Chapter 116: Who Exactly Is This Person

“Time’s about up!”

At midnight, as Zi Hour approached, Feng Xue exited his meditation state to the sound of his alarm.

Liu Yunxi timely brought him a midnight snack to replenish his Yuan Qi.

He activated the ingestion technique; the Four Qi of the Yingwei Yuan Zong surged full, and his mental sea gathered into a pool of magical power.

After targeted meditation, the pool in his mental sea gradually divided into sections: beneath his soul lay a clear, transparent pool of magical power, while five smaller subsidiary pools formed around it, each holding one of the five colors—white, blue, black, red, and yellow.

Yet his Five Qi separation was still unrefined; the five-colored magical power could only be drawn as needed, and now the pool held only a faint trace of each hue.

He fastened the modified Jade Belt around his waist, inserting the five-colored jade seals into their slots, then placed the [Thunder Transformation], [Divine Step], and [Substitute] jade talismans into the belt, secured his arm guards and leg bindings, slung his backpack over his shoulders, and lifted the Pot of Heavenly Yin in his hand—looking utterly absurd.

But Feng Xue was about to flee, so he didn’t care; he turned to Liu Yunxi, already ready, and said:

“You look like a ring…”

…

Outside Feng Xue’s fully owned residence, Grandpa Huijiu asked again: “Do you really think there’s something wrong?” Deng Gu Niang, hearing this, yawned slightly and replied:

“Whether there is or isn’t, I’m already here. Besides, you’re the biggest ancestor in my family—my parents and other ancestors keep pestering me about marriage every few days. On New Year’s Eve, I’d rather not listen to their nagging. Neither Daoists nor Buddhists invite us to their rituals, and our altar has no incense. Better to stay here guarding than sit at home staring at ancestral tablets. Look at Feng Xue—he only struck two thunderbolts, yet the storytellers treat him like Wen Taishi descended from heaven…”

No sooner had she spoken than Feng Xue’s residence trembled. Deng Gu Niang’s eyes flashed with excitement, her lips curling into a grin almost terrifying in its width—

“I told you so—that guy’s definitely up to something!”

…

Li Maolin, still near the guesthouse, felt his jade tablet vibrate and his face darkened instantly. He calculated with his fingers and felt his vision go black.

“Can’t we even have a peaceful day anymore? Wasn’t it supposed to be 24-hour timekeeping now? Why are you still using Zi Chu? (Note ①)”

Li Maolin was truly stunned. Because of Feng Xue’s earlier incident, he had specifically researched the calendar and timekeeping used a century later, discovering that 24-hour time had already been adopted—so he had planned the Year Beast operation accordingly. Who knew the widespread belief system still followed the traditional shichen?

In truth, Old Li just hadn’t thought it through: the 24-hour system spread only with Western clocks, but how many ordinary people, aside from a few working at train stations, even saw a watch regularly?

But no matter how unexpected, since it was already New Year’s Eve, Li Maolin couldn’t recall the Year Beast. He found a quiet spot and activated the malevolent energy.

These past days, leveraging his invisibility in Xuan cultivation perception, he’d gathered the populace’s wishes for the “Year Beast” through alleyways and streets. Fortunately, with the New Year approaching and vendors selling firecrackers increasing, the wish-energy for the Year Beast was plentiful—even though Li Maolin often heard discontented senior Xuan cultivators muttering that such rumors shouldn’t be spread, but who speaks faster than merchants?

He sighed inwardly, thinking that in a few years, the whole country might not just suppress “Sui” but also celebrate “Nian” and expel “Xi.” Yet his hands moved swiftly, channeling malevolent energy into the jade tablet, using the witch-shaman’s soul-calling method to help the Year Beast slowly take shape, while broadcasting a signal for it to circle toward the guesthouse.

After all, Feng Xue hadn’t yet decided to flee; if the Year Beast stormed the guesthouse directly, it would be too obvious.

His original plan was to wait until Feng Xue stepped outside, then let the Year Beast “coincidentally” meet him, so Feng Xue could use his excellent-sounding technique to destroy it—thereby delaying him two or three days.

But now that it had come early, he could only go with the flow: let the Year Beast cause chaos first. Drawing attention from other Xuan cultivators wouldn’t hurt—after all, given Feng Xue’s nature, as long as the Year Beast was defeated near him, he wouldn’t leave for at least two or three days!

As Li Maolin’s magical power surged, a monstrous beast resembling a stone lion, with a single horn on its head, twin wings sprouting from its ribs, and a colossal body, stepped onto the street. Though invisible to those without spiritual sight, its enormous pale-white paw prints were clearly left on the ground.

Feng Xue’s residence stood in the wealthy district; this sudden change immediately drew the attention of guards and patrols. Amid cries of alarm, the entire city erupted into chaos.

Feng Xue had just finished dressing, waiting for the midnight alarm, when he suddenly heard commotion outside. He activated his Qi-seeing technique and saw a massive “stone lion” leaping and bounding in the distance, accompanied by occasional firecracker explosions.

“Damn! The Year Beast!”

Feng Xue’s eyes widened. Recalling the origin of “evil spirits,” he finally understood why Wang Laoyezi reacted so strongly to the Year Beast legend!

Or rather, not just the Year Beast—any legend linking seasonal changes, ghosts, demons, or solar terms to supernatural entities was, in the eyes of Xuan cultivators, a nightmare of nightmares. Each such legend meant one more monster they had to deal with annually. Worse still, these monsters were mostly born from turbid wishes; even if defeated, they brought no benefit. As for merit? Compared to the risks of fighting such a behemoth, hoping for that meager merit was pointless—better to simply do good deeds daily!

But no matter how much the Year Beast rampaged, Feng Xue didn’t care. He knew his opportunity had arrived.

Without waiting for midnight, he slung his backpack, lifted the Pot of Heavenly Yin, and leapt from the window with sixty pounds of weight. A flash of magical light along his belt slowed his fall, and he landed lightly on the ground—without slowing, he sprinted straight for the train station!

“Good kid—he knows how to seize the moment!” Seeing Feng Xue leap silently from the window, Li Maolin grew even more certain this boy was cut out to be a demonic cultivator. He too moved swiftly, following after—but he still couldn’t reveal himself. He needed to see what the boy planned to do next!

Meanwhile, Deng Gu Niang, upon seeing the Year Beast’s eruption, immediately sent a signal—but instead of staying to block the beast, she raced straight for the guesthouse. Under the speed of the Gray Immortal’s invocation, the two-li distance vanished in mere steps. From afar, she watched Feng Xue leap from the window, her heart pounding with excitement and tension—she quickened her pace further.

At the same time, the Year Beast had already begun running, fleeing amid attacks from numerous Xuan cultivators. Though legends claimed it possessed immense strength and extraordinary power, its primal fear of loud noises, firelight, and the color red had been etched into its core logic. Thanks to the firecrackers and red decorations every household had prepared, the Year Beast’s appearance caused no casualties—except for one problem…

“Shit! Why is this thing heading for the train station?!”

As Feng Xue neared “that place,” he saw the massive creature leap over a roadside building and land directly before him. Before he could react, a shout came from behind—

“Feng Xue! You’ve conspired with demonic cultivators, raised a demonic deity, and built your fame on it! Caught red-handed—what do you have to say for yourself?!”

“Huh?”

(End of Chapter)