The Cult Master's Dignity

Today was an important day. Not only was it the twenty-fourth day since Ji Liuli's return to Qingming, it was also the day the ritual of thrice offering and thrice declining had run its course, leaving Wei Yuan with no choice but to assume the mantle of evil cult master. Over the past ten days, Ji Liuli had settled into a routine: half the day in dreamscapes, and half the day in the Smoke and Fire of the Mortal World, keeping her physical body largely motionless. She was now stably handling ninety-six concurrent tasks and striving to run a full one hundred and twenty-eight. This too was cultivation, making the final preparations for her dharma idol. When Wei Yuan arrived in the Nether Cold Realm this time, Dream Eater rushed over with a grave expression and said, "Something's happened!" Here it came again... Wei Yuan remained unimpressed. This was Dream Eater's usual trick—habitually blowing trifles out of proportion to get Wei Yuan worked up and rushing into the dreamscape to act out the evil cult adventure script. At the moment, Dream Eater was pale and visibly uneasy. The sense of anxiety was unusually convincing, almost leading Wei Yuan to believe it. Even if the dream belonged to Ji Liuli, it was constructed within Dream Eater's divine ability; what did it have to fear? Wei Yuan knew deep down this was just Dream Eater's tactic to draw him into the fray. As it happened, nearly a month had passed, yet Eldest Senior Sister's Dao heart tribulation showed no progress—the critical issue being that Wei Yuan didn't even know what the tribulation was. There was indeed a need, just as Dream Eater had argued, to plunge Ji Liuli into an environment of pain, despair, helplessness, and humiliation to see what extreme reaction she would have. Only then would her mental defenses crumble most readily, laying bare the real root of the problem. Once the problem was identified, targeted countermeasures could be deployed. "Her situation is a bit off. She dreamt of some strange things. I think... you need to go in and take a look." Wei Yuan was all the more impressed by Dream Eater's acting skills; it had even picked up a stutter. Keeping his composure, he asked, "What's the program for today?" Dream Eater said quickly, "The scene is already set. You head in first, and I'll show you the anomalies in her dream. Afterward, you can take up your role as the evil cult master." "Fine. Can the cult master's appearance be altered?" Wei Yuan asked. "Appearance, build, voice, accent—all changed. I guarantee no one will recognize you. And I've already scripted everything to be done. You don't have to intervene; just watch." Wei Yuan was well pleased. This was his special requirement, just in case something unpleasant happened in the dreamscape and Eldest Senior Sister discovered the evil cult master was him—at least he would have room to make excuses. Wei Yuan had even thought out his excuse: *I was just watching from outside; I never went in.* Lately, Ji Liuli's dreams had grown increasingly rich, gradually giving rise to unusual scenes. Some were exceedingly bizarre, baffling both Dream Eater and Wei Yuan. Yet one thing was clear: regardless of her apparent age in the dreamscape, Ji Liuli's vigilance grew ever heavier, sometimes even bordering on jumping at shadows. This meant the heart tribulation lurking in the dark was drawing closer, and Ji Liuli was instinctively beginning to protect herself. Wei Yuan settled himself onto the couch in the side hall and said, "I'm ready." The next moment, the scene before Wei Yuan transformed. It was a pitch-black night, with torrential rain pouring down around him so heavily one could barely keep one's eyes open. Wei Yuan looked around and found himself in a desolate wilderness among wild mountains, entirely devoid of human presence. Beside him were a few bare trees clawing the air with gnarled, withered branches. Beneath his feet lay an overgrown clearing of weeds, with no road and no trace of other living creatures. Ahead, the faint silhouette of a hill loomed, crowned by what seemed to be a patch of woods. Veiled in a misty sheet of rain, the high ground was difficult for Wei Yuan to see clearly, which took him by surprise. Dream Eater's dream world was quite extraordinary, in some ways resembling a mindscape world, allowing the use of most primordial spirit abilities. Wei Yuan's divine sense was exceptionally formidable; in the past, during the Paper Bride game, he had relied on it to see right through Dream Eater's setups in a single stroke. Even Dream Eater couldn't suppress Wei Yuan's divine sense, yet now, in this pitch-black, rainy night, his divine sense was suppressed until it was hardly different from that of an ordinary cultivator. In the gloom ahead, not far in front of him, Wei Yuan faintly discerned a young girl standing. It was likely Ji Liuli. Just then, Wei Yuan suddenly spotted an old residence ahead! At its gate hung two large red lanterns, swaying madly in the violent wind and rain, yet the candlelight within refused to go out. The two patches of brilliant red light drifted before the entrance, casting flickering shadows across the doorway. The main doors were slightly ajar, but peering through the crack revealed nothing of the courtyard inside. A feeling rose in Wei Yuan's heart: only by stepping through that gate could one discover what lay within. The girl ahead trembled continually. She took a step forward, paused for a moment, and took another step forward. Wei Yuan promptly realized something was wrong. The girl was fighting it with all her might, yet something behind seemed to be pushing her, step by step, toward the courtyard gate. Under the scarlet lantern light, the gates of the ancient estate showed the mottled traces of time—peeling red lacquer, rusted handles, and stone steps overgrown with moss. It was impossible to say how long it had been since anyone walked there. Looking at the door, Wei Yuan felt the impulse inside him grow increasingly intense, and he subconsciously took a step toward it. Suddenly! A deathly pale hand grabbed Wei Yuan. Wei Yuan turned his head and saw that Dream Eater had manifested its form, clinging tightly to his arm. "You can't go over there!" it said urgently. This time, the mental transmission didn't come from the puppet, but directly from its true body hidden in the darkness. "Is something wrong?" Wei Yuan asked. "I don't know either! This is the first time I've ever seen that residence. In any case, you must not go in!" Just as Wei Yuan was about to press further, the girl ahead suddenly let out a piercing scream. Spiritual power erupted like a storm, instantly tearing the scene apart and causing it to vanish. In the darkness, only Dream Eater's puppet emitted a faint glow. Looking rather weak, it said, "I need to rest. Everything following has already been arranged... Go... see... for yourself..." Dream Eater's words slowed, its tone turning warped and ethereal, before it vanished altogether, leaving Wei Yuan no chance to ask questions. Then, the scene shifted. "Let go of me! Who are you people? Why are you kidnapping me..." A young girl struggled desperately, but she was firmly bound by an Immortal-Binding Rope, entirely unable to use her Dao power. Two mighty warriors, robed entirely in black and towering half a body taller than ordinary men, carried her along a gloomy corridor toward the depths of a grand hall. In their hands, the girl was like a chick, able only to thrash about in helpless squirming. One of the mighty warriors sneered, "Did you think you could escape after stealing our cult's supreme treasure? The Cult Master will interrogate you personally in a moment. You'd better cooperate obediently and confess where you hid the treasure if you want a quick death. Otherwise, the name of our Bone-Corroding Demonic Cult wasn't earned in vain!" Finding the girl too noisy, the other mighty warrior pulled out a rag and gagged her mouth. The two mighty warriors then carried her before a secluded side hall. From within the hall came a sinister, effeminate voice brimming with ghostly malice: "Enter." Entering the hall without daring to lift their heads, the two mighty warriors said, "Fortunately, we have not failed our mission and have captured the thief. However, she refuses to utter a word about where the treasure is hidden, so we must ask the Cult Master to decide." The throne was perched high above, where a silhouette in the shadows looked down upon the three kneeling figures below. "You have done well. Withdraw." The atmosphere in the hall suddenly turned somewhat bizarre. Faint, knowing smirks appeared on the two mighty warriors' faces as they backed out of the side hall and carefully shut the doors behind them. The instant the doors closed, a wave of magic power enveloped the entire hall, sealing away even the slightest sound. Then the Cult Master on the raised dais stepped down before the young girl, lifted her chin, examined her closely, and let out an owl-like screech of laughter: "I know you must be itching to tell me where the treasure is hidden, but don't be in such a hurry. The night is long, and dawn is still far away. Since you've entered my Hall of a Hundred Flavors, wouldn't it be a wasted trip if you didn't sample all one hundred of the mortal realm's bitterest agonies?" The Cult Master lifted the girl, walked to the nearest torture rack, hung her upon it, and removed the rag from her mouth. "I really don't know where your treasure is! I've never even heard of it! Nor do I know anything about some Bone-Corroding Demonic Cult! I warn you, I am from the Tai..." The Cult Master covered her mouth and whispered softly, "...Don't rush. I must fetch a few tools first. During this time, take a good look around, and speak after you've thought it through." Then the Cult Master retreated into the shadows to secretly observe the girl. Wei Yuan cursed inwardly. As expected of an otherworldly demon who only interacted with Shamans, Dream Eater's mortal storybook was absolute garbage. If it ever read the stories he had written for Patriarch Yuanjin, wouldn't it prostrate itself in reverence on the spot? Yet things having come to this, Wei Yuan could only watch quietly, not daring to speak or move out of turn. He had even laid hands on her just now; if Eldest Senior Sister saw through the disguise, disaster would follow. Hiding in the shadows to peek certainly wasn't to ogle Eldest Senior Sister's figure... According to Dream Eater, giving Eldest Senior Sister some time alone would prompt her to scheme an escape, making her mind active and thus easily coaxing out the heart tribulation. The tactic did make sense; Dream Eater was indeed a seasoned hand at manipulating dreams, possessing no shortage of petty tricks. Sure enough, Ji Liuli began glancing around while struggling violently. Seeing that she couldn't break free of the bindings, she suddenly twisted her body in a bizarre manner, and a snow-white figure wriggled right out of the clothes! The original Ji Liuli remained bound to the rack, still thrashing, yet her eyes had turned hollow. The girl who had slipped free wore only undergarments—astonishingly, another Ji Liuli. As if shedding a layer of clothes, she slipped free of her bonds just like that. She immediately dashed toward the hall doors, preparing to make her escape. Wei Yuan's avatar, the Cult Master, didn't move, merely sneering in the dark, waiting for her to trigger the trap on the doors herself. When the trap sprang, the sensation would be... The Cult Master chuckled incessantly inside, laughing so hard that Wei Yuan rolled his eyes. Just as Ji Liuli drew close to the doors, she suddenly stopped, eyeing them warily rather than rashly pushing them open. The Cult Master's inner laughter came to an abrupt halt. Just as Ji Liuli was preparing to change direction, a clamor of voices arose outside, and the grand hall trembled faintly. Before the Cult Master could figure out what was happening, a tremendous boom rang out, and the hall doors were blasted to pieces in one blow. Splinters and debris sliced through the air like knives, instantly wrecking the Cult Master's painstaking decorations in the hall. Two figures dressed as Daoist page boys walked in through the shattered doorway, their eyes fixing on Ji Liuli immediately. Ji Liuli was usually fearless in the face of heaven and earth, yet now she looked as if she had come face to face with a natural predator. Ash-faced, she retreated step by step. The boy on the left sneered, "Vile beast, did you think we couldn't catch you just because you fled to the mortal world after stealing the treasure?" The boy on the right said, "Hiding in the dreamscape of this ruined world and thinking you were completely safe? Look at how you're dressed—where is your decency!" The left boy said coldly, "Form arises from the mind; this isn't the primary realm anyway. Dressing like this is merely what she harbors in her thoughts." "Very well, let us indulge her then. If people are to look, let them see everything. We might as well strip away her last shred of modesty before hauling her back to the immortal sect like this." With chilling expressions, the two boys drew their magical treasures and prepared to strike. By now, Wei Yuan noticed something was amiss. Both boys carried the primal chaos qi of the celestial heavens—they didn't belong to the Nether Cold Realm at all. Despair flashed across Ji Liuli's face. Right at that moment, a short, bloated figure emerged from the darkness, declaring in a deep, majestic voice: "Insolence! Do you dare show such contempt for this Cult Master?!"