Chapter 284: Eating People Is Wrong

A chilling coldness spread out, the thick killing intent causing the void to faintly redden.

The sudden question caught the old emperor off guard.

Xiao Fan stepped forward midair.

Boom!

A visible shockwave radiated outward in all directions, the entire garden erupting into a hurricane; armored guards with swords were swept up and flung like straw dummies, crashing from all sides.

The acolyte holding the incense burner snapped his head up; the maid bearing the jade tray fell to the ground, her face filled with terror.

The jade tray shattered; crimson pills rolled out.

The white jade ring on the old emperor's finger glowed faintly again, but the thin spiritual barrier that had easily blocked the jade shards now seemed severely damaged—flickering erratically, as if about to extinguish at any moment.

Crack!

A shadow flashed; a hand effortlessly shattered the thin spiritual barrier, five fingers spreading to clamp down on the old emperor's face.

With the sound of bones cracking, blood gushed from the old emperor's seven orifices.

And under the true energy seal, he could not even scream—only twitch and struggle like a fish out of water.

"Friend, hold on!"

The man in purple robes finally changed expression, his fingertip glowing with purple spiritual light as he pointed at Xiao Fan.

"This pill was forged by ordinary mortals lacking divine fortune—it is not demonic!"

Swish!

Crimson blood sprayed; the old emperor's deformed head was cleanly severed, held tightly in Xiao Fan's grasp.

He turned to face the purple-robed Daoist, his face streaked with blood, appearing grotesque and eerie, his eyes flickering with spiritual light.

"You eat people too."

With those words, a flash of spiritual light appeared in the void—a jet-black flying sword, wielding unmatched sharpness, stabbed straight toward the purple-robed Daoist's third eye.

Fierce and terrifying!

Before it even neared, the piercing aura caused the purple-robed Daoist's third eye to throb painfully; his spiritual energy stagnated within his meridians, and the light at his fingertip flickered out.

Bad!

A Foundation Establishment elder!

The purple-robed Daoist's heart froze with terror; the intense life-or-death crisis drove him to brutally squeeze every ounce of spiritual power from his body—but he could only watch helplessly as the flying sword drew nearer.

"Ah~ Young friend, why be so aggressive?"

The sigh came from the acolyte holding the incense burner.

His eyes now glowed with a soft purple light; his face was youthful and pale, yet his voice was impossibly ancient.

Ripples spread through the void.

The purple-robed Daoist turned deathly pale, his eyes filled with terror as he stared at the jet-black flying sword, halted three inches from his third eye.

The flying sword trembled slightly, as if bound by invisible force.

One point.

Just a hair's breadth away—I would have died!

Thud!

He collapsed to the ground, drenched in cold sweat, his body utterly drained, unable even to stand.

All of this happened in the blink of an eye.

Only now did the guards flung by the shockwave finally land; some were knocked unconscious, yet none were killed.

Xiao Fan paid them no further attention; his gaze swept toward the acolyte whose eyes resembled purple jade, and his brow furrowed.

"Soul-embedding technique… Jin Dan?"

It was he who interfered just now—otherwise, how could a mere Qi Condensation cultivator have reacted to his flying sword?

The incense-bearer acolyte, exposed, was startled: "Young friend, your spiritual art is profound—may I ask which Xian Sect you hail from?"

Xian Sect?

Xiao Fan paused.

His master had said the energy level of this "Three Heavens Realm" was only Return to Void—where did Xian Sects come from here?

Could he be a cultivator from another Xian Sect in Tai Xuan Tian, on a trial?

But that doesn't make sense—would a Xian Sect's disciple protect such a monster who eats people?

"My name is Zi Heng, Reception Envoy of Zi Qing Guan in the Mortal Realm."

Zi Qing Guan…

His master's records mentioned it—this realm's Zhengdaoda Sect.

Its founding ancestor was one of the realm's only Return to Void cultivators, yet consorted with demonic beasts; its disciples specialized in refining humans into pills, their evil deeds boundless, their crimes unforgivable.

It could be wiped out.

"So this man was your pill ingredient."

Using the Hundred Infants Pill as nourishment, they washed the old emperor's body—inside, the infant spirits and blood qi refined him into an excellent pill ingredient.

Though the old emperor was no good man, these people had never intended good from the start.

Xiao Fan raised his hand and recalled the flying sword.

The acolyte's expression softened considerably, especially as he sensed the magic power he had just expended…

He grew even more certain this boy's background was extraordinary, and immediately abandoned any thought of causing him trouble.

"Young friend, your insight is correct—this matter isn't too serious. Let me report it to the sect…"

He had been sidelined within the sect and assigned this miserable duty; though the boy's words annoyed him,

what if the boy's elders were nearby?

If even the disciples are this formidable, the elders might be Nascent Soul Ancestors—or even higher.

He's merely an emperor of the mortal realm; as long as he's willing to compensate with one or two spiritual items, it's not entirely out of the question…

Hum~

The sword light blazed brilliantly, like a rainbow rising from the earth, streaking toward the tallest stone tower in Jingcheng.

The altar-boy's face turned pale; he shouted fiercely: "How dare you, insolent brat!"

That was precisely where his true body was in seclusion!

Xiao Fan's expression was cold and indifferent; his black longsword hummed as he casually tossed it, and a surge of true energy carried the old emperor's head toward the city gate.

He stepped forward and pierced a single finger through the purple-robed Daoist who lay collapsed and limp.

"My master told me that once I arrived in this world, I should do what I believe is right."

Blood dripped from his fingertip, splattering across the blue stone slabs.

"I don't understand much."

Xiao Fan walked up to the altar-boy, whose purple eyes were slowly fading, and spoke with great seriousness.

"But eating people is definitely wrong."

Boom!

The towering, majestic stone tower exploded outright; threads of purple pure energy converged, and winds and clouds churned above Jingcheng.

They coalesced into a purple vortex and slammed violently into the rainbow-like sword light.

"Arrogant!!!" The magical power of a Golden Core Stage surged without restraint, even pushing back the clouds.

Xiao Fan raised his sword and looked on, showing not a trace of fear.

A Golden Core? I've killed plenty before.

…………

Songyun Dynasty.

Changming Prefecture, Mufeng County, Yun Province.

The turmoil in Jingcheng had not yet reached here.

Mufeng County lay nestled among winding mountains, surrounded by steep peaks and babbling streams.

The city walls were built of solid blue bricks, majestic and imposing.

Inside the city, broad, level roads paved with blue stone echoed with the constant cries of street vendors, lively and bustling.

!. Read

On both sides of the street, neat rows of homes featured green-tiled roofs and white walls.

Two figures sat beside a small stall on the roadside, still draped in black robes that concealed their faces.

Many pedestrians passed by, yet none paused to look at the two oddly dressed individuals.

Clearly, the black robes had the effect of lowering their presence.

"Sister, are we really going to do this?"

Zhang Yunlu looked across at Chi Jiuyu, who was slurping noodles from a bowl with both hands.

At this, Chi Jiuyu set down the bowl, her expression solemn: "Of course! After all, this is a completely unfamiliar world—we must carefully gather information first!"

"..."

Is that really something you should say?

Too cautious—it doesn't sound like Chi Jiuyu at all.

"Another bowl!"

"Coming right away!"

After setting the empty bowl aside, Chi Jiuyu added: "According to the books, when we arrive in a strange place, we must first understand our surroundings—never provoke trouble..."

Still, we should test it out first.

Otherwise, all those books I read would be wasted!

After muttering a long list of instructions, Chi Jiuyu frowned and called back.

"Hey, boss! Why isn't my bowl ready yet?!"

The boss finally seemed to remember her: "Coming! Coming! Right away, esteemed guest, sorry for the wait!"

Zhang Yunlu: "..."

After another loud slurp of noodles.

"Phew~!" Chi Jiuyu exhaled deeply. "Full! Full!"

Even without any magical energy, these little snacks have their own unique flavor!

She took out a fragment of silver from her storage ring, preparing to pay.

But her gaze swept ahead.

In the distance, the crackling of firearms echoed, firecrackers exploded, several large red lanterns led the way, and music and drums blared.

Amidst the festive, noisy sounds, a bright red bridal sedan chair approached this way.

"Little Yunlu, looks like someone's getting married—let's go see!" Chi Jiuyu's tone carried a hint of excitement.

"But sister, didn't you just say we should be cautious?"

"Pfft~ It doesn't conflict! Besides, this is called great concealment—what's it called again?"

"Great concealment hides within the marketplace," Zhang Yunlu reminded her.

"Ah, it's all the same thing!"

Chi Jiuyu slammed down the silver fragment, grabbed Zhang Yunlu's hand, and followed after the procession.

Soon, the waiter came to clear the table and, seeing the fragment of silver nearly hammered into the wood, his eyes flickered with surprise.

He turned to look back, and after confirming no one was paying attention, he quietly tucked away the silver fragments and replaced them with a few copper coins.

……

……

After some time.

A mansion with a spacious front courtyard and an expansive rear garden.

Lanterns hung everywhere, large red lanterns adorned the place, the vermilion-painted front gate and all window frames were pasted with "囍" characters.

In the front courtyard, beside a secluded table, Chi Jiuyu gazed curiously around.

Zhang Yunlu sat beside her, her eyes equally curious.

After all, they were cultivators; slipping in was easy enough.

Around them, guests dressed elegantly, laughter and chatter never ceased.

After a long while, Zhang Yunlu retracted her gaze.

"By the way, Ye Shijie, you're at Nascent Soul peak—why are you in the Mortal Realm?"

"Emm…"

Chi Jiuyu scratched her head: "It's probably related to my impending advancement to Soul Transformation—ordinary fights don't help me much anymore; what matters more is insight."

"Insight?"

"Yeah, yeah—it's just some really ethereal, vague stuff."

This kind of thing was hard to explain.

"You'll understand when you reach this realm."

The two whispered to each other, drawing no attention from anyone.

But not long after,

The lively atmosphere around them gradually fell silent; all guests turned their gazes toward one spot.

More precisely, they looked toward the elegant young lord entering the courtyard—his face handsome, a faint smile on his lips, clad in brocade robes, a jade belt and golden crown adorning him.

Behind him followed a slender, petite woman in plain white robes, about fifteen or sixteen, her small face expressionless, cradling an ancient, simple longsword in her arms.

As if sensing something, the sword-cradling woman suddenly glanced to the side, her brows and eyes chillingly sharp. (End of Chapter)