Three People Eating Melon

The unceasing tribulation lightning struck Ji Liangyi into grievous injury. By the time it ended, he was charred black from head to toe, no longer looking human.

"Damn it!"

"You're finished, brat, you're finished! Dare to give us your name?"

"Do you know who we are?! We're the Ji Household of Netherworld City!"

The green-robed cultivators wanted to step forward and seize Ji Liangyi back, but Chu Zeming abruptly gripped their young master's vital point. "He's still breathing. Don't come over—if you do, he won't be."

The green-robed cultivators froze in terror and shouted, "Don't, don't lay a hand on our young master!"

Chu Zeming ignored them and swiftly departed with the heavily injured, unconscious Ji Liangyi.

The Ji Household cultivators wanted to give chase at once, yet feared that Chu Zeming would truly turn vicious against their young master—after all, those damned Rogue Cultivators were capable of anything. Thus, they could only follow from afar, watching as the black-robed young man flung their noble young master away like hazardous waste. The Ji Household cultivators' eyes went red, and they rushed forward to retrieve the human-shaped lump of charcoal.

"Young Master! How are you?"

"Second Brother, should we pursue them?"

"Pursue my ass! Can't you see Young Master is about to stop breathing? Return to the Ji Household and treat his injuries first!"

"Then should we go after them?"

"You? Can you beat them?! Didn't you see how badly Young Master was screwed over?"

That black-robed cultivator was crafty beyond measure. Who knew what vile, underhanded trick he might come up with next? Casting a resentful glance at Chu Zeming's departing figure, the older green-robed cultivator held Ji Liangyi and led the others away.

Chu Zeming fled at top speed, sweeping his divine sense behind him from time to time. Seeing that the green-robed cultivators had not pursued him, he finally breathed a sigh of relief. Even so, he did not slow his flight. Only after nearly half an hour, once he had confirmed that the surroundings were safe, did he ease his pace and choose a more secluded spot to meditate and regulate his breathing.

Having just broken through to the Nascent Soul Middle Stage before enduring a fierce battle, Chu Zeming felt somewhat drained.

Once his breath had steadied slightly, Chu Zeming opened his eyes. With a thought, he released the three people from the Immortal Residence.

The moment Xuan Mo and Ling Tian emerged, they assumed attack stances. Golden words flickered across the Wordless Heavenly Book in their hands, while the great hammer whistled through the air with tiger-like force—clearly, they had long prepared themselves in the Immortal Residence for a savage battle the instant they came out.

Yet after vigilantly staring around for quite some time, there was not the slightest movement. No green-robed cultivators, no magical artifacts flying wildly through the air, no one attacking them... Only a gentle breeze passed by, rustling the leaves.

The two of them were immediately stunned.

This was... their Eldest Senior Brother had escaped with them all by himself?!

Escaped from a group of Nascent Soul Realm cultivators, including one at Nascent Soul Peak?!

Chu Zeming glanced at the dumbfounded pair, then reached out and pushed away Yue Lian, who was edging closer under the excuse of checking whether he was injured. "The two of you deserve more than half the credit for our escape. I used the Immortal Residence to draw tribulation lightning onto them."

Xuan Mo: "..."

No wonder.

As everyone knew, no matter how powerful a defensive artifact was, the one thing it could not withstand was tribulation lightning. When he opened his eyes, he had been somewhat surprised that neither he nor Ling Tian had triggered a tribulation lightning... So their senior brother had used someone else's body to block it for them.

Two layers of tribulation clouds... How badly must that golden-haired man have been struck? Xuan Mo imagined Ji Liangyi's miserable state and could not help shuddering all over.

Just thinking about it was terrifying!

Xuan Mo and Ling Tian exchanged a glance. Without speaking, they saw the exact same words in each other's eyes—too ingenious, too clever, and also... too wicked!

Kicking away Yue Lian, who had begun pushing his luck and tugging at his clothes, Chu Zeming walked up to Xuan Mo. Standing with his hands behind his back, he asked solemnly, "Xuan Mo, do you know what kind of household the Ji Household of Netherworld City is? They were the ones fighting us over the Phantom Fruit before."

The greater world had automatically filled in the background, but the pirated novel had only mentioned the ten great cultivation sects. As for the Ji Household of Netherworld City or whatever chicken household and duck household, Chu Zeming had never heard of them, nor were they in the original owner's memories.

Hearing Chu Zeming's question, Xuan Mo frowned and hesitated. "I know Netherworld City, but the Ji Household... Eldest Senior Brother, Xuan Mo has never heard of them either."

Chu Zeming turned his gaze to Ling Tian. Ling Tian's ears reddened slightly as he turned his head away. "Don't look at me. If Xuan Mo doesn't know, I don't know either."

Chu Zeming could not help falling silent.

These people were clearly young juniors. The person they called Young Master should have been around his age, yet his cultivation was so high... He was obviously not from some minor sect, minor school, or minor lineage. But why had none of them heard of him?

Just as the matter reached a strange deadlock, an unexpected voice rang out.

"I've heard of it."

Chu Zeming looked in surprise at Yue Lian, who stood to one side in white robes bearing a faint shoe print from Chu Zeming's kick, his face grave.

"Tell me."

"Netherworld City chicken rack—numbingly spicy and fragrant, with crisp cartilage clinging to the bones, firm and flavorful... Not only have I heard of it, I've eaten it." As he spoke, two crystal-clear tears rolled down from the corners of Yue Lian's mouth.

Chu Zeming pressed at his brow and murmured, "...Wipe your drool."

Yue Lian: "...Oh."

Ling Tian shot Yue Lian a sidelong glance and folded his arms with a cold sneer. "The most important thing for a cultivator is diligent cultivation. Since you have already abstained from food, you must not indulge in the desires of the mouth and stomach. Yet you—you've got both!"

Yue Lian raised his eyes and stared darkly at Ling Tian. "A thousand gold can't buy my willingness. What business is it of yours?"

As he spoke, he pulled a melon from his robes and began eating it.

Chu Zeming paid no attention to the two bickering. He was pondering this so-called Ji Household when the sudden, intensely sweet fragrance of melon drifted beneath his nose. Chu Zeming turned to look at Yue Lian...

Chu Zeming said, "Give me a piece."

Yue Lian pulled out a little knife and cut him a heart-shaped slice. "The sweetest part is for you."

Xuan Mo said, "I want a piece too."

Ling Tian: "..."

In the end, Chu Zeming, Xuan Mo, and Yue Lian sat in a row eating melon. Yue Lian even fanned the flames. "Eldest Senior Brother, chase him away. He won't even eat melon. He's not one of us."

Ling Tian stood alone at the side, clutching his hammer, his face flushed scarlet with rage.

That wretched maid.

The Northern Wasteland Secret Realm remained open for a long time, finally closing after half a month.

After leaving the secret realm, Chu Zeming had gained quite a harvest.

Taking Xuan Mo and the others to a concealed, safe place, Chu Zeming began dividing the spoils. He kept several magical treasures suited to Xuan Mo and Ling Tian, allowing them to forge their own natal artifacts, while he planned to sell most of the rest in exchange for spirit stones.

The nearest city to the Northern Wasteland Secret Realm was called Western Liang City, the most prosperous place within ten thousand li of the Northern Wasteland.

Western Liang City had an auction house called the Flying Desert Auction House. It was one of the cultivation world's renowned auction houses, where peerless treasures often came into the world. As a result, countless cultivators carrying immense fortunes passed through its doors, and the place was a mixed bag of fish and dragons, rife with thieves.

The bustling marketplace was surrounded by towering murals and buildings. This was an ancient city of the northern region, brimming with a distinctive charm.

Chu Zeming stood in the city, about to find a cultivator to ask for the Flying Desert Auction House's location, when a burst of commotion suddenly rose ahead.

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to bump into you."

"At such a young age, what else could you do but steal? Hand over my jade pendant, or I'll break your legs."

"No, I didn't..."

"You still dare quibble? Hand it over!"

Chu Zeming hesitated briefly, then walked over. He was tall, so he easily saw what was happening at the center of the crowd—a gold-bedecked, potbellied middle-aged cultivator was tightly gripping a ragged, skin-and-bones child.

The child was a lowest-tier cultivator who had only just entered the Foundation Establishment Realm. His face was filthy, making his features impossible to discern, but his eyes were large and bright. At that moment, he struggled fearfully with all his might, but how could he possibly contend with a Jindan Stage cultivator? The more he struggled, the tighter the middle-aged cultivator's grip became.

"I didn't take it. I really only bumped into you. Please let me go home—my little sister is waiting for me! I'm begging you!"

"If you didn't steal it, then what are you hiding so desperately in your clothes? Take it out and let me see whether it's my jade pendant."

"No, it isn't your jade pendant. I'm begging you, it's medicine I bought for my little sister... I'm begging you. Don't... don't take it out. The spiritual energy will disperse! It can't be exposed to light, it can't see the light!"

The middle-aged cultivator ignored the child's pleas. He pried open the hands the ragged child had been using to protect something and pulled out the item hidden against his chest—a dusty black cloth bundle.

"Stolen goods naturally can't see the light!" the middle-aged cultivator sneered, then directly opened the black cloth bundle.

"I'm begging you! I'm begging you! This is medicine I bought for my little sister! She's dying, this is her life!" The child cried out helplessly, but he still could not stop the middle-aged cultivator's movements.

The instant the black cloth bundle was opened, dense spiritual energy spilled forth. A pristine, translucent Ice Epiphyllum of superior quality suddenly appeared before everyone. Seemingly touched by the light, its spiritual energy dispersed at a rate visible to the naked eye. Within a few breaths, the entire Ice Epiphyllum instantly withered, yellowed, and lost all life.

The people gathered around to watch the show were instantly stunned... He truly was not a thief.

The middle-aged cultivator looked at the yellowed Ice Epiphyllum in his hand and was struck speechless.

The frail child's eyes had already gone red. He glared furiously at the cultivator and viciously bit down on the hand clutching him.

"Hiss!! You little bastard, you dare bite me?!" The middle-aged cultivator fiercely slapped the child, seized his throat, and demanded, "Speak! Who did you steal this thing from? Dressed in such rags, where would you get the money to buy something like this?"

The child nearly suffocated. He stared at the middle-aged cultivator like a little wolf and said, word by word, "Give me back my sister's life... Give me back my sister's life..."