I Was Called A Demon

At the peak of the Reaper’s Grave, in the early morning, Bianca stared at a scrap of paper that had flown straight into her throne room and landed in her lap.

It was barely any larger than her hand, seemingly ripped out to just the perfect size to contain the message that was written upon it in ink. That message, however, was rather vague as to the source of it, as well as the message, likely deliberately so.

“The eerie tangle, the tenth step, an offering of incense. Observing the dead… the fuck does that mean?”

The kitsune and Huang Su had gathered to discuss the matter, and the latter quickly offered a guess.

“Though uncommon, some sects have a tradition of surrounding villages and towns offering them incense as a sign of respect. There is also a custom between some sects to burn incense for the other when signalling the intention to interact in peace – for as long as incense burns, the other sect’s boundaries are respected,” the Sect Master explained, “While I am not certain if this is the intended meaning… if it was sent by another sect, it would be a logical one.”

“Observing the dead… we did try to send some rumours of Long Mudan being found. Could it be that the Solitary Peak has heard them?” Xue Yaling pondered, “This method of sending a message is not typical for the Solitary Peak Sect, but since they have not specified their identity, it’s not impossible for that to be deliberate, in order to obfuscate their identity.”

“If it is them, why would they do that?”

“So far, we’ve been unable to reach out directly, so they would have no way of confirming the rumours. If they are true, we would understand, and come out to meet them… is my assumption.”

“Then, the first half, ‘eerie tangle’ and ‘tenth step’…” Bianca looked between the two phrases, attempting to discern some meaning, “Tenth… could it literally be them saying that we should meet them at some place called the ‘eerie tangle’ on the tenth day of the month?”

“It is currently the fifth… so that would make some sense. As for the ‘eerie tangle’, however…” the kitsune crossed her arms and thought for a moment, before suddenly saying, “Bring in Shouge Zhe.”

“Huh, why would I- right, she’s been travelling around the area for years, and has the inherited memories of the other reapers. If anyone knows anything about the area surrounding the Reaper’s Grave, it would be her,” with a nod, Bianca quickly reached out via the defensive array, then returned her attention to the paper, “I don’t see a strong aura around this paper, so it doesn’t seem like there’s much energy lingering on it?”

However, that seemed to be enough to enlighten Huang Su, who shared a look with the kitsune before explaining.

“There is a remnant of energy upon it, but we were unable to identify its attribute nor special qualities. However, if it appears to lack a distinct aura, that would make it match the qualities of the Isolated Soul Chant, the technique used by most members of the Solitary Peak Sect. That is another piece of evidence, and then ‘observing the dead’ is almost certain to mean that the sender wishes to see Long Mudan’s body.”

“Oh… guess my particular way of seeing stuff has its upsides and downsides…” Bianca muttered, “Still, not sure why they would be vague, but give away enough information that anyone aware of the rumours would be able to tell what they mean.”

“That I am uncertain about, I’m afraid,” Huang Su admitted, looking at the piece of paper again, “I have little experience with the Solitary Peak Sect, so it may be that this is a common practise for them.”

The kitsune shrugged, sitting down on the floor to rest her legs as Shouge Zhe arrived at the entrance to the chamber, offering a shallow bow before proceeding further in, stopping alongside the other two.

“Sect Mistress.”

“Shouge Zhe… Would you happen to know what the ‘eerie tangle’ could refer to?”

“I… I believe it might mean the Ghostwood, a location roughly between our sect and the Solitary Peak Sect, not far from the Exarch’s domain. It is a forested region where the trees grow so tightly together and with so many branches and brambles that it is challenging to navigate. There is also a strong Yin presence in the area, though from our investigation into it, there is no relation to the necromancers.”

“I see… Well, that could mean we have every single piece of the puzzle, though it doesn’t necessarily explain who wants to meet us,” Bianca said, resting her chin in her hand, “If it is someone from the Solitary Peak Sect, they didn’t bother making that clear in the message itself. If it is a necromancer… well, I don’t know why they would be doing something like this, pretty sure they would never actually want to make peace with us.”

“And you would never do such a thing, right, Sect Mistress?” Shouge Zhe asked, expectant.

“No, of course not. Those necromancers are monsters that defy the natural order, and are just creepy, frankly…”

“It’s okay, Sect Mistress, there is no need to say more than you mean. As long as you are hostile to them, your reasons may be as shallow as disliking their appearance – in the end, our goals will still align, and the legacy of the reapers will not have been lost.”

“Okay, phew… So, what do the three of you think? Should we risk visiting this place on the tenth – probably best to leave a day prior, just to be safe – to see who it is, or would it be best to ignore it?”

All three of them were silent for a short while, giving it some thought, and Xue Yaling ended up speaking first, rising back up from the floor and dusting herself off before stating her perspective.

“I would personally risk it. The thing is, the strongest foe we could encounter is going to be in the sixth realm – having a sect master, one at the typical level of strength, unlike Huang Su, going out to deal with some upstarts is practically unheard of – so as long as all of us come along, we will survive and be able to escape, if not win outright.”

“My combat strength is not ideal for my realm, and I would struggle to defend everyone at the same time, but we should be able to escape if we run into a foe,” the Phoenix Sect’s leader confirmed.

“My point still stands, then,” Xue Yaling shrugged, “Anyway, there’s also the fact that this Ghostwood is bound to be large enough to not all be covered by the range of divine sense. We should be able to get in and out without being noticed, if it seems like a trap.”

“You are atypically trusting of this, Xue Yaling,” Huang Su shook her head, “Though I am inclined to agree with the fact that we should not be at risk of a seventh realm threat. If this was sent by someone – or some faction – that wished to lure us out, being more direct and obvious would have served them far better, and while there are many things that can be said regarding the various factions of the Heartlands, none are outright incompetent.

“All I can say is that I have never seen the necromancers behave in this manner, and they aren’t great at masking their energy. While they were clearly experimenting with such a thing on Long Mudan’s body, they had yet to succeed,” Shouge Zhe added her perspective.

“Then, it’s at least not the necromancers, in all likelihood. Good… I think?”

Bianca sighed and stood up from her throne, stretching her arms and cracking her neck, then reached out one hand.

“Well, we’re probably not figuring out any more than that, so I’d like you lot to give me some input. So, this is Abyssal Shield as it works normally,” she said, and conjured the barrier before her, letting it linger for a while before dismissing it, “And this is how I’ve been able to get it working.”

She withdrew her hand, and yet the barrier appeared again, less concentrated than before, but present nonetheless, and she could even reposition it with similar ease to simply moving her hand about. Compared to typical experts in cultivation, this was nothing, but compared to what Bianca was usually able to pull off, it was still quite an achievement – enough for the kitsune to nearly fall over on the spot.

“Ancients, you actually managed to do something with your cultivation? On your own?”

“Rude.”

“No, no, I’m actually incredibly happy for you! That’s incredible! We should have a party for you, get you some cake and bitches- wait, no, you’ve got enough of those,” the kitsune stopped, shaking her head, “Anyway, you should be proud of yourself.”

“I wish it was something incredible, but… I’ve just been able to circumvent needing to raise my hand, and I’m doing that by just imagining that I’m raising my hand anyway.”

“Mistress, you might not realise, but even such a thing is already amazing progress. There are many skills out there with incredibly rigid ways of using them, brought about as a result of various factor involved in their creation and iteration, and especially when it comes to a set of skills like your own, being able to modify those rigid aspects to any extent is incredible progress already,” Huang Su explained, a hint of pride entering her expression, “I would like to congratulate you.”

“Aw, you’ll make me blush like this… Still, what I’d like to do is have it surround my body, like a second skin, and shroud me from attack no matter where it comes from,” Bianca explained, red creeping into her cheeks despite her best attempts to subdue it, “Honestly, it’s probably pointless for me to do so, given how tough my skin in, but… y’know, it’s the easiest to modify.”

“I could offer my insights on the defensive skill of the Reapers, though I am uncertain how much I would be able to share without explicitly relaying the skill itself.”

“I think she’d need some massive, massive simplification for it to make sense to her… but it is a worthwhile endeavour,” Xue Yaling nodded, “Let’s see what we can do, but – and this is very, very important – we cannot do the job for you, only give you ideas. You know why, right, Sect Mistress?”

“The Display of Excellence, yes… I know. If I can get through it this time around, though- how does that even work, to begin with? Will I have to go through the full tribulation just to reach the fourth realm properly?”

Huang Su replied after a moment of thought, “Your particular case is very rare, Mistress, but I believe that it should only require crossing the Display of Excellence at most, if you aren’t able to just reach the next realm with a little cultivation. However, you will have to experience the trial again with the next realm no matter what.”

“… I have a feeling the most painful answer is the most likely one, so… can’t wait?”

As far as she recalled, there were at least three Displays of Excellence in total, not factoring whatever the subsequent realms required. The seventh apparently needed something called the Ascension Ceremony, which was effectively the Display on hard mode, requiring her to accomplish something in the moment… and she didn’t even want to consider what the eighth or ninth realms would require.

“In all likelihood, something utterly miserable…”

“Sect Mistress?” Shouge Zhe raised an eyebrow.

“Ah, shit, I was thinking out loud. No, don’t worry about it,” Bianca shook her head, “Anyway, I’ll get Song Ming to bring some drinks over, since I’m thirsty, and we- you can talk at me with whatever you like, and I’ll see how much of it actually clicks.”

On the night before their trip outside, Bianca just lay there, unable to sleep, staring up at the ceiling.

On one hand, the feeling of the cage was always present, always distracting, always frustrating, but after spending so long in it, she was mostly able to sleep without too much trouble. Of course, every morning greeted her with her cock desperately trying to get hard and failing, but that was… bearable.

This night, she was just especially nervous. While the others seemed certain that the one wishing to meet them wouldn’t be a seventh realm expert, she wasn’t certain in the slightest. Perhaps it would be, perhaps not, or perhaps it would instead be a massive horde of sixth realm cultivators, or even just fifth realm. While Huang Su could defend them against one or two people at the same realm, if there were enough, not even their strongest fighter would stand a chance.

Her own cultivation wasn’t anything impressive, at least while she remained below the true fourth realm, and the same could be said of the kitsune, who was still in the third realm, and the reaper, whose fourth realm was only impressive against those in the same realm, or necromancers.

If they ran into them in the Ghostwood, that would be ideal, as the range of skills Shouge Zhe displayed were perfect counters to their attempts to raise the dead and manipulate various curses, though even then, at best she might be able to confront one at the fifth realm. Against more, without the benefit of the home ground advantage – that is, the Reaper’s Grave – she would be just as helpless as the rest of them.

‘And we don’t exactly have anyone else to bring out, or to keep around here… fuck.’

She got up, walking out in the moonlight, looking down over the sect grounds. It was mostly dark, with only one light visible from the top – a quick glance with her spiritual perception confirmed that it was Yang Moshi, playing with herself – but she didn’t need the light.

Instead, she took a breath in and then conjured the Abyssal Shield, finding it manifest in the same semi-spherical shape before her as usual. She was able to make it spread out or condense upon a narrower spot, and she could reposition it without too much difficulty, but forcing it closer, to concentrate right on her skin… no matter what she imagined or what she tried, it just refused to change.

She had done her best to listen – and did so quite well, without her fear of cultivation and ‘magic’ holding her back like before – but absorbing all of that information, and actually applying it, felt like a herculean task.

It wasn’t entirely her fault, either. Whereas others perceived planar energy with spiritual perception, her main experience of it was through her vision, and while it was supposedly an application of the same force, she had never been able to interpret it in the same manner. Similarly, where others had to learn how to control their energy precisely, driving it along specific meridians and manipulating it in particular ways to execute a skill, she had the Demonic Tyrant doing all the work for her, and she could barely comprehend how to control energy without it.

Perhaps she might’ve learned it as other cultivators did, had the Demonic Tyrant not appeared in her life so early, had she not sought out a technique manual with which to accelerate her progress, but… she did not possess this knowledge.

And so, any aid the others attempted to provide regarding actively using and manipulating skills was akin to attempting to explain colour to a blind woman.

It wasn’t impossible for her to figure something out, but it basically required brute trial and error – and she wouldn’t know if anything she did was right or wrong until she succeeded, which was… great. To continue the previous analogy, it would be akin to asking a blind woman to paint with enough colours to advertise a TV panel with. Given enough attempts, she would be able to pull it off, but she would only know once the painting was complete and she was finally free to go, instead of repeating the same task over and over again.

Bianca was lucky in that respect, as she would at least be able to appreciate the fruits of her labour afterwards. Whether it was the defensive advantage of having a layer of smoke shrouding her body, or the benefit of truly progressing in her cultivation, it would be very satisfying for her to eventually get to that point.

The only difficulty was that unlike the blind painter, she didn’t have a distinctive set of colours to be using and trying out. Every single ‘paint’ she could attempt was just a slightly different sensation inside her body, a slight change to the way she attempted to control planar energy…

“Hah… if only this piece of shit had more than six slots. I don’t know if they would count, but at least I’d be able to learn something new again…” Bianca glanced at the ever-present panel with the three skills and three techniques written upon it, the Demonic Tyrant remaining entirely silent in response to her complaint, same as always.

It hadn’t changed at all since the time she had acquired the dual cultivation technique she refused to call by name, almost taunting her with the lack of empty slots, the lack of room to grow beyond what it ordained.

In a way, this was the second best encouragement she could receive to try and modify her skill – the first being the building desire to finally free her cock and fuck whichever slut caught her attention first, cleaning off all the sweat that had built up using their holes. Still, the desire to spite the Demonic Tyrant and prove it wrong about her capabilities was a powerful driver, though there was only so much that spite could do to help her see the colours she was blind to.

‘And now I’m thinking about my dick again… gah, this sucks. I wish someone was sucking- no, no, stop it, you dumbass…’ Bianca exhaled a mouthful of steam, the frustration forcing her to drop her efforts, at least for a moment, ‘Hah… fuck. Should I just get Han Rushu to dick me down again? No, she’ll never drop the subject if she sees me in the cage, plus I don’t think I want to get used to cumming while my dick is completely soft. The blacksmith is already too… exciting thanks to her musky scent.’

She stood still and took deep breaths, trying to focus and calm down. It took a decent while, but eventually she was able to return to her efforts, practising something she barely understood over and over again under the moonlight.