Chapter 286: Revenge Doesn

"Ninth Grandpa, can you run?" Though Feng Xue appeared absurd, Deng Gu Niang could profoundly sense that his current state was utterly different from just minutes ago.

If the earlier Feng Xue had seemed like a rookie wielding a deadly weapon, this one was a seasoned, battle-hardened cultivator.

Not to mention the surging, overwhelming aura of aspiration energy on his person.

"It seems you guessed wrong—this boy's lineage and personal strength are both extraordinary." Ninth Grandpa did not directly answer Deng Gu Niang's question; instead, he took control of her vocal cords and spoke through her throat in a saccharine tone:

"Um… I was wrong about this. Can we make peace?"

"Ninth Grandpa!" Deng Gu Niang was stunned that Ninth Grandpa had surrendered instantly; even she hadn't expected it, and Feng Xue certainly hadn't—he froze slightly, instinctively weighing pros and cons.

Yet in that instant of his distraction, a torrent of demonic energy erupted from Deng Gu Niang's body!

Their distance was already short; under such a sudden explosion, she was upon him in an instant—but Feng Xue was no longer the same. Though his flesh and blood were merely those of a strong mortal, the cultivation and combat experience he had accumulated across these worlds were far from useless.

With a single thought, he triggered the Talisman and Spell of Object Control through his own body; under Seeing Mo Ying's guidance, his form twisted into a posture defying human anatomy to evade the ambush, while the divine power of the little bell unfurled—the Guidance Divine Office he had acquired in the God of War vs. Aliens world, previously unusable due to lack of environment in the online game world, finally revealed its edge!

Invisible threads were drawn; Feng Xue ignored the bodily damage from extreme dodging, forcibly controlling his body with the Continuation Method—his lifespan was already sealed; all that remained was to beat this woman into submission!

"What's going on with this boy? Did he summon an ancestral master?" Ninth Grandpa's strike failed, and a foreboding sense arose within him—but he knew this matter could not be easily resolved. Better to buy time than hope for a futile surrender; when the main force arrived, the traces left by the demonic cultivator would perfectly prove Feng Xue was a demonic cultivator!

Though Ninth Grandpa now firmly believed Feng Xue was unlikely a demonic cultivator, only he and Deng Gu Niang had actually seen a demonic cultivator in the station. Thus, if the two of them chased Feng Xue into the station, and minutes later the main force arrived, the station would still contain only him, Deng Gu Niang, and Feng Xue—and as Out-Horse Immortals, neither he nor Deng Gu Niang possessed the power to fabricate such a scene.

At that point, Feng Xue would be utterly defenseless against accusations; then, he and Deng Gu Niang could explain it as a misunderstanding—far better than surrendering now.

But all this hinged on one prerequisite: he must hold Feng Xue back!

"This is no time to spare your body!" Ninth Grandpa transmitted his thoughts to Deng Gu Niang. Though young, she had reached her current realm through her own cultivation and understood the necessity of decisive action.

Feng Xue did not know what state-skill this rat woman had activated, suddenly gaining explosive speed—but he had not the slightest thought of surrender.

Ridiculous. When I was weak, surrendering was understandable. Now that I've grown strong, to still surrender would mean my cultivation was worthless.

Qi surged, magical power erupted; the Five Elements' magical forces interconnected and flowed along the Talisman and Spell's ritual path. Under the immense supply of aspiration energy, the little bell's Guidance power reached its limit—every movement of Deng Gu Niang was effortlessly controlled by the little bell.

This was not some precognitive ability—it was merely judgment derived from big data and human anatomy. Subtle changes imperceptible to ordinary people tugged at the aspiration energy net laid by the little bell, like an insect struggling on a spiderweb: the more it writhed, the more it drew the spider's attention—even the faintest twitch of muscle fibers was enough for the little bell to predict her next move.

This miraculous effect, resembling foresight, proved devastating in close combat; within merely three breaths and over a dozen exchanges, Ninth Grandpa felt an indescribable sense of defeat.

It wasn't about strength or weakness—it was that every action he took, the opponent had already prepared for. The horrifying sensation of every move being anticipated, the helplessness of being outmaneuvered like a student under a master's guidance, forced Ninth Grandpa to involuntarily recall his own desperate, chaotic life when he was merely a baby mouse.

"Ninth Grandpa!" Deng Gu Niang noticed the instability in Ninth Grandpa's spirit form and urgently warned him—but even that instant of distraction was enough to seal their fate.

Feng Xue's fist, wrapped in golden-red electric currents, pierced through Deng Gu Niang's desperate defensive posture like threading a needle. Though technically only a graze, at the moment of contact, Feng Xue unleashed a lateral thrust with a motion defying muscle structure.

This puppet-like explosive strike caught Deng Gu Niang completely off guard; her entire body spun and flew sideways.

But Feng Xue did not pursue—because he still remembered: this was a world where hurting the little one brought the big ones.

Though Deng Gu Niang seemed to have only "average" strength, who knew what relatives or friends she might have? Ninth Grandpa was merely "Ninth"—what about the Eighth, Seventh, Sixth, Fifth, Fourth, Third, Second, and First before him? Who knew what realms they might hold?

Yet letting her go wouldn't quench his rage. With a thought, a wicked idea suddenly surfaced in Feng Xue's mind.

Almost at that instant, Deng Gu Niang, forcibly expelled from her Out-Horse state, felt impending doom—an unprecedented sense of crisis made her scalp tingle. But repeated overloads had already pushed her body beyond its limits, especially that punch—she'd broken at least four ribs.

Now, even breathing was difficult; she clearly had no strength to flee. Yet she still desperately channeled magical power, attempting to activate a Ground-Digging Escape technique to break free from combat.

But Feng Xue had already made up his mind—he wouldn't give her a chance. Suddenly, he pulled a strange Talisman from his pocket; as a surge of magical power rippled, Deng Gu Niang faintly heard an inexplicable line—

"Here's your shrimp!"

…

"Quick! The demonic energy signature is over here!"

Half a minute later, a portion of cultivators who had broken off from the Year Beast battle rushed into the train station—but immediately after came an unbearable stench. In a pool of unidentifiable yellow-brown sludge, Deng Gu Niang lay lifeless, eyes vacant, repeating the same whisper over and over—

"It's yellow mud. It's yellow mud. It's yellow mud…"

(End of Chapter)