Chapter 5: The Aura of Disgust

【Aura of Disgust】: Objects covered by the aura of disgust will become universally disliked for the next ten minutes. The range is 1,000 meters. The exact activation time is determined by the host.

Chen Xi: Am I included?

System: Yes.

A lot to unpack.

This indiscriminate attack was basically equivalent to taking everyone down with the enemy.

Chen Xi was at a loss for words. But since it was given to him, he decided to accept it for now.

—

After a morning of commotion, once he had coaxed the Moonlight Celestial Beast to sleep, Chen Xi was finally able to leave the cave. However, just as he stepped out of the teleportation array, he saw two people waiting for him outside the formation.

It was a coincidence that these two were familiar faces. One was Zhou Cheng, a trusted subordinate of Immortal Wu Yi who had previously escorted him to the cave. The other was Han Qing, sent by Immortal Wu Yi but who held a deep disdain for him.

“Young Chen, you’ve worked hard today,” Zhou Cheng said, his tone much friendlier than before, now carrying a subtle intention to form a connection.

“Not bad,” Chen Xi replied cautiously.

But Han Qing, standing nearby, cut in, “The respected one is too modest. Just looking at the Moonlight Celestial Beast’s reaction, it’s clear you’ve put in a lot of effort.”

“Indeed,” Zhou Cheng nodded in agreement. But then his tone changed unexpectedly, and his attitude became somewhat strange. “However, Young Chen, your temper is really not the best. After all, we are colleagues, and the things you said this morning, not getting any rest, were a bit too disrespectful.”

Chen Xi did not respond but merely gave him a neutral glance.

The atmosphere instantly turned cold, and even Han Qing seemed a little uncomfortable. However, Zhou Cheng wasn’t bothered and continued chatting about other topics.

In less than half a tea’s time, they had arrived at the entrance to Chen Xi’s cave. Just as they were about to reach the door, Zhou Cheng suddenly asked seemingly offhand, “Young Chen, you’re so young and already so accomplished in beast taming. May I ask which master you apprenticed to?”

“Just some small skills, all self-taught,” Chen Xi replied.

“That doesn’t seem quite sincere,” Zhou Cheng shook his head with a smile. “But it’s actually a good thing that you don’t have a master, since it means fewer restrictions.”

As he spoke, Zhou Cheng conveyed Immortal Wu Yi’s intentions to Chen Xi, indirectly suggesting that he take on disciples, primarily to teach the immortals on Beast Island how to raise celestial beasts.

But perhaps taking disciples was just an excuse, and coveting his unique skills was the real intention. Chen Xi understood his meaning instantly but still politely declined, “That might not work. After all, this is how I make my living. ^[1]“If I teach disciples, wouldn’t the teacher starve” means that teaching others his skills would leave him without his unique advantage, which he relies on to earn a living.If I teach disciples, wouldn’t the teacher starve?”

“Mortal lifespans are limited, but you must also consider us,” Zhou Cheng replied, his voice subtly coercive. “After all, Beast Island is also considered your home in the Immortal Realm. How could you bear to see us struggle in the future? A wise person knows when to adapt.”

Seeing how quickly Chen Xi rejected him, Zhou Cheng felt a hint of anger rising in his heart.

To put it bluntly, his goal was simple, which was to get Chen Xi to hand over his culinary secrets. Originally, he thought that by showing Chen Xi a bit of goodwill, he could easily obtain it, but he hadn’t expected Chen Xi to be so unyielding.

Zhou Cheng’s shallow intentions were obvious to Chen Xi, who sneered, “We’re not even related, so why should I feel sorry for you? As for lifespans, calamities can last for a thousand years. Seeing how carefree you immortals live, I can’t help but feel that I won’t die early.”

“A mere mortal dares to be so arrogant?” Zhou Cheng’s expression darkened immediately. Chen Xi’s words, although seemingly self-deprecating, were actually an insult, for these immortals had all lived for at least a thousand years.

“No need to be polite, of course I have the capital to be arrogant,” Chen Xi said, his expression relaxed as he casually dusted off the hem of his robe, revealing the jade pendant that the Moonlight Celestial Beast had given him during breakfast. He didn’t care about Zhou Cheng in the slightest.

The atmosphere became tense. Zhou Cheng, wary of the Moonlight Celestial Beast’s favor towards Chen Xi, dared not act rashly. He simply left behind a remark, “I look forward to seeing the brilliant future of  young Chen,” before leaving unhappily.

—

Chen Xi strode into his cave, feeling frustrated. Since arriving in the Immortal Realm, he had been pushed around like this. Even if he were made of clay, he would have developed some temper by now. What’s more, Chen Xi was not the type to suffer in silence. But given the current situation, he had no choice but to endure. After all, he couldn’t win in a fight, and when it came to lifespan, he couldn’t compete either.

Wait… the Aura of Disgust.

Suddenly, Chen Xi recalled the consumable item he had rolled earlier with the dice. Looking at the description, he still didn’t know the exact effect of this aura, so he decided to test it on Zhou Cheng, who hadn’t left yet. After all, it was a system item, and he might encounter it again in the future, so he needed to understand how it worked.

Without hesitation, Chen Xi walked out of his cave. He calculated the approximate direction and activated the aura.

System: The Aura of Disgust has been activated. Range: 1,000 meters. Timer: 10 minutes. Begin!

With the system’s prompt, a faint halo centered on Chen Xi rapidly spread outward, disappearing into the air. Chen Xi felt around for a moment, sensing no immediate changes, then turned and returned to his cave.

While Chen Xi’s mood was calm, he had no idea that half of Beast Island’s immortals were about to suffer.

The Aura of Disgust did not distinguish between people, it was a blanket attack as long as one was within the range. Coincidentally, Chen Xi’s cave was located at the border between the immortal and celestial beast residences on Beast Island. Therefore, over the next ten minutes, chaos broke out across the entire island. Especially for Zhou Cheng, who was closest to Chen Xi, he had the worst luck.

No one knew what had happened with the people in charge of the food supply, but they had used a bunch of excuses to withhold the ingredients Chen Xi needed, replacing them with useless ones. The celestial beasts, who had previously been friendly toward them, suddenly became hostile, even baring their teeth and preparing to bite.

Although these celestial beasts were mostly young and some looked like regular animals, they had noble origins. The key point was that celestial beasts were revered, and Zhou Cheng had no choice but to endure the attacks passively. He dared not fight back.

“Have these celestial beasts gone mad?” Zhou Cheng cursed while running. He no longer had the air of an immortal. His entire body was in a mess—his clothes were torn with claw marks, and even his hair had something that looked like excrement from some flying celestial beast stuck in it.

The foul stench relentlessly assaulted Zhou Cheng’s nostrils, making him feel nauseous.

But that wasn’t the end of it. As Zhou Cheng barely escaped from the celestial beasts, he ran straight into Immortal Wu Yi, who had appeared out of nowhere.

Zhou Cheng was an absolute mess. If it had been before, Immortal Wu Yi wouldn’t have minded, but at this moment, Immortal Wu Yi was wearing new immortal robes awarded by the higher-ups. These robes had just been given to him, and now they were ruined, further enraging Immortal Wu Yi, who was already in a bad mood.

“Preposterous!” Immortal Wu Yi was furious. In front of everyone, he scolded Zhou Cheng harshly. In the end, he used Zhou Cheng’s disrespectful behavior as an excuse to strip him of his position as the head steward and reassigned him to the most remote part of the island.

Zhou Cheng’s future was ruined.

In just ten minutes, Zhou Cheng’s fate had taken a complete turn. The events were so full of coincidences that it felt like being haunted by a ghost.

Meanwhile, Chen Xi was enjoying the scene in his cave, watching the drama unfold through a water mirror. While he found it amusing, he couldn’t help but marvel at the power of the Aura of Disgust. Although it lasted only ten minutes, its effect was like a fate-altering force. As for the two puppets who had suddenly developed an aversion to him earlier, Chen Xi didn’t care at all. After all, they were puppets, and even if they hated him, they still had to obey.

It seemed that this aura was a passive skill, meaning it only activated when an object that could trigger disgust was within range. Now it made sense. He thanked Zhou Cheng for his stellar performance and finally understood how it worked.

After enjoying Zhou Cheng’s dejected expression for a while longer, Chen Xi turned off the water mirror and comfortably lay on his soft couch to rest.

—

The next morning, when Chen Xi entered the grand hall, the atmosphere was far less lively than the previous day. After all, the immortals had been tormented by the Aura of Disgust, and most of them didn’t look very energetic. In the corner, Zhou Cheng, who had been demoted to a servant by Immortal Wu Yi, looked particularly miserable, as if injured.

When Chen Xi entered, Zhou Cheng awkwardly turned his eyes away. Chen Xi, however, paid no attention to him and walked straight towards the teleportation array.

“So, Immortal, what should we do now?” Seeing Chen Xi’s calm expression, someone quietly asked Immortal Wu Yi. Yesterday’s rejection of Zhou Cheng’s test had become common knowledge. However, due to the commotion that followed, Immortal Wu Yi hadn’t had the chance to make the necessary arrangements.

Immortal Wu Yi remained silent, his gaze turning darker as he looked toward Zhou Cheng in the corner. It was still because of the trouble Zhou Cheng caused yesterday.

Zhou Cheng could feel Immortal Wu Yi’s disdain but could only bear it, not daring to defend himself. In fact, Zhou Cheng was more frustrated than anyone.

Who knew what had really happened yesterday? It was just so coincidental that he became the target of everyone’s hatred. To make matters worse, not only was he chased like a dog, but he even ended up running into Immortal Wu Yi’s arms, covered in filth.

Zhou Cheng shot a hateful glare at Chen Xi from a distance, the resentment in his heart growing. He couldn’t help but feel that it was all because he had argued with Chen Xi that he had ended up in this situation.

Chen Xi noticed his stare and casually turned around to meet his eyes. He purposely curved his lips into a mocking smile.

Zhou Cheng was immediately enraged.

However, at this moment, the bell signaling an urgent event on Beast Island suddenly rang, interrupting the brief confrontation between him and Chen Xi. The sound of the bell echoed continuously, and one could feel the urgency and fear in the air.

“What’s going on?” Immortal Wu Yi quickly ordered someone to inquire.

Before the messenger could respond, someone from the teleportation array rushed out and kneeled before Immortal Wu Yi with a “thud,” crying, “Immortal, it’s bad, the Moonshadow Celestial Beasts at the Mucheng Cave are ill. There are two of them, and they’re about to die!”

“What?” Immortal Wu Yi stood up in shock.

He didn’t have time to listen to the messenger’s full explanation and hurriedly connected with the water mirror at Mucheng Cave to get the latest update.

The doctors had already arrived, but they were helpless. The sick celestial beasts at Mucheng Cave were all newborns, less than a month old. Usually, they were treated with great care, but now they had fallen seriously ill, and no one knew what to do.

The celestial elixirs in the Immortal Realm were too potent, and moreover, these young celestial beasts had been sent to Beast Island precisely because they couldn’t handle the spiritual power. If they were given the medicine, the consequences would be unimaginable.

But if they just waited idly, the young celestial beasts would most likely not survive the day. They were already too weak.

“Immortal, it’s likely hopeless,” the doctor said, his face full of helplessness.

The hall fell into chaos. The other immortals in the hall also looked pale with dread.

At a complete loss, Immortal Wu Yi paced back and forth, ordering people to contact the higher-ups, his expression darkening to the extreme.

The celestial beasts placed great importance on their kin, and the Moonshadow Celestial Beasts were close relatives of the Moonlight Celestial Beast clan. If something happened to them, both clans would undoubtedly not let it go. In this case, as the leader of Beast Island, Immortal Wu Yi would be held accountable.

No, he had to find someone to take the blame. Immortal Wu Yi, rarely flustered, found himself growing anxious.

Meanwhile, Zhou Cheng, in the corner, sensed his thoughts and began to hatch his own plan. Glancing at Chen Xi with resentment, he boldly approached Immortal Wu Yi and whispered something into his ear.

After hearing Zhou Cheng’s words, Immortal Wu Yi instinctively turned his gaze toward Chen Xi and called out to him, “It seems we’ll have to trouble you again, Young Chen.”

This time, Immortal Wu Yi’s words carried the phrase “trouble” and were extremely sincere, yet the ill intent hidden within was enough to make anyone shudder.

The previously restless immortals in the hall suddenly quieted down because they understood that someone had volunteered to take the blame for this mess.

Chen Xi also understood Immortal Wu Yi’s intentions, but the situation left him no room to refuse.

“Can I first take a look at the situation?” Chen Xi remained cautious, his lips tightening slightly. He sensed that this time was truly dangerous. Although he was a pet food blogger, he didn’t know much about diseases.

“You’ll know as soon as you get there,” Immortal Wu Yi said with a sly smile. “But they’re just a few Moonshadow Celestial Beast cubs. Young Chen, you’ve managed to care for Moonlight Celestial Beasts, so this should be a small matter.”

“A small matter?” Chen Xi muttered under his breath, and his gaze toward Immortal Wu Yi grew colder.

At the same time, he heard the system notification: “Equivalent noun substitution: Moonshadow Celestial Beasts, ecology similar to Earth’s domestic cats.”

—

Author’s note:

Chen Xi: If anyone tries to mess with me, I’ll make them the most disliked, unlucky person for a lifetime ╭(╯^╰)╮