Here come another extra long chapter ~
Once again Kofi thanks to Choco!
(5/5)!!
Chu Jiao hadn’t been living comfortably lately.
After Dai Zisheng, the young master of Huanjian Sect, was sent to the Lower Realm and miraculously survived, he returned with the sect leader to clean up the group of people who had secretly plotted against him, effectively quelling the internal chaos. Chu Jiao had been involved in those schemes but had narrowly escaped being implicated due to a lack of evidence.
He thought he could finally rest easy, but to his surprise, Dai Zisheng began showing disdain for members of the Chu family. After some investigation, Chu Jiao learned that Dai Zisheng had two lifesaving benefactors in the Lower Realm—one of whom was none other than Chu Jinglan.
When the Chu family expelled Chu Jinglan, Dai Zisheng retaliated by cutting off many of the resources that the three Chu family members in Huanjian Sect were supposed to receive.
The Chu family was furious—especially at Chu Jinglan. Why didn’t he mention earlier that he was the young master’s lifesaving benefactor!?
If they had known, they would never have driven him out. To prevent Chu Jinglan from badmouthing them in front of Huanjian Sect, they would have placed restrictions on him—or simply made him dumb or insane. Even if Huanjian Sect brought him to the Middle Realm, it wouldn’t have created any disadvantage for the Chu family. A mentally impaired Chu Jinglan would still count as a member of the Chu family, and his lifesaving favor toward Dai Zisheng could still be credited to them.
In the cultivation world, when someone hasn’t yet matured, they face endless obstacles—even if they’re a genius.
While some people cherish geniuses as treasures, others dedicate themselves to smothering them in their cradles. With Chu Jinglan’s once-stunning talent that amazed all three realms, even a sect like Huanjian Sect couldn’t fully protect him.
Chu Jinglan had faced numerous assassination attempts in the Lower Realm. Other families in the Lower Realm worked for Middle Realm sects but refrained from reporting news about Chu Jinglan’s talent to avoid giving the Chu family an advantage that might later suppress them. Thanks to this secrecy, Huanjian Sect successfully kept news about Chu Jinglan contained within the Lower Realm.
Otherwise, if Middle Realm sects and Upper Realm factions learned about him, competition for recruiting him would ensue. The Middle Realm couldn’t compete with the Upper Realm, and smaller sects couldn’t compete with larger ones. While there was a chance he might be successfully escorted to the Upper Realm, there was also a significant risk he could die along the way.
After all, no matter how talented he was, he was only at Golden Core stage. There were countless people across the three realms capable of killing him.
As for why other noble families in the Lower Realm didn’t simply leak information about him to stir chaos and throw him into a storm of bloodshed—it was because they feared he might actually win.
Chu Jinglan’s situation was a result of many forces playing against each other.
Had he been born into one of the prestigious sects or noble families in the Upper Realm and been protected from an early age—shielded from all harm—he wouldn’t have needed to traverse the long road from the Lower Realm to the Upper Realm. His growth would have been entirely different.
Now that Chu Jinglan was crippled and presumed dead or alive somewhere unknown, Chu Jiao’s life had become difficult because of this “useless” man—a thought that filled him with endless frustration.
Dai Zisheng was clearly targeting anyone with the surname “Chu.” Since his return, he’d caused trouble for them more than once or twice. Now even simple errands required calling out Chu Jiao by name—a constant source of resentment for him.
With so many flying swords and flying boats heading up toward Lin’an Academy’s mountain gates, descending against this flow wasn’t convenient for sword flight. Walking down on foot was easier; they could fly back up later when returning.
The most annoying part? This errand required two round trips!
As Chu Jiao made his second trip down the mountain, his face was dark and stormy. The two disciples accompanying him initially didn’t mind running errands, but seeing his low-pressure mood, they kindly tried to cheer him up: “The sect trusts us to handle these matters—that’s why they gave us this task. It’s no big deal. Besides, it’s not troublesome. Walking a bit more is a chance to enjoy Lin’an’s scenery.”
Chu Jiao’s expression softened slightly, and he snorted: “You’re awfully optimistic—what the—!”
The path down the mountain was crowded with barriers overlapping barriers, forcing people to zigzag through narrow gaps instead of walking straight. As they passed by one protective barrier, someone inside suddenly stood up and bumped into Chu Jiao.
Chu Jiao, already in a foul mood, snapped: “Don’t you have eyes?!”
The person who bumped into him wore a silver mask and had such weak cultivation that it was almost negligible—barely at the Qi Refining stage. After colliding with Chu Jiao, they quickly lowered their head and mumbled: “I’m sorry…”
Their voice was muffled and barely audible.
To be honest, if a Golden Core cultivator allowed someone at Qi Refining stage to bump into them, it was entirely their own fault for losing focus and neglecting basic vigilance. But of course, Chu Jiao would never admit it was his mistake.
Although he wanted to teach the person a lesson, acting out in front of a protective barrier could be mistaken by Lin’an Academy disciples as trying to steal territory—something that would cause unnecessary trouble. The other two Huanjian Sect disciples were also worried he might escalate the situation and quickly pushed him away: “Hey, hey—it wasn’t intentional. Let it go!”
Reluctantly, Chu Jiao let himself be ushered away.
After they left, the “accidental” offender—Chu Jinglan—finally raised his head. Beneath the mask, his eyes held no trace of apology or fear.
At that moment, Xiao Mo was controlling Chu Jinglan’s body.
Although the area was crowded with people, most of them had low cultivation levels. Earlier, Xiao Mo had stepped out of their protective barrier under the pretense of taking a walk. Slowly activating his aura-concealing technique as he moved through the crowd, he gradually made himself invisible to those around him before slipping into a secluded corner and returning to Chu Jinglan’s body.
During that collision just now, Xiao Mo had released a wisp of black mist that clung to Chu Jiao and silently merged into him.
Xiao Mo could absorb living beings’ desires to gain power. However, with the newly learned technique, he could reverse this process—converting power into deep desires to disrupt people’s minds.
Unlike directly turning someone into a puppet, those affected by this manipulation wouldn’t feel controlled at all. They would believe every action stemmed from their own free will—completely unaware that their thoughts had been subtly influenced.
As for how those desires were stirred—that depended on the caster’s choices.
Xiao Mo guided the black mist as it slipped effortlessly into Chu Jiao’s sea of consciousness. Speaking to Chu Jinglan through their shared awareness, he said: “I see jealousy, resentment, accumulated frustration… He doesn’t have strong mental fortitude—this will be easy.”
Chu Jiao was nearing one hundred years old and at mid-Golden Core stage. However, his divine sense strength was far inferior to Xiao Mo’s, making the infiltration smooth and effortless.
Xiao Mo targeted several malicious thoughts within Chu Jiao’s mind and buried the black mist deep inside them. The mist lay dormant for now but slowly began corroding its surroundings bit by bit.
As Chu Jiao continued walking downhill, he frowned slightly—the scene of being bumped replayed in his mind.
He had originally decided not to dwell on it but suddenly found himself growing inexplicably angrier the more he thought about it. A surge of impulse rose within him—a desire to turn back and beat up the offender.
Targeted within the sect by Dai Zisheng… And now even outside the sect? Some insignificant rogue cultivator from who-knows-where dares make me feel humiliated?
Meanwhile, his two companions kept smiling kindly as they tried to calm him down.
Can’t hit this one; can’t hit that one… Ugh! So annoying!
Unable to hold back his irritation any longer, Chu Jiao snapped: “Stop smiling! Finish this errand quickly so we can go back!”
The two disciples were stunned by Chu Jiao’s outburst. They exchanged glances, their own moods souring as well. However, neither of them was particularly fond of stirring up trouble, so they kept their expressions cold and replied, “Fine, let’s just finish the task.”
Finish quickly and split up—who wants to stick around with you anyway?
Xiao Mo’s method was akin to planting a simplified version of an Inner Demon in Chu Jiao’s mind, one that was set to explode soon. After completing his work, Xiao Mo reappeared in a secluded corner where no one could see him. Pretending he had just finished a leisurely stroll along the mountain path, he returned to the protective barrier belonging to their group of five.
Nearby, two rogue cultivators were munching on dry rations. They had chatted with Xiao Mo a few times before and were now somewhat familiar with him. They greeted him: “Back from your walk?”
Xiao Mo smiled warmly: “Mm.”
He walked over to Chu Jinglan and transmitted his voice: “Within two days, Chu Jiao’s malicious thoughts will fully erupt.”
Back then, the Chu family had driven Wan Yu insane. Now, using their own methods against them, Xiao Mo intended to turn Chu Jiao into a madman in everyone else’s eyes. Malicious thoughts inevitably lead to malicious actions. Once Chu Jiao lost control and committed something irreparable, surrounded by righteous cultivators and Huanjian Sect disciples here at Lin’an Academy, anyone could become the knife that ended him.
It would be his own undoing—who would suspect Xiao Mo or Chu Jinglan?
Xiao Mo lightly tapped his flute against his palm. This had been his first attempt at embedding desires into someone else’s sea of consciousness. Some things could only be refined through practice, and Xiao Mo immediately identified areas for improvement.
“I realized it’s still not perfect,” Xiao Mo continued via voice transmission. “After all, I can’t guarantee what he’ll do in the end. If the chaos he creates isn’t big enough and Huanjian Sect decides to take him back for internal punishment instead of killing him on the spot…”
Xiao Mo frowned slightly as he recalled the sensation of manipulating malicious thoughts with black mist in Chu Jiao’s sea of consciousness. He mused: “I should’ve prioritized them—deciding which malicious thought should surface first and which should follow. Then I could’ve listened to his inner voice to understand what matters most to him right now.”
“In this way, I could even craft a script for Chu Jiao—implanting it into his sea of consciousness through his desires and ensuring he walks straight off the cliff I set for him. If I tell him to jump eastward, he won’t jump westward.”
He spoke in an academic tone of thoughtful contemplation while describing something utterly chilling.
And yet, somehow, his listener didn’t find it frightening.
Chu Jinglan focused on the key point: “Inner voice—you can hear other people’s inner thoughts now?”
Xiao Mo snapped out of his scholarly musings: “Barely—but I’m still not skilled at it. I can’t hear much.”
It was unclear whether Chu Jinglan had begun wondering if his own inner thoughts might be stolen by the Inner Demon. Logically speaking, an Inner Demon naturally knows its host’s thoughts. However, for a long time now, Xiao Mo had demonstrated a clear separation from Chu Jinglan’s emotions. Several times when Chu Jinglan had tested him, he found that Xiao Mo couldn’t discern what he was silently thinking in his heart.
But now, Xiao Mo said he could hear inner voices.
Xiao Mo glanced at Chu Jinglan’s deep gaze and couldn’t help but say: “I’ve never eavesdropped on your inner thoughts.”
The first time he lost control didn’t count—back then, Chu Jinglan’s overwhelming flood of inner voices had startled Xiao Mo, forcing him to cut them off immediately.
A faint hint of complexity flashed in Chu Jinglan’s eyes: “Don’t you think saying that makes it sound even more like you’re using mind-reading on me right now?”
“Even if I didn’t say it, you’d still be suspicious,” Xiao Mo replied casually, lifting his eyelids slightly. “So I might as well say it—it makes me feel better.”
Crossing his arms, Xiao Mo snorted lightly: “Besides, most of the time, I can tell what you’re thinking just by looking at your eyes.”
Chu Jinglan swept a light glance at Xiao Mo and silently recited a sword technique in his mind. Then, in the middle of the sword technique, he suddenly inserted a thought: There’s a dirty, ugly bug on the hem of your clothes.
Xiao Mo’s expression didn’t change in the slightest—he didn’t even instinctively lower his head to look. His peripheral vision remained completely still.
Chu Jinglan added another thought: Your clothes don’t look good today.
Still no reaction from Xiao Mo—no sign of irritation or any desire to argue.
Chu Jinglan confirmed: Hmm, maybe he can hear inner voices sometimes, but definitely not all the time.
In reality, there was no bug on Xiao Mo’s hem, and his clothes looked perfectly fine.
Today, Xiao Mo was dressed in a goose-yellow robe with a flowing sash. His hair was tied into a simple and neat high ponytail. A black leather belt cinched his waist, and he wore long boots. His figure was as graceful as a willow tree—handsome and elegant like a jade tree in the wind. Even with a mask covering his brows and eyes, it couldn’t hide his youthful vigor and charm.
1 Kofi = 1 Extra Chapter
thanks for the chapter!
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