Fang Huai clutched his Spirit Stones tightly and pushed Light Body Technique to its limit, not daring to stop for even a moment.
After three days of running, he was finally about to enter Corpse Sha Sect territory.
His desperate rush home wasn't because he was loyal to the sect. It was the agony in his sea of consciousness, which was driving him to the brink of madness.
On the first day, the stabbing pain came and went, striking without warning.
By the second day, it had become an endless torment, with occasional bursts of excruciating pain.
By the third day, his head felt ready to explode, and the pain had brought him to the verge of insanity.
No wonder he had never heard of anyone defecting from the sect. No one could withstand such torture, which cut to the depths of the soul.
Fang Huai's eyes were bloodshot, and his veins bulged. From a distance, he looked like a monster covered in tattoos.
Later, he left everyone in the dust, because he had attracted the attention of a Mystic Sword Sect cultivator.
The cultivator was at the fifth level of Qi Refining, dressed in dazzling robes, and attacking him with all her might, thinking he was an easy target who had suffered Qi Deviation.
"Fairy, I'm just an ordinary errand-running disciple of the Corpse Sha Sect. Why make trouble for a nobody like me?"
"I kill Corpse Sha Sect lackeys, you know!"
Fang Huai wailed. Was this madwoman sick in the head?
During the first two days, when the pain was still bearable, he had managed to avoid other cultivators. But once it became severe on the third day, he had stopped caring about avoiding people.
The area was full of cannon fodder at the early and middle stages of Qi Refining, and most of them gave him a wide berth when they saw his crazed appearance.
He hadn't expected to run into a lunatic so close to his sect's territory.
Even after he had exchanged several negative labels with her, this woman always had one trick after another to counter him.
If he used his label-swapping ability a few more times, he might have a chance of fighting back. But if that attracted more Mystic Sword Sect cultivators, he would be done for.
Spirit Fire Technique, Tornado Technique, Myriad Image Sword Technique...
In barely half an hour, Fang Huai had experienced more than a dozen Mystic Sword Sect techniques.
"Why is this madwoman so strong?"
After refreshing the labels on her a few times, Fang Huai finally found out why.
[An Elder's Daughter]
[Qi Refining, Fifth Level]
[Low-Browed Misfortune (White)][Poisonous Miasma Infusion (White)]
[Low-Browed Misfortune (White): Today is an inauspicious day to go out. If you leave home, disaster is sure to strike.]
So this was the righteousness of the righteous sects. An elder's daughter, too. She was barely of marriageable age and had already learned so many exquisite techniques.
Still, he wasn't jealous.
Righteous sects cared most about Spirit Root aptitude and family background. Someone like Fang Huai wouldn't even qualify to be an errand boy if he went there.
"Explosive Flame Technique!"
With a sweet cry, a streak of blazing fire skimmed past Fang Huai's ear.
The hair that had just grown on his new skin was singed black in an instant.
"Damn woman, this is already Corpse Sha Sect territory. Get lost!"
He had hoped to scare her off, but the woman flared up like a porcupine:
"How dare you insult me like that! I swear I won't rest until I kill you today!"
Seeing her cast spells even more frequently, Fang Huai felt a headache coming on.
Fortunately, her aim and the power of her spells were lacking, so he could just barely dodge them.
At this critical moment, a loud shout rang out: "Junior Brother, don't panic! We're here to save you!"
Several plumes of poisonous smoke shot into the sky, instantly engulfing Fang Huai and the woman.
Amid the swirling smoke, a shriveled arm grabbed Fang Huai by the ankle and dragged him beyond its reach.
Looking up, he saw four Corpse Sha Sect disciples hovering above the smoke, all casting down an Immortal-Catching Net that glimmered with a ghostly light.
"Thank you for saving me, Senior Brother!"
As expected of the demonic sect's style: ambush, poison, and capture, all in one smooth stroke.
"You're... Fang Huai?" The man looked surprised. "You're at the fourth level of Qi Refining? You've actually reached the middle stage?"
"And you are?"
Fang Huai looked at the man. It was Meng Yi, who had pointed him toward Skinning Peak at the Outer Sect Hall. "Senior Brother Meng!"
"Junior Brother Fang, I didn't expect you to have made such progress in your cultivation. Your resistance to poison is impressive, too."
Meng Yi looked at him admiringly. "Even cultivators at the seventh level of Qi Refining can't withstand my Five-Insect Rot-Spirit Poison, yet you're completely unharmed!"
"Heh, it's not that I resist poison. I just temporarily sealed my seven orifices and five senses." Fang Huai waved a hand.
"I see!"
Meng Yi suddenly understood. He took Fang Huai's hand and inspected him from head to toe.
"Your body is crystal clear, your Killing Intent is rich, your spiritual energy flows freely, and your new skin is close to perfect. I wonder how long the Sha Spirit Root it produced is?"
What an audacious question!
What cultivator asked someone such an intimate question to his face?
But the man had guided him before and had just saved him again, so Fang Huai had to humor him.
"I'm ashamed to say it's less than an inch!"
Seeing that Meng Yi was about to ask another question, Fang Huai hurriedly changed the subject.
"Senior Brother Meng, why are you and the other senior brothers carrying an Immortal-Catching Net? Are you specifically lying in wait here to capture Mystic Sword Sect cultivators?"
Meng Yi didn't hide it. "As expected of someone like me, who reached the middle stage of Qi Refining without a Spirit Root. You really are clever."
Supporting Fang Huai, he walked over to the woman trapped in the Immortal-Catching Net.
The woman in the net had already woken up. Her eyes were still a little unfocused, but when she saw Fang Huai, she gritted her teeth and cursed:
"You shameless scoundrel! No wonder you deliberately provoked me earlier and lured me into demonic sect territory. You had an ambush waiting all along!"
[Li Sirou]
[Qi Refining, Fifth Level]
[Low-Browed Misfortune (White)][Poisonous Miasma Infusion (White)]
[Low-Browed Misfortune (White): Today is an inauspicious day to go out. If you leave home, disaster is sure to strike.]
Fang Huai was speechless. If you hadn't chased me so relentlessly, would you have ended up in this mess?
"Senior Brother, what do you plan to do with these Mystic Sword Sect disciples you've captured?"
His gaze swept over the woman in the net, and he couldn't help remembering what he had witnessed in Human Puppet Hall.
Even mortals were subjected to such inhuman treatment. A beautiful female cultivator like her would likely meet an even more horrific fate.
"Do you remember what I told you? As long as you work hard, you'll reap rewards!"
Meng Yi said solemnly, "I was able to break through to the middle stage, and even the late stage, of Qi Refining because I worked hard enough, always thinking about how to earn Contribution Points.
"Capturing Mystic Sword Sect disciples in exchange for Contribution Points is a new way to make money that I came up with recently.
"All you have to do is lie in wait at the edge of our sect's territory and wait for fools to walk right into your trap. Then you can earn Contribution Points without lifting a finger."
Seeing Li Sirou glaring viciously at Fang Huai from inside the Immortal-Catching Net, he kicked her. She immediately cowered in fear.
Fang Huai glanced at Li Sirou and said loudly, "Senior Brother, I think this Mystic Sword Sect disciple has lovely eyes. Could you give me one?"
Meng Yi froze for a moment, then hesitated. "If we gouge out her eyes, her value will drop considerably. If you really like her, why not buy the whole person?"
Fang Huai thought Meng Yi was playing along to scare Li Sirou, so he said:
"Senior Brother knows I'm just an ordinary disciple. I don't have many Contribution Points, and I don't even know if I can afford this pretty Mystic Sword Sect woman."
"It's not easy for cultivators without Spirit Roots like us to earn Contribution Points."
After thinking it over, Meng Yi gritted his teeth. "From the first moment I saw you, I felt as if we'd known each other forever.
"How about this? I'll price her at only eight thousand Contribution Points. When you've made something of yourself, don't forget this kindness..."
"She's pretty, and her cultivation isn't bad either. You could buy her, keep her well-fed for a few days, and then send her back to the Mystic Sword Sect. There's nothing wrong with that."
Fang Huai glanced at Li Sirou. Her eyes lit up, as if the light of hope had begun to burn within them.
Then he changed tack. "Too bad she glared at me and hurled insults. At this rate, I might as well buy a capable male cultivator instead."
"You!"
Only then did Li Sirou realize she had been toyed with. She was about to curse him out, but Meng Yi knocked her unconscious with a poison technique.
Meng Yi patted Fang Huai on the shoulder, looking as if he understood him perfectly.
"Since you like men, the next time I capture a suitable one, I'll immediately send someone to notify you at Skinning Peak."
"Farewell, Senior Brother!"
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