Chapter 575 - Master and Servant, Westbound, A Strike to the Heart - Part 1

"Some of the skills from the Age of Ancient Gods are hidden in the Western Extremes. In truth, that place is actually much more vast than you could imagine. According to the Northern Dipper, during that era, the Deathless Tomb was still east of the Ancestral Land. That’s way off from the Western Extremes, practically the opposite direction."

"But later on, large parts of the Ancestral Land were devoured. By the time of the Xia Dynasty, there wasn’t much of it left. Then, five or six thousand years ago, a group of Xia Dynasty powerhouses performed the Severance of Yin and Yang, which buried most of the Ancestral Lands beneath snow and ice. That’s why people nowadays think of that frozen tundra as the Western Extremes."

As the wheels rolled on, Ying Zhuoyao was explaining all this to Li Yuan while driving the carriage.

They were, of course, heading west.

“What exactly is the

Ancestral Land

?” Li Yuan asked casually.

Ying Zhuoyao’s eye twitched involuntarily, but she still answered honestly, “The Ancestral Land...is the beginning of everything. And also the end. They say Heaven and Earth were born from it. And one day, everything will return there.”

“What swallowed it before the Xia Dynasty?” Li Yuan asked bluntly. He wasn’t shy about admitting what he didn’t know. After all, it had taken him years to find Ying Zhuoyao, wasn’t that the whole point? To find a living, breathing, high-end GPS with lore built in?

Ying Zhuoyao replied, “This servant doesn’t really know.”

“You don’t know?” Li Yuan raised his brow and voice.

Panicked, Ying Zhuoyao blurted, “Withering! It was withering! Those worlds crumbled into fragmented voids of chaos!”

“But didn’t you just say you didn’t know?” Li Yuan’s voice turned icy.

Ying Zhuoyao was almost in tears. “This servant wasn’t sure! That’s just what the Celestial Sovereign of the Xia Dynasty once said. I...I don’t dare claim it’s true.”

“It’s fine. Anything you know, even rumors, just tell me,” Li Yuan said gently.

“Yes, Young Master,” Ying Zhuoyao replied quickly, terrified.

Right now, she was deeply afraid. More than anything, she feared being deemed useless and discarded.

Li Yuan was someone who held her life in the palm of his hands. There was no escape.

And Ying Zhuoyao was no proud, unyielding heroine. If survival meant serving this mysterious man with every ounce of her being, she would.

“What about the struggle between the Archon Star and Outerborn?” Li Yuan asked again.

By now, Ying Zhuoyao was numb to the questions. She kept answering these heavily guarded secrets to the world, but basic common sense to a being like the Northern Dipper.

“That’s just a chess match between big players. I don’t know much. No, wait, I do know! I figured it out on my own!

“The struggle between the Archon Star and Outerborn is really about the ownership of the Ancestral Land. Whoever wins gets to shape the direction of Heaven and Earth’s future...and when the great calamity comes, they’ll have more ways to survive.”

“What great calamity?” Li Yuan pressed. Then, realizing he might’ve gone too far, he added, “I’ve been asleep for so long...a lot of things are fuzzy.”

At first, Ying Zhuoyao thought all this erratic behavior was just the typical mood swings of a long-lived Immortal. Now? Now she wanted to scream:

Who are you trying to fool!?

But she had no choice. Her only option was to bind herself to this terrifying, enigmatic man and serve him with everything she had.

There was no plan B.

She gathered her thoughts and said, “The Northern Dipper said this world, this entire Heaven and Earth, is on the verge of collapse. Before it’s destroyed, he has to get out. If he doesn’t, he’ll be wiped out completely. Not even a trace will remain.”

Li Yuan pondered aloud, “So that’s why he chose the Grand Union of Yin and Yang.”

Ying Zhuoyao quickly nodded. “Yes, Young Master. When Yin and Yang unify, the three ancient halls hidden in the depths of chaos will resurface. The Northern Dipper didn’t spell it out, but this servant suspects those ancient halls hold the secret to escaping this world. That’s why he’s been plotting so relentlessly, laying down scheme after scheme, all to bring about the Grand Union of Yin and Yang.”

Li Yuan raised an eyebrow. “Then why did the Dragon Vein reject it?”

Ying Zhuoyao replied, “The Dragon Vein is governed by Polaris. Why it rejected the Grand Union of Yin and Yang...the Northern Dipper never explained. But this servant thinks it must’ve hoped this world could recover on its own. That it might avoid destruction.

“The Severance of Yin and Yang was originally meant to hold off the collapse of surrounding space. But the Grand Union of Yin and Yang is the opposite. It drains the world’s remaining potential even faster.”

She lowered her head slightly, then took a deep breath.

“And I suspect there may only be enough power in this world for Starkin to escape. One can escape...or the whole world tries to survive. Different Starkin make different choices.”

As soon as the words left her mouth, she hurried to add, “But Young Master, these are just this servant’s foolish guesses! They mean nothing, truly. Even if the world

is

going to end, it won’t be for thousands of years! There should still be at least 100,000 years left, at the very least!”

Li Yuan nodded and said nothing more. He lifted the curtain and looked out at the world.

The land was healing. But where it was headed...no one could say. Still, it was hard to shake the feeling that whatever came next, it was all drifting toward destruction.

But then again, what did that mean for ordinary people?

A lifespan of a hundred years. Who’d worry about the end of the world a hundred thousand years from now?

Even if he told them, they’d probably just laugh and say,

So the world ends. Big deal.

˙·٠✧🐗➶➴🏹✧٠·˙

Midway through their journey, Li Yuan and Ying Zhuoyao passed a small town.

It seemed the local harvest had been unexpectedly good this year. The streets were bustling, and there was no shortage of food.

The two of them found an inn, settled in, and had their fill.

Later that night, after Li Yuan had finished bathing, there was a knock at the door.

Ying Zhuoyao stepped lightly into the room. Without a word, she slipped off her outer robe, revealing a green silk dress that clung tightly to her delicate figure. Then she knelt before Li Yuan, her eyes hazy as she looked up at him.

Her breathing was a little rushed, her cheeks flushed pink, and the full curves of her body pressed into the floor behind her were impossible to ignore.

There was no mistaking her intent.

Li Yuan froze for a moment, then remembered the scene in the cave, that act he’d put on, pretending to be some ancient being. He’d only posed that way to maintain the illusion.

Now, the act was long over. But Ying Zhuoyao hadn’t forgotten.

She thought she was here to fulfill his desire.

But Li Yuan...felt nothing for her, not even the faintest flicker of interest.

And from a practical standpoint, he had no reason to take her in, either. Not anymore.

The bond between them was already stable enough, a clean-cut relationship of caretaker and servant, with no need to complicate it further.

“Please, allow this servant to serve you,” Ying Zhuoyao said, her voice soft and full of longing.

Her delicate face was practically glowing with desire.

“Cult Leader Ying, we don’t know each other well enough for that. It’s too soon,” Li Yuan replied gently.

Ying Zhuoyao’s voice turned sultry, her tone honeyed. “This servant only wants you to know that from this moment on, every inch of me, mind and body alike, belongs to you, Young Master. I am yours, completely. Your private property.”

Li Yuan gave a calm nod. “Got it. Now go get some rest.”

“...” Ying Zhuoyao froze.

A flicker of disappointment flashed across her eyes.

In her heart, full submission in body and soul wasn’t just about loyalty or desire. It was about security. As long as he claimed her completely, she wouldn’t be cast aside. It would give her value, a reason to stay.

But she was smart. She said nothing more. Rising gracefully, she bowed slightly, whispered, “Good night, Young Master.”

Then, she turned to leave.

Only when she stepped past the door did the sound of soft, suppressed sobs drift faintly through the night.

Li Yuan, an old hand at reading people, immediately recognized that kind of sob. Quiet, calculated. She was a performer too, just like him.

Still, he had no plans to accept her.

This enchantress...she was too complicated.

As her footsteps dragged slowly down the hallway, like someone shackled by invisible chains, he suddenly called out, “Come back.”

Her heavy steps lightened at once.

Moments later, the door creaked open. Ying Zhuoyao slipped back in like a green wisp of fire, gliding silently across the floor before kneeling at his feet.

She let out a soft sound, her voice trembling like a whisper in the wind. “Young Master, I...”

Li Yuan lowered his hand, palm open. “Eat.”

Ying Zhuoyao looked at the hand, then let out a quiet sigh. “I wanted to build something more with you. Something beyond just this.”

Li Yuan replied, “As long as you do your job well, I won’t discard you.”

She fell silent for a while before finally whispering, “Understood.”

Then, slowly, she lowered her face, leaning close to the hand resting on his thigh. She extended her tongue and gave it a gentle lick, then pressed her lips to his skin and began to drink his life essence.

Her method was inefficient, but still she fed to her heart’s content.

With every draw of vitality, her appearance became even more radiant. Her eyes shimmered like white jade, twin moons beneath a pale sky. The inner glow resembled starlight etched across a white night, as if galaxies swam behind her gaze, beauty that transcended the mortal, edging into the divine.

And yet, this divine being knelt quietly before Li Yuan like a docile beast waiting to be stroked.

He gently ruffled her hair. “Go get some sleep.”

Ying Zhuoyao licked her lips. “Young Master, you really don’t want me to serve you in any other way? I...I’ve never served a man before.”

Li Yuan replied flatly, “I’m not interested in you like that.”

She had only been probing, testing boundaries. She gave a graceful bow, then turned and left.

Just as she reached the door, Li Yuan suddenly asked, “This method of drawing life force, can it be taught?”

Ying Zhuoyao gave a bitter smile. “It was a gift from the Northern Dipper...part of the power I was born with. I truly don’t know how to pass it on...”

“Alright, go get some rest. It’s late, and we’ve got a long road ahead of us tomorrow,” Li Yuan said.

“Yes, Young Master,” Ying Zhuoyao replied softly before leaving.

As the door shut behind her, Li Yuan stared at it for a moment, thoughtful. He was beginning to understand: the method Ying Zhuoyao used to siphon lifespan. Similar to Sheng’ers ability to split her hair into crows, each with its own life, wasn’t something that could be taught. It wasn’t a skill or technique. It was a gift. An innate talent. Unreplicable.