A Whiff of Blood

Seriously, system, you... really are completely useless!

Xie Xiyi was not surprised by his words. He did not even take them to heart.

He had watched the whole thing. The surge of power at the instant Chi Yu came back to life... shared the same source as the Forbidden Curse.

Xie Xiyi casually reached toward Chi Yu. Mist once again formed a glove around his hand. He lifted Chi Yu's face, then slid his hand down and carefully squeezed his shoulders and arms.

After dying once, even his bone age had decreased.

This was clearly the power of the Forbidden Curse. Interesting. Someone besides him was using it.

Xie Xiyi grew a little interested.

Chi Yu shuddered under his touch. Even with Xie Xiyi wearing gloves, every place he touched felt a bone-deep chill.

Just like Xie Xiyi himself, it felt sinister and cold.

After checking his bone age, Xie Xiyi bent down and helped Chi Yu up. His voice remained pleasant and melodious, though a hint of false warmth crept into his tone. "I appreciate your honesty. You may stay."

He paused, still smiling. "As a sword slave."

Chi Yu seized the opportunity. "That works. I'm not picky."

Seeing him immediately drop his tearful expression and even flash a relaxed smile, Xie Xiyi's laughter briefly faltered.

Chi Yu waited a while, but Xie Xiyi never asked what his system was. Seeing him about to leave, Chi Yu hurriedly stopped him. "Boss, could you let Ling Hezhou go? He's my friend."

Xie Xiyi laughed. "He's my prey."

His voice was gentle, but beneath that spring-breeze warmth lay indifference and murderous intent as bone-chilling as a snow-covered mountain.

Though he had allowed Chi Yu to stay, that did not mean Chi Yu could cross his boundaries.

Chi Yu fell silent.

Then he asked, "Boss, what are you planning to do with him?"

Xie Xiyi said flatly, "You're only a sword slave."

After a pause, he said, "Open your mouth."

Chi Yu hesitated, then quickly opened his mouth.

Xie Xiyi did not so much as move a finger. At his thought, the black runic chain once again wound out along his pale wrist, crawled onto Chi Yu's foot, and climbed up his leg onto his body.

The black chain felt sinister and cold. Even through his clothes, its touch was freezing. It climbed farther, reaching his upper body and coiling around him like a constricting snake, loop after loop. Finally, it crawled up his neck, and one end slipped into Chi Yu's mouth.

His taste buds registered an intensely bitter taste. Then it felt as though he were holding an ice cube in his mouth. The temperature throughout his mouth dropped, making his teeth chatter.

The chain brushed over his teeth and palate before finally choosing the warm base of his tongue to plant a curse mark.

Because his mouth was so warm, the chain formed from the Forbidden Curse actually lingered inside for a while, trying to burrow down Chi Yu's throat.

At that moment, Xie Xiyi moved his fingers. The chain paused, then slowly withdrew from Chi Yu's mouth and returned to Xie Xiyi.

Chi Yu licked his teeth and asked Xie Xiyi, "What was that? Your weapon? Why was it trying to crawl into my mouth?"

Xie Xiyi did not answer him.

Chi Yu felt no embarrassment at all and continued, "Will you kill me again? I meant what I said earlier. I want to follow you. I'll have much better prospects with you. So why was your weapon trying to crawl into my mouth just now?"

Xie Xiyi turned and left.

Chi Yu hurried after him, then felt a chill all over and realized his robes had been slashed open, leaving his chest and waist exposed.

He hurriedly put his clothes back on properly. In that brief moment, Xie Xiyi was already a hundred meters away.

Chi Yu rushed to catch up and asked again, "What about Phantom Lightning? Aren't I a sword slave? A sword slave is supposed to attend to a sword, right? Boss, give me Phantom Lightning. I'll carry it for you."

"Boss? Why aren't you answering me?"

Chi Yu soon became mute.

Chi Yu: "..."

Fine.

Although he had failed to rescue Ling Hezhou and had gotten himself caught up in this too, Chi Yu felt quite good.

No matter what, he had made it to Xie Xiyi's side.

His position was a little low, but that was no big deal. A soldier who did not aspire to become a general was no good soldier.

However low his position, it was still better than being someone Xie Xiyi had defeated.

Because those Xie Xiyi defeated not only had their bones ground down and their ashes scattered, but also had their nascent soul spirits extracted and tortured by him.

Chi Yu watched with his own eyes as Xie Xiyi refined a Nascent Soul cultivator's nascent soul spirit into a soul artifact and stored it inside the Ten Thousand Souls Banner.

He could not help drawing a sharp breath. After all, Xie Xiyi was only in the Golden Core Realm at this point!

Sorry, organization. I've really switched sides.jpg

From now on, I'm Xie Xiyi's dog.jpg

Author's note:

Early on, Chi Yu: I'm the villain's dog.jpg

In the middle, Chi Yu: I'm the villain's fated nemesis who dropped out of nowhere.jpg

Later on, Chi Yu: Can I not be the wife QAQ

Chapter 6: A Whiff of Blood

Chi Yu had been waiting for Xie Xiyi to ask about his system, but an entire day passed without Xie Xiyi asking at all.

It left Chi Yu with the lonely feeling of having unleashed all his ultimate moves, only for his opponent not to lose a single drop of blood, as though an ant had merely tickled him.

He was supposedly a sword slave, yet he had not even seen the sword. Xie Xiyi paid him no attention at all.

Xie Xiyi had also casually tossed the lamp onto the low table, seemingly unconcerned that Chi Yu might take it.

Damn it, was this the confidence of someone in the Golden Core Realm?

Chi Yu's stomach began rumbling. Only then did he remember that he had forgotten both breakfast and lunch, so he found an open spot outside the cave and set up a pot to cook.

He was quite a good cook. After all, he had done plenty of work at home. He handled every kind of housework deftly, all thanks to practice.

After eating, Chi Yu sat down and cultivated for a while. He felt that his cultivation speed was much faster than before. After examining it for a while, he discovered that becoming younger did have some advantages. His qi apertures, which had nearly closed, now had wider gaps, allowing spiritual energy to flow through faster.

Chi Yu remembered something else. He found a tree and measured his height against it. He had shrunk again and was now only around 1.67 meters tall. That was indeed his height in his second year of middle school.

Chi Yu thought, I really can't die again. If I keep dying, I'll gradually turn into a child, then a baby, and eventually a fertilized egg. Then I'll be as dead as dead can be.

After cultivating, he looked around the cave. Xie Xiyi had set up a formation outside, and he could not leave. He could only move around near the cave.

But he was lucky enough to find a very smooth, straight wooden stick.

When he saw Xie Xiyi return, Chi Yu walked up to him with the stick, waved it a few times in front of him, and looked at him expectantly.

He said nothing because Xie Xiyi had still sealed his voice. He could open his mouth and seemingly speak, but it was as though his voice was swallowed up. He could not make a sound.

Xie Xiyi had been walking past him without looking his way, but Chi Yu circled in front of him again and offered him the wooden stick as though presenting a treasure.

"..." Xie Xiyi spoke. "What is this?"

Chi Yu quickly discovered he could speak again. "...A wooden stick. It's a wooden stick!"

Xie Xiyi: "Is it special?"

Chi Yu: "Yes! Didn't you notice? It's really smooth, and especially straight!"

Xie Xiyi: "And?"

Chi Yu asked, "Don't you feel anything at all? That primal urge built into a man's DNA? Seriously, are you even a man?"

The moment he finished speaking, the straight wooden stick in his hand snapped into two pieces with a crack.

Chi Yu let out a miserable scream. "Ah!!!"

Xie Xiyi walked past him into the cave.

Only after he had left did Chi Yu mutter something under his breath.

Already inside the cave, Xie Xiyi heard him and replied flatly, "Keep making noise, and I'll make you eat it."

Chi Yu: "..."

How had he forgotten that cultivators all had astonishing hearing?

Chi Yu said nothing more.

Chi Yu entered the cave-Xie Xiyi had not said he could not.

So he watched from a short distance away as Xie Xiyi held a spirit stone, doing who knew what.

He made no sound, but drew closer and closer to Xie Xiyi, inching over to his side like a cat before anyone noticed.

Xie Xiyi paid him no attention. Weakness was the original sin. Even beside him, Chi Yu's presence was as faint as an ant's, making him difficult to notice.

That was the difference between cultivators and mortals. Mortals cared about the physical forms within their sight, while cultivators cared only about strength.

For that reason, when Chi Yu brazenly reached for the top-grade spirit stones scattered across the low table, Xie Xiyi did not stop him. Or rather, he had not noticed him at all.

The moment Chi Yu touched a top-grade spirit stone, he felt the vast spiritual energy it contained. He could already recognize this quality. It was the top tier of spirit stones. Even Ling Hezhou, a second-generation immortal, had only twenty or thirty in his Sumeru Ring.

In the world of Divine Path, the exchange rate for spirit stones was roughly one top-grade spirit stone = 1,000 middle-grade spirit stones = 1,000,000 low-grade spirit stones.

They were converted at a ratio of one thousand to one.

Even one low-grade spirit stone had considerable purchasing power, roughly equivalent to ten yuan. Ling Hezhou really did have substantial resources, carrying over two hundred million yuan with him while traveling to gain experience. He truly was a top-tier rich heir.

There were also thirty or forty top-grade spirit stones scattered across Xie Xiyi's low table, with a few even lying on the ground. He seemed not to treasure them much or particularly care.

Was Xie Xiyi this rich?

Chi Yu remembered that Xie Xiyi had not looted Ling Hezhou and the others when he killed them. He probably really was very rich.

As Chi Yu was thinking, the spirit stone in his hand suddenly changed. Startled, he nervously glanced at Xie Xiyi. Xie Xiyi was not paying attention to him, so he hurriedly tiptoed back to the edge of the cave.

He looked down at the spirit stone in his hand. Its vast spiritual energy was quickly drained dry, and it turned into a heap of jade-white powder.