A Cunning Pervert in the Cultivation World

Back to the present.

On the shattered mountain peak, the night wind howled past the cracked rocks and uprooted trees.

Fen Ling stood in the fully activated Dragon Lord Armor, the crimson lines along its surface glowing like living blood veins.

Through the narrow visor of the dragon-shaped helmet, her crimson eyes locked onto the man standing calmly a short distance away.

Eunuch Peng.

No—

Peng Jianwei.

The First Emissary of the Divine Blood Sect.

The Chosen One.

He stood there with an unhurried posture, the dark cube still floating silently around him.

Behind him, far in the distance, the entire capital city was engulfed in a sea of raging flames.

Thick columns of black smoke rose into the night sky, painting the horizon in a hellish glow of orange and crimson.

The contrast was almost surreal.

A quiet mountain peak... and beyond it, a dynasty burning.

Peng Jianwei’s smile remained calm, almost gentle, as he looked at the fully armored Regent Empress as if the destruction behind him had nothing to do with him at all.

Fen Ling’s voice finally came out from within the Dragon Lord Armor, carrying clear disbelief.

”...How could it be you?”

Her crimson eyes trembled slightly behind the visor.

She knew every servant who had served in the palace for any significant length of time.

Among them, this chubby, always-smiling eunuch had been a constant presence... so ordinary, so harmless, that no one ever paid him any real attention.

He had already been serving in the palace long before she even became the Empress.

For decades... nearly a full century.

And all that time... this man had simply been playing the role of a eunuch.

The realization sent a cold, almost absurd chill through her heart.

She had never once imagined that such a monstrous existence had been living right under their noses the entire time.

Peng Jianwei let out a soft sigh, as if the question itself was somewhat amusing.

”How can it not be me, Your Majesty? As they say, fate often loves playing jokes on mortals.”

His voice remained calm and polite, carrying that same mild, almost deferential tone he had used for decades while pretending to be a simple palace eunuch.

The dark cube continued to orbit him slowly, reflecting the distant glow of the burning capital.

He tilted his head slightly, the smile on his face never fading.

”As for why I chose to become a eunuch...”

He paused for a brief moment, then gave a light, almost helpless chuckle.

”Well... you can say I was bored.”

”...Bored, you say?” Fen Ling’s voice came out confused and low from within the Dragon Lord Armor.

Peng Jianwei’s smile turned slightly helpless, almost self-deprecating.

He gazed back for a moment, toward the distant sea of flames devouring the capital, before speaking again in a quiet, reflective tone.

”When you can see the flow of fate... when you already know how most things will begin and how they will end... the world gradually loses its color.”

His dark eyes held a strange, distant light.

”Every scheme, every ambition, every so-called opportunity... becomes predictable and hollow. Even the greatest struggles start to feel like poorly written plays that I’ve already watched a hundred times.”

He let out a soft breath.

”So yes, Your Majesty. I was bored.”

But then Peng Jianwei suddenly let out a light laugh.

”But life actually became quite interesting for a while after I became a eunuch.”

He raised one hand and made a small, casual gesture, as though recalling ordinary memories.

”Washing clothes. Sweeping courtyards. Running errands for the consorts. Spending my days doing those ordinary, repetitive tasks...”

A faint, almost nostalgic smile slowly surfaced on his face.

”It was a rather novel experience... Simple, yet strangely refreshing.”

Then, as if remembering something unpleasant, his expression shifted into a mild look of complaint.

”Although...” he added with a soft sigh, ”the amount of work was rather excessive. The palace really should fix that. Some days I was running around from dawn until late at night. Even a Chosen One needs proper rest, you know.”

The crimson lines on the Dragon Lord Armor flickered faintly as Fen Ling stared at him.

For a moment, the only sounds were the distant roar of the burning capital and the cold mountain wind sweeping across the shattered peak.

Then her voice came out low and heavy from within the armor.

”...Why?”

She took a slow step forward, the weight of the Dragon Lord Armor pressing into the cracked stone beneath her feet.

”...Why would you do all of this?”

Peng Jianwei’s smile remained gentle.

He looked at the fully armored Regent Empress with the same patient, almost kindly expression he had worn for decades while pretending to be nothing more than a harmless palace eunuch.

”Because I wanted to help a little girl fulfill her dream,” he answered calmly.

His dark eyes reflected the distant glow of the burning capital as he continued in the same unhurried tone, ”...And experiment with something a little.”

Then Peng Jianwei’s gaze returned to Fen Ling.

At first, his expression remained calm.

But then, something shifted as a faint spark of excitement appeared in his eyes.

His smile gradually widened, and his face brightened with an almost childlike enthusiasm that looked deeply out of place against the background of the burning capital.

”And I wasn’t disappointed.”

His voice carried a clear thrill as he continued,

”For the first time... I couldn’t see the future!”

At those words, Fen Ling and Leng Qianxue both stared at him.

The fully armored Regent Empress and the white-haired Grand Elder exchanged a brief glance, the same confusion flickering in both their eyes as they looked at the man who now seemed almost manic with excitement.

Peng Jianwei didn’t seem to notice... or simply didn’t care.

He raised one hand, gesturing animatedly as he began to explain, his tone filled with genuine passion.

”You need to understand that fate and the future... even when they seem set in stone, are constantly changing for certain individuals. Threads diverge. Possibilities branch endlessly. Yet regardless of how they change, they must still remain within the influence of the Great Daos.”

His eyes shone with an unprecedented brilliance.

”But this time...”

His voice dropped to a whisper, overflowing with pure wonder.

”For the first time... I couldn’t see anything ahead! Ahh~ I never knew the world could be so beautiful without a path to follow. So this... is the beauty of venturing into the unknown...”

Peng Jianwei’s excited expression lingered for a moment longer before softening into something quieter.

He slowly raised one hand.

And a single spirit stone appeared between his fingers.

It was an ordinary-looking mid-grade spirit stone, nothing particularly rare or valuable... something he had gotten from Li Feng.

Yet the way he held it carefully, almost delicately made it seem as if he were holding a precious memento rather than a simple cultivation resource.

He gazed down at the faintly glowing stone in silence, and to him it was something to cherish.

Leng Qianxue’s pure white eyes narrowed.

A faint, icy sneer tugged at the corner of her lips.

”I have no interest in your meaningless rambling. I only know that we live in the present... not the past, and not the future.”

She lifted her white sword, its blade reflecting the pale moonlight.

”Even so, I’ll give you one final chance, Peng Jianwei. Forsake the demonic path and return to the righteous side. We both know you were never truly a demonic cultivator in the first place.”

At those words, Peng Jianwei blinked once.

Then, with a polite smile, he lightly waved his hand as if declining an invitation to tea.

”I must refuse.”

His tone remained calm and courteous.

”I already know how that path ends. Standing at the very peak of the cultivation world... uniting the continent under one banner... being praised as a peerless hero who brought peace to the chaotic lands...”

He listed them off casually, as though reading from a script he had already memorized long ago.

Then, after a brief pause, he scratched his cheek with a faintly helpless expression.

”...But that would be terribly dull and boring.”

At those answer, a brief silence fell over the shattered mountain peak.

Leng Qianxue and Fen Ling exchanged a quick glance.

A subtle ripple of spiritual energy passed between them... an unspoken communication only the two of them could sense.

Peng Jianwei watched the exchange with mild amusement before letting out a soft sigh.

”I know your Sect Leader prepared a trap for me.”

His calm voice carried clearly through the night wind.

”And the two of you must be wondering... how exactly I will walk into that trap, right?”

Fen Ling’s eyes widened sharply behind the visor of the Dragon Lord Armor.

At the same time, Leng Qianxue’s pure white eyes narrowed, a cold light flashing within them.

Peng Jianwei, however, remained completely unfazed.

He slowly raised both hands and cupped them together in a formal, respectful gesture.

The smile on his face was polite, almost sincere, as he spoke in a calm and clear voice.

”First, allow me to congratulate the Azure Moon Sect Leader on her breakthrough in divination.”

”And as she has willed... I will walk into that trap myself.”

After saying those words, Peng Jianwei simply began walking.

His steps were calm and unhurried as he moved toward them.

Neither Fen Ling nor Leng Qianxue immediately attacked.

They could only watch as the man who had spent nearly a century pretending to be a harmless eunuch walked straight past them without the slightest hesitation.

As he passed by their sides, Peng Jianwei glanced at them with a mild smile.

”Come. We have no time to waste. Let us go.”

Fen Ling stood frozen for a moment.

A deeply strange feeling rose in her chest.

This entire situation was inconceivable.

The Chosen One... the First Emissary of the Divine Blood Sect was willingly walking into a trap that had been prepared specifically to kill him.

It went against every ounce of logic and instinct she possessed.

Yet after exchanging a silent glance with Leng Qianxue, the two women still turned and began following behind him.

Together, the three of them walked toward the formation.

Just then, Peng Jianwei suddenly let out a light laugh, his voice drifting back clearly even though he did not turn around.

”You two must be confused, right? Wondering why I would willingly walk toward my own death.”

His tone remained cheerful, almost conversational.

”Haha... to be honest, out of all the futures I have seen... this is probably the closest to death that I will ever experience.”

After a few more steps, he glanced back slightly over his shoulder as a faint smile lingered on his lips.

”And also...”

His voice softened just a little.

”The only chance you people will ever have of killing me today.”