Jin Sheng then said with an understanding face, "There's no need to be embarrassed. This is also a good fortune for you. You looked not bad last night, and the female Disciple didn't suffer any loss, did she?"
"Can we please stop talking about this topic?"
"What I mean to say isn't that, little corpse demon. Liking women isn't a bad thing; I like them too. However, you must never let desire cloud your judgment. You can be casual in guarding against other righteous folks, but there are two people you must absolutely not provoke!"
Jin Sheng's usually bright eyes suddenly turned dark and somber.
His voice was low and serious, and even his ruggedly handsome face was tinged with deep wariness and dread.
Baili An also swallowed nervously, "Which two people?"
"Two beautiful women," Jin Sheng answered.
Baili An: "…"
Had they really taken him for a lecherous ghost so bewitched by lust?
And to emphasize it so particularly, what was the meaning of this!
"Ey, don't look at me with that expression. I'm serious. If you fall into someone else's hands, there's always a slim chance of survival, but if you fall into the hands of those two women, even I won't be able to save you."
Jin Sheng looked serious, with a gravity in his tone, "If you ever meet a beautiful woman dressed in red or white in the future, remember to walk the other way, the farther the better."
Baili An thought to himself: There are only so many colors for clothes, and there are many people dressed in white or red. If I take your words seriously, then I'd be annoyed every day just avoiding people.
Although as a little corpse demon, he was supposed to avoid living humans daily.
Baili An felt somewhat gloomy.
Afterward, Jin Sheng went on to relate some not-too-significant events and essential knowledge for cultivation.
The sky gradually darkened, the sun set behind West Mountain.
"That's enough, from here on out, it depends on your own fortune, little corpse demon. The mountains are high and the rivers long; this is where we part."
Jin Sheng clapped his hands, took the Longsword lying next to him, and did not leave directly through Sword Control like Miss Li Jiujiu.
Instead, he carried the Longsword on his shoulder with the swagger of a pugilist from the pugilistic world, disappearing down the jungle path.
Baili An put away the Glazed Umbrella, changed into a black robe, and pulled up the hood.
He wrapped the black silk scarf around his neck, filled with finger holes, fashioning it as a scarf.
From Jin Sheng's instructions, he learned that the mountain he was on was called Kongcang Mountain.
To the North of the mountain was the sea, named the Endless Sea.
At the edge of that sea lay an ancient cave, named the Demon Cave.
And the place he had often mentioned, the Langya Demon Sect, was located on the other side of the Demon Cave, in the territory of the Zhao state.
In the following days, Baili An did not leave Kongcang Mountain.
Instead, he devoted himself to quiet cultivation.
During the day, he would randomly find a cave to practice in.
At night, he would leave the cave to find berries and wild vegetables to feed the little deer.
After ten days, the little deer showed no intention of leaving him and became even more affectionate and reliant.
Baili An simply let it be; considering he might be alone for a long time to come, having such a little deer for company was quite nice.
The blood of Jin Sheng was indeed extraordinary; ten days had passed, yet he felt not a hint of hunger.
He could still feel the presence of that robust, warm blood within him.
And the little deer, frolicking in the mountains all day, somehow managed to discover the knack for cultivation on its own.
In just ten days, it had accumulated a considerable amount of Spiritual Power within its body, and its Realm had unknowingly broken through the first level of cultivators' pursuit.
The small antlers on its head were no longer ginger-yellow in color but had gradually turned into a faint cerulean, like the color of the night sea and stars—looking extremely fantastical and beautiful.
And on that day, the tranquility of Kongcang Mountain was disturbed.
Kongcang Mountain was an unclaimed mountain, facing the sea on one side and surrounded by mountains on the other three, with many Immortal Sects hidden among the other mountainous and seaside areas.
However, Kongcang Mountain faced directly towards the Endless Sea region, standing opposite to the Demon Cave, and often some demonic beasts or Fierce Ghosts from the cave would cross the sea and cause trouble on the mountain.
Therefore, no Immortal Sect power had been established here.
But that night's Thunder-Attracting Sword was immensely powerful.
It had drawn the attention of quite a few people.
The five mutilated corpses from the Wan Beast Palace had already been half-eaten by crows, looking extremely gruesome.
Unfortunately, it happened that a mortal hunter accidentally discovered those five mutilated bodies.
Mu Zhengqi was a person of considerable status among the five, and his body still carried a rare treasure from the Immortal Sect, the Qiankun Bag.
Although most of his flesh had been pecked away, the Qiankun Bag had been left behind.
Perhaps the hunter, intrigued by the novelty of the Qiankun Bag, got greedy and took it with him.
How could a mortal anticipate that the Qiankun Bag bore a unique mark of the Wan Beast Palace?
Ten days later, the disciples of the Wan Beast Palace came knocking at the door.
This was serious trouble.
Upon learning that disciples from their own sect had died overnight, and that one of them was the Palace Master's own son, several calamities befell.
The remaining disciples from Wan Beast Palace, who had ventured out to train, found themselves in the debris field, and they pinned the blame on the hunter for killing their brethren.
How could mortals possibly kill Cultivators?
It was nothing more than finding a scapegoat to deflect disaster and ease trouble.
After all, it was the Palace Master's son who died, and they were out on the same mission, all now dead, unable to find the real murderer.
Unable to return and face the music, they had to bear the Palace Master's wrath themselves.
When those disciples found the hunter's home, they discovered he had a young and beautiful daughter.
Without a second thought, they abducted both father and daughter back to where the five corpses lay.
Baili An was practicing seclusion in the cave, and with the scorching midday sun outside, even protected by the Glazed Umbrella, he did not wish to leave.
The little deer, which had gone out for a stroll, rushed back to the cave, tugging at Baili An's clothes with its teeth, whimpering incessantly and with pleading eyes.
During daylight, the little deer rarely disturbed him, so Baili An immediately sensed something was amiss.
He unfolded the umbrella and followed it out of the cave.
Through the dense forest, he saw, near the debris field left by the lightning strike, several disciples of the Wan Beast Palace beating a middle-aged man while hurling insults.
Cursing loudly, "You've really got the guts of a bear and the heart of a leopard, daring to kill someone from our Wan Beast Palace! Even ten lives wouldn't be enough to atone for your crimes! Brothers, beat him hard."
The mob was precise with their blows, targeting the fleshier parts to avoid killing the man; after all, they needed to bring him back alive to report.
Not far from them lay a young girl tightly bound with coarse hemp rope.
She lay on the ground, sobbing and begging, "Please… please stop hitting my father. He really isn't a murderer! Someone else did those killings; he just picked up a wallet, that's all!"
The girl hadn't needed to plead; at the sound of her voice, those men indeed halted their assault.