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Ling Hezhou swept his divine sense over Chi Yu and said somewhat hesitantly, "Why do I feel like you've gotten a lot smaller?"

Chi Yu couldn't help drawing in a sharp breath. "You only ever say things I don't want to hear."

Ling Hezhou: "?"

Since Chi Yu didn't want to explain, Ling Hezhou kept that question to himself and said no more.

After cleaning the cave, Chi Yu continued cultivating under Ling Hezhou's guidance and learned a few minor spells along the way, such as the Dust-Cleansing Art. He no longer needed to find water to wash his pots.

By evening, Xie Xiyi still hadn't returned.

Ling Hezhou urged, "Shall we run?"

Chi Yu asked in return, "Do you think I can outrun him? He's a Golden Core cultivator. I'm only at the Qi Refining Stage."

Ling Hezhou fell silent, then said after a while, "There should be a flying artifact in my junior brother's Sumeru Ring, shaped like a pair of boots. Once you put them on, you can travel a thousand li a day. They don't consume much spiritual energy, and you can use them at the third level of Qi Refining."

Chi Yu refused without a second thought. "No, I can't run. Even if we do run, we need a plan, a goal, and a direction. If we try to escape without the ability to pull it off, we'll both die horribly once we're caught."

Ling Hezhou began sighing. "You're right. I was being rash. You know what? He even captured Senior Brother Qingming. Senior Brother Qingming won last year's Immortal Alliance Grand Tournament, and he's a swordsmanship prodigy who can challenge opponents two levels above him. That fiend captured him too."

Chi Yu said, "...Wait, that name sounds familiar. His full name wouldn't happen to be Xu Qingming, would it? The head disciple of the Nameless Sword Sect?"

Ling Hezhou was startled. "How did you know?"

It was no wonder Ling Hezhou was surprised. In his eyes, Chi Yu was merely a mortal who had only just begun cultivating. Of the nine continents, the Eastern Mirror Continent had the most mortals and was also a somewhat remote backwater. However renowned Xu Qingming might be, the likelihood of a mortal knowing his name was still exceedingly small.

"Oh," Chi Yu said, thinking, This guy was one of the protagonist group's major powerhouses.

He was a close brother of the overpowered protagonist, with whom he had shared life-and-death experiences.

Even Xu Qingming had been captured by Xie Xiyi?

That was quite a piece of news.

Chi Yu cursed the system furiously in his mind. Sure, you gave me the script, but it looks like you dropped me into a wildly rewritten fanfic, huh? (x)

A barrage of unbroadcastable beeps filled Chi Yu's mind, but he wore an easy smile as he asked Ling Hezhou, "What's Xu Qingming's cultivation level?"

Ling Hezhou said, "Nascent Soul. Senior Brother Qingming has already reached Nascent Soul. He's a genius. He reached Nascent Soul when he was only a little over a hundred. I bet he'll ascend before he's three hundred."

Chi Yu threw cold water on that. "No need to guess. He's about to die."

Ling Hezhou: "..."

Surprisingly, he didn't argue. Although Senior Brother Qingming had tried to salvage his dignity by saying the fiend had only caught him because he was severely injured, he was a Nascent Soul cultivator!! Even a severely injured Nascent Soul cultivator's realm advantage over the Golden Core Realm was indisputable! Not to mention that he was a sword cultivator!!!

Ling Hezhou had enough tact not to expose Senior Brother Qingming's strained attempts to salvage his dignity.

The two sat facing each other in gloom for a while.

Chi Yu was the first to pull himself together. He took out his pots, bowls, ladles, basins, and ingredients and began cooking.

No matter what circumstances he found himself in, Chi Yu never neglected his stomach. He made every meal as perfect as possible, with color, aroma, and flavor all accounted for. Even vegetables he disliked were eaten clean to ensure proper nutrition. He worked very hard to take good care of himself.

Even though Ling Hezhou didn't understand Chi Yu, he couldn't help marveling at him like this. That was the healthy appetite of someone who didn't take anything to heart.

Broad-minded, Ling Hezhou thought.

After dinner, night deepened, and Xie Xiyi still hadn't returned.

Xie Xiyi hadn't taken the lamp. It remained where it had been.

Ling Hezhou couldn't resist urging him again. "Shall we let Senior Brother Qingming out? He'll definitely be able to think of something."

Chi Yu said, "No. What if we let him out just like that and he possesses me?"

Ling Hezhou trusted Xu Qingming completely. "I can't speak for anyone else, but Senior Brother Qingming would never do that."

Chi Yu also knew Xu Qingming wouldn't. He was quite an upright character in the original novel, though his personality was somewhat frivolous.

But Chi Yu no longer dared trust the original novel.

Xie Xiyi had been completely rewritten into a lunatic-although he had been pretty crazy in the original too, the original Xie Xiyi had kept his madness very restrained. He hadn't been anywhere near as deranged and unhinged as he was now.

Although Chi Yu sympathized with Xu Qingming for getting caught by Xie Xiyi, sympathy was one thing. He wouldn't risk himself again.

If he kept dying, he'd really become a fertilized egg.

He also had to save a few chances in case Xie Xiyi went mad at him again.

Since Chi Yu refused, Ling Hezhou didn't insist.

He knew it had already been extremely difficult for Chi Yu to come rescue him, and he might have suffered a great deal. Asking him to risk releasing Xu Qingming really would be asking too much.

He put the thought aside and continued guiding Chi Yu's cultivation.

A week passed like that, and Xie Xiyi still hadn't returned.

Ling Hezhou didn't mention leaving again, but Chi Yu couldn't stay put any longer. He picked up the lamp, tossed it into the Sumeru Ring, then looked around and swept two supreme-grade spirit stones out from beneath the low table.

These were clearly two stones Xie Xiyi had left behind. Chi Yu didn't know what the curse marks inside them did, so he carefully wrapped them in cloth and put them into the Sumeru Ring.

Ling Hezhou asked him, "Are you going to run?"

Chi Yu denied it. "This isn't running away. This is looking for someone."

He opened the map and checked Xie Xiyi's coordinates. They had remained in the same place for several days.

And that place was more than halfway across the Eastern Mirror Continent.

He was only a frail Qi Refining cultivator, and he didn't know where Xie Xiyi was. His supplies were nearly gone. He couldn't just keep waiting in the same spot, could he?

So this time, he had a perfectly legitimate reason to leave.

He would nominally be meeting up with Xie Xiyi while actually escaping. That made it perfectly fine.

I'm out of here!

Chi Yu's cultivation had improved enough for him to use a small selection of flying artifacts. With spirit stones to supplement them, traveling wasn't so difficult anymore.

A few days later, he stopped in a large cultivator city and replenished his supplies of spirit beast meat, spirit rice, and various fruits and vegetables.

He also booked a room, planning to rest for a day before continuing his journey.

After putting his things away, he went downstairs to eat and heard several cultivators chatting.

"...Fairy Yu Liuxin of Jiyue Tower was beautiful as a flower, with skin like ice and bones like jade, as graceful as rosy clouds and the moon. Her cultivation had also reached the pinnacle of perfection. Even the young sect master of the Heart-Seeking Sect couldn't see through her illusions. For such an exceptional prodigy to meet defeat at that fiend's hands, her life lamp shattered, her body dead and her cultivation extinguished-what a tragic shame."

"Just where did that fiend come from? He massacres cities on a whim. Slaughtering Changping wasn't enough; he even slaughtered Du'en. I heard the whole city of Du'en was full of dried human skins. It was practically hell on earth."

"I've heard a few rumors. Apparently, the immortal sects of Wangxian Continent put out a warrant for that fiend, with a particularly substantial bounty. Quite a few cultivators targeted him for that bounty, only to find themselves completely outmatched, one after another. So the fiend simply massacred cities as a show of force."

"If they can't eliminate him, they shouldn't go running up to fuel his viciousness. Now look what's happened. We're the ones suffering while trying to make a living."

"You know, I heard that fiend only kills people with high cultivation. The mortals and Qi Refining cultivators in Changping and Du'en all survived intact."

"Then I'm out of luck. I've reached Foundation Establishment. If I run into him, I'm dead. My business in Du'en... sigh, it's finished."

Chi Yu's heart pounded as he listened. No matter how he heard it, it sounded like they were talking about Xie Xiyi.

Good heavens, I haven't seen him for a few days, and he's already started massacring cities?

System, isn't it going too far to make me win him over and then kill him?!

Chi Yu couldn't help joining their conversation. "Excuse me, weren't there any powerful cultivators stationed in the two cities this fiend massacred?"

The chatting cultivators paused at the sound of Chi Yu's voice and turned to see a young boy. He looked delicate and bright, making people feel fond of him at first glance.

So although his interruption was a little abrupt, the cultivators were happy to answer him. "Of course there were. A Nascent Soul cultivator was stationed in Changping. Du'en was a bit larger and had two Nascent Soul cultivators stationed there, all cultivators whose age and experience made them quite dependable. But that fiend shattered all their bodies and captured their nascent souls.

"I heard that fiend is only in the Golden Core Realm. It's hard to imagine. I've heard plenty of stories about Golden Core sword cultivators fighting Nascent Soul powerhouses, but the ratio of those who defeat Nascent Soul cultivators to those who die is two to eight. Challenging someone above your level is ultimately still the stuff of legends, yet this fiend..."

Another cultivator sighed. "Who knows what cultivation method that fiend practices? Apparently, he doesn't have a trace of demonic energy, or any of a ghost cultivator's nether yin energy, or even a cultivator's innate spiritual energy. It's bizarre."

Chi Yu asked, "He's only in the Golden Core Realm. If one Nascent Soul cultivator can't beat him, why not gather several Nascent Soul powerhouses to gang up on him? Surely they could beat him to death?"

The cultivators exchanged looks before finally saying, "Nascent Soul powerhouses have their pride too. Several Nascent Soul cultivators joining forces against one Golden Core cultivator-wouldn't that make them a laughingstock?"

Exasperated by their failure to see sense, Chi Yu said, "Wouldn't losing be even more embarrassing? How is ganging up on someone embarrassing? Winning is what matters most. As long as you win, who cares what methods you used? Those Nascent Soul powerhouses care far too much about saving face."

Watching Chi Yu hold forth among a group of Foundation Establishment cultivators, Ling Hezhou broke into a cold sweat again. More frighteningly, even after Chi Yu said something so childish, none of them seemed offended. They smiled and told him, "You can't put it that way. Besides seeking long life and attaining the Great Dao, we also cultivate for prestige. With prestige, you have everything... You're still young. You'll understand when you're older."

Chi Yu said, "Since this fiend is so dangerous, why not gather the immortal sects' prodigies and kill him? Overwhelming him with numbers should work. If he's allowed to carry on, I'm afraid he'll destroy the Nine Provinces."

The cultivators were somewhat puzzled. This little cultivator was certainly enthusiastic. Puzzled though they were, they still answered him. "Several immortal sects from Wangxian Continent have already sent quite a few people to support Du'en. I heard they were completely wiped out. Even the fairy from Jiyue Tower lost her life there. She was famous for her heavenly beauty, yet that fiend didn't show her the slightest mercy."