Old Year Grain

Xu Yuan gathered up the weapons of the two Martial Cultivators as well, tying them to his back with strips of cloth.

The rest was merely loose silver, which Xu Yuan collected too.

One item remained at last, found on the Martial Cultivator who had used the short spear—the very man who had carried the banner earlier.

A lidded wooden bowl, filled with some aged rice!

The amount was roughly three times what Stepmother had given him.

The moment the lid was opened, Xu Yuan felt the instinct suppressed within his body surge up even more violently, utterly beyond his control!

Xu Yuan swallowed all that "Old Year Grain" in one mouthful.

This aged rice had to be immensely precious. Xu Yuan had wanted to feed upon it, but his body was no longer under his control, and once the aged rice entered his stomach, it was rapidly digested.

A certain special power then dispersed throughout his limbs and bones.

The power of his Fate Cultivator path was greatly strengthened!

At the same time, Xu Yuan gained a faint realization: the "June Bug" he had eaten long ago was only now fully digested.

The Fate Cultivator traits contained within the June Bug had completely fused with him.

Without realizing it, Xu Yuan condensed his second "Fate Frame" and advanced to the Eighth Stream in the realm of Fate Cultivators!

This greatly surprised Xu Yuan. His father and Stepmother had repeatedly emphasized that advancement in the early stages of Fate Cultivation was difficult.

Yet only a few days after eating the June Bug, he had condensed a second Fate Frame and advanced to the Eighth Stream?

This aged rice... was actually so precious?!

Naturally, Xu Yuan had no idea what a tremendous price the Pingtian Society had paid to obtain this tiny bit of Old Year Grain.

And while Old Year Grain was bait for June Bugs, for Fate Cultivators, it was one of the few kinds of spiritual grain that could be fed upon.

The second Fate Frame was named Eight Directions Injury Sha.

Xu Yuan pondered this second Fate Frame briefly and came to understand something of its effects. Still, he could not help but feel regretful. "What a pity. I still can't condense the power of the Fate Frame into Fate Arts. Otherwise..."

Shaking his head, Xu Yuan saw that it was getting late and stopped wasting time.

In the end, Xu Yuan did not ask the flower-like sisters where in the mountains one could spend the night.

Even if they told him, he truly would not dare stay there.

He might as well rely on the speed of the calligraphy scrolls and make a dash for town before night fell.

Xu Yuan had no time to hunt down Saint Aunt and the maid. He charged swiftly toward the edge of the mountains.

The effects of the "Soaring Cloud" and "Riding Wind" calligraphy scrolls on his legs remained, making him incomparably fast.

When the power of one scroll ran out midway, he switched to another.

Xu Yuan sprinted madly for two hours, sweat soaking his entire body, yet night still fell when he was seven or eight li from town!

At that moment, the vast yellow earth abruptly sank into an instant of deathly silence.

It was as though a benevolent god and an evil god had exchanged the authority to rule the world, declaring at once that the time of living creatures had ended and the hour for evil entities and uncanny things to reign had arrived.

Xu Yuan heard rustling sounds rise from all around—near and far, high and low—swiftly and precisely locking onto him!

Clearly, Forbidden Night Travel was in effect tonight.

This was hardly surprising. For more than half the days of any given month, Forbidden Night Travel was in effect.

A sudden rush of a bird of prey tearing through the air came from above Xu Yuan's head. He looked up, and everything suddenly fell silent again.

Above him was nothing but darkness, thick as black cloth!

Though puzzled, Xu Yuan did not dare let down his guard. He stared fixedly into the night sky—then, the darkness seemed to be torn open in an instant. A White Bone Human-Faced Eagle abruptly appeared overhead, its enormous skeletal talons clawing fiercely at Xu Yuan's face, intending to rip off his entire face and cover its own with it!

Xu Yuan remained calm and shot out a stream of Inner Fire.

Yet the White Bone Human-Faced Eagle withdrew into the darkness at even greater speed, as though it had never appeared at all. Xu Yuan did not know whether the Inner Fire had struck it.

Xu Yuan continued onward, wind beneath his feet, while remaining utterly vigilant of his surroundings.

He could not see his own hand before his face, but Xu Yuan knew that White Bone Human-Faced Eagle had to be lurking in the darkness.

Relying on his senses, Xu Yuan raced in the direction of town.

After running several li, the White Bone Human-Faced Eagle still had not appeared. Xu Yuan secretly found it strange. Did it see that I wasn't easy to mess with and give up already?

Or... was it hiding some other scheme?

Xu Yuan chose to believe the latter.

After running a while longer, Xu Yuan suddenly stopped and listened closely.

The sound of wind stirred up by his running seemed to have concealed some unusual noise.

As he listened, he indeed heard the sound of flapping wings approaching from afar.

Move! Xu Yuan thought as he was about to lift his foot, but then he realized something was wrong. The sound was coming from every direction!

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—

The darkness was torn open once more. White Bone Human-Faced Eagles swooped down from all directions at once!

Xu Yuan let out a strange cry, crouched low, and sped forward close to the ground.

At the same time, Xu Yuan spat twice into his palm. Inner Fire ignited in his hand, and as he raced madly onward, he flailed both arms wildly.

White Bone Human-Faced Eagles dove at him from every direction. Their sharp talons carved deep, bloody furrows into Xu Yuan's arms, but before they could seize him firmly, the flames drove them away.

Xu Yuan sprinted for several miles, and a few scattered points of lamplight appeared ahead.

The town was almost there!

Xu Yuan's spirits lifted.

Yet the White Bone Human-Faced Eagles suddenly stopped attacking. After letting out several harsh caws, they soared upward together, plunging into the darkness thick as fog and vanishing without a trace.

A feeling of immense danger immediately rose in Xu Yuan's heart!

In the black of night, the only thing that could drive away evil spirits was an even stronger evil spirit!

Xu Yuan did not dare linger and charged toward the town at top speed.

The sound of rushing water rose, and a small river had appeared several dozen yards to Xu Yuan's left at some unknown point!

No matter how Xu Yuan accelerated or changed direction, that river remained in the same position, at the same distance!

And Xu Yuan realized that though he had sprinted for several miles, the distance between him and those few lights had not changed in the slightest!

Cold sweat immediately seeped from his forehead.

"What is that?" Xu Yuan shouted. One hand gripped the short spear, the other raised the single-edged saber. The flames around both hands surged even fiercer as he advanced toward the river step by step.

"Giggle, giggle, giggle!"

The innocent laughter of a child drifted over. A Corpse Infant, soaked until its entire body was swollen and deathly pale, crawled up from the river!

The Corpse Infant abruptly raised its head and looked at Xu Yuan.

Its eyeballs were a horrifying, deathly white!

Xu Yuan's entire body stiffened. He toppled to the ground, the flames in his hands going out as he convulsed without end.

The ghostly aura in the wound on his back had been triggered!

This Corpse Infant possessed a special ability: it could forcibly control the power of all Yin Ghosts and corpse zombies within a certain range.

"Giggle, giggle, giggle!" The Corpse Infant's laughter grew louder, as though it had just played a very amusing game.

Ghostly aura rose from the wound on Xu Yuan's back, writhing strangely like mucus as it rapidly invaded the healthy tissue around the wound.

Xu Yuan felt an icy force relentlessly pressing toward his heart!

There will be more tonight.

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