She had once hated her own existence, before she left her master.
Back then, to escape her master, her mother had hidden in the deep mountains of the mortal world. After her master killed her mother, he paid her no mind, leaving her to fend for herself. If her master hadn't returned later, she would have either become a savage or perished there. Fortunately, her master did return.
After being brought back to Wolf Leap Mountain, her master tossed her to his own disciple, her Senior Brother.
Her Senior Brother's temperament was the same as her master's—capricious, cruel, and ruthless. Thankfully, her mother had never offended him; he was merely indifferent and did not abuse her. At that time, Senior Brother was urgently trying to break through to Core Formation and paid her no attention either, aside from ordering nearby villagers to bring her food and water.
When she grew a little older, Senior Brother began ordering her to do tasks—tending medicinal herbs, managing the cave abode. To make it easier to command her, he taught her cultivation and literacy. The reason she was a martial cultivator lay precisely in this. If not for what came later, Senior Brother hadn't treated her poorly; one could even say he had shown her kindness.
Her master would occasionally emerge from his seclusion chamber. Whenever he saw her, his expression was never pleasant. Sometimes, he would simply curse her as a 'slut'; other times, he would throw her into the Origin Demon Pool, leaving her in a state where she could neither live nor die.
Every time her master threw her into the Origin Demon Pool and watched her struggle bitterly, he would curse loudly—either cursing her mother as a slut or cursing her as a bastard.
At those times, she hated herself. Why did she have to exist? If not for her, her mother wouldn't have had to flee and wouldn't have died a violent death. If she didn't exist, she wouldn't have to endure such days and nights of torment.
Gradually, she grew up. For over a decade, she endured everything submissively, finally winning the trust of her master and Senior Brother, who entrusted all the affairs of the cave abode to her.
Her master was often in seclusion, and Senior Brother was busy with Core Formation. Those were her happiest days.
She often went down the mountain to watch the ordinary Xi Rong people living ordinary lives.
She hoped that one day, she too could live such a life, even if it meant losing all her cultivation and becoming a mortal.
Unfortunately, her happiness did not last long.
Senior Brother failed in his Core Formation attempt and was in an extremely foul mood. If she made even the slightest mistake, she would be scolded at best and beaten at worst.
Senior Brother was the successor her master had painstakingly sought. To help Senior Brother cultivate, her master would even capture mortals and throw them into the Origin Demon Pool, creating Origin Demons for Senior Brother to devour. A person like her master would actually be completely submissive to someone, while all she ever received was beatings and curses.
In such bitter days, cultivation became her only hobby. Only when cultivating could she escape the bitterness in her heart, and only by making progress in her cultivation could she prove to her master that she had some value.
Her master began sending her out on errands. The first time she killed someone, her hand trembled so much she couldn't even throw a punch, but later, she gradually grew accustomed to it.
She pretended she had no thoughts, treating herself as a mere tool—only then could she feel slightly better.
Senior Brother remained at the peak of Foundation Establishment for a long time, unable to achieve Core Formation. He had once hoped his master could help him advance, but his master had scolded him harshly: if he needed help even with the Core Formation barrier, how would he ever form his Nascent Soul and become a great cultivator in the future?
Though both were scoldings, her master hated her to the bone, while for Senior Brother, it was 'spare the rod and spoil the child'.
Senior Brother could only think of ways to achieve Core Formation himself, and the method he thought of was actually... dual cultivation through absorption...
Recalling the past, Nie Wushang clenched her fists tightly, her nails digging deep into her palms.
Thus, her master used Origin Demon Qi to clear her meridians and infused Origin Demon Qi into her body, all to give Senior Brother a helping hand.
During that period, she almost wanted to end her miserable life. It was both because of the pain of the Origin Demon entering her body and the despair of having no control over her own fate.
To escape such a fate, she even thought of self-mutilation. Ironically, she ultimately failed because Senior Brother himself suffered a Qi deviation during his cultivation.
She escaped the fate of being used for dual cultivation absorption, but she understood even more clearly that in the eyes of her master and Senior Brother, she was merely a tool.
She envied Mo Tiange because, while she also had a master and a Senior Brother, her orders were completely different.
With the dual cultivation absorption failing, Senior Brother went to the Kunwu region to seek opportunities for Core Formation, only to never return, dying at the hands of Qin Jinghe's disciple from the Xuanqing Sect. Her master had old grievances with Qin Jinghe; upon hearing this news, he flew into a rage.
She, however, secretly rejoiced. Without Senior Brother, there was one less person to beat and curse her. Her master spent most of his time in seclusion, so her days became much easier.
That was indeed the case. After Senior Brother's death, her master focused wholeheartedly on revenge, always cultivating secret arts, and spent less time tormenting her. Also, having lost his disciple, her master finally began to treat her as a disciple. Although he still often beat and cursed her, he no longer used such ruthless methods as before.
Decades passed. Qin Shoujing, who had killed Senior Brother, advanced to Core Formation and became famous throughout the Tianji Region. The Xuanqing Sect gained its sixth Nascent Soul cultivator, greatly enhancing its reputation. Her master finally couldn't hold back any longer and went to seek revenge.
It was at the Nascent Soul ceremony of that Dao Lord Xuanyin that she met Mo Tiange.
Before that, she had grown accustomed to such a life and had never thought of betraying her master. Her experience at the Xuanqing Sect made her envy and resent those female cultivators from renowned orthodox sects.
Over fifty years later, she successfully achieved Core Formation and followed her master to the Heavenly Demon Mountain. That brief period of interaction finally made her resolve to betray and escape.
She wanted such a life too—free and unrestrained, able to walk openly under the sun.
Then, taking advantage of her master's recovery from injuries, she stole her master's Qiankun Bag and fled the Tianji Region.
It was the boldest decision of her life. Success meant boundless freedom; failure meant her bones would be left to rot.
"You think that because you escaped once, your life is your own?" A voice came from within the black cloud.
Nie Wushang stood, her gaze firmer than ever before. "My life has always been my own. It's just that I didn't understand before."
"Hmph, heh heh..." Venerable Songfeng sneered, clearly furious.
When he finished laughing, he said in a hoarse voice, "If your life is your own, then hand over what doesn't belong to you! I raised you for so many years—what part of you isn't mine?! Your cultivation, your techniques, and the Qiankun Bag on you!"
Nie Wushang bit her lip and lowered her head.
Venerable Songfeng continued, "Fine, your life is your own, you ran away. Then why did you steal this old man's Qiankun Bag? Why did you bring people to Wind-Sand City? Slut, don't act so righteous and high-minded. Is there anything honorable about what you've done?"
Nie Wushang still did not answer. She didn't think what she had done was wrong, but faced with her master's accusation, she couldn't find the words to reply.
After a moment of silence, a light laugh suddenly sounded, carrying a mocking tone.
Jing Xingzhi, idly tapping the sword in his hand, said, "How laughable. You're allowed to kill someone's mother, treat them like a slave for over a hundred years, but they're not allowed to steal your things? Tsk, this kind of person thinks they're a god!"
"Exactly!" Mo Tiange looked at the churning black cloud and sneered, adding, "I'd say, the debt of killing one's mother, plus over a hundred years of servitude—can a mere Qiankun Bag compensate for that? It's good enough they didn't demand a life for a life!"
"Isn't that right," Jing Xingzhi clicked his tongue. "I hate people who love to trample on others but won't allow them to fight back the most. If it were a young girl, one could understand—what girl hasn't dreamed of being a princess? But if it's an old man, especially one with a foot in the grave, heh..."
The two of them bantered back and forth, their sarcasm reaching its peak, instantly infuriating Venerable Songfeng to the point of smoke seeming to rise from his seven orifices, the incarnated black cloud churning incessantly.
Finally, after Jing Xingzhi finished speaking, the black cloud stretched out a long line, shooting toward Mo Tiange.
Mo Tiange raised her Heaven-Earth Fan, and a blue shadow suddenly leaped out. It opened its mouth and swallowed the line shot by Venerable Songfeng whole.
Venerable Songfeng was stunned. Seeing the blue shadow swallow his black cloud, circle once, and then return to the Heaven-Earth Fan, he was filled with doubt.
"Azure Dragon?" He was puzzled, thinking he had seen wrong. How could there be an Azure Dragon?
Demon Lord Yeshuang and the others, who had been watching the show from the side, were also startled.
When they had entered, Venerable Songfeng had immediately clashed with the four of them. These three had been quite content to watch the show and had no intention of intervening. If the two sides fought, that would be even better.
Demon Lord Yeshuang stared at Mo Tiange holding the fan, lost in thought.
Tian Xuan saw this and asked in a low voice, "Shuang'er, what's wrong?"
Demon Lord Yeshuang looked at Mo Tiange and tilted her chin. "I've seen her before."
"Her?" Tian Xuan glanced at Mo Tiange, puzzled. As he looked, he too grew confused. "Huh, it's her..."
Now it was Demon Lord Yeshuang's turn to be puzzled. "You know her?"
Tian Xuan said, "Do you remember? When I was forming my Core, I was tricked into the Maze Cave by Starfall City Lord Mei Feng."
"Mmm." Demon Lord Yeshuang nodded, suddenly remembering something.
"She was among them. She and that Jian Xin were also survivors from that time." When they had entered, they hadn't seen the previously encountered Jian Xin and the black-robed figure, but instead saw Jing Xingzhi and Nie Wushang, and immediately understood these two were in disguise. However, listening to their conversation, they couldn't help but feel confused. What were the origins of these two? They sounded like they were from the Tianji Region, so how did they know so much about Yunzhong affairs, even knowing about the auction?
"Oh, right." Yeshuang remembered—wasn't Mei Feng precisely the one killed by that Fellow Daoist Qin? At that time, Mei Feng had been about to attack this little friend Mo; it seemed it was because of this matter.
"Shuang'er, where exactly have you seen her?" Seeing her silent, Tian Xuan pressed.
"The Guixu Sea," Demon Lord Yeshuang said. "You haven't seen her, but you must have heard of her."
The events of the Guixu Sea were no secret to high-level cultivators in Yunzhong. Tian Xuan thought for a moment and remembered, greatly surprised. "It's her!"
"Correct." Demon Lord Yeshuang nodded slowly, looking at Mo Tiange. "This little friend Mo is not simple. A Core Formation cultivator stirred up Yunzhong into chaos, formed her Nascent Soul herself, then patted her butt and returned to the Tianji Region. Hmph!"
Demon Lord Yeshuang snorted coldly. She was a Yunzhong cultivator. Now that Yiyedao in Yunzhong no longer existed, she was also affected, and the culprit was this woman before her. How could she have a good impression of Mo Tiange?
However, she couldn't move against her this time. Not to mention she had several Nascent Soul companions, just the fact that this was the Tianji Region meant she couldn't act recklessly. This little friend Mo was likely a disciple of some major sect or great clan in the Tianji Region. If she acted against her and attracted some formidable figure, that would be troublesome.
If an opportunity arose later, she'd just make her suffer a bit. Demon Lord Yeshuang thought so.