Chapter 27

In truth, Su Jiu was struggling badly against the Ya Beast. The instant they began fighting, she sensed that it seemed to be wounded already.

Would a group of first- and second-level Qi Refining cultivators dare provoke a Ya Beast, let alone injure it? Su Jiu did not believe it. She suddenly recalled the three late Qi Refining stage seniors Xia Meng had mentioned at the market, but those seniors did not seem to be among their group.

Thinking back to their desperate flight, she could easily guess what had happened.

Although the Ya Beast was wounded, she still fell at a disadvantage with her current cultivation. Su Jiu had intended to hold it off until those first- and second-level cultivators got far enough away, then retreat herself. After all, the Ya Beast was slower than a Windfang Rabbit. If she ran alone, she had an eight- or nine-in-ten chance of escaping.

But when she glanced back, she nearly lost her focus and took a blow to the back. That Ya Beast had struck at her, while those first- and second-level Qi Refining cultivators had not run at all. They were still standing there watching the show.

Su Jiu ground her teeth, but her good upbringing kept her from swearing aloud.

While keeping the Ya Beast occupied, she shouted furiously, "Run!" Did they really think she could beat it? They truly were a bunch of sheltered cultivators who had yet to suffer a harsh beating from the cultivation world.

Mu Zihan had wanted to leave long ago, but seeing that none of the other Qi Refining cultivators had left, she felt awkward going alone. While she was agonizing over how to tell them they should leave first, Su Jiu spoke up.

"Su Jiu is only at the mid Qi Refining stage. She probably can't kill it. We should return to the sect and report this first. Otherwise, once her spiritual energy runs out, we'll all die here." Mu Zihan was the first to leave.

The others did not think too much of it, assuming that Su Jiu had told them to leave so they could fetch reinforcements.

Sensing them leave one after another, Su Jiu let out a small breath of relief. Just as she prepared to retreat, a stream of water suddenly wound around her. The Ya Beast had summoned it.

Su Jiu silently considered this. The Ya Beast actually possessed an innate spell.

Normally, first-tier Demon Beasts had only just transformed from ordinary wild beasts, much like mortals who had successfully undergone qi induction. Demon Beasts lacked humans' ability to learn, but they generally possessed innate spells of their own. Those spells, however, would only awaken once they cultivated to the second tier.

Those that awakened theirs at the first tier were few and far between, and could be considered geniuses among Demon Beasts.

Bound in place, Su Jiu could not move and took a full-force strike from the Ya Beast. She felt the wooden hairpin tucked against her chest break beyond repair. Fortunately, the Ya Beast had only recently awakened its innate spell. After she took that blow, the water binding her reached its limit as well.

Su Jiu swiftly leaped away to put distance between herself and the Ya Beast, then swallowed a Hemostatic Pill and a Returning Spirit Pill.

Another stream of water came at her, but this time Su Jiu was ready. Using Lightfoot Step, she darted aside and flung out two talismans with a flick of her hand.

The first was a wood element Binding Talisman, and the second was a lightning-element Thunderbolt Talisman. The Binding Talisman swiftly sent numerous roots and stems sprouting from underground, binding the Ya Beast tightly. Then the Thunderbolt Talisman exploded directly against its body. Already wounded, the Ya Beast was blasted half to death and collapsed unconscious on the ground, barely clinging to life.

Su Jiu stepped forward and added two Ice Spikes, making sure it was thoroughly dead.

She had not originally intended to risk her life fighting the Ya Beast, but it had actually smashed her most expensive hairpin. Su Jiu felt she would suffer a terrible loss if she did not take some compensation from it, so she might as well kill it outright.

Su Jiu's Storage Bag could not fit the enormous Ya Beast, so she could only drag it toward the market. Before she could leave the forest, however, a group of people hurried toward her.

Leading them was a Foundation Establishment Inner Gate Disciple, followed by the seven Outer Gate disciples Su Jiu had rescued earlier.

This Foundation Establishment disciple was none other than Fang Hao, who had gone to Peace City to test the spiritual roots of the four aristocratic clans.

Only when Fang Hao drew closer did he see a little girl of seven or eight, covered in blood and grime, slowly dragging an enormous Ya Beast along.

Fang Hao could not help being stunned. Were little girls at the mid Qi Refining stage this terrifying nowadays?

When he got closer still, he realized that the girl was the one with the ice spiritual root whom he had recruited.

Fang Hao looked at the Ya Beast behind Su Jiu with an indescribable expression. "You killed it yourself?"

Su Jiu thought for a moment and answered honestly, "It was already wounded before I started fighting it. The injuries weren't fatal, but they made things much easier for me."

"Did you do that?" Fang Hao turned toward the group of first- and second-level Qi Refining disciples.

All seven shook their heads.

Mu Zihan was the first to answer. "Three late Qi Refining stage seniors threw a talisman at the Ya Beast."

Fang Hao frowned, as though he had figured something out. "Where are those Late Qi Refining Stage cultivators?"

Mu Zihan secretly curled the corners of her lips. This was exactly the question she had been waiting for, though she still put on a somewhat troubled expression. After all, she did not want to let those three off, but neither did she want them to discover she had reported them and come looking for trouble afterward.

Xia Meng spoke without any such reservations. "They ran off! They threw a talisman at the Ya Beast, and it started chasing us. They took the opportunity to enter its cave and seemed to pick something, then left."

"It only chased you?"

Su Bo was about to speak when Su Jiu caught his arm. Seeing her shake her head gently, he said nothing.

But the boy Su Jiu had rescued spoke up. "Yes, I'm absolutely certain. It only chased the seven of us. The Ya Beast completely ignored those three."

Fang Hao himself had risen from the Outer Gate to the Inner Gate, so naturally, he knew about the sordid dealings in the Outer Gate.

"Did you accept anything from them?"

The Qi Refining disciples exchanged looks, seemingly unable to understand why Fang Hao was asking, but Mu Zihan and Su Bo appeared to realize something.

"They gave each of us a Hemostatic Pill, a Returning Spirit Pill, and ten spirit stones."

"Could you show me?" Fang Hao's expression was grim.

The disciples all took out the pills and spirit stones those three had given them. Only Mu Zihan took out spirit stones alone.

Everyone else looked at Mu Zihan. Somewhat uncomfortable, she explained, "I had enough pills, so I didn't take the ones they offered."

After a moment's thought, Su Jiu understood why Mu Zihan had done that. She had probably taken Su Jiu's warning at the market to heart.

Fang Hao smiled, also guessing that Mu Zihan had grown wary of those three and suspected they had tampered with the pills. But her caution had been directed at the wrong thing.

"The problem is with the spirit stones."

The disciples all looked down at their spirit stones.

"The spirit stones were coated with a powder made from silver bell grass. That Spirit Herb is generally used specifically to attract Demon Beasts."

Their expressions instantly turned ugly. Xia Meng said indignantly, "They wanted to get us killed!"

"When they invited us on the mission, I actually wondered how the Azure Tide Sect could have such kind seniors. It turns out everything was a trap."

"Actually, when they left after picking whatever herb it was, I already felt that we'd probably been used. But I never imagined those so-called seniors could be deranged enough to want us dead. We're fellow disciples, after all. If we hadn't met this little girl, wouldn't all of us have died here today?"

"Just take it as a lesson. In the cultivation world, pies don't fall from the sky. My father really was right."

Fang Hao shook his head. Every new intake brought such naive people into the sect, and a few of them would always be taken in. They were fortunate to have encountered Su Jiu and been rescued this time.

"What they picked was probably the stargrass guarded by the Ya Beast. It's a main ingredient used to refine Foundation Establishment Pills," Fang Hao explained.

Xia Meng gritted her teeth. "So they really did use us."

The others' expressions darkened as well.

Fang Hao continued asking, "Do you know those three people's names?"

"I think they were called Chen Da, Chen Er, and Chen San."

Fang Hao's mouth twitched. He could tell at once that those were false names. Then again, they had intended to trap people from the start. Why would they give anyone their real names?

He took seven Communication Talismans from his Storage Bag and handed them to the seven disciples. "There are over a hundred thousand disciples in the Outer Gate. If they deliberately avoid you, you'll have almost no chance of finding them. Since you don't know their real names, I can't issue a wanted notice either. All we can do is wait for you to run into them yourselves, then notify me."

Then his gaze shifted back to Su Jiu. "The sect buys Ya Beasts. We can give you a thousand spirit stones."

Su Jiu nodded. She had only hoped to recover her losses, not receive an unexpected windfall.

She pushed the Ya Beast forward. "There's no room in my Storage Bag."

Fang Hao's mouth twitched, as though he understood what Su Jiu wanted. With a wave of his hand, he put the Ya Beast into his Storage Bag, then handed Su Jiu a bag of spirit stones.

Looking at the thousand spirit stones now in her possession, Su Jiu's lips curved slightly. Then she noticed the other seven Outer Gate disciples watching her. Mistaking their looks for a desire to share in the spirit stones, she pursed her lips, counted out seventy, and offered them over.

Mu Zihan remained where she stood, while the others repeatedly waved their hands.

"If it weren't for you, probably none of us would have survived. Besides, we didn't contribute anything to killing the Demon Beast. How could we accept these?" Although the cultivator Su Jiu had rescued coveted the spirit stones somewhat, his mind was clear enough to know they did not belong to him.

The others expressed much the same sentiment.

Satisfied, Su Jiu put the spirit stones away and inwardly nodded. Although the Azure Tide Sect had a few rotten apples, its teaching was generally quite good.

Fang Hao watched the children's exchange, unsure whether to laugh or cry, then glanced at the sky. It was getting late.

On the way back, Xia Meng sidled up to Su Jiu and asked, "Su Jiu, how did you kill that Ya Beast?"

Su Jiu did not hide anything. "I used a wood element Binding Talisman and a Thunderbolt Talisman."

Seeing that Su Jiu did not mind discussing it, Fang Hao asked as well, "First-tier ones?"

Su Jiu nodded. What she did not mention was that before using the Thunderbolt Talisman, she had already punctured the Ya Beast with quite a few wounds herself.

Fang Hao was somewhat puzzled. Were Thunderbolt Talismans really that powerful?

No one noticed that a teenage boy and a young man were riding flying swords in the sky above them, looking down.

The boy carried a Flowing Light Sword on his back, while the young man wore a distinctive wine gourd at his waist.

The young man chuckled. "Looks like there was no need for us to intervene at all."