Chapter 170

Chapter 170: The Journey Begins

That night, Li Hui neither took healing medicine nor used Prison Wood, relying solely on the Great Buddha Alchemy Pill to endure the relentless pain. However, several unexpected things occurred.

The Miao Jade stored in the Bamboo Box was completely depleted, including the half block of high-grade Miao Jade and all the medium-grade Miao Jade. After the Treasure Cabinet Array collapsed, various Yin-Yang and Five Elements energies had nowhere to go, ultimately merging into the twenty purple crystals, making them appear vibrant and colorful.

“How is this possible? I’ve exhausted all the medium-grade Miao Jade. Does it really need to be this ruthless?”

Li Hui felt bitterness in his mouth, quite bitter! He lost focus, murmuring, “I’m just a small practitioner in the Spirit Motion stage, and I’ve finally saved up some resources, only to have it all slip away so carelessly! After the successful talisman-making rate got depleted, my Miao Jade was gone overnight, leaving me broke without a word of farewell. What on earth was this vast amount of spiritual energy spent on?”

“My lord,” Guang Jin revealed himself, “stop worrying about it. Having something to use is better than having nothing. If the Miao Jade in the box had not supported you, how could your cultivation method resist the Six-Armed Arhat’s burst of malice? Fortunately, you also had the Great Buddha Alchemy Pill, which helped suppress the malice.”

“The Arhat’s malice surged?” Li Hui reached for his left arm but found nothing unusual.

Looking at the table, he then realized that the Celestial Meteor God Iron had been completely consumed, far exceeding the weight mentioned in the jade tablet of the Ideal Body. The Great Buddha Alchemy Pill was also entirely used up. He had been so focused on the cultivation last night that he hadn’t noticed.

“It was more than just a surge!” Guang Jin described, his heart still trembling. “The Six-Armed Arhat appeared, and cracks shaped like Tai Chi arcs formed on its body, erupting malevolence. At that moment, I was almost affected, but thankfully the Tai Chi arcs spun rapidly, consuming spiritual energy to restrain the Six-Armed Arhat and suppress it.”

Guang Jin forced a smile and continued, “This Arhat Fruit came from Miao De, the Auspicious Elder. The malice he abandoned is not something easy to deal with! So instead of suppressing it, the Tai Chi arcs almost left the Six-Armed Arhat loose. What came next was a tug-of-war; each time I saw the Arhat Fruit gaining the upper hand, my heart would leap into my throat. Luckily, the cultivation method you practiced was quite extraordinary. After devouring all the Celestial Meteor God Iron, it produced strong currents and magnetic forces, firmly pinning down the Six-Armed Arhat and dissipating its energy. This way, you did gain the upper hand, but the consumption of Miao Jade was rapid…”

“This?” Li Hui looked visibly troubled, realizing that it was indeed the Arhat Fruit’s fault. He thought, “I once relied on this item to hide from spiritual senses and save my life, and now it seems I have to pay the price?”

Before long, Chef Zhao came to deliver breakfast, grumbling while setting the table, “Hmph! Ungrateful wretches, cowards. The boss asked me yesterday to see if anyone was following, but once I spoke up, everyone turned mute. Even Qiniang and I seem so estranged now, and not a single person stood up. They used to treat me with such respect, practically wanting to be my servant, but now that we’ve entered dangerous territory and into the Inner Ring, they won’t even look at us.”

“Just as expected; this is actually better!” Li Hui responded nonchalantly.

These cultivators willingly served, only wanting to use the talismans to enter the Inner Ring. For them, they could finish the entire journey and close the door to live their small lives! However, for Li Hui, his journey on Wan Nest Island had just begun, and he was only now truly taking the first step.

After breakfast, Chef Zhao took Huo Qiniang into the tent to clean the dishes, and after that, they never came out again. By the time the other cultivators reacted, where in the tent was there anyone left? Qian Qiu Yue and Hongmo Zhengfang had also mysteriously disappeared, and the five had already left.

As the sun rose high, near a forest fifty miles away from the campsite, countless formation rings collapsed with a thunderous crash. Before they could gather and glow with blade light again, someone forced a way through with a chopping motion.

“Cough, cough, cough…” The coughing grew closer, with a voice complaining, “Li Hui! You’re just a burden yourself and bring along two even larger burdens! Don’t talk about two months; even two hundred years would get us nowhere near the core area.”

Li Hui, wearing a blue shirt and carrying the Bamboo Box, smiled lightly in reply, “Meat and Egg, stop talking nonsense. I didn’t ask you to clear the way. If you think we’re slow, just leave right now; why waste your breath?”

“Stinky brat, even if Qian Qiu Yue is backing you up, I’ll still…” Before Hongmo Zhengfang could finish, two magical statues were thrown out. He hurriedly leaped to chase them, but unexpectedly fell into a nearby array, where flames surged and electric lights intertwined, causing him to roar in anger continuously.

Half an hour later, “Meat and Egg,” who had lost all his hair and eyebrows, caught up, using his demonic skills to create a massive blood cloud, wanting to teach the brat a lesson. Instead, another magical storm statue flew out.

He hesitated momentarily, then withdrew to chase again, but once more fell into the array, struggling chaotically without sinking too deep, with his anger quite evident.

By the time Hongmo Zhengfang dashed back again, Li Hui and Qian Qiu Yue were already enjoying tea and snacks served to them by Chef Zhao and Huo Qiniang, preparing to leave after brushing off the dust.

“Wow! Kid, I’ll slap you to death,” Hongmo Zhengfang said, puffed up like a large frog. If the opponent were at the Condense Essence Stage or Bosa stage, that would be fine, but he was unfortunately a pitifully low cultivation. If it weren’t for Qian Qiu Yue watching him like a hawk, he would have captured the brat long ago.

“Crack…” Qian Qiu Yue suddenly struck out, her two Qi-filled hands meeting Hongmo Zhengfang’s. He staggered back while she wiped the corner of her mouth and said, “You’re heavily injured and not my opponent, so behave yourself. Actually, you’re not suited to be a demon cultivator; you only make a fuss to appear like one, but you’re frightened to bits inside.”

“Ah! Ah! Ah!” Hongmo Zhengfang howled in despair, wanting to find a tree to crash into, feeling insulted by being told he wasn’t cut out to be a demon cultivator. After all, he was the noble son of the demonic path, a very impressive noble son…

“Zhengfang, stop practicing demons and switch to Buddhism!” Li Hui said in a tone meant to rile him further. “Just listen to your name; it sounds so good! Zhengfang written backward is Fang Zheng—more fitting than my monk name. By the way, my monk name is Handsome, and I’ll specially guide you to become a Buddha.”

Upon hearing this, Qian Qiu Yue couldn’t help but burst into laughter.

“Bastard.” Hongmo Zhengfang roared.

“No, you resemble an egg more than I do. You’ve lost your hair and even your brows. What a waste not to become a monk!” Li Hui clasped his hands together, nearly making Hongmo Zhengfang suffer an internal injury from rage. His eyes turning, he suppressed his fury and coldly snorted, “Hmph, if you think you can make me leave, you’re mistaken. I will not go.”

“Then go ahead and pave the way in front.” Qian Qiu Yue declared gallantly as she stood beside Li Hui, a perfect match of talents. Dressed as a man, she appeared even more outstanding; the problem was that their long hair flowed elegantly—had they considered the feelings of that Meat and Egg noble?

“Li Hui, just how many magical storm statues do you have on you?” This was Hongmo Zhengfang’s greatest concern. The magical storm statues were crucial for whether he could turn the tables on Wan Nest Island, so even in a fit of rage, he was unwilling to leave.

“Not many, just two or three!” Li Hui casually replied.

“Yeah, right!” Hongmo Zhengfang shook his head. He looked at the two and said, “I can make a proposal: take an oath and hand over all the magical storm statues in your possession to me. Please have pity on me, a fallen demon cultivator!”

Li Hui found it amusing; this guy didn’t resemble a demon cultivator at all and was even less fierce than Qian Qiu Yue! Surviving in the Hongmo Sect until today was indeed an anomaly.