The noble and gracious eldest senior brother

But Chi Yu felt no spiritual energy enter his body at all. After a moment of bewilderment, he suddenly remembered something and opened the system panel. A new line had appeared on it-[Backtracking] Description: Follow upstream in pursuit; the way is long and fraught with obstacles.

Backtracking was listed alongside Rejuvenation, but its lettering was gray, indicating that it could not be used.

Chi Yu's heart raced. He took a Top-Grade Spirit Stone from Ling Hezhou's Sumeru Ring, but nothing happened.

His eyes darted, and he sidled back over to Xie Xiyi, reaching out to take another Top-Grade Spirit Stone.

He waited a while, but the spirit stone showed no response.

Refusing to believe it, Chi Yu tried another spirit stone. A faint vibration came from his hand, and he immediately slipped off to one side. The stone soon turned into a pile of powder, while another line appeared on the system panel-[Seizure] Description: One man's poison is my honey.

It was still gray and unusable.

Shit! I've scored freebies off the villain!

Even if I can't use them, they're clearly cheats, just like Rejuvenation!

Could I have a Long Aotian's script? With the villain as my EXP pack or something?

Chi Yu wandered over to take another Top-Grade Spirit Stone, but the moment he reached out, Xie Xiyi caught his wrist.

Chi Yu: "..."

With an obedient, innocent expression, he said, "I'm helping you check the quality of these spirit stones. No need to thank me. Easing the boss's burdens is my duty."

"Take them out," Xie Xiyi said flatly.

Chi Yu paused, then took several Top-Grade Spirit Stones out of his Sumeru Ring and placed them on the low table.

With a hint of incredulity, Xie Xiyi tightened his grip on his wrist.

Chi Yu smiled at him.

Xie Xiyi released him and let the matter of Chi Yu stealing his things drop.

Once infused with forbidden curses, those spirit stones were no longer stones that supplied spiritual energy for cultivation. They were vessels that sealed and preserved forbidden curses, dangerous weapons whose improper use could have unimaginable consequences.

Recalling the scene of his resurrection, Xie Xiyi even pushed the Top-Grade Spirit Stones on the table toward Chi Yu with interest. A cheerful, relaxed smile entered his voice. "Since you like them, you can have them all."

Chi Yu's eyes lit up at Xie Xiyi's words. "Really? All of them?"

Xie Xiyi said, "All of them. How you use them is up to you."

Without the slightest suspicion, Chi Yu deftly seized the opening. "Thank you! You're so generous, boss. Since you're being so good to me, why not throw Ling Hezhou in as a freebie?"

"..." Xie Xiyi's laughter faltered again. After a moment of silence, he laughed once more and asked softly, "You've only known each other a few days. Why?"

Chi Yu said, "I promised to take him home. When someone entrusts you with something, you see it through. Besides, he taught me to cultivate. Even a day's teaching is a debt I'll never forget."

"You certainly value kindness," Xie Xiyi said inscrutably.

Chi Yu gazed at him imploringly. "Can you? Please? Just throw him in as a freebie."

Xie Xiyi did not relent. "Don't you like these spirit stones? Try using them."

As he spoke, he placed the spirit stone he had just finished inscribing in Chi Yu's hand. He was all smiles, with a pleasure and oppressiveness lurking in the shadows. "Use this one."

Chi Yu: "0.0"

Belatedly, Chi Yu sensed something amiss. Was there something wrong with the spirit stones that had passed through Xie Xiyi's hands?

But nothing happened to me, did it? I even gained another cheat that hasn't lit up yet.

At that thought, he boldly accepted the spirit stone.

Disappointingly, however, this stone did not vibrate. It was a spirit stone he could not absorb.

A wisp split off from the black mist surrounding Xie Xiyi and settled on the spirit stone in Chi Yu's hand, activating its curse seal.

The curse seal quickly sank into Chi Yu's palm. Xie Xiyi said cheerfully, "I named it Bone Melting. It melts cultivators' bones, though its grade is very low, so it only works on cultivators below the Nascent Soul stage. After their bones melt, they remain alive and can continue cultivating. They still retain a human shape, but they're soft and boneless, able to squeeze into tiny holes. Better still, it's a disease. One curse seal can melt the bones of every cultivator in a city. Then, exposed to the blazing sun, they lose all their moisture and become sheets of dried-out human skin."

The more he spoke, the more delighted he became, until even the laughter spilling from his throat took on a crackling rasp. "Since you like them, try all of these."

Chi Yu: "..."

Scum! Beast! Unspeakably cruel! Utterly inhuman!

Chi Yu burst into tears on the spot and hugged Xie Xiyi's knees. "Boss, please put away your mighty powers! I don't want to become an octopus! I'll kowtow to you!"

Despite saying he would kowtow, he actually wiped his tears and snot on Xie Xiyi's knees. Once he finished, he sneezed. "You reek of blood. Boss, you've been marinated in it. You've set off my rhinitis."

Xie Xiyi's laughter stopped.

Chapter 7: The noble and gracious eldest senior brother

Chi Yu's little stunt made Xie Xiyi's tone even gentler and warmer. Smiling, he told Chi Yu, "I'll watch you use up all these curse seals. I'm very curious about the actual effects of some of them."

Chi Yu: "..."

Chi Yu smoothly dropped to his knees and asked sincerely, "I don't think I like them that much anymore. Can I not use them?"

"No," Xie Xiyi said with a soft laugh.

Chi Yu argued his case. "I'm a sword slave, if I remember correctly? Why am I getting the prisoner treatment now? That's not very good, is it? Have you asked Phantom Lightning?"

He would have been better off not mentioning Phantom Lightning. The moment he did, Xie Xiyi murmured to himself, "It does like you very much. Pulling out your spine and refining it into a sword to keep it company sounds rather nice, too."

Chi Yu: "..."

He fell silent.

The villain really is a villain. So vicious.

But Xie Xiyi soon rejected the idea, speaking in the tone of someone waiting for a piglet to grow big enough to slaughter for the New Year. "Your cultivation is too low. To refine you into a spirit sword, you would at least need to reach the Nascent Soul stage before your body would be worth refining into a spirit treasure."

Chi Yu: "..."

That was a frightening amount of information.

He had read all of Divine Path, and it had never mentioned Xie Xiyi knowing any curse seals. The novel's worldbuilding had not even said that cultivators' bodies could be refined into magical artifacts or spirit treasures.

When he saw Phantom Lightning earlier, its shape had indeed resembled a human spine, but he had not dared think along those lines. He had assumed it belonged to a humanlike Yaoshou, such as a merperson.

Using humans as materials was taboo in any work, at any time. Most novels on the market would never touch on the subject, and Divine Path certainly would not.

Yet those few remarks from Xie Xiyi made it plain that he could refine cultivators' body parts into magical artifacts and spirit treasures. That was utterly terrifying.

Chi Yu considered himself quite brave, but even he felt his scalp prickle at Xie Xiyi's few brief remarks.

Without letting it show, he followed up, "Was Phantom Lightning refined from a Nascent Soul cultivator's spine?"

The red eyes on Xie Xiyi's mask were not facing him, yet Chi Yu kept having the illusion that Xie Xiyi was watching him. "Phantom Lightning is a spirit sword refined from a Golden Core cultivator's spine. Although the material's cultivation was not high, it can grow."

His interest piqued by the subject, he continued with a touch of pleasure in his voice, "Unfortunately, spirit treasures and magical artifacts refined using cultivators as materials cannot give birth to artifact spirits. Still, this little bit of innate spirituality is sufficient."

Goosebumps rose on Chi Yu's skin. "Innate spirituality? You mean that Golden Core cultivator's consciousness?"

Xie Xiyi said, "Why would you think that? Every blade of grass and every tree in this world possesses spirituality. Humans are the spiritual leaders of all living things, and having cultivated their true selves, their flesh, blood, bones, and marrow are naturally rich in spirituality. It has nothing whatsoever to do with the cultivator's personality or thoughts."

Chi Yu said, "Oh."

A smile entered Xie Xiyi's voice. "It's starting to work."

Chi Yu: "?"

He looked down and saw the hand that had held that Top-Grade Spirit Stone begin to soften, drooping like a leather glove.

Chi Yu: "..."

His heart pounded, and his throat tightened.

Black mist enveloped Xie Xiyi's pale, slender hands. He reached out, took Chi Yu's soft hand, and gently kneaded it. After a moment's contemplation, he murmured to himself, "A quarter of an hour to take effect. Too slow. It needs improvement."

In this respect, Xie Xiyi was like a scholar, possessed of a deeply focused rigor.

Soon, all of Chi Yu's bones had melted away, leaving only flesh and blood swelling beneath his fair skin. Unable to stand, he was held in Xie Xiyi's arms instead. Xie Xiyi smiled. "You're like a ripe peach now."

Chi Yu's nose was filled with the bloody smell coming from Xie Xiyi. He really had been marinated in it. Any simple cleaning spell could clean a body thoroughly, yet they seemed useless on him. The stench of slaughter and blood guilt on him could be smelled from hundreds of meters away, let alone this close.

Since begging for mercy was no use, Chi Yu went with the flow, commenting quite naturally, "But it doesn't hurt at all. It even tickles a little."

Xie Xiyi replied, "I added a pain-relieving incantation. Pain can make some cultivators more alert or send them into a frenzy. Relieving it lowers their guard."

Chi Yu asked studiously, "Can I really cultivate in this state? I can't even sit in the lotus position, can I?"

Xie Xiyi looked down at Chi Yu in his arms. There was no fear on his face, and his eyes were as clear and limpid as a lake.

Xie Xiyi said, "I can arrange your posture for you."

Chi Yu said, "That works too."

Xie Xiyi took out a meditation cushion and secured his body with talisman rings so he could sit in meditation.

Xie Xiyi said offhandedly, "Your qi apertures haven't opened yet. In this state, you have no qi apertures. Your cultivation can advance a thousand miles a day."

Chi Yu jolted and exclaimed delightedly, "!!! It can do that too! Wow, boss, you're so good to me! Thanks, boss! Love you!"

I really must have a Long Aotian's script! Even the villain has fallen at the feet of my school uniform trousers and come to give me gear!

Watching the broad smile on Chi Yu's face, which did not seem feigned, Xie Xiyi could not help chuckling.