After arriving in Guobei County, Xiao Han took Ning Caichen and Yan Chixia straight to Luo Temple. Taking advantage of the early morning sunlight suppressing the demons, the two of them set up a Sword Formation they could control together and unleashed tens of thousands of Myriad Swords Technique flying swords, each carrying terrifying sword intent, against Tree Demon Granny.
Caught off guard, Tree Demon Granny was stunned by the Sword Formation in an instant. Nearly all the trees that made up her body across the mountain suffered heavy damage.
The pain sent her into a rampage. Her branch-like tentacles shot toward Xiao Han and Yan Chixia, like spears dancing in the hands of Martial Path experts.
Ning Caichen's cultivation was low, so he stayed to the side, claiming he was there to provide support when in fact he was slacking off.
Slacking off and standing idle would have been bad enough, but Ning Caichen was also sent flying by one of Tree Demon Granny's branches, landing in the lake and getting a bath in the bargain.
Just as Ning Caichen struggled back onto the shore and watched Xiao Han and Yan Chixia fight the tree demon, he ran into Nie Xiaoqian, who was leading a group of her sisters.
At first, Ning Caichen thought the female ghosts were accomplices to evil and must be wicked to the core, so he drew his sword, ready to exterminate the demons. But after hearing Nie Xiaoqian's pitiful account, he finally learned what had happened.
Feeling compassion for them, Ning Caichen volunteered to retrieve the Golden Pagodas belonging to the female ghosts. Meanwhile, Xiao Han had nearly been violated by the tree demon, and was naturally furious. He summoned his Demonic Flame at full power and burned Tree Demon Granny to a crisp.
Next, a group of transmigrators stared in blank amazement at their failed mission, too angry to dare complain.
"All right, you girls. Take your Golden Pagodas and go be reincarnated. Don't harm people anymore." In the ruins of Luo Temple, Ning Caichen dug up a pile of Golden Pagodas and arranged them neatly in rows on a table.
Looking at Ning Caichen, who spoke to them gently, the female ghosts wept and fell to their knees before him. At their head was Nie Xiaoqian, the top courtesan of Luo Temple's brothel.
They prostrated themselves and kowtowed to Ning Caichen several times. "Young master, we have no way to repay your great kindness. We can only hope that after we are reincarnated, we may repay you by giving ourselves to you in our next lives."
"It was nothing. Please, all of you, get up."
Putting everything else aside, ever since Ning Caichen began cultivating, he had acquired the ethereal air of a cultivator. Even Xiao Han had to admit that with Leslie Cheung's handsome face and the added boost to his bearing, Ning Caichen really was an exceptionally handsome young man.
"Hey, if Yan the Hero and I hadn't taken down Tree Demon Granny, how would you have gotten your freedom? And Ning Caichen here couldn't help at all just now. He was slacking off on the sidelines the whole time."
Xiao Han was speechless. He'd lost all hope in this looks-obsessed world. He knew he was handsome too, but he looked like a fourteen-year-old kid. How could the female ghosts possibly be interested in him?
"Thank you, young master, and Hero Yan, for saving us. We have no way to repay your great kindness. We can only hope to serve you both as oxen and horses in our next lives." Xiao Han's teasing words prompted the female ghosts to turn and bow gracefully to him and Yan Chixia, though not as solemnly as before.
Xiao Han: ∑(￣□￣;)
That was just too real. When they met a handsome young man, they offered themselves to him; when they met a kid like Xiao Han or an old man like Yan Chixia, they offered to be oxen and horses. Could they stop being so double-standard?
"Give it a rest. When the fight started, you went berserk and set the whole mountain on fire. If Brother Ning hadn't protected those Golden Pagodas, these female ghosts would've been reduced to bones—"
Yan Chixia rolled his eyes at Xiao Han and said irritably.
"Uh..."
Hearing that, Xiao Han lowered his head in embarrassment, though he was still muttering complaints about "that damn tree demon trying to poke my ass" and "that disgusting gay tree demon."
The Reincarnators sat to one side, watching the bizarre scene before them. They felt like their brains couldn't keep up.
Good heavens, what on earth was this transmigrator doing?
Ning Caichen was a weak scholar, yet this guy had turned him into a cultivator. Ning Caichen was still weak now, and any Reincarnator present could kill him with a little effort. But the problem was, it was obvious he hadn't been cultivating for long.
And that transmigrator, whose Demonic Qi was surging to the heavens—who would've thought he could wipe out Tree Demon Granny completely?
Even Yan Chixia in the original story hadn't managed that. At most, Yan Chixia had sealed Tree Demon Granny for a hundred years with Palm Thunder.
But this transmigrator's flames seemed capable of destroying the heavens and earth. They had spread along the tree demon's trunk all the way underground and burned away every root of the Thousand-Year Tree Demon. It was clear he was someone they couldn't afford to provoke.
And somehow, with means unknown, he'd kept Yan Chixia—a man who despised evil— from attacking him, despite his overwhelming Demonic Qi! Wasn't that bizarre?
The Reincarnators were terrified. If Xiao Han hadn't greeted them with a single sentence and a pure, utterly non-hostile look, they might already have run off like frightened rats.
If Xiao Han knew what the Reincarnators were thinking, he'd have laughed to himself.
The aura of the Demon Armor was powerful. To anyone who didn't know better, it probably seemed like a peerless Demon God had descended into the world.
But to be fair, the Demon Armor itself was still quite weak.
If Xiao Han's cultivation weren't strong enough, it would just be an object that emitted a terrifying pressure. The Demon Armor's power grew as Xiao Han's cultivation improved, and it could also help him cultivate. The two complemented each other.
"Hero Yan, wait here. I'll catch up with my fellow townsfolk for a while."
"Go on, then."
Yan Chixia waved him off impatiently and lay drinking in a mostly intact pavilion at the edge of Luo Temple's ruins. Ning Caichen, meanwhile, was reciting the Rebirth Mantra to the female ghosts one by one, helping them pass on.
As Xiao Han walked toward them, the Reincarnators grew nervous. They exchanged a few glances, then unanimously decided to have the only beauty in their group, Chen Lan, negotiate with him.
"Um, hello. We're—"
But just as Chen Lan was about to speak, Xiao Han interrupted her. "All right, all right. I was sent into this world by the Main God. Compared to you rookies, I'm a high-tier Reincarnator!"
The Reincarnators looked doubtful. "If you're a Reincarnator, why don't you have a Reincarnation Watch on your wrist?"
"Heh. Are you here to do a mission or work as reporters? Do you have to ask about everything?!"
Xiao Han looked at the group of Reincarnators and shook his head with a cold laugh. "Don't ask too many questions. Otherwise..."
Xiao Han held out his hand and made a chopping motion across his own neck—
"Chhk~"
The boy's expression was comical, but the Reincarnators couldn't laugh. A chill crept through them, and they fell silent, looking afraid to respond.
Seeing how dull they were, Xiao Han lost interest in scaring them.
Then Xiao Han scratched his head, looked at the Reincarnators, who were all lost in their own thoughts, and smiled. "I was just joking. Don't take it to heart.
"I'd like to ask what your mission in the Reincarnation Space is. Maybe our goals are the same."
Since Xiao Han had been so straightforward about who he was, keeping secrets from him would probably only provoke him.
With that in mind, the Man in Sunglasses was the first to break the awkward silence. He stepped forward and used his Reincarnation Watch to show Xiao Han a projection of their mission.
"Our goal is to work with Yan Chixia to kill Tree Demon Granny, Black Mountain Demon, and Centipede Demon."
"What a coincidence. My goal is also to work with Yan Chixia to kill Black Mountain Demon and Centipede Demon."
Xiao Han casually examined the Reincarnation Watch on the Man in Sunglasses's wrist. "Since our interests don't conflict, we can work together. After all, you've seen how much Yan Chixia trusts me."
The Man in Sunglasses lowered his head and thought for a moment, then nodded at Xiao Han in agreement. "All right. With someone as powerful as you helping us, our chances of completing the mission safely will improve a lot."
But just as Xiao Han and the Man in Sunglasses reached an agreement, Xiao Han's expression changed!
Warning! Warning! Due to a conflict of business interests between this system and the Main God Space, you must make contact with the Reincarnation Watch and negotiate with the Main God Space. Host, carry this out immediately!
Before you continue