Chapter 17

Under the swaying lanterns at the gate of the Cao family’s residence, a meat pie splattered across Cao Kang’s face without breaking, miraculously remaining intact for a moment before slowly falling down.

No meat pie had ever received such attention while falling to the ground.

Next to Huang Li stood a boy with tattered clothes but a handsome face, who frowned as soon as he saw the meat pie. An old voice kept chattering in his mind: “Young one, the Biebao is cunning and vigilant, very difficult to encounter and capture, but it has one weakness: greed. As long as you use the oil cake in your arms to lure it, Biebao will surely fall into your hands. Ordinary people would find it hard not to succumb to greed when using Biebao, eventually falling victim to it, but I have a method to turn the Biebao into an artifact…”

If Yu Xizhi could hear this at this moment, she would immediately recognize it as the voice of the legendary Grandpa’s residual soul, known as the “Golden Finger.”

The boy brought by Huang Li was the protagonist of the original story, Cheng Luocen.

He had been persuaded all along the way to throw out the oil cake. The boy kept his lips tightly sealed, neither believing nor disbelieving.

This old man’s residual soul, residing in his soul, kept chattering incessantly, acting as if he had control over everything in the world.

When Cheng Luocen shattered that bottle and agreed to coexist with this old man, he had the mindset of either succeeding or perishing. Cultivating immortality is a great endeavor, and without the courage to break through obstacles, someone like him with nothing should give up on such aspirations.

But who would have thought the old man would be so talkative!

He was getting a headache from all the chatter, yet the two weren’t close enough for him to bluntly tell the old man to shut up. Despite the old man’s weak state, he clearly had many ways to take him down with him. After subtly hinting several times to no avail, Cheng Luocen had no choice but to fall silent himself.

His silence made the old man think he was being overly cautious. Just as the old man was about to speak again, his voice suddenly stopped.

They both saw the meat pie.

Then, they saw something abruptly extend from Old Man Cao’s monstrous arm, grabbing the meat pie just before it hit the ground.

It was a thin, withered, lead-gray arm, protruding awkwardly from Old Man Cao’s bloody arm. Because of the cover of darkness, it would be almost invisible without excellent eyesight.

As the arm extended, Old Man Cao’s entire arm seemed to instantly wither, the flesh drying up in an instant, and this withering was about to spread to his body—

Yu Xizhi finally grasped her sword.

“See, I told you the Biebao is greedy, and now a meat pie has lured it out! Quickly…” The grandpa’s residual soul shouted excitedly in Cheng Luocen’s mind. However, before he could finish, a flash of sword light swept in from the side!

Yu Xizhi only knew the Qingfeng Liuyun Sword technique.

This sword technique was simple, with only five moves in total. One of them was a forward slash. She removed all the transitional and preparatory moves, simply drawing her sword and thrusting it forward.

Old Man Cao’s already-withered arm was severed with a single slash!

Dark, filthy blood gushed from the severed arm, but the decay that had almost reached his face suddenly stopped.

From the severed arm emerged a demon with a yellow hat and a blue body, with arms of varying lengths. It seemed to have the ability to control the length of its limbs at will. At that moment, it was holding the meat pie, which was clearly larger than its head. However, when the demon opened its mouth, it stretched wide enough to encompass its entire face, revealing a mouth full of bloody teeth, and swallowed the meat pie in one gulp!

The demon performed this series of actions smoothly, swallowing the meat pie in an instant and even licking its fingers afterward, ready to escape.

Yu Xizhi had already shifted her sword stance, swinging her sword in a downward strike!

“Oh no! What a waste to destroy such a treasure with a single sword strike! How can the Kunwu Mountain Sect still be so unreasonable after all these centuries!” The grandpa’s residual soul was so anxious he could jump, wishing he could step forward to block Yu Xizhi’s sword himself.

Cheng Luocen clenched his fists slightly. Even if he wanted to do something, there was nothing he could do. He had just barely managed to draw Qi into his body under the old man’s guidance. How could he possibly compete with the Kunwu Mountain Sect’s sword for the demon?

But just at that moment, an unexpected change occurred.

As Yu Xizhi’s sword descended, the demon suddenly transformed into a cloud of black mist and dispersed, clearly having been prepared for such an attack! It even left behind a sharp child’s laugh, which sounded mocking.

After all, it was Yu Xizhi’s first time catching a demon, and she couldn’t help but pause slightly in surprise.

“Use your spiritual vision,” Xie Junzhi said, knocking out the pain-ridden Old Man Cao with a slap, giving Huang Li a look, and then pulling out a rope from who knows where to tie up the frightened Cao Kang and Old Man Cao together, reminding Yu Xizhi.

Following Xie Junzhi’s reminder, Yu Xizhi’s divine sense extended along the muddy traces she saw with her spiritual vision. With her sword in hand, she tapped her toes and leaped more than ten meters forward, chasing after the demon!

Xie Junzhi followed closely, running side by side with Yu Xizhi. “It’s a Biebao.”

“What’s a Biebao?” Yu Xizhi asked, her eyes fixed on the winding trail of demonic energy on the ground.

“Biebao are extremely rare, usually found in the bellies of ancient turtles that are over a thousand years old. Once captured and implanted into a host, it can be fed with blood and flesh, allowing the host to use it to seek treasures,” Xie Junzhi explained.

Yu Xizhi had not done any homework before this mission.

She had hurriedly looked at some sketches, but the actual creature was vastly different from the illustrations. Now, hearing Xie Junzhi’s explanation, she rapidly recalled the book’s images, finally conjuring a mental image that matched the demon she had glimpsed earlier.

The book depicted a small, wealthy-looking demon, complete with proper features, while what she had just seen resembled withered vines, old trees, and a blood-red mouth devouring a melon. It was already impressive that she had managed to draw her sword without being scared stiff.

No wonder Old Man Cao had become rich overnight.

This Biebao was very peculiar. After being fed with blood and flesh, it allowed its host to see through the ground and find hidden treasures. Recently, Old Man Cao had been traveling everywhere, clearly exchanging his life for wealth, sweeping through Lingbei Town.

Judging by their earlier conversation, it seemed that after Old Man Cao’s sudden fortune, he attracted the attention of evil relatives at home. Having spent his life drifting on the river, Old Man Cao took their flattery seriously. He worked hard to find treasures, only to realize that he was just being used as a tool, essentially no different from an old ox plowing the field.

Returning to the Siyou River, it moved with great familiarity, as if it had long been accustomed to the area, and it seemed it would succeed in its escape.

Yu Xizhi pursed her lips and sighed.

Xie Junzhi, puzzled by her behavior, then saw her pull out another meat pie from her Qiankun.

Xie Junzhi: …

“Though this path leads to a thorny end, you go on, and I will avenge you,” Yu Xizhi said with deep emotion to the meat pie. She then gathered her energy and flew forward, managing to get ahead of the Biebao. With determination, she flung the meat pie!

Sure enough, the Biebao’s demonic energy momentarily halted.

This brief moment was exactly what Yu Xizhi had been waiting for.

Though strangers are on the same path as glutonny, why must we have met?

Her robes fluttered as she held her sword, Yanxiao, and struck down from mid-air with a single slash!

Fine cracks spread from the bluestone slabs, resembling a spiderweb. Yu Xizhi’s sword had penetrated the ground, and the sword’s energy firmly pinned the Biebao to the sword’s tip!

The Biebao let out a sharp scream, but its hands never ceased clutching the meat pie. When Yu Xizhi lifted her sword to retrieve the demon, she discovered that she had pierced right through Biebao’s upper jaw!

Though Yanxiao was not an immortal artifact with a spirit, it had been tempered in the Kunwu Mountain Sect’s sword tomb. The Biebao’s teeth couldn’t damage it. As the demon’s sharp teeth gnawed at the sword, producing a grating sound, Yanxiao remained unscathed.

This was Yu Xizhi’s first time encountering a demon so closely.

Curious, she held her sword steady, tilting her head to examine the Biebao struggling at the sword’s tip.

Perhaps realizing the futility of its struggle—once locked by the sword’s energy, without superior strength, it couldn’t escape—the Biebao slowly ceased its resistance, half-opening its mouth.

Now, it did resemble the creature depicted in the illustrated book.

Its features seemed carved out of clay with a rough but vivid texture. The Biebao’s eyes looked like white beans without pupils, yet they conveyed a sense of awareness. It clung to the meat pie that had deceived it, making hissing sounds, but with its upper jaw pierced by the sword’s energy, it couldn’t eat.

On the Yuanshen Continent, humans and demons were natural adversaries. The demon in her hand, though perhaps useful, was weak. Because of its weakness, the Biebao typically hides itself completely, rarely appearing before humans.

Despite its weakness, the Biebao clearly possessed the innate nature of a demon.

—To sow chaos among humans.

At first glance, this phrase seemed exaggerated.

But if left unchecked, the first one is Old Man Cao and would be followed by others, leading to more turmoil. The treasure might attract even more powerful forces. The Yuanshen Continent was vast, with countless hidden treasures buried over thousands of years.

Not to mention the secret realms and spiritual treasures left by predecessors; even ordinary burial items could incite greed and madness among humans.

“Should we kill it?” Yu Xizhi turned to Xie Junzhi, asking, “If I strike it down, will it die? By the way… don’t we need to extract a demon core when killing a demon?”

The Biebao, clearly understanding her words, began to tremble uncontrollably.

It slowly turned its gaze towards Xie Junzhi, but whatever it saw made its trembling body stiffen slightly. Then it quietly curled up, as if witnessing something unbelievable. It seemed to want to express something but could only emit the same sharp hissing sound.

“Didn’t Huaiyun teach you this?” Xie Junzhi lifted the Biebao by its scruff, expressionless. His voice was light: “Catch demons, put them in the bag, and return them to the sect. Useful little demons like this… Naturally, they will be thrown into the rolling flames of the Ziyuan Peak, refined into a treasure.”

Yu Xizhi genuinely didn’t know. She was taken aback, and the expression on Biebao’s face suddenly became much richer. “This demon still has such a wonderful use?”

Xie Junzhi found Yu Xizhi quite interesting.

She wore only a small yellow flower on her clothes, obviously tagging along with Yu Si, but even in a place like the Kunwu Mountain Sect, she should have developed a strong aversion to demons. Yet, when she saw the demonic energy, she didn’t show repulsion but rather curiosity. She even asked why demonic energy was considered filthy and how it differed from human.

When she drew her sword, she was indeed decisive, but when throwing the meat pie, she seemed deeply pained, as if cutting her flesh, as if the world depended on it, and her meat pie was the largest.

In the end, after catching the demon, she actually turned to him for guidance.

He thought she would say something like those naive words often spouted by those ‘bald donkey’ about mercy for all beings. So, he intentionally described the process, waiting for her to show a hint of discomfort.

However, Yu Xizhi completely defied his expectations.

She seemed to have a sense of good and evil, yet also not, or perhaps she had her own understanding of the world.

Thinking of this, he couldn’t help but cough a few times, suppressing his overflowing smile that threatened to spill over and deliberately asking, “Don’t you find this cruel?”

“Of course, but when steaming crabs, they must be alive.” Yu Xizhi looked at him earnestly, as if he had asked a strange question: “When eating drunken shrimp, they must be eaten fresh and alive. If we always have to consider whether something is cruel or not, wouldn’t life be a constant cage?”

She looked at the Biebao, which was behaving very obediently in Xie Junzhi’s hand, and couldn’t help but reach out and touch a protrusion on its head, eliciting an angry glare from the demon.

“When humans are caught by demons, their fate is probably not much better, maybe even worse. So, why should I feel cruel?”

Xie Junzhi looked at the little dimple on the girl’s cheek, feeling inexplicably mesmerized. Despite her serious demeanor, the dimple remained faintly visible.

“Today, I caught it, so I live, and it perishes. If someday I am inferior in skill, then it will be me who perishes. The strong prey on the weak, the powerful rule. If that’s the case within the sect, isn’t it the same for the world?” She rummaged through her qiankun bag, found the demon-catching bag, and threw the Biebao, along with the meat pie, into it. “Besides, I even gave it two whole pieces of my meat pie.”

Xie Junzhi looked at her and finally couldn’t help but laugh.

Yu Xizhi tightened the mouth of the demon-catching bag, clumsily tied a knot, accidentally tying a knot too tight, and then threw it into the qiankun bag in a fit of pique. Then she glanced at Xie Junzhi and said, “By the way, why do I feel like you don’t cough as much once we’re out of the sect? Is your health much better?”

In the distance, Huang Li had already finished dealing with the aftermath of Old Man Cao’s situation and finally arrived. Xie Junzhi suppressed his smile and coughed a few times again, following Yu Xizhi’s words, “Not really.”

Yu Xizhi: …?

Is your coughing a bit too controlled?

Before she could say anything, the demon-hunting compass in her hand suddenly trembled slightly.

She looked up.

Huang Li, along with two others, had finally arrived in front of her. After all, they were mere mortals. Huang Li took a few deep breaths before regaining his composure. His gaze toward Yu Xizhi now held a hint of admiration. “I’ve sent Old Man Cao to the physician. Fortunately, you acted in time. The doctor said it’s not serious, but he probably won’t be able to leave the river anymore. The entire Cao family has been quarantined; they were too close to the demon, and they all got tainted by demonic energy. Tomorrow, I’ll go and dispel the demonic energy.”

He noticed Yu Xizhi’s gaze lingering on the two people beside him and realized he had forgotten to introduce them.

“This is Ah Kou, like me, an outer disciple of the Kunwu Mountain Sect. He has been stationed in Lengbei Town for over a year.”

He then gestured to the young man standing slightly behind and brought him forward with a smile, revealing a set of white teeth. “This is my good brother, Cheng Luocen, a casual cultivator who just introduced Qi into the body. If there’s a chance…” Huang Li looked a bit embarrassed, paused, then continued, “I hope the two young masters have time to consider and maybe recommend him to join the Kunwu Mountain Sect as an outer disciple.”

Yu Xizhi slowly turned her head and looked at the handsome youth.

Cheng Luocen.

These three words were like a thunderbolt, almost causing Yu Xizhi’s hand holding the sword to tremble slightly.

This… isn’t this the name of the male lead in the original book?!

She stared at Cheng Luocen for a few seconds, suddenly had a flash of realization, and remembered why she felt something familiar from before.

…In the original book, it was indeed Cheng Luocen who subdued the Biebao with an oil cake. What does it have to do with her, Yu Xizhi?

Daring to snatch the treasure of the original male lead, she, Yu Xizhi, is really…

Impressive, very good, and very bold!!!.