CHAPTER 31 (PART 2)

Yu Youyou whispered to Qi Nanfeng, “I originally wanted to bring some mundane weapons—crossbows, barrels of fire oil, that sort of thing. They don’t count as magic treasures, after all. But Senior Sister Qu wouldn’t allow it, saying we had to uphold the sect’s dignity.”

Qi Nanfeng sighed along with her. “I wanted to bring a few beds and quilts, but Senior Sister wouldn’t allow that either.”

The two of them chatted while walking forward, only to see Su Yizhi—who was in the middle of handing over his magic treasures—suddenly freeze in place.

Most people had brought an extra empty mustard seed pouch to carry items inside, but he was too frugal to buy an extra one, which meant he had to take everything out of his pouch.

And the only items inside that could be considered magic treasures…

Were the two fake tails he had refused to discard because they were too expensive—tails inscribed with formations that mimicked demonic aura.

As soon as those two tails appeared, the expressions of the Pill Cauldron Sect disciples turned pale. Yu Youyou and Qi Nanfeng instinctively took a step back in unison, casually looking around as if admiring the scenery—pretending they didn’t know him at all.

Cultivators from other regions had no idea what that thing was, but the majority present were local cultivators from the Western Region.

So, for a moment, a strange smile appeared on the faces of the spectators. Even Elder Mei, seated at the front, narrowed her beautiful eyes, wearing a mysterious smile as she looked at Su Yizhi.

She leaned forward slightly, gazing at the handsome young man before her. Gently patting the top of his head, her breath fragrant as orchids, she said, “Little friend from the Pill Cauldron Sect, you’re quite an interesting one.”

Su Yizhi’s mind went completely blank.

He, too, recalled that terrifying night.

How was he saved again?

He suddenly turned to look at Elder Ma, who immediately sensed that something was wrong. But before he could react, Su Yizhi had already put on the same innocent expression as Yu Youyou and ran toward him.

“Elder Ma, I forgot to give you this little thing you asked me to buy!”

Seeing this, Elder Mei from the Hehuan Sect, who had just been smiling sweetly, immediately wiped the expression from her face. She glanced at Elder Ma with a look of indescribable complexity, then turned around and walked away without the slightest hesitation.

Elder Ma: “…”

Heaven is blind! What kind of troublesome disciples is our Pill Cauldron Sect accepting this year?!

Yu Youyou was walking at the very back, and the others had already begun preparing to enter the teleportation array.

“Wait, there’s one more.”

A Northern Region elder pointed at her wrist. “This is a magical artifact, isn’t it?”

Yu Youyou looked down and remembered that she had switched to wrapping her tail with cloth a few days ago, and that silver rope had been tied around her wrist.

She didn’t dare entrust the item to Elder Ma, so she turned and walked toward Elder Niu not far away. While untying the rope, she said, “Elder Niu, please keep this safe for—”

Before she could finish her sentence, her words were drowned out by a piercing, deafening roar.

A nauseating stench of blood rushed toward them, followed by the crackling sound of ancient, towering trees being snapped apart, and a sky full of flying sand and dust.

The daylight dimmed as if the world had plunged into eternal night. The rogue cultivators behind them had already started shouting in panic—

“A snake! There’s a snake!”

Yu Youyou whipped her head around and saw a massive black python, mouth wide open and bloody, bursting through the defenses of the Eternal Forest. Like a black storm, it surged madly toward the crowd outside.

The black python’s vertical pupils were dark red like blood, devoid of any warmth. Its fangs gleamed with a black sheen, and a severed leg—once belonging to a cultivator guarding the perimeter—still hung from its mouth. Blood dripped from its black fangs, making it even more terrifying.

Damn it, screw Long Aotian! First time facing a real exotic beast and it’s this kind of freakish monstrosity?!

Elder Ma and Elder Niu shielded their three disciples. Upon sensing the terrifying pressure, their expressions changed drastically. “Shit! A Nascent Soul-stage exotic beast is rampaging!”

The Eternal Forest occasionally experienced exotic beast rampages, but Nascent Soul-stage beasts usually resided deep within the forest. There had only been two such rampages this year.

One in Tonghua Prefecture, and the other—was now!

Everyone from the Pill Cauldron Sect wanted to curse.

High above the sky, a golden light descended as the Western Region’s Nascent Soul powerhouse, Dustless Buddhist Son, pressed his palms together and struck downward.

In an instant, a giant golden shield imbued with Buddhist light spread out across a hundred miles, instantly protecting the cultivators below.

He sighed lightly. “Fellow Daoists, this humble monk is not skilled in the art of slaughter. I leave the task of capturing this beast to the two of you.”

True Person Su channeled his spiritual energy to fend off the berserk python and tossed it a poison pill. However, the python, seemingly having gained sentience, suddenly whipped its tail and knocked the pill away.

Gritting his teeth, he warned the other two, “My Su Clan has been healers for generations!”

From the Southern Region’s Returning Spring Sect, True Person Gu cursed, “Fuck! So has mine!”

He launched rows of silver needles at the python below. Though infused with Nascent Soul spiritual power and piercing through its tough scales into its flesh, they failed to kill the beast and instead enraged it further. The python thrashed even more violently, seemingly on the verge of breaking through the Dustless Buddhist Son’s protective shield.

Exotic beasts at the Nascent Soul stage were far more difficult to handle than cultivators of the same level. Moreover, the three of them weren’t even specialized in combat. Had it been a Core Formation-stage beast, they could’ve suppressed it by sheer cultivation level. But against a Nascent Soul-stage one—they were barely holding on.

The three support cultivators just wanted to scream.

Yu Bumei, where the hell are you?!

Is your Eastern Region’s DPS just AFK or what?!

At that moment, a resonant sword cry echoed from the distant horizon, accompanied by a flash of sword light.

Alongside it came a voice—calm and emotionless, yet laced with biting sarcasm—

“Useless, all of you.”

Countless sword lights filled the sky. Amid the swirling dust and fallen leaves, a shadow dressed in dark robes moved like wild brushstrokes across a scroll, slashing through the air alongside the brilliant white sword light as it weaved around the giant python.

The python thrashed violently on the ground, its massive maw snapping savagely at the figure.

But he didn’t retreat a single step. Instead, he charged straight toward the serpent’s mouth, sword in hand.

In the howling wind, Yu Youyou could only make out his long, dark hair tied high, spilling like a waterfall behind him.

The python’s jaws clamped shut with a resounding snap. In that instant, a shower of dark red blood burst forth.

Everyone’s hearts clenched. Sword cultivators from the Yunhua Sword Sect cried out in alarm, “Master Baili!”

Not a single one of them hesitated. They gripped their swords and were about to fly forward to rescue him!

But before they could move, a sword light pierced through the top of the python’s skull. The beast let out a final roar before collapsing with a thunderous crash. The resulting shockwave tore up trees and vegetation in a radius of several miles.

But the beast itself never rose again. More and more blood gushed from its body like a flood, staining the earth a deep, muddy red.

Finally, the mighty cultivators of the Three Regions who had been suspended in the sky descended to reveal themselves.

True Person Su and True Person Gu stared at the man before them with complex, wary expressions.

Only the Dustless Buddhist Son pressed his palms together in a respectful greeting. “Fellow Daoist Baili.”

The other two followed suit—distant but polite.

Master Su actually didn’t want to deal with this temperamental lunatic. After the sword cultivators of the Yunhua Sword Sect practiced their swordsmanship to the extreme, their minds were often not quite right.

Yu Bumie was someone who would wipe out an entire enemy clan at the slightest provocation, and Baili Kongshan was even more deranged—he treated everyone like an enemy.

Atop the serpent’s head, a tall sword cultivator stood, holding his sword.

That startling white sword, as pale as frost and snow—Jinghong—was now dyed red.

The hand gripping the hilt was also soaked in blood.

His long, slender fingers were distinct in their joints, and dark crimson liquid streamed down the back of his hand, dripping from his fingertips to mix with the blood running down the blade, splattering into the earth.

The wind blew, but the heavy stench of blood around Baili Kongshan didn’t lessen in the slightest.

He seemed to lazily lift his eyelids, then lowered his gaze to look at the dirtied sword, his expression shadowed by displeasure and gloom.

The three exchanged glances.

Elder Gu forced himself to ignore the stench and cautiously opened his mouth to negotiate: “Fellow Daoist Baili, about this serpent’s corpse…”

The body of a Nascent Soul-stage beast was a rare treasure. Not to mention anything else, just the layer of scales alone could be used to craft several high-grade defensive artifacts. They had come over to discuss how to divide up the serpent’s body.

However, before he could finish speaking, Baili Kongshan lazily jumped down from the serpent’s head and walked unhurriedly toward the tail.

Then, with one hand, he lifted the serpent’s tail and gave it a heavy swing.

Blood from the python poured down like torrential rain, drenching the three unprepared Nascent Soul cultivators.

They had never suffered such humiliation and were about to erupt, but upon recalling the ruthlessness he had displayed when slaying the serpent, they could only force themselves to swallow their rage.

What a lunatic. He got himself covered in blood and just had to make sure everyone else got stained too!

Baili Kongshan dragged the massive serpent’s tail all the way to the cultivators from the Eastern Region, then slammed it onto the ground.

The sword cultivators of the Yunhua Sword Sect were filled with both excitement and reverence. They all saluted with their swords held before them: “Junior Martial Master Baili!”

Unfortunately, Baili Kongshan didn’t acknowledge them in the slightest. He simply spat out two indifferent words: “Put it away.”

Then, he turned slightly and looked toward Yu Youyou, who was standing in the corner.

Yu Youyou finally saw the face of this “main wife” figure.

He was truly a stunning beauty.

There were still bloodstains on his face, but the skin untouched by blood was as pale as snow.

A drop of blood slipped from his damp eyelashes, tracing a fine red line down his cheek, winding all the way to his collarbone, where it mingled with a lock of jet-black hair resting there.

Those light-colored eyes, with their slightly upturned corners, slowly lowered.

It was clearly a gesture full of allure, yet it radiated an intense murderous aura.

His gaze was far too cold, far too detached—when it swept over, it felt like he was looking at a corpse.

At this moment, the object of that gaze was Yu Youyou.

In those pale eyes, the killing intent seemed to grow even more intense. Even the Jinghong Sword in his hand began to tremble, and his hand seemed to be lifting again.

Crap! Martial Uncle wants to kill someone again!

Yu Changan tensed and quickly stepped forward: “Junior Martial Master Baili, this is Junior Sister Yu from the Pill Cauldron Sect. She’s our companion for the Four Regions Assembly.”

Thinking Yu Youyou was too scared to react and didn’t know how to show goodwill, he whispered to remind her, “Junior Sister Yu, Martial Master Baili, he…”

But Baili Kongshan cut him off, his gaze fixed on Yu Youyou’s hand.

He asked, “Where did the rope come from?”

Only then did Yu Youyou realize—Baili Kongshan had been staring at the silver rope in her hand the whole time.

It seemed he hadn’t been planning to raise his sword earlier, but rather to reach for the rope. Yet for some reason, he’d withdrawn his blood-soaked hand.

Judging from his expression and movement, Yu Youyou had every reason to suspect that this item might actually be a magical artifact Baili Kongshan had given to Yu Bumie. But Yu Bumie, not caring for it, casually gave it to his daughter as a toy—and now that Baili had noticed, he was furious.

So Yu Youyou had no qualms about throwing Yu Nianrou under the bus. She pointed at Yu Changan: “Picked it up from his sister.”

As she spoke, she opened her palm so he could get a better look.

That silver rope had been twisted by Yu Youyou into a bracelet. Under the sunlight, the chain glowed with a soft silver light. Attached to it was a fluffy white tuft, looking like a snowball under moonlight, resting adorably in the palm of the young girl’s hand.

It was the tuft of suspected dog fur Yu Youyou had picked up back at the Pill Cauldron Sect. She’d been envious of how pretty it was, and since it would’ve been a waste to throw it away, she rolled it into a ball and attached it to the bracelet.

To be fair, it looked quite nice—anyone who saw it would compliment it.

Baili Kongshan fell silent for a moment. For some reason, he closed his eyes, as if forcibly enduring something.

In the end, he said nothing. He merely pointed at the tuft of fur.

Facing such a beautiful man—who also might be planning to assassinate Yu Bumie—Yu Youyou naturally played along with full cooperation.

She answered smoothly, “That? That’s dog fur I picked up.”