Chapter 185

The sword-song of Chixiao was not clear and ringing, but fierce.

Li Guanyi felt for the first time how furious Chixiao had become.

That intensity was so great it seemed ready to fly out and cleave something—even when encountering the aura of a hegemon, it had never been this strong; the only treasure-weapon on Li Guanyi's person, the Shaoyang Sword gifted by his aunt Chen Qingyan, seemed to respond to Chixiao's presence, faintly humming in resonance.

Li Guanyi halted, gazing at the path marked with some danger, then at Yao Guang and the Daoist: "Since this is an opportunity, I'm certainly interested—but since there's danger, I'll first take you both to a safe town, then return."

Yao Guang shook her head, her voice calm as a girl's.

"Wherever you go, I'll go with you."

The ancient Daoist opened his eyes and glanced left; in an instant, it was as if he had surpassed Yao Guang's star-reading divination—his eyes seemed to swirl with a flicker of anger, anger like Lei Ting, then vanished into pure clarity of heart:

"Left."

Li Guanyi grinned, flicked the whip, and the old ox stepped forward; the boy said: "Master Daoist, you speak so tersely—why not say a few more words?"

The ancient Daoist gave Li Guanyi a faint glance.

No junior had ever spoken to him like this.

He was not arrogant, merely naturally aloof; he merely said:

"Thirsty."

Li Guanyi laughed, reached out beside him, seized a wine jar, then without looking, flicked his wrist—the jar flew backward; the ancient Daoist, leaning against the cart's rail, casually caught it.

He took a sip, then frowned.

"Sweet?"

The boy Daoist laughed, raised his eyebrows triumphantly: "Yes, sweet rice wine."

"Won't make you drunk."

"I hid it beneath the straw—cool enough. In summer's heat, a sip is refreshing and pleasant."

"What, Master Daoist, can't you drink it?"

The ancient Daoist thought: Truly still a child.

A boy of fourteen, even counting by lunar age, barely fifteen—yet so young.

Likes sweet food.

Zu Wenyuan, what kind of judgment do you really have?

The ancient Daoist tilted his head and drank, then said calmly: "Acceptable."

"The Dao embraces all methods—sweetness is fine."

Li Guanyi laughed: "So you can speak normally after all! Don't be so vague and ethereal, like you're floating in the air." The ancient Daoist said nothing, merely drank, flicked his hand, and returned the jar to its place—perfectly fitted.

The ox cart creaked slowly leftward, arriving at a small town just as the last sliver of light vanished beyond the horizon; the town was tiny, nowhere near the grandeur of Yicheng or Jiangzhou, and utterly dark.

Li Guanyi sniffed, sensing a faint, elusive trace of blood.

Chixiao had fallen silent, yet its sharp killing intent did not fade—it intensified.

Inside Li Guanyi, the Jin Dan of the Wan Gu Cang Yue Bu Mie Ti rotated faster, growing unstable, showing signs of shifting toward another qi flow pattern; he forcibly suppressed it, lifting his gaze slightly, feeling this place was like a cold, dark cave.

They entered the only inn available; outside stood several horses. Li Guanyi tied the ox cart, then walked in—and encountered familiar faces: five bruised and swollen men, the same ones from the Divine Beasts Manor he'd met before encountering Yao Guang.

Previously, their tables had been piled high with meat and fish, wine never lacking.

Now, their table held only one dish: stir-fried greens.

Each of the five men held a yellow millet bun, eating around the single dish of greens.

One big bite of bun, one chopstick of greens.

The leader raised his head and shouted: "Shopkeeper, five more buns!"

"You said—order the greens, eat buns for free."

Then he lowered his head, smacked a junior with his chopstick, furious:

"You little brat—didn't you just grab two greens? I saw you!"

"Big brother, we still have some money left…"

"Nonsense, nonsense, nonsense! When we reach Beicheng, expenses will be huge. Eat or don't eat? If you don't, you won't even get buns. In the Jianghu, the most important thing is stability. Eat simple, trim the fat off your belly—it's better than nothing."

"What about free rice?"

"Jianghu people eating free rice? Too shameful."

The man scolded his junior, glanced up—and saw Li Guanyi enter; his expression froze, he forced a dry laugh. His junior opened his mouth to shout, but the man clamped a hand over his head and shoved it down: "Eat your bun."

Li Guanyi ignored the Divine Beasts Manor disciples.

He ordered four bowls of noodles and a few side dishes; though this was Chen State, it lay at the northern-southern crossroads, blending both cuisines—rice and noodles both available. The Shopkeeper quickly brought the food.

Li Guanyi glanced briefly at the Shopkeeper, about forty, gaunt, pale and sallow: "Hmm, Shopkeeper, you're unwell—seems like blood deficiency. You need proper rest."

The Shopkeeper forced a smile: "Thank you, young Daoist."

He set down the dishes. Though the place seemed rich in produce and varied in food, Li Guanyi noticed the waiters were thin and blood-starved, the kitchen women and the bookkeeper were all pregnant.

This was a family-run inn: the Shopkeeper's son ran errands, his daughter-in-law handled accounts, his wife and brother-in-law cooked—but even his wife, long past childbearing age, was pregnant. Was it sheer recklessness?

Li Guanyi thought, when shouts came from outside: "Get out! Get out!"

"Get out, now!"

Li Guanyi saw a man crying and screaming outside, quickly driven away.

Footsteps approached; Li Guanyi turned to see the Divine Beasts Manor leader carrying a platter of sliced pork hocks, placing it on their table, bowing deeply: "Young Master, before, we were blind—failed to recognize a true cultivator."

"You beat us, we accept defeat. This dish of meat is our apology."

He kept bowing, spouting empty Jianghu courtesies.

Glancing at the cat beside him, he gritted his teeth, fumbled in his robe for a long moment, pulled out silver, placed it on the table, then added a heap of copper coins: "Uh… would you sell your cat?"

"I'll pay… three taels!"

Li Guanyi laughed in exasperation, raised his hand—the big man flinched, recoiling backward; the boy Daoist said: "Not for sale, not for sale. Keep your silver." His sleeve swept—three taels flew back; as for the meat, the Fire Qilin had already bitten off a piece.

After the big man returned, a thin, monkey-like man beside him hesitated and said, "Big brother, I think we got it wrong—my marten's back to its original form. Maybe that cat wasn't some strange beast; we must've mixed things up."

The big man exploded in rage: "You!!!"

After seething for a while, he slammed his fist on the table:

"You, kid, no vegetables tomorrow—and you don't get any of today's soup either!"

After they finished eating the greens, they wiped their corn cakes on the plate, scraping them clean, then stuffed the soaked cakes into their mouths, finally feeling full. Li Guanyi and the others had eaten; the Ancient Daoist Priest murmured, "Tired."

"We might as well rest here."

Li Guanyi looked at the unknown Daoist Priest, nodded, and went to speak with the Shopkeeper. The small town's inn had dining downstairs and guest rooms on the second and third floors, plus a suite that doubled as a front-facing room, able to accommodate two people inside and out. The Shopkeeper glanced at them and said:

"Are you three wanting guest rooms, or like those others—bunk beds?"

The Ancient Daoist Priest replied coolly:

"Two rooms."

"I'll take one. You two youngsters share the other."

The silver-haired girl paused.

Then she reached up, pulled her hood lower, covering her face.

She said nothing.

Li Guanyi thought for a moment and requested two rooms—one guest room, one of the suite type.

Li Guanyi and Yao Guang occupied the inner-and-outer ring suite; they'd turned the parlor into a sleeping space, placing a table and bed there. Li Guanyi had Yao Guang sleep in the inner room, while he took the outer room.

Yao Guang raised her hand, lowered her hood. Silver hair fell, she shook her head, and the piled strands loosened, becoming soft and smooth.

Li Guanyi sat on a chair, poured himself a cup of tea, then removed the Song-patterned Sword and placed it on his knees. "Yao Guang, stay inside. Be careful—this town is off. Tonight, unexpected guests may come."

He thought, and activated the Six Void Four Union Divine Art. The Black Tortoise Manifestation surfaced.

The boy tapped the tortoise's shell.

"Go patrol outside."

The Black Tortoise Manifestation, unimpressed, was flung away by the Red Dragon Manifestation's tail—like an ice ball slamming into the wall—then it kept opening and closing its mouth as if cursing while flying off. The boy sat cross-legged on the chair, closed his eyes, and could hear what the Black Tortoise Manifestation heard.

His realm was Second Floor—he couldn't let the Black Tortoise Manifestation stray far.

But covering the vicinity of this inn was no problem.

The Ancient Daoist Priest seemed to have already lain down fully clothed. He heard a woman weeping, a man sighing. For some reason, Li Guanyi had a faint sense that since arriving in this village, something felt strange, out of place—but he couldn't grasp it yet.

Suddenly, Li Guanyi heard hushed whispers:

"Is this the place?"

"Yes. Two groups arrived—one is disciples from the Divine Beast Manor heading to Beicheng; the other, two Daoist Priests, one old, one young, and one… one…"

"One what?"

"... I, I forgot. Strange—I should remember clearly what that person looked like."

"Feels like three people. Or maybe just two."

"Strange—what did he even look like? Was there really a third person?"

"You idiot, forget it. We need blood. These peasants have little qi. The Hunting Qilin Festival is near—we must take risks. First, use sleeping powder, then cut them down. Don't spare the Divine Beast Manor either."

"Understood."

"Hunting Qilin Festival?"

"Need blood? From the way they talk, these martial artists are using civilians to cultivate…"

Li Guanyi gripped his sword, fingers pressing against the hilt—his killing intent had already risen.

The Black Tortoise Manifestation returned. Li Guanyi told Yao Guang: someone had arrived.

Li Guanyi pressed a finger to his lips, signaling silence. A hole was poked through the window—a bamboo pole slid in, releasing a puff of white smoke.

Moments later, Li Guanyi sat with eyes closed. A martial artist slashed open the lock, pushed the door gently open, and said, "Young Daoist, what's so special about you?" He reached out with his chain to seize Li Guanyi—when suddenly, his wrist throbbed with pain.

The boy opened his eyes. The man opened his mouth to shout—but felt a sharp pain in his chest, collapsed to the ground, unconscious. Li Guanyi dealt with the two, lifted his gaze slightly, and said: "This town is suspicious. Yao Guang, set up the array and wait here."

The silver-haired girl nodded, quiet and obedient.

She said nothing about insisting on coming along.

Inside Li Guanyi, the Chi Xiao Sword hummed urgently, urging him to move. He leapt out, seeing several disciples from the Divine Beast Manor—likely too hungry to sleep—already fighting with the other group. Li Guanyi flicked two fingers; a needle-thin Shaoyang Needle shot out.

The two martial artists were instantly pierced through their acupoints.

The Ancient Daoist Priest slept soundly, showing no sign of disturbance.

Li Guanyi departed. He activated the Qi-Seeing Technique, following the trail left by the two men and the faint scent of blood, guided by the Chi Xiao Sword. His movement unfolded—not Chen Chengbi's Nine Palaces Eight Trigrams Step, but the leg technique recorded on the bronze stele in the inner library of Chen's Imperial Library.

It was among the supreme Wu Gong beneath the level of Manifestation Divine Art.

Li Guanyi moved like wind. The sword's hum within him grew fiercer. He arrived before the grandest courtyard in the entire town. Not knowing Yao Guang's strange arts, he shifted his internal qi, leapt upward, pressed lightly against the high wall, then soared another three feet before landing softly.

As he landed, the Black Tortoise Manifestation appeared, gently supporting Li Guanyi.

The boy's body visibly hovered—then landed with perfect silence.

He activated the Twelve Layers of Jiangnan Mist and Rain. Li Guanyi merged seamlessly with the surroundings.

Li Guanyi reversed his long sword, activated Qi-Seeing Technique, and paced through the courtyard. To avoid alerting the enemy, he didn't knock everyone out—he relied solely on his step technique or hid in shadows. No guards patrolled. He reached the innermost area.

The stench of blood was thick. The Chi Xiao Sword's hum nearly solidified into killing intent.

Li Guanyi held his breath, listening to the voices inside: "Hmph. Are they not ready yet?"

"These peasants are utterly useless…"

"But you—you've been refining pills for so long, and still produced nothing?"

"Ha! Do you think I'm someone like Zhong Sun Tianjue, that waste?"

"That old fool had his own arts and furnace stolen by his disciple—went mad for years. I heard his disciple went to Chen's imperial court, became the imperial alchemist, and was eventually killed by his own pupil—named Hou Zhongyu."

"I'm not him. To refine pills for immortality, I don't rely on external treasures."

"You shouldn't have used Fire Qilin blood, or any beast blood at all!"

"All of you are wrong. Though you boast yourselves as sorcerers, walking to the left of the Daoist path, neither orthodox nor heretical, you never dare take that one step—why not consider this: the most spiritually attuned beings are humans!"

Li Guanyi's grip on his sword paused slightly; another man sneered: "So that's why you control this town, forcing these peasants to bleed for you, and making our disciples kill passing warriors—but you've still not forged anything."

An old man laughed loudly: "Hahahaha, you're wrong—I've forged it! I received a transmission from the Green Robe Immortal, and I've already transformed blood into cultivation. But this 【Hunting Qilin Grand Assembly】 has the most beautiful woman in the world—beauty is illusion, but those several Grand Masters are real. I intend to forge this Blood Pill!"

"Presented to the Grand Elder of the Yin-Yang Wheel Turn Sect, there will be endless glory and wealth, inexhaustible delicacies and fine wine, divine arts and treasured weapons—all in my grasp!"

"Oh? What is it?"

The sorcerer said: "Hmph, three hu and six dou each of child and maiden gallbladder marrow can substitute!"

The Yin-Yang Wheel Turn Sect member said coolly: "Oh? Not particularly difficult. That's why you forced them all to become pregnant and give birth—to use these people as nourishment, to keep breeding children for you to refine into pills?"

The old man boasted: "Indeed. This is the border between two nations, the most chaotic place under heaven. The officials? I've given them their share of benefits. Their people haven't died—only a few children are missing at birth."

"What are humans, after all? Livestock of the world?"

"In this world, common peasants are like weeds in the field. As long as they look roughly the same, losing a crop doesn't matter—even whether they're the original crop or not is irrelevant."

"Three hu and six dou each of child and maiden gallbladder marrow is hard—but if I don't demand immediate potency, why not test gradually? One birth per year, a single town can produce many. Test the pill, extend life by half a year or a year—still a good thing!"

"As for those children…"

The old sorcerer paused.

After a long silence, he said softly: "Fate is small, fortune is thin."

Suddenly, a sword's hum rang out.

Both men in the room changed expression instantly, raising their inner Qi—both possessed substantial inner Qi, enough to be considered skilled outside—but in an instant, a sword flew straight in, shattering the door.

The Songwen Ancient Sword pierced directly through the middle-aged man's head.

Crimson patterns glowed on the Daoist sword, howling incessantly; its sword intent rose like the vast sky. Li Guanyi's Chi Xiao merged into this sword, and in an instant, it pierced through the warrior's defenses.

Yet he was not dead.

Li Guanyi appeared instantly, thrusting forward with a punch.

On his fist, the layered, overlapping energies of the Six Void Four Union Divine Art exploded—flinging the man upward, his mind blank. Li Guanyi spun with the motion; Murong Qiushui's sword had already severed the man's throat.

Blood sprayed out.

Li Guanyi simultaneously lunged forward, striking the old sorcerer with one blow that sent him flying.

The old sorcerer seemed about to form a hand seal and activate a strange technique.

But Li Guanyi had fought Hou Zhongyu—he knew these people's tricks.

Instantly, the old sorcerer's fingers were sliced off. Li Guanyi kicked him hard, snatched up a bamboo stick nearby, and hurled it with force, pinning him to the wall. The sorcerer spat blood, his aura withering. Li Guanyi had emerged from the Great Sacrifice—he had survived a city under siege.

His frequency and intensity of killing were utterly beyond what this old sorcerer could match.

In mere moments of combat, full power unleashed—one dead, one critically wounded.

The boy reached out and seized the Songwen Sword, glowing with crimson light.

On the blade, the radiance of Chi Xiao shifted.

The Divine Weapon of the Red Emperor—even though the Red Emperor was dead—still yearned to protect his people.

Li Guanyi reached out, dragged the old sorcerer out, and his voice, sharp from clenched teeth, said: "Where are the children…"

The old sorcerer still had breath: "You said… you wouldn't kill me."

Li Guanyi severed the sorcerer's right arm.

"Where?"

The old sorcerer screamed and wept: "You said… you wouldn't kill me…"

Li Guanyi cut off his left arm. The Shaoyang Sword sang like a needle, its Chi Xiao shadow instantly transferring from the Songwen Ancient Sword onto the Shaoyang Sword—ferocious, scorching, pressing against the sorcerer's forehead, inching closer. Finally, the sorcerer screamed in terror: "I'll tell you! I'll tell you!"

Li Guanyi dragged the sorcerer as he said, opened the hidden door—and a stench of rot hit him, freezing his body. Bones everywhere. The floor like a blood pool. Each cage held a child, lying atop one another.

One child was outside, about three years old, able to speak.

Sitting in the blood pool.

One arm severed.

The child had been given some pill—the severed arm sprouted fleshy buds, as if trying to grow something new, yet untreated. Maggots crawled over the body, falling into the blood pool. The child, oblivious, sat there, playing with the maggots.

Then he noticed Li Guanyi and the sorcerer. The child extended his remaining arm, smiling innocently:

"Hold me!"

The sorcerer suddenly felt terror.

He saw the young Daoist's pupils churn like stormy seas—next instant, he felt himself crash to the ground. The Shaoyang Sword pierced all hundred acupoints of his body, pain like slow slicing, agony so intense he nearly died, yet held in place—until finally, it pierced his skull!

His white-haired head exploded into a mass.

Li Guanyi crouched down, looking at the child: "Who are you?"

The child said: "Who am I?"

The sorcerer's death seemed to trigger some mechanism. Outside, shouts of battle rose. Warriors wielding swords and knives rushed toward them. The young Daoist looked at the children, his expression softening. He took off his Daoist robe, wrapped the child in it, and lifted him up.

He whispered: "Close your eyes, brother will give you a treat."

The child, dazed, closed his eyes.

The warriors surged forward, each wielding blades, attacking Li Guanyi's vital points.

This is the Jianghu, after all…

The boy reached out, covered the child's eyes, turned his back to the warriors, extended his right hand—and black demonic energy erupted violently, roaring like a tiger. A dark-gold battle halberd appeared in his grasp, howling fiercely.

Weapons that struck it shattered instantly.

The boy rose, spun, and the halberd roared like a tiger.

Fuck your lawless Jianghu!

Five heads flew into the sky together.

The Ancient Daoist stood atop the inn without warning, watching the scene, his wide sleeves fluttering.

Blood mingled with the blood pool; the youth gripped his battle halberd and strode out, his temples slightly stirred, like a furious tiger—the rogue's spirit had vanished, replaced by the fierce, blazing aura of a martial general.

Ahead were dozens of warriors, yet the youth held his battle halberd and marched forward.

Such deadly aura.

The Ancient Daoist gazed down at the mortal world, silent for a long while.

"Zu Wenyuan, your eye for talent surpasses mine."