Plans Were Perfect When They Were Made

Zhu Bo's injuries were serious. After taking the Blood Replenishing Pills, he soon fell into a groggy sleep. He had no idea how long had passed when he woke in a daze and saw Luo Ban sitting cross-legged nearby, guarding him.

"Brother Luo, how are your injuries? How much have you recovered?"

"I can hold a blade and walk." Luo Ban was concise.

Just then, a rumble rang out. Zhu Bo jumped, thinking Snake Aunt had returned. But when he looked closely, he saw Lu Bei throwing throwing knives at the Buddha-faced Golden Body Spider, striking once and changing position, refusing to approach and finish it off.

You weren't this cowardly when you were risking your life!

Zhu Bo watched, speechless. Luo Ban added from the side, "You can't blame him for being cautious. He's been fighting like this for a while, but the Buddha-faced Golden Body Spider simply won't die. It even counterattacked twice during that time. Its vitality is too tenacious."

Zhu Bo smiled and shook his head. Having strength and still being cautious—he hadn't made friends with the wrong person.

Granted, Lu Bei's skin was a little too thick. Anyone who became his friend was destined to be the one who suffered losses.

But the facts had also proved that he had a bottom line. He was far better than those brothers who would stab you in the back without even blinking.

Half an hour later, Lu Bei finally wore the Buddha-faced Golden Body Spider to death. After receiving the notification, he opened it and swept through it at a glance.

[You killed Liu Meng and gained 8,000 experience]

[You killed Liu Xiong and gained 8,000 experience]

[You killed...]

[...

[You killed Xi Chen and gained 30,000 experience]

[You defeated Snake Aunt and gained 20,000 experience]

[You completed the Side Quest: Eliminate the Buddha-faced Golden Body Spider and deliver the fatal blow. Based on contribution, you gained 90,000 experience]

[You killed the Buddha-faced Golden Body Spider and obtained 'Dungeon Key' x1]

Adding the little over 100,000 experience he had left before, his total had accumulated to 300,000. It looked like a lot, but it still wasn't enough to raise his Main Profession by five levels in a row.

However, the notification about Snake Aunt gave him a bold idea. If he didn't kill the monster and kept it in the basement to farm repeatedly, would he gain experience every time?

Hopefully.

He was a kind person who liked releasing creatures back into the wild. He hoped the programmers would inject a little beauty into the world and let him continue his hobby.

If not, then all he could say was that the programmers were too cold-hearted.

"There was also the Dungeon Key. Where is it?"

Lu Bei searched around and dug a slender stone-carved key from roughly where the Buddha-faced Golden Body Spider's head had been. It was as hard as iron and cold enough to sting his hand. Nine times out of ten, the cave abode's owner had buried it there.

"Brothers, how are your injuries? Can you move?" Lu Bei asked as he approached.

"Brother Lu arrived in time to save us. After ten days or half a month of recuperation, we'll be more or less fine."

Zhu Bo struggled to sit up, but failed several times. Then he glanced at Luo Ban meditating nearby and gritted his teeth as he reached toward the Qiankun Bag at his waist. "I don't know whether that demon snake has left. If she's still in the cave abode, she'll surely search for the Demonic Cultivator's relics again. I'm injured and can't move. I have a compass here specifically for breaking formations. I'll teach you an incantation. Follow the compass's guidance. Even if you can't find the relics, you can find the demon snake... Huh? Mm... Where did my compass go?"

Zhu Bo froze halfway through his words. The inside of the Qiankun Bag was laid bare, and the familiar scene reminded him of the day he had demanded Feng Si's Qiankun Bag back from Lu Bei.

"Here, it's with your little brother."

Lu Bei smoothly pulled the golden compass from his Qiankun Bag and said with a stern expression, "Brother Bo, how could you be so careless? You tossed your treasures all over the ground. Luckily, I have sharp eyes and kindly picked it up for you."

You picked it up from my Qiankun Bag, didn't you!

Zhu Bo glared at Lu Bei, exasperated, secretly cursing himself. Right—judging from Lu Bei's constant throwing of throwing knives, Luo Ban's Qiankun Bag had already been swept clean. If so, what reason would Lu Bei have to spare his Qiankun Bag?

Fortunately, Lu Bei hadn't taken everything. At least he had left behind spare clothes, medicines for wounds, and the like.

"Brother Bo, hurry up and tell me the incantation."

Lu Bei wasn't embarrassed in the slightest. He handed over the compass with perfect composure.

As the saying went, one learned from a setback. After Zhu Bo had experienced the loss and recovery of Feng Si's Qiankun Bag, he should have learned his lesson. He hadn't, so he was in the wrong.

Zhu Bo recited the incantation at lightning speed and taught Lu Bei how to operate the compass. Finally, he could bear it no longer and said, "Brother Lu, forget about the Silver Notes in my Qiankun Bag. But that magical treasure is tied to my life. Take it and use it, but remember to return it to me."

"Uh, I just want to ask one thing."

Lu Bei blinked and shamelessly asked, "Can that fan get lost? For example, if I encounter Snake Aunt and fight her, after three hundred exchanges, I accidentally leave the fan somewhere in the cave abode and can never find it again."

"It was my father's relic."

"Oh."

Lu Bei sighed. It was another ancestral treasure. If he'd known, he wouldn't have asked.

He'd ask after losing it.

"Also, I have a few more words of experience here. They were bought with the blood of our predecessors. You must remember them, especially when taking treasures. Don't be careless and throw your life away for nothing."

Zhu Bo still wasn't at ease and earnestly warned him:

"Light footsteps, as if treading on thin ice;

swift movements, charging with great strides.

Steady heart and hands, calm and composed;

upright expression, in the dead of night."

"That's reasonable. Very... Wait, what did the last line say?"

Lu Bei nodded repeatedly, then suddenly realized that the last line didn't sound right. What kind of predecessors were these? One sentence had ruined the entire poem. Anyone who knew better would think they were robbing a tomb; anyone who didn't might think they were scaling a widow's wall!

"Calm seas and tranquil waters. I meant calm seas and tranquil waters."

"That's more like it."

Lu Bei nodded. "As expected of you. You always have one polished set after another."

Meanwhile, Snake Aunt had been injured by Lu Bei's devastating blow. Shocked by the ferocity of his fighting spirit, she had grown timid and retreated, hiding in a stone chamber that was probably the Alchemy Room to lick her wounds.

After recuperating for a while without seeing any pursuers arrive, Snake Aunt secretly regretted it and blamed herself for being too cautious.

Lu Bei had been at the end of his tether then. He couldn't have maintained that ferocity for long; she had only frightened herself. If she had stayed and fought for a little longer, she definitely could have turned the tables and killed him in one strike.

What a pity to miss such a fine opportunity.

There was no medicine for regret in this world. After recovering most of her injuries, Snake Aunt decided to return and finish him off, lest any remnants survive and cause endless trouble in the future.

When she reached the entrance to the Buddha-faced Golden Body Spider's cave, Snake Aunt pondered for a moment. Her cautious nature won out. She set up a Poisonous Mist formation at the entrance, then scattered cow-hair poison needles all along the path.

"The opportunity to advance my bloodline is right before me. There's no need to take risks. What if they set traps too? Without anyone to help me, wouldn't charging in be courting death...?" Snake Aunt frowned.

The path of the Demon Cultivator focused on strengthening one's bloodline—either discarding the dross and retaining the essence to continuously purify oneself, or borrowing the pure blood of one's own race and lineage to mend the flaws in one's bloodline.

Snake Aunt possessed Demon Race blood, but it was far from pure. Her cultivation had never gone smoothly. She joined Ascension Gate Sect to search for ancient ruins, and half a month ago, she stumbled upon an important clue. Following the trail, she arrived at this cave abode.

That was right—she had lied to Zhu Bo. The cave abode's owner was a Demon Cultivator, not a Demonic Cultivator.

The reason she had said otherwise was that a Buddha-faced Golden Body Spider had blocked the way and wiped out several teammates she had carefully selected. If Zhu Bo discovered the truth ahead of time, her real objective would be exposed.

Who knew why a ferocious beast from the Far West Land had appeared within Wu Zhou's borders!

Snake Aunt couldn't figure it out. She could only assume that the Demon Cultivator senior had possessed vast supernatural powers and raised a ferocious beast to test his successors. Besides, she had discussed joining forces with another faction to explore a Great Tomb, and they needed the blood of the Zhu Clan. That was why she had set her sights on Zhu Bo.

She had provoked him with her words and lured the experts led by Zhu Bo over. Once both sides suffered heavy losses, she could reap the benefits as the fisherman.

That way, she would eliminate the Buddha-faced Golden Body Spider blocking the path and obtain the blood of the Zhu Clan's disciples—a double harvest, perfect in every way.

Plans were perfect when they were made. Only after they were carried out did one discover that there were too many variables.

There was only one variable in Snake Aunt's plan: Lu Bei. The last time, the Buddha-faced Golden Body Spider had wiped out all her teammates; this time, it had been Lu Bei instead, making her cry out at her rotten luck.

Fortunately, victory ultimately belonged to her. The three seriously injured men would need a long time to regain their fighting strength. As long as she avoided provoking trouble, she could pluck the fruit for herself.

BOOM!!!

A powerful gust swept over. Snake Aunt, who had been planting poison needles, raised a hand to shield her face. Ignoring the shock in her heart, she retreated several steps and manifested her half-demon form.

"Aunt Snake, were you lying on the ground looking for a mouse hole?"

Lu Bei held the fan in one hand and pointed his horizontal blade at the ground with the other as he emerged from the pitch-black cave entrance, grinning.

"You!"

Seeing that Lu Bei's face was neither flushed nor breathless, as though he was ready for another three hundred rounds, Snake Aunt stared in disbelief. "Impossible. How are you still..."

When a Demonic Cultivator fought desperately, facing three to five opponents of the same realm alone was no problem. The price was also heavy: injuries piled atop injuries, and after a certain amount of time, they would be left at the mercy of others, utterly unable to fight back.

Never perish together with a Demonic Cultivator. It wasn't worth it. That was common knowledge in the Cultivation World.

Lu Bei had refreshed Snake Aunt's common sense. His perfectly fine appearance made her wary. Her snake tail swayed back and forth as she hesitated, unsure whether to advance or retreat.

"Tsk, tsk!"

Lu Bei had far fewer reservations. With a magical treasure in hand, he wasn't afraid of Snake Aunt's poisonous tricks. His gaze fixed on her thick frontal armor, and he taunted, "It hasn't been long since we last met, yet you've already experienced springtime in dry wood and a second round of growth, old lady. Your cultivation must have advanced greatly. Truly, congratulations!"

"Hiss, hiss, hiss—"

Snake Aunt's slit pupils flew wide. Like a poisonous snake flicking its tongue, she hissed and breathed out Poisonous Mist. Unable to withstand Lu Bei's provocation, her snake tail slithered, and she charged...

She vanished into the darkness at the end of the cave abode.

"Aunt Snake, don't leave yet. I still have a grand gift for you. Take a look before you go!" Lu Bei swept away the poisonous smoke and needles with his fan and charged into the darkness with his blade held horizontally.