Chapter 669 550: Pei Yuhang's Unbearable Past, Returning to the Saintess Hall

It was faint at first, then grew steadily brighter, piercing through layers of flesh and blood, flickering with stubborn persistence.

It was the Cauldron Slave Mark Shang Miaoyan had personally carved into Pei Yuhang all those years ago—something he would never forget, and something he had spent his life wanting to erase.

Now, however, it had become the only unquenchable source of light in the endless darkness.

…

…

In the darkness, Pei Yuhang felt himself falling endlessly.

Countless voices surrounded him, overlapping and roaring:

"Just give up. Your life has been so depraved, you've let everyone down..."

"Why not just sink into oblivion? It'll save you from living in guilt and regret..."

Pei Yuhang squeezed his eyes shut. He knew these were demonic words meant to bewitch his mind.

'I can't believe them. I have to stay true to myself.'

'Qianqian, Jin'Er, Yueqiu... everyone... they're all still waiting for me to save them.'

'Liyuan is still waiting for me to come home.'

'How can I possibly give up now!'

As if sensing Pei Yuhang's determination, a few sneers echoed faintly from the void.

The next moment, he felt the distinct sensation of landing, a cool touch spreading from his palms.

Pei Yuhang's eyes flew open.

What met his eyes were familiar carved jade pillars and swirling silk curtains. The air was filled with a scent he could never forget—a cloyingly sweet yet oppressive sandalwood.

His gaze was blank for a moment, then his pupils contracted sharply.

'This is... the Saintess Hall of the Yin Yang Sacred Land?'

"Pei Yuhang, from now on, you will endlessly relive your most agonizing and painful memories."

"You will be trapped in a loop, and each time it repeats, your will shall weaken. You'll forget more and more, until you finally surrender..."

Yuan Tianming's mocking, derisive voice echoed in his mind.

But this only served to ignite Pei Yuhang's fighting spirit.

He took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down. He thought with grim determination:

'I managed to escape once before! Even during the Heart Demon Tribulation of my Void Refining Thunder Tribulation, I was able to shatter the illusion and break free!'

'I've conquered my past many times. This time... will be no exception!'

Just as he closed his eyes, concentrating and trying to recall the details and plans of his two previous escapes to find the key to breaking the illusion—

TAP... TAP... TAP...

The crisp sound of footsteps approached, unhurried, yet carrying the playful cruelty of a cat toying with a mouse.

Then, a coquettish, melodious voice steeped in malicious amusement drifted in from outside the hall's doors:

"Xiaohan~ Where did you run off to? So naughty of you."

That voice... it was Shang Miaoyan!

Pei Yuhang's body first relaxed, as if he had found an ally in a desperate situation, but then he suddenly tensed every muscle, even holding his breath—

'Wrong! This is all wrong!'

'The one standing outside the door right now isn't the Shang Miaoyan who would later face life and death with him in the Endless Sea, or the one who would fight by his side in the Abyssal Sea Palace.'

'This is the malicious, tyrannical, and ruthless Saintess of the Yin Yang Sacred Land, who saw him as nothing more than a plaything, a Cauldron Slave!'

CREAAAK—

The hall doors were gently pushed open.

Amidst the shifting light and shadows, Shang Miaoyan slowly walked in.

She was dressed in fiery red, her face stunningly beautiful, but her eyes held a condescending laziness and cruelty.

Shang Miaoyan toyed with a long, dark red whip. A strange luster seemed to flow along its length.

This was the Six Desires Indulgence Whip, a torture device used by the female cultivators of the Yin Yang Sacred Land specifically to punish and tame their Cauldron Slaves.

A playful smile tugged at Shang Miaoyan's red lips as she strode before him, looking down to study him where he sat collapsed on the floor, looking utterly vulnerable.

There was not a shred of pity in her eyes, only the keen interest of a hunter examining prey caught in a trap.

Without any warning, she raised her hand and flicked her wrist!

The dark red whip shot out like a viper, coiling precisely and coldly around Pei Yuhang's neck. It tightened slightly, forcing him to lift his head.

"Ngh—!"

Pei Yuhang instinctively tried to struggle, only to discover that his body was devoid of Spiritual Qi. All his Cultivation had vanished, as if he had truly returned to those desperate years when he was at the mercy of others.

And his resistance, however slight, was clearly seen by Shang Miaoyan.

The lazy smile in her eyes vanished instantly, replaced by a deep displeasure.

"Xiaohan."

She leaned down, using the handle of the whip to gently lift his chin. Her voice was still soft and alluring, but it carried a bone-chilling coldness.

"I, this Saintess, have not treated you poorly. Whatever you wanted—Spirit Stones, Elixirs, Cultivation Techniques—when have I ever been stingy? But why—

"—do you insist on trying to leave me? Hmm?"

Her words, one by one, were like a key, violently unlocking the painful door deep within Pei Yuhang's memory.

He remembered. It was today!

This was the day he had first tried to escape the Saintess Hall, only to be easily discovered and dragged back by her.

And what happened next was Shang Miaoyan's first time punishing and humiliating him, utterly and without mercy!

The next moment, Shang Miaoyan raised the Six Desires Indulgence Whip and brought it down viciously.

Pei Yuhang turned his back to block it, gritting his teeth. He knew the pain of the lash was secondary.

'The most disgusting thing about this whip is that it turns its victims into slaves devoid of all dignity and shame!'

Pei Yuhang's pupils trembled uncontrollably as he remembered that day—the day Shang Miaoyan had utterly humiliated and punished him.

That terrible memory had been his nightmare for a long time afterward.

—

After a long time, the clean scent of soap, tinged with steam, diluted the oppressive, sweet atmosphere in the room.

Like a battered harbor after a storm.

Everything returned to silence.

Pei Yuhang lay on the soft brocade couch with a vacant stare, like a puppet whose soul had been ripped out.

The marks and pain from the punishment lingered on his body. After a long while, a glimmer of clarity struggled to gather in the dead emptiness of his eyes.

Like a cold star breaking through the fog, his pupils refocused.

He blinked slowly, his long lashes trembling, masking all the turbulent emotions within.

When he opened them again, his eyes held no hatred, no humiliated rage, only a bottomless, almost terrifying calm.

'Everything here is just a Heart Demon Illusion Realm meticulously constructed by Yuan Tianming to take over my body.'

After suffering such humiliation and torment, Pei Yuhang was still able to analyze his situation clearly. 'If I feel fear, if I admit defeat, if I let myself sink into this, he will devour my Sea of Consciousness bit by bit.'

'He made me relive this most unbearable scene for no other reason than to break my will, to make me feel that I can never escape my past.'

Pei Yuhang's hand silently clenched the brocade sheets beneath him.

'But I have to escape.'

'I have to get back to the Abyssal Sea Palace and save everyone.'

…

After that day, Pei Yuhang seemed to have truly become obedient.

He became Shang Miaoyan's obedient toy, gradually lulling her vigilance with sweet words.

But it was all a facade.

On the surface, Pei Yuhang submitted to Shang Miaoyan, but in secret, he was trying to build a friendship and connection with Fan Xuan.

With the experience from his past and the Heart Demon Tribulation, Pei Yuhang quickly won over Fan Xuan and devised a foolproof plan to succeed on the first try.

This time, armed with what felt like foreknowledge, Pei Yuhang didn't wait thirty years for the great war between the righteous and demonic paths to begin, for the Yin Yang Sacred Land to be besieged and thrown into chaos.

Instead, he began his escape from the Yin Yang Sacred Land more than twenty years earlier, bringing Fan Xuan with him.

This time, he wasn't just getting himself out—he was going to successfully get Fan Xuan out too!

…

"Pei Yuhang, we're about to leave the Sect! Does this count as us eloping?"

Fan Xuan said with anticipation and excitement.

"Yes, Xiaoxuan. I'm definitely getting you out of here this time."

Pei Yuhang took her hand as he poled a simple raft across the marshland.

From here, they would soon reach the river that led outside the Yin Yang Sacred Land.

"We did it! We're really getting out!"

Fan Xuan's excited voice gradually became ethereal in Pei Yuhang's ears.

Pei Yuhang felt a dazzling white light flash before his eyes the moment he left the Yin Yang Sacred Land.

Then his consciousness plunged into chaos.

When he opened his eyes again.

What met his eyes were familiar carved jade pillars and swirling silk curtains.

'Where am I? Right, I'm in the Saintess Hall of the Yin Yang Sacred Land.'

'Ji Shenyun and I fell for Yuan Tianming's vile scheme. He's trying to take over my body now, and I have to resist!'

Pei Yuhang thought to himself.

"Pei Yuhang, from now on, you will endlessly relive your most agonizing and painful memories."

"You will be trapped in a loop, and each time it repeats, your will shall weaken. You'll forget more and more, until you finally surrender..."

Just then, Yuan Tianming's voice echoed in Pei Yuhang's mind.

Pei Yuhang's gaze sharpened. 'I escaped once in the past and again during the Heart Demon Tribulation. How could I possibly fail to leave this time?'

'I have to meet up with Xiaoxuan first. She's my best hope for escaping the Yin Yang Sacred Land. I must take her with me this time!'

In the next instant, however, Pei Yuhang frowned slightly and muttered to himself:

"Wait, who is Xiaoxuan?"