Chapter 285: The Human Calamity Is Back!

As the raft drew dangerously close, Feng Xue gripped the Hu Tian Yin Bag—taller than himself—as a torrent of air blasted before him, darkening his vision even as his speed plummeted.

Yet brief visual blindness did not impair his over-the-shoulder view; Feng Xue swiftly switched to the 【Lucky Strike】 entry, and as the lock snapped tight, he slammed headfirst into the raft.

"I'm going to the Folklore World!"

In the instant of impact, Feng Xue's mind held only this thought: it was his first attempt to actively cross into a target world; he wasn't sure it would work, but even if it failed, it didn't matter.

He chose the Folklore World only because Old Li's realm was high enough that he'd likely overlook such a trivial thing, and because he possessed ample theoretical knowledge—he could still study with the little bell, Mo Ying, and Liu Yunxi, no matter which world he ended up in, as long as it had devotional power.

In short, anywhere was better than being chased by that tiger-girl behind him!

The world abruptly spun—far more disorienting than spirit-transportation—flipping his eyes and over-the-shoulder view in an instant.

Feng Xue endured this dual dizziness; within moments, he stabilized again…

…

"Demon cultivator! This was a trap after all!"

On the other side, Deng Gu Niang chased Feng Xue into the train station, and at a glance, she saw a man standing before her—different from Feng Xue. Though he appeared to be an ordinary mortal, even one with depleted qi and blood, at this time and place, claiming he was truly just a commoner would insult one's intelligence.

So Deng Gu Niang simply bluffed outright.

Normally, Li Maolin would never fall for such a trick—but now, with his human calamity looming, his spirit unsettled by Feng Xue's sudden disappearance, and this Deng girl's presence matching his earlier divination: "【Tian Xing】 manifests calamity, clashes with the Rat," he was caught off-guard, offering no rebuttal—only hurling a clump of yin-sha miasma.

"Sha energy? This guy's no ordinary mortal!" Grandpa Huiji immediately controlled Deng Gu Niang's body to dodge, his gray eyes flashing with sharp light:

"I wondered who it was—never thought the once-mighty Grand Master of Sansha Sect had sunk to this."

Hearing these words from Deng Gu Niang's mouth, Li Maolin knew this could not be resolved peacefully. Though Huiji was merely average in power, he was still a centuries-old spirit-immortal; recognizing him was unsurprising. Fortunately, spirit-immortals held ambiguous status, and gray immortals were the most entangled in karmic ties among the Five Immortals—killing him wouldn't incur heavy karmic debt. Outside, the Nian Beast was still delaying things; if he could eliminate this rat before then, even if this girl heard his name, the Spirit-Flesh Separation Method would ensure she could never trace him.

With this thought, Li Maolin dropped all pretense. Earth-sha miasma spread outward; his soul, already a Grand Master two centuries ago, surged violently—Deng Gu Niang saw only ghostly shadows before her.

"Spirit delusion?" Huiji sensed Deng Gu Niang's condition worsening. Though he now controlled her body, the weakness of spirit-mediumship lay precisely in the dissonance between spirit and flesh—if Li Maolin seized control of her soul, even with his vastly superior realm, Huiji would be unable to unleash his true power.

Knowing he must fight for survival, the gray rat's eyes darted—he cast a subterranean escape technique to flee. But Li Maolin clearly had no intention of granting him that chance. The earth-sha miasma, drawn by his corpse-puppet body, transformed into chains that sealed the earth veins, while ghostly energy spread, manipulating his own soul via spirit-control methods.

He didn't even need to expend specific spiritual power—merely by redirecting earth qi, he had already cut off all of Huiji's escape routes.

Yet Huiji, an ancient being who had heard the name "Grand Master," knew full well the weight of those three characters.

This subterranean technique was a ruse—he wanted Li Maolin to use this method of manipulating earth-sha miasma.

The Nian Beast's roar erupted suddenly, clearly stirred by the sha energy. Li Maolin sneered inwardly—the Nian Beast's formation had been his doing; now it wanted to…

"Wrong! Damn it!" Li Maolin's thought halted abruptly—he froze. He could command the Nian Beast to leave, but…

"Go!" Li Maolin instantly decided. He could kill the gray rat anytime—but if he got entangled with disciples of orthodox sects, he might have to face off against their ancestral masters.

He was only one day away from completing his divine art; he couldn't afford impulsive actions here. Still, that cheap disciple's disappearance was suspicious—what trick had he used?

As Li Maolin thought this, his demon cultivator instinct for self-preservation finally overcame his impulse—he cast a teleportation technique and vanished.

"Phew…" Seeing Li Maolin retreat, Huiji exhaled deeply. Deng Gu Niang, still dazed from breaking free of the ghostly illusions, asked:

"Grandpa Huiji, who was that just now…?"

"A demon who vanished over a hundred years ago. Back then, most assumed he was dead—but never thought he was still alive…" Huiji exited the spirit-medium state, speaking with complex emotions—he had no intention of moving. The changes in earth-sha energy here were undeniable proof; if he investigated further, he'd only draw suspicion.

"Then why don't we send a signal right away and chase him together?" Deng Gu Niang said eagerly, as if seeing a clear opportunity. Huiji immediately jabbed her soul with a sharp pinch—then explained as she cried out in pain:

"Don't underestimate the weight of 'Grand Master.' He didn't kill us because he didn't want to cause a commotion. Otherwise, ten of me couldn't match him. As for teaming up… facing a figure like this, if you stumble upon him, you have no choice—but no sect wants to hunt down someone like him."

"Snap!" Just as Gui Jiu was trying to explain to Deng Gu Niang what the Grand Master realm was, a crisp sound suddenly rang out.

Just as Huiji tried to explain the Grand Master realm, a sharp crack echoed suddenly.

Deng Gu Niang instinctively turned—and saw Feng Xue reappearing not far away, now dressed in far more luxurious attire, his ornaments completely different.

But more than that, what struck her most was his unmistakable devotional power signature!

"Has he invoked a Void God?" Deng Gu Niang's face darkened instantly. Though the battle had been brief, Huiji's repeated forced spirit-medium sessions had already strained her body severely—now, to fight Feng Xue…

Feng Xue suddenly let out a piercing scream; Deng Gu Niang stared closely and saw that a wish-power "toothpick" had been stuck into his buttocks!

Feng Xue suddenly let out a piercing scream. Deng Gu Niang stared—and saw a devotional power "toothpick" sticking out of his buttocks.

"What the hell is going on?" Deng Gu Niang was utterly baffled. Feng Xue, however, was shaken—he hadn't expected that tiger-girl's attack to follow him across worlds! Though clearly weakened, he still had to guard against it—but…

"Wait… who are you… Holy crap!"

Feng Xue casually tossed aside the toothpick, his expression turning serious.

Because he finally remembered—he still had an unfinished fight here!

【44】 (End of Chapter)