Betrayal.

  A person you orusted turning their ba you.

  A knife in the back, whether metaphorically or literally.

  That is the meaning of betrayal.

  Basilisk had beerayed tless times, just as he himself had betrayed others just as often.

  A normal, sad reality in the world of cultivation.

  Why do people betray?

  There are tless reasons.

  Survival.

  When faced with certaih, one may sacrifiother to escape,using them as bait to eheir own survival.

  Bes.

  As long as you are useful, people will smile at you, ugh with you, and act as your closest allies.But the moment you lose your value, they will betray you without hesitation,or worse, kill you to silence you.

  These two reasohe core of all betrayals.

  And for Basilisk, they were the reasons both he and others had betrayed tless times.

  An endless cycle of survival and self-i.

  Although Yuan already uood this cruel reality, experieng it firsthand once again was still heartbreaking.

  This was the sed time in his life that he had witnessed betrayal with his own eyes.

  The Azure Ghost, Basilisk, had betrayed him for survival.

  It was a twisted but logical act.

  He had schemed to escape, desperate to free himself from his prison.

  That, at least, was reasonable.

  But this betrayal,the one by Elder Viktor and his granddaughter,was not.

  They had not betrayed him out of fear.

  They had not betrayed him to escape.

  No, certainly not.

  Because when Yuan looked into Elder Viktor's eyes, he saw no panio fear, no desperation.

  The elder was calm. Collected.

  That fact aloold him everything.

  Now that the food oisoned, Yuan could only guess what kind of poison it was.

  With Basilisk's knowledge, he quickly identified it.

  A poison used not to kill, but to ensve.

  The Colorless Mind Demon Binding Poison.

  A subtle yet terrifying toxin, ohat infuses a person's mind and qi with the essence of another, f an unbreakable boween master and servant.

  A poison not meant to end a life,but to take trol of it pletely.

  The Colorless Mind Demon Binding Poison was infamous for its effectiveness and utility.

  Many evil cultivators used this poison to ehers, binding them in absolute servitude.

  However, it had one major weakness,it was only effective on cultivators below the Marrow Esseage.

  Any cultivator who had surpassed this level would be immuo its effects.

  Even though higher grade versions of this poisoed, they were still useless against high-ranking cultivators, let alone someo the Soul Fusion Stage like Basilisk.

  To bind a being of such power was simply impossible.

  Despite its fearsome reputation, the Colorless Mind Demon Binding Poison was not without cures.

  Some famous alchemists and Divine Doctors had discovered various methods to teract its effects.

  Among them, theire were well knowhods

  Killing the Master

  The simplest method is Kill the person who administered the poison.However, due to the nature of the poison, the afflicted ot go against their master's will, making this option nearly impossible.

  Purification Herbs

  Certain rare herbs were capable of sing the spirit of impurities.As a side effect, they could also eliminate all poisons from the body.However, such herbs were extremely rare and prohibitively expensive, making them unattainable for low and mid rank cultivators.

  The Fme Poison sing Demonic Beast Teique

  Among the nine known cures, this was the most suitable for Yuan's current situation.A teique designed for cultivators with fme-based abilities, allowing them to burn aoison from within.This method erfect for Yuan, as he possessed the Azure Basilisk Fme.

  With the solution already determined, Yuan's initial faded.

  Now, he could think clearly,with cold, indifferent rationality.

  The poison was no longer a threat.

  Now, it was time to focus orue problem.

  Without aation, Yuahe food served by Elder Viktor, his expression calm and unbothered.

  He even praised the meal, saying

  "Today's food is excellent. I wouldn't miing this again sometime."

  Hearing this, Elder Viktor chuckled, seemingly amused by the pliment.

  Slowly, the Colorless Mind Demon Binding Poison began to activate within his spirit.

  A formless qi started to materialize, coiling around his still-mortal spirit like an invisible serpent.

  Then, the formless qi began to take shape, transf into white s that started binding his very soul.

  He could feel the e f, an invisible liween him and his captor.

  It was happening.

  Barely ten minutes after they finished eating, Yuan's body felt heavier.

  It was as if the very gravity around him had increased, pressing down on him with unbearable force.

  His limbs grew weak.

  His breath became ragged.

  His vision blurred as he colpsed onto the ground, powerless to move.

  His body was failing him.

  His breathing turned rough,heavy pants esg his lips.

  As he y helpless, he heard footsteps approag.

  Even without seeing them, he already knew who it was.

  The Scheming Elder, Viktor.

  And the spoiled brat, Emilia.

  His gaze slowly lifted, and he forced himself to look at their faces.

  Elder Viktor's cold, indifferent eyes stared down at him, void of emotion or hesitation.

  Then, his eyes shifted to Emilia.

  Her gaze wasn't indifferent like her grandfather's.

  No,her expression was different.

  There was hesitation in her eyes.

  A look of unease, dissatisfa.

  As if she didn't truly want this to happen.

  But Yuan could no longer focus on the expressions of the elder and the girl.

  The pain was too much.

  With a hoarse, pleading voice, he forced out the words:

  "Elder… please… it hurts… this pain is unbearable… Please… help me!"

  His voice was ugly, broken, filled with desperate cries and sobs.

  A pathetic dispy.

  But the elder did nothing.

  He didn't answer.

  He didn't react.

  He only stood there, coldly watg Yuan's suffering.

  Uhe elder, Emilia's expression wavered.

  There was hesitation in her eyes,a flicker of humanity.

  She turrandfather, speaking with a hint of frustration:

  "Grandfather, why don't we just speed up the process? Why make him suffer unnecessarily?We already have him under trol.I feel it.His spirit… the spiritual e… the poison has already taken hold."

  Elder Viktor shook his head.

  "That isn't possible."

  His voice was calm, measured,pletely indifferent.

  "If we stop now, he may start thinking he has a ce to resist.A ce to escape.Or worse,a ce to betray you ter.But if we let him experierue suffering, if we carve it deep into his soul… he will learn.He will uand that disobedience brings only pain. So much pain that he would rather choose death than defiahat is how you ensure absolute trol."

  Oh, how true those words were.

  Even Yuan had to admit it.

  Had their positions been reversed, he would have dohe same.

  But that didn't mean he could five it.

  The pain was real.

  Excruciating.

  And even though he knew of the cure, even though he uood that he would survive this…

  That didn't make it hurt any less.

  her Yuan nor Basilisk were people who enjoyed pain.

  And right now, there was nothing he could do except e.

  Emilia looked down at Yuan's agonized face.

  She saw his pain, his pleas, his suffering.

  For a moment, she hesitated again.

  But then, she let out a sigh and nodded.

  Elder Viktor, seeing her acceptance, gave a satisfied nod iurn.

  "Good. You are learning."

  And so, the torture tinued.

  Yuan endured.

  And endured.

  And endured.

  He had lost t of how many times he cursed the elder and the girl, swearing that he would one day repay them with the most excruciating torments he knew.

  Even his rationality began to slip, the overwhelming pain threatening to e his mind.

  But he g to his will.

  He refused to break.

  Elder Viktor watched carefully.

  He was experienced in such matters.

  And he khat if they went too far, Yuan would lose his sanity,or worse, bee permaly disabled.

  That was not their goal.

  This poison was expensive, and its purpose was to subjugate, not destroy.

  So, wheime was right, he finally called ao it.

  The pain finally ended.

  Yuarue relief as the hellish torture came to a stop.

  With the agony gone, he simply y on the grass, gasping for breath, his body drenched i.

  His lungs burned, his heart pounded, and for once, he wasn't pying the role of an exhausted boy.

  He was exhausted.

  This time, he wasn't ag.

  But who allowed him to rex?

  The elder's cold voice shattered the momentary peace

  "Brat, from today onward, you are Emilia's servant.If you disobey her, you will experiehe same pain again.And again.And again.Just as you did today.And don't even think about esg.The poison I used on you allows me to track your location, no matter where you go,now or iure.So be a good servant and serve Emilia with everything you have."

  More pain?

  For a brief moment, true fear gripped Yuan's heart.

  But then, he simply nodded.

  He didn't protest.

  He didn't resist.

  He only tinued gasping for breath, fog on rec.

  Seeing Yuan's obedient nod, the elder smirked in satisfa.

  "Good. You know your pce, brat.Tomorrow, we ehe capital ao the Howling Wind branch Sect.You will join Emilia as an outer disciple.So rest norepare to be a good servant."

  With that, the scheming elder turned away, heading toward his tent.

  Emilia followed behind him but, before leaving, she stole o g Yuan.

  Then, without a word, she turned away and disappeared into the night.

  For half an hour, Yuan simply y there, staring at the starry sky.

  The endless stars shimmered above him, their light soft yet powerful.

  He smiled.

  The stars looked beautiful tonight.

  And as he gazed upon them, his eyes flickered a deep, glowing azure light illuminating his irises.

  Then, with calm precision, he began.

  Yuan activated the Fme Poison sing Demonic Beast Teique.

  A rare anti poison teique specifically designed by demonic beasts.

  Though not widely known, it was not unheard of among high rankis and s of demonic beast.

  It was even used by some demonic beast cultivators as a method to develop their ow fmes.

  Not the best method, but still superior to many others.

  As Yuan eled his teique, the Azure Basilisk Fmes surged within him, adapting to the purification process.

  Following the teique's instrus, he purified his body and spirit, allowing the fmes to refine him pletely.

  And once his body and spirit were sed…

  The white qi would weaken.

  And then, with just a bit more effort…

  He would break free from Emilia's trol.