Chapter 62: Rich Harvests After a Brush with Death

The Undying Witch Fiend, having just been routed by Qin Haoxuan, watched in horror as the boy began to send out his own Spiritual Sense, driving out the demonic intent and seizing control of the body.

The fiend cursed himself for his overconfidence, which had led to this disastrous failure. But his realization came too late. His demonic intent had already been weaker than Qin Haoxuan’s Spiritual Sense; now that it was scattered, organizing any effective defense was impossible.

As Qin Haoxuan’s Spiritual Sense moved to reclaim his body, he had initially intended to surround and completely annihilate the fiend’s demonic intent. But he soon discovered that once his Spiritual Sense made contact with it, it began to automatically devour the demonic power. With every morsel he consumed, his own Spiritual Sense grew a fraction stronger.

Upon this discovery, he began to feast voraciously, no longer willing to waste a single shred of the fiend’s power by simply destroying it.

Faced with such an overwhelming advantage, the Undying Witch Fiend realized with dawning terror that the rookie he had considered his prey was now devouring him to become stronger. As one waned and the other waxed, any hope of victory had vanished. He had nowhere to run. As his demonic intent weakened, Qin Haoxuan’s Spiritual Sense grew ever more powerful, trapping him completely.

“What… what kind of monster are you…” The Undying Witch Fiend’s voice trembled. He could never have imagined that he, a survivor of the ancient war between immortals and demons who had clung to life in the Immortal-Slaying Poison Valley for countless years, would die at the hands of a rookie who had been cultivating for less than three months. And it was to be such an undignified death—to be devoured as a meal!

Qin Haoxuan paid no mind to the fiend’s panic. In his eyes, the demonic intent was a delicious banquet for his Spiritual Sense. Consuming it would not only replenish what he had expended in their battle but would make his mind stronger than ever before.

An unknown amount of time passed before the last of the Undying Witch Fiend’s demonic intent was completely consumed. Thus, a mighty demon of a bygone era, a survivor of a cataclysmic war, became a nourishing meal for his intended victim.

The moment the fiend vanished completely, the cocoon of ice around Qin Haoxuan’s body cracked. Then, with a loud snap, it shattered into pieces.

After devouring the fiend, Qin Haoxuan looked up at the sky. A sliver of pale light was visible on the eastern horizon. In the crisp chill of early spring, the day broke late, but the light meant the night was already over. He closed his eyes again, preparing to achieve the Sprouting Stage in one final push.

His body had been frozen by the demonic intent, and he felt as if his very blood had solidified. But at that moment, the medicinal power of the One-Leaf Golden Lotus within him became more active than ever, darting through his body like a butterfly and merging with the spiritual energy in his meridians. Soon, his stiff limbs grew warm again.

He resolved to visit the Immortal-Slaying Poison Valley more often, to find more treasures like the One-Leaf Golden Lotus. If he hadn’t recklessly consumed it back then, he never would have survived the encounter with Yuan Shanhu, a Third-Leaf cultivator. If not for the residual power of the lotus combined with the resilience granted by the Body Tempering art, he would have died many times over.

Without further hesitation, Qin Haoxuan managed to sit cross-legged and assume a meditative posture. He began to madly absorb spiritual energy. The remaining power of the One-Leaf Golden Lotus responded with unprecedented enthusiasm, converting into spiritual energy that was wholly absorbed by his Immortal Seed.

The tiny seedling that had poked its head out from the crack in the seed began to grow vigorously, soon reaching the size of a normal sprout.

He had sprouted. He had finally reached the Sprouting Stage!

Qin Haoxuan let out a long sigh of relief. He noticed that in the process of sprouting, the last of the One-Leaf Golden Lotus’s power had been completely exhausted. At last, he would no longer be tormented by that explosive energy that had always threatened to tear him apart.

Yet, despite having survived a life-and-death struggle, reached a new realm, and been freed from the lotus’s side effects, he felt no excitement or elation. Instead, his brow furrowed as he began to contemplate his path forward.

The residual power of the lotus had not been a curse. Combined with the bizarre training methods of the Body Tempering art, it had been a lifesaving talisman that had seen him through many crises. Now, that talisman was gone.

If news of his advancement reached the ears of Zhang Kuang and Li Jing, it would surely fuel Zhang Kuang’s burning hatred. His rival would stop at nothing to make his life hell. The scheming Li Jing would certainly not stand by and watch him grow stronger either, especially since his presence was an obstacle to Li Jing’s plans to win over Xu Yu.

He could handle the schemes of his peers, but there was also the cunning old fox, Master Guyun. Once Guyun realized the Corrosion Pill had failed, he would surely drop all pretense and help Zhang Yang deal with him—it was not impossible that he might even try to kill him directly.

The path of cultivation was supposed to be a serene journey of self-improvement, but all this scheming and strife left Qin Haoxuan feeling weary.

The thought of leaving the Taichu Sect and finding a secluded, spirit-rich place to cultivate alone resurfaced in his mind. Without all these distractions, perhaps his cultivation speed would be even faster. The more he thought about it, the more feasible it seemed. It was better to focus wholeheartedly on cultivation than to waste his energy on deceit and rivalry.

He made up his mind: after the three-month initial training period was over, he would leave. With his decision made, he straightened his clothes and walked back toward his living quarters in the faint morning light.

Despite the intense battle of Spiritual Sense the night before, Qin Haoxuan felt invigorated, not tired. Having devoured the Undying Witch Fiend’s demonic intent was like finding a great treasure. With the troublesome power of the lotus also gone, he felt a rare sense of peace and decided, for the first time, to actually attend a lesson.

Elder Chu kept casting surprised glances his way. For three months, Qin Haoxuan had done nothing but meditate or sleep during class. What had possessed him to suddenly start paying attention? Not only was the elder perplexed, but Qin Haoxuan’s deskmate, Xu Yu, was also baffled. Had he taken the wrong medicine today?

After earnestly listening to the entire lecture, Qin Haoxuan returned to his room and began to cultivate. He activated the Dao Heart Seed Demon Art and began absorbing spiritual energy. But for a newly sprouted seedling that required vast amounts of nourishment, the spiritual energy he drew in was a mere drop in the bucket. The absence of the One-Leaf Golden Lotus was starkly apparent. Before, the energy he absorbed would merge with the lotus’s power, amplifying its effect more than tenfold. Without it, his cultivation speed was ten times slower.

“Should I go back to the Immortal-Slaying Poison Valley?” he agonized. “If I don’t, my cultivation speed will plummet, and I’ll just become another face in the crowd. But that place is terrifying. Besides the immense pressure, I don’t even know if that old fiend is truly dead!” The sudden slowdown made him anxious. He knew that seeking heavenly treasures in the valley was his best option, but the psychological pressure it exerted on him was immense. “Even if the old fiend is dead,” he thought, “what if I run into an even stronger one who possesses or kills me on the spot?”

“But if I don’t go, people like Zhang Kuang, Zhang Yang, and Li Jing will walk all over me! If I want to leave the Taichu Sect, I need to be much stronger. Otherwise, how will I survive out there against powerful demonic cultivators or other enemies?”

“If I’m going to die anyway, I refuse to die like a coward!”

No! He had to brave the Immortal-Slaying Poison Valley again. His mind made up, he waited until the dead of night when everyone else was sound asleep. He then transferred his soul into the small snake and began his journey back to the valley.

He had two goals for this trip: first, to confirm whether the Undying Witch Fiend was truly dead, and second, to search for any spirit medicines, secret manuals, or magic treasures.

Under the cover of darkness, he navigated the familiar path back to the Immortal-Slaying Poison Valley.

As he stepped into the valley, he noticed the pressure was not as intense as before. This had to be a benefit of his Spiritual Sense growing stronger after devouring the fiend’s demonic intent. It seemed the stronger one’s Spiritual Sense, the farther one could venture into the valley.

Seeing the fiend’s massive body, as large as a small hill, his heart leaped into his throat. Though he told himself that the fiend’s demonic soul had been consumed and he must be dead, he was still terrified. To verify it, he decided to approach.

The hundred-step distance from the valley entrance to where the fiend lay was a journey the snake could have made in the blink of an eye. But it took Qin Haoxuan the time it takes to brew a cup of tea. He deliberately made noise as he moved, but no matter what sound he made, the fiend’s body remained motionless.

Could he really be dead? Qin Haoxuan found it hard to believe. This old fiend had survived in the valley for thousands of years; his power was profound. If not for his injuries from the ancient war and being trapped in the valley, he was an existence who could shake the cultivation world with a stomp of his foot.

Plucking up his courage, Qin Haoxuan nudged the fiend’s body. There was no reaction, not a single sign of life. He had to be thoroughly dead. It made sense. With its soul devoured and made into a feast for his Spiritual Sense, how could it possibly live?

Then, a thought struck him. This old fiend was qualified to participate in the war between immortals and demons thousands of years ago and had resisted the valley’s poison for just as long. He had to be incredibly powerful. If he hadn’t taught him the Dao Heart Seed Demon Art, his own cultivation would never have progressed so quickly. Surely, a being like that must have some treasures on him! Since he was here to hunt for treasures, why not start with the fiend himself?

Though the fiend was dead, its intimidating presence was still strong. But Qin Haoxuan understood the principle of seeking fortune in danger. After a moment’s hesitation, he steeled himself and began to search the massive corpse.

To his disappointment, he found only three items on the old fiend: a notebook made of some unknown beast hide, a map, and a few ruined pills that had long lost their spiritual energy to the corrosive air.

The notebook had been preserved only because of its strange material and the fact that the fiend had kept it close to his body. But the moment Qin Haoxuan took it out, the pages began to corrode and weather in the toxic atmosphere. Before long, it would turn to dust.

He quickly placed it on the ground and began to flip through it.

(End of Chapter)