone chamber.

Since he had accepted the Dragonhide Armor last time, he hadn’t been as fierce, but Li Muwan remained constantly attentive to the fiend’s moods.

“Senior Brother took the fruits.” Stroking Blood Moon in her arms, Li Muwan returned to her alchemy station to prepare the next batch of elixirs.

But when she finished refining one furnace of pills, the spirit beast that had been nesting by her skirt hem had disappeared. Li Muwan called out several times in the outer chamber but received no response.

Usually, when it hid playing in the coral clusters, Blood Moon would emerge after being called twice.

She searched outside the cave residence too, but the cave was protected by a barrier formation – it couldn’t have escaped.

There was only one place left!

Li Muwan took out a Sound Transmission Jade Slip from her storage bag. “Senior Brother, my Blood Moon is missing. Have you seen it in your stone chamber?”

Wang Lin, who had been meditating with closed eyes, opened them and looked down at the dozing spirit beast beside his knees.

With a sweep of his sleeve, he opened the stone door to reveal Li Muwan standing outside, frantic with worry. She saw Wang Lin feeding Blood Moon with the fruits she had given him, while Blood Moon obediently nestled against his leg.

“Senior Brother.” Li Muwan spoke with concern. “I’m sorry for troubling you.”

Without Wang Lin’s permission, she didn’t dare enter, forced to watch this scene from outside the stone door. Wang Lin remained silent until Blood Moon finished eating the fruits.

After eating, Blood Moon leaned back against his leg, showing no intention of leaving. Li Muwan grew increasingly uneasy.

Wang Lin’s eyes held her anxiety yet pretended not to notice. Putting on an act, a strange sense of amusement arose in the fiend’s heart. An almost imperceptible smile escaped the corner of Wang Lin’s lips.

“Senior Brother, was that my spirit fruit you fed it?” Li Muwan probed cautiously.

Wang Lin closed his eyes, ignoring her.

Li Muwan pondered inwardly. Since the fiend neither spoke nor showed any reaction, she momentarily didn’t know how to respond, merely standing there stiffly.

“Senior Brother, I’m coming in.” Gathering her courage, Li Muwan took a step forward.

Seeing Wang Lin still showed no reaction, she advanced further. Having gained his tacit consent, her footsteps lightened slightly.

“I must have been too focused on refining elixirs and didn’t notice it sneaking in. I’ll discipline it properly from now on and not trouble you anymore, Senior Brother.” Li Muwan crouched down and picked up the spirit beast.

Wang Lin didn’t care what she did, as long as she could refine sufficient elixirs for him. The spirit beast often ran around outside with considerable commotion, yet Wang Lin never commented, tolerating whatever he could permit.

When his cultivation reached a bottleneck, he would occasionally use his divine sense to observe the outside situation, including Li Muwan. He noticed the little beast lying obediently on her skirt. Wang Lin shifted the stone chamber open a crack, allowing the fragrance of spirit fruit to drift out, luring the sleeping Blood Moon inside.

Indeed, unless the stone chamber had been opened, how could Blood Moon have slipped in? Though Li Muwan would never consider this possibility.

After retrieving Blood Moon, she continued puzzling over how it had entered. Resting her chin in one hand while using a grass blade to play with Blood Moon in the other, the sound transmission jade slip remained on the table before her.

Muttering under her breath, she scolded Blood Moon: “Don’t always run into his room. If you anger Senior Brother and he digs out your inner core, even I can’t protect you. I can’t even protect myself, living precariously from day to day. If not for my value in alchemy, I’d probably have been killed by his Death Curse Technique already.”

Wang Lin, seated cross-legged in meditation, found the jade slip floating before him as the complaints from outside the stone chamber reached his ears, causing his sword-like eyebrows to furrow deeper.

Xu Liguo trembled with fear, sweating for Li Muwan: “Yikes! You shouldn’t say such things, little girl. The ominous star has heard everything.”

“I’ve seen countless villains in the World of Cultivation, but someone this cold, unpredictable, and tight-lipped is a first for me.” She poked Blood Moon’s belly. “You better remember – don’t provoke what shouldn’t be provoked.”

“If he takes your inner core today,” Li Muwan’s muttering gradually filled with dread, “tomorrow he might come for my Primordial Yin…”

“Hmm…” She shook her head, quickly suppressing the terrifying thought. “That won’t do. Alchemy is one thing, but anything else – I’ll never compromise.”

“Primordial Yin?” Xu Liguo pondered. “Actually, master, since your cultivation progress has stalled, dual cultivation would be quite beneficial.”

“The girl isn’t bad-looking – fresh and delicate like blooming flowers, virtuous and considerate too. She gives you Dragon Marrow and even sews clothes for you – isn’t she the perfect little wife? Young Xu can see she’s quite fond of you, why not take her in?” Xu Liguo chattered on.

Outside, Li Muwan continued her monologue: “If not for the dangers throughout the Sea of Demonic Cultivation, I would never travel with this person.”

Hearing this, Xu Liguo tried to smooth things over: “Women often say the opposite of what they mean, master. You shouldn’t believe her.”

“When I saw him in the bamboo forest, his aura was peerless, elegant like jade trees in the wind. Never thought upon closer acquaintance he’d be so cold and withdrawn.” Li Muwan said. “Fortunately, I didn’t go with him to the valley market back then.”

Xu Liguo: “…You had your chance and didn’t take it. The ominous star master shouldn’t hear such things.”

“Blood Moon, when you’re out and about, you need to be more alert. Don’t let someone giving you a couple extra fruits make you drop your guard.”

“Right now he’s in a good mood, giving you some nice fruits,” Li Muwan made a frightening expression, leaning closer to Blood Moon. “But if his cultivation hits a bottleneck and he takes his anger out on you, he might treat you as the fruit.”

“…”

Blood Moon chirped twice, as if responding that she understood.

“It’s alright, Master. She was complimenting you. Personality differences can be smoothed over. You just need to appear gentle…”

Wang Lin, who had been meditating with closed eyes, grew impatient. He put away the Sound Transmission Jade Slip and scolded Xu Liguo: “Too noisy.”

[Soul Pearl: Fiend’s favorability decreased by 0.]

Li Muwan snapped back to attention, and Blood Moon scampered away.

[Li Muwan: Huh? Why did it drop?]

[Soul Pearl: …Could you please deactivate the Sound Transmission Jade Slip’s magic when you’re talking behind the Fiend’s back?]

Li Muwan’s gaze shifted to the jade slip on the table, and she suddenly realized her mistake with regret.

[Li Muwan: Oh no, oh no… Will the Fiend hold a grudge against me because of this…]

Li Muwan stared toward the Stone Chamber. There had been no movement from inside for a long time. Normally, since the jade slip’s transmission magic hadn’t been deactivated, the Fiend must have heard everything.

Was he letting it slide? Or was he planning how to take her Primordial Yin?