Moonlit Rest

Grandma! You're hurt! Just leave me and run away!

Asha... Grandma is useless... she couldn't save your parents... You, even though you're all alone, you must... live on...

Grandma! Grandma! Grandma!

"Grandma..."

Chen Asha opened her tear-blurred eyes and found herself asleep on a haystack, the circle drawn on the ground beside her by the veiled monk still shimmering.

By the way, that cultivator...

Asha sat up and turned her head to look. She saw a figure sitting cross-legged on a branch not far away, swaying up and down with the breeze. She breathed a sigh of relief, but when she looked up, she was suddenly startled.

There were... seven heads inside the veil!

Asha couldn't help but rub her eyes, thinking that her vision was blurred by tears.

He rubbed his eyes and looked again. The cultivator had turned to the side and looked over. It seemed that under the veil of a curtain, there was only a head. He seemed to have been half asleep.

"You're awake. It's still dark. You can rest a bit longer. I'll send you out of the swamp tomorrow."

Finding no trace of the Immortal Palace, Li Fan figured he might have chosen the wrong path. He decided to hand in the quest and try his luck in another direction. Since the Lei Marsh only opens up once every three to five years, the Nangong Family shouldn't have left so quickly.

Li Fan wasn't unwilling to set off in pursuit right now, but this wasn't solely for Chen Asha's sake; it was also because he himself dared not fly.

Because the thunderclouds outside Lei Marsh had dispersed, the sky was now cloudless, and the moon hung high in the sky, casting a purplish-red glow over the False Moon and earth. At this moment, his Dao heart was scattered, and flying his sword outside would be tantamount to courting death. So he could only find a nearby spiritual vein acupoint to suppress his Dao body and wait until nightfall.

While she was regulating her breathing, Chen Asha stepped out of the circle Li Fan had drawn for her under the tree, took out a small pot from her storage bag, and started a fire.

Li Fan didn't scold her; he just watched. He saw her use a spirit talisman to collect water, take out a small cloth bag, pour in some millet, then pull out a ceramic urn, pick out some pickled meat with a bamboo skewer, add some herbs and berries, and cook a pot of medicinal porridge inside. In the end, it looked as green as jade, but surprisingly, it smelled quite good...

Chen Asha took out a porcelain bowl, filled it with the contents, knelt on the ground, and offered it to Li Fan, saying, "Fresh and fresh ingredients."

Li Fan hesitated for a moment, then climbed down from the treetop, took the porcelain bowl, and glanced at it. "What kind of meat did you put in this?"

Chen Asha said, "Just now, I put down the dark, just now, I put down the bag, Jiaqiu..."

Li Fan, "?"

Chen Asha explained, "The tavern group used white wax ointment to attract soldiers and create a colorful scene."

Your explanation is practically useless!

"Profound Heaven Sword Intent said, 'Oh, spiders, toads, centipedes, snakes! This girl is probably from the Sanmiao tribe. Sanmiao wine is full of these things, but it tastes pretty good.'"

Oh, at least it wasn't doxxing.

Li Fan then removed his veil, drank the porcelain bowl in one gulp, and thought, "Hmm, this tastes quite interesting."

Li Fan's mood improved slightly.

"Good."

When Chen Asha saw Li Fan's face, she noticed he was a young man with no whites in his eyes, only deep purple rims, and one black and one white pupil, which was somewhat frightening. However, since he only had one head, he still looked human, so she breathed a slight sigh of relief. She took the porcelain bowl and said, "It seems like Grandma wants an umbrella from the palace, and Asha can chat with Xiulian after hearing the tail knife. Let's have a fresh bowl."

Is this the medicinal diet that the old woman in the Golden Core Stage ate for her cultivation? It is indeed quite good, with strong medicinal power. If one's cultivation level is not high enough, it would feel like a potent poison. Asha Foundation Establishment level Cultivation Method, can only cultivate by smelling the aroma.

But for Li Fan, the spicy meat porridge was refreshing, stimulating his taste buds and warming his stomach—a perfect late-night snack. Ahem, actually, pills are like that too. Every medicine has some degree of toxicity; if you can tolerate it, it's a tonic; if you can't, it's poison.

"Then I'll have another bowl."

So Li Fan sat down by the campfire to drink porridge, while Asha sat to the side, took out the small cauldron she had wanted to offer to Li Fan, took out the black snake from the cauldron, coiled it in her hand, closed her eyes to cultivate, and absorbed the Dao Breath that was being released from the medicinal porridge.

Li Fan watched curiously from the side. The Sanmiao cultivation Cultivation Method that the other party practiced was actually more domineering than the escape technique passed down from Ink Bamboo Mountain. It could absorb and cultivate three or four kinds of spiritual energy at once. Moreover, if Li Fan was not mistaken, the black snake coiled in Chen Asha's hand seemed to be some kind of destined Dao Companion with her. Her age should be about the same as Li Yi's original body. Her aptitude was only eighth grade, yet she was able to cultivate to the Foundation Establishment realm. It must be because of dual cultivation with this black snake, right?

After all, demonic beasts have stronger bodies, and feeding them spiritual herbs generally allows them to grow and cultivate much faster than humans can digest them slowly. Thus, keeping the black snake in the cauldron and feeding it with various demonic beast cores, while using the cultivation level of this demonic Dao Companion and absorbing the spiritual energy from the medicinal herbs during cultivation, is similar to the practice of cultivators in the Central Land refining pills in a quiet room. The human and the snake can achieve a level of cultivation similar to dual cultivation, achieving twice the result with half the effort, and at a speed far exceeding ordinary cultivation.

' The Profound Heaven Sword Intent says, this kind of Cultivation Method involving dual cultivation with a Daoist pet is also a shortcut. Once the snake is killed, one's own cultivation will inevitably suffer a great loss. The reason I didn't see her master's Daoist pet before was probably because it was lost in the previous battle, which is why she couldn't handle the attack from those few incomplete demons later.'

Then Chen Asha's future is probably limited; she probably won't be able to break through to the Nascent Soul Realm, right?

"The Profound Heaven Sword Intent said, 'That's not necessarily true. The nine-rank system is based on the orthodox cultivation Cultivation Method of the Xuanmen sect, which are most suitable for the meridians and physiques of people from the Central Plains. Therefore, it is indeed not very suitable for cultivation by foreign races.'"

Similarly, people from the Central Plains might not necessarily be able to learn how to use Gu. After Chen Asha reached the Golden Core realm, she could cultivate other natal Gu, and her natal Gu could also be cultivated into human form.

Look at that little cauldron of hers. Though its light is dim, it possesses great potential; it must be a priceless treasure passed down from ancient times. With the aid of this magical artifact, she should have no problem cultivating her family's Cultivation Method to the Nascent Soul Realm. Are you really not planning to take her as your disciple?

Oh... um? What do you mean by sword intent? Didn't you say you only accept those ranked above the top three?

"Profound Heaven Sword Intent said, 'You can take her if you don't want to. How many people in this world can cultivate to the Nascent Soul Realm? She can be kept as an assistant. Besides, judging from the magic weapon in her hand, she has a lineage with inheritance. Taking her under your wing will bring a boost to your fortune. Normally, let her cultivate on her own, and just send her to do whatever you need to do.'"

Moreover, judging from her skillful handling of ingredients and the precise movements in preparing the porridge, her fingers didn't tremble at all. She's a promising talent for alchemy; taking her in to oversee the alchemy furnace is a sure-fire way to make a profit.

Wow! Are you taking on apprentices or hiring child laborers?!

That makes sense, though; Kun wouldn't stand being around the alchemy furnace... But...

'The Profound Heaven Sword Intent, but what? She can correct her Mandarin with a little practice.'

However, this guy was average-looking, dark-skinned, and short, maybe a 40 out of 100, not meeting Li Fan's standards for attractiveness...

' Profound Heaven Sword Intent Dao, damn it! You think you're so great-looking?!'

Sigh, that's not how it works. Everyone has a love for beauty, and besides, he's only been studying Daoism for a year, what kind of disciple is he teaching... Hmm! Someone's here!

Li Fan abruptly snapped out of his reverie, put on a veil to cover his face, leaped onto a branch, held his breath, and listened intently.

He could sense a group of people heading towards the spiritual cave where they were resting. He counted four pairs of footsteps passing through the air. Were they also here to recuperate?... No! There was demonic energy. They weren't human!

"Hide inside the circle."

Upon hearing Li Fan's warning, Chen Asha nodded, put away the black snake and the small cauldron, and immediately ran back to the golden circle to squat down.

Li Fan took out the Yellow Jade Sword Case from his robes, flicked his fingers, and a bright light emerged from between them. Li Fan then pulled his right hand across his brow, recording the Divine Sense energy he sensed into the Heaven-Slaying Sword, pointed his hand towards the night sky, and shouted, "Go!"

A silver Sword Light shot out from Li Fan's fingertips like a meteor, speeding through the leaves of the forest and covering a hundred feet in an instant. Layers of leaves parted like waves, revealing four white-clad, veiled maids. In the center of the four maids, a sedan chair was being pulled by a ribbon!

"Sword Light!" Pitian burst forth from the forest, his attack imminent. The maids were terrified, realizing they were about to be killed by the flying sword!

Suddenly, a clang rang out from inside the sedan chair, and a powerful sonic wave rippled through the air, deflecting the Heaven-Splitting Sword's Sword Light!

The Heaven-Slaying Sword recognized the danger and turned to fly back into the forest.

The four maids escaped with their lives, hurriedly leaping to the tops of nearby trees. While holding onto the silk ribbons to stop the sedan chair, they cursed in shock and anger, "Who are you, you scoundrels! You attacked us with a hidden sword!"

Li Fan took out his sword box and used a single move to retrieve the blasted-away Pitian sword back into the box for nurturing, his brows furrowing slightly.

He initially thought there were four Core Formation stage demons, which he could easily kill, but who knew there was a fifth. He hadn't even detected this person's presence with his Divine Sense if they hadn't made a move. Now things were a bit troublesome; one strike had forced Pitian back, so this person was probably more than just a Nascent Soul Stage cultivator.

Why not use the Gui Xu Dao Yi to Emptiness to conceal yourself and then unleash the Golden Dragon White Star to launch a sneak attack...?

The Profound Heaven Sword Intent said, "Why use a sledgehammer to crack a nut? Throw another sword at it, and I'll pin it down; I guarantee I'll kill it."

What were you doing just now?

' The Profound Heaven Sword Intent says, cough cough, this demonic aura seems somewhat familiar, I didn't notice it before...'

Your old flame?

' The Profound Heaven Sword Intent said, "Old lover? More like old prey! But I don't come to the south often. Could it be that you killed someone back in Lei Marsh?"'

While the two were still arguing, the monsters spoke up again.

A sharp twang of a string was heard under the moonlight, followed by a woman's voice coming from the sedan chair, as loud as rolling thunder.

"We were unaware that a swordsman was resting ahead. We cultivate the righteous path of Taiyin, never wantonly committing murder, and have no intention of being your enemy. We only seek a place to avoid the moonlight and will leave at dawn."

This telepathic power sounds like it belongs to Nascent Soul Stage level demon, no doubt about it. But what does "avoiding the moon" mean? Aren't demons the most skilled at cultivating by Moon Worship?

"The Profound Heaven Sword Intent Dao is an ancient method. It involves absorbing the essence of Taiyin, upholding righteousness, experiencing the trials of the mortal world, and maintaining a righteous heart. With a thousand years of cultivation, one can cultivate into a human form. Occasionally, the Xuanmen will accept such a person with great perseverance."

But now, with the Heavenly False Moon? So since the False Moon has been in the sky, the cultivation of the ancient great demons has been affected, and quite a few have become servants under the Immortal Palace.

"How strange! Are there still demons cultivating using ancient methods these days? And in such a remote place as the Lei Marsh in the south, where everyone in your Ink Bamboo Mountain is in such disarray, how could a demon cultivate to the Nascent Soul Stage using ancient methods?"

A demon practicing the Way? Who knows if what they're saying is true or false? Are there still vegetarian demons these days?

' The Profound Heaven Sword Intent says, "In this vast world, what kind of strange creatures don't exist? Besides, those who frequently eat meat have a breath of foul air; you can tell just by observing them."'

Although it was unclear whether the other party was lying or telling the truth, the aura of these four fairy maidens was indeed not as strong, unlike the black winds and stench of the Ten-thousand-mountains.

The fact that the Nascent Soul Stage demon didn't immediately retaliate after being ambushed by the flying sword might indeed be because the False Moon in the sky was affecting its cultivation.

In fact, Li Fan was also terrified that if he accidentally looked up at the moon, he wouldn't be able to control all those heads on his body from exploding. He didn't want to risk it unless absolutely necessary; risking his life for just five mood points wasn't worth it. But before that...

"... Have you heard this voice before? Are these monsters the ones who harmed your grandmother?"

When Li Fan asked, Chen Asha shook her head, "It's like I've been dismissed from my post. It's just some medicine ghosts and such."

Are enemies human? Yes, sometimes monsters are more reasonable than humans...

Li Fan then transmitted his voice, saying, "I would trouble you to stay in the south for the time being, so we can keep to ourselves."

"Thank you for your understanding." The Nascent Soul Stage demon over there was surprisingly magnanimous. If it were Li Fan who had been inexplicably struck by a sword, he would have definitely taken his head. Sigh, his skills have grown, and so has his temper... Calm down, calm down...

In short, the two sides stopped short of each other after the initial contact, with neither side intending to continue the conflict.

Li Fan observed from afar that the group of demons had indeed circled south, so he decided not to make a move.

Profound Heaven Sword Intent, however, was unsettled. It said, "This aura feels very familiar. I'll go and investigate." It then transformed into a silver leaf, slipped out of Li Fan's sleeve, and headed towards the demons to scout.

It's good to have the Profound Heaven Sword Intent act as a sentinel and keep watch.

So Li Fan simply laid the sword case flat on his lap, and took Falling Sun Mirror and the Qiongqi Talisman Banner drawn with Mount Tai ink, just in case.

While remaining on guard, for about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, the Profound Heaven Sword Intent flew back.

"Profound Heaven Sword Intent said, 'Come on, put on your gear, let's sneak over and kill them all!'"

Huh? What? Is he your enemy?

"The Profound Heaven Sword Intent said, 'I suppose so. I once had a disciple I favored, but she ran away with her clan... Alas, I disdain to speak of that wretched child. I thought her entire clan had been wiped out by the Immortal Palace, but it turns out they escaped to the south.'"

Li Fan hesitated for a moment.

Not enemies, just fellow demons? That doesn't seem logical; turning on them and killing them doesn't make sense, does it? Besides, aren't these demons supposed to be vegetarians?

"Profound Heaven Sword Intent said, 'Do you think they don't want to eat people? Where would they get so many people to eat in this remote mountain valley?'"

Besides, this clan usually undergoes trials of love, and sooner or later they will infiltrate the Central Plains to wreak havoc. It's normal for them to eat vegetarian food to avoid being discovered by the righteous path. In any case, no demon is good! Killing the wrong one is no big deal!

Li Fan rubbed his temples. "Damn it, that sword intent thing's started again..."

"Profound Heaven Sword Intent said, 'Alas! This is an incredible opportunity! This clan has become extinct in the Central Plains! They are extremely rare! If you don't take it, someone else will! You've stumbled upon it; it's incredibly lucky, don't you understand?'"

Don't be silly, listen to me! Strike first, or suffer the consequences! If you're not willing to kill her, then breaking her magic and turning her back to her original form is fine too! Catch her and raise her slowly; if you can breed a whole litter, you'll be rolling in it, hehe!

Hearing this, Li Fan became a little curious, "What kind of monster is it? So rare?"

The Profound Heaven Sword Intent said, "Heh heh, the four little ones are Jade-Faced Foxes, and the one sitting in the sedan chair is a white-furred nine-tailed fox from Qingqiu."