Chapter 66: Li Ling’s Rules
Holy City, Tianmo Empire.
Unlike in the lower regions where many of them had set up their teleportation arrays in closed chambers so they could monitor those who passed through for security reasons, the array here at the Holy City occupied an entire open square that was extremely busy, with countless people going and coming freely without being checked.
So when two people appeared, one being a young man with black hair tied into a ponytail while wearing brown brocade robes with a slightly handsome disposition, and the other a seductively voluptuous young woman with silky white hair and eyes the color of rubies in a slightly tattered loose blue hanfu, no one really paid much attention.
Li Ling got some looks due to the remnant aura of Blood Qi on him, something very special in this particular region, while Bai Ruyi got exponentially more glances due to her attractiveness.
"Hm, that was actually quite thrilling." Li Ling muttered as he let go of Bai Ruyi, who adjusted her loose robes to a better degree while casually patting herself down.
"You are definitely the kind of person that will become the Demon Emperor of Firmament Heaven. There are few cultivators as decisive as you, willing to provoke death for the promise of a reward that is not always equivalent to what you are risking." Bai Ruyi commented casually, her smile returning.
Li Ling was nonplussed. "Are you sure that will hold them back? Your two elders must be fuming by now, wishing to gut me like a fish."
Bai Ruyi smiled and walked beside Li Ling, taking his arm in hers and placing it between her voluminous cleavage. "Of course, husband. However, your daoist art should be enough to distract them long enough without actually harming the array, which would be their first priority. Even if they rush over here in the next moment, what can they do? The Holy City forbids fighting, especially on prospective disciples like you who have traveled from afar."
Li Ling turned and pulled Bai Ruyi close, pressing her chest against his as she was roughly brought into his embrace. While the young lady was still somewhat stunned by the sudden change, Li Ling casually leaned forward and pressed his lips against hers, which was unsurprisingly met with a clumsy response by Bai Ruyi.
But even as she relaxed into the connection, she could not match the experienced Li Ling in skill. After all, the Joyful Union Sutra had an effect on changing one’s natural demeanor and disposition to be more seductive, but it did not grant the necessary practical experience for free.
Li Ling casually broke the embrace and pushed Bai Ruyi aside, wiping the blood on his lips away from where she bit him. Meanwhile, Bai Ruyi had a look of enjoyment on her face as she licked the blood down, savoring it as if it were the finest wine.
"Crazy woman." Li Ling commented casually before walking away, with Bai Ruyi following him unhurriedly.
The Holy City was probably the most technologically advanced location that Li Ling had yet to encounter since he arrived here. The architecture alone made use of sturdy materials and expert craftsmanship, coupled with countless arrays and other devices produced by the hundred arts that were akin to 20th century technology on earth.
The roads were neatly paved with Black Mountain Ash that was mixed with some sort of alchemical binding agent, creating a special form of asphalt-like substance that allowed for smooth traversal of any mount or vehicle. There were properly marked and wide pavements on either side for those who wanted to walk without entering the road and becoming someone’s mount’s next meal.
Looking upwards, one could see countless flying swords, airships, or flying mounts moving about in orderly lanes, creating a form of aerial traffic usually seen in high-tech sci-fi. There was also the strong suppression of spirit sense from the array that governed and protected the Holy City, limiting it to the body without even being able to take a step outward.
Because of this, Li Ling could not scan anything in the range of his spirit sense, having to rely on his eyes alone to see the way forward, but this change also intrigued him. Glancing at Bai Ruyi, he found that his system identity scan feature worked just fine despite this, which proved that this could not be affected by external factors.
"Why betray your sect like this?" Li Ling suddenly asked, making small talk with Bai Ruyi as they traveled to their destination, the Asura Blood Hall.
"Hmm? Betray? Who said I betrayed them?" Bai Ruyi replied with a slight smile.
Li Ling glanced at her askance. "Do not play word games. It was your plan to isolate us from Wen Caiyi and sneak over here together, no? Doesn’t that constitute betrayal of the sect?"
Bai Ruyi tapped her lip thoughtfully. "Is that so? My plan was to use Elder Yan and Xiao Yue as a smokescreen to escape with you. I even had my agents in the sect inform them that we were at the Boundless Joy Hall, otherwise how could they have been there so coincidentally?"
Li Ling snorted. "I was wondering about the timing, it seemed a bit too fake. I assumed the whole lot of you were putting on a play to try and deceive me for some purpose, so I simply threw my wrench in. Who knew you would pick up my wrench and twist it further?"
Bai Ruyi’s smile widened. "It was a godsent opportunity. Just as I was wondering how to make use of those two to cause trouble, you actually dared to swear such a vile oath on Elder Yan. You have done well, but I hope you really do have the ability to carry it out when the time comes."
"That’s for me to worry about. What you should be thinking of is how to explain the death of your fellow True Inheritor as a result of your plan." Li Ling retorted with a raised eyebrow and curled lips.
"That was not part of my plan. I asked you to only repel Xiao Yue so that we could have time to flee, not to end her life. That was exceedingly unnecessary." Bai Ruyi’s smile faded to a thin line as she looked at Li Ling directly.
Li Ling lazily folded his arms and grinned widely. "That’s right, it was unnecessary to you, but I did it because I liked it!"
Suddenly, Li Ling grasped Bai Ruyi by the throat and brought her to face him, her blood-red eyes full of shock meeting his dark blue eyes thick with cruelty.
"Understand this, Madam Saintess, your shitty heavenly oath means nothing to me. If I want to kill you, I will kill you, consequences be damned, and that extends to anyone else I wish to target. I don’t care if they fall under the oath or not, this world is mine to toy with as I please and you are just a very, very fortunate passenger in the journey called my life."
Li Ling tossed her aside, nearly causing her to fall onto another person. That male cultivator at the Core Formation stage’s eyes lit up, hoping to grasp Bai Ruyi in hand and cop a feel, but the lady quickly recovered and pivoted away, giving the now sullen fellow a charming smile.
Then she rubbed her sore neck, the pristine white skin now bearing bruise marks upon it due to Li Ling’s Blood Qi, marveling at how dangerous it was.
"Crazy man." Bai Ruyi muttered unhappily under her breath, but swayed her hips to catch up to Li Ling, still grasping his arm in hers.
"Now, before we get to our destination, let me set the ground rules for whatever this relationship is, whether a marriage or an alliance. Just to be clear, these rules are non-negotiable, and you shall follow them or I will hunt you down and turn you into nourishment for my cultivation journey." Li Ling said in a cold tone without even looking at Bai Ruyi who was clinging to him.
Bai Ruyi’s lips twitched but she barely maintained her smile. "Go on, let’s hear it."
"Firstly, you are now my property. I can do with you as I wish, including using you for sexual release or to father my children, which honestly, is the main reason I’ve kept you around. As for any losses you suffer from my usage of you, like lowered cultivation speed from losing your virginity, that is up to you to solve, I couldn’t care less." Li Ling said straightforwardly, not mincing his words at all.
Surprisingly, Bai Ruyi’s genuine smile returned as she nodded. "Good, I planned for this from the moment we confirmed you, otherwise I wouldn’t have specified us to be married in front of Old Cai. As for the children, leave their upbringing to me, I will turn them into the most loyal soldiers for you."
"Secondly, you are free to do as you please. Do not always stay near me when I am part of the sect and attending my business unless I summon you. What you do in your free time is up to you, but it must not harm my interests nor be to my general detriment."
Bai Ruyi sighed with relief at this, nodding with a smile.
"Thirdly, you are to increase your cultivation at the speed of a lesser genius at the least. You are not allowed to be more than three major realms below me, or I will step in myself, limit your freedom, and force you to catch up using the most brutal but efficient methods."
Bai Ruyi smiled strangely, giving Li Ling a weird look. Clearly, the proud young Saintess did not believe that her talent could be matched by contemporary geniuses, even after she lost her virginity. Moreover, she did not believe that Li Ling’s growth speed could be so monstrous that he would climb three whole realms faster than her.
Even a reincarnated Immortal Emperor would not be able to achieve such speed in the lower realm, much less a youngster like Li Ling who was currently weaker than her in terms of both Qi and body cultivation realm!
But she simply nodded with an encouraging smile, as if to say she would not complain if he actually managed to achieve that. Li Ling found this amusing as both she and the upper echelon of the Six Paths Demon Sect were about to witness a miracle never seen before.
"Fourthly, you are not allowed to engage in any act of collusion, camaraderie, or romance with another man or woman, no matter the reason. I don’t care if you meet your true soulmate, kill him. Because if I ever find out about you even considering a romantic endeavor with another person, the fate both of you would share would make King Yama tremble."
Li Ling said this one while directly turning to stare in Bai Ruyi’s eyes, making sure his intention was carried by his words. Bai Ruyi saw this and squeezed his arm slightly, but inwardly she felt extreme apprehension. She never really planned to engage in any romantic endeavor with anyone after discovering Li Ling, but having the choice ripped from her was a bit discomfiting.
...especially since he did not pledge the same way in reverse.
But Bai Ruyi understood that once she took this route, the majority of the initiative and power lay with him, with her only bit of value being her feminine wiles and the heavenly oath she had with him. Now, more than ever, she was glad that she made the spontaneous decision to bind him under oath rather than seal him using Wen Caiyi’s power.
However, rather than worry, she felt that the more Li Ling was like this by directly setting rules and acting completely assured of his growth, the more she would be able to achieve her own goals, which was to achieve her prophesied fate and beyond!