Chapter 91: What the Hell Is This Person

"Time's about up!"

At midnight, as Zi Shi 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; his Weiwei Yuanzong Four Qi 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: besides a clear, transparent pool of magical power at the very bottom of his soul, five smaller subsidiary pools formed around it, each holding white, green, black, red, and yellow magical power respectively.

But 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 base color.

He fastened the Jade Belt, slightly improved after Li Maolin's corrections, around his waist, inserted the Five-Colored Jade Seals into their slots, placed the 【Lightning Transform】, 【Divine Step】, and 【Substitute】 jade talismans into the belt, secured his arm guards and leg bindings, then slung his backpack over his shoulders and lifted the Pot of Heaven Yin Bag in hand—looking oddly mismatched.

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

"You look like a ring…"

…

Outside Feng Xue's fully owned house, Grandpa Huiji asked again: "Do you really think there's something wrong?" Hearing this, Deng Gu Niang let out a small yawn 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; there's no need to rush listening to them on New Year's Eve. Neither Daoist nor Buddhist rituals include us, and our altar has no incense offerings. Better to stay here guarding than sit at home staring at ancestral tablets. Look at Feng Xue—he only slashed two lightning bolts, yet the storytellers have turned him into some celestial general descending from heaven…"

No sooner had she finished than Feng Xue's house trembled violently. Deng Gu Niang's eyes flashed with excitement, her lips curling into a grin so wide it bordered on horrifying—

"I told you so—that guy's definitely up to something!"

…

Still near the guesthouse, Li Maolin felt his waist jade tablet vibrate, his face instantly darkening. He pinched his fingers to calculate, and felt his vision go black.

"Can't we even have a peaceful day anymore? Wasn't it agreed we've adopted 24-hour timekeeping? 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, found that 24-hour time had been adopted, and thus prepared the Year Beast Plan—only to discover that widespread belief still followed the traditional twelve double-hour system!

In truth, Old Li just hadn't thought it through: after all, the 24-hour system spread only with Western clocks, but how many ordinary people, aside from a few working at train stations, actually see 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 secluded spot and activated the malevolent energy.

Over these days, leveraging his invisibility in Xuan cultivation perception, he'd gathered the populace's votive energy toward the "Year Beast." Fortunately, with the New Year approaching and street vendors selling firecrackers increasing, the votive energy for the Year Beast was abundant—even though Li Maolin often heard discontented senior Xuan cultivators muttering that such rumors shouldn't be spread, who could match the speed of merchants' tongues?

He sighed inwardly, fearing that in a few years, the whole nation would not only suppress "Chong" but also celebrate "Nian" and expel "Xi." Yet his hands moved swiftly, channeling malevolent energy into the jade tablet, using the Wu-Xi method of calling lost souls to help the Year Beast slowly take shape, while broadcasting information to guide it in a detour 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" encounter him, letting Feng Xue use his spectacularly loud 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 some 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, dual wings sprouting from its ribs, and a colossal body, stepped onto the street. Though invisible to those without spiritual sight, its massive pale-white paw prints were clearly imprinted on the ground.

Feng Xue's house 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 giant "stone lion" leaping and bounding in the distance, accompanied by periodic firecracker explosions.

"Damn! The Year Beast!"

Feng Xue's eyes widened. Recalling the origin of "evil spirits," he finally understood why Old Wang 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 Xuan cultivators' eyes, the worst kind of trouble. Each such legend meant one more monster they had to face annually. Worst of all, these monsters were mostly formed from turbid votive energy; even if defeated, they brought no benefit. As for merit? Compared to the risks of battling such giants, 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 Heaven Yin Bag, and leapt from the window with sixty-plus jin of weight. A flash of magical light along his belt slowed his fall, allowing him to land lightly on the ground—without slowing, he sprinted straight for the train station!

"Good kid—really knows how to seize an opportunity!" Seeing Feng Xue leap silently from the window, Li Maolin grew even more certain this boy was cut out to be a Demon Cultivator. He too moved swiftly, chasing after him—but he still couldn't reveal himself yet; he needed to see what the kid 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 possession, she covered the less-than-two-li distance in mere steps. From afar, she watched Feng Xue leap from the window, her heart both thrilled and tense—she immediately quickened her pace.

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 red colors had been etched into its core logic. Thanks to the household New Year decorations already prepared, the Year Beast's appearance caused no casualties—the only problem was…

"Shit! Why's this thing running toward the train station?!"

As Feng Xue neared "that place," he saw the massive creature suddenly 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 Demon Cultivators, raised a demonic god, and fabricated your fame! Caught red-handed—what do you have to say for yourself?!"

"Huh?"

(End of Chapter)