Rooting Out the Threat, Shifting the Blame

"Sorry."

Liu Yiyi's voice softened, tinged with guilt. "I originally thought your father had simply died in an accident while fishing at sea."

Wang Mengde shook his head, the grief and indignation on his face slowly fading, replaced by a calm and profound sorrow. "Before my father died, he used Voice Transmission Talisman to tell me that he was killed by Foundation Establishment True Person and that I should not seek revenge."

"But if I don't seek revenge, am I even human?"

Liu Yiyi's eyes reddened.

She reached out and grasped Wang Mengde's hand, holding it tightly.

Her voice was a little hoarse. "Who is your enemy? Will they harm you?"

Wang Mengde shook his head. "That Foundation Establishment True Person is unaware of my existence and poses no threat to me. As for who it is, I won't tell you for now, lest I cause you unnecessary trouble."

He still hasn't figured out who his father's killer is.

Once Foundation Establishment, I'll find some damned Foundation Establishment True Person and attach myself to them.

Liu Yiyi nodded and didn't ask any further questions.

She remained silent for a long time, then spoke in a muffled voice, her tone carrying a hint of grievance that she herself was unaware of. "You naughty thing, are you going to find dao companion in the future?"

Wang Mengde looked into her eyes without flinching or giving a perfunctory answer, "Yiyi, I don't want to lie to you. I can accumulate my fiery power extremely quickly. If you and Qingyue can't hold on, I'll come looking for more."

Liu Yiyi fell silent.

Her lips were pressed into a thin line, and her brows were slightly furrowed, as if she were making a very difficult decision.

After a long while, she finally raised her head, her beautiful eyes fixed on Wang Mengde, her gaze serious as if she were examining something very important. "What you told me before, was it really not a lie?"

Wang Mengde knew what she was asking.

Without hesitation, he raised his right hand, pointed three fingers to the sky, and said in a clear voice, "I fell in love with Liu Yiyi the first time I saw her."

If there is even the slightest falsehood in this statement, may I be struck by lightning.

Soul Oath.

No one dares to casually swear a cultivator's Soul Oath.

Upon hearing this, Liu Yiyi felt somewhat relieved.

Her fingers stopped twisting the corner of the blanket, and her shoulders gradually relaxed, as if a huge weight had finally been lifted from her heart.

Wang Mengde took Liu Yiyi's hand and placed it on his chest.

Even through the skin and muscles, I could feel my heart beating steadily in my chest.

He gazed at Liu Yiyi with deep affection. "Yiyi, no matter how many women I meet in the future, you will always be the most special one, the one I love most. No one can replace you in my heart."

Upon hearing this, Liu Yiyi felt a surge of joy.

Her lips curled slightly, as if she wanted to laugh but was too embarrassed to. In the end, she simply punched Wang Mengde's chest lightly and muttered, "Always saying nice things."

Wang Mengde muttered to himself: Done.

Liu Yiyi nestled against his chest for a while, then looked up at him. "Let's not make our relationship public for now."

Wang Mengde nodded. "Okay."

Liu Yiyi explained, "We will make it public three years after Tie Li's death."

"Um.

Wang Mengde understood what she meant.

If Tie Li were to make his relationship with Wang Mengde public immediately after his death, it would inevitably arouse suspicion among those with ulterior motives.

After three years, the storm will subside, and everything will fall into place naturally.

Liu Yiyi said, "You deal with Tie Li first. I want to be alone for a while."

Wang Mengde lowered his head and kissed her forehead, then got up, dressed, and left the bedroom.

Tie Li, still huddled in the corner of the courtyard, suddenly looked up when he heard the door open.

He saw Wang Mengde come out of Liu Yiyi's room.

His eyes instantly became bloodshot, and his entire face was so distorted that it was almost unrecognizable.

"Wang Mengde, you beast!"

Tie Li's voice was hoarse, as if it had been scraped out of his throat, filled with blood, hatred, and a madness that wanted to devour people alive.

"You took advantage of someone in distress, you are despicable and shameless, you..."

Wang Mengde didn't even lift an eyelid.

To him, the insults were less than the buzzing of a mosquito.

He walked over, grabbed Tie Li by the back of his collar with one hand, dragged him across the courtyard like a dead dog, pushed open the door of the quiet room, and threw him inside.

Tie Li's back slammed against the cold stone ground, and he groaned, but the cursing he was spewing never stopped.

Wang Mengde squatted down and, without saying a word, reached out and pulled off Tie Li's robe.

Wang Mengde folded the robe and put it into his Storage Bag. Then he took out a set of ordinary gray cloth clothes from his Storage Bag, unfolded them, and put them on Tie Li.

The coarse cloth clothes made Tie Li look even more disheveled, like a down-on-his-luck beggar.

Wang Mengde then took out a bottle of Grain Avoidance Pill from his Storage Bag, uncorked it, and poured out a pale yellow pill.

He grabbed Tie Li's chin, forced him to open his mouth, and stuffed the Grain Avoidance Pill into it.

He then placed his palm on Tie Li's chest, gently exhaled his spiritual energy, and steadily sent the pill into Tie Li's stomach.

Tie Li was forced to swallow the pill, coughed violently a few times, and the muscles in his face twitched as if he had swallowed a mouthful of scalding hot coals.

His eyes were fixed on Wang Mengde, the hatred in them so intense it was almost tangible.

"You beast!" His voice was hoarse, his chest heaving violently. "What kind of bewitching potion did you give Liu Yiyi?"

"She'd rather sell her mid-grade magic robe and Demon-Binding Rope, and pay me back twenty times the Spirit Stone I spent, than not divorce me and be with you."

Wang Mengde paused.

He stood there, stunned.

Mid-grade robe.

Demon-Binding Rope.

Twenty times the compensation.

She sold all of these things to compensate Tie Li, and to be with him.

A pang of guilt welled up in his heart.

He actually deceived Liu Yiyi, such a good woman.

With those sweet words, those tricks, those manipulative tactics—he used the "green tea" skills he learned from short videos in his previous life—he completely fooled this naive woman.

But he quickly suppressed this trace of guilt.

From now on, just cherish each other.

Such a wonderful woman, wouldn't it be a terrible waste not to seduce her?

He will treat her well and make her happy.

Isn't that enough?

Wang Mengde's lips curled up slightly, his sense of guilt completely crushed and thrown into a corner of his consciousness that would never be brought up again.

He raised his hand, his fingers slightly bent, and silently began to unleash the Entwining Silk Technique.

Several strands of spiritual energy, as thin as spider silk, shot out from his fingertips and precisely wrapped around Tie Li's shoes.

With a gentle tug.

The shoe slipped off Tie Li's foot, arced through the air, and landed steadily in Wang Mengde's hand.

He held the shoe in his hand and, under Tie Li's horrified gaze, pointed the toe of the shoe at Tie Li's mouth.

"What... what are you going to do... oh..."

The toe of the shoe was shoved hard into Tie Li's mouth, completely stuffing it all the way up to his throat.

Tie Li's eyes widened, and he made a whimpering sound as he desperately shook his head, trying to spit out the shoe.

But the shoes were stuffed too deep, all the way up to his throat, pressing his tongue down so hard he couldn't use it at all.

Wang Mengde clapped his hands, looked down at Tie Li, and smiled gently as if he were looking at an old friend.

Thank you for telling me this.

His voice was soft and sincere, as if he were genuinely expressing his gratitude.

Wang Mengde didn't look at him again.

He sat down cross-legged and took out Tie Li's black Flying Sword from his bosom.

The sword is long and slender, entirely black, with a thin blood groove along its spine.

He held the Flying Sword in both hands, probed it with his divine sense, and spiritual power surged into the sword like a tide.

The remaining Tie Li spiritual energy imprint on the Flying Sword gradually loosened, shattered, and dissipated under the erosion of spiritual energy.

A moment later, the mark was completely erased, and Wang Mengde imprinted his own spiritual power onto it.

The Flying Sword hummed softly, and a faint blue light shone on the blood groove on its blade before dimming again, completely submitting to its new master.

He then took out the Dragon-Locking Net.

The shimmering silver net curled up in his palm, like a sleeping silver silkworm.

He channeled his spiritual power, and the net suddenly unfolded, transforming into a spiritual net about ten feet in size, with threads as fine as hair and gleaming with a cold metallic luster.

He probed his divine sense into the net, refining the mark left by Tie Li bit by bit.

The Dragon-Locking Net is of a much higher grade than that Flying Sword, and it took much longer to refine.

It took him the time it takes to drink a cup of tea to completely remove the marks.

He then took out Tie Li Demon-Binding Rope, a dark cyan rope, about the thickness of a thumb, with a smooth, silky surface.

The refining speed was much faster than that of the Dragon-Locking Net, and it was completed in just a few breaths.

Wang Mengde put the Dragon-Locking Net back into his Storage Bag, picked up the Demon-Binding Rope, and tied another rope around Tie Li's body.

Tie Li was bound like a rice dumpling, his arms, legs, and torso all tightly bound with ropes, making it difficult for him to even move a finger.

With the shoe still stuffed in its mouth, it could only make muffled whimpering sounds.

He took out Tie Li's Storage Bag from his bosom, probed it with his divine sense, and began to refine the spiritual energy imprint on it.

Soon, the mark was erased, and Wang Mengde imprinted his own spiritual power mark.

With his divine sense probing inside, he could see everything in the Storage Bag.

753 Spirit Stone.

A bottle of second-grade pills for restoring spiritual energy, the Spirit-Recovery Pill.

Three bottles of Grain Avoidance Pill.

A pink jade bottle with the words Passion Powder) engraved on it.

Wang Mengde raised an eyebrow slightly, uncorked the bottle, and inside lay two pink pills, emitting a sweet, heart-pounding fragrance.

He frowned, tightened the cork, and tossed the bottle into his Storage Bag.

There are also Talisman.

Two Tier 2 Advanced Attack Talisman: Golden Blade Storm Talisman.

Two Tier 2 Basic Protective Talisman, Golden Light Talisman.

Two Tier 2 Advanced Escape Talisman, Earth-Drilling Talisman.

A mid-tier Tier 3 Substitute Talisman.

Two level 3 beginner-level Shrinking Earth Talisman.

Two mid-level, third-tier Sword Aura Talisman.

There are also thirty First-Rank Voice Transmission Talisman and eleven Second-Rank Voice Transmission Talisman.

There were also a few miscellaneous items: a piece of spirit jade in good condition, several bottles of low-grade spirit ink, a stack of blank Talisman Paper, several sea charts, several sets of clothes, and two boxes of dried beast meat.

All things considered, including the Dragon-Locking Net, Flying Sword, magic robe, and Demon-Binding Rope, amounted to nearly 25,000 Spirit Stone.

They've struck it rich.

Tie Li lay on the ground, watching Wang Mengde count his belongings one by one. He watched as a stranger's hands caressed over and over the Spirit Stone, pills, Talisman, and Law Artifact that he had painstakingly accumulated over the years. Seeing the satisfied smile on Wang Mengde's face, his heart was bleeding.

Every drop of blood felt like a knife, stabbing his heart again and again.

Now, they all belong to Wang Mengde.

This heartache was even more unbearable for him than listening to Liu Yiyi and Wang Mengde's cultivation sounds earlier.

Liu Yiyi is gone, but there are still many women.

But these Law Artifacts and Talisman he had painstakingly accumulated over a long period of time.

After Wang Mengde finished taking inventory, he put everything into his Storage Bag.

He stood up, brushed off non-existent dust from his robes, looked down at Tie Li, and a sincere smile appeared on his lips.

A genuine smile.

Thank you for your generosity.

His voice was gentle and sincere, as if he were thanking a friend who had offered help in his time of need.

Tie Li's body trembled violently.

His eyes were bloodshot, and the veins on his forehead bulged out; he looked like a volcano about to erupt.

But his mouth was stuffed tightly with shoes, so he couldn't utter a single word; he could only make indistinct, muffled sounds from his throat.

A beast-like roar.

His body writhed wildly in the ropes, like a snake pinned to its seven-inch mark.

Wang Mengde did not look at him again.

He took out the bottle of second-tier healing pills from Tie Li's Storage Bag and poured out a dark green pill.

The pill, supported by spiritual energy, floated in his palm, emitting a faint fragrance of herbs and trees.

He crouched down, put the pill into Tie Li's mouth, and with a burst of spiritual energy, the pill slid into Tie Li's stomach.

Immediately, he placed his palm on Tie Li abdomen, and his spiritual energy gently flowed in to help refine the pill.

Driven by spiritual energy, the medicinal power spread rapidly, flowing warmly to the wound in Tie Li abdomen, nourishing the surrounding muscles and meridians.

Tie Li's body stiffened abruptly.

A flicker of understanding crossed his eyes, but that understanding quickly turned into a deeper fear.

Wang Mengde is treating his injuries.

Wang Mengde is letting him live.

Tie Li finally understood Wang Mengde's intentions: the other party wanted him to live.

Only by staying alive can one create illusions, only by staying alive can one buy time, only by staying alive can one make everyone believe that Tie Li is still alive and still traveling outside.

Rather than die on this island.

Tie Li did not want Wang Mengde to get his way.

He wanted to commit suicide.

He's dead, and his master will avenge him.

But his body was bound like a rice dumpling, from his ankles to his neck, with layer upon layer of rope Demon-Binding Rope, tightly wrapped up.

His hands were tied behind his back, and he couldn't move a single one of his ten fingers.

His mouth was stuffed with a shoe, the toe of which was pressing against his throat, making it difficult for him to even swallow, let alone bite his tongue.

There's nothing he can do.

Wang Mengde then took out a white porcelain bottle from his Storage Bag, uncorked it, and evenly sprinkled the pale yellow powder onto the wound on Tie Li's lower abdomen.

The moment the powder touched the wound, a cool sensation spread, and the edges of the charred wound contracted slightly, beginning to heal faster.

Tie Li's body was trembling.

He has Grain Avoidance Pill in his body, so he won't starve.

There are healing pills; the injury will gradually heal.

The wound has healing powder on it, so it won't get infected.

He won't die anytime soon.

He will live in this quiet room, like an abandoned dog.

He lived until the day Wang Mengde needed him to die.

Wang Mengde stood up, took out Tie Li's robe from his Storage Bag, unfolded it, and put it on.

The robe was a bit too big, but he adjusted it with his spiritual power until it fit him perfectly.

He then took out Tie Li's flying Flying Sword and held it in his hand.

Then he turned around, pushed open the door to the quiet room, and walked out.

Behind him, Tie Li huddled in the corner, making muffled whimpering sounds, like a wild beast whose throat had been stepped on.

Wang Mengde closed the door to the quiet room, walked to Liu Yiyi's bedroom door, and gently knocked.

"Yiyi."

There was a moment of silence inside, then Liu Yiyi's muffled voice came through. "Mmm."

"I gave Tie Li healing pills and Grain Avoidance Pill; he won't die for two months, so you don't need to worry about him."

There was a moment of silence in the room, then Liu Yiyi's voice came through, very softly, as if through a thick quilt. "I understand."

Wang Mengde stood there for a while, making sure she had nothing else to say, before speaking, "Help me open the Light Barrier."

A moment later, the protective Light Barrier in the courtyard silently cracked open.

Wang Mengde strode out of the courtyard and soared into the sky on his sword.

The black Flying Sword carried him straight into the sky, circling once in the air. He deliberately flew very high and very slowly, making sure that all the cultivators on the island could see him.

As evening Rosy Cloud Island, it is the time when cultivators finish their day's cultivation and go out for activities.

Many people saw the black figure in the sky at the ferry crossing, in the market, and in front of the pavilion.

Then he changed direction, flew away from Rosy Cloud Island on his sword, and disappeared into the horizon.

After flying about a hundred miles, he landed on an uninhabited reef island.

He changed back into his own clothes, put away Tie Li's Flying Sword, and took out his own Flying Sword from his Storage Bag.

Then he began to catch the Demon Fish.

As evening fell, Wang Mengde returned to Rosy Cloud Island, entered his meditation room, and began his cultivation.

Two months passed quickly.

Late that night, all was quiet on Rosy Cloud Island, except for the sound of waves crashing against the rocks.

Wang Mengde quietly slipped out of the Loft No. 37, his figure like a ghost in the night, silently passing through several alleys and arriving at the Loft No. 31.

He raised his hand and gently tapped the Light Barrier, sending a burst of spiritual energy into it.

A moment later, a crack appeared in the Light Barrier, and he slipped inside, the Light Barrier closing behind him.

The door to Liu Yiyi's quiet room was open, and a dim, yellow Spirit Stone lamp was lit inside.

She sat on a prayer cushion, dressed in a plain white dress, her hair loosely tied up with a jade hairpin, her face expressionless.

When she saw Wang Mengde enter, her gaze flickered slightly, but she said nothing.

Wang Mengde did not enter her quiet room, but instead turned and walked towards the quiet room where Tie Li was locked up.

He pushed open the door to the quiet room and went inside.

A faint smell of medicine and food residue filled the quiet room.

Tie Li was still tied up, huddled in the corner.

Wang Mengde used his Spirit Eye Technique to scan the wound on the man's lower abdomen and found that it had already scabbed over.

Wang Mengde's gaze fell on Tie Li's mouth.

The shoes are gone.

His gaze swept around the quiet room before settling on the small table in the corner.

Several bowls and plates were placed on the table, containing dishes, rice, and soup, still steaming slightly.

Next to the bowl and plate was a glass of water, with a tea leaf floating on the surface.

Prepared by Liu Yiyi.

In the end, I'm still too soft-hearted.

Tie Li heard the door open and abruptly looked up.

When he recognized the person as Wang Mengde, his face turned deathly pale.

A surge of immense fear welled up in his eyes.

He desperately tried to shrink back, pressing his back against the wall as if he wanted to squeeze into a crack in it.

"Please, don't kill me!" Tie Li begged frantically. He had already been crippled for two months and had resigned himself to his fate.

He did not seek to restore his cultivation or regain his freedom; he only sought to live.

As long as he can live, I'll do anything for him.

But that bitch Liu Yiyi, despite giving him food and water, refused to let him leave.

She would come every three days, leave the food, and leave without saying a word to him.

He begged her, scolded her, and cried to her, but she ignored him.

He was like a mouse locked in a cage, waiting for the person with the knife to decide his fate.

Now, that person has arrived.

Wang Mengde ignored him.

He picked up Tie Li's ten Second-Rank Voice Transmission Talisman.

He didn't know who these Talisman were connected to.

He thought for a moment and then typed a line of text on one of the Talisman.

"Qiu Li, a cultivator from the Golden Sun Sect, is chasing me."

Qiu Li, a newly promoted Foundation Establishment True Person of the Golden Sun Sect, has killed many cultivators of the Evergreen Sect in the past two years and has a notorious reputation.

He infused his spiritual power into the Talisman, and the characters on the Talisman glowed with a faint spiritual light before turning into specks of light and dissipating into the air.

A moment later, a Talisman lit up.

Wang Mengde infused his spiritual power, and a line of words appeared on it. "Where are you?"

He did not reply.

After a while, another Talisman lit up.

He infused his spiritual power, and a line of words appeared on it, the characters vigorous and powerful, carrying an undeniable authority. "Little Li, where are you? Your master is here to save you."

Wang Mengde's lips curled slightly as he raised his right hand.

Within his palm, white and purple lightning flashed wildly.

Palm Thunder Technique.

Tie Li's pupils contracted sharply.

His mouth opened, and he let out a heart-wrenching, inhuman roar, "No..."

Purple lightning bolts shot out from Wang Mengde's palm.

It was so fast it felt like it had traversed time and space.

There was no sound, no trace, only a blinding white light flashing in the quiet room.

Lightning bolts pierced Tie Li's head.

Tie Li's roar abruptly stopped.

His body stiffened for a moment, like a statue frozen in place.

Then his eyes lost all their light, his body went limp and he fell to the ground with a thud, never to move again.

Wang Mengde withdrew his hand, and the white-purple light of the Palm Thunder Technique dissipated from his fingertips, plunging the quiet room back into darkness.

He took an empty Storage Bag from his pocket and stuffed Tie Li's corpse into it.

Then he carefully cleaned the quiet room before turning around and leaving.

Moonlight streamed in through the cracks in the window, paving a silvery-white path on the ground.

Wang Mengde walked to Liu Yiyi's bedroom door and knocked gently.

"Yiyi."

The door opened quickly.

Liu Yiyi stood behind the door, her long, black hair cascading over her shoulders.

Her face was expressionless, but there was an indescribable complexity in her eyes.

She looked at Wang Mengde without saying a word.

Wang Mengde looked at her and said softly, "It's been taken care of."

There are only two words.

Her lips were pressed into a thin line, and her expression was complex... a mixture of relief, resignation, and a faint trace of pity.

She nodded without saying anything.

Wang Mengde reached out and pulled her into his arms.

Liu Yiyi didn't struggle. She buried her face in his chest, closed her eyes, and took a deep breath.

After a long while, Liu Yiyi finally looked up at him and softly said, "You should go back now."

Wang Mengde nodded, turned around, and walked out of the Loft No. 31.

The next four years.

Wang Mengde spent five hours every day frantically cultivating the Thunder Tempering Body Formula, rapidly accumulating the fiery energy within his spiritual power.

About a month later, he quietly sailed out to sea on his sword to catch Demon Fish in areas with abundant spiritual energy.

His terrifying Spirit Eye Technique ensured that he reaped extremely rich rewards each time.

Each voyage yields at least three thousand Spirit Stone worth of fish.

On one occasion, the largest catch was over 18,000 Spirit Stones.

Such a terrifying find, if told, would scare people to death.

It should be noted that many Foundation Establishment cultivators do not have such a terrifying income.

Wang Mengde started cultivating himself, and at the same time exchanged Cultivation Resources for Liu Yiyi and Shen Qingyue, so as to quickly accumulate the Yin-Nature Power within their spiritual energy.

They practice dual cultivation once every fifty days.

The remaining time was spent cultivating the Luan-Phoenix Harmony Formula Talisman, and practicing Law Technique.

Life is busy yet fulfilling.