Chapter 1: I, Ye Changsheng, Don’t Want to Be an Undercover Agent Anymore
Demonic Path, Wuhua Palace.
“Year after year, year after year, Master, I’ve been an undercover agent in the Demonic Path for three years!”
By the Clear Lake, under the scorching sun, Ye Changsheng was pouring out his heart to a oriole on a willow tree. If anyone else saw him, they would think he was crazy.
In fact, Ye Changsheng had calculated the timing, knowing that no one from Wuhua Palace would approach this area. He was here to meet as instructed by his Master.
The oriole spoke, its voice a melodious female voice like a songbird leaving a valley, “Changsheng, just one more year.”
“Another year?”
“This is really the last year. I promise next year.”
“Master, you say that every year!” Ye Changsheng felt a surge of frustration. “The Young Palace Mistress of Wuhua Palace, Luo Yingying, has been dropping hints and making overtures. Pretending to be foolish is no longer working. She’ll force me to marry her sooner or later.”
“…Your relationship has developed that well?”
“Luo Yingying forces me to… cultivate together every few days. After years, I’m almost refined into slag. In a while, once married, with kids, and a warm home, I’ll truly become a person of the Demonic Path. How can I go back?”
Although Ye Changsheng’s name sounded like longevity, he was not immortal.
In his previous life, he died before he reached adulthood. After death, he transmigrated to a Xianxia-style world, the Qixia Isle continent.
At first, he had the role of a nobody. Later, classic protagonist plotlines began to unfold. His village faced a catastrophe, leaving Ye Changsheng an orphan overnight.
In his time of distress, he encountered the True Immortal of Qixia Isle – Thousand Snow, Immortal Venerable Mo Baizhi. Ye Changsheng was taken in by the Immortal Venerable and became her personal disciple.
Afterwards, he displayed astonishing cultivation talent, with his strength advancing by leaps and bounds.
Orphan background, Mastered by an Immortal Venerable, gifted with extraordinary talent, a cultivation prodigy, a rare gem, a protagonist template, terrifyingly powerful!
“Three feet of cold light in hand, soaring through Qixia Isle on the wind.” This was originally Ye Changsheng’s dream, and he worked hard towards it.
However, on the day of his graduation, his Master revealed a shocking fact to Ye Changsheng—
His cultivation was a demonic technique, and in terms of his Dao cultivation, he was already a great demon. If he were to establish his own sect, he could certainly become a Demon Lord who wreaks havoc upon the world.
It turned out he was being cultivated as a unique undercover agent for the Demonic Path!
Who knew how a righteous Immortal Venerable would know demonic cultivation techniques?
This shattered Ye Changsheng’s dream, but he could not disobey his Master’s command. He went to the Demonic Path’s Wuhua Palace as an undercover agent, and three years had passed in the blink of an eye.
“Let’s not even talk about Master deceiving me about cultivating demonic techniques,” Ye Changsheng said indignantly. “Three years, three whole years! Master, do you know how I’ve spent these three years?”
He didn’t have the typical protagonist’s journey of breaking off an engagement and rising to prominence, nor was he the beloved Senior Brother of a righteous sect. He certainly didn’t even have the common treatment of being a seemingly villainous character surrounded by beautiful heroines. He didn’t even have the most basic perk – a System.
Recalling his experiences over these three years, Ye Changsheng had lived every day in fear, hiding his identity, constantly on edge, lest he be exposed. Otherwise, he would be dead.
What do you think happens to those who play Infernal Affairs in the end?
After a moment of silence, Mo Baizhi, speaking through the oriole, said, “Wuhua Palace is full of peerless beauties. Weren’t you enjoying yourself?”
“Master, I’ve reiterated this many times. I am the victim, the experience capsule, the one being enjoyed,” Ye Changsheng emphasized.
Wuhua Palace was a renowned Demonic Pathsect that only accepted beautiful women as disciples. They possessed a unique cultivation Secret Technique, the Flower Transferring Art, which involved unique cultivation with Cultivation Cauldrons, unilaterally absorbing the Cultivation Cauldron’s Spiritual Energy to replenish themselves and speed up their cultivation.
However, this meant the Cultivation Cauldron was out of luck.
Therefore, Wuhua Palace had been recruiting Cultivation Cauldrons for years. After all, beautiful women were irresistible, and many men voluntarily joined Wuhua Palace, seeking pleasure over their lives.
Cultivation Cauldrons who entered would either survive for three months or perish within seven days.
Ye Changsheng was the sole exception to the exceptions, having lasted for three full years.
“Master, the men who entered Wuhua Palace with me have all turned to ash and been washed away into the Peach Blossom River at the village entrance,” Ye Changsheng said mournfully. “Can you bear to see your disciple continue to be tormented, and eventually be fed to the fish?”
Mo Baizhi said earnestly, “Changsheng, I know your wish, but only you can complete this mission. I won’t concern myself with anything else. As long as you can obtain Wuhua Palace’s supreme spiritual treasure – the Heartbreak Flower, your identity can be restored.”
“Master, obtaining the Heartbreak Flower is too difficult. This sect-guarding treasure of Wuhua Palace, I haven’t even caught a glimpse of it in three years!”
“You must get it. Right now, in this world, others only know you as the demon prince of Wuhua Palace. Only I know you are Thousand Snow Immortal Venerable’s direct disciple, Ye Changsheng.”
“I, I, you, you…” Ye Changsheng covered his face, speechless. Whenever his Master used this tactic, he had no recourse.
When his Master took him as a disciple back then, she asked Ye Changsheng to promise her one condition that he must fulfill, the details of which she would reveal upon his graduation.
Ye Changsheng had thought, his Master was a venerable Immortal Venerable, and moreover, a super beauty. How could she possibly make things difficult for him, a mere Mortal?
Now, it turned out she wanted him to go undercover. But there was no alternative, as he had agreed to it back then and couldn’t go back on his word.
He had been Cheated, Ye Changsheng had been Cheated!
The more Ye Changsheng thought about it, the angrier he became, his expression darkening. He changed the subject, “Master, have you learned to do your own laundry yet?”
“Of course, I don’t… Ye Changsheng, what are you talking about!”
Although Mo Baizhi was a widely revered Immortal Venerable, seen by the world as an ethereal Fairy who didn’t partake in worldly affairs, a perfect being from a painting, only he knew—
His Master was a crippled True Immortal!
She couldn’t do housework at all, and her life skills were zero. Snacks and clothes were scattered all over the place. She would drink in her room at night and appear in Ye Changsheng’s bed the next morning.
“This disciple is concerned about Master, after all, without this disciple, can Master live alone? This disciple is quite worried,” Ye Changsheng said with a cold smile.
“Of course, I can. Don’t look down on me!”
“Then have you learned to cook?”
The meals Master made were simply spectacular, capable of turning the kitchen into a Tribulation Crossing scene. Ye Changsheng clearly remembered observing from the side and being blown onto his bed for three days by an explosion.
“Those, those trivial matters, Master, of course, I can do them. I don’t need you to worry about them at all!”
“Really?”
“……”
“Master?”
“Shut up, Ye Changsheng! I am a True Immortal realm cultivator, I can already abstain from grain and don’t need to eat! How many times have I told you not to tease me, or I’ll make you a demon prince for the rest of your life!!”
She’s flustered, she’s flustered, Master is flustered!
Ye Changsheng secretly rejoiced in his heart. Teasing was enough. After all, he didn’t want to stay here for his entire life as a demon prince.
Suddenly, Mo Baizhi sensed someone approaching and said sternly, “Changsheng, someone is coming. I’m leaving.”
“When will we next contact?”
“I don’t know. There have been some developments recently, and I might not be able to contact you for a long time. Changsheng, you’ll have to figure it out yourself.” After that, the oriole flew into the sky and departed into the distance.
Although Mo Baizhi’s strength was that of a True Immortal at the peak of Qixia Isle, unfortunately, due to reasons unknown even to Ye Changsheng, she could not venture into the outside world and could only remain in the Wuji Immortal Realm she created, entrusting this mission to Ye Changsheng.
“Figure it out myself? More like get ‘figured out’ myself…”
Ye Changsheng watched his Master’s messenger bird fly away, his mood complex. He calmed his emotions and pretended to be taking a stroll by the lake.
Behind him, a girl who had spotted Ye Changsheng was quietly approaching. Without a sound, she launched a surprise attack, hugging Ye Changsheng’s waist affectionately. With a voice that could melt bones, she asked, “Brother Xiao, I caught you! What are you doing alone, sneaking around~?”
Young Master Wuxiao was Ye Changsheng’s street name.
Turning around, he saw a girl so familiar he couldn’t be more familiar with her – Luo Yingying, the Young Palace Mistress of Wuhua Palace.
The girl before him wasn’t very tall. Standing on tiptoe, her head could only reach Ye Changsheng’s chin. Her three thousand strands of black hair brushed against Ye Changsheng’s fingertips, feeling incredibly smooth. Luo Yingying, in her youthful bloom, possessed a captivating beauty. Her soft, jade-like body nestled against Ye Changsheng, emitting a heartwarming fragrance that evoked an indescribable sense of affection.
“Good afternoon, Young Palace Mistress. I was contemplating some matters and taking a stroll,” Ye Changsheng replied calmly, maintaining his composure.
“Oh~ What is it that troubles Brother Xiao so much?”
“I was wondering why birds can fly so high and so fast?” Ye Changsheng casually lied.
“Brother Xiao’s words are as amusing as always! It’s because birds yearn for the sky and have the motivation, which allows their wings to grow large and long, enabling them to fly high and fast!”
Luo Yingying blinked her clear, watery eyes and playfully tapped Ye Changsheng’s cheek with her slender, fair fingers. Her exquisitely beautiful face was adorned with a charming smile.
This smile could undoubtedly make all the men in the world fall head over heels and become her devoted admirers!
… Exception made for Ye Changsheng, who had grown tired of it.
The Young Palace Mistress’s gaze seemed to hold some hidden meaning, startling Ye Changsheng into immediately changing the subject. “I recall that the Young Palace Mistress should be very busy today, right? You have sect matters to attend to this afternoon. You mustn’t be late.”
“Yes, I have too many responsibilities, and they occupy too much of my time. I don’t get to play with Brother Xiao anymore,” Luo Yingying complained with dissatisfaction.
As an undercover agent, and still a low-ranking Cultivation Cauldron in Wuhua Palace, to get by, he certainly couldn’t displease the Young Palace Mistress. Maintaining a good relationship with everyone was the most basic of foundations.
“As the legitimate successor, the Young Palace Mistress certainly has it harder than those her age. But if the Young Palace Mistress is feeling too much pressure, you can always talk to me. I will definitely help the Young Palace Mistress resolve her worries—”
“Okay, okay!” Luo Yingying clapped her hands joyfully. “I’ve been waiting for this from Brother Xiao!”
Ye Changsheng’s expression was somewhat stiff. He vaguely felt he was being set up, but he could only press on with a forced smile. “Young Palace Mistress, is there anything you need my help with…”
“Brother Xiao, before our break ends, let’s seize the time to cultivate together!”
