Advantage Is Mine

The darkness was so thick, you couldn't see your hand in front of your face.

She Xuan, seeming to possess night vision and a slippery, long tail, managed to shake off Lu Bei after a short while and disappeared somewhere.

She wasn't entirely useless, though. She triggered some sort of mechanism, lighting up the ever-burning lamps and instantly illuminating the stone passageway within the cave dwelling.

Lu Bei had just tossed out a luminous pearl and was probing the path with his blade against the stone wall. Seeing the sudden burst of light, he quickly raised his saber to protect himself.

Silence.

He picked up the luminous pearl and, disregarding the principle behind the ever-burning lamps, cautiously pulled out his compass and began to explore forward.

If Zhu Bo were here, he would surely notice something was off. They weren't the first visitors in a thousand years; this cave dwelling had been explored long ago, and someone might have even lived here for a while. The special oil consumed by the ever-burning lamps was the strongest evidence.

This would also explain the Buddha-faced Golden Body Spider and the key embedded in its head.

Lu Bei carefully felt his way forward, guided by the compass, and remained unharmed. While marveling at the divine power of Zhu Bo's formation-breaking magic treasure, he solidified his intention to keep it.

He had promised Zhu Bo he wouldn't lose the fan, but he hadn't promised to return the compass intact. It was perfectly reasonable that She Xuan, being full of tricks, had ambushed him and stolen his compass while he was distracted, and it wouldn't violate their agreement.

Lu Bei, feeling smug, was unaware that whether he had the compass or not made no difference. Someone had been here years ago, the mechanisms were destroyed, and the formations were broken. He could have stumbled through and been perfectly fine.

After Lu Bei had painstakingly explored and departed, She Xuan slid down from a pillar, coiling her snake tail. She had observed Lu Bei's footsteps and, mimicking his path, safely traversed what she considered the most dangerous trap.

Meanwhile, Lu Bei, holding the formation-breaking compass, had a perilous but uneventful journey. After passing through several passages, he arrived at a large, square stone chamber.

It was square, ten zhang long and wide, with a domed ceiling like an inverted bowl. A giant luminous pearl adorned the center. Directly beneath the pearl, at the heart of the stone-tiled floor, was a platform resembling an altar.

"Tsk, such a large radioactive isotope. I need to hurry before it causes me to develop cancer," Lu Bei shivered and quickly approached the altar.

He searched for a keyhole while examining the patterns on the altar, his attention soon drawn to the inscriptions.

"These are… demonic script?"

Lu Bei didn't understand demonic script, but he could vaguely recognize a few characters because they were carved on his Feather Transformation Sect token.

"Indeed, it's demonic script. The owner of this cave dwelling wasn't a Demon Cultivator, but a fellow Monster Cultivator senior from my lineage," She Xuan slowly slithered into the stone chamber, looking at the altar behind Lu Bei. A flicker of desire flashed in her golden vertical pupils.

"Don't look around, it's all mine."

Lu Bei held his saber forward, blocking She Xuan's view.

"Without my help, you won't be able to open the Bloodline Mechanism," She Xuan stated confidently.

What was the Bloodline Mechanism? Wasn't it opened with a key?

Lu Bei frowned but didn't voice his confusion. She Xuan saw his expression and softened slightly, "I don't know what evil method you used to suppress the backlash of your demonic cultivation, but I'm not without my own trump cards. Rather than both of us getting hurt, let's take a step back and cooperate to share the legacy of our senior Monster Cultivator."

"Commander Zhu believed your words and is half-dead."

Lu Bei chuckled and shook his head, weighing the Black Gold Straight Saber in his hand. "The Liu family brothers believed your words and split up. Why should I believe you?"

She Xuan was wary of Lu Bei, but she couldn't pass up this great opportunity for bloodline advancement. She softened her stance, "I can swear an oath to only take one item from our senior Monster Cultivator's legacy. If I break this oath, I will suffer bloodline backlash and die."

Her demeanor weakened, and Lu Bei became curious. "What item... Wait, if the senior Monster Cultivator's legacy is only one item, what will I get?"

"I am a Monster Cultivator, and the senior is of my lineage. Naturally, I will take his pure bloodline essence. You are not a Monster Cultivator, so it would be useless to you."

She Xuan felt annoyed but still patiently explained, "If the senior only left behind bloodline items and no other legacy, then I owe you one. I still have a business deal, and you can accompany me then. How about it?"

She Xuan's business deal referred to another ruin that could only be opened with the blood of the Zhu Clan. Lu Bei had heard She Xuan mention it before and had dismissed it, but now, hearing it again, he was immediately interested.

Entering a tomb didn't necessarily mean quests and experience, but not entering a tomb definitely meant no quests and no experience.

Lu Bei pondered for three seconds and decisively nodded. "Okay, I'll cooperate with you. Make your blood oath!"

"And you?"

"Me?!"

Lu Bei pointed at himself, looked around to confirm She Xuan was talking to him, and said righteously, "The advantage is mine. Why should I make an oath? I'm planning to break it later. What if I suffer backlash?"

"You're going too far!"

She Xuan hissed, exhaling venomous smoke. She had intended to argue further with Lu Bei and discuss the principles of mutually beneficial cooperation, but before she could speak, Lu Bei made his move.

Skill 'Blood Rage' activated. Capture judgment successful.

Having experienced the oppressive feeling once, She Xuan not only didn't develop an immunity but also suffered severe psychological trauma from Lu Bei's previous rampage. Feeling this pressure again, her basic attributes significantly declined. While not halved, they were still reduced by thirty to forty percent.

She was both angry and fearful, suppressing her inner timidity. She spat out fine needle-like projectiles, her agile body moving erratically, not daring to give Lu Bei any opening.

Skill 'Undercurrent' activated.

Lu Bei gathered his strength and swung his magic treasure fan fiercely. The wind reversed, blowing back the poisonous smoke and needles, rendering She Xuan's attack futile.

Zhu Bo had cooperated with She Xuan several times and knew she was skilled in poison. The magic treasure fan was his trump card, effective in restraining her when they turned on each other.

She Xuan thought it was troublesome. Suddenly, a flying knife was blown by the wind, landing within two steps of her. A flash of fire erupted, and her nimble body lost its balance.

RUMBLE!!

A fierce wind suddenly surged. Lu Bei seized the opportunity and unleashed a powerful gust of wind. She Xuan couldn't defend herself and was sent flying backward, crashing hard against the stone chamber wall.

Her old chest injury worsened, and She Xuan couldn't help but let out a low cry.

CLANG!

The biting cold of the blade against her face jolted her awake from the pain. A glance at the Black Gold Straight Saber pressed against her cheek sent a wave of grief and anger through her.

Lost again!

Lu Bei held the saber to She Xuan's face with one hand, while the other gripped her slender, serpentine neck. Noticing her long tail tightening around his waist, he gave the blade a sharp shake.

"Snake Aunt, the advantage is mine. What do you think?"

Lu Bei said from above. As confirmed, defeating She Xuan again yielded experience points, though significantly less than before.

[You defeated She Xuan, gaining 10000 experience]

They're not letting me farm experience repeatedly?

Or was it because I was too fast this time? She Xuan didn't resist fiercely enough, and the process wasn't as dangerous as last time, leading to a lower evaluation?

The reduced experience made Lu Bei frown. His expression darkened, and he let out a cold snort.

"..."

Blood dripped from the wound on her cheek, sliding down the Black Gold Straight Saber. She Xuan gritted her teeth and released her tail from its grip on Lu Bei.

"Very well, I've received your sincerity."

Lu Bei pressed his advantage, unwilling to let up. "Regarding your oath to serve me, I've considered it carefully and reluctantly agree. Make your oath!"

"Then you might as well kill me."

She Xuan clenched her jaw, her vertical pupils narrowing to slits. Her tail coiled around Lu Bei once more, as if she intended to spill his blood even in death.

"I'm just saying, why are you coiling so tightly, Snake Aunt? I respect your age, but don't go thinking about an old snake swallowing a young sprout." Lu Bei activated the 'Blood Rage' skill, overwhelming She Xuan. Her arms and tail went numb, and she let out a wail, releasing her grip.

"Snake Aunt, make your oath. Activate the Bloodline Mechanism. You can only take one item from the legacy of the Monster Cultivator elder; taking more will result in a backlash from your bloodline."

Lu Bei put on a villainous expression. "As for me, I'll decide based on my mood at the time. You have no problem with that, right?"

She Xuan fell silent, like a snake on a chopping block, at the mercy of her captor. She placed no hope in Lu Bei, only wishing to glimpse the opportunity for bloodline advancement before she died.

She made her blood oath in the ancient demonic script. After finishing, with a helpful reminder from Lu Bei, she repeated it in a language everyone could understand.

The blood curse formed, appearing like a brand on She Xuan's hand. Sweat poured down her face. She glared at Lu Bei resentfully, seeing no sign of a victor's pride in him. She raised her hand and pushed away the saber at her neck.

She Xuan staggered towards the altar. Lu Bei didn't stop her, but kept the blade at her slender waist, urging, "Hurry up. Stop dawdling. My saber is about to slip."

"Shut up and stop talking nonsense!"

With no other option, She Xuan seemed to let go of her fear. A dead snake isn't afraid of boiling water. She remained unmoved by Lu Bei's threats.

She raised her hand, grasped the saber at her side, and with a pained gasp, slashed her palm. She poured the dripping blood into the altar's patterns, saying weakly, "Advancing as a demon cultivator is not easy, and bloodlines are precious. If the elder left behind any legacy, it would only be for descendants of the same lineage. Without my help, you'll never..."

"I know, I know, you're the most amazing, alright!" Lu Bei interrupted, too lazy to listen to She Xuan's rambling.

After a long while, She Xuan, having lost too much blood, her usually fair face now had a sickly pallor. She stared at the altar patterns, now submerged in blood, with disbelief in her eyes.

"It hasn't activated yet. Strange, could the mechanism be damaged?"

"Perhaps it needs more blood. Don't be stingy, add more," Lu Bei offered helpfully.

"..."

His words were crude, but there was a sliver of truth to them. She Xuan knew her bloodline purity was too low. She swallowed a bottle of Blood Replenishing Pills, gritted her teeth, and began to bleed again.

The scene shifted. She Xuan, weakened from blood loss, collapsed unconscious. Beside her, Lu Bei was rummaging through a Qiankun Bag.

He meant no harm, just doing a good deed. He was helping her find Hemostatic Pills!