Drip.

Drip.

Water dripped onto the ground, quickly turning into a mist of ice, lazily drifting upwards.

This place, a cold pool deep within a cave, was shrouded in ice mist year-round. The temperature here was extremely low, but it was also an ideal place for the disciples of the Medical Hall to cultivate.

A person was soaking in the cold pool.

That person was wearing a thin layer of inner clothing, but it was completely soaked by the icy water, clinging tightly to their deathly pale skin. Only their long black hair, falling down, retained any color.

Thick iron chains, as wide as a baby’s wrist, wrapped around the person’s limbs, extending toward the pitch-black walls on all sides. The person’s head was hanging low, motionless, leaving it unclear whether they were alive or dead.

But upon closer inspection, one could notice that the person’s body was trembling slightly.

“Be careful. Don’t let him die.” Someone spoke, their voice echoing through the cave.

“Ha, look at you! It’s not that easy for someone to die here.” Another person responded dismissively. He walked to the edge of the cold pool, flicking a long whip in his hand. With a snap, the whip coiled around the person’s neck.

The person’s body jerked violently, forced to lean forward.

However, the iron chains suddenly went taut, pulling him back. The opposing forces from the chains and the whip left the person suspended in a tense equilibrium.

“Ugh…” A muffled groan of pain slipped through the person’s teeth. It was as if they had finally returned to life, slowly raising their head to reveal a pale, youthful face.

It was Hulü Yan.

Two years ago, Hulü Yan had only been twelve.

“See? Still alive.” Weisheng, the man with the whip, grinned smugly at his companion. “The Medical Hall doesn’t let the people we need die so easily. That would be letting him off too lightly.”

His companion remained silent, his expression heavy as he stared at Hulü Yan.

Weisheng continued, “Yan Feng, Yan Feng, you’re the real genius here. Our Medical Hall searched for decades and couldn’t find a suitable candidate. But you, you found him as soon as you arrived.”

Weisheng laughed heartily, retracting his whip and patting Yan Feng on the back.

The force of the pat caused Yan Feng to stumble forward a couple of steps, bringing him face-to-face with Hulü Yan’s gaze.

Those beautiful phoenix-shaped eyes were filled with crimson bloodshot veins. His dark pupils, once lifeless, began to boil with a tumult of emotions as soon as they landed on Yan Feng.

Pain, hatred, disappointment…

All these emotions intertwined.

In the end, they formed a massive net that spread from his eyes, enveloping Hulü Yan’s entire face.

“Yan Feng…” Hulü Yan’s voice was hoarse, every word sounding as if it had been soaked in blood. “You lied to me…”

A flicker of guilt crossed Yan Feng’s face, but he quickly regained his composure, his gaze calm as he looked at Hulü Yan. “I’m sorry, Yan.”

Hulü Yan stared at him, unwavering.

“Over ten years ago, my family took in you and your widowed mother. If not for my mother risking everything to deceive the ones hunting you, you both would have been killed by their blades. Now that your mother is dead, it’s only fitting that you repay our family’s kindness.”

Yan Feng crouched down, meeting Hulü Yan’s gaze at eye level in the cold pool.

The entire cave was illuminated by a luminous pearl, its cool light casting a chilling glow on Yan Feng’s increasingly sinister expression.

Yan Feng spoke softly, “Yan, do you know how your mother died?”

Hearing this, Hulü Yan’s entire body trembled. From some unknown source, he suddenly found the strength to start struggling violently.

The sound of the chains clinking was unbearably harsh.

Weisheng frowned, whipping Hulü Yan again. The soaked white clothes instantly bloomed with vibrant red.

Hulü Yan gasped sharply.

But he did not stop struggling. In fact, he became even more frantic, trying desperately to break free from the chains and lunge at Yan Feng.

However, all his efforts were in vain.

Weisheng’s whip landed on Hulü Yan again and again, the blood spreading in the icy water, staining the small area around him a glaring red.

Hulü Yan had become a bloodied figure, twitching in pain. He collapsed back into the icy water, yet his gaze, filled with hatred, never left Yan Feng.

“Yan Feng, you lied to me…” Scalding tears spilled from Hulü Yan’s eyes, blurring his vision.

At twelve years old, he was still too naive.

After wandering for four years, enduring all the hardships of life, Hulü Yan had returned in secret because he missed his mother. But what greeted him was his mother’s corpse, hanging high from a building.

Despite all the people he had encountered, he had still chosen to trust this former friend, fleeing with Yan Feng.

And in the end, he was betrayed.

Tears streamed endlessly down his cheeks, falling from his pale face.

In his increasingly blurry vision, Yan Feng’s face became harder to see clearly.

But Yan Feng’s voice was crystal clear as it reached his ears, “Yan, your mother died so horribly. There’s no point in you living anymore. Why don’t you join her in death?”

Yan Feng paused, then smiled, “Yan, go and die.”

Yan, go and die.

Go and die, go and die, go and die…

In the darkness, it was as if countless mouths surrounded him. They opened and closed, all repeating the same words—go and die.

But what could he do?

He didn’t want to die. He wanted to live.

Even if no one cared, even if he had to live as lowly as an ant, even if he had to scrape by pathetically, even if he had to pass by the gates of hell a thousand times, he still wanted to live.

Splurt.

Blood sprayed from his hands.

A shattered heart squeezed through his fingers.

At that moment, Hulü Yan’s empty heart was filled, and he suddenly felt an unprecedented satisfaction.

All the people standing in the way of his survival could just disappear.

No one was going to stop him.

Mi Lu felt like he had gone back to square one again.

At this moment, his heart was completely calm. He even wanted to close his eyes and rest for a bit.

Forget it.

As long as he could still cultivate, he could return to the peak of Qi Condensation.

What surprised him was Hulü Yan’s condition—he had crushed Qi Sha’s heart with his bare hands.

Qi Sha didn’t even have time to struggle before collapsing to the ground, his body twitching, as blood poured from the gaping hole in his chest.

For cultivators, the heart wasn’t as critical as it was for ordinary people. If treated quickly enough, they could survive.

So even though Qi Sha had become a bloodied figure, he was still alive.

Wu Du was stunned. It took him a long time to snap out of his shock, his eyes red as he roared, “Qi Sha!”

Qi Sha opened his mouth, and a fresh spurt of blood gushed out.

Wu Du made a move to drag Qi Sha away.

But in the next moment, a foot stepped down onto Qi Sha’s chest, turning the small hole into a gory crater.

Qi Sha let out a wail of agony.

That foot didn’t stop; it continued pressing upward along Qi Sha’s chest.

Wu Du, as someone from the Medical Hall, had seen all sorts of gruesome scenes. But the sight before him made his scalp tingle, his eyes bloodshot with fury.

He gathered his spiritual energy in his palm and struck toward Hulü Yan’s chest.

However, Hulü Yan was faster.

Another splurt.

The excruciating pain in his chest instantly overwhelmed Wu Du’s mind. He staggered, collapsing onto Qi Sha’s body.

Wu Du’s eyes widened in disbelief, an intense sense of danger looming over him.

He had never imagined he would die at the hands of such a young boy, a boy he had never even bothered to look at directly.

Why?

How had Hulü Yan suddenly erupted with such terrifying power?

Not long ago, Hulü Yan had been lying in the corner like a rag, ready to be slaughtered.

What frightened him most was that he couldn’t sense any spiritual energy from Hulü Yan—no cultivation at all.

Hulü Yan was nothing more than an ordinary person.

So why?

Unfortunately, Wu Du would never get the answer.

He didn’t even have the chance to use his magical artifact to save himself. Hulü Yan crushed his chest with one final stomp, and Wu Du’s breath left him entirely.

Only his eyes, wide with lingering resentment, remained open.

Hulü Yan had killed two people in one go, and the small room was instantly filled with the stench of blood.

Although Mi Lu had seen Hulü Yan kill before, this scene still left him thoroughly shaken. He quietly shrank into his chair, trying to make himself as inconspicuous as possible, momentarily forgetting even the pain in his body.

He thought Hulü Yan would ignore him as usual, but to his surprise, Hulü Yan turned and walked towards him.

Mi Lu’s breath caught, watching nervously as Hulü Yan approached step by step.

Hulü Yan’s long black hair, now matted with clumps of blood, hung messily over his shoulders like a tangle of weeds, framing his deathly pale face.

His eyes, dark and hollow, stared at Mi Lu in silence.

Mi Lu had no idea what Hulü Yan was thinking. Even though Hulü Yan had no eyes, it always felt like he was staring straight at him.

Could he be trying to decide if Mi Lu was friend or foe?

This thought sent Mi Lu’s heart racing. Considering the animosity Hulü Yan had shown towards him along the way, Mi Lu felt this was very likely.

Just as Mi Lu was debating whether or not to explain himself, Hulü Yan raised a hand and gently touched his chest.

Mi Lu: “Hmm?”

What was he doing?

Mi Lu’s chest had been seriously injured. Although the bleeding had stopped, it hadn’t healed.

Fortunately, Hulü Yan’s touch was gentle, more of a light covering than an actual touch.

Mi Lu’s breath hitched nervously, and after a long while, he finally found his voice, “Hulü Yan?”

Hulü Yan’s hand moved across Mi Lu’s body, quickly finding the ropes binding his wrists and tearing them off with ease.

Mi Lu’s hands were freed, and he quickly bent down to untie the ropes around his feet.

Just as he sat up, he saw Hulü Yan toss something over.

Mi Lu instinctively caught it. Upon closer inspection, he realized it was a few jars of ointment—the very same ointment that Qi Sha and Wu Du had prepared earlier.

Mi Lu was surprised beyond belief. He never would have imagined that Hulü Yan would actually care about his injuries. He had thought Hulü Yan would leave him behind and escape this hellish place.

Why did he feel strangely moved?

Was this really something the future demon king would do?!

Not daring to waste any time, Mi Lu quickly undressed to apply the ointment.

His clothes were difficult to take off, and it took him a lot of effort to finally finish applying the medicine.

While he was applying the ointment, Hulü Yan stood by like a block of wood, his hollow eyes still fixed on Mi Lu, as if deep in thought—or perhaps, not thinking at all.

The ointment prepared by Qi Sha and Wu Du had the added benefit of relieving pain. Not long after applying it, Mi Lu’s chest pain had dissipated by more than half.

He hurriedly put his clothes back on and searched the room, but he couldn’t find his Bi You Sword or Qiankun Pouch. It seemed Qi Sha and Wu Du had stashed them elsewhere.

But survival was more important right now.

Mi Lu temporarily gave up on finding the Bi You Sword and Qiankun Pouch, planning to escape first and deal with the rest later.

However, the room only had one door, and if they wanted to escape, they’d have to go through it.

Mi Lu had no idea where they were or how many people from the Medical Hall might be outside. If they ran into anyone, escaping would be nearly impossible.

But the commotion Hulü Yan caused earlier hadn’t drawn anyone in, so perhaps no one was guarding outside.

Mi Lu was still hesitating when Hulü Yan suddenly grabbed his wrist.

Hulü Yan gave his wrist a tug.

Somehow, Mi Lu immediately understood what Hulü Yan meant. He shook his head frantically, “No, no, no! It’s too dangerous here. Let’s escape first!”

Before he finished speaking, a sharp pain shot through his chest.

It wasn’t unbearable, more like a small warning.

But the memory of the previous excruciating pain made Mi Lu instantly change his tune without thinking, “Alright, alright, alright! We’ll go, we’ll go! I’ll take you to find that senior brother.”

The pain vanished immediately.

As if nothing had happened.

Mi Lu finally understood.

The only reason the future demon king had cared about his injuries was to use him as a pair of eyes.

He had been touched for nothing.