“Regardless of your identity, since I’m here, I’m not leaving empty-handed.” As he spoke, Nan Wan summoned his celestial sword, an elite-grade spiritual weapon that gleamed with celestial energy.
While Evil City could suppress the spiritual energy of beings from both realms, it couldn’t negate the quality of a spiritual weapon.
The old man still didn’t look up, muttering under his breath, “Too many rats around here, can’t even guard a grave in peace…”
With a sudden wave of his hand, two blades of sword energy flew toward a nearby tree.
With two dull thuds, Er Yun and Chong Zhao were forced out of hiding and stood beside Nan Wan.
Seeing his fellow disciples arrive so quickly, Nan Wan frowned, but then he realized the old man’s power was unknown. With these two from Miao Miao leading the charge, he could conserve his own energy.
“The Wu Tong Heartfire is here in this mountain,” the old drunk said, glancing at the three of them. “I made a pact with Jin Yao. If you can defeat me, you can take the Heartfire. If not, it’s mine.”
With a glint in his eye, he added, “Since you’re all here, let’s see what kind of skills the new generation of celestials and demons really have.”
As soon as he finished speaking, three sword energies shot straight toward Nan Wan and his companions.
* * *
Under the rising moon, Fan Yue kindled a small fire beside Bai Shuo outside the small courtyard to keep her warm. Hua Da Tie, seemingly out of nowhere, had managed to find a chicken and was enthusiastically teaching Fan Yue how to roast it.
“Seriously, what kind of stuff do you all usually roast? The smell barely drifts a few miles. If it were me, I’d make it so fragrant you could smell it ten miles away,” Hua Da Tie bragged, waving a skewer made from a tree branch and licking her lips.
The young disciple quickly scooted closer to Hua Da Tie, watching her intently.
Hua Da Tie gulped, unnerved. “Why… why are you staring at me?”
“Learning.”
“Learning what?”
“Roasting chicken, so I can make it for my master.” Fan Yue replied with utmost seriousness.
Hua Da Tie nearly choked on her breath, almost coughing herself to death. Seeing the boy’s earnest expression, she suppressed what she wanted to say and patted his shoulder. “You’re a really devoted one.”
“Good disciple! Mumu, what’s the most important thing I taught you?” Bai Shuo seized the opportunity to ask.
“Self-preservation.” Fan Yue answered promptly, his eyes sparkling as he looked at Bai Shuo. “Master says self-preservation is the most important.”
Bai Shuo was momentarily speechless, on the verge of tears. She’d been drilling that into him every day, but now her naive disciple was throwing it back in her face.
“Not self-preservation—loyalty! Loyalty! Your martial uncle is in danger, don’t you see? I have to help him!” Bai Shuo protested.
Fan Yue acted as though he hadn’t heard, his gaze still fixed on the roasting chicken.
“Ouch!” Suddenly, Bai Shuo gasped in pain, her face turning pale.
“Master!” Fan Yue jumped up immediately. “What’s wrong?”
“It… hurts…” Cold sweat beaded on Bai Shuo’s forehead as her body trembled slightly. “That creature from last night… I think it injured me…”
“Where did it hurt you?” Fan Yue frantically circled around her, at a loss.
“Here…” Bai Shuo pointed at her chest. “Quick, get my qiankun pouch; it has the medicine I made.”
Fan Yue hurriedly retrieved her pouch, pouring out a handful of colorful pills, red and green scattered across his hand.
“Which one?”
“The… the white one…”
He quickly fed her the white pill, but as soon as she swallowed it, the spiritual energy around her body began to spiral out of control. Her face contorted in pain, and she bit down on her lip so hard it drew blood.
“Master, what’s happening to you?” Fan Yue was so panicked he didn’t know what to do. He could only watch as her spiritual energy rapidly gathered into a single point and surged toward her shoulder.
With a sudden explosion, the built-up energy shattered the restriction Chong Zhao had placed on her shoulder. Bai Shuo coughed up blood, which splattered across Fan Yue’s chest. Before he could react, she snatched the qiankun pouch back, quickly pulling out a flight talisman and sticking it to herself.
With a swoosh, Bai Shuo shot into the air.
“Good disciple, Master’s off to help your martial uncle! I’ll be back soon!” she called out as she flew off.
The entire sequence was so smooth that Hua Da Tie was left dumbfounded.
This half-immortal—just what kind of cunning, seven-layered mind does she have to come up with something like this? Hua Da Tie looked over at Fan Yue, who stood there dumbly holding a handful of pills, then stood up and patted the boy’s shoulder.
“Mumu… your master…”
Suddenly, Hua Da Tie’s expression froze. She noticed that the blood Bai Shuo had spat onto Fan Yue’s chest had soaked into his clothing and vanished without a trace.
As she looked up, Fan Yue suddenly crouched down, clutching his head in agony, the pills spilling from his hands.
“Mu…” Hua Da Tie reached out to support him, but her voice trailed off.
Fan Yue’s eyes snapped open, glinting with a chilling, demonic light.
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