[Name: Yang Lei]
[Body: Demon God (Low-Grade)]
[Cultivation: Heavenly Soul Realm (Mid)]
[Cultivation Techniques:
- Shadow Demon's Qi Flow (Expert)
- Shadow Demon's Movement (Expert)
- Shadow Demon's Eyes (Master)
- Divine Mental Sutra (Original) (Proficient)]
[Skills]
-Perfect Actor
[RP: 690]
"Just 10 more to get that but should I do it", I muttered to myself.
*Knock Knock*
"Come in," I said, closing the status screen.
"I have come with the scroll, my lord," Mei said, bowing slightly.
"Bring it here."
She handed me the scroll and stood beside me.
After a few minutes, as I reached the scroll's midpoint, Mei began speaking with a proud look.
"My technique is very different from all the other illusion techniques out there; it's a unique creation I made from scratch."
"Hmm, I can see that," I remarked while reading the scroll detailing the intricacies of her technique.
"Feel free to ask me about anything you don't understand. Once I regain some of my spiritual energy, I'll give you a live demonstration of this technique so you can get a better idea of how it works."
"But didn't you use your illusion when we first met?"
"That doesn't even come close to what my real technique can do. Not even the most powerful cultivators can break or know about my illusions if I don't want them to," said Mei with a smug look.
'Well, I'm already aware of how potent your illusions can be,' I thought inwardly.
After finishing the scroll, I stowed it away in my storage ring and reclined on my bed.
'I'm relieved I could heal her, just like in the novel,' I say and close my eyes to rest a little.
...
*Yesterday*
Just as she finished signing the slave contract, a notification appeared in front of me.
[Major Plot Change]
[200 Reversal Points Awarded]
I already anticipated earning some points since this fox played a significant role, like a side heroine, and was quite involved with the protagonist. So these 200 points were no big surprise.
After storing the contract in my storage ring, I promptly fulfilled my part of the deal, which was to heal her.
I requested Lifen's knife and, with it, severed one of her tails.
The fox was dumbfounded, and upon realizing what had just happened, she fainted right on the spot.
"Take the fox to one of the spare rooms and explain all the rules around here. Also, inform her that her curse has been cured; she doesn't need to know the details. When she wakes up, instruct her to write her illusion technique in detail and bring it to me tomorrow."
"Yes, my lord," said Qin, ready to leave with the fox when I stopped her.
'System, suggest a name for her.'
[How about Mei?]
'Yeah, that will do.'
"Let her know that from now on, she is Mei."
...
*Present*
The book didn't delve into the specifics, but one of her tails had fallen victim to a curse. As fox spirit beasts store all their cultivation in their tails, when the curse spread to every tail, it resulted in the complete sealing of her cultivation.
'I was taking a big risk by cutting her tail based on the novel's description because if I had cut the wrong one by mistake, she would have lost a hundred years of her cultivation'
Fortunately, nothing of the sort occurred, and she was healed as the source of the curse was severed.
"Uhm... ma... master."
Hearing Mei's voice, I open my eyes and turn my head to see why she is calling me.
"Oh, sorry, I unconsciously grabbed it," I say, but I don't let her tail go.
Yesterday, when I touched her soft and fluffy tails, a sensation like no other swept over me. The soft and fluffy feel under my fingers was a delightful surprise, and I couldn't resist wanting to enjoy its softness again.
But for some reason, she is reluctant to let me play with her tails.
"Ma-master, please let go," she pleads.
"Don't wanna. Tell me the reason why should I do that. Why don't you want me to touch your tails?" I ask nonchalantly.
After a few seconds of pause, she reluctantly speaks,
"Ah, uhm, since we fox spirit beasts consider our tails and ears something precious and important, it's a rule to only let your mate touch them. Any male other than your family or mate is not allowed to touch them."
After hearing her reason, I sigh and harshly grab her tail, pulling her towards me onto the bed.
"Ma-my lord!?"
I grab her by her long ears and make her look at me eye to eye.
"Are you stupid?", I ask with a frown.
Although scared, she didn't understand why I was angry, so I explained it to her.
"When you signed that contract, everything of yours became mine. So where are you going to look for a mate?"
She starts to speak in panic, "Ah, my lord tha-", But I grab her face and squeeze it.
"I will touch you where I want and however I want. So you better remember who you belong to from now on," I say with glowing red eyes.
"Ye-yesh."
Just as I finished speaking, Lifen knocked and entered the room.
"I have gathered all the promising outer disciples, my lord," said Lifen.
"Hmm, good work. Let them enter," I say and let the fox go.
After a few seconds, 7 boys and 3 girls of different sizes were standing in front of me.
I assessed their cultivation, to see what I was working with, and was impressed. The lowest one was at Soul Refinement Realm (low), while the highest one was at True Soul Realm (low).
'These guys should be able to get the job done,' I think inwardly. I put on a bright expression to ease their tension and started to speak,
"You all don't have to be so nervous. Relax, everyone."
Hearing me say that eased some of their tension. "Now you all must be curious why I called you all here, right?"
"Yes, my lord!" all of them shout.
"Well, it's a really simple thing," I say and use my [Divine Mental Sutra] to transfer them all the details of the task I want them to do.
All of them open their eyes wide in surprise as I start sending them information.
"You all have to go to these hidden ruins and explore them thoroughly. Don't leave a single stone unturned," I say, ignoring their surprised looks.
"Get all the techniques, relics, and treasures you find and bring them back. If you all do a good job, I will reward you generously."
After I was done explaining everything, I sent them out.
'Good, now I can get some points even when I am not able to move. Right, system?'
[Yes, you will get points for stealing the protagonist's opportunities and hindering his growth.]
'Now I can rack up points even without lifting a finger'.
"My lord, wouldn't it have been better for me to go and handle this job? What if they try to hide something?" asked Lifen.
"You don't need to worry about that, as I will know if something is missing," I respond. 'Because I already know what you get from those ruins,' I think inwardly.
"Besides, the places I sent them to don't have anything that useful to me."
"Then why send these people to explore the ruins?"
"Well, firstly, because I don't want anyone else to get these items. And secondly, these items, although not useful to me, will be very tempting to other people. Any of those will be enough to advance someone one or two realms in a short amount of time. They can be very useful when bribing people or giving them as rewards."
"I see," she said and went quiet.
Normally, a person would have asked me how I came to know about these ruins, but Lifen was not that kind of person, which made things a lot easier for me. I didn't have to make up some fake stories to deceive her.
I shifted my position to a more comfortable one and continued my explanation.
"If any of them hide something from me, then I will not give them any future jobs. But the ones who provide me with all the items will be greatly rewarded and given more opportunities in the future."
"So is this like a test?"
"Something like that." 'And also if they take the items, the protagonist won't get them,' I thought to myself with a smirk. "Place someone as a guard at the gate and tell them to send any of these people directly to me when they come back."
"Yes, my lord," said Lifen and was about to leave when I called her again, having remembered something.
"Oh, and Lifen, tell Elder Mifen to meet me when she is free."
She just bowed and left.
"Sigh, I want to move already, but this poison is very annoying," I said, feeling a little tired and drowsy.
I could use [Perfect Actor] to minimize the pain and move, but that would delay my recovery.
"Sigh, I hope these three weeks go by quickly. I have nothing to do. I can't even cultivate unless all the poison is out of my body."
[Are you not worried about the protagonist?]
"If Ling does her job properly, then I should get some extra time," I say and close my eyes, letting drowsiness take over me