Heaven's Only Men Cultivator

Chapter 5 - The World Is Not Ready

"Don't you dare, you idiot!" Ying Yue hissed, her hand slamming against Li Feng's chest with the force of a hammer.

The golden light that had been about to erupt from his ribs flickered, then swirled violently as Ying Yue's violet Qi crashed into it. She didn't try to extinguish the fire; she tried to wrap it. Her fingers moved in a blur, tracing forbidden runes in the air that hummed with a dark, oily resonance.

"What are you doing?" Li Feng gasped, the pressure in his lungs feeling like a lead weight.

"Saving your life and mine," she snapped. "If you flare that sun here, Elder Mei will turn this mountain into a tomb. Now hold still and let the shadows take you."

The violet energy turned into a murky, grey mist that clung to Li Feng's skin. He watched in horror as his golden aura was sucked inward, compressed, and hidden behind a veil of artificial filth. His skin, once glowing with health, took on the sickly, sallow grey of a man who hadn't seen the sun in years. His muscles seemed to wither under the illusion, and his tattered slave tunic became even more stained and wretched.

"Step out," Ying Yue whispered, her voice changing. It lost its lethal edge, replaced by the arrogant, bored tone of a minor sect lady. "If you speak a word, I'll cut your tongue out before she does. You are my slave. You are a mute dog. Act like it."

They stepped out of the crevice just as Elder Mei’s jade staff illuminated the entire chamber. The Elder stood there, her eyes narrowed like a hawk's. Behind her, five disciples stood with their swords drawn, their cold moonlight Qi frosting the floor.

"Who goes there?" Elder Mei demanded, her voice echoing with the authority of a goddess.

Ying Yue bowed slightly, her posture graceful but respectful. "Disciple Yue of the Hidden Raven Pavilion. I didn't realize the Silk Cloud Sect was conducting a hunt in such a... damp hole."

Elder Mei’s gaze swept over Ying Yue, assessing her rank and aura. Then, like a predator spotting a fly, her eyes locked onto Li Feng. He stood behind Ying Yue, his head bowed, his shoulders slumped. He felt the weight of her Spirit Sense—it was like a physical cold pressing against his brain, searching for a spark.

"And that?" Mei asked, pointing her staff at him. "That male. Why is he here?"

"A beast of burden, Elder," Ying Yue replied smoothly. She reached back and gripped Li Feng's hair, jerking his head up for them to see. "I found him in the lower valley. He’s mute, ugly, and barely has enough breath to carry my bags. But a lady shouldn't have to carry her own artifacts through the mud, should she?"

One of the disciples, a woman named Mira, stepped forward and sneered at Li Feng. "He smells like woodsmoke and river silt. Elder, the frost pointed here. There was heat. This creature looks like he’s already half-dead."

"The frost doesn't lie," Elder Mei said, stepping closer. The tip of her jade staff hovered inches from Li Feng’s throat. "Slave. Look at me."

Li Feng felt the Ancient Yang Core thrumming deep inside him. It hated this. It wanted to roar, to burn the staff to ash, to show this woman who the real master was. 'Quiet,' he thought, gritting his teeth. 'Be a slave. Be nothing.'

He looked up, his eyes glazed and vacant, just as he had practiced for nineteen years under the whip. "Unnngh," he moaned, a low, guttural sound.

"He’s brain-dead," Mira laughed, sheathing her sword. "Probably terrified by the cave-in. Elder, we’re wasting time. The Yang anomaly must have fled through the lower tunnels. The current there is fast enough to carry a body miles in minutes."

Elder Mei didn't look away. She pressed the cold jade against Li Feng’s collarbone. "Something feels... off. There is a resonance here. A smell of something ancient."

"Perhaps it's the tomb itself, Elder," Ying Yue suggested, her voice perfectly calm. "The obsidian doors are shattered. Whatever was sealed inside has likely escaped or dissipated. My slave and I were just leaving before the ceiling came down."

"Wait," Elder Mei hissed.

She channeled a pulse of blue Yin energy through the staff. The cold hit Li Feng like a tidal wave. It was meant to detect any hidden Qi, to shatter any illusion. Li Feng felt the Yang Core in his chest recoil from the ice. Then, a strange instinct took over. Instead of fighting the cold, he opened the 'pores' of his Qi channels.

The Yang Core didn't push back. It pulled. It began to suck the Elder’s Yin energy into itself, like a desert drinking rain.

"Is there a problem, Elder?" Ying Yue asked, her hand tightening on Li Feng's shoulder.

Mei frowned, her eyes flickering with confusion. "My Qi... it's being dampened. The air here is stagnant."

"The cave is deep," Ying Yue said. "And the seal’s destruction has tainted the local flow."

Li Feng felt the cold Yin Qi entering his Core. It was a strange sensation. The fire in his chest didn't go out; it grew more stable, more refined. He was eating her power. He felt a surge of strength, but he kept his body trembling, his knees knocking together.

"Pathetic," Mira spat, reaching out and shoving Li Feng’s shoulder. He tumbled onto the cold stones, the grey illusion masking the golden bruise that would have formed. "Get up, you useless trash. Don't die on your mistress’s time."

"He is a bit fragile," Ying Yue apologized, though her eyes were cold. "If the Silk Cloud Sect has no further questions, I’d like to get to the surface. This cave is bad for my skin."

Elder Mei stared at Li Feng for a long, agonizing minute. The silence was so thick he could hear the heartbeat of the disciples. Finally, she lowered her staff.

"Go," Mei said. "But if I find you near our borders again, Disciple Yue, I won't be so patient. This valley is under Silk Cloud law."

"Of course, Elder," Ying Yue bowed. "Slave. Get the bags."

Li Feng scrambled to his feet, acting as if he were struggling with the weight of a small satchel. He kept his head low as they walked past the line of white-and-blue silks. He could feel their eyes on his back—disgust, mockery, indifference. It was a familiar weight, but this time, it was different.

'I have your energy, Elder,' he thought, feeling the stolen Yin Qi circulating through his veins. 'You gave it to me yourself.'

They walked through the winding tunnels for what felt like hours, the silence between them heavy. It wasn't until they broke through the tree line and saw the moon hanging high over the valley that Ying Yue finally let out a breath.

"Stop," she commanded.

Li Feng stood straight, his spine popping as he abandoned the slumped posture. The grey mist of the illusion began to fade, the golden glow returning to his skin, albeit more muted than before.

"That was too close," Ying Yue said, turning to him. She looked exhausted, her face pale. "You... you did something back there. When she hit you with the staff. My illusion almost broke."

"I took it," Li Feng said, looking at his hands. "The cold. I didn't push it away. I pulled it in."

Ying Yue’s eyes widened. "You absorbed her Yin? A man... absorbing a Saint-rank Elder’s energy without being turned into an ice statue? You really are a monster, Li Feng."

"I'm just a man who's tired of being stepped on," he replied.

"Well, get used to the mask," she said, looking toward the horizon. "We have a day of travel ahead of us. Azure Port is the only place where someone like me can hide someone like you. But to get there, we have to pass three more checkpoints."

"And I have to be the slave for all of them?" Li Feng asked, a trace of bitterness in his voice.

"You have to be the slave for the rest of your life if you want to keep that heart in your chest," Ying Yue said, her voice softening for just a fraction of a second. "The world isn't ready for the sun, Li Feng. Not yet."

The next day was a blur of humiliation and hidden power. They traveled the main roads, Ying Yue playing the part of the arrogant traveler and Li Feng her silent, mistreated servant. At every village, at every gate, he was mocked. Women laughed at his 'weakness,' and guards used him as a footstool while they inspected Ying Yue’s forged papers.

Each time he felt the urge to strike, he looked at Ying Yue. She was his shield, but she was also his cage. He learned to channel his rage into the Core, refining the stolen Yin energy into a weapon he didn't yet know how to wield.

By the time the sun began to set on the second day, the salty air of the ocean began to fill their lungs. The distant lanterns of a massive, chaotic city appeared on the horizon. Azure Port.

"We're almost there," Ying Yue whispered as they approached the final bridge.

"Wait," Li Feng said, stopping in his tracks.

At the end of the bridge, a familiar silhouette was waiting under a flickering lamp. It was Elder Mei. She wasn't searching; she was standing perfectly still, her jade staff glowing with a fierce, unnatural light.

She didn't look at Ying Yue. She looked directly at Li Feng.

"The resonance," Mei whispered, her voice carrying over the wind. "It didn't go away. It followed you."

She raised her staff, and the ground beneath Li Feng’s feet began to freeze.

***