Chapter 135: Devilish Beauty (Patreon)

After the two of us agreed to work together, Cultivator Byron and I rested in the fir forest for another half hour before we headed out. For the first hour or so, we roamed the hidden realm contained within the Myriad Landscapes Painting, looking for prey-other participants to hunt down and eliminate.

At first, our efforts bore little fruit. We only came across lone individuals, who fled from us as soon as they noticed our presence. We gave chase, to no avail. Even those in mid Foundation Establishment fled from us. It appeared that the foolish ones had already been eliminated, so only the cautious ones remained. We didn’t come across anyone in late or peak Foundation Establishment. If we had, we would’ve been the ones fleeing.

Having our prey-the other participants flee from us all the time frustrated me. After wracking my brain, I came up with an idea. What if Cultivator Byron and I pretended to fight one another, thus luring other participants to attack us after we “softened each other up”? Cultivators were, by and large, greedy opportunists, myself included. If the other participants saw us fighting one another, they would take advantage of the situation. I would, in their shoes.

When I told Cultivator Byron my idea, he agreed to give it a try, though he wore a skeptical expression on his face. Thus, the two of us roughed each other up and inflicted some shallow wounds on one other. Afterwards, I used Cloak of Dusk to make my aura seem weaker than it actually was, while Cultivator Byron used some unknown ability to do the same. While we “fought” each other, we kept an eye out for other participants.

My idea worked better than I expected. Over the next several hours, as afternoon turned to evening, the two of us lured in several other participants and ambushed them when they tried to take advantage of our “weakened” state. These participants would notice us, sneak in close, and then attack the one that appeared “stronger”. That way, they could take care of the “weaker” one at their leisure. However, it never worked out in their favor.

After each successful ambush, we changed our location. I was surprised by just how many different landscapes the hidden realm within the Myriad Landscapes Painting contained. The name itself was a clue. However, I hadn’t expected the sheer number and variety. Swamps, forest, mountains, etc. While there were many that were similar, each one was different in its own unique way.

From time to time, Cultivator Byron and I also changed the way we ambushed others. Sometimes one of us would pretend to chase the other, similar to the man and woman who I first encountered when I entered the Myriad Landscapes Painting. At times I would pursue Cultivator Byron, and other times he would pursue me.

When evening arrived, the two of us took a break after our latest ambush to regain our strength. We were in a vast meadow that stretched on as far as the eye could see. Countless red flowers blanketed the meadow, filling the air with a light floral scent. Up above, the blue sky had turned dark indigo. However, just as there wasn’t a sun in this place, there wasn’t a moon or any stars. Instead, the sky above looked like an endless dark void. Looking up at it unnerved me a little.

After Cultivator Byron and I landed in the meadow, we pulled our respective array sets out of our storage rings so we could create a safe haven for ourselves.

“Good work, Cultivator Byron.” I said as I threw my array flags out. “At this rate, we’ll both rank within the top twenty five.”

Cultivator Byron furrowed his brow.

“I’m not so sure about that, Cultivator Darian.” He said. “The enemies we faced so far were only in early or mid Foundation Establishment. We haven’t faced any in late or peak Foundation Establishment. I doubt we’ll rank within the top twenty five by just hunting down and ambushing weak opponents. We’ll need to face stronger ones at some point.”

I mulled over his words.

“You make a fair point.” I said after a while. “Honestly, I’m not confident in our chances of defeating an opponent in late Foundation Establishment, let alone peak Foundation Establishment. Flee from them? Yes. Defeat them? No.”

If it were an average cultivator in late Foundation Establishment, I would be far more confident. However, none of the cultivators participating in the Rising Heroes Tournament were average, especially those who had passed the preliminaries.

“Does that mean we should flee if we encounter an opponent in late or peak Foundation Establishment?” Cultivator Byron asked.

I took a moment before responding.

“If they’re in peak Foundation Establishment? Yes.” I paused. “However, if they’re in late Foundation Establishment, I say we fight. We won’t know if we’re capable of defeating them until we give it a try.” I grinned at him. “Besides, if we lure them into an ambush, our chances of victory are much higher.”

“Well, aren’t you a couple of conniving cuties?” A woman’s voice rang out from right next to us.

Cultivator Byron and I reacted right away. We hopped onto our respective flying magic treasures and attempted to fly into the air. After spending the past several hours ambushing others, we knew that staying still during an ambush led to certain defeat. 

However, before we could make it more than a few feet above the ground, dark green vines erupted out of the ground and wrapped themselves around us. I sucked in a breath, to try and use Burning Cloud Breath, but one of the vines gagged me. The vines also gagged Cultivator Bryon. Within mere seconds, they immobilized the both of us. Cultivator Byron and I struggled to free ourselves, to no avail.

The air near us shimmered, before a woman revealed herself. She was quite beautiful, with fair skin, silky black hair, and brilliant green eyes. She also had vast tracts of land that she did very little to conceal. It took a lot of effort on my part not to stare at them.

Despite her beauty, there was something dangerous and sinister about this woman. It was as if she were a poisonous flower, alluring despite the danger she posed. Or maybe, she was alluring because of the danger she posed. Fitting, considering she wore the uniform of the Devilish Beauty Sect: purple robes that depicted a pink rose on the back.

Worst of all, this woman was in late Foundation Establishment. Our chances of defeating her, especially in our current state, were low. If we were the ones who had ambushed her, that would be a different story. Alas, that was not the case. My spirits sank as I realized that I might be eliminated here and now.

“Let me get a good look at you two.” The woman said, sauntering up to us.

Her movements were… Sultry. No other word fit. Attractive, dangerous, and tempting. It was as if she would fulfill your every desire, as long as you gave in to her. And afterwards, she would devour you whole. As a demon of hunger and desire, I felt a strange kinship with her.

The woman walked up to Cultivator Byron first and examined him with an avaricious gleam in her eyes. She reached up to caress his cheek. He tried to pull away from her, his eyes wide with fear, but the vines prevented him. The woman then leaned in and sniffed Cultivator Byron.

“You smell like starlight.” She said. “Given your attire, you must be a divine cultivator from the Dawn and Dusk Sect. How fortuitous.”

After spending a few minutes examining Cultivator Byron, the woman turned her attention to me. Like with my companion, her eyes gleamed with greed and desire as she studied me. I glared at her the entire time; partly out of anger, partly to avoid staring at her vast tracts of land. Her scent teased me.

“Ooh, you have such fire in your eyes.” The woman said. “I like it.”

She caressed my cheek, before leaning in to sniff me. Her brow furrowed with confusion.

“You have a strange scent.” She said. “You smell like starlight, similar to your companion, but you also smell like demonic fire.” Her eyes widened and a wicked smile stretched across her face. “Oh, you’re a divine demon! I heard of your kind, though I never expected to run into one of you here. In fact, I thought the stories were exaggerated. Cultivators who were both divine and demonic? It seemed impossible.” She looked me up and down. “I’m glad I was wrong. You are a fine specimen.”

At that moment, I attacked the woman with Soul Thorn Dagger. I waited until now to lure her into a false sense of security. Cultivator Bryon and I were already caught, so we posed little threat to her. At least, that was the impression I wanted to give.

However, the Devilish Beauty Sect specialized in bewitchment and enchantment. In other words, mental mystic arts and abilities. That meant they also knew how to defend themselves against mental attacks. Still, even if my surprise attack failed, it wasn’t as if I had anything to lose. We were already at the woman’s mercy.

To my dismay, she didn’t disappear in a flash of white light. The woman stumbled back and let out a pained groan, but otherwise seemed fine. She shook her head, before regarding me once more. The look in her eyes sent a shiver down my spine. Not because she seemed angry and vengeful. No. It was because she looked like she wanted to eat me alive.

“You even know mental mystic arts!” The woman said. “Oh, you are a treat. Feisty too. I love it when they fight back. It makes conquering them so much more satisfying.”

I shivered with revulsion.

‘Just eliminate us and be done with it.’ I said, speaking telepathically. ‘Stop toying with us.’

The woman raised an eyebrow at me.

“Why would I do that?” She asked. “Toying with you is so much fun.” She shrugged. “Besides, I never planned to eliminate either of you. This is my second time participating in the Rising Heroes Tournament and I’m not interested in earning points. As long as you play nice and give me what I want, I’ll let you both go.” She snorted. “Not that you have much choice. I’ll get what I want regardless. However, it’ll be less painful for you if you don’t fight back too much.”

Cultivator Byron and I glanced at one another, before looking back at the woman.

‘What do you want from us, fellow cultivator?’ Cultivator Byron asked using telepathy.

“Jaime,” the woman said. “My name is Jaime. We’re about to know each other very intimately, so we might as well introduce ourselves. What are your names?”

‘Just tell us what you want.’ I snarled.

Cultivator Jaime barked out a laugh.

“What do you think I want?” she asked. “I’m a disciple of the Devilish Beauty Sect. You must know what that means.”

Unfortunately, I did. In addition to bewitchments and enchantments, the Devilish Beauty Sect was also famous for dual cultivation and turning people into human cauldrons. They drained mortals of their vitality, and they drained cultivators of both their cultivation and vitality. The lucky ones died right away. The unlucky ones survived to be used over and over again, until they were nothing more than dried up husks.

‘As if we would let you drain us of our cultivation and our vitality,’ Cultivator Byron said.

Cultivator Jaime snorted.

“You don’t have a choice,” she said. “In case it escaped your notice, but I have you at my complete mercy right now. I can do whatever I want to the both of you, and there’s nothing you can do about it.” A sinister smile spread across her face. “Best of all, when I’m done, you’ll beg for more.”

As much as I hated to admit, she was right. I wracked my brain, trying to think of a way out of this. If strength wouldn’t work, maybe cunning would. We couldn’t overpower this woman, but perhaps we could outwit her.

“Don’t worry,” Cultivator Jaime said. “I won’t take too much. Just enough to satisfy me. You’ll make a full recovery after a year or two. I’ll make sure you enjoy it as well. Some of my brothers and sisters aren’t as thoughtful.” She looked between the two of us. “Now then, who would like to go first?”

Cultivator Byron and I just glared at her and didn’t respond.

“No volunteers?” Cultivator Jaime asked with a mock pout. “Aw, you’re hurting my feelings.” Her mock pout disappeared and she pointed at Cultivator Byron. “In that case, I’ll pick you. I want to save the divine demon for last.”

Cultivator Jaime walked over to Cultivator Bryon and started to disrobe.

‘Wait!’ I called out.

Cultivator Jaime paused and looked over at me.

“Oh?” she said. “Are you volunteering after all?”

I shook my head.

‘No.’ I said.

Cultivator Jaime smirked at me.

“Then what do you want?” She asked. “Don’t bother trying to buy time. I set up an array over the immediate area around us. Even if you summoned help, they wouldn’t be able to find you until it was too late.”

‘I’m not trying to buy time.’ I said, which was a complete lie. ‘Instead, why don’t you and I play a game? If you win, we’ll do as you say. If I win, you’ll let us go.’

Cultivator Jaime narrowed her eyes at me.

“And why would I do that?” She asked. “I’ve already caught you two. I have nothing to gain from this arrangement.”

‘To make things more interesting.’ I said. ‘You caught us before we could put up much of a fight. Wasn’t that too easy? Too boring? Don’t you want more of a challenge?’

Cultivator Jaime studied me for several moments, before an intrigued smile stretched across her face.

“I know you’re playing me,” she said, “However, I’ll go along with it for now. Tell me, divine demon. What sort of game do you want to play? If it’s interesting enough, I’ll agree to your conditions.”

Her question stumped me. To be honest, I hadn’t expected her to agree. I just said all that to buy time, even though I knew it was futile.

“Well?” Cultivator Jaime said, an edge to her voice. “What sort of game, divine demon? Hurry up and tell me. I’m not a patient person.”

‘Dancing!’ I blurted out.

Cultivator Jaime studied me for several seconds, before she burst out into laughter. Despite the situation, I found the sound of her laughter delightful. If I hadn’t known better, I would have been charmed by it. She put her robe back on and walked over to stand before me.

“You want to have a dancing contest against me?” Cultivator Jaime asked, incredulous. “You’re either a fool, ignorant, or an ignorant fool.” She paused. “The last one seems the most likely.”

I glared at her.

‘Do you accept or not?’ I asked.

If she said no, I was going to use Living Candle to burn away my vitality in the hopes that this would trigger my tournament token and teleport me out of the Myriad Landscapes Painting. I would rather eliminate myself from the Rising Heroes Tournament than let Cultivator Jaime have her way with me. As for Cultivator Byron, well, there wasn’t anything I could do for him.

“Very well.” Cultivator Jaime regarded me with fondness and amusement, as if I were a dim child that made a ridiculous boast. “I accept. If you win, I will let you and your companion go. However, if I win, I will make you crawl towards me and lick my feet.”

I gave her a disgusted look. However, before I could say anything, the vines released me. I almost fell on my face, but thanks to my Cloud Steps movement technique, I maintained my balance.

“We don’t have any judges around, so let us do it like this,” Cultivator Jaime said. “You and I will dance against one another, until one of us concedes.”

I nodded.

“That sounds good to me.” I said.

Cultivator Jaime smiled until her eyes resembled crescent moons.

“Excellent,” she said.

***

Interlude: Nova

The sound of an annoying woman’s laughter reached Nova’s ears, grating on her nerves. She wanted to throttle the woman in question, if only to get her to shut up. Unfortunately, that would get her in trouble with Baldy. Not that she was scared of him. However, she promised Sect Leader Twinheart that she wouldn’t cause any more trouble than she already had; a promise she was starting to regret.

Well, perhaps not. If she became too active, she would attract this realm’s attention. When that happened, it would start to reject her and force her out. She couldn’t let that happen, at least not until her youngest was powerful enough to fend for himself. Nova sighed and glanced at her surroundings.

Nova was in Baldy’s tent, alongside the various sect leaders, elders, and other prominent cultivators of the Northern Region. Several conversations were taking place at the same time as everyone focused on the events taking place within the Myriad Landscapes Painting. Nova had been watching Darian’s progress as he eliminated the other participants and earned points. However, his most recent actions caused Nova some concern. Those same actions were also the reason behind the annoying woman’s laughter.

Nova looked over at the woman in question. Her name was Rose Heart, and she was one of the two sect leaders of the Devilish Beauty Sect. She sat atop her husband’s lap, a man by the name of Desert Thorn, who was the Devilish Beauty Sect’s other sect leader. The two of them sat not too far away from Nova and Peak Master Sky Splitter.

Sect Leader Rose Heart was a slender woman with fair skin, curly pink hair, and sapphire-like eyes. Her features gave her a sweet and innocent kind of beauty, which she used to devastating effect when hunting prey. More than one man had fallen to Sect Leader Rose Heart’s outer appearance, becoming little more than nourishment for her.

Like Nova, or rather her physical vessel, Sect Leader Desert Thorn came from the Howling Desert province. He had a toned physique, with brown skin, curly black hair, and dark eyes. The man had a roguish charm, which many women found attractive. His smile was more than enough to cause hearts to flutter. Unfortunately, like his wife, the man was a predator. Any woman who fell for his charms ended up an empty shell of herself.

Together, the two of them had caused a lot of heartbreak and misery over the centuries. Their favorite activity was to destroy marriages and bring discord to households. They didn’t even do this to advance their cultivation. To them, this was just a fun hobby.

Nova found both of them repulsive. While she wasn’t a paragon of righteousness, at least she had some principles. There were lines that she wouldn’t cross. More than once, she considered doing the world a favor and killing them.

“So, which is it, Hall Master Nova?” Sect Leader Rose Heart asked, cackling. “Is your son a fool, ignorant, or an ignorant fool?”

Sect Leader Desert Thorn chuckled, a low and pleasant sound.

“Come now, my dear,” he said, his voice rich, “I’m sure Hall Master Nova’s son has some sort of trump card up his sleeve. Why else would he challenge your disciple to a dancing contest?”

Nova sighed. The Devilish Beauty Sect specialized in bewitchment and enchantment through the use of mystic arts. The method each disciple used depended on their talents and preferences. Cultural pursuits were the most common. Sect Leader Rose Heart, and her disciple, were dancers.

Darian had just challenged a demonic cultivator who used dancing to bewitch her foes to a dancing contest. Nova loved her youngest, but she knew that sometimes he acted before thinking things through. Oh well. Either he would succeed due to his talent and Resonating Dance innate ability, or he was about to learn a valuable life lesson.

***

Cultivator Jaime and I stood across from each other in the meadow covered in red flowers. Above us was the evening sky, a black emptiness devoid of any celestial bodies. Cultivator Byron was off to the side. Cultivator Jaime kept him bound with her vines, to ensure that I wouldn’t try anything. Well, her caution was warranted. When she freed me, I had been tempted to attack her then and there. However, I held back.

While I still didn’t like Cultivator Byron, I didn’t want to see him hurt or injured. After all, a participant’s tournament token only teleported them out just before they received a lethal attack. It didn’t respond to anything less than that.

I studied Cultivator Jaime, who wore a confident smirk on her face. That confidence worried me, and I wondered if it had been a mistake to challenge her to a dance contest. From the expression on his face, Cultivator Byron shared my worries.

‘Are you sure about this, Cultivator Darian?’ He asked through telepathy.

‘Yes.’ Cultivator Jaime was confident in herself, but so was I. While I had discarded the Wind Dance name, I still inherited their talent for dancing as well as the Resonating Dance innate ability. ‘I have nothing to lose if I fail, and everything to gain if I succeed.’

‘You could lose your dignity,’ Cultivator Byron pointed out.

I snorted.

‘I was going to lose that anyway.’ I said. ‘At least this way, I have a chance.’

“Are you two done talking with one another?” Cultivator Jaime called out, interrupting our telepathic conversation. “Or can we begin now?”

I narrowed my eyes at her. How had she known? We hadn’t included her in the conversation.

“It was obvious,” Cultivator Jaime said, as if reading my mind, “Your facial expressions kept changing.”

Damn it! I hated how easy it was to read my face.

“Let us begin.” I said. “The sooner we get this over with, the better.”

“On that we agree, Divine Demon.” Cultivator Jaime said. “Now, to avoid any misunderstandings, let us lay out the rules. You and I shall take turns dancing. We will keep going until one of us either concedes, or is unable to continue for some reason. Do you agree to these rules?”

I nodded.

“Excellent!” Cultivator Jaime said. “In that case, as the challenged, I shall go first. Do you object?”

I shook my head. Cultivator Jaime’s smirk widened, before she began dancing. We didn’t have any music to accompany us, but that didn’t matter. We didn’t need music. At least, I didn’t. Thanks to my insights and enlightenment, I could dance to the rhythms and patterns of the world around me.

A moment later, I realized why Cultivator Jaime was so confident. She was a beautiful dancer. Her movements were difficult to describe in words. Her dance was both innocent and debauched, elegant and vulgar, sacred and profane. It was as if she were both a chaste young maiden and an experienced seductress.

Worst of all, her dance roused my demonic nature. My desire for her grew, despite my efforts otherwise. From the triumphant gleam in her eyes, Cultivator Jaime knew the effect she had on me. My spirits sank. So that’s why she agreed to my challenge so easily. She was a dancer cultivator. While I had a natural talent for dancing, I didn’t specialize in it. I was a warrior at heart.

As Cultivator Jaime danced, I couldn’t keep my eyes off of her. She revealed more and more of her skin, as if her robes were shrinking. Despite this, she never revealed too much. Instead, she revealed just enough to tantalize and tempt me. This drove my demonic nature crazy with frustration.

That part of me wanted to rip off her robes and take her right then and there. I wanted to forget everything and lose myself in Cultivator Jaime’s embrace. Her scent, her touch, her voice, everything. I just needed to give in.

Another part of me recoiled at that thought.

I used Soul Aegis Shield and regained some clarity of mind. The Devilish Beauty Sect specialized in bewitchment and enchantment, and it appeared that Cultivator Jaime used dancing to entrance her enemies. If I hadn’t used Soul Aegis Shield, I would have lost in the first round. A chill ran down my spine when I realized how close Cultivator Jaime came to entrancing me. The disciples of the Devilish Beauty Sect were far more insidious than I anticipated.

Cultivator Jaime stopped dancing with a frown on her face.

“Hmm, that should have worked.” She said. “Your mind is far more resilient than I expected.” She grinned. “No, it’s better this way. An easy victory is boring. A challenge is more entertaining.” She gestured to me. “Now then, divine demon. It’s your turn to dance.”