37: Chapter 37 focuses on serving the senior brother.

Within the Hall of Mental Cultivation, a lingering, intimate atmosphere had yet to fully dissipate.

Liu Ruyan stood before a massive floor-length bronze mirror.

The woman reflected in the mirror had a face like a peach blossom, her eyes and brows brimming with springtime allure. Her originally cool and noble demeanor was now tinged with a heart-stirring, captivating charm.

It was an expression only seen after a recent 'thoroughly satisfying' feeding session.

She extended a slender finger, gently tracing her slightly swollen lips.

There, it seemed, the lingering warmth of Su Ye's body and a faint, sweet aroma of porridge still remained.

"Truly... an enchanting flavor."

Liu Ruyan murmured softly, a flicker of near-pathological obsession flashing in the depths of her eyes.

If it weren't for the need to go out and deal with that 'little fly'.

She truly wished she could just stay like this, lying on Senior Brother's chest, listening to his strong heartbeat, until the end of time.

"Huu—"

Liu Ruyan took a deep breath.

As she exhaled, the seductive charm on her face visibly receded at a remarkable speed.

In its place returned her usual ice-cold countenance, one that kept others at a thousand miles' distance.

She adjusted her slightly disheveled collar, ensuring her protective crimson phoenix robe was without a single wrinkle.

Then.

She turned, casting a final glance at Su Ye lying on the cold jade bed.

Her gaze instantly softened, becoming as gentle as water.

"Senior Brother, you rest well."

"Wait for Ruyan to clean up the trash outside, then I'll return to accompany you."

Having said this.

She resolutely turned and walked towards the tightly shut hall doors.

Her footsteps were crisp, and cold.

...

Outside the Hall of Mental Cultivation.

The morning sun filtered through the gaps in the Purple Bamboo Forest, casting dappled light upon the white jade-paved plaza.

The wind carried a hint of chill.

It rustled the bamboo leaves, a sound like the whispers of countless wronged Souls.

At the foot of the steps before the hall doors.

A slender, small figure stood ramrod straight.

It was a girl who looked only about fourteen or fifteen.

She wore a slightly oversized gray Utility Disciple uniform. A wooden plaque engraved with the characters 'Chuxia' hung at her waist.

This was precisely Ye Chuxia, the Fifth Junior Sister who had just been taken in by Nangong Li but had yet to formally become her Disciple.

At this moment, although outwardly motionless,

her hands, hidden within her sleeves, were clenched into tight fists.

Her fingernails dug deeply into her palms, bringing waves of sharp pain.

"What kind of cursed place is this Purple Bamboo Peak?"

Ye Chuxia gritted her teeth silently in her heart.

Ever since being brought up the mountain yesterday, she felt everything here exuded an indescribable strangeness.

That legendary Revered Master, Nangong Li, was overwhelmingly powerful yet nowhere to be seen all day.

That seemingly socially-anxious Third Martial Sister, Jiang Nian, was clearly an Alchemy Genius, yet she constantly muttered to herself and had a distant, unfocused gaze.

But what made her feel most uneasy.

was the 'Eldest Senior Brother' residing within this Hall of Mental Cultivation.

She had already heard rumors about Su Ye until her ears were calloused back in the outer sect.

Once a heaven-defying prodigy, later a jealous madman, finally reduced to a useless vegetative state person.

Logically speaking.

Such a worthless person who had lost all value, in a place like the Cultivation world where the strong prey on the weak, should have long been thrown to the back mountains to feed the Spirit Beasts.

Yet, strangely.

Here on Purple Bamboo Peak, he was revered as if he were a deity.

"And that Second Senior Sister..."

Thinking of Liu Ruyan, Ye Chuxia's body involuntarily trembled.

That woman.

was too terrifying.

Despite possessing a beauty that rivaled a goddess from the Nine Heavens, those eyes of hers always held a chill that made one feel as if they'd fallen into an icy abyss.

Except when facing that Eldest Senior Brother.

The way she looked at others was like looking at a corpse.

Just as Ye Chuxia was lost in these chaotic thoughts.

Suddenly.

An incredibly rich aroma of meat, mixed with the fragrance of high-grade Spirit Medicine, wafted on the wind into her nostrils.

"Gurgle—"

Ye Chuxia's stomach betrayed her with an embarrassing rumble.

She subconsciously sniffed.

"What... what is this smell?"

"So fragrant..."

Just one whiff of this wafting aroma, and she felt the long-stagnant Bottleneck at the ninth layer of Qi Refinement within her body actually show signs of loosening!

What level of Heaven And Earth Treasure must this be?!

Ye Chuxia abruptly looked up, her gaze fixed intently on the tightly shut hall doors.

A storm of shock and disbelief raged in her heart.

Could it be...

that the people of Purple Bamboo Peak were actually using such a peerless treasure medicine to feed that already vegetative waste?!

Such a waste of heaven's gifts!

It's simply a waste of heaven's gifts!

Anger, jealousy, resentment...

A tangle of emotions intertwined in Ye Chuxia's still-immature heart.

Although she came from humble origins, she possessed a stubborn, unyielding fierceness deep in her bones.

This was also the reason why, in the original story, she would later turn into that ruthless and merciless Demoness.

"If this treasure medicine were given to me..."

"I could definitely achieve a Breakthrough to Foundation Establishment, even Golden Core..."

Just as wicked thoughts were sprouting in her heart.

"Creeeak—"

The heavy hall doors slowly opened.

A blinding ray of sunlight shot through the gap, causing Ye Chuxia to instinctively squint.

Immediately after.

That red figure that filled her with fear emerged, walking out step by step against the light.

Her red skirt blazed like fire.

Her ink-black hair cascaded like a waterfall.

Liu Ruyan was like an empress stepping forth from raging flames, descending upon the mortal world with an aura of suffocating pressure.

With her appearance.

the surrounding temperature seemed to instantly plummet by over ten degrees.

Even the rustling Purple Bamboo Forest seemed to quieten down out of fear.

Ye Chuxia felt her breath catch.

A tremor originating from the depths of her Soul caused her originally straight spine to bend uncontrollably.

It was the natural suppression a Golden Core Stage Cultivator exerted over an ant in the Qi Refinement Stage.

It was the absolute disdain of a superior for an inferior.

Liu Ruyan did not speak immediately.

She stood atop the steps, looking down at the girl trembling under her pressure.

Her gaze was indifferent.

as if looking at an ant she could crush at any moment.

At this moment, Liu Ruyan still carried a faint, elusive, sweet scent about her.

It was a unique aroma blending the Five-Colored Golden Pheasant porridge and Su Ye's own scent.

For a low-level Cultivator like Ye Chuxia, this scent was both temptation and poison.

"What?"

"Surprised to see me?"

Finally.

Liu Ruyan spoke.

Her voice was clear and cold, devoid of any emotional color.

Like the crisp sound of ten-thousand-year-old profound ice colliding.

Ye Chuxia shuddered all over.

She hurriedly lowered her head, her voice trembling as she said:

"I... this Disciple wouldn't dare."

"Disciple Ye Chuxia pays her respects to Second Senior Sister."

She struggled to maintain her dignity, not wanting to appear too cowardly.

But under Liu Ruyan's gaze, which felt almost tangible, her pitiful self-respect melted away like snow under sunlight.

"Wouldn't dare?"

Liu Ruyan scoffed derisively.

She slowly descended the steps.

Each step she took seemed to land on the rhythm of Ye Chuxia's heartbeat.

"Thud."

"Thud."

"Thud."

Until she stopped, standing three feet in front of Ye Chuxia.

The oppressive feeling reached its peak.

Liu Ruyan extended a hand, lifting Ye Chuxia's chin, forcing her to look up.

Looking at this face, still youthful yet already revealing traces of stubbornness and ambition.

a flicker of mockery passed through Liu Ruyan's eyes.

"Fifth-Grade Spiritual Root."

"Ninth Heaven of Qi Refinement."

"In the eyes of those Outer Sect Elders, you might be a rare Genius."

"Some even say you're the 'Chosen Daughter of Fate' among this year's new Disciples."

Liu Ruyan's voice was soft, yet each word pierced the heart.

"But here on my Purple Bamboo Peak..."

Her fingers suddenly tightened, squeezing Ye Chuxia's jawbone painfully.

"Put away your ridiculous pride."

"Here, you aren't even worthy of tying Eldest Senior Brother's shoes."

The pain brought tears to Ye Chuxia's eyes, but she dared not resist.

She could sense.

that if she dared move a muscle, this madwoman would absolutely crush her jaw without hesitation.

"Second Senior Sister's lesson is correct..."

Ye Chuxia forced the words out through gritted teeth.

Her heart, however, was filled with humiliation.

Why?!

That waste is already like that, so why must she humiliate me like this?!

As if seeing through the resentment in her heart.

Liu Ruyan released her grip.

She casually pulled out a handkerchief, wiping her fingers with disdain as if they had touched something dirty.

Then she tossed the handkerchief to the ground.

as if she had come into contact with something filthy.

"I know what you're thinking."

Liu Ruyan turned, her back to Ye Chuxia, her gaze fixed on the distant, churning sea of clouds.

"You think Eldest Senior Brother is a waste."

"You think wasting resources on him is not worth it."

"You even think that you yourself are more valuable than Eldest Senior Brother."

Each sentence accurately struck at the core of Ye Chuxia's thoughts.

Ye Chuxia's face turned deathly pale, cold sweat instantly soaking through her back.

"I... this Disciple wouldn't dare..."

"Heh."

Liu Ruyan sneered.

"No need to rush to deny it."

"Because, this is precisely the first thing I will teach you today."

She abruptly turned around.

Those long, phoenix-like eyes erupted with two terrifying beams of sharp light.

piercing straight into Ye Chuxia's Soul.

"Remember this."

"On Purple Bamboo Peak, the sky is vast, the earth is vast, but Eldest Senior Brother is the greatest."

"Your Cultivation, your future, even your very life..."

"are not worth a single strand of Eldest Senior Brother's hair."

These words were spoken with extreme arrogance, extreme unreasonableness.

completely overturning the common sense of 'the strong are revered' in the Cultivation world.

Ye Chuxia listened, dumbfounded.

This... what kind of cult-like nonsense is this?!

However.

Liu Ruyan did not give her time to think.

She stepped closer, her voice growing colder.

"Since Revered Master has taken you in and entrusted you to my guidance."

"then you must abide by my rules."

"Once you enter Purple Bamboo Peak, you have only one identity."

"Not some Fifth Junior Sister, not some future star."

"But—Eldest Senior Brother's maidservant."

"Mai... maidservant?!"

Ye Chuxia cried out involuntarily.

She, a Genius with a Fifth-Grade Spiritual Root, an Inner Sect Disciple of the Taichu Holy Land, was actually to become a maidservant to a waste?!

"What?"

"You're unwilling?"

Liu Ruyan narrowed her eyes. Spiritual power surged around her, a faint killing intent locking onto Ye Chuxia.

"Or perhaps..."

"you'd rather be expelled from the sect right now and have your Cultivation crippled?"

"N-no! Please don't!"

Ye Chuxia was scared Soul Flying Away and Spirit Scattering.

In this world, having one's Cultivation crippled and being expelled from the sect was a fate worse than death.

She hastily knelt to the ground, her forehead knocking heavily against the white jade floor.

"This Disciple is willing!"

"This Disciple... is willing to follow Second Senior Sister's arrangements!"