At dusk, in the mountain forest.
The carriages and horses moved forward. The middle-aged martial artist riding at the very front could not help yawning. He loosened his reins and stretched lazily, then laughed loudly. "Brothers, we'll reach the capital soon. Keep your spirits up and make sure we finish before Apricot Flower House closes. Tonight, we'll sleep drunk upon beauties' knees."
Upon hearing this, the escort masters behind him all cheered. As they traveled, they began discussing the leading courtesans of Apricot Flower House.
The outline of the capital could already be glimpsed faintly at the end of the forest ahead.
Ooo—ooo—ooo—
A cry that sounded both human and beast rose up, startling everyone into looking around.
"What was that sound?"
"Was someone crying?"
"No, that didn't sound human. I heard there are jackals and wolves in these nearby mountains. Everyone, be careful."
"Jackals and wolves? Hahaha! If they dare come close, we'll have Apricot Flower House's cooks make us an extra dish tonight."
The escort masters did not care, but the middle-aged martial artist frowned deeply. He was a First-Rate Expert who had traveled north and south for thirty years, rich in experience. That sound was neither human nor jackal.
It was very dangerous!
The middle-aged martial artist slowly drew his saber. His movements made the other escort masters turn serious as well. They drew their weapons one after another, preparing for battle.
The convoy continued onward, but its pace had slowed. They feared enemies might burst from the woods on either side.
After traveling roughly a hundred meters, the sky gradually darkened.
The road ahead had already become somewhat dim when a disheveled woman in white suddenly ran out from the forest to the left. Her hair hung loose, and the moment she reached the official road, she stumbled to the ground, revealing her fair legs. They stood out sharply in the darkness, making many escort masters stare wide-eyed.
The woman in white raised her head, revealing a delicate, pretty face. Her face was full of terror as she cried, "Gentlemen, please come help this little woman! There are snakes in the forest, and they frightened me. My chest feels so stifled, so blocked..."
At once, an escort master urged his horse forward and laughed. "Miss, don't panic. Your big brother will help you up."
The middle-aged martial artist suddenly raised his saber and blocked the escort master's path, frightening him into hurriedly reining in his horse.
The escort master turned his head and asked, "Boss, what is it?"
His gaze was resentful. Was the boss trying to keep her all to himself?
"There's something wrong with her. She's dangerous," the middle-aged martial artist said coldly.
The woman in white said plaintively, "What is dangerous about this little woman, sir? Hurry and help me up. I'm in so much pain."
The escort masters did not let desire cloud their minds. They chose to trust the middle-aged martial artist.
Seeing this, the woman in white's expression changed. Her face swiftly transformed into something between a wolf and a fox, horrifying everyone and making their faces change drastically. Before they could react, the woman in white suddenly charged at them.
The middle-aged martial artist leaped into the air and slashed down. Saber light flashed through the forest.
Bang!
The woman in white dodged his saber, then struck his chest with her palm, shattering his breastbone and sending him flying backward while coughing blood.
A First-Rate Expert had been defeated in a single move!
The sight made the other escort masters' livers and gallbladders split with terror. It was their first time seeing their boss lose so quickly.
They dismounted one after another and stood shoulder to shoulder in front of the convoy, watching nervously as the woman in white landed. She turned her head, revealing a wolf's head and a sinister, cunning smile that made their scalps crawl.
"You are rather sharp, but all of you still have to die."
The woman in white sneered and charged toward the escort masters again.
Whoosh—
A sharp sound tore through the air as a wooden sword shot out from the forest at tremendous speed. The woman in white instinctively dodged, but her cheek was still sliced open.
"Wretched beast, do not harm people!"
A cold shout rang out. A figure was using lightness skill to leap rapidly from tree to tree as he rushed over.
He landed before the escort masters and raised a hand. The wooden sword miraculously flew into his grasp.
He wore a tattered gray robe and carried three sword sheaths on his back. His face was clean, quite at odds with his clothing. With the wooden sword in hand, he did not utter another word before charging at the woman in white again.
The woman in white transformed into a cloud of black qi, while her white clothes fell to the ground. The black qi condensed into a wolf's head and lunged howling at the gray-robed man.
The two sides fell into fierce battle. The gray-robed man's wooden sword could clearly injure the black wind wolf head, preventing it from getting past him.
"Leave at once!"
The gray-robed man shouted gravely. The escort masters abruptly came to their senses. They immediately turned around, gathered the convoy, helped the middle-aged martial artist up, and hurried down another road.
"It's you again, Lu Chengfeng. How long are you going to chase me?"
The black wind wolf head spoke in a woman's voice, its tone filled with venom.
As Lu Chengfeng fought, he said, "Vanquishing demons and exterminating evil is the creed of my sect. You wretched beast have come all the way from the Western Regions and killed who knows how many innocent people. I have finally caught up to you today, and I will certainly destroy you!"
"Hmph. What vanquishing demons and exterminating evil? Someone merely offered your Celestial Master Sect a bounty for my demon core!"
The black wind wolf head sneered, then dispersed and transformed into black mist that wrapped around Lu Chengfeng.
Lu Chengfeng swung his sword without pause. Sword Qi crisscrossed through the air, severing trees in every direction, yet he could not disperse the black mist.
"After absorbing the yang qi of so many mortals along the way, Lu Chengfeng, how can you possibly contend with me?"
The black wind wolf head laughed wildly, its killing intent filling the mountain forest.
Night had completely fallen.
Lu Chengfeng continued fighting. As his True Qi drained away, he sensed that things were going badly. He wanted to flee, but there was nowhere to flee. The black mist seemed endless, blotting out his senses.
Rip!
His left waist was suddenly sliced open, blood spraying out. The blood made the black mist churn even more violently.
A terrifying killing intent locked onto Lu Chengfeng. He inwardly cursed his bad luck and was just about to use his ultimate technique when his chest suffered a heavy blow. His body flew out of control and crashed into a hillside, stale blood spurting uncontrollably from his throat.
"I never thought that I, Lu Chengfeng, would die at the hands of a wild mountain beast..."
Lu Chengfeng gritted his teeth and supported himself on the wooden sword as he struggled to rise.
"Isn't this the fate of Celestial Master Sect martial artists? Better than dying by the hands of martial artists from your own human race!"
The black wind wolf head's voice rang out again, full of mockery.
The black mist suddenly condensed into a wolf's head before him. It opened its bloody maw, intending to swallow him whole in one bite.
My life is over!
Lu Chengfeng's eyes widened, his heart filled with regret and unwillingness.
A piercing sound tore through the air. The black wind wolf head before him exploded directly, sucked away by a streak of golden light that swiftly vanished into the darkness.
Lu Chengfeng stood frozen in place.
"What was that just now?"
Lu Chengfeng could not understand it. He had not sensed any other presence, yet he had seen it clearly.
He hurriedly sat down to circulate his cultivation, his gaze nervously sweeping the surroundings, afraid this was some demon's trick.
At Dragon Arising Temple, Jiang Changsheng lay reclining against the trunk atop a branch of the Earth Spirit Tree, admiring the beautiful moonlight.
The corners of his lips lifted slightly as he saw golden light appear within the bright moon. The light grew larger and larger, flying toward him at astonishing speed. He raised a hand and caught it between two fingers.
It was a golden leaf, but the veins of the leaf resembled the arrangement of dragon scales. It was the magical treasure, Golden Scale Jade Leaf.
Jiang Changsheng flipped down and returned to his room.
He sat on his bed and released the demon creature within the Golden Scale Jade Leaf. A gray wolf appeared on the floor. The moment it saw Jiang Changsheng, it instinctively tried to flee, but as soon as it turned around, the Golden Scale Jade Leaf hovered before it, frightening it into stillness.
The gray wolf turned back and sprawled on the ground, covering its head with its paws. It spoke in a trembling human voice. "Senior, spare my life... Senior, spare my life... I won't dare do it again..."
It was actually a woman's voice, and a rather pleasant one at that.
Jiang Changsheng was amused by its appearance. A wolf acting so much like a human was truly comical.
He asked, "Why did you come to the capital? Don't tell me you were merely passing through."
The gray wolf answered, "I followed the flow of Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy here. I sensed that there must be some wondrous treasure of heaven and earth here."
Jiang Changsheng raised his brow. So the Earth Spirit Tree had drawn it here.
That was normal. The Earth Spirit Tree produced ever more spiritual energy, and as it grew, it also absorbed Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy. Unlike martial artists, who practiced internal arts to temper their bodies, demon beasts cultivated by absorbing Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy.
"Introduce yourself," Jiang Changsheng said.
The gray wolf cautiously exposed one eye and stared tensely at Jiang Changsheng. "My name is Bai Qi. I am a wolf demon who has cultivated for a hundred years, and I came from the Eastern Forest Dynasty. A human expert wanted my demon core and offered the Celestial Master Sect a bounty to hunt me down. I fled all the way here..."
The Celestial Master Sect?
The Eastern Forest Dynasty?
Jiang Changsheng knew nothing about either, so he asked about them one by one. Bai Qi answered truthfully.
The Eastern Forest Dynasty was extremely far away, separated from the Jing Dynasty by four dynasties. The Celestial Master Sect was an ancient sect dedicated to eliminating demons.
"Does the Eastern Forest Dynasty or the Celestial Master Sect have any Golden Body Realm experts?" Jiang Changsheng asked.
Bai Qi's eyelids twitched. "Senior, you must be joking. The Golden Body Realm is merely legend. The expert who issued the warrant for me could cover the sky with one hand in the Eastern Forest Dynasty, yet he was only a God Heart Realm cultivator."
The moment Jiang Changsheng heard that, he felt greatly relieved.
Good!
He had truly feared that other dynasties had Golden Body Realm experts as common as dogs and God Heart Realm cultivators walking everywhere. On second thought, that was impossible. If they were truly that powerful, the Great Vehicle Dragon Tower would have long since been swallowed up.
"Do you know the Great Vehicle Dragon Tower?" Jiang Changsheng asked.
Bai Qi raised her head. "I do! A mighty imperial sect that commands the lands of four dynasties. So Senior is from the Great Vehicle Dragon Tower. No wonder you are so formidable..."
She had just started to move closer when the Golden Scale Jade Leaf appeared before her eyes, frightening her rigid.
Jiang Changsheng felt even more at ease after hearing this.
The more powerful the Great Vehicle Dragon Tower seemed, the more reassured he felt.
Jiang Changsheng sized Bai Qi up. She was a genuine God Heart Realm cultivator. Her demon core had to be worth a great deal, otherwise a God Heart Realm cultivator would not have sent people to hunt her across ten thousand li.
Bai Qi begged, "Senior, please spare my life... I will never absorb human yang qi again..."
Jiang Changsheng had not killed her immediately, giving her a sliver of hope.
Jiang Changsheng asked curiously, "How do you absorb human yang qi?"
Bai Qi replied, "I just open my mouth and suck it in. How else would I do it?"
She seemed to think of something and said coyly, "Senior, do not think improper thoughts. My true form is only a wolf. How could I engage in such indecent acts? I only need to knock someone unconscious, then open my mouth over the top of their head to absorb their yang qi."
Jiang Changsheng felt somewhat embarrassed, but his expression remained unchanged.
He raised a hand and planted a Life and Death Seal in Bai Qi. "Since you have come, guard this place for ten years. After ten years, I will set you free. Consider it your atonement. Here, you may not harm people, nor may you use demon qi to take human form. Do you understand?"
Bai Qi was terrified. She did not understand what the Life and Death Seal was, but the other party's True Qi was exceedingly terrifying. She had never encountered such powerful True Qi. Even the God Heart Realm cultivator from the Eastern Forest Dynasty was not this strong.
"Thank you for your mercy, Senior..."
Bai Qi said softly. Jiang Changsheng withdrew the Golden Scale Jade Leaf, then sat down to cultivate.
Seeing this, Bai Qi walked over to the side of the bed and lay down, calming her emotions.
In the fifth year of Zhenyu, the demon beast Bai Qi attempted to enter the capital. You successfully subdued her, survived a killing calamity, and received a survival reward—miscellaneous art: 'Heavenly Object Pill Compendium.'
With his eyes closed, Jiang Changsheng saw this notification. It was actually a pill compendium. He secretly rejoiced. Though he was proficient in alchemy, without a pill compendium, he could only fumble about on his own, and eight or nine attempts out of ten ended in failure.
With Bai Qi nearby, he could not immediately inherit the pill compendium. There was no hurry anyway.
Early the next morning.
Jiang Changsheng brought Bai Qi into the courtyard. When Wang Chen saw Bai Qi, he was greatly astonished and asked, "Daoist Priest, where did this wolf come from? It's so handsome!"
Under the morning sunlight, Bai Qi's grayish-white fur gleamed with luster, making her look exceptionally majestic.
Hearing Wang Chen's praise, Bai Qi proudly raised her head. Yet the next moment, her gaze was drawn to White Dragon.
A snake demon!
No wonder I was allowed to live. This Daoist actually likes raising demons.
I must be more careful from now on. I hope he does not have any strange fetishes.
Bai Qi thought to herself. Her gaze then fell upon the Earth Spirit Tree, and her eyes became dazed.
Jiang Changsheng smiled. "I went out for a stroll last night and picked her up along the way. She will stay here from now on to guard the courtyard and keep White Dragon company."
Wang Chen did not think much of it and continued sweeping the ground.
At that moment, Ling Xiao ran into the courtyard and said urgently, "Master, another Grandmaster has come to challenge you!"
A new week has arrived. Send in your recommendation tickets and Moon Tickets, please! Begging for tickets! Let's keep charging up the rankings! Once we reach two hundred thousand characters, we'll leave the new book rankings. This is our final week on the list, so everyone, please vote more~~
By the way, I recommend a book called "God Simulator." It's a fairly innovative sci-fi game novel, blending reality and games. I found it quite exciting, so interested readers can check it out~~
Before you continue