"My name is Yang. Girl, what is your name?"
"M-my name is Xingyu."
Yang asked the little girl in front of her.
After the spiritual root testing finished, Yang took Xingyu back to her residence to start teaching her. The young girl looked at Yang with seven parts fear and three parts nervousness, but Yang did not care, as a master, her job is to teach to continue the sect's heritage, not be a mother.
Yang took out a jade slip and tossed it to Xingyu. Xingyu quickly caught the slip, sighing in relief that she did not drop it.
"This is the Yin-Yang Fusion Scripture, learn it. If you have any questions, ask me when I come back."
Yang said, then, turning on her heel, leaving like a gust of air.
Xingyu quickly nodded her head like a chicken pecking on grains. She sat down cross-legged and lightly placed the jade slip on her smooth forehead; her mind was filled with information.
The Yin-Yang Sect's Yin-Yang Fusion Scripture was a Heaven Tier cultivation art. Rumors say it is a downgraded version of the lost Dao Tier art that was created by the founder of the sect.
Time slowly passed.
Xingyu reached the age of sixteen, becoming an adult in the Martial Heaven continent. Her cultivation reached the first stage of the Foundation Establishment realm. Xingyu was extremely happy that her cultivation was progressing properly and her personal life had been good as well. Three meals a day and ten small spiritual stones a month as an allowance.
"Master! I have reached the Foundation Establishment realm."
Xingyu happily told Yang the good news. Yang looked at Xingyu thoughtfully.
"I see. Later tonight, meet me in the main room. I'll give you a gift."
Yang said with a calm expression. Xingyu smiled brightly, her eyes held great expectation for this gift.
Later that night, Xingyu was taken into a room by Yang, and what she saw shocked her.
A young man was gagged and tied in the room, struggling lightly as if he could not muster strength.
"M-master, w-what…"
Yang looked calm, as if she was not bothered by this scene or her disciples' reaction.
"Your gift. Practice the Yin-Yang Fusion Scripture with him, and your cultivation will increase rapidly."
As Yang spoke, she went near the low table, placed an incense stick in the incense holder, and lit it on fire. Soon, scented pink smoke started to spread through the room.
Yang did not pay attention to the dazed Xingyu; instead, she walked out of the room.
Click!
Hearing the door being locked, Xingyu awoke from her dazed state, quickly ran to the door, and hit it with her fist.
Bang! Bang!
"Master! Master! I can't do this!"
Xingyu was extremely uncomfortable and distressed with this situation, but unknown to her, the pink smoke she inhaled had special properties. Her eyes became hazy, her blood boiled, and she started to feel a fire burn in her lower abdomen. She bit her lower lip heavily, drawing blood, using the pain to keep her senses. She continued to bang on the door with all her might.
The young man who was restrained also started to show a reaction; he was pitching a tent. His eyes were bloodshot, and his veins were protruding.
Xingyu tried her best to escape this situation, but she soon felt a pair of large arms wrap around her waist.
"N-no!"
Xingyu tried to struggle, but due to the incense wafting in the air and the hormones from the young man, she failed.
Moonlight shone on the room, shadows entangled, and flesh collided.
…
Sunlight beamed on Xingyu's face. Feeling the heat, she groaned, opening her eyes slowly. Her body was covered with sweat.
"Ugh, too think I would have a nightmare at this age."
Xingyu straightened her back while sitting up on the bed, her eyes squinted due to the sunlight, and she placed her left hand on the bed as support, but felt an odd sensation. After her eyes adjusted, she turned her gaze to her left side to see what was causing this odd sensation.
"AHHH!"
Xingyu screamed in fright. She tried to get off the bed, but her legs were weak, and pain shot up from below her lower abdomen.
Thud!
She fell to the ground and quickly crawled away. Soon, the contents of her stomach came up. She tried to hold it in, but vomited all over the floor.
Blaaargh!
On the bed, there was the lifeless, shriveled body of the young man.
After her stomach was emptied, Xingyu wrapped herself in a blanket, hugged her knees, and leaned against the wall, crying bitterly.
Sob! Sob! Sob!
…
Hours passed by.
Click!
The door to the room was unlocked, and Yang stepped in, seeing the shriveled body. She nodded her head, but was confused about where her disciple was until she looked past the bed.
There, sitting on the ground, was Xingyu, covered in tears, snot, and vomit. Her eyes were lifeless as she stared at the bed.
This type of situation of draining a person is widely known in the Yin-Yang Sect, but knowing and experiencing it for yourself were two different things. The newer disciples knew, but did not pay too much attention to it due to the Luxuria faction.
"Tch."
Yang clicked her tongue and stepped towards Xingyu.
"What's wrong with you?"
Yang sternly asked, but Xingyu did not respond.
"What? Are you mortified?"
Xingyu still did not respond, but Yang did not care.
"Hmph. In the cultivation world, what matters is your strength! Who cares about how it is obtained! Your body is just another tool to increase your cultivation, remember that."
Yang said like a master teaching their disciple, well, they are master and disciple.
For the people in the Luxuria faction, their bodies were just pieces of meat; the only use they have is to increase their realm through dual cultivation.
Yang still did not get a response from Xingyu, turned around, and was about to walk out when a hoarse voice sounded.
"W-what was his… name?"
Yang stood silently without turning around, but soon she opened her mouth.
"Who knows his first name, but his last name was Mo."
Yang said in a calm voice, stepping out of the room.
Xingyu stood up from the floor, shakily, and the blanket covering her body slipped off, revealing everything that had happened that night. When she tried to pick up the blanket, she noticed a small blood stain. Her face became complicated.
She stored the blanket in her spatial ring and headed off to take a shower.
…
When the sky became dark, Xingyu carried the body from the room to a barren peak in the Yin-Yang Sect.
She laid the body on the ground, coated her hands with Qi, and began to dig. As a second-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator, her hands were tough; the soil was like mud to Xingyu.
Soon, a six-foot deep grave was created. Xingyu jumped out; her hands and robes were covered with dirt. She took out the blanket stained with her blood and wrapped it around the young man's body until it was covered. She then slowly laid it down in the grave.
When the corpse was settled, she filled the grave with dirt.
On this barren peak, a person rested, but no one except the girl knew, since this grave did not have a headstone.
Xingyu covered the grave, making sure no one could tell the soil was displaced. After she finished, she sighed; her face was filled with exhaustion. She sat on the ground, hugging her legs, looking up at the night sky.
The moon hung like a polished silver coin in the ink-black sky, its pale light washing over the quiet landscape. A sharp, crisp cold settled in the air, biting at exposed skin and drawing puffs of breath from anyone who ventured outside. The stars glittered fiercely, countless pinpricks of icy light scattered across the vast darkness, some so bright they cast faint shadows.
Tap! Tap!
Hearing the sound of footsteps, Xingyu turned her gaze to where it was coming from.
There stood a young girl with silver hair, in her left hand was a plant, and in her right hand was a shovel, but the most odd thing about her was that she wore no shoes.
"Uh, sorry, didn't know anyone was here."
The silver-haired girl said while hiding her hands behind her back with an awkward smile on her face, as if she was caught doing something she should not have been doing.
Xingyu only looked at her for a moment, then turned her gaze back to the night sky.
The young girl sighed with relief, but did not know whether to leave or stay, so an awkward situation was unfolding. A girl was sitting on the ground looking at the stars while another girl stood standing unsure of what to do.
As if giving up, the young girl walked near Xingyu and sat beside her. As she got a closer look at Xingyu, she noticed she was also covered in dirt. Seeing this, the young girl smiled and asked.
"Are you also here to plant things?"
Xingyu became confused, but she did not know how to explain why she was covered in dirt. She could not just say I came to plant a body.
"Yeah."
So, Xingyu could only lie and nod her head. The young girl, hearing this, smiled brighter.
"Thank goodness, I thought I was the only one."
Xingyu looked at the smiling girl, wanting to say You are the only one, but she pursed her lips.
Xingyu and this silver-haired girl spoke; well, the silver-haired girl spoke the most. Xingyu just nodded and said a few words.
"That flower in your hand, can I plant it?"
Xingyu suddenly asked, pointing at the beautiful blue flower in the silver-haired girl's left hand.
"Oh, this? Sure!"
The silver-haired girl did not mind; she had planned to plant it here a long time ago. She happily gave the flower and shovel to Xingyu.
Xingyu took these items and went to the top of the grave. She dug a hole and placed the beautiful, blue flower in it.
The sun slowly broke the horizon, dispelling the darkness and shining a light mixed with the colors of red, orange, and yellow.
"Oh, yeah, my name is Hua Qingyan. What's yours?"
Hua Qingyan asked with a smile. Xingyu turned and showed a slight smile, her eyes now filled with light.
"My name is Mo Xingyu."
A faint breeze brushed against the leaves of the blue flower, making it flutter slightly.