Who is unlucky?

The Eight-Armed Man walked peacefully.

When he revealed his grinning face with its Eight Eyeballs to Li Chu, Li Chu was genuinely startled.

"To die under my Thousand Spider Demon Poison is also your good fortune, you ant! Your soul will become a part of my Thousand Spider Demon Poison, and follow this Lord to continue his slaughter! Hehehehe, revel in your fear while you're still alive. The more fear you have, the purer the Soul Poison refined will be!"

The Eight-Armed Man shouted cruelly. With his terrifying face, terrifying voice, and terrifying words, someone with a slightly weaker mind might have already been scared stiff.

Perhaps he hunted for his prey's fear.

And he got his wish.

The more Li Chu listened, the more he felt this Demon's strength was not ordinary. If he were allowed to unleash his Demonic Arts again, Li Chu might not be able to resist!

With such fear, Li Chu chose to strike first.

Clang!

Drawing his sword, unsheathing it, all in one fluid motion.

In that second, the Eight-Armed Man, who hadn't finished his lines, suddenly saw the most brilliant scene he had ever witnessed in his life.

A line of poetry he had heard popped into his mind.

One Sword Light Cold... how many states was it again?

Like a dragon descending from the heavens, like a silken banner unfurling across the sky, could such majestic sword energy exist in the human world?

His face with its Eight Eyeballs twisted madly, all eight pupils dilating instantly.

In that moment, a rather absurd thought suddenly arose in his heart.

I'm just a small Spider Demon with Over a Hundred Years of Cultivation...

What virtue or merit do I possess...

To die by such a sword...

Am I worthy?

Besides that, there was also deep confusion.

For example, how could a human without any true qi fluctuations unleash such a sword strike?

Why would one casually encounter such a person by the roadside outside an unremarkable small town?

Even if this was retribution for his Evil Deeds, wasn't it a bit too exaggerated?

Who's unlucky tonight... who is it?

But he didn't even get a chance to know the answer, or even finish asking the question.

A thousand words turned into two, shouted from his mouth.

"A misunderstanding--"

It truly was a misunderstanding... I thought it was a mortal I could easily deal with. If I had known it was this kind of character, only a fool would jump out and seek death.

It was like a clap of thunder, the forest sky momentarily illuminated by a white light.

The eight-armed Black Figure was instantly swallowed.

Li Chu blinked.

Just now... did someone shout "misunderstanding"?

Never mind.

Pretend I didn't hear it.

Besides, hearing that he wanted to refine poison by harvesting Living Souls, he was definitely not a good demon.

A large mass of rich Experience Points gathered onto him. Li Chu was quite satisfied. Although it delayed him a bit, the harvest from this sword strike was equivalent to several days of normal gains.

But...

It was too dangerous.

It's better to encounter such things less often.

Monster Grinding increases the spiritual power within oneself and strengthens the spirit, but the external physique doesn't improve much.

Now, I'm like a high-attack, low-defense DPS in a game. Even though I can instantly kill some "weak" Evil Things with one sword strike, if I'm not careful, I could still lose my life.

If that eight-armed demon hadn't talked so much earlier, I might have been refined into poison already.

What if I encounter a Mute next time?

Thinking of this, Li Chu couldn't help but feel a chill of fear.

He made a decision then and there: he had to find a way to become tougher!

With the death of the eight-armed demon, the intricate Spider Web it had laid within a Hundred Zhang all fell away, turning into ordinary, fragile spider silk. Just as it had said, the poison on these threads was related to souls. With its Soul Scattered, the Magic Power and toxicity on the spider silk vanished.

Li Chu strode leisurely, continuing on his way to Virtuous Cloud Temple.

He planned to put aside monster grinding for now. Tonight felt a bit unsettled, and wandering outside might lead to trouble.

Fortunately, the rest of the journey was calm and uneventful.

Under the night sky, the small Daoist Temple on the slope glowed with a faint, yellowish light.

That was the light of home.

Li Chu had originally told his Master he wouldn't be back tonight, but unexpectedly, he returned much earlier than usual.

It didn't matter to the Old Daoist Priest, though. His routine was very healthy: rise with the sun, rest with the moon.

Li Chu, as usual, entered the temple cautiously, nodded to the Three Pure Ancestors, and returned to his bedroom.

Accustomed to grinding monsters at this hour every day, he suddenly found himself with nothing to do.

The nightlife of ancient people was truly too barren.

But perhaps it was his own fault.

He thought of Zhou Dafu and the others in Yuhang Town. With their flowers and plants, their lives should be quite rich now.

But Li Chu always felt that kind of entertainment only lasted for three to five seconds. After that brief richness came even deeper poverty.

Both poor and lacking.

Just then, there was an urgent knocking at the main gate outside.

Knock, knock, knock--

Li Chu got up again to open the door.

Daoist Temples and temples often served as shelters for travelers. Night wanderers who couldn't find an inn, or the poor who couldn't afford one, would choose to stay at a temple.

Virtuous Cloud Temple occasionally had such guests.

He went to the front courtyard and opened the door.

The person knocking was a middle-aged Scholar dressed in brown cloth, with a long scholar's robe over it. He had a fair, beardless face and looked refined and elegant.

Behind him stood a carriage. What surprised Li Chu was that judging by its decoration and insignia, this was an Official Carriage.

Normally, only someone of the County Magistrate's level would be assigned such a carriage. Since the county seat of Yu Hang County was also in Yuhang Town, Li Chu had seen such carriages before.

"Young Daoist priest," the middle-aged Scholar said, cupping his hands. "My daughter and I have arrived here and would like to request lodging for the night. Is that possible?"

"Please come in," Li Chu nodded and invited the Scholar inside.

The middle-aged scholar saw that he agreed and turned back to call out, "Rou Er."

The carriage curtain was lifted, and a graceful woman in a water-blue dress stepped down. Her long hair was as dense as seaweed, simply tied up. Her skin was as white as ivory, her face very small, yet her features were distinct, especially her eyes, which were like two clear lakes. Coupled with her tall stature and elegant demeanor, she seemed like a white cloud emerging from the peaks.

The woman alighted and walked slowly forward. Upon seeing Li Chu, her beautiful eyes flickered.

Li Chu nodded in greeting and then said, "It's just that our little Daoist temple isn't very spacious; we only have two bedrooms. I'll squeeze in with my master, so you two might have to share a room."

"It's alright. We are already very grateful that you, young Daoist priest, can accommodate us," the scholar said with a smile.

The two waited in the front hall for a moment. Li Chu poured them some water and went to tidy up the beds.

He added a new bed board to his own bedroom and changed the bedding. Soon, it was all tidied up.

He returned to the front hall to notify the two, "You've waited a long time. The bedroom is ready."

"Thank you, young Daoist priest," the scholar said again, then turned to the woman, "Rou Er, you go in first."

The woman nodded and gracefully entered the room.

The middle-aged scholar then said to Li Chu, "Please, young master Daoist priest, look after my daughter for a while. She cannot leave until at least tomorrow noon."

"Huh?" Li Chu was startled. Hearing the scholar's tone, it seemed as if he wasn't planning to stay overnight?

The middle-aged scholar seemed to see his confused expression and smiled, "To be frank, I... alas, I fear my time is short. If I were to stay here, I might implicate you. Therefore, no matter what, I must leave. But my daughter is innocent. I saw that you, young Daoist priest, are not a bad person, so I felt at ease entrusting her to you temporarily."

Hearing his calm tone, Li Chu didn't expect him to be talking about such serious life and death matters, and he was unaware of the reason. He could only nod in agreement.

Unexpectedly, a firm voice suddenly rang out from the courtyard: "I'm leaving with Papa!"

The woman who had just entered the bedroom had actually returned.

In fact, Li Chu had heard her secretly open the door and tiptoe back towards the front hall. He just hadn't expected the matter the scholar had entrusted him with to be so serious, and it was too late to warn him.

"Rou Er, you foolish child," the middle-aged scholar sighed when he saw his daughter return. "Earlier, I received news that they hired a demon person from the Azure Wing Tower with a hefty sum to kill me. The Eight-Armed Asura sent by the Azure Wing Tower has already made it known that it's impossible for me to reach Yuhang Town alive! He will surely intercept me on the road ahead. Why must you accompany me to your death!"