Ge Xian Had a Vicious Habit Too?

He sensed White Jade Daoist running toward him, howling all the while.

Ge Xian flipped through several more pages. Sure enough, he found that later on he had written that the Storage Pouch had been successfully refined, and had smugly sketched its appearance and design.

As Ge Xian recalled the ornaments he had seen on White Jade Daoist while aboveground, he quickly pinpointed one item the man carried. At the same time, he changed back into the human form of the Young Peddler. Paying no mind to the Blood Filth covering the ground, he lay down beside the old mother rat, now reduced to a heap of rotten flesh.

There were piles of Blood Food and corpses everywhere, so he blended right in.

Before long, the Rat Monsters began howling one after another.

A Rat Monster with a terrifying appearance slammed into the nest.

His Demonic Body was about as large as a millstone. Though he was nowhere near as big as the so-called "old wife," the baleful qi radiating from him far surpassed that of the old mother rat.

His entire body was as white as jade, but covered in countless wrinkles and rotting sores. Pus splattered everywhere as he ran.

The side effects of treasure refinement!

Ge Xian knew that White Jade Daoist had once been covered in snow-white rat fur. Now, mixed with strands of golden thread, it had become an exquisite pouch hanging from his waist.

"Orchid, Orchid, what happened to you?"

"My wife, my old wife... You're dead! Where am I supposed to find another mother rat who can bear so many pups? My dear Orchid!"

White Jade Old Daoist seemed to have been so badly injured that his brain was damaged. He no longer had any of the slyness he'd shown aboveground, and seemed to have lost all sense of caution.

He charged over without a care, swinging his ugly rat head. From time to time, he slipped and staggered on the Blood Filth covering the ground.

When he reached the old mother rat's corpse, he began to wail loudly. He lowered his head and nudged his old wife, trying to wake her.

This "performance" lasted for at least ten breaths!

Ge Xian wasn't fooled.

He wanted to be deceived, but in his perception, the old thief's body still contained a dangerous demonic qi, restless and ready to move. How could he not know that the old thief was preparing one final strike?

That demonic qi was unstable, though, and could dissipate at any moment. Ge Xian only needed to wait patiently.

As for the Two Ghoul Generals and the other Evil Cultivators, they were frantically "reaping" the townspeople while they had the chance, and had yet to come bother him.

Sure enough, three breaths later, the demonic qi gradually dissipated.

White Jade Old Daoist abruptly raised his head, his expression returning to normal.

"Huh?"

"They really did leave. Judging from the qi they left behind, it must've been a Dragon Species. Could that Dragon Earthworm thirty li away have come looking for trouble?"

"But if it was that thing, why didn't it eat my old wife or take my treasures?"

"Never mind. I'll take out the Son God Ring first. I can find another fertile Rat Monster to marry later..."

As he muttered, White Jade Old Daoist suddenly bit into his old wife's belly. As he gnawed, he burrowed right inside.

After a series of squelching sounds that made Ge Xian's teeth ache, the fellow emerged through a more private opening.

He now had a dark-red iron ring of an odd shape clenched in his mouth. It had originally been completely fused with the "White Jade Old Wife's" flesh and demonic qi, which was why Ge Xian had overlooked it.

Now that it had been pulled out, its true form was revealed.

Threads of visible, dark-red demonic qi poured from within. It looked bizarre, yet gave Ge Xian a sense of vigorous vitality.

He didn't need to examine it closely to guess the reason. "That old mother rat must have grown as big as a house because of the Son God Ring's effects. Even those fluids she was constantly secreting. Good grief, White Jade Daoist wasn't just a scumbag—he was a beast... No, he was a beast to begin with."

Ge Xian didn't keep guessing, because a sudden commotion came from beyond the nest: the Rat Monster tide was scattering, and the Evil Cultivators were charging forward at full speed.

At once, White Jade Daoist did something "strange": instead of putting the Son God Ring into his pouch, he tilted his head back and swallowed it.

Then he looked at his treasure trove with a deeply reluctant expression, roaring in anguish as he stared.

"What do I do? What do I do? Damn Ghouls, damn human cultivators! How dare they destroy my life's work..."

"Huh?"

"Where are my Myriad Laws History Book Fragment and my Son God Log? What happened to my Myriad Laws Jade Talisman?"

The Rat Monster's pupils dilated as he stared at the empty jade table and asked three questions that spelled his doom.

Just as he was about to figure out the answers, he finally sensed the terrifying danger. He was a demon who had come infinitely close to the Foundation Establishment Realm, after all.

Unfortunately, it was too late.

Roar!

A Dragon's Roar exploded. Right before his eyes, a human corpse among the Blood Filth beside him transformed in the blink of an eye into a ferocious Dragonman, steeped in baleful intent.

The Dragonman neither introduced himself nor shouted any threats. He rushed forward without a word, one deadly dragon claw slamming toward his rotting rat head while the other reached for the pouch hanging from his waist, right before his horrified eyes.

Who was this monster?

Why did he want to kill me?

How did he know where I kept my pouch?

White Jade Daoist was intelligent enough. If he'd been given time, he could have calmly thought things through, struggled with all his might, and perhaps even turned the tables.

Even now, at the end of his strength, he still had the power to fight.

But he could never have imagined that someone as abnormal as Ge Xian existed. His shameless cunning was one thing, but even more astonishing was his utter disregard for his own species.

It was common knowledge that anyone who practiced a Dragon Clan Secret Technique grew arrogant and disdained mixing with inferior races. They certainly wouldn't roll around in filth.

But Ge Xian was willing. He'd lain in the muck and pretended to be dead, choosing the perfect moment to strike. He moved like a thunderbolt, and deliberately forced White Jade Daoist to drown in his own questions until his brain nearly burned out, leaving him no time for an effective counterattack.

In an instant—or even less—there was a BANG!

That ugly, rotting White Jade Rat Head exploded.

The Rat Monster's dream of ruling the underworld, bestowing titles on a hundred officials, and marrying a hundred consorts shattered along with it.

As one claw smashed the Rat Monster's skull, Ge Xian's other claw seized the Scenery Treasure Pouch.

The moment it touched his hand, he understood why White Jade Daoist had kept the treasures—and the object called the Son God Ring—out of his Storage Pouch.

The pouch was full!

Ge Xian badly wanted to open it then and there to see what it contained that left not even a sliver of space.

But the danger he sensed made his skull ring.

The Two Ghoul Generals and the Evil Cultivators were rushing toward the nest through a series of tunnels. They were incredibly close, as if they would burst in at any moment.

The same looks of "reluctance," "indecision," and "distress" that had recently appeared on White Jade Daoist's face now appeared on Ge Xian's.

He had no time to think, much less pick out any treasures from the hoard.

All he could do was stamp his foot, then use his perception to find the safest tunnel. His Dragon Shadow raced away, vanishing from the nest in the blink of an eye.

Ge Xian had barely escaped when two vicious Ghost Shadows and dozens of Evil Cultivators darted into the Rat's Nest in succession.

After a thorough search, the cultivators reached their own conclusions.

"Someone got here before us. They killed White Jade Old Thief's wife, lured him over, then killed the Daoist with a sneak attack."

"They only struck twice, yet killed both Rat Monsters without the slightest hesitation. White Jade Old Thief had already been crippled by you two senior brothers, but that kind of ruthless skill still isn't something an ordinary fellow could manage."

"Was it a Dragon Species? Or a human cultivator who practiced a Dragon Clan Secret Technique?"

"Huh? If it was a Dragon Species, why didn't it take those treasures too? Most Dragon Cultivators have a vicious habit of hoarding treasure. Surely they couldn't have resisted."

"Looks like we disturbed it. It killed the Rat Monsters but didn't have time to take the spoils."

"Then doesn't that mean we get to keep them?"

"Excellent!"

"Let's split them up! We brothers will keep our word. We'll divide all the Rat Monster's money, provisions, and treasures evenly."

After a few remarks, the Two Ghoul Generals and the human cultivators all chuckled and began dividing the spoils without the slightest hesitation.

At the same time, aboveground.

Ge Xian had quietly changed back into human form and climbed out of the ground. Without leaving a trace, he rejoined the Propaganda Team and began helping the other peddlers and traveling merchants soothe the frightened townspeople.

As he comforted them, his own heart ached.

He had taken four of White Jade Old Thief's treasures. Everything else had gone to the Two Ghoul Generals and the Evil Cultivators.

Ge Xian should have been satisfied. After all, he hadn't been the "main force" in the fight. He'd only been a slippery schemer who had profited from the shadows. He'd already obtained the four most precious treasures. What right did he have to complain? Was he trying to keep everything for himself?

That's right. Ge Xian examined himself and realized that he really did want to keep it all.

Back in the Rat's Nest, if the crisis hadn't jolted him awake, he would have found some way to carry off the entire pile of treasure.

The realization startled Ge Xian. That's not right. I should be satisfied, even delighted.

Could I have developed a vicious habit too?

A Compulsive Collecting habit? A hoarding habit?

Once the thought came to him, Ge Xian tested it. He forced himself to weigh the pros and cons, trying to suppress the itch in his heart. Soon, he returned to normal.

He relaxed a little. As far as he knew, cultivators who forcibly suppressed a "vicious habit" suffered a backlash. In severe cases, their souls would split apart.

From the looks of it, he was fine. Even if he truly had developed a habit, it was an extremely mild one. Besides, Compulsive Collecting could hardly be called a vicious habit.

Ge Xian had no time to think further. Before long, the Two Ghosts, Zhang Buzu and Zhao Wuyou, led the Evil Cultivators back aboveground, all of them beaming.

After checking the time, they gave the several thousand surviving townspeople no chance to resist and immediately ordered, "Pack your belongings at once. Head to Nantai Town first, then travel together to Qiantang County."

"You have only half an incense stick to do it. No delays."

Nantai Town and Anle Town had been occupied by Demonic Creatures in different ways, and their surrenders had happened differently, but the outcome was the same.

The ordinary townspeople were completely incapable of resisting the Guard Team.

They obediently packed their belongings and formed a migration group of seven or eight thousand, setting off for Qiantang County.

Even with the Guard Team doing everything they could to protect them and Ge Xian guiding them with his Supernatural Perception, some elderly and frail people inevitably fell behind and got lost. A few opportunistic Demonic Creatures carried them off.

Only when darkness fell did the journey finally come to a successful end.

As yesterday, the Propaganda Team received its reward, while every member of the Guard Team reaped a bountiful harvest.

The residents of Nantai and Anle, who had initially been rather unwilling, also cheered when they saw the money, provisions, and land deeds.

If you thought about it carefully, this was a wonderful deal.

They weren't just being given food; they were getting houses and land for free.

They were going from villagers and townspeople to residents of Qiantang County in a single leap.

By the usual route, outsiders from the countryside who wanted to own a house and land within Qiantang County would have no chance unless they were getting married. Even those who had already settled down would need the bride to contribute her dowry, draining both families' savings, for there to be even the slightest chance.

Such a wonderful deal had come right to their door. How could they not be happy?