Back to the Past: Kill my Demon Empress Wife

Wei Ji stood in the middle of the ruined clearing, the smell of scorched earth and torn roots still drifting in the air like smoke after a long storm. The two elders lay slumped on the ground, their bodies shaking from exhaustion. Their breaths came in rough bursts, and their eyes twitched every time the wind brushed across their skin. They had already lost every bit of pride they carried earlier. Now they only looked like two tired old men who had been pushed far past what their bodies could bear.

Wei Ji looked down at them with calm eyes. His clothes were torn and covered with faint traces of dust, but he stood as if he had just taken a casual walk through a garden.

"You two can get up now," he said in a simple, clear voice.

The Sword Shandian Sect elder lifted his head first. His face was pale, but he still forced his shaking hands against the ground. His voice came out thin. "You… you did not kill us."

The Demonic Cultivator Elder followed a second later. His voice was even weaker. "Why spare us… after everything?"

Wei Ji stepped closer. His roots shifted silently beneath the soil, humming with quiet power. "I gave you a warning earlier," he said. "But now that your fight is done, there is something I want you to understand before you make any foolish choices."

The Sword Shandian Sect elder forced himself upright with a trembling groan. "We have already given everything. What more can you want from us?"

Wei Ji smiled faintly. It was a calm expression, gentle even, but the elders' shoulders flinched as if someone had stabbed their backs with a cold blade. "I want you alive," he said. "Alive and obedient. Alive and useful. You two have lived long lives and gained deep knowledge. Killing you would be a waste of time."

The Demonic Cultivator Elder clenched his teeth. "So… you plan to bind us."

Wei Ji nodded. "I already did. You just have not realized it yet."

The two elders stiffened.

Wei Ji lifted one hand, and spiritual energy swirled around his fingers, blooming slowly like a flower made of spirit light. "The parasite I planted earlier was not complete. You still had far too much strength then. You kept resisting, and it was hard to finish the process when your spiritual energy had not yet collapsed."

Both elders widened their eyes.

"So you continued fighting us to drain us," the Sword Shandian Sect elder whispered.

Wei Ji did not deny it. "You forced me to use a longer method. A very long method. A very troublesome one. But now that you have no energy left, the parasite can grow inside you without any problem."

The Demonic Cultivator elder spat blood, his voice sharp. "You little rat. You dare…"

Wei Ji tapped his finger lightly against the air.

The elder froze. His body jerked like a puppet whose strings were pulled too tight. His hands clawed at his chest, and he let out a raw cry. "Stop. Stop. What did you do?"

The Sword Shandian Sect elder trembled as he watched his companion twist in agony. He slowly looked at Wei Ji with fear. "This… this is not a normal parasite."

"No," Wei Ji said. "It is not."

The Demonic Cultivator Elder collapsed, shaking. When Wei Ji released the invisible pressure, the old man gasped for breath like a drowning man breaking the surface.

Wei Ji spoke softly. "This parasite is not something you can suppress. Not something you can break. Not something you can remove. It is tied to your soul. It is tied to your core. It moves when I think, and sleeps when I am silent. Even if you give up your body, even if you leave your flesh behind and turn into a spirit, even if you try to destroy your own foundation, it will follow you."

The Sword Shandian Sect elder clenched his fists. His voice shook. "Then we are… your slaves."

"Call it whatever helps you sleep," Wei Ji said. "You still have your minds. Your thoughts. Your choices. But if any of those choices turn against me, the parasite will act. It will kill you before you even finish the thought."

The elders lowered their heads. Sweat dripped from their temples and hit the soil with faint taps.

Wei Ji watched them in silence for a moment before speaking again. "Stand."

The two elders exchanged a quick glance. They felt something stir beneath their skin, something cold, something crawling, something that hummed softly like distant thunder. They had no strength left to resist. They pushed themselves up slowly, unable to stop their bodies from shaking.

Wei Ji said, "Now. Try something."

The Sword Shandian Sect elder swallowed. "Try… what?"

"Try to break free," Wei Ji said.

Both elders froze.

Wei Ji's expression remained calm. "Go on. Use whatever you have left. Try to fight me. Try to cut the link. Try to escape. I want you to understand what the parasite is."

The Demonic Cultivator Elder slowly gathered the last shreds of his spiritual energy. It was like a candle flame shaking in strong wind. But he still forced it out, sending it down his meridians and striking at the core of the parasite inside him.

His face turned white instantly.

A wave of pain hit him so hard his knees buckled. A low cry broke out of his throat.

The Sword Shandian Sect elder flinched at the sight, but he forced himself to try as well. His spirit energy moved in a thin thread, pushing gently at the parasite. He barely touched it.

He collapsed on the ground with a hoarse cry, clutching his chest.

Wei Ji sighed. "I said try. That was a little too weak. But I suppose this makes the point clear enough."

The two elders lay there trembling. Their breaths were rapid, their bodies soaked with sweat. They did not try again.

Wei Ji crouched beside them, speaking softly, almost kindly. "You are not dead. You are not broken. You are still yourselves. But you belong to me now. That is all."

The Demonic Cultivator Elder looked up at him with trembling lips. "Why… why do you need us? Why not just kill us and be done with it?"

Wei Ji's voice stayed calm. "Because you are useful. You carry histories. You carry secrets. You carry influence. Your sects will not know of your defeat. They will only know you are alive. That alone is enough for now."

The Sword Shandian Sect elder lowered his head. His voice was almost too small to hear. "We have no choice then."

"No," Wei Ji said. "You do not."

The wind drifted through the clearing, lifting the broken dust of battle into the air. The two elders stared at the ground, their faces pale and heavy. They had no more strength to speak, and no more courage to resist.

Wei Ji straightened and looked down at them. "Now you understand. No matter what you think… even if it is only a moment of anger or fear… if your heart moves against me, the parasite will respond. And you will die before you even lift a hand."

The Sword Shandian Sect elder closed his eyes. "We understand."

The Demonic Cultivator Elder followed, his voice cracked and tired. "There is nothing left for us to fight with."

Wei Ji nodded.

The two elders had finally stopped resisting. They had finally accepted the truth. They had done everything they could. They had tried every path. They had exhausted every ounce of spirit and will.

Now they could only kneel there in silence, knowing that their lives hung on a single thought.

One stray intention against Wei Ji, and the parasite would kill them instantly.

They had given up. They were under his control.

And the clearing grew quiet around them as the last bit of defiance inside their hearts faded away.

Wei Ji watched the two elders kneel in silence. Their shoulders drooped, and the last flickers of resistance slipped out of their eyes like dying embers. The night air settled around them with a strange heaviness, as if the forest itself understood the shift in power.

"Good," Wei Ji said softly. "Then listen carefully. From this moment on, your lives continue only because I allow them. Serve well, and you will walk freely. Fail me, and you will never rise again."

The Sword Shandian Sect elder lowered his head even further. "We… understand."

The Demonic Cultivator elder clenched his teeth but did not look up. "Say what you wish. We cannot fight you any longer."

Wei Ji stepped back, letting his roots slowly retreat beneath the soil. He did not need them anymore. Fear alone bound these two more tightly than any vines could. "Rest for now," he said. "You will follow me once you recover enough to stand without shaking."

The elders nodded weakly.

Wei Ji turned away and looked toward the deeper forest where shadows gathered like silent watchers. His voice fell low, almost thoughtful.

"Things will move faster from here."

Behind him, the two elders trembled again. Not from pain. Not from exhaustion.

But from the cold truth that they now walked behind a man who no longer feared them… and who could end their lives with a single stray thought.