Stranger Danger

As the blood droplet slid down his throat, Jiang Yunlai licked his lips with an expression of absolute satisfaction. His eyes were still blank and unfocused.

The next moment, Jiang Yunlai abruptly clung to the woman’s head and pressed his lips against the wound, sucking voraciously.

The woman’s body slowly shriveled as he continued to suck and consume the woman’s blood. At the same time, Jiang Yunlai’s eyes slowly turned silver white, and his expression became increasingly maddened with greed.

Just a dozen breaths later, Jiang Yunlai had sucked the unparalleled beauty into skin and bones.

Once done, Jiang Yunlai slowly let go of the woman and licked his lips with a look of satisfaction on his face.

Strangely, the Sage’s smile and licking looked seductive, alluring, and feminine.

“... What just happened? What did I do?!”

Suddenly, the alluring, feminine expression on Jiang Yunlai’s face receded, and he let out a cry of astonishment and disbelief. When he saw the woman’s shriveled body, he immediately staggered backward and cried, “Did I do this?”

When he caught a whiff of the woman’s blood, a voice suddenly appeared inside his head saying: Eat it, eat it. Unbelievably, he actually succumbed to the craving and consumed the blood.

Even now, just recalling the scent of the blood was enough to trigger that hunger.

The next moment, Jiang Yunlai seemingly sensed something and yelled, “Audacious evil! Show yourself!”

Boom!

Before he finished speaking, an unbelievable amount of energy burst out of Jiang Yunlai’s body. Vigor and astral qi clashed against each other and generated an all-consuming heat that seemed capable of melting anything and everything.

“Show yourself!”

“Show. Yourself!”

Jiang Yunlai roared as his energies grew increasingly violent. He even manifested his yang god and filled the whole space with light.

“Haha… save your strength. You and I have already become one.”

It was at this moment Jiang Yunlai’s savage expression flattened, and a woman’s voice emerged from his mouth.

“Who are you?”

Jiang Yunlai’s expression reverted back to savagery, and he growled.

A woman’s voice came out of Jiang Yunlai’s mouth once more. “You just drank my blood. Who do you think I am?”

Slowly, half of Jiang Yunlai’s face turned feminine and charming, and the other half vicious and masculine.

“It’s you! You’re still alive?” Jiang Yunlai exclaimed in shock and fear.

“Still alive? I am a celestial, dear. I am the being who transcends all life and can survive even ten thousand tribulations. Nothing and no one can kill me. Hehehe, not Xuanyuan Kun, not the Eastern Radiance Lord, and definitely not the Kunlun Celestial Sovereign! Hahahahahaha!”

The voice grew hysterical and mad, but this time, it wasn’t just the woman. There was a man’s voice, a child’s voice, an old woman’s voice and more. It sounded like the amalgamation of multiple voices, anomalous, mad, and eerie.

As the voices continued laughing, a power full of frenzy, hatred, destructive impulse, and filth slowly surged out of his body.

Despite using all of his strength, Jiang Yunlai found himself incapable of suppressing the power, much less removing it. It was almost as if his body did not belong to himself.

It took a few breaths before the hysterical, crazed voice finally subsided, and the terrifying, hateful energy in Jiang Yunlai’s body disappeared. He finally regained control of his body, but only half of it. The other half was not under his control.

The woman’s voice came from Jiang Yunlai’s mouth again, “Unless I wish for death myself, no one can kill me. A mortal like you would not understand the methods of a celestial.”

“So, you really don’t need to waste your energy. I won’t die unless you die—oh, excuse me. What I really mean is, I will live even if you die.”

“This is a celestial, descendant of Jiang Ye. Do you understand now?”

“You know who I am?” Jiang Yunlai exclaimed in shock. Jiang Ye was the clan chief of the Jiang Clan who escaped from the Kunlun Ruins back then.

“Not only do I know that you are the descendant of Jiang Ye, I know that you have come for the Life Tribulation,” the woman replied.

“Life Tribulation?” Jiang Yunlai asked.

“Oh, I forgot that you are a mortal. You have not heard of the Life Tribulation.”

The woman explained casually, “The Life Tribulation is a tribulation of lifespan. There exist three curses in the Kunlun Ruins, and they are Life, Death, and Living. The Life Tribulation is the shortening of one’s lifespan and destiny via execution of the art of fate and the spell of reincarnation.”

“A victim of Life Tribulation meets many troubles and misfortunes in life, and their lifespan is permanently shortened. Neither death nor the cycle of rebirth could resolve it. All descendants of a victim of Life Tribulation are doomed to suffer a short and perilous life for eternity.”

“Troubles and misfortunes in life, lifespan is permanently shortened…” Jiang Yunlai murmured.

The woman continued, “Ten thousand years ago, Jiang Ye and Ji Heng betrayed the celestials and escaped the Kunlun Ruins during its time of crisis. Because of this, the celestials cursed them to suffer the Life Tribulation for eternity!”

“You, the descendant of Jiang Ye, too suffer from the Life Tribulation. It is a curse you may never be rid of.”

“Are you aware? Your Life Tribulation is near. You will die in another three months at most.”

Jiang Yunlai did not say anything because it was the truth. He knew he was going to die. The premonition of death had been growing stronger every passing day. It was why he did everything he could to enter the Kunlun Ruins.

“So, do you wish to live or die, descendant of Jiang Ye?” the woman asked after a moment of silence.

“What if I want to live? What if I wish to die?” Jiang Yunlai asked.

For the first time since the conversation began, Jiang Yunlai relaxed. The fact that the celestial had not stolen full control of his body proved that her abilities, while transcendental, were ultimately limited. The fact that she was willing to speak with him and even offer him terms also meant that she needed him. For someone in his position, both points were undoubtedly good news.

“If you wish to die, then you can die right now! I promise I won’t stop you!”

The woman smirked. “But if you really were seeking death, then you wouldn’t have come here, would you?”

“What are you trying to say?” Jiang Yunlai asked coldly.

“I’m saying that I can save you,” The woman declared. “In fact, only I can save you!”

“Hahaha…”

Jiang Yunlai actually laughed when he heard this. “Don’t you think that is too absolute a statement, celestial?”

“Only a celestial can neutralize the principles of fate and reincarnation involved in the Life Tribulation. However, even in the Kunlun Ruins, only a handful of people are well-versed in the curse. Therefore, only I can resolve your Life Tribulation and break the grim fate on your person once and for all!” The woman declared.

“And how would I know if you are telling the truth or not?”

Jiang Yunlai sneered. “Besides, didn’t you say that ‘a handful of people’ are well-versed in the curse? That means that you aren’t the only ones I can rely on! Even without you, I can find another celestial who knows about the curse and resolve it!”

“You think they would help you?”

The woman suddenly burst out laughing. It was a laugh full of unbridled hate and scorn. “Allow me to remind you that your ancestors had betrayed the celestials, and that you are the descendant of a traitor. Do you seriously think they would help you?”

“If you think you can convince them to help you or pardon you using sophistry or the favor of waking them from their slumber, don’t. They will never, ever, forgive you.”

“Not only will they not forgive you, once you foolishly alert them to your existence, they will do everything in their power to ensure your life is as miserable as it can be. They will make sure that the descendants of the Jiang Clan and the Ji Clan will never escape their fate!”

Jiang Yunlai did not say anything. The other half of his face was riddled with disdain and ridicule.