Reality was cruel.
The mysterious Bronze Cauldron had not reappeared, nor had Zhao Changfeng's talent been enhanced again.
Using another Four-Eared Sand Fox that Ruan Meizhen had hunted down, he continued replenishing his depleted sea of spiritual qi, stockpiling the power needed for his next Realm Breakthrough attempt.
That afternoon, Zhao Changfeng carried the Four-Eared Sand Fox in one hand as he accompanied Senior Sister Ruan toward Demon Mountain.
Ruan Meizhen had come out precisely to find an opportunity to attempt a breakthrough. Zhao Changfeng was the Calamity Bearer she had prepared for herself, and everything she did was meant to help him achieve a Realm Breakthrough as quickly as possible.
Watching Zhao Changfeng drag his feet filled her with frustration and disgust, yet she had no choice but to look after him attentively.
I'll put up with you for another couple of days!
Whenever Zhao Changfeng stopped along the way to refine the Four-Eared Sand Fox, claiming his unstable state of mind left him unable to suppress the backlash, Ruan Meizhen secretly ground her teeth in hatred.
But she could do nothing about it. If she truly lost control and killed Zhao Changfeng, all her painstaking efforts would go down the drain.
"Hm?"
Two corpses without the Crippled Demon Sect's red robes lay motionless on a mound of sand, catching Ruan Meizhen's attention first.
Zhao Changfeng followed her and narrowed his eyes as he approached to inspect them.
The unidentified rogue cultivators lay faceup, clearly long dead.
Yet their eyes were wide open, their faces covered in terror, as though they had experienced something unimaginably horrifying before their deaths.
"The blood is still inside their bodies. It hasn't been refined with the Essence-Devouring Demon Art, and the Corpse Qi on them is still strong."
"Judging by this, it doesn't look like our people did it. Stranger still... their spirit stones and materials are still here."
As Ruan Meizhen crouched to examine them, her ample hips looked particularly full and rounded, inviting endless fantasies and making Zhao Changfeng feel even hotter inside amid the scorching desert.
Senior Sister Ruan certainly had a figure to speak of. The parts most attractive to men were especially outstanding, and aside from her missing arm, there was hardly a major flaw to be found.
At times, Zhao Changfeng felt that before transmigrating, he must have seen-and even enjoyed-quite a few beauties. Yet this venomous senior sister could still stir a keen interest in him.
"Something's wrong..."
As though she had suddenly remembered something, a wary gleam flickered in Ruan Meizhen's long, lovely eyes, and she snapped, "Go!"
Zhao Changfeng noticed her panic and abruptly grew tense himself, hurrying after her to avoid being left alone in danger.
A quarter of an hour later, they encountered a group of a dozen or so fellow disciples.
"Senior Sister Ruan, something's happened!"
The ape-shaped Chen Haoming had evidently become the leader of this group.
He waved his long arms to beckon them over, his sharp-mouthed, monkey-cheeked face solemn. "Demon Spirits really have come through the world membrane. They're roaming the Sola Desert, and quite a few of our fellow disciples have already been killed."
The others quickly chimed in, all talking at once.
Ruan Meizhen had reached the great perfection of the Yuanqi Stage and stood just one step away from the Primordial Spirit Realm. Her cultivation exceeded everyone else's present, and she was responsible for handling many matters concerning the Named Disciples.
The moment she appeared, she replaced Chen Haoming as their new leader, giving everyone someone to rely on.
Everyone kept calling her "Senior Sister Ruan." Nobody spared Zhao Changfeng another glance, much less cared about his thoughts or attitude. It was as though they had simply ignored his existence.
Zhao Changfeng took no offense. He guessed these senior brothers and sisters of the Crippled Demon Sect knew why Ruan Meizhen was keeping him with her.
A Calamity Bearer.
Zhao Changfeng listened quietly. Through his fellow disciples' frightened accounts, he soon understood the danger they now faced.
Demon Spirits from the Biluo Realm had appeared in the desert, attacking and killing living creatures everywhere. Rogue cultivators and demonic cultivators of the Crippled Demon Sect alike were their targets.
Demon Spirits had no bodies of flesh and blood and fed on the souls of living beings. Once they occupied a target's body, they could control it and move around in that target's guise.
After possessing a target, a Demon Spirit could also make the body ambush the target's companions, but it could not speak.
Cultivators below the Primordial Spirit Realm had yet to successfully open their sea of divine sense, and their souls had not transformed into primordial spirits. They could not see Demon Spirits with the naked eye at all.
Even the lowest-ranked Demon Spirit could silently slip into a target's mind. Once the target's will collapsed, their soul would be devoured.
"What are you standing around for? What do the Demon Spirits have to do with you? Go do what you're supposed to!"
Seeing Zhao Changfeng listening just as intently as everyone else, Ruan Meizhen grew increasingly irritable and scolded him harshly.
Normally, she would not have shown such emotion and would have put on a pleasant face. But the threat of the Demon Spirits weighed even on her, making her all the more eager to achieve a Realm Breakthrough quickly and improve her chances of survival.
"Oh, all right."
Zhao Changfeng was not angry in the slightest. Smiling brightly, he moved away from the others and sat alone elsewhere, using his Demonic Cultivation Art to refine the Four-Eared Sand Fox.
His sea of spiritual qi was nearly full again, giving him hope of making a second breakthrough attempt. Naturally, he worked even harder.
The Demon Spirits' appearance had also filled him with a powerful sense of danger. With no telling when the Bronze Cauldron would reappear, he knew that simply waiting was no sound strategy.
Perhaps once I enter the Yuanqi Stage, the cauldron's gift will still help me expand my sea of spiritual qi.
Zhao Changfeng thought to himself.
With so many fellow disciples gathered here, Ruan Meizhen could not use him to bear her disaster in front of them all. He felt this was a heaven-sent opportunity for a Realm Breakthrough.
Yet he soon noticed something amiss.
As Chen Haoming, Zhang Mu, and the unfamiliar senior brothers and sisters reported their findings to Ruan Meizhen, they all looked at him with ill intent, as though regarding a dead man.
"Fuck!"
Zhao Changfeng cursed. He instantly understood what his fellow disciples were thinking, and his heart slowly sank.
These people knew how terrifying the Demon Spirits were. Ruan Meizhen had the highest cultivation among them; if she could achieve a Realm Breakthrough and enter the Primordial Spirit Realm soon, she would be able to see the Demon Spirits and track their movements.
If they could see the Demon Spirits' true forms, they could guard against them and act in advance, greatly increasing everyone's chances of survival.
And he was the key to helping Ruan Meizhen achieve a Realm Breakthrough.
That being the case, all his fellow disciples naturally hoped he would achieve a Realm Breakthrough sooner, allowing Ruan Meizhen to enter the Primordial Spirit Realm as quickly as possible and lead them safely back to Demon Mountain.
He believed that when the moment arrived, these fellow disciples would all move away in tacit understanding, leaving him for Ruan Meizhen to thoroughly "enjoy."
They might even silently stand guard for Ruan Meizhen. Even if something unexpected happened and he managed to escape, his senior brothers and sisters would capture him alive and toss him back to her.
At that thought, Zhao Changfeng cursed furiously to himself, but there was nothing he could do.
"From now on, everyone spread out and keep your distance, so the person beside you can't ambush and kill you."
"Also, everyone must say something every quarter of an hour! We have to be prepared for Demon Spirits to invade our companions at any moment. Stay alert!"
Ruan Meizhen issued her orders, and everyone responded in a chorus of agreement, obediently moving apart.
"You're Junior Brother Zhao, right?"
"I have a Four-Eared Sand Fox here too. I've only refined half its beast blood. You seem to be in a hurry, so you can have it first."
Chi Jingchen approached and tossed the Four-Eared Sand Fox he had killed in front of Zhao Changfeng, looking every inch the charitable soul.
He also practiced the Essence-Devouring Demon Art and was at the middle Yuanqi Stage. From afar, he had noticed that the Four-Eared Sand Fox in Zhao Changfeng's hands was almost drained of beast blood, so he had "kindly" offered him a helping hand.
Zhao Changfeng opened his eyes and forced a strained smile. "Thank you!"
"What's there to thank me for? We're fellow disciples. No need to talk like that!"
Chi Jingchen grinned brightly and said earnestly, "If mine isn't enough, I'll help you ask the others for more. I guarantee you'll have enough power for a Realm Breakthrough as soon as possible!"
"I have a Dryland Sand Lizard here. I can contribute it too!"
"I have a first-tier Sand Worm. I'm willing to give it to Junior Brother Zhao for his Realm Breakthrough!"
"I have..."
Upon hearing this, the other "friendly" disciples farther away also generously voiced their support, indicating that Zhao Changfeng should go all out-they would be his staunch backing.
This made the already strained smile on Zhao Changfeng's face turn even uglier.
"Senior Sister Ruan, how confident are you?"
Chen Haoming and Zhang Mu quietly approached a spot near Ruan Meizhen. Chen Haoming lowered his voice and asked, "Have you prepared the venoms you need to advance? If you're short of anything, just say so. We'll try to pool what we have for you."
Ruan Meizhen was not the only one practicing the Ten Thousand Poisons Art. Other disciples also kept reserves of different venoms. He was so concerned because he understood how important her breakthrough was.
"Confident? Not even thirty percent."
Ruan Meizhen's lovely face was like a peony in full bloom, making the ill-intentioned Chen Haoming drool with desire. She tugged at the corner of her mouth in self-mockery and said coldly, "You should know the odds of breaking through a major realm."
Chen Haoming nodded deeply. "Of course I do."
As far as he knew, Ruan Meizhen had already failed at least seven breakthrough attempts. Over the past few years, as many as five junior brothers and sisters had become her Calamity Bearers. If breaking through a major realm were truly easy, why would she have dragged it out until now?
"Don't pin all your hopes on me. Even with insurance beside me, it only improves my chances of survival. Never mind successfully breaking through-I can't even say whether I'll survive in the end."
Ruan Meizhen bitterly revealed the truth.
If Zhao Changfeng successfully entered the Yuanqi Stage, she would merely gain an extra layer of protection, giving her the courage to take the risk and try again.
She had no confidence that she could achieve a Realm Breakthrough smoothly, nor did she have any confidence that she would survive.
Chen Haoming's heart sank. Pressure bore down on him like a mountain. He nodded without another word, already making other plans in secret.
The fourth night quietly descended.
The Crippled Demon Sect's Named Disciples found this cold night agonizing. Every quarter of an hour, everyone hurried to speak, while also keeping a wary eye on those nearby for signs of possession by Demon Spirits.
Sitting scattered around the area, they practiced their Demonic Cultivation Arts in different ways, yet still remembered to glance frequently at Zhao Changfeng.
The Four-Eared Sand Fox Zhao Changfeng had brought had become a dried corpse. After refining the one Chi Jingchen had "kindly" offered for a while, he suddenly stopped.
The instant he ceased cultivating, meaningful gazes converged on him from every direction.
Clearly, everyone had been watching him in silence.
Fuck you and all your families!
Zhao Changfeng swore inwardly.
He knew these people had already driven him up Mount Liang, leaving him no way out. With his sea of spiritual qi full, if he did not hurry and attempt a breakthrough, this pack of jackals would probably skin him alive.
Everyone was waiting for him to achieve a Realm Breakthrough, hoping he would succeed on his first attempt and then become the Calamity Bearer for Ruan Meizhen's breakthrough.