In the mysterious place, Li Yun Fei found himself surrounded by absolute darkness. Initially, he sensed the danger in the eerie emptiness but soon realized this place was more than it seemed. He tried to sense his surroundings, but every attempt yielded nothing. Frustrated, he cursed, “What is this damn place? Who brought me here? Fuck!”

Suddenly, a powerful wave of energy surged through the darkness. In his depressed state, Li Yun Fei felt a flicker of excitement. “What is that energy wave? Is there something?”

Driven by curiosity, he moved towards the source of the energy. Just as he neared, a creature suddenly opened its eyes and let out a deafening roar. The sound overwhelmed Li Yun Fei, causing him to blackout.

Back in his room, Li Yun Fei awoke abruptly, sitting upright. A sharp pain tore through his soul, as if it was being ripped apart by an unseen force. The old demon in his mind sensed the disturbance and asked, “Brat, what happened?”

“I was in a mysterious place of nothingness and heard a roar. That roar put me in this state. Do you know what it is, old demon?”

“Umm, I think…” the old demon began, trailing off.

“Tell me quickly,” Li Yun Fei demanded impatiently.

"I think... I don’t know, haha,” the old demon chuckled.

“You damn old demon! If you don’t know, why pretend you do?” Li Yun Fei cursed.

Ignoring the old demon's laughter, Li Yun Fei sat down on his bed and stubbornly tried to break the seal on his cultivation once more.

“Aiya, why don’t you listen to me? I told you it’s useless,” the old demon sighed.

Suddenly, the old demon remembered something and said, “Hey brat, don’t you remember your agreement?”

Li Yun Fei remembered his agreement and thought about his future with the old demon. Feeling both annoyance and a headache, he said, “I remember.”

“Then why don’t you swear now?” the old demon chuckled.

Li Yun Fei recalled the demon’s words about the world, the musical cultivation path, and his girlfriend. Reluctantly, he decided to follow through. He got up from his bed, opened the window, and took a deep breath. Then he began to swear:

"By the Dao that binds the heavens and earth, I, Li Yun Fei, swear an unbreakable oath. I pledge my loyalty, respect, and devotion to my master, the Heavenly Demon. I vow to honor your teachings, uphold your wisdom, and follow your guidance without question. Should I falter in my commitment, may the Dao cast me into oblivion, my Qi wither, and my soul be lost.

I also promise to walk the path of musical cultivation and to find my beloved girlfriend, as my master has requested.

From this day forth, I am bound to my master by the eternal Dao."

Listening to Li Yun Fei’s oath, the old demon replied with a mix of satisfaction and strange emotion, “Well, from now on, I declare that you’re not only my disciple but also the one who will inherit my legacy. As your master, I will teach you everything I know.”

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Li Yun Fei then got off the bed and took a bath. Later that evening, under the stairs in his parents' room, Li He and Li Kun saw their youngest brother, Li Yun Fei’s father, Li Tian, and his wife waking up. They helped them sit up on the bed.

Li Tian anxiously asked, “Where is Fei Er? Is he okay?”

His wife tried to get off the bed but didn’t make it far with her weak body. Li Kun helped her back to the bed. Li He said, “Youngest brother, sister-in-law, relax, he is fine.”

Li Kun added, “Xiao Tian, did you give him a cultivation technique?”

“No, second brother. I don’t know how he got into cultivation,” Li Tian replied, puzzled.

Li He and Li Kun exchanged glances. Li He said, “In this case, I think Fei Er might have worshipped someone as his master, and his master might be a powerful figure in the cultivation world.”

Li Tian said bitterly, “I didn’t want him to cultivate, so I blocked every news and thing about cultivation since he was young. But fate is beyond my control. Finally, he got into this path.”

At that moment, Li He sensed someone approaching. He stepped out of the room and saw Xiao Jiao carrying a cauldron and a bag of medicine. As Xiao Jiao was about to go upstairs, Li He stopped him and asked, “What are these things?”

“These are what the young master asked me to buy this morning,” Xiao Jiao replied.

Li He saw the cauldron and said, “Leave them with me first.”

Xiao Jiao couldn’t refuse his command, so he handed them over. “You can go now,” Li He said, and then he returned to the room.

As he carried the items inside, Li Kun asked, “What are these things?”

Li He didn’t reply immediately. He placed the cauldron on the table, opened the medicine bag, and saw many medicinal roots, fruits, and ginseng.

Li He sighed and said, “These things are not simple medicines. And you see that cauldron? I think Fei Er's master might be from the Pill Valley.”

Li Tian saw the items and, hearing his brother’s words, sighed. “It seems that the only way is to let him cultivate, right?”

At that moment, Li Kun wanted to mention the earlier incident but decided against it.

Li Kun said again, “Since Fei Er has become a cultivator, we should inform father.”

Li Tian replied, “This might not work. I am not part of the Li family anymore. I am now just an ordinary guqin master with some wealth, not a Li family young master.”

Li He interrupted, “Well, Xiao Tian, I know. So we should go back now. As for the healing, I think Fei Er will handle that.”

Li Kun called a maid and handed her the medicine bag and cauldron. “Take these and place them in front of the young master's room.”

As Li He and Li Kun turned to leave, Li He reminded Li Tian, “Xiao Tian, if you face any danger, please contact father. He is still your father.”

Li Tian nodded, his expression conflicted. “I understand, elder brother.”

Once they left, Li Tian sat by his wife's side, contemplating their next steps. Meanwhile, upstairs, Li Yun Fei had finished his bath and was getting ready for the challenges ahead. His mind was focused, and the weight of his oath hung heavily on his shoulders.

Li Yun Fei felt something in front of his door. He opened it to find a medicine bag and cauldron placed neatly outside. He brought them into his room and began examining the ingredients. The old demon's voice echoed in his mind, “Brat, are you out of your mind? These things are just a waste. With these, I think you want to concoct a pill, ‘XuanYuan Dan,’ right?”

“Yes, master. Why? Since my parents are mortal, I can’t use higher healing XuanYuan Dan, so I use these to form a lower-grade pill,” said Li Yun Fei, puzzled.

“Unfortunately, the damage goes beyond what this pill can repair. We’ll need to find another solution for them.”

Listening to the old demon’s words, Li Yun Fei's anxiety grew. "Then what can I do?"

“Just use these ingredients to make the XuanYuan Dan you planned. As for the loss of lifespan, you’ll need to break into the Core Formation realm to truly heal them.”

Li Yun Fei’s anxiety grew as he yelled in his mind, “My cultivation is sealed! What can I do now, damn it?”

The old demon replied, “You can break it with your physical force because your old man didn’t place the seal deep inside, just on your qi meridians.”

Realizing there was a way, Li Yun Fei calmed down, took a deep breath, and began to set up the cauldron. He tried to light a fire but found his cultivation was still sealed.

The old demon advised, “Use the qi you absorbed to form a fire.”

Following the demon’s instructions, Li Yun Fei struggled but managed to control the fire after an hour. The old demon watched and thought, “His pill refining skills are very amateur, but he has the willpower.”

After another 30 minutes, the pill was finally complete. Li Yun Fei carefully stored it in a box. Exhausted, he fell asleep immediately.

The next morning, Li Yun Fei woke up feeling slightly refreshed. He took the XuanYuan Dan to his parents' room. They looked weak but better than before. Sensing that his parents wanted to ask him something, Li Yun Fei knew he couldn’t reveal his secrets. He handed them the pill box and said, “Mom, Dad, take these pills. I need to head to university now.”

Before they could ask any questions, he quickly retreated to his room. He hastily got ready, donning his clothes and grabbing his backpack. As he left the house, his mind was a whirl of thoughts. The pressure of his dual life weighed heavily on him—balancing the mundane world of university with the intense demands of his cultivation journey.

In the strange room, the atmosphere was tense. A group of men in military uniforms sat around a large table, the air thick with anticipation. The man at the head of the table, clearly their leader, threw a file onto the table. It landed with a heavy thud, drawing the attention of everyone present.

"What do you all think?" the leader asked, his voice commanding and authoritative.

The men quickly reached for the file, opening it to reveal the name "Li Yun Fei"