The Beloved Master's Mad Dog Disciple - Chapter 12

Silver moonlight bathed her skin in a pearlescent glow as Shen Yanting stood beneath the moon, her head bowed as she gazed at her left wrist. A white lotus mark had appeared on the snow-white skin, one petal faintly tinged crimson—a sign that Bo Xuenong had killed.

Shen Yanting couldn’t pinpoint where things had gone wrong. All she felt now was profound regret.

For five centuries, everything had proceeded smoothly. If Bo Xuenong could just pass the final trial, they could return to the Cloudmist Sect together. If only…

Shen Yanting covered the lotus mark with her right palm, her lowered gaze slowly lifting as she hurried toward Bo Xuenong’s residence. The Master’s words from that day echoed in her ears.

“Yan Ting, you must understand that the fewer people who know about this trial, the better. This means that once you become the Little Ferocious Beasts’ master, I will have to publicly declare that you are no longer a disciple of the Cloudmist Sect, nor a disciple of mine, Mo Tingshu. Given your talent and beauty, those who once revered and loved you might turn against you. They’re all hesitating—why did you agree so readily? If I had known they would make such a fuss about my disciple, I should have taken only you from the start… Yan Ting, this isn’t something you absolutely have to do. You… I can’t stop you, so I’ll just give you more medicinal pills for self-defense.”

“Yan Ting, you must promise Master to keep your distance from the Little Ferocious Beasts. You can teach her etiquette and worldly affairs, guide her in cultivation and swordsmanship, but you must never truly see her as your own child. Master fears you won’t be able to bring yourself to strike when the time comes.”

“Yan Ting, the Bl00d Lotus Curse Seal was drawn with the Little Ferocious Beasts’ bl00d. You’ll sense it the moment she kills someone. As soon as she kills, you must kill her and return to the Cloudmist Sect. Then you’ll still be my best disciple, Mo Tingshu!”

“……”

Shen Yanting smiled bitterly. Mo Tingshu truly understood her well.

Even now, she found herself hesitating, even subconsciously feeling that the original agreement had been unfair.

The Ancient Divine Beast Bloodline should have been a blessing to the land, but tragically, it had been corrupted into a feral beast lineage. Their ancestors, possessing divine nature, could suppress the bloodline’s influence. However, their descendants, inheriting only the bloodline without the divine nature, were destined to bring calamity. Though they retained some Human Cultivator bl00d, it was no match for the feral beast bloodline.

As the formations left by the divine beings weakened, the innate nature they had suppressed for so long would amplify. This was why the Three Great Sects had decided to exterminate them—the number of people devoured had become unbearable.

These feral beasts craved living flesh. Shen Yanting had witnessed fellow disciples with their upper bodies devoured, their hearts still beating, and others with limbs torn off, silently awaiting death from bl00d loss. She sympathized with Bo Xuenong because the girl was young and had committed no atrocities yet, but this didn’t mean she believed the feral beast bloodline itself was innocent.

Shen Yanting felt the agreement was unfair not because she wanted to indulge Bo Xuenong’s murderous tendencies, but because the Cultivation World revered strength above all else. Every seasoned cultivator had bl00d on their hands. Mo Tingshu had always instructed her to support the weak and uphold justice, never demanding complete abstinence from killing. Yet now, she expected a child with a tainted bloodline to remain entirely bloodless.

At the time, the Sect Leaders of the Three Great Sects agreed that feral beasts could be spared as long as they didn’t devour humans. Most people concurred, but when the Supreme Elder of the Nethergate Sect stormed out in fury over their leniency toward the beasts, many changed their minds. They began to agree with the Supreme Elder’s assessment: the feral beasts’ Bloodline was simply too dangerous. Their ancestors were Divine Beasts who had earned legendary battle honors. Once their Bloodline fully awakened, they could break through cultivation realms without even facing Thunder Tribulation. Moreover, the inherent malice in their Bloodline meant they didn’t need arduous cultivation; they could advance their Cultivation simply by slaughtering relentlessly. With enough ruthlessness, their progress could be terrifyingly rapid.

Mo Tingshu claimed the divine beings had left them with a mess to clean up, but the Sect Leader of the Nirvana Water Sect countered that this was karma. Their predecessors had received the Divine Beasts’ benevolence, so it was their duty to resolve the calamities brought by that divine favor.

Shen Yanting wholeheartedly agreed with the Nirvana Water Sect Leader. Though she had outwardly maintained a cold demeanor as Mo Tingshu instructed, she still instinctively cherished Bo Xuenong. Her demands on Bo Xuenong were far less stringent, requiring only that she refrain from harming good people and devouring humans. Shen Yanting hoped Bo Xuenong would become a good person, but even more, she hoped Bo Xuenong would survive in this world where the strong preyed on the weak.

Five hundred years had passed, and the trial was about to begin. This meant Shen Yanting had to take Bo Xuenong away from the Imperial Tranquility Sect.

The outside world was far from the sect’s peaceful sanctuary. Bo Xuenong’s cultivation had taken no shortcuts, and her peak Golden Core cultivation couldn’t sustain her compassion for everyone.

Shen Yanting had carefully considered that as long as Bo Xuenong didn’t kill good people, Mo Tingshu wasn’t unreasonable. They could still return to the Cloudmist Sect together. Of course, Bo Xuenong couldn’t kill too many people… Shen Yanting released her left wrist, the Bl00d Lotus Curse Seal still vivid. This seal was meant to restrain her, but Mo Tingshu would never harm her.

No matter how deep the seal’s color grew, it wouldn’t harm her in the slightest. However, as Bo Xuenong killed, the seal’s color would deepen, intensifying Shen Yanting’s craving for Bo Xuenong’s bl00d until she cleansed the seal with it.

Mo Tingshu cherished her disciple, and Shen Yanting would cherish her own.

She didn’t want to kill Bo Xuenong. Watching Bo Xuenong’s forced smiles daily, she even felt the urge to tell her not to burden herself so. Shen Yanting only prayed Bo Xuenong wouldn’t touch those who didn’t deserve to die… Yet Imperial Peak Mountain was filled with fellow disciples, none of them evil.

Shen Yanting could no longer deceive herself. Her pace quickened considerably.

“Nong’er.”

Shen Yanting had assumed Bo Xuenong wouldn’t be in the room, but following the lingering scent, she found her sound asleep.

There was no trace of bl00d on her, only the faint fragrance of wood.

Curled up under the covers, Bo Xuenong lay perfectly still, showing no signs of waking.

Nothing about her appearance suggested she had just committed murder. The Bl00d Lotus Mark never lied, so Bo Xuenong must be feigning sleep.

Shen Yanting frowned slightly, gripping the corner of the blanket, ready to forcibly pull Bo Xuenong out. “Nong…”

The blanket was lifted a fraction, then quickly yanked back down, cutting off Shen Yanting’s words. She never expected to find Bo Xuenong completely naked beneath the covers. Her slender, snow-white neck led to an even paler chest, and further down… Thank goodness I only lifted it a little.

Pressing her wrist, Shen Yanting silently retreated from the bedside, her thoughts churning.

She had once helped Bo Xuenong bathe and change clothes as a child, but now she was grown.

As people mature, their hearts change. She would no longer obey Shen Yanting without question.

“Nong’er, I need to talk to you.”

The figure on the bed remained motionless, the wooden scent growing stronger.

Shen Yanting immediately realized what was happening. With a gentle flick of her sleeve, the person on the bed transformed.

The Suspended Ink Sword and the wooden doll fell separately to the edge of the bed. Shen Yanting walked over and picked up the bl00d-soaked doll, her brow furrowing slightly. If she wasn’t mistaken, this was a crude, forcibly activated version of the Breath Exchange Technique. But the problem was, she had never taught Bo Xuenong the Breath Exchange Technique. Where had Bo Xuenong learned it?

With so much bl00d, didn’t she feel any pain?

Shen Yanting tightened her grip on the doll, her gaze suddenly shifting to Xuanmo.

She picked up Xuanmo, but instead of spiritual energy, she sensed a faint trace of malevolent energy.

Yet when she probed again, the malevolent energy had vanished without a trace.

Shen Yanting pursed her lips slightly, recalling Xuanmo’s origins. The Suspended Ink Sword had been sent by the Sect Leader of the Nethergate Sect when Bo Xuenong successfully established her foundation and was ready to choose her Dao. The Sect Leader claimed it could suppress Bo Xuenong’s bloodline. At the time, Shen Yanting had noticed the sword’s abundant spiritual energy, nearly comparable to that of a Divine Sword. Trusting the Sect Leader’s impeccable reputation, she had given the sword to Bo Xuenong, who was in need of a Lifebound Sword, even lying to Fu Yunqing that she had won it from the Young Sect Master of the Nethergate Sect.

Now, she realized things weren’t so simple. She wanted to thoroughly investigate Xuanmo’s secrets when a figure suddenly leaped through the window. “M-Master,” the intruder stammered.