Chapter Thirty-Four: Forced to Swear an Oath in Desperation

Purple Lotus finally turned his head, but his gaze still did not land on me; instead, it seemed to drift off to some unknown place. My heart was anxious, hoping he would notice me, so I leaned awkwardly, attempting to catch his eye, but it was all in vain.

“Master, Master,” I called to him softly, my tone ingratiating, my neck shrunk as if hoping to win a glance from him, but still, he did not look back.

“Today marks the day I accept a disciple. Since I am now cultivating on Mount Lingyun, the ceremony of accepting a student shall follow the customs of Lingyun as well,” Purple Lotus said at last. His gaze finally settled on me. Our eyes met, but in his, there was not the slightest trace of agitation—calm and unruffled. A gentle breeze brushed past, lifting the hem of his robes. His lips pressed into a thin line, as if he was troubled by something, and I wondered uneasily if I was the cause of his hesitation.

Nervous and at a loss, I lowered my head, not daring to look at him again, for fear that his next words would pierce my heart and leave me wounded.

“Yuge, from this day forth, you are the one hundred and eighth generation disciple of Mount Lingyun,” Purple Lotus spoke again, his voice clear and cool as water, cold as ice, like a lotus just blooming upon the surface of a pond—distant and untouchable.

“Yes, Master. Your disciple will remember,” I replied, bowing deeply before him. Today, I had at last become his student in earnest.

Secret joy blossomed in my heart. Now that he was my master, the day when he would become my husband no longer seemed so far away. At the time, I did not understand how this bond between master and disciple, for both him and me, would become such a formidable barrier to our future together.

“Wait.” At this critical moment, Old Yuanshu suddenly interjected.

My heart jolted. Snapping back to my senses, I fixed my gaze anxiously on Purple Lotus. Yet he remained unmoved, his expression impassive, not a ripple in his eyes as he stood silently before us.

“I will not question your origins. Since you have already acknowledged Purple Lotus as your master, from now on you are a disciple of Mount Lingyun. As such, you must obey our sect’s rules: swear never to align yourself with demons or monsters, and if you encounter such beings, you must slay them without hesitation.”

At these words, I could not help but inwardly scoff. Slay demons and monsters on sight? Yuanshu’s demand was far too presumptuous. Never mind whether I was willing—even if I was, with my meager two thousand years of cultivation, I could hardly accomplish such feats. Should I truly encounter some great demon or fiend, I would likely only be able to flee for my life.

“If you break this vow, you shall suffer the wrath of heaven: your soul will be scattered, and you will never know reincarnation.”

My soul scattered, never to reincarnate?

With that added curse, it felt as though a clap of thunder had cracked the clear sky above my head, startling me to my core.

The wrath of heaven? My soul scattered, never to reincarnate?

I trembled inside, cold sweat breaking across my palms. Such an oath was far too cruel, too venomous—hardly the sort of vow a cultivator should make. Even I, known as a witch among demons, would never think to utter something so ruthless.

“What, are you unable to agree?” Yuanshu snorted coldly when he saw my hesitation.

What did it matter if I could or couldn’t? My discontent with Yuanshu grew. Was it not just a simple ceremony to acknowledge a master? He was not even the one I was apprenticing myself to—why force me to swear such a poisonous oath?

“N-no, I can do it,” I answered at last, finding no other way out. Inwardly, I prayed that Heaven, perhaps afflicted by a momentary lapse of hearing, had failed to catch my words, or that the gods might understand the reluctance in my heart and not hold me to a vow I had been compelled to make.