Bound by Sprit and Shadow

Chapter 1: The Cannon Fodder's Worst Nightmare

If Sheng Yong had known that reading web novels late at night would lead to him transmigrating into a brutal, dog-blood cultivation world, he would have shut his laptop and gone to sleep.

Instead, he was currently sitting on a wooden stool in the outer yard of the Azure Mist Sect, weeding a patch of Low-Grade Spirit Clover. He wore the scratchy, light-blue robes of a nameless outer disciple. His current cultivation base? A pathetic Qi Condensation Level 2. In this world, he was essentially a talking blade of grass-easily stepped on and entirely expendable.

Rule number one of survival, Sheng Yong thought, wiping sweat from his brow with his sleeve. Avoid the protagonist. Rule number two: Avoid the villains. Rule number three: Do not enter any forbidden zones, do not touch any glowing artifacts, and absolutely do not pick up any suspicious, injured strangers.

A loud, thunderous crash echoed from the bamboo forest just behind his herb garden.

Sheng Yong froze. The sky, which had been perfectly clear a moment ago, suddenly darkened with heavy, purple-tinted storm clouds. The air grew thick, smelling of ozone, charred earth, and... copper.

He stared at the edge of the bamboo forest. "No," he whispered to himself. "I didn't hear anything. I am a deaf herb-farmer. I am one with the dirt."

A low, guttural groan drifted through the rustling bamboo. It was a sound that vibrated right through the soles of Sheng Yong's boots, carrying a sheer pressure that made his meager Qi spin in panic.

Curiosity, mixed with a desperate desire to ensure whatever was out there wouldn't crawl into his yard and kill him in his sleep, won. Sheng Yong grabbed his iron weeding trowel-his only weapon-and cautiously crept toward the forest boundary.

As he parted the thick bamboo stalks, the smell of blood grew overpowering. In a small clearing where the earth had been violently gouged out as if hit by a meteor, lay a man.

No, not just a man.

The stranger was clad in tattered, midnight-black silk robes embroidered with dark gold thread-a color scheme that practically screamed 'I am a high-level antagonist.' Long, ink-black hair cascaded over his shoulders, contrasting sharply with skin as pale as winter frost. Even lying face down in the dirt, his physical presence was suffocating.

Sheng Yong gasped, taking a step back. A demonic cultivator? Here, on righteous sect grounds?

As if hearing him, the man slowly rolled onto his back.

Sheng Yong's breath caught. The stranger was devastatingly handsome, with sharp, aristocratic features, a high nose bridge, and a jawline that could cut glass. But what made Sheng Yong's blood run cold was the dark, swirling brand of a crimson lotus on the center of the man's forehead, and the faint, flickering embers of black fire dancing across his chest.

In his past life, Sheng Yong had read the lore. A crimson forehead brand and black, unquenchable fire...

Bai Yuting. The Demon God Emperor. The ultimate, ruthless tyrant of the Underworld Realm, a being who could flatten entire righteous sects with a flick of his sleeve. What was he doing here? Why was he injured?

Bai Yuting's eyelids fluttered open. His eyes were not human; they were a molten, glowing crimson, slit-pupiled like a predator's. He stared up at Sheng Yong, his gaze cold, heavy, and utterly murderous.

"An ant," Bai Yuting rasped, his voice like grinding stones, though a trail of dark blood spilled from his lips. He tried to raise a hand to strike Sheng Yong down, but a spark of black fire backfired, causing him to hiss in pain and collapse back into the dirt. His cultivation was completely blocked by a severe backlash.

Sheng Yong stood frozen, clutching his little weeding trowel.

If I run and report him to the Sect Elders, he will recover eventually and hunt me down. If I leave him here, he might die-or worse, he might survive and kill me for seeing him like this. But if I help him...

Sheng Yong looked at the terrifying, beautiful demon lord bleeding out in his bamboo patch.

"System?" Sheng Yong whispered desperately to the empty air. "Is there a transmigrator system here? A golden finger? Anyone?"

Only the wind rustled the bamboo. No robotic voice answered him. He was completely on his own.

Sheng Yong let out a long, defeated sigh. He walked over and knelt beside the demon lord.

Bai Yuting's crimson eyes narrowed, a dangerous, low growl vibrating in his chest. "Touch me, cultivator, and I will tear your soul from your body and burn it for a thousand years."

"Yeah, yeah, very scary," Sheng Yong muttered, his heart hammering against his ribs so hard he was sure the demon could hear it. He reached out, his hands trembling, and tore a strip of fabric from his own clean outer robe. "But currently, you're bleeding all over my favorite bamboo grove, and if the Sect patrols smell this demonic Qi, we're both going to be executed. So shut up and let me stop the bleeding."

Sheng Yong pressed the cloth against a deep, jagged wound on Bai Yuting's shoulder.

Bai Yuting flinched, his body tensing like a coiled spring. His crimson eyes stared at Sheng Yong with a mixture of sheer fury and utter bewilderment. No one-absolutely no one in the three realms-had ever spoken to him like that. Let alone a weak, pathetic outer disciple who looked like he might faint from fear at any second.

"You..." Bai Yuting growled, his voice dropping to a dangerous whisper. "You dare..."

"I dare to save your life, so be a good patient," Sheng Yong said, pulling a small clay pot of low-grade healing salve from his pocket. He began to gently smear it over the wound. "It's going to sting. Don't incinerate me, please."

As the cool, herbal paste touched his burning skin, the chaotic, violent energy in Bai Yuting's meridians unexpectedly quieted, just a fraction. He stared at the face of the young cultivator working over him. The boy's eyes were wide with terror, his hands shaking, yet his touch was incredibly gentle, and there was a strange, completely alien warmth in his soul.

For the first time in centuries, the Demon God Emperor found himself completely speechless.