CHAPTER 30: Baili Kongshan is the Female Protagonist

Despite Qu Qingmiao immediately throwing the cat tail into Elder Niu’s arms and swiftly covering Yu Youyou’s ears—

Elder Niu also tossed the cat tail back to the dumbfounded Su Yizhi, his face stiffening into a stony blue.

The two young men, each holding a fluffy tail, were caught in an awkward predicament—neither throwing it away nor keeping it.

Meanwhile, Elder Ma nonchalantly shook his leg and studied the Twinborn Furnace he had taken out, pretending as if nothing had happened.

However, apart from Yu Youyou, the five individuals present had all endured a moment of excruciating torment, experiencing both growth and metaphorical death within that fleeting instant.

Yu Youyou, ever worthy of her “Great Philanthropist” title, decided to rescue the other four from their suffering by sacrificing Elder Ma alone.

The innocent and naive girl lifted her face, her eyes filled with pure bewilderment—

“Elder Ma, what is 〇塞?”

The remaining four instantly snapped to attention.

For a moment, everyone wore expressions of either confusion or incomprehension—even Qu Qingmiao feigned a look of bewilderment.

“Elder Ma, what is 〇塞?”

Elder Ma: “…Get the hell out, all of you!”

—

Kicked out of the room, the trio exchanged glances before tacitly deciding to move past the subject.

After the commotion, none of them were in the mood to sleep anymore.

Drinking was out of the question, and eating a midnight snack cost money. After some deliberation, they donned black robes once again and headed for the black market.

This time, however, the two pure-hearted young men adamantly refused to wear fake tails again. Su Yizhi, finding the tails a bit pricey, didn’t have the heart to throw them away and carefully stored them in his mustard seed pouch.

The black market at night was even livelier than the outside world.

The rogue cultivators here were unrestrained—some lounged in the Flower Wine Alley, drinking and chatting with beautiful men and women, while others sat on the ground guzzling wine straight from their jugs.

But regardless of where one looked, everyone was discussing the same thing.

“The Xuankhu Sect is still chasing after that mustard seed pouch. They’ve announced that anyone who retrieves it will be rewarded with a hundred thousand spirit stones.”

“There’s even a ten-thousand spirit stone bounty just for providing leads. I actually saw those three demonic cultivators from the posted notice earlier, but I was too late—someone else reported it first and claimed the reward.”

Currently, every demonic cultivator in the black market was being scrutinized closely. While the black market’s rules prevented anyone from making a move, it was still an uncomfortable situation.

Then again, it wasn’t much different from usual—most human cultivators enjoyed staring at demon cultivators’ tails or furry ears whenever they saw them. The demon cultivators weren’t bothered by it, as they loved flaunting their demonic traits anyway.

Yu Youyou eagerly joined the gossiping crowd. “Xuankhu Sect is targeting demonic cultivators now?”

“Not exactly.” A drunken man waved his hand. “If us rootless rogue cultivators and demonic cultivators fight, it’s no big deal. But if the noble families and great sects start attacking the demon race, that’s a major issue—it could easily be seen as instigating a second Human-Demon War.”

“But the Xuankhu Sect isn’t easy to deal with either,” someone else chimed in. “I heard they’ve brought in more elders, and for the past two days, they’ve been scouring every corner of Extreme West City. If they spot a demon cultivator, they openly detain and interrogate them.”

Yu Youyou listened with great interest.

But what excited her even more was another piece of news.

“I heard the master thieves of the Hollow Sect were furious that someone dared to steal from the Xuankhu Sect before them. They publicly issued a statement clarifying that the thief was not one of their disciples. At the same time, they’ve taken this as a challenge and are now planning their own heists on the great sects.”

The Hollow Sect was an outlier in the cultivation world, a complete anomaly. True to their name, every disciple in the sect was a master of theft.

Now, it seemed they were turning this into a competition.

A knowledgeable onlooker added, “Word is, Hollow Sect experts have all flocked to Extreme West City, setting their sights on the great sects attending the Four Territories Tournament.”

Realizing this gossip might soon affect them, Yu Youyou tensed up. “Are all Four Territories sects being targeted?”

“Not quite. The Southern Territory cultivators may be rich, but they’ve never left that cloudship of theirs. And Hollow Sect’s rule is to never steal from the local powers, so the Three Great Sects of the Western Territory are safe too. That leaves only the Northern and Eastern Territories as the best targets.”

The trio exchanged glances and silently agreed that they needed to warn their elders to keep a close watch on their mustard seed pouches.

Of course, they still wouldn’t let Elder Ma hold their spirit stones—otherwise, it’d be like throwing meat buns at a dog.

As the rogue cultivators gossiped about everything under the sun, the conversation eventually circled back to the original topic.

Even the shopkeeper from Treasure Alley, infamous for selling counterfeits, joined in with a jug of wine in hand.

“If only I knew what that mustard seed pouch looked like, I’d forge a perfect replica and turn it in for that hundred thousand spirit stones. Wouldn’t that be grand?”

Yu Youyou narrowed her eyes. Before leaving Elder Ma’s residence, she had made sure to take the emptied mustard seed pouch with her.

Elder Ma was quite the expert in shady dealings—after clearing out its contents, he even forged a fake branding mark and resealed the pouch, making it nearly indistinguishable from the original.

Even if Su Liubai found this pouch again, he’d probably be overjoyed.

Yu Youyou stepped away from the crowd and quietly discussed with the other two, “I’m planning to visit Shen Gun again.”

Su Yizhi immediately frowned. “He sold us out just yesterday. Why go back to him?”

“To make money,” Yu Youyou replied. “We stand out too much as a trio. You two go set up a stall and sell medicine for spirit stones. I’ll find him.”

With that, she hurriedly shoved the pills she had refined over the past few days into their hands. Then, with a swift flick of her tail, she strapped a silver rope around her wrist and dashed off.

Su Yizhi watched in horror as a glimpse of her tail tip peeked out from under her black robe, his fingers trembling—

“Xiao Yu has been wearing that thing this whole time!”

Qi Nanfeng: “…She’s not as twisted as you think.”

Meanwhile, Yu Youyou had already arrived at Flower Wine Alley.

The beauties and demonesses were overwhelmingly enthusiastic, eager to pull her into their embrace and smother her with affection.

Yu Youyou was very cautious. She was worried that just touching something would require payment, so she kept her hands and feet properly in place and only asked in a low voice, “Where is Shen Gun?”

Just as Shen Gun had said, after Yu Youyou reported his name, the young butterfly demon of Flower Wine Alley trembled his magnificent wings, then flew low and led her to a quiet little building.

Shen Gun knew how to enjoy himself. The small building was exquisitely and elegantly decorated. Spiritual incense was burning, the pool was filled with spiritual wine, and from time to time, coquettish laughter echoed from the courtyard.

Yu Youyou instantly understood—so this was where all the spirit stones he scammed went.

Tsk, such extravagance.

The moment Shen Gun saw Yu Youyou’s gray tail, his eyes lit up. With a mischievous grin, he bent forward and spoke in a sinister tone, “You actually came. Aren’t you afraid I’ll tie you up and hand you over to the Hanging Cauldron Sect?”

Yu Youyou rolled her eyes. “Go ahead. I’ll just say you’re my accomplice. If I go down, you’re going down with me.”

She spoke casually, but the ruthless undertone in her words made even Shen Gun feel uneasy.

This shorty didn’t seem very old, but why did she speak and act like someone who had been mixed up in the black market for decades?

He dismissed the beauties around him, scooped a cup of spiritual wine from the pool, and offered it to her. “Have a drink first, then we’ll talk business?”

Yu Youyou didn’t drink. She was still a child and wanted to grow taller, so she had to maintain a healthy diet.

She lazily played with the wine cup, then threw out the mustard seed pouch with a slightly impatient tone. “This thing really won’t open. Do you have a way?”

Shen Gun burst into laughter.

He had expected this outcome. These three demon cultivators seemed average in strength, and judging from their demon features, they were just some minor demons. They probably got lucky earning that ten thousand spirit stones and then set their sights on the Su family’s young master’s mustard seed pouch, thinking they could make a bigger profit.

But they didn’t think it through—

A Nascent Soul cultivator, and not just any Nascent Soul cultivator, but one bold enough to offend the Hanging Cauldron Sect—did they think such a person was easy to find?

Yu Youyou: It’s quite easy to find. I found two last night.

“Do you think Nascent Soul seniors will intervene so easily?” Usually, a Nascent Soul cultivator would be the leader of a mid-tier sect. Who would be shameless enough to partner with three minor demons to steal a mustard seed pouch from the Hanging Cauldron Sect?

Hearing this response, Yu Youyou’s tail swayed faster in irritation, clearly showing her bad mood. “So I spent ten thousand spirit stones and got nothing?”

Shen Gun picked up the mustard seed pouch and examined it, soon discovering a powerful imprint almost identical to the previous one.

This wasn’t something three minor demons could create. It seemed the pouch really hadn’t been tampered with.

He weighed the mustard seed pouch in his hand, but Yu Youyou quickly snatched it back, looking displeased as she roughly kneaded the pouch.

Shen Gun glanced at her restless tail and smirked.

“Well, not necessarily. I have a way for us to make another fortune.”

“What? Tell me,” Yu Youyou sat up straight, looking eager to know.

Young demon cultivators were just too easy to manipulate.

Shen Gun chuckled to himself before speaking in an earnest tone. “Since we’ve already worked together and are in the same boat, that makes us partners.”

“And since we’re partners, I can’t bear to see you lose that ten thousand spirit stones for nothing. So why don’t you sell this mustard seed pouch to me? I’ll hold onto it, and in the future, if there’s a chance, I’ll find an expert to open it.”

Yu Youyou hesitated, reluctant. “But the contents inside might be priceless…”

“No matter how valuable, if you can’t access it, it’s useless,” Shen Gun reasoned. “It’d be better to trade it for thirty thousand spirit stones.”

“Thirty thousand?” Yu Youyou immediately shook her head. “That’s too little. At least fifty thousand!”

Shen Gun smiled, seemingly unconcerned, and generously said, “Fifty thousand it is. Consider it my way of making a friend.”

Yu Youyou walked away with fifty thousand spirit stones.

Before leaving, she turned back to look at Shen Gun and leisurely praised, “Brother, you’re truly a kind soul.”

Shen Gun felt a little embarrassed by the compliment. This was the first time he had met someone so easy to scam—someone who even praised him after getting swindled.

But as Yu Youyou turned into the darkness, the corners of her lips curled up slightly.

This was also the first time she had met such an easy-to-swindle scammer.

….

The next day, when the cultivators of the three sects gathered again for a meal, the sword cultivators and shield cultivators noticed something strange.

“Did you all not sleep well last night? You look so pale.”

The pill cultivators couldn’t admit that they stayed up all night guarding against thieves. They had all crowded into a single guest room for safety.

Later that night, thieves from the Empty Vault Sect really did come. Elder Ma discovered them, but even he failed to catch the thief.

Only Yu Youyou slept soundly. Her face looked even more radiant than usual.

The sword cultivators hadn’t been targeted, likely because they didn’t sleep at all. They spent their nights meditating, and when the mood struck, they’d randomly fly out to practice sword techniques. The thieves of the Empty Vault Sect never found an opportunity to strike.

As for the shield cultivators, they all slept like logs. When the topic of thieves came up, they laughed heartily. “Nah, not only did we not lose any spirit stones, but each of us actually found an extra one!”

At this moment, Yu Youyou noticed something odd.

She stepped forward and pulled a piece of paper stuck to Kuang Langsheng’s giant shield.

Scrawled in wild cursive writing were a few lines:

“Damn, your Heaven’s Shield Sect is way too poor. I wasted a whole night hiding under your bed listening to you snore. Here, take these ten low-grade spirit stones out of pity!”

The sword cultivators and pill cultivators cast sympathetic glances at Heaven’s Shield Sect. How tragic—they were even looked down upon by a thief.

The shield cultivators, however, took it in stride. In fact, they were delighted. One of them waved a big hand and said boldly, “We’ve eaten so many meals with you all. Now that we have money, this meal is on us!”

“Hah.” Jiang Yuan let out a cold, expressionless laugh and reminded them, “Western Region prices are exorbitant. Even a bowl of spirit porridge costs two low-grade spirit stones.”

The shield cultivators fell silent.

In the end, it was the generous Yu Changan who offered to treat everyone to a meal.

Although he said they should all discuss where to eat, his gaze landed on Yu Youyou’s face. After a moment of hesitation, he still asked, “Junior Sister Yu, is there a place you’d like to eat?”

Yu Youyou had no intention of answering, but Su Yizhi beside her had already seized the opportunity to interject.

The fair-faced youth pointed decisively at the largest and most luxurious restaurant nearby and declared, “She said just yesterday that her dying wish was to have a feast at that place!”

The gathered cultivators: “…”

Since it was already said, that was where they would eat.

Fate was truly inescapable. Just as Yu Youyou and her group settled into the restaurant’s main hall, another group entered behind them.

Only two major sects had come from the Northern Territory: the Hanging Cauldron Sect and the Myriad Laws Sect.

The Myriad Laws Sect’s spell cultivators still looked composed, dressed in their usual pure white robes as they followed behind the medical cultivators. But the Hanging Cauldron Sect, from its elders down to its disciples, all had ashen faces, their mood heavier than a funeral procession.

Moreover, upon seeing the Eastern Territory cultivators, the Hanging Cauldron Sect members did not say a word. Without even a glance, they turned and headed straight upstairs.

“Why are they acting so strangely?” Qi Nanfeng asked in confusion.

Elder Ma lazily lifted his eyelids to glance at Yu Youyou before leisurely replying, “You all only know how to eat and never listen. The news has already spread along the way here—this time, the Hanging Cauldron Sect has made a fool of themselves!”

He deliberately raised his voice. “I heard someone took their lost spatial pouch and tried to exchange it for the promised reward of 100,000 spirit stones, but not only did they refuse to pay, they even captured the person and interrogated them, insisting that the contents had been stolen!”

The Hanging Cauldron Sect members on the stairs halted in their steps, turning to glare darkly at them.

When it came to sarcasm, Yu Youyou’s trio had never lost.

They immediately coordinated with Elder Ma.

Yu Youyou put on a solemn expression and earnestly refuted, “Don’t say such things. The Hanging Cauldron Sect is the number one sect of the human race. Others may earn 10,000 by selling poison pills and then another 90,000 by selling the antidote. A mere 100,000 spirit stones is nothing more than the cost of refining a single pill—how could they possibly be so petty? This must be a baseless rumor!”

Qi Nanfeng gave them a thumbs-up. “The Hanging Cauldron Sect is number one under the heavens! Even if every last member of the Empty Hands Sect came out in full force, they wouldn’t be able to steal even a fraction of their treasure vault!”

Even Su Yizhi boldly added fuel to the fire: “The Hanging Cauldron Sect is absolutely amazing!”

The Hanging Cauldron Sect members: “…”

The alchemists of the Pill Cauldron Sect this generation must be sick in the head!

Jiang Yuan, who had been silently holding his sword at the side, watched as the Hanging Cauldron Sect wallowed in their despair. He, too, had once endured this torment.

However, he had to admit—it felt rather satisfying when the target of the Pill Cauldron Sect’s sarcasm wasn’t him.

The Hanging Cauldron Sect members’ faces had darkened to the extreme. In the end, they couldn’t even finish their meal and stormed out in a huff.

As they were leaving, Elder Ma didn’t forget to offer his heartfelt concern: “Why are you leaving without eating? Medical cultivators skipping meals isn’t good for their health. You should take care of yourselves!”

Before the Pill Cauldron Sect’s masters of sarcasm could speak again, the Hanging Cauldron Sect cultivators fled the scene at top speed.