Yun Xiao stood up and quickly looked around.
"Where did that black-scaled creature go just now?"
"Sir, you stepped on it!" came a voice below.
Yun Xiao looked down in surprise. Beneath his foot, Lanxing was struggling to breathe.
"Huh?"
He quickly lifted his foot, crouched down, and spotted a small tail in the dirt. "No wonder it felt kind of squishy…" he muttered, pulling the tiny creature out.
Lanxing's face was blank, while Chiyue had stars in his eyes, tongue lolling out, clearly dazed.
"Are you alright?" Yun Xiao asked, giving the small tail a gentle shake.
"Be gentler, I nearly passed out!" Lanxing protested, pointing urgently toward Yao Qingqian. "Quick, check for the mystical power crystals in Yao Qingqian's universe bag which she left behind when you strike her with your sword"
Without delay, Yun Xiao reached into her bag, feeling around until he touched a small, glowing pouch.
"A miniature universe bag?"
Yun Xiao, who had read plenty of fantasy tales in the mortal world, knew that the "small universe bag" was something only the most accomplished ascetics possessed. It was said that a single bag could hold riches rivaling an entire kingdom.
He loosened the colorful rope tying the bag shut and peered inside, seeing a miniature universe filled with a dense, mystical energy.
"There's a lot in here!" he remarked.
Aside from some women's clothing and everyday items, there were countless things Yun Xiao desired most: spirit crystals.
"How many?" Lanxing asked, sniffing the air with his little nose, catching a whiff of the treasure.
"Several thousand!" Yun Xiao said, astonished.
A small universe bag with thousands of spirit crystals… this showed that Yao Qingqian's wealth was indeed considerable—about 30 times that of an ordinary person.
"How could there be so many?" Lanxing asked in surprise.
"She's likely the protégé of a Sword Saint," Yun Xiao speculated.
"Can you hurry? Otherwise, I'll be out cold for three months!" Lanxing urged impatiently.
Yun Xiao then reached into the small universe bag, pulled out a large spirit crystal, and held it up to Lanxing's tiny mouth.
"What are you doing?" Lanxing asked, staring at him.
"Aren't you going to take your medicine?" Yun Xiao replied with a grin.
"Hey, wrong spot!" Lanxing looked down at his own wide-open mouth and glared at Yun Xiao. "Feed it here, understand? This mouth is for speaking, you know!"
"Are you sick? Do you really need two mouths just to divide up the work?" Yun Xiao grumbled, though he continued to feed him without pause. If they ended up sleeping for three months, it wouldn't be pleasant, after all.
He was still a bit worried about Chiyue, who had fainted. But just as the spirit crystal neared him, Chiyue's eyes suddenly lit up, and his mouth sprang open in a flash!
Chiyue snapped at it, nearly biting Yun Xiao's hand in the process.
"Easy! Take it easy!" Yun Xiao exclaimed, trying to keep up with how quickly Chiyue gobbled them down, like he was eating shelled peanuts. Crunch!
"Ouch…" Yun Xiao muttered, accidentally dropping a lady's shoe in his surprise, then breaking into a cold sweat.
After chomping through over a thousand spirit crystals, the dim blue light in Lanxing's eyes finally began to brighten and regain its usual luster.
"Feeling better?" Yun Xiao asked, concerned.
"Good thing this woman had plenty of spirit crystals, or we'd be empty!" Lanxing muttered, curling his lip.
"Once you finish these, will you be fully restored?" Yun Xiao asked as he continued feeding him.
"Almost!" Lanxing replied.
"Then maybe you could give me a boost when you're back to full strength," Yun Xiao said with a grin.
"Get lost!" Lanxing shot him a glare. "You've already worked me to the bone!" He continued, "Besides, you should be careful—our recovery takes a while, and it's not every day we're lucky enough to find so many spirit crystals."
"Understood!" Yun Xiao nodded.
"Also!" Lanxing's tone turned serious. "The way we look when eating, people might mistake us for a gluttonous beast."
"A gluttonous beast? You mean with a beastly chest and all?" Yun Xiao asked.
"Exactly! It's an ancient and ominous demon—its appearance alone strikes fear and can draw deadly attention. That's why we have to stay hidden when we feed," Lanxing explained.
"Got it." Yun Xiao nodded, pinching Lanxing's face gently. "Don't worry, I understand."
---
The path to becoming a true Creator Immortal ultimately lay within oneself. Growth required personal effort, not reliance on others. Depending on someone else's power would only be counterproductive.
"Stop pinching my face! Do I look like some kind of cute pet to you? I'm the ancient, original ominous demon!" Lanxing protested, scowling.
"Yeah, yeah, I know," Yun Xiao replied, but he kept pinching its face, making Lanxing's words come out as muffled grumbles.
Lanxing: "..."
Suddenly, Yun Xiao sensed a faint shiver in the air. He looked up and, under the dim candlelight, saw Cai Maomao standing at the garden entrance, looking uneasy.
Feeling a bit self-conscious, Yun Xiao scratched his head and then gave a slight smile. "Senior Brother Cai, how about this—you take care of the bloodstains, and I'll handle the bodies. Does that sound fair?"
"Sure!" Cai Maomao nodded repeatedly.
Yun Xiao didn't say anything further. He bent down and used a rope to bind the eleven corpses together, preparing to leave.
"Junior Brother Yun!" Cai Maomao's voice trembled as he called out.
"What's wrong?" Yun Xiao turned and asked.
"It's… nothing…" Cai Maomao bit his lip, hesitating to speak.
Seeing his hesitation, Yun Xiao decided to be direct. "Senior Brother Cai, let me ask you something first."
"Go ahead," Cai Maomao said.
"Why did you go out of your way to protect me?" Yun Xiao asked, looking directly at him.
Cai Maomao seemed taken aback. Smiling awkwardly, he finally replied, "It's nothing. It's just that Sword Pavilion hasn't had a new disciple in a long time. I figured that since everyone would be looking out for you tomorrow, as your Senior Brother, I couldn't just stand by and let the Junior Brother get pushed around. I wouldn't be able to face myself if I did…"
"Good," Yun Xiao replied, satisfied with the answer he received.
"Junior Brother Yun…" Cai Maomao gathered his courage and finally spoke the words he'd kept in his heart. "I heard you mention that you're an orphan. I want you to know, everyone who comes to Sword Pavilion is like family."
"Oh?" Yun Xiao smiled. "That's good to know."
"And, if you ever feel the need for fatherly guidance, I, Cai Maomao, would be more than willing to step in…"
Yun Xiao turned on his heel, dragging the corpses behind him.
As long as Cai Maomao couldn't see, he could do what he needed. Yun Xiao pulled out the Heaven-Burying Sword Soul again, his expression turning cold and indifferent.
"King Tiger Sword Soul was crushed by me, but there are still ten Sword Souls left."
Using a similar method, Yun Xiao pierced their bones with his Sword Soul, consuming them one by one. These Sword Souls seemed to descend into an abyss—the Heaven-Burying Sword Soul was like a hell unto itself. Outwardly, it appeared lush and vibrant, a green hell.
In comparison, Wang Feng and Yao Qingqian's Sword Souls had unique attributes. Wang Feng's was a low-grade Kaiyang with five Sword Gangs—a level barely sufficient for a disciple. Yao Qingqian's Sword Soul was high-grade Yaoguang with eight Sword Gangs. Despite being slightly lower in quality than Wang Feng's, her Sword Soul's power exceeded his due to the additional Sword Gang layers.
That's the power of the Sword Gang layers.
Now, all ten Sword Souls were devoured by the Heaven-Burying Sword Soul, transforming their deathly energy into the purest source essence, which condensed on Yun Xiao's sword, forming four additional Sword Gangs.
"Nine Sword Gangs in total now," Yun Xiao noted.
Before he began his path to ascension, he had none. Now he had nine.
"The higher the Sword Gang layer, the harder it is to accumulate. So, these ten only added four Sword Gangs, which is still impressive."
Yun Xiao continued to search their belongings, eventually finding two lark crystals among their possessions.
---
Additionally, the lark crystals Yun Xiao found didn't even amount to a tenth of Yao Qingqian's wealth. This confirmed that Yao Qingqian was indeed a "young rich woman" in Blue Soul. Unfortunately, all her spirit crystals had already been consumed by the small black beast, leaving none for Yun Xiao.
"Can these two lark crystals be transformed into Heavenly Dao Buddhist relics?" Yun Xiao asked them.
"Definitely!" Chiyue's eyes lit up.
"But don't just take them for yourself without returning anything," Yun Xiao warned.
"Don't worry, I'll return something!" Chiyue replied with a grin, flashing a row of sharp teeth. "I'll spit out something that tastes like those relics, heh heh!"
Yun Xiao: "..."
Finally, his work was done.
"Reincarnation!" he commanded, as the Heaven-Burying Sword Soul swept through, absorbing and dissolving everything in a cloud of dissipating black smoke. It was as if those who had once stood as powerful Kaiyang warriors and beautiful women elders had never existed.
He tossed any remaining relics he couldn't process into the river, letting the current wash away all evidence. To the outside world, it would be as though this group had never come to Sword Pavilion at all.
As Yun Xiao prepared to head back, he suddenly froze in terror. He felt a chill run down his spine.
Turning, he saw, through the shadowy forest, a woman standing there, staring directly at him. Her entire form radiated a scarlet aura.
"Yao…" Yun Xiao's voice faltered as cold fear crept down his back.
He could only imagine the horror Jiang Yue would feel if she discovered his true identity, and he felt his scalp tingle at the thought.
But then… it seemed he had misread the situation entirely.
The woman stood there, completely still—until she suddenly let out a loud hiccup.
Yun Xiao: "..."
He slowly approached, and when he saw her up close, he couldn't help but chuckle. She wasn't "radiating scarlet" at all—she was simply drunk!
Her entire face was flushed a deep red from the alcohol. She was tall, with a curvaceous figure accentuated by a fitted black dress that showed off her long, snow-white legs. She had an alluring, seductive appearance with an apricot-shaped face and delicate features.
"She's even more beautiful than Yao Qingqian," he thought, though Yao Qingqian had a slightly more overt charm, with an intentional frostiness and a bit of age showing. This woman, however, was youthful, with dark, silky hair that glistened in the moonlight, starry, elusive eyes, and soft, fluttering lashes. Her expression was as pristine as a pear blossom in the rain—a beauty with a refined, almost otherworldly charm.
Except… she was clearly very drunk.
Her cheeks glowed like rosy peaches, her eyes seemed slightly misty, and a faint, carefree smile lingered at the corners of her mouth. She swayed slightly, looking unexpectedly cute in her inebriation.
But Yun Xiao's only concern was: Did she see him handling those corpses?
He approached her, catching the mingling scents of wine and her own delicate fragrance. Though it was an autumn night, the air felt a bit warm.
"You…" Yun Xiao began, but before he could finish, the woman smiled, her eyes narrowing like crescent moons.
With a soft "shh," she raised a slender finger to her lips, letting out a gentle breath.
"Take me home," she said, then swayed and leaned into Yun Xiao's chest, pointing in a direction before letting her hand drop.
Following her gaze, Yun Xiao saw a lone, dimly lit lantern on a distant mountaintop.
Yun Xiao: "..."
Alright. Time to play the escort.
"Milk…" Chiyue murmured excitedly, only for Lanxing to cover his mouth with a paw.
"Careful! Leading the lamb to the tiger's den!" Lanxing warned.
"Who're you calling a lamb?" Chiyue scoffed.
"Not you!" Lanxing muttered, exasperated.
"Who, then?"
The two pairs of eyes glanced up simultaneously, meeting Yun Xiao's gaze.
Yun Xiao was speechless.
"Two silly idiots…"