Chapter 258

Chief Captain Lang Wu looked gloomily at Fang Yue, who was straining to stand on tiptoe, and said.

"Well then, since that's the case, go inform Lady Ni of the situation, and begin preparations for leaving the village—once you're ready, just send someone to let me know."

"It's a pity Mo Cun isn't peaceful; I have no reliable personnel at hand, otherwise I'd never let Ye Ge go out alone."

"Moreover, this journey, Ye Ge, is essentially serving Mo Cun, so I won't let you go empty-handed—this wine is called Langtao Wine; one sip equals half a month's cultivation for an ordinary martial cultivator. I'm giving you this entire bottle—may you return victorious!"

Saying this, Chief Captain Lang Wu handed Fang Yue a blue wine gourd he had already prepared.

Fang Yue shook the wine gourd—it was completely full—and his face lit up with joy.

"Good, good, good! I will surely eliminate the 【Weizhi】 for Mo Cun and restore it to a bright, clear tomorrow!"

He shouted the slogan loudly and snatched the gift quickly.

After meeting An Shenyi and Chief Captain Lang Wu both and receiving good gifts, Fang Yue couldn't help but wonder.

Maybe… I should just wander around the village again and see if any heroes will gift me supplies?

But only a few people know about eliminating the 【Weizhi】; no one else will likely give me anything now.

Being this behind-the-scenes hero is lonely.

He went to Ni Dongmei and told her—she frowned.

"I gave you the recipe for Feibai Pill, and this is what you produced? The original effect lasted a month—now it's only three days. An Shenyi of Mo Cun, is this all you can do?"

Fang Yue rolled his eyes internally—you people from big sects just love nitpicking.

I'm siding with An Shenyi on this.

It's a small village—no resources, no technique—just being able to produce something from the recipe is already impressive; do you expect high quality? Do you think everyone is a sect alchemy master?

"Fine, the Feibai Pill is acceptable—just solve the Yang Void Strange problem quickly. Afterwards, notify me with the meatball. If you're followed, notify me with the meatball too."

Fang Yue nodded, then stood there silently, not moving.

"What are you standing there for? Aren't you going to do your task?"

Damn it! Everyone else gives gifts—why do you give me nothing? So stingy!

Seeing Ni Dongmei truly wouldn't give him anything, Fang Yue left in frustration.

Theoretically, it was nearly dusk now; nightfall was approaching, and even if he were to search for the 【Weizhi】, it would be best to leave the village tomorrow morning.

But for Fang Yue, night was the perfect time to go out!

Night's Breath is forever divine!

After Fang Yue left, the inn where Ni Dongmei stayed fell silent.

The inn, already occupied solely by her, was now utterly still.

She returned to her room and took out a small black turtle.

Its shell bore dense, intricate talismanic inscriptions; its limbs burned with pitch-black flames.

The turtle was alive, tiny, crawling across the table, yet leaving behind trails of black flame.

But the turtle moved extremely slowly, as if each step required immense effort.

Under Ni Dongmei's gaze, the black turtle finally took its final step, collapsed onto the table, and with a splash, its entire body erupted in black flame, burning to nothingness.

On the tabletop where it had crawled, a pattern of black flame remained—forming characters.

"Destroy."

Ni Dongmei stared at the character, her brow furrowed, as if trying to discern deeper meaning from this 'Destroy'—but ultimately found nothing.

"Heaven's mechanism led me here, yet left no trace… What is going on?"

"The Master's divination cannot be wrong—the pillar of Jibing Sect's destiny lies in Mo Cun!"

"But where exactly is it hidden?"

"Is it the stray with exceptional talent I happened upon?"

"Or is it the stray Ye Se who drew the Yang Void Strange?"

"Or perhaps the Yang Void Strange 【Weizhi】 itself? Could it lead Jibing Sect to prosperity? If so, once Ye Se dies, I shall go there myself."

"And the ancient array of Mo Cun is decaying, once killing our sect's Elder; An Shenyi is a pawn of the Phoenix Organization; merchant caravans are infiltrating; even the 【Jushou Xuequan】 are gathering… So many events in Mo Cun lately—exactly which one is the pillar of Jibing Sect's destiny? My head aches."

Had she not come with a mission, Ni Dongmei would act far more freely—she wouldn't be so restrained now, afraid to act on any side, forced to hedge her bets and wait for Causality to reveal itself.

"Heaven's mechanism cannot be revealed; even our sect's last Heavenly Mechanism Turtle left only this one character… Sigh…"

Ni Dongmei felt profound helplessness.

Her strength towered above all others, yet before the power of Heaven and Earth, it was negligible.

"The sect has treated me well—even if I exhaust the power of this clone, I must discern the location of the destiny pillar from these dust fragments! Only then can I truly fulfill my duty and honor the sect's trust in me!"

Ni Dongmei's gaze gradually hardened.

A clone does not come without cost.

Most people dislike cultivating Martial Techniques for clones, because clones divide the original's power, and a clone's death inflicts irreversible, severe damage on the original—sometimes even causing a drop in cultivation realm.

No one likes an extra burden, but in dangerous situations, besides throwing lives away, only clones are suitable.

Better a clone dies than the original.

A drop in cultivation level is merely a drop—if resources and talent remain, one can always cultivate back up.

"It won't be long—according to the divination, the destiny pillar will manifest within these days!"

…

Lang Fu.

"Ye Ge, you—you—you! What's your relationship with Miss Ni Dongmei!"

Niu Niu, having somehow heard rumors, rushed over and bombarded Fang Yue with questions, firing off messages nonstop.

"What relationship? Probably the kind where I have to give her a gift for her several-hundredth birthday."

Niu Niu was stunned.

"What?! Your progress has already... wait! A birthday in the hundreds?"

The first two sentences still shocked him, but then he suddenly caught on.

"Y-you-you, you're saying Miss Ni Dongmei has a permanently youthful...?"

"Correct."

Niu Niu was overjoyed: "Isn't that great! A legal loli!"

Fang Yue:???

Damn! Bro, your fetish is freaking weird!

"Her appearance is at most a girl, right? It doesn't even come close to a loli."

"Ye Ge, that's where you don't get it. In the long run, she's several hundred years old with a teenage appearance — isn't that exactly a legal loli!"

Damn! Are you a logic master?

Fang Yue rolled his eyes hard: "If you want to chase girls, I don't care, but let me give you a friendly reminder — if you keep pestering that lady, either you'll eat soft rice within your lifetime, or you should get ready to reincarnate."

Niu Niu:???

"Reincarnate? Is it that serious?"

"Several hundred years old, what do you think?"

Recovering, slowly returning to the previous update frequency.

(End of chapter)