"Human, where are you running off to again?" the big fat duck quacked, watching Avinash head off in yet another direction.
"Don't tell me you're still chasing after that Ye Chen. Or are you finally giving up?" the duck pressed, waddling behind him.
Avinash didn't slow down. "If he were that easy to kill, I'd have done it already," he replied coolly, continuing in the opposite direction.
"And where do you think you're going now?" the duck asked, narrowing his beady eyes.
"Obviously, I'm off to find a beast partner," Avinash said over his shoulder. "Since you're refusing to be mine, I'll have to find someone else. Without a beast partner, I can't even enter the Supreme Beast Sect."
The duck froze in place. After a brief silence, he grumbled, "Alright, alright... I'll be your partner—but only for a limited time!"
Inside, the duck smirked smugly to himself: "If I become his partner, I'll finally be able to leave this damn formation. This isn't surrender... this is called a strategic retreat."
Avinash paused, a small smirk creeping onto his face. But it vanished just as quickly. He turned to the big fat swan—no, duck—and said solemnly, "From today, you're my pet—oh, sorry—I mean, we're partners."
Then, he extended his hand.
The duck hesitated for a moment, then extended his bill in response. A ridiculous but strangely heartfelt handshake followed.
"Fine. From today, we're friends," the duck muttered. "But don't get any ideas. You're not special or anything. I'm only doing this because I want out of here."
Avinash just nodded like a sage agreeing to profound wisdom.
The duck flapped his wings. "Anyway, I've got things to do. I'll meet you in two days."
"What do you need two days for?" Avinash asked, raising a brow.
"None of your business. It's a personal matter," the duck snapped. Then, puffing out his chest, he added, "We're only partners in name! And how dare you, you bastard, ask questions of your father!"
With that, he took to the skies in a huff, wings flapping wildly.
Avinash didn't say a word, but he narrowed his eyes thoughtfully. "That stupid duck definitely has some kind of treasure stashed away. That's what he's going after..."
But he didn't follow.
It wasn't that he didn't care about the treasure—he did. But right now, he had something more important to do.
Princess Smriti.
Activating his Celestial Reincarnation Eyes, Avinash scanned the entire mountain range. A few moments later, he located her presence and used the Spatial Shift ability of his eyes to teleport directly to a cave near her position.
Meanwhile, not far from the cave, Princess Smriti was also searching for Avinash. Her Destiny Pupils shimmered faintly as they scanned winding through the forested mountains.
Princess Smriti stepped cautiously into the dimly lit cave, the soft rustle of her silken robes echoing off the stone walls. Her Destiny Pupils glowed faintly as they adjusted to the darkness, tracking the lone figure seated in a lotus position at the center of the chamber.
Suddenly, her expression changed.
There he was—Avinash.
His body radiated an unnatural stillness, as if fused with the cave itself. The air around him shimmered faintly with suppressed spiritual energy, like a coiled dragon sleeping just beneath the surface.
Smriti hesitated at the threshold. Her instincts screamed caution, but pride and purpose pushed her forward. He's just a man. And men, no matter how powerful, still fall to charm...
She took a deep breath and stepped in.
Each stride was graceful, calculated—the walk of a queen who had seduced kings and deceived entire courts. She moved closer, every movement accentuating her beauty. She was confident. Until—
Avinash opened his eyes.
Sharp. Icy. Unblinking.
A cold shiver ran down her spine. Those weren't the eyes of a mortal cultivator. Those were the eyes of someone who had seen lifetimes—of someone who knew too much.
"You came… Princess Smriti. Or should I say—the last survivor of the Spirit Race?"
The words struck her like a whip.
Smriti froze in place. Her heart pounded violently against her ribs. Her carefully prepared expression shattered. Her most guarded secret—one she had buried beneath layers of false histories and illusions—laid bare with a single sentence.
Her breath caught. How?
Panic bloomed in her chest. She took a step back, then another.
But she didn't get far.
In an instant, Avinash was on his feet. His movement was fluid—silent and unnatural. Like a shadow stepping into the light.
He grabbed her wrist— roughly, with a grip that allowed no resistance. Before she could react, he spun her lightly and pressed her down onto a nearby patch of soft moss-covered stone.
Smriti's body hit the ground with a muted thud. Not painful, but firm enough to shatter the illusion of control she had walked in with.
Tears pricked her eyes—not from the fall, but from the helplessness. The humiliation.
"Who… who are you?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper. "And how do you know about me?"
Avinash didn't answer right away. He crouched beside her, studying her face with those unblinking, unreadable eyes.
Then he spoke.
"Does it matter?" His voice was quiet, almost kind—but the weight behind it made the air itself grow colder. "What matters is how much you want your revenge."
The words struck deep.
Revenge.
It was the fire that had kept her alive. The hatred she cradled in silence. The reason she'd endured betrayal, loneliness, and years of hiding her identity.
Her lip trembled, but she stared back into his eyes.
"I'll do anything," she said, her voice steadier now. "They butchered my clan. Burned my home. I've lost everything—my brothers, my parents... my people. If I have to offer my soul to darkness to destroy them, I will."
Avinash's lips curved into a slow, almost amused smile.
"Anything, huh?" he murmured, like a devil tasting an offering.
Smriti didn't flinch.
"Even if it means walking through hell," she said. "I'll do it."
Silence lingered between them. The only sound was the slow drip of water from the cave ceiling and the quiet hum of the activated formation.
Then Avinash chuckled.
A soft, dark sound that sent a chill down her spine.
Without another word, he lifted her again—this time roughly—and placed her on a flat stone. He raised his hand, and a set of glowing runes ignited around the cave, sealing them inside.
A formation.
Powerful. Isolating. Ancient.
Smriti's pulse quickened.
Is he going to kill me now? Use me? Break me?
But again, she didn't run.