The Literary Saint Courtyard was desolate and gloomy, overgrown with weeds. Even in broad daylight, it sent chills down the spine. Among the weeds, rats, snakes, insects, and ants tainted by the power of curses were faintly visible.
The air that entered his nose carried the smell of damp and decay.
Only the area around the courtyard gate was a little better, though he did not know why. The rats, snakes, insects, and ants seemed to be afraid of it.
That was also why Su Xiuyi had chosen to refine the pill here: it was probably the safest place in the Literary Saint Courtyard. Others might laugh at him for not daring to take a step into the Literary Saint Courtyard, but Su Xiuyi did not care about saving face. With the Sign-In System, he was bound to avoid meeting the same fate as those people. After swallowing the Heaven-Mending Pill, Su Xiuyi immediately began cultivating. This land of death was terrifying, but fear would change nothing. Strength was king.
His cultivation had been crippled, and his Divine Runes destroyed. This Heaven-Mending Pill was the key to protecting himself in this land of death.
The Heaven-Mending Pill melted in his mouth and turned into a warm current that instantly flowed through his limbs and bones, beginning to repair his body.
"How ruthless. If not for a heaven-defying treasure like the Heaven-Mending Pill, I would have been certain to die."
As the repairs continued, Su Xiuyi realized just how vicious the person who had attacked him had been. They had not held back in the slightest.
After a full six hours, the repairs were finally complete. Su Xiuyi felt that his physical body was far stronger than before.
But it was already dark. The Literary Saint Courtyard was dark and terrifying, and the sounds coming from its depths sent chills down Su Xiuyi's spine. Though his body had been restored, he was still a mere mortal.
"This place really is strange."
"There's still plenty of the pill's power left in my body. I have to use it to open some acupoints and reach the Thousand Jun Realm if I'm going to stay alive. My Divine Runes have been destroyed, but some lingering traces of them remain in my body. I can still put those scraps to use. They'll dissipate if too much time passes, and this strange place is dangerous."
Even though Su Xiuyi had been a genius and had developed an extraordinarily formidable state of mind, he still felt uneasy. This was an inauspicious place where many powerful beings had died. Even the lofty Literary Saint had fallen here.
Su Xiuyi hurriedly gathered his thoughts and used the Heaven-Mending Pill's remaining medicinal power to open his acupoints. By the time he had exhausted it all, he had opened a full thirteen acupoints. According to this world's divisions of the martial path, Su Xiuyi had stepped from Origin Opening into the Thousand Jun Realm in a single bound.
Previously, the owner of this body had possessed extraordinary talent, yet had still taken a full three months to reach the Thousand Jun Stage.
Yet after being crippled, he had broken through to the Thousand Jun Realm in such a short time.
Even so, Su Xiuyi remained tense. In this inauspicious place, that little bit of strength was not much use. To be honest, the Thousand Jun Realm was very weak.
"Rustle, rustle, rustle!"
Now that he had reached the Thousand Jun Realm, Su Xiuyi heard something rustling through the grass. His expression grew incredibly tense. A venomous snake was coming toward him, and its presence was unmistakably that of the Thousand Jun Realm. It was countless times stronger than he was, and Su Xiuyi fell into despair.
"Ding!"
"Would the host like to sign in behind the Literary Saint Courtyard's main gate?"
Just as Su Xiuyi's heart was nearly in his throat, the system's voice rang out in his mind.
Su Xiuyi was delighted.
"The system really is a wonderful thing. It sends me a pillow just when I'm getting sleepy."
Su Xiuyi was so excited he nearly cried. He also understood now: it was past midnight, a new day had begun, and he could sign in.
A Thousand Jun Realm venomous snake tainted by the power of curses was in front of him, and the dust-covered gate was behind him. Getting out was easy, but Su Xiuyi knew that if he went out now, he would die even faster. The beings outside were more terrifying than the venomous snake tainted by the power of curses.
"Sign in!"
Su Xiuyi did not waste a single second.
"Sign-in successful. Congratulations, host, you have obtained the Thought Script 'Slow'!"
The system's mechanical voice rang out, and a Will Character appeared in Su Xiuyi's sea of souls: "Slow."
Su Xiuyi was dumbfounded. It was actually a Will Character. What the hell was this? He felt his movements slowing down. Beads of sweat appeared on his forehead as he immediately sifted through the original owner's memories to see how to use the Will Character.
Just as Su Xiuyi finished going through the memories of how to use a Will Character, the hair on his body stood on end and sweat beaded all over his back. The Thousand Jun Realm venomous snake tainted by the power of curses had shot straight at him, moving so terrifyingly fast that he could not possibly dodge in time.
"Slow!"
In his panic, Su Xiuyi used the Will Character "Slow." The next moment, the lightning-fast venomous snake visibly slowed before his eyes, and he dodged out of its way.
"Is this what a Will Character can do?"
Su Xiuyi had taken a liking to the Will Character "Slow." It was simply a must-have for a sly old schemer.
If someone tried to kill you and thought they had succeeded, a single "Slow" character could slow them down. It was a perfect way to catch someone off guard.
A look of utter surprise appeared in the venomous snake's demonic eyes. This weak being had actually dodged. The next moment, anger flashed in its demonic eyes, and it attacked Su Xiuyi again.
It was even faster this time. Yin Qi coiled around its body as its savage maw snapped at Su Xiuyi's throat.
Terror appeared in Su Xiuyi's eyes, and his whole body trembled violently.
Just as the venomous snake thought it had succeeded, it saw a smile appear on the face of the terrified Su Xiuyi-a calm, unhurried smile. While the snake was still confused, Su Xiuyi activated the Will Character "Slow" and drew the Gentleman's Sword at his waist. He stepped to the side, successfully avoiding the snake's attack, and thrust cleanly with his sword, killing it.
Looking at the dead snake, Su Xiuyi felt no fear. Instead, a smile appeared as he said, "Does this mean I have what it takes to be a king of sly old schemers?"
Su Xiuyi smiled. With the Will Character "Slow" in hand, the world was his.
With a flick of his sword light, Su Xiuyi sent the snake's corpse flying. The creature was tainted by the power of curses and could not be touched. Otherwise, he could have absorbed its blood essence and continued opening acupoints.
The previous Su Xiuyi had cultivated both the literary and martial paths, and now he too chose to walk both paths at once.
With the Will Character "Slow" in hand, he passed the night in peril but without mishap. Soon, the east began to brighten, and the Yin Qi slowly receded. Su Xiuyi smiled, looking forward to signing in that night.
"Su Xiuyi, are you still alive?"
A nervous voice came from outside the courtyard.
(End of chapter)