The moment he got the land deed, the other man was as good as dead. He had to be kidding—Mu Ye wasn't stupid enough to let him live and come after him for revenge later.
Cultivators at Qi Refining First Layer died all the time. Within a few thousand li of Jinshi Sect, cultivators at Qi Refining First Layer died every day.
He walked over to Mu Ye. The middle-aged man's other hand was just reaching for—
In the next instant, golden light flashed across Mu Ye's legs. He sprang to his feet, Divine Apertures Wide Open, and drove a punch at the man like a shooting star.
A punch as fast as they came.
The middle-aged man felt a gust of wind whip past him. His body abruptly stiffened, and he instinctively looked down at his heart.
A hole had already appeared there, and searing flames were devouring him, spreading at a speed visible to the naked eye.
"You... you..." His mouth gaped, disbelief filling his eyes. "You're... a Body Cultivator..."
"I'm not. Don't go spreading rumors," Mu Ye said solemnly. "Once you're dead, I won't be one."
"..."
Once you're dead, no one will know.
At such close range, the man couldn't possibly react in time—unless he was a Body Cultivator too.
Clearly, he wasn't.
Boom!
The middle-aged man crashed to the ground. Quick as a flash, Mu Ye deftly plucked the other man's Storage Bag from him, then landed a few more punches, until the man had been completely burned to ash.
Cultivators' bodies were actually worth quite a bit, and could fetch a high price on the Black Market.
But Mu Ye wasn't stupid enough to sell one. For now, burning the body clean and leaving no trace was best.
"The Crimson Flame Fist really is useful. A must-have Martial Art for killing, setting fires, and getting rid of the body."
"The Cultivation World is truly treacherous. It was only a few dozen Spirit Stones..."
Mu Ye sighed, weighed the other man's Storage Bag in his hand, and examined it. He was rather pleasantly surprised.
"Half a set of Green Bee Needles? Though there are only nine left..."
These were magical artifacts!
A full set of Green Bee Needles could sell for a hundred Spirit Stones at a market. They were damn expensive.
And these were only the most ordinary lower-grade artifacts!
A set of Green Bee Needles consisted of eighteen razor-sharp silver needles, each as fine as a strand of hair. Their main material came from the tails of first-tier demonic beasts called poisonous green bees. They were highly toxic and gave off a faint green glow.
Once he learned the Object Manipulation Technique, he could wield these artifacts at lightning speed, killing without a trace!
There were only nine Green Bee Needles left now. That guy must have used up quite a few.
"If he'd brought out his artifact just now... I'd have been done for..."
"But before I died, I'd definitely have destroyed the land deed..."
If Mu Ye saw the man daring to bring out an artifact, he knew he wouldn't survive. He would destroy the land deed on the spot, and the man wouldn't get off easy either.
Besides the artifact, the Storage Bag contained some everyday clothes, a dozen or so Spirit Stones, and some dry provisions.
"What a haul... Damn, killing and robbing really is a quick way to make money..."
Mu Ye sighed.
Judging by the contents of the Storage Bag, that guy had never intended to let him go from the beginning.
He'd only wanted to get his hands on the land deed.
"I made quite a haul. I'll have to be careful with this half-set of artifacts..."
Mu Ye knew the Object Manipulation Technique too, but he was only mediocre at it. He could control only simple objects.
"To control an artifact, I'll need to be at least at Qi Refining Second Layer. Otherwise, I won't have enough Spiritual Power. I should practice the Object Manipulation Technique more in my daily life too..."
After tidying up, Mu Ye returned to the Stone House and steadied himself.
"My bottleneck seems to have loosened a little... So learning the Divine Aperture Secret Martial Art really does help with cultivation."
Mu Ye toyed with the half-set of Green Bee Needles.
The nine needles, glowing green, lay quietly in their case. Only one drifted lazily around Mu Ye under the effect of the Object Manipulation Technique.
One was the most Mu Ye could control right now.
It was his first time using an artifact, and he was quite excited.
He could clearly feel that the artifact was indeed powerful. Against low-level cultivators, its power was practically like chopping vegetables!
After playing with it for a while, Mu Ye carefully put it away.
"Time to enter the game..."
He slowly woke from unconsciousness. His status showed that he was poisoned, though the poison was gradually wearing off.
"Looks like a cave..."
Mu Ye looked around.
Jumping into the well had been the only way he could think of to save Shen Qingchan, and it had worked.
As for why, it was actually quite simple. There were two reasons.
First, there was a strange fragrance beneath the well. It was highly unusual.
Second, the bottom of the well connected to Chishui River. If they wanted to escape, they could swim through the water into the river and leave Chishui Village.
"You're awake..."
A faint voice came from beside him.
Mu Ye turned and saw Shen Qingchan hiding on the other side of a boulder, only her head peeking out. A faint firelight came from over there.
"Where are we..."
"This is beneath the well where the Dragon Demon Fish lives," Shen Qingchan replied. "After we fell into the well, I was afraid the attacker would come after us, so I carried you while you were unconscious and swam through the water for a long time. We reached the edge of a cave, and when you still hadn't woken up, I was afraid something might happen to you, so I rested for half a day first."
"I didn't expect there to be a whole world down here..."
Shen Qingchan seemed eager to talk. Her little mouth was chattering away without pause. "It's huge beneath this well. The underwater passages are like a maze... One of them should connect to Chishui River."
Mu Ye nodded.
"By the way..." Shen Qingchan suddenly asked, "Why... why did you do that?"
"Do what?"
"I mean..." Shen Qingchan lowered her head. "Why did you risk your life to save me like that? And you seemed to know someone was going to ambush me... You blocked that attack at just the right moment."
How could I not know?
I'd died there so many times yesterday, Mu Ye thought.
[1. If I said we were of one mind, would you believe me?]
[2. I promised someone I'd protect you. Naturally, I kept my word.]
[3. I wasn't trying to save you. I just happened to fall, and we both fell into the well. Don't read too much into it.]
[4. ...]
Mu Ye thought it over and chose 2.
"Then weren't you afraid of dying?" Shen Qingchan asked.
"I was." Mu Ye nodded.
"So, the moment I held you and turned around, I regretted it," Mu Ye said. "I was terrified then and wanted to take it back, but it was too late."
Shen Qingchan froze for a moment, then burst out laughing.
"Serves you right. It was too late to regret it!" Shen Qingchan huffed. "You were lucky your heart was a few inches off-center. Otherwise, even the Hundred Flower Life-Prolonging Pill from my Yunhai Sword Sect couldn't have saved you!"
Mu Ye watched the notification that her affection had increased by 3 points, smiling without a word.
"Right, you still haven't told me how you seemed to know someone was going to ambush me..."
"Ahem, ahem, ahem..." Mu Ye coughed repeatedly, pretending he was short of breath.
"What's wrong? Don't talk yet..." Shen Qingchan's expression turned anxious, and she hurried to her feet.
As she stood, Mu Ye realized she was wearing nothing but... a bellyband?
She must have been warming her clothes by the fire nearby.
"That bellyband looks nice..." Mu Ye's eyes twitched.
It was pale blue, and the design embroidered on it wasn't an animal, but a sword.
That's right, there was a sword on her bellyband... a green-edged sword, except... it was rather badly bent, shaped like an S.
"That makes no sense. This Little Heroine is only sixteen..."
Mu Ye looked at the pale marks where the ties pressed beneath her arms and couldn't help thinking that something was off.
"What... what are you looking at?" As a martial artist, Shen Qingchan's senses were naturally sharp. She immediately noticed Mu Ye's gaze was off and hurried to crouch down, a few strands of hair caught between her teeth, her face bashful and indignant.
"I was checking whether you were hurt," Mu Ye said.
"..."
Shen Qingchan gave a little "oh." "I'm not..."
After chatting for a while, Mu Ye regained some strength. He also had a chance to look at the hidden Ranger ability he had just unlocked.
[Sacrifice Life for Righteousness (Hidden Ability): Put righteousness above your own life and death. When you sacrifice yourself to help others, you have a certain chance of surviving.]
"This ability is pretty powerful... exclusive to Rangers."
Mu Ye mulled it over.
This kind of ability was like a personal, unique talent—something extraordinary.
At present, the only way to obtain abilities like these was by opening character chests. They were extremely precious.
"I'll go check the way..." Mu Ye said.
"You're still recovering. I'll go..."
What use would you be? I can reload.
Mu Ye waved his hand. "Your clothes have just dried. I feel well enough..."
The main thing was, where did that strange fragrance come from?
He had a feeling there was treasure down here.
Without giving Shen Qingchan a chance to respond, Mu Ye jumped straight into the water.
Several passageways soon appeared underwater. Mu Ye tried them one by one, from the first to the seventh.
By repeatedly reloading and starting over, he discovered that the second passage led to Chishui River, while the fifth led to another cave. Red aquatic plants filled that cave, and in the middle grew a strange Spirit Medicine that gave off a delicate fragrance.
The Spirit Medicine seemed to writhe. It was blood-red all over, with several fleshy leaves shaped like umbrella canopies, and it gave off a familiar fragrance.
"Found it..."
Mu Ye was overjoyed. Sure enough, where a demon lived, there really was good stuff.
After returning to the original spot, Mu Ye hurriedly brought Shen Qingchan to the unusual cave.
"This is... Blood Lingzhi..." Shen Qingchan stared blankly at the strange Spirit Medicine before them. "It's a treasure nurtured by that demon using flesh and blood as nourishment... Eating it can invigorate your blood and improve your physical constitution, greatly benefiting martial artists. No wonder that demon stayed in this well and made its home in Chishui Village. It must have been waiting for this treasure to mature..."
"Then let's split it!" Mu Ye was delighted to find treasure in the game for once.
"Split... split it?" Shen Qingchan turned around, her expression complicated as she looked at Mu Ye. "Are you sure?"
Mu Ye stared at her in confusion. Was this Little Heroine planning to keep it all for herself?
"You were the one who found it..." Shen Qingchan said quietly. "You really want to share it with me? You could keep it all for yourself. You didn't have to tell me about this place..."
"Don't be silly. Without you, I might not even be alive right now," Mu Ye said, looking puzzled. "Of course we should split it. Do you object?"
"N-no, I don't."
[Shen Qingchan's affection increased to 49/100]
"..."
This Little Heroine seemed pretty easy to please... Mu Ye found it a little strange. He'd only done what anyone would.
Before you continue