Trap

Pei Ling knelt without hesitation. Only then did Pei Xuan let out a breath of relief.

At that moment, a cold voice tinged with anger came from within the Refined Chamber. "What is it?"

"Reporting to Fairy Li," Pei Xuan said hurriedly, "we knew that you were cultivating quietly here and did not dare disturb you lightly. But my nephew Pei Ling has just returned from Yuan Lao Mountain and said he discovered traces of Wu Tingxi. Fearing to alert the enemy, he did not dare send the Lineage signal. We had originally thought Fellow Daoist Zheng was in the manor..."

"Wu Tingxi?" Before he could finish, the door to the Refined Chamber silently opened, and a figure flashed out in an instant. She wore a black skirt and dark shoes, with a veiled hat on her head. Black gauze matching her skirt hem hung all around the hat, falling straight before her chest and concealing her features.

The moment she appeared, Pei Xuan swiftly lowered his brows and cast down his eyes, looking at his nose and contemplating his heart, not daring show the slightest negligence. Pei Ling reacted a beat too slowly. With a fleeting glance, he only saw that this woman had an exquisite figure, especially her slender waist, too slim to fill one hand. Yet the aura around her was extraordinarily sharp, like a Famous Sword drawn from its sheath, its edge pressing down upon him.

Fairy Li beckoned with one hand. A crisp Wind Bell chime rang out, and uncle and nephew of the Pei Clan both felt Chaos sweep through their minds. When they came to, the Skull Wind Chime was already hanging at her waist. Her veiled hat tilted slightly as Fairy Li turned her head and asked, "Where is he?"

Pei Xuan looked at Pei Ling. Pei Ling steadied himself, clenched the Pellet tightly, and said in a deep voice, "Reporting to Fairy Li, Wu Tingxi is already dead."

"What?" Pei Xuan was startled.

Fairy Li did not care. "Where is the cultivation method?"

"Outside the city." Pei Ling only felt that this fairy's aura was so overwhelming that Zheng Jingshan could not compare at all. At least when he had seen Zheng Jingshan in the main hall of Pei Manor, though the other man had looked down on him from above, he had not given Pei Ling any particularly strong impression.

But now, even through the veil, he could feel it. Fairy Li's gaze was like lightning. Whenever she looked at him, it was as though some incomparably terrifying thing had fixed its eyes upon him, making the hairs on the back of his neck rise in horror.

He swallowed with difficulty and forced himself to calm down. "I was fortunate enough to encounter Wu Tingxi in a cave. At the time, he was already gravely wounded and on the verge of death. After a desperate battle, I killed him. I had originally planned to take all his belongings and return to report, but I feared they might be lost on the way, so I hid everything outside the city."

Fairy Li neither confirmed nor denied it. "What do you want?"

Pei Xuan stood behind her. Ever since Pei Ling admitted to killing Wu Tingxi, he had been drenched in sweat. Hearing this, however, he secretly sighed in relief and repeatedly signaled with his eyes, indicating that Pei Ling should speak up for the Lineage.

But Pei Ling had risked everything to return for his own sake. How could he possibly heed him?

Ignoring Pei Xuan, he said solemnly, "I beg Fairy Li to save my life!"

"Save your life?" Fairy Li gave him a glance and said indifferently, "Wu Tingxi's Five Poisons Finger is indeed not something someone of your cultivation can endure."

She casually tossed over a jade bottle. "There are three Detoxification Pills inside. Swallow them all and meditate for a while."

"As for the Bewitching Bone Rakshasa Painting..." the fairy said coolly, "once I retrieve the Jade Slip and confirm it is genuine, I will naturally put in a word for you with that piece of trash Zheng Jingshan!"

Pei Ling caught the jade bottle. Before she had even finished speaking, he poured everything into his mouth in one go. Sensing that the poison that had already spread to his left shoulder had indeed stagnated, his heart settled, and he hurriedly said, "Thank you, Fairy Li! The Jade Slip is beneath a small hill outside the city. There is a marker there: three locust trees arranged in the shape of the character pin."

After saying this, his hand hidden inside his sleeve gripped the Pellet tightly as he held his breath and focused.

Upon hearing this, Fairy Li did not even look at him again. With a sweep of her sleeve, amid crisp Wind Bell chimes, she vanished in the blink of an eye.

"..." Pei Ling wiped away a cold sweat, still shaken. This Fairy Li had put far too much pressure on him.

Though Wu Tingxi's attitude before his death suggested that the Pellet in his hand was most likely some kind of trump card, after facing Fairy Li in person, he was no longer certain whether it could threaten her.

Fortunately, although this fairy was cold and arrogant, she did not seem inclined to tear down the bridge after crossing it.

This was the outcome he had hoped for most before returning.

Now, it could truly be called a blessing amid misfortune.

"Pei Ling, what do you mean by this?!" Seeing Fairy Li leave, Pei Xuan also relaxed, then immediately darkened his expression and stepped forward to berate him. "With such a once-in-a-thousand-years opportunity, you do not think of the Lineage and only think of yourself? Do not forget that all these years, it was the Pei Family that raised and nurtured you!"

Although Pei Ling had taken the Detoxification Pills, the gazes from the surrounding void clung to him like maggots on bone, even growing fiercer. How could he have the mood to waste words with the family head?

He said at once, "Yes, this nephew always remembers the Pei Clan's kindness. That is why I fear dying so young and being unable to continue serving the Lineage in the future. Please rest assured, Family Head. When Fairy Li returns and removes the Bewitching Bone Rakshasa Painting for me, this nephew will put in a few good words for the Lineage."

After saying that, he cupped his hands toward the family head, turned, and left.

By the time he hurried back to his residence, his face was already deathly pale and he was swaying on the verge of collapse. Forcing himself to close the door, Pei Ling felt that even his thoughts had become difficult to turn.

"No!" He bit the tip of his tongue hard, forcing himself to remain conscious. If this continues, I'm afraid I won't last until Fairy Li retrieves the cultivation method Jade Slip.

The only option now was to let the system cultivate for him, just as before!

The problem was that he no longer dared try the Bone Forging Art's One-Click Auto-Cultivation.

Who knew whether the system would control his body to steal from Zheng Jingshan or Fairy Li this time?

Those two would both return to Jade Wutong Courtyard shortly. If they happened to catch him stealing things from their rooms and then cultivating openly and brazenly, the outcome was easy to imagine.

"System, I want to cultivate!" While he was anxiously at a loss, Pei Ling suddenly realized that he was not limited to choosing the Bone Forging Art now.

He hurriedly called out in his mind, "Choose the Nameless Cultivation Method, then choose [Temporary Cultivation · Intelligent Duration], [One-Click Auto-Cultivation]!"

"Ding dong!" The system immediately began operating. "The Intelligent Cultivation System is wholeheartedly at your service! One-Click Auto-Cultivation, Intelligent Upgrade! Beginning cultivation on your behalf now. Friendly Reminder: during cultivation, the Host will lose Body Control. Please do not panic..."

The instant the system took over his body, the Bewitching Bone Rakshasa Painting's gaze swiftly receded.

Pei Ling secretly sighed in relief, then watched the system's movements with some apprehension.

He saw the system arrange his body into a posture completely different from that of the Bone Forging Art, while the spiritual energy in his dantian began circulating in an entirely new manner.

As cultivation continued, the medicinal effects of the Detoxification Pills he had taken earlier began to emerge. Pei Ling could clearly feel the poison in his left shoulder receding and sensation returning...

Meanwhile, outside Luquan City, at the small hill beside the three locust trees Pei Ling had mentioned, Fairy Li smoothly found the cultivation method Jade Slip left behind by Wu Tingxi.

There were also some miscellaneous items with the Jade Slip, but she did not even spare them a glance. "Although Luo Qiao only formed a Low-grade Core Formation, he has been in the Core Formation Realm for many years and would not misjudge so easily. For this Six Desires Secret Canon to make him risk changing his cultivation method, it must have something unique about it."

After murmuring this, Fairy Li pressed the Jade Slip to her brow with eager anticipation.

However, the moment the Jade Slip touched her skin, it suddenly emitted a beam of cold light.

Whoosh!

Fairy Li reacted swiftly and immediately threw away the Jade Slip, but though she acted quickly, the cold light still struck toward her Sea of Consciousness with the speed of thunder, before one could cover one's ears!