Although Monk Jiezao and Zhuang Lu acted arrogant and cold in front of everyone else, before a true superior, the two of them could only be described as utterly servile.
“Senior, this treasure naturally belongs to you. We merely came over to take a look,” Zhuang Lu said with a fawning smile.
“That’s right, Senior. If you happen to take a liking to it, we two would be honored to serve you. It’s only an alchemy furnace. Just say the word, and we would immediately procure one for you. There would be no need for you to make the trip yourself.”
Now that they had crossed paths with a senior in the Grotto-Heaven realm and laid claim to something he wanted, they could no longer afford to think about anything else. They had to figure out how to preserve their own lives.
The best solution was naturally to submit to this senior and become his subordinates.
The worst would be to fight him head-on.
“You two do have some sense,” Shu Xin said. With a wave of his hand, he collected the entire alchemy furnace before turning to the two men. “What? Do you want to become my subordinates?”
“It would be our good fortune to have the honor of working for you, Senior.”
“To be honest, we once did some work for Perfected Chixiao of the Demon Sect. He thought highly of the two of us,” Monk Jiezao said with an ingratiating grin. “With your extraordinary strength, Senior, why should you trouble yourself with everything personally? With a single command, countless people would be willing to risk their lives for you.”
Chixiao, a Grotto-Heaven cultivator, was a notorious old demon among the demonic cultivators.
Monk Jiezao had brought him up now merely to raise their own value.
“Chixiao, huh?” Shu Xin said slowly. “I do have a business deal to discuss with him. Do you know where he is now?”
“This…” Zhuang Lu faltered. “If Senior wishes to find Chixiao, the two of us will certainly help you locate him.”
As long as this mysterious cultivator was willing to use them, the matter would be easy to handle.
“Very well.” Shu Xin nodded. “Go find him for me. Once you do, come back here and leave me a message.”
Shu Xin waved his hand.
“Then how are we supposed to contact you, Senior?”
“Leave a message here once you find him,” Shu Xin replied.
Monk Jiezao and Zhuang Lu were overjoyed. They had never expected to escape so easily from the hands of a Grotto-Heaven cultivator. It seemed heaven itself was looking out for them.
With that thought, the two brothers no longer lingered. Without the slightest hesitation, they flew toward the exit.
The next moment, a flying sword pierced through both of their dantians. The sword qi swirling around its blade tore their Nascent Souls in half.
“Didn’t anyone ever tell you never to turn your back on an enemy?” Shu Xin burst out laughing.
How could Shu Xin possibly let them go?
Still, for the sake of safety, it was simply faster to launch a sneak attack.
[You liked doing this even when you were in the Dao Infant realm. Now that you’re in the Grotto-Heaven realm, crushing them should be no harder than crushing ants. And you still chose to sneak attack them?]
The Sword Spirit was practically furious.
Couldn’t it have a proper, dignified fight for once?
Against such insignificant nobodies, a frontal attack would have ended things in a single move.
“That won’t do,” Shu Xin retorted. “Who knows what trump cards they might have hidden? If I can ambush them, why would I take their attacks head-on? Better to be cautious.”
You never act cautiously at any other time. But the moment it comes to fighting, you become cautious to an absurd degree.
The Sword Spirit silently grumbled.
“You lied when you said you’d seen Chixiao, didn’t you? I’ve been hunting that fellow for years without finding even a trace of him. That old demon is cautious to the point of madness. Do you really think he’d let two rogue cultivators who had seen him wander around outside?”
“Senior… Senior, please spare us!” Monk Jiezao had never imagined that this Grotto-Heaven cultivator would act so contrary to all reason. His strength was already overwhelmingly superior, yet he had still resorted to a sneak attack.
Didn’t powerful cultivators have any pride at all?
“Sorry about this.” Shu Xin whistled. “Your lives would be wasted if they remained with you, but they’ll be of great use to me.”
Monk Jiezao and Zhuang Lu still tried to fight with all their might, but in their severely wounded state, how much power could any of their techniques possibly unleash?
The young woman’s copper corpse, which had been refined by Monk Jiezao, also failed to attack Shu Xin as he had intended. Instead, it took one step after another toward Monk Jiezao.
With its master’s strength impaired, the puppet corpse naturally turned on him.
Seeing this, the Sword Spirit hurriedly used the flesh and blood of the two men to clean its blade, then left their corpses to the young woman’s copper corpse, allowing her to gnaw at them with abandon.
“No matter how many times I see the techniques of the Yin Corpse Demon Sect, I still find them repulsive,” Shu Xin sighed.
To reduce the resentment of cultivators transformed into yin corpses, the practitioners of this sect often targeted their own family members or lovers.
They struck when their victims’ feelings for them were at their strongest, refining the intense emotions and unwillingness left behind in their corpses into yin corpses. The results were far better than when using corpses of strangers. Furthermore, to lessen the corpses’ hatred toward them, they often engaged in “exchanging murders.” This made the refinement process much easier.
Some yin corpses could not even determine who the true murderer was. Years after their deaths, they would still follow their instincts and protect the person who had killed them.
It was truly pitiful and tragic.
Only after the young woman’s copper corpse had gnawed Monk Jiezao’s body into scattered chunks did Shu Xin order the Sword Spirit to put her out of her misery. He then burned the entire area until nothing remained, finally bringing the matter to a clean conclusion.
He couldn’t very well let Zhuang Lu and Monk Jiezao return. That would make all the preparations she had made a complete waste.
[By the way, I have to ask—why do you always laugh “keh keh keh” whenever you make an entrance?] The Sword Spirit had never cared much about the deaths of cultivators like these.
It wasn’t human, after all.
[The demonic cultivators I’ve met don’t laugh like that either.]
“I like it. Is that not allowed?” Shu Xin said, planting his hands on his hips. “It sets the mood.”
If I’m being honest, I really don’t feel any atmosphere at all.
“All right, let’s go.” Shu Xin clapped his hands. “At least we’ve dealt with two of them. We’ll take our time and lure these people out one by one before killing them. That’s still better than becoming food for the Hu family.”
Within the limited time available, they had to eliminate as much of the enemy’s fighting strength as possible.
[All right, all right. Whatever you say.]
[At this rate, when you face your next tribulation, even the Three Winds and Four Fires won’t be able to do anything to you.]
What remarkable insight.
Shu Xin returned to the Hu family’s flying vessel without making a sound and continued pretending that nothing had happened.
It was only after the agreed-upon time had passed by a considerable margin and Zhuang Lu and Monk Jiezao still had not returned that the Hu family realized the two men had fled.
“How outrageous! Issue an order immediately. From now on, whenever these cultivators disembark, they are to report directly to me,” Elder Hu De roared. “They ran off halfway through their work. These rogue cultivators truly cannot be trusted!”
“Elder, the two of them fled at such a critical juncture. Could they have discovered something?” one of his subordinates asked uneasily.
“With their abilities, there’s no way they could have discovered our secret. Still, they’ve been around for many years. Perhaps they noticed something amiss from a few clues and fled ahead of time.” Elder Hu De sneered. “No matter. We can do without those two. Proceed according to the original plan.”
“Yes.”
Naturally, Tan Wanyan had the strongest reaction to the disappearance of Zhuang Lu and Monk Jiezao.
She had been saying for days that something seemed off about those two, but she never expected them to disappear without even notifying her.
Tan Wanyan also found it strange. If they intended to flee, why wouldn’t they tell her? And if they had been killed, why would they leave the Hu family’s flying vessel? Staying here should have been the safest option.
Could it be that they had discovered some treasure and were willing to leave the Hu family’s flying vessel to pursue it?
Tan Wanyan bit her fingertip, hesitating.
Perhaps she should find an opportunity to escape as well.
As for Yuan Dawei, Cao Ru, and the others, the moment they heard that the two had vanished, they immediately suspected that their senior sister had done it.
However, the Hu family was keeping a strict watch over the flying vessel. There was no way their senior sister could have slipped out without anyone noticing.
“Who cares? We just have to follow our senior sister.”
“Exactly. We can’t go wrong if we listen to our senior sister.”
The five of them had already elevated their worship of their senior sister to an entirely different level. It was beginning to border on blind devotion.
Shu Xin had originally planned to rest for a few days, enjoying the finest food and drink aboard the flying vessel.
Unexpectedly, she had not even been able to rest for a full day before the Sword Spirit secretly told her that the Hu family intended to land the vessel ahead of schedule to replenish their supplies.
Shu Xin was speechless.
“I really am destined to toil endlessly.” Shu Xin stretched lazily. “This isn’t about replenishing supplies. They’re planning to harvest us. Tsk. They’re landing so much earlier than scheduled. The Hu family must be getting anxious, afraid that we cultivators will flee. They want to use us as sacrifices ahead of time.”
【It’s mainly because of you. You disrupted their arrangements.】The Sword Spirit looked at Shu Xin and thought, This is all your doing.
The Hu family was planning to land many days ahead of schedule, clearly intending to move their plan forward.
Once the flying vessel landed, it would inevitably attract countless enemies lurking in the shadows.
By then, whether it was powerful cultivators drawn there by the commotion or cultivators recruited by the Hu family, once the two sides began fighting, casualties would be unavoidable—and no one would notice anything amiss.
The Hu family might not even have to pay the recruited cultivators their spirit stones. On the contrary, they could make a profit from those cultivators instead.
It was truly a business that could only make money and never lose.
No wonder Shu Xin always said that one had to bring a team.
A team effort really did make committing a crime far more efficient.
“Sigh. I can’t keep slacking off, then.” Shu Xin rolled over on the bed. “I’ll go see that Fan Jia’an. It’s time to lay the groundwork for our upcoming trial. The Hu family’s affairs should be coming to an end as well.”
【What are you planning to do?】The Sword Spirit was extremely curious.
“Heaven’s secrets cannot be revealed.” Shu Xin smiled mysteriously. “Just wait and see.”
Fan Jia’an had an entirely different reaction when he heard the news.
“Two fewer enemies? Excellent, excellent! That makes taking action much easier.” Fan Jia’an had never expected such a stroke of luck.
With two fewer Dao Infant cultivators, his plan could only benefit.
If his calculations were correct, the Hu family’s flying vessel would land to replenish its supplies in ten days. That would be the ideal moment for them to strike.
After all, the Fan family was not the only one coveting the Hu family’s spirit herbs.
Fan Jia’an was just reaching the most exciting part of his thoughts when he suddenly heard a maid announce that Dao Lord Lin had come to visit.
“Fellow Daoist Fan, I heard that the Hu family’s flying vessel will land to replenish its supplies three days from now.” Shu Xin swaggered in with her junior brothers and sisters.
“Where did Fellow Daoist Lin hear that?” Fan Jia’an asked, unable to stop himself when he saw Shu Xin arriving with such a large group.
“When Little Ru was still at home, she studied formations. As a result, she has some connections with the formation masters aboard this flying vessel. Over the past two days, Little Ru noticed that those formation masters had begun preparing defensive formations, so she asked a few questions. I then went to confirm the matter with Elder Hu Ren, and naturally obtained the news.” Shu Xin sat down of her own accord and looked at Fan Jia’an. “Fellow Daoist Fan, there’s no need to be so anxious. Didn’t I personally come to deliver the news to you? Is this how you treat your guests?”
“It was my discourtesy.” Fan Jia’an realized that he would have to rely on the woman before him to obtain more accurate information. He immediately ordered someone to bring out an abundance of delicacies and gave Yuan Dawei and the others a gift each. Only then did Shu Xin’s expression soften somewhat.
“Among the Dao Infant cultivators who came from outside, Zhuang Lu and Monk Jiezao have disappeared without a trace. Qu Yougu has been in seclusion and refuses to see anyone, while Tan Wanyan is as skittish as a frightened bird. After thinking it over, I could only come to Fellow Daoist Fan and propose an alliance.” Shu Xin spoke with great solemnity.
“Fellow Daoist Lin’s cultivation is higher than mine. How could I possibly be worthy of forming an alliance with you?” Fan Jia’an’s expression was difficult to read.
On the surface, Shu Xin was at the middle stage of the Dao Infant realm, while he was only at the initial stage.
“Fellow Daoist Fan, there’s no need to belittle yourself.” Shu Xin smiled. “As long as you cultivate diligently, your cultivation will naturally advance.”
What kind of nonsense was that?
Fan Jia’an nearly splashed the tea in his hand straight into Shu Xin’s face.
She was really putting on airs.
“You and I both know that once the flying vessel lands, it will inevitably attract quite a few enemies.” Shu Xin spoke earnestly. “The Dongtian Perfected cultivator invited by the Hu family will be too busy protecting the flying vessel and the spirit herbs to spare any attention for us. In the end, we’re outsiders—the bodyguards they hired. But cultivation is no easy matter. Are we really supposed to risk our lives for a mere thousand spirit stones? We only need to put on a show.”
“Fellow Daoist Lin, I couldn’t agree more.” Fan Jia’an could no longer keep up his pretense and nodded in agreement.
“If we watch each other’s backs, I certainly won’t let you down, Fellow Daoist Fan.” Shu Xin continued, “There are still several days before the flying vessel lands. I’ll come visit you every day. We’ll tell everyone that we hit it off at first sight and are discussing cultivation. That way, once the flying vessel lands, we can naturally request to be assigned to the same group.”
Fan Jia’an glanced at Shu Xin, the corner of his eye also sweeping over the servants following behind her.
This woman still doesn’t know that Zhang Zhensheng acted on my orders, but she remains a potential threat.
Since she has taken the initiative to come to me, why should I refuse?
With that thought, the smile on Fan Jia’an’s face became a little more genuine.
“Thank you for thinking so highly of me, Fellow Daoist. Then it’s settled.”
“Good.” Shu Xin seemed to let out a sigh of relief. “May I ask where you rank among the children in your family? And do you have any particular likes or dislikes?”
Shu Xin fired off a string of questions, then, as though embarrassed, explained, “I need to understand Fellow Daoist Fan’s preferences so that we can make our act look more convincing.”
Fan Jia’an hesitated, but answered each question one by one.
Only after Shu Xin had finished asking everything she wanted to know did she leave with her people, completely satisfied.
Fan Jia'an was left standing there, utterly bewildered.
What exactly was this Lin woman plotting?
“Young Master, this servant estimates that this female cultivator has taken a fancy to you,” one of Fan Jia'an’s maids could not help saying as she stepped forward. “She even asked whether you were married and whether you had any concubines. It couldn’t be more obvious.”
“But I’ve never had any dealings with her,” Fan Jia'an said, finding it strange. “Besides, I’m nothing more than a wandering cultivator now.”
“Young Master, you’re being far too modest.” The maid gazed at him adoringly. “You’re handsome and vigorous, famous despite your youth, accomplished in cultivation, and blessed with exceptional potential. What’s so difficult about making a female cultivator fall in love at first sight?”
“What you say does make some sense.” Fan Jia'an thought it over and decided she was right. “This female cultivator Lin’s cultivation is exceptionally pure as well. It would indeed be a pity to kill her outright. If her aptitude is good, she could perhaps become the future mother of my son.”
Ensuring that the Fan family continued its bloodline was one of his responsibilities. Naturally, he had to choose a female cultivator with good potential.
The maid could not help feeling jealous, but she dared not show it. She merely lowered her head.
“Haha, don’t worry. Once this young master succeeds, there will naturally be a place for you as well.” Fan Jia'an lifted her chin. “There’s no need to be jealous. You can only blame your aptitude for not being good enough. Otherwise, even with a background as a maid, you could still become the wife of a prominent family’s heir.”
“Thank you, Young Master.”
“There’s no time to lose. We should inform the clan cultivators as soon as possible,” Fan Jia'an said. “The Hu family’s flying vessel is about to land. They need to make their move soon as well.”
Meanwhile, Shu Xin and the Sword Spirit had heard every word of the conversation between Fan Jia'an and his maid.
“Hahahaha, I’m dying! See? You were just a little nice to him, and he completely misunderstood you.”
“That was precisely the point.” Shu Xin raised her brows slightly. “I’ve seen plenty of men like him. As long as you show them the slightest bit of curiosity, they become bursting with confidence and much easier to deceive.”
Because they believed that a female cultivator who admired them would do anything for them, they naturally stopped disguising themselves as carefully as before.
“Huh?” The Sword Spirit was dumbfounded. “He’s only at the Dao Infant Realm. Is he really worth all this effort?”
“He really isn’t anything special, but I’m somewhat interested in the clan behind him,” Shu Xin replied. “He’s disguised himself well, but he’s definitely from a prominent family. There’s an eighty percent chance that he’s a disciple from some sect or clan who was sent out to travel—and one who is highly valued at that. Their clan should also be the one behind his attempt to obtain the spirit herbs. In other words, their foundation may not be any weaker than the Hu family’s. He’s a very fat sheep.”
“Once the Hu family’s affairs are settled, I’ll have to think about where to go next.” Shu Xin smiled. “Then I’ll go take a look at the Fan family first. I’ll take whoever I happen to run into. I’m not picky.”
All right.
“My clone should be back in about two days. You can act without worry.”
“Mm.” Shu Xin stretched lazily. “Now we just have to see what move they make.”
That very night, the Hu family announced that they would soon be landing to replenish their supplies. They also told the hired cultivators to prepare their defenses, since enemies would certainly attack once the vessel landed.
The news naturally attracted considerable attention aboard the flying vessel, and everyone immediately began cultivating even more diligently.
As she had said before, Shu Xin spent every day discussing cultivation with Fan Jia'an. The two appeared to be growing increasingly close, prompting all sorts of speculation among those around them.
Fan Jia'an was happy to cooperate. He needed Shu Xin as a cover while he slowly gathered information and sent reports to his family. Naturally, he also reported everything concerning Shu Xin to them.
The days passed in this manner.
By the time the “Wait” Sword returned with the pile of resources sent by Situ Jian, even Shu Xin could not help praising them.
“That old man from the Lin family really couldn’t wait, could he? He sent so many resources.” Shu Xin was practically ecstatic. There were so many spirit stones—enough to keep that useless Sword Spirit occupied for quite some time.
“These prominent families really are wealthy.” Shu Xin could not help feeling envious. “I risk my life out there and barely earn a few coins. Situ Jian only has to wave his hand and play dumb to get this much.”
“Isn’t that because you refuse to be confined to a sect?”
“That’s right. The better the treatment a sect offers, the more they’ll expect you to give in return. I understand that much.” Shu Xin tapped the spirit stones Situ Jian had sent. There were enough to let the Sword Spirit make two more strikes or so.
That was sufficient.
“With these, our chances are even better.” Shu Xin was already growing impatient. “I really hope the Hu family’s flying vessel lands soon.”
“I hope that cultivator from the Spirit-Seizing Demon Sect will be easy to kill,” the Sword Spirit said, practically drooling. Killing a Dongtian-Realm demon cultivator would be far more beneficial than killing dozens of Dao Infant cultivators.
It also hated having its sword body covered in dents and smeared with blood. It was far too ugly!
Amid the anticipation of both human and sword, the Hu family’s flying vessel finally began its descent.
As it descended, all the cultivators aboard could not help holding their breath.
Cao Ru and the others had already armed themselves from head to toe and stayed close behind Shu Xin, afraid that they would hold their senior sister back if the enemy attacked.
The Hu family cultivators responsible for supplies and defensive formations had gone down ahead of time so that the flying vessel could descend slowly.
Even though victory was almost within reach, no one dared relax in the slightest.
“Prepare yourselves. The enemy is about to attack!” Elder Hu De stood at the very top of the flying vessel, coldly observing the surroundings as he spoke.
Before the words had even finished leaving his mouth, dozens of cultivators suddenly burst forth from all directions, attacking while the flying vessel had not yet fully settled after touching down. Their cultivation levels ranged from the Core Formation Realm to the Dao Infant Realm.
Among the leading attackers was even a cultivator of the Dongtian Realm.
A woman in palace robes shot out from the flying vessel. It was none other than Yuan Xinmei, whom Shu Xin had encountered once before.
She had been prepared long in advance. The instant the attacking Dongtian-Realm cultivator appeared, she flew forward and struck him with a palm.
After exchanging blows, the two quickly retreated. The area around them became a complete vacuum, and no one dared to interfere in the battle between two Dongtian-Realm cultivators.
“Compared with the Dongtian-Realm demon cultivator who attacked us before, you’re still somewhat lacking. Isn’t he coming?” Yuan Xinmei released her divine sense, a small bell already appearing in her hand.
The Dongtian-Realm cultivator was not angered. He merely looked at Yuan Xinmei with a smile. “Fellow Daoist Yuan, you’re only a helper hired by the Hu family. Why work so hard? Some people want the Hu family’s spirit herbs, while others want their secret techniques. Everyone is simply taking what they need. All you have to do is let me keep you occupied here. Once this is over, I won’t stop you from leaving. You can go wherever you like. We’re all just trying to make a living. Don’t make things difficult for me, and I won’t make things difficult for you.”
