64: Master, come be my flower

Su Lin gently pushed away the arms of his three disciple in front of him.

Meeting their worried gazes, he shook his head, then stepped through the Void Realm, one step at a time, walking forward alone.

The wind from the Myriad Demon Forest, carrying a dense scent of blood and miasma, stirred Su Lin's somewhat thin clothes.

Mu Qingxue, Luo Ximei, and Gu Qiuyue all circulated their Spiritual Qi, their nerves stretched to the limit.

If Ye You showed even a hint of losing control, they would act immediately, protecting their Revered Master at all costs.

However, Su Lin's steps showed no hesitation.

"Wait! Don't come over yet!"

Ye You called out, extending her palm to create a barrier between them.

Su Lin stopped, reached out his hand, and gently touched the cold barrier.

"Xiao You, are you going to block your Revered Master?"

Ye You's body trembled violently, and she shook her head frantically.

"I... I don't want to... Revered Master, don't come any closer."

She was afraid that the indelible blood on her would disgust her Revered Master.

Her current appearance, neither human nor demon, was too different from before.

She was afraid that her Revered Master might show even a trace of disappointment.

"Xiao You, do you remember?"

He spoke slowly, his voice carrying a hint of nostalgia.

"A hundred years ago, you pointed to the most beautiful blood-red rose on the back mountain and asked me,

"'Why does the prettiest flower have the sharpest thorns?'"

Ye You was startled; that long-sealed memory instantly became clear.

"I told you then,"

"'Thorns are not meant to hurt others.

Their existence is only to protect those fragile petals from being wantonly ravaged by wind and rain.'"

Su Lin injected a gentle Spiritual Qi from his palm into the barrier.

The barrier under Su Lin's hand dissipated into specks of light.

He took one step and was already standing before the throne woven from vines and beast bones.

Ye You froze in place, her bare feet on the blood-stained throne, her fingers clenched nervously.

Su Lin reached out his hand, not touching her, but gently brushing away a strand of her blood-stained hair.

"Thorns protected the flower, and a hundred years of wind and rain have tempered you."

His voice was steady, "What I see is not a monster, but my disciple Xiao You, who survived."

Ye You's body tensed abruptly, and she took a step back.

Demonic Qi uncontrollably overflowed, but she forcibly suppressed it back before it reached Su Lin.

This action made her tremble slightly.

Su Lin stood still, neither advancing nor retreating, and said calmly,

"In front of your Revered Master, you don't need to be like this."

"Let me see you, the real you."

As soon as he finished speaking, the figures of the three disciple blurred simultaneously in the next second.

Mu Qingxue appeared to Su Lin's left, ice crystals forming a wall.

Luo Ximei blocked the front right, Demonic Qi spreading upwards from her neck.

Gu Qiuyue, meanwhile, took out a defensive Magic Treasure, which rose with a golden light, shielding Su Lin's body.

"Revered Master, it's dangerous." Mu Qingxue stared intently at the throne.

Luo Ximei licked the corner of her lips: "Fourth Senior Sister, control yourself."

"There's no need for this; I trust her."

He said to his disciple, his gaze always fixed on Ye You.

The three hesitated for a moment.

Mu Qingxue was the first to withdraw her cold Qi, Luo Ximei gave a soft 'tsk,' her Demonic Qi receded, and Gu Qiuyue also put away her Magic Treasure.

"Release the restrictions, don't suppress yourself."

Ye You looked up, "This appearance... you won't like it..."

"Let me be the judge."

Su Lin reached out his hand, hovering it in front of her, "Let me see, Xiao You's current appearance."

As he spoke.

Ye You no longer suppressed herself.

The dark green Demonic Qi around her exploded with a roar.

The Qi wave spread spherically, and the clouds in the sky were instantly dispersed.

Mu Qingxue bore the brunt.

The ice crystal staircase beneath her feet instantly shattered, and she was shaken several feet backward before barely stabilizing herself.

Cold Qi automatically protected her body, forming an icy mist around her.

Luo Ximei grunted, the Demonic Qi forming a barrier in front of her, yet she was still pushed back.

Gu Qiuyue, with the lowest cultivation, had her protective Spiritual Qi shattered almost instantly.

At the critical moment, a jade hairpin automatically flew up, transforming into a blue light to protect her body.

Strangely, the violent Demonic Qi automatically diverged as it approached Su Lin.

The dark green Qi current brushed past his clothes, not harming him in the slightest.

Black vines burst forth, wildly lashing towards Su Lin, but they froze an inch before touching him, then gently moved around him.

At the center of the Demonic Qi, Ye You's figure began to change.

She grew half a head taller, and her hair tips glowed with a dark golden sheen.

Her skin was still wheat-colored but exuded a jade-like luster.

Her facial features became more defined and sharp, her eyebrows and eyes naturally upturned, carrying a hint of aggression.

Black leather armor tightly encased her astonishingly proportioned body, and she stood barefoot in the Void Realm, her ankles slender yet full of power.

Most striking was the long tail that had appeared behind her, entirely black, with a cluster of dark red fur at the tip, now lazily swaying in the air.

"Seen enough?"

Su Lin stood still, quietly watching her.

Ye You suddenly smiled.

She took a step, instantly closing the distance to Su Lin.

The change in height allowed her to subtly look down at her Revered Master.

Her tail silently wrapped around to the front, the fur at its tip gently brushing Su Lin's cheek.

"Revered Master seems... to have gotten smaller."

Her body moved even closer, and her tail had already coiled around Su Lin's wrist.

Mu Qingxue's eyes turned cold: "Fourth Senior Sister, mind your words!"

Ye You didn't even look at her, only staring at Su Lin.

She suddenly reached out, gently hooked Su Lin's chin, and tightened her tail's grip.

"A hundred years later, Revered Master is still so handsome."

"Makes one want to... bully him a little."

"Ye You! Let go of Revered Master!"

Mu Qingxue's voice was chillingly cold, her Sword Intent erupted around her, and countless tiny ice crystals condensed in the air.

"Why is Fifth Junior Sister so nervous?"

She drew out her words, the tip of the tail wrapped around Su Lin's wrist lightly scratching him again, "Look, Fifth Junior Sister hasn't even spoken yet?"

Luo Ximei was momentarily stunned, then chuckled, "Fourth Senior Sister's guts have certainly grown quite a bit compared to a hundred years ago.

However..." She changed her tone, her voice carrying a hint of ambiguous provocation.

"Revered Master's favors aren't that easy to take, you know?"

Ye You completely ignored them.

She leaned close to Su Lin's ear, her exhaled breath carrying an eerie warmth.

"Revered Master, are you afraid of me? I am now... a true Demon King."

The tip of her tail gently poked his collarbone.

"No matter what you become, you are first and foremost my disciple."

His voice was gentle, "That will never change."

"Just a disciple?"

"But what I want to do now... isn't quite what a disciple should do."

Ye You's pupils contracted slightly, the tail wrapped around Su Lin's wrist tightened for an instant, then relaxed slightly.

She did not retreat; instead, she moved her face even closer, almost touching Su Lin's nose.

Suddenly, as if remembering something, the aggression in her eyes receded slightly, replaced by a nearly innocent obsession.

In a voice only the two of them could hear, she slowly repeated Su Lin's earlier words:

"Just now Revered Master said that the existence of thorns is only to protect those fragile petals from being wantonly ravaged by wind and rain."

She paused, her eyes fixed unblinkingly on Su Lin's.

"Then... Revered Master, you are so fragile now, why not become the flower protected by me, alright?"