Chapter 11

On the way to the kitchen, Xiang Haikui recounted the day’s events to Bai Xingxian: “The reason Tiankuang overate is probably related to that little black snake.”

Could the little black snake really be a big shot?

What kind of big shot could be chopped in half with a kitchen knife?

Even if the kitchen knife from the city lord’s residence isn’t an ordinary one, it still doesn’t seem realistic.

Bai Xingxian thought for a moment: “From what you’re saying, the snake demon is severely injured, on the brink of death, and has lost consciousness. At this point, the best way to avoid capture would be to retract all its claws and fangs, returning to its original form, making it harder to detect.”

As long as it isn’t caught by pursuers, falling into the hands of ordinary people with ordinary means, it wouldn’t be fatal.

After arriving at the kitchen, Xiang Haikui opened the jar, and a strange smell made her gag.

Bai Xingxian’s face also scrunched up.

“What’s going on?”

Xiang Haikui pinched her nose and peered inside.

She was convinced, it was definitely a big shot.

Even though it was cut in half, its body was still slightly twitching, not dead yet!

Moreover, the severed ends were secreting a large amount of resin-like sticky liquid, effectively protecting the cut surfaces.

Upon closer inspection, the little black snake was emitting a faint fluorescent light, likely releasing its power instinctively to protect itself after being cut.

With the circulation of its vital energy, the salt had seeped into its bones and blood, hence the strong smell.

“Xiao Bai, you’ve seen a lot with Senior Yin, do you know who this is?” Xiang Haikui was deeply shocked.

From now on, she couldn’t casually kill and eat meat in the cultivation world.

Bai Xingxian glanced from a distance with his spiritual sense, feeling a bit scared for some reason, perhaps due to a natural predator-prey relationship: “I don’t know many snake demons, and none of Uncle’s friends are snake demons.”

Xiang Haikui’s hand holding the jar lid trembled slightly: “What should we do now?”

Bai Xingxian suggested: “Snakes are very vengeful, I wonder if it remembers you. Since it’s come to this, we might as well eat it. Uncle has a treasure with me called the Three Corpses Immortal Furnace, which should be able to cook it.”

As he spoke, he licked his lips, he wanted to eat it too.

A small demon eating a big demon is very nourishing.

“This…”

Xiang Haikui, unlike Bai Xingxian who is a demon, had psychological barriers.

This snake could make Tiankuang overeat, so it must have already taken human form.

It felt like eating a person, especially since there was no enmity between them.

Her mind kept turning, and the Tiankuang sword in the box behind her kept buzzing.

When she thought about eating the snake or throwing it away, Tiankuang seemed to be calling her a coward, saying she had already chopped it but was afraid of revenge and wanted to destroy the evidence!

When she thought about making amends and saving the snake, Tiankuang got excited, thinking this was truly audacious: I dared to chop you, and I dare to save you. I am your enemy and your savior. Am I not audacious? Are you not angry?

Having such a foolish sword, Xiang Haikui had a headache, but there was no other way, she had to deal with it.

Although Tiankuang is a demon sword, according to her master, it’s also a righteous sword.

Since it wanted to save the snake, the little black snake wasn’t practicing evil ways.

But how to save it?

“Xiao Bai, can you find Senior Yin?”

Xiang Haikui wanted to ask Bai Xingxian to go and consult her boss.

“I don’t know.”

Not being able to eat the big demon, Bai Xingxian was a bit disappointed and shook his head, “Uncle just said that after your father comes out of seclusion and the crisis is resolved, I should return to the mountains and wait for him to come and get me after he’s done.”

“You follow Senior Yin all day but know nothing about him.”

Yin Changli really treated Bai Xingxian like a pet, Xiang Haikui sighed, “He expects us to help him change his fate but won’t reveal anything more.”

“Uncle said, regarding destiny, the more people know, the more variables there are.”

Bai Xingxian gave her a “you don’t understand” look.

Actually, he didn’t understand either, but what Uncle said must be right.

Alright then, as an employee, the boss is always right, Xiang Haikui didn’t discuss it further with him.

She took the two halves of the snake out of the jar, washed off the salt, put them into a new jar, and went to find Xiang Tianqing.

“Sister, can you still save this snake?”

Xiang Tianqing was nauseated by the smell and a bit angry: “It’s already dead, how can I save it?”

Xiang Haikui couldn’t explain about the Tiankuang sword: “It’s not dead, this snake might already have some cultivation.”

Xiang Tianqing was slightly surprised, and upon checking with her spiritual sense, it was indeed so.

She sealed her sense of smell, walked forward, and carefully took out the two halves of the snake from the jar.

After studying it for a while, she regretfully said: “No, this is beyond my ability.”

Xiang Haikui took the snake back: “Alright then, I’ll go out of the city to find Daochen.”

In her dream, not far outside the city, there was a Buddhist cave where some ascetic monks lived, one of whom was named Daochen.

Although a Buddhist cultivator, his medical skills were superb.

She had never met him, only heard her father mention him a few times, each time with a headache.

Daochen was seen as compassionate by others, but in her father’s eyes, he was a do-gooder, saving anyone, including foreign tribes.

Xiang Tianqing was surprised: “You just arrived, and you already know Daochen?”

Xiang Haikui shook her head: “I don’t know him, just heard of him.”

Xiang Tianqing breathed a sigh of relief: “It’s late at night now, the city gates are already closed. To go out, you need the senior brother’s approval, but he’s hard to talk to…”

She left her sentence hanging, waiting for Xiang Haikui to ask her to help get a token from Meng Xilou.

Xiang Haikui: “Then forget it, I’ll go tomorrow morning, sorry to bother you.”

Anyway, the little black snake wouldn’t die for a while.

Xiang Tianqing was slightly taken aback and chased after her: “Xiao Kui, you don’t need a token, I’ll go out of the city with you, the guards won’t dare to stop us. If the senior brother blames us, I’ll just apologize, and he’ll soften.”

Xiang Haikui was about to say it wasn’t necessary but swallowed her words.

She somewhat understood, Xiang Tianqing wanted to show off her status in Silver Sand city and the deep bond she had with her father and fellow disciples.

She probably didn’t know her own identity, acting like a little girl eager to win favor.

“Alright then.” Xiang Haikui thanked her.

Later, the two girls, one in crimson gauze and the other in sea-blue gauze, walked through the silent streets of  Silver Sand City.

When they were still far from the city gate, Xiang Haikui suddenly sensed an unusual fluctuation in the surrounding airflow and immediately tracked the source with her spiritual sense.

This Wind-Chasing Observation Technique was also taught by her master.

Using this technique, she saw a figure leap onto the city wall—it was Lu Xiqiao.

He took out a small golden knife and cut a slit in the city’s protective barrier, slipping through and disappearing in an instant.

Xiang Haikui couldn’t stop him in time.

For someone so reckless, stopping him once wouldn’t stop him forever, so she let him go.

But if he really died, the Lu family from the capital would surely cause trouble for her father.

Lu Xiqiao was followed by someone, not far behind, with much higher cultivation.

Xiang Haikui initially thought it was a servant protecting him, but now it seemed more like someone tracking him.

At that moment, the tracker suddenly revealed himself, drawing a sword to strike the city guard standing below the wall!

The distance was too great, and with Xiang Haikui’s current cultivation level and control over Tiankuang, she couldn’t draw her sword in time.

With a leap, she decisively jumped up, swift as a leopard, completing several jumps across rooftops in an instant.

When she was close enough for her voice to carry, she shouted sharply: “Be careful!”

The city guard, startled, though unable to sense where the attacker was, dodged randomly.

He narrowly avoided a fatal strike from the assailant!

Being able to guard Silver Sand City at night, the city guard was no ordinary person.

He immediately erected a protective barrier and swung his sword to counterattack.

“How dare you!”

“How dare you cause trouble in Silver Sand City!”

Xiang Tianqing, catching up, also looked fierce.

She pointed two fingers together, and the sword behind her flew out towards the attacker!

The attacker, failing in his strike and hearing Xiang Tianqing’s voice, clearly lost his composure and was cut on the arm by her sword.

He first turned sideways, then leaned back and slid away, disappearing into the night after a few flashes.

The guards wanted to chase, but the city guard shook his head, signaling them to return and guard the gate.

This person’s cultivation was far above theirs, chasing him would be suicide.

Even though it was their duty, the city lord had repeatedly warned them to act within their capabilities.

“Thank you, Second Miss.”

After instructing his subordinates to report the incident, the city guard walked over to the two sisters, first thanking Xiang Haikui.

Although it was Xiang Tianqing who drew her sword, if not for Xiang Haikui’s shout, he would have surely died.

Xiang Tianqing offered a comforting smile, though it seemed a bit forced.

Xiang Haikui turned to look in the direction the attacker had fled, sending a voice transmission to Xiang Tianqing: “Sister, does Senior Brother always act so ruthlessly?”

Xiang Tianqing was puzzled: “You think that was Senior Brother just now?”

Xiang Haikui: “If not him, then his subordinate.”

She was just thinking about the trouble Silver Sand City would face if Lu Xiqiao died here, and immediately someone used Lu Xiqiao’s sword technique to kill the city guard and his subordinates.

This way, Lu Xiqiao would be at fault first, and the Lu family wouldn’t be able to blame Silver Sand City but would instead get into trouble themselves.

If it wasn’t Meng Xilou, who else could it be?

This man was truly ruthless, even killing his own people.

Whether he was a servant sent from the upper realm to protect Xiang Tianqing or not, Xiang Haikui had a very poor impression of him.

Meanwhile, Xiang Tianqing heard the city guard say that the attacker’s sword technique resembled that of the Lu family.

Connecting this with Xiang Haikui’s question, her lips tightened, and she clenched her fists: “Sister, you go out of the city first, I’ll catch up later.”

After speaking, she turned and hurried towards the city lord’s residence to confront Meng Xilou.

Xiang Haikui watched her retreating figure, thinking she still had a sense of justice.

However, if Meng Xilou was truly a clone from the upper realm, then she might have exposed herself a bit just now.

Originally, she hadn’t planned to keep pretending to be weak.

Having the master of the Tiankuang sword play weak was a joke.

Boss Yin’s advice was just to keep her strength under wraps, not to force her to hide completely.

The overall plan was still to meet force with force, to face challenges head-on.

After she left the city and walked a distance, the guards whispered among themselves: “Now, everyone is saying she’s a seductress sent by the capital’s noble families to bewitch the city lord, but I feel like her demeanor is somewhat similar to the city lord’s?”

The city guard also had his doubts, but after a moment, he barked: “Don’t talk nonsense!

Do your jobs!”

The attacker circled back to the city lord’s residence and entered Meng Xilou’s room: “Young Master, I failed…”

This person was Meng Xilou’s trusted aide, Huai Mie.

He knelt down, his overly handsome hands clenched into fists.

Meng Xilou, draped in a cloak, sat calmly behind his desk: “Did the young lady intervene?”

Huai Mie gritted his teeth: “It was mainly Xiang Heng’s biological daughter, Young Master, she seems somewhat extraordinary.”

“A little girl without a spiritual root, how complicated can she be?”

Meng Xilou’s voice was deep, unconcerned.

Both he and his servant were clones from the upper realm.

Meng Xilou was Xiang Tianqing’s elder brother in the upper realm.

When Xiang Tianqing reincarnated to undergo her tribulation, she had to drink the Water of Forgetfulness.

At that time, she was terrified, so Meng Xilou, as her elder brother, used the excuse of being in seclusion to secretly descend to the lower realm, possessing this mortal body to stay by Xiang Tianqing’s side, taking care of her and making plans for her.

“Let that woman live a few more days. On the seventh day of Xiang Heng’s seclusion, kill her, give her the most painful death. Daring to upset my sister, she deserves to be cut into a thousand pieces. Moreover, Xiang Heng must fall into demonhood.”

“Yes.”

After a pause, Huai Mie rubbed his fingers and added, “But Young Master, there seem to be many twists and turns recently…”

“No matter, a bunch of mortal trash, no one can block my sister’s path to merit.”

Xiang Haikui arrived at the Buddhist cave outside the city but was told that Daochen had just left for the frontier yesterday, as a tribal elder was ill.

Daochen’s junior brother contacted him via jade slip but received no response.

Xiang Haikui decided to wait at the Buddhist cave.

The place was tranquil.

She placed the jar beside her, sat down cross-legged, and began to upgrade Tiankuang.

Breaking through the first level and entering the second, the madness progress bar reset from full to zero.

Sigh, she didn’t know how much had overflowed before, all wasted.

Thinking about it made her heart ache.

Wiping the sweat from her forehead, she got up to return to the city but opened the lid to check again.

The little black snake’s condition was worsening.

The fluorescent light on its body was fading, and the protective mucus on the cut surfaces was slowly drying up.

It was really going to die.

Not knowing what to do, a young monk saw she had finished meditating and brought over a jade slip: “Benefactor, my senior brother has replied.”

This was a paired slip, one in the Buddhist cave and the other with Daochen.

Daochen, fearing he might miss someone seeking medical help, had activated a remote consultation mode.

Such compassion truly befitted the acknowledged Buddhist saint.

Xiang Haikui quickly sent a strand of spiritual sense into the jade slip: “Master, hello.”

Daochen: “Benefactor, how is the snake now?”

She explained the little black snake’s condition.

Daochen: “Indeed, it’s not good. I’m temporarily unable to leave. If you have time, bring it here.”

Although it was beyond the frontier, it wasn’t far from Silver Sand City, just half a day’s journey. Xiang Haikui replied: “Alright, I’ll come now.”

Daochen: “However, I’m worried it might not hold on. Please sew it up first.”

The young monk brought Xiang Haikui a silver needle inscribed with Sanskrit, but there was no thread.

Daochen: “Use hair as the thread, it must be from the top of the head, so it can receive the nourishment of qi.”

Xiang Haikui was stunned.

Whose hair?

The entire Buddhist cave seemed to have only her with hair, so she painfully pulled out a large strand.

Watching her cultivation level rise while her hair dwindled, even in the immortal path, she couldn’t escape the fate of balding.

Twisting the hair into a strand, she threaded it through the needle and aligned the two halves of the snake, ready to begin.