Chapter 94

Throughout the journey, the large yellow chicken had subtly paced ahead of Qian Chen, and only when they reached the pagoda forest did it finally leap forward, pecking at the red leather gourd at Qian Chen’s waist with its tender yellow beak, producing a tapping sound to remind him—until the gold-and-silver clasps tied to the gourd could no longer contain their anger, transforming into gold-and-silver child spirits who angrily blocked it.

The gold-and-silver child spirits guarded the gourd, letting out angry “ya-ya” roars.

Qian Chen had no choice but to step forward and mediate, as promised removing the gourd and pouring out two spirit pills—the large yellow chicken’s eyes instantly brightened, its pea-sized eyes vividly demonstrating the effect of sudden illumination.

The two gold-and-silver child spirits stood on the gourd, looking both wounded and indignant.

Ning Qingchen, however, had clearly recognized the quality of the spirit pills and hesitated, reluctantly refusing: “Brother Qian, Feng Shi is merely mischievous—these spirit pills are far too precious…”

The large yellow chicken turned its head toward the young maiden, its eyes filled with shock—as if to say, “Who is this person? Do I know them? Why are they speaking such nonsense?”

The sword-immortal maiden could only pick it up, cradling it in her arms, carefully grooming its feathers.

At the same time, she secretly slipped a spirit-grain dumpling into its grasp—the large yellow chicken reluctantly nibbled at it once, then dug its claws into her lap, wearing an expression of utter disdain.

Qian Chen watched and found it amusing, laughing: “I am of the Supreme Dao Sect—spirit pills mean little to me.”

“Moreover, since I already promised this Feng Shi, I must not break my word.”

Upon hearing this, the large yellow chicken’s eyes brightened again, stretching its neck in anticipation, its small head nodding repeatedly—the gold-and-silver child spirits and the ear-god tiny figure clung to Qian Chen’s robe, frantically shaking their heads.

Qian Chen spoke, then directly extended his hand, placing the spirit pills where the chicken could reach with a single stretch—sure enough, the chicken swiftly thrust its head forward, snatching both pills at a speed Ning Qingchen could not possibly intercept, then swallowed them whole into its crop.

At once, the two gold-and-silver child spirits slumped, defeated, sitting listlessly on the gourd; the ear-god began tugging at Qian Chen’s collar, whimpering and babbling for a spirit pill… Qian Chen casually dipped his fingertip into a bit of spirit-pill jade dust and offered it to the little spirits. The gold-and-silver child spirits took the jade dust and nibbled it slowly, their resentment gradually fading—yet the ear-god remained unsatisfied, pointing at the bulging crop of the large yellow chicken and shrieking.

Signaling that it too wanted a whole spirit pill.

Qian Chen flicked it with his finger and said: “You’re only good at eating—what’s the point of finding a corpse worm? If you could match Feng Shi’s skill, work harder, and not wait for me to nag you before you lift a finger… you’re just a tiny speck—where did you get such a huge appetite?”

Though he spoke thus, remembering the ear-god’s success in gathering intelligence on this trip, Qian Chen still slipped it a complete Jade Food Pill.

The ear-god held the spirit pill—larger than its own body—looking utterly conflicted, unsure where to put it.

After much deliberation, it returned the pill to Qian Chen to hold for it, then continued munching the jade dust. The ear-god flew to the wild grass beside the pagoda forest and ate its meal amid the morning dew.

On the other side, Ning Qingchen hesitated repeatedly; seeing the deed was done and the pills already in the chicken’s beak, she realized she could not retrieve them, and finally stammered her thanks to Qian Chen.

Qian Chen, however, was far more straightforward, chuckling: “Since I made the promise myself, it was entirely my own decision—why should Sister Ning thank me?” He immediately began calling her “sister.”

Ning Qingchen sighed: “Brother Qian, if you have spirit pills, you should use them on your own injuries. Feng Shi is just greedy and mischievous—it’s just that it’s been pestering you relentlessly.”

“Ah!” Qian Chen rubbed the ear-god’s head with his finger and laughed: “Whose family doesn’t have a clingy nuisance?”

Speaking of his injury, Qian Chen suddenly burst into violent coughing, his face flushed with unnatural redness: “Thank you for your concern, Sister, but my injury stems entirely from a hidden strike by that demon before it fled—I must suppress its demonic thoughts with cold energy, and my magic power must constantly restrain its divine magical form, lest it be summoned away remotely. That’s why I’m left with only one-tenth of my strength…”

“Under these circumstances, pills are useless. Moreover, I have many spirit pills on hand—I don’t begrudge fellow cultivators asking for them. If you need any, just say the word!”

Upon hearing this, the sword-immortal maiden showed no reaction—but the chicken in her arms looked ready to leap into her arms.

Zhi Qiu emerged from underground, his face ashen, clutching several dull, lifeless stupa relics: “I checked underground—there are indeed subterranean crypts beneath several pagodas. But inside were only Buddhist sutras and relics of high monks… no trace of the Seven Demonic Subduing Treasures.”

Yan Shu took the relics, glanced at them, and said: “The Buddha-nature light within these relics is heavily corrupted—those demons must have searched here too!”

“Could they have already taken them away?” Zhi Qiu asked, his expression shifting.

Yan Shu’s eyes lit up: “Then that’s perfect—we storm the demon lair, slaughter every last demon inside, then search slowly.”

Qian Chen shook his head: “If the demons had already seized the Seven Demonic Subduing Treasures hidden in Lanruo Temple, why would they make such a commotion just because we stopped here? Moreover, when the wolf demon attacked the temple, it clearly held back—there must be a reason…”

Yan Shu sighed: “The wolf demon has searched here for decades—it likely knows more than we do. If only we’d left one alive!”

Qian Chen smiled faintly: “There may still be a survivor, Brother Yan—didn’t you forget? When the wolf demon attacked last night, another demon, a jackal, cast a spell… yet we haven’t seen it since—it must have escaped!”

Yan Shu’s expression darkened, eyeing Qian Chen suspiciously: “Brother, you didn’t set up another trap, did you?”

“Earlier, I scattered golden sand across the courtyard. When the wolf demon attacked, it seemed to have accidentally brushed a grain onto the hidden jackal.” Qian Chen pulled out a golden sand core the size of a golf ball: “This can sense the golden sand—follow the resonance, and we’ll find the wolf demon’s lair!”

Near Lanruo Temple, beneath a cliff on a desolate mountain, Qian Chen’s group arrived before a hidden cave. The faint, pungent stench at the entrance made Ning Qingchen frown slightly—the cave twisted and turned deep within, its full extent unknown. When she used her Spirit Light Mirror to scan inside, the cave’s seals blocked her senses—but judging by the seal’s coverage, the cave extended beneath several nearby peaks, profoundly deep.

It made sense—only such a vast space could accommodate a pack of hundreds of wolf demons.

Yan Shu, noticing Ning Qingchen was a girl, kindly said: “Brother Qian’s injury hasn’t healed—don’t risk entering the demon cave; you might walk into an ambush. Sister Ning, please stay here and watch over my brother.”

Zhi Qiu chuckled: “Brother Qian’s spirit pills are miraculous—I’ve rested a full day and am nearly recovered. After last night’s battle, my ancestral talisman arts have improved further—I’m eager to test them on the demons’ heads.”

Just as Ning Qingchen was about to agree, Qian Chen suddenly spoke: “I still have one-tenth of my strength—I’m not afraid of ordinary demons. Moreover, we cannot split our forces now. The demon who subdued the reincarnated one has yet to reveal itself—if we divide, it may strike us unexpectedly. Then we’ll be unable to support each other, and that will be a disaster.”

“So you’re coming down with us?” Yan Shu hesitated—he felt this was a terrible idea.

“Perfect—then the demon blocks the cave entrance, and we’re trapped like turtles in a pot. If the remaining wolf demons inside revolt, or if the demon sends minions through other cave entrances, we’ll be rats in a bellows—squeezed from both ends.”

Yan Shu grumbled: “Brother, can’t you say anything without comparing us to turtles and rats?”

“Then what do you suggest?!”

“Leave me alone at the entrance to act as backup—the demon won’t know our true strength and won’t dare act rashly…”

Yan Shu stared at Qian Chen with his round eyes for a long moment. Had he not known this brother’s scheming mind ran deeper than his own, he’d have already knocked him out and dragged him away. He lowered his voice: “Are you truly left with only one-tenth of your strength?”

Qian Chen coughed several times, breathing laboriously: “Of course—why would I lie to you, Brother?”

“Should we leave you any magic treasure for defense?”

Qian Chen waved his hand: “No need. But if you must leave something—do you have a qin?”

“I’m a rough man—I can’t handle such refined instruments.” Yan Shu frowned. “Why do you want a qin?”

“To play the Empty City Stratagem. If I don’t learn from Zhuge’s Qin Demon, I feel something’s missing.” Qian Chen sighed. “Even a two-stringed huqin would do!”

“Who is this ‘Zhuge Qin Demon’?” Yan Shu muttered, shook his head, and called Ning Qingchen and Zhi Qiu into the demon cave.

Before entering, Ning Qingchen stared at Qian Chen for a long while with her beautiful eyes, making him feel uneasy, then turned away, hugging the yellow chicken into the cave.

After they left…

Qian Chen sat cross-legged at the entrance of the wolf demon cave, facing the rugged, desolate mountains, his back to the Tian Luo Umbrella, his fingers twitching unconsciously—as if a huqin lay upon his knees. The two little demons jumped off the gourd and played nearby. Qian Chen, facing away from the cave, wore a relaxed smile.

If not for the occasional cough, he might have seemed like a man out for a picnic.