Chapter 201

Chapter 201: A Lesson Learned?

“Roar, roar, roar…”

The roars formed shockwaves, making Li Hui feel lightheaded.

Ever since Qian Qiu Yue successfully ascended, Hongmo Zhengfang constantly shouted, interspersed with bursts of laughter and weeping. Although they both ascended, how was there such a significant difference?

“Junior Brother!” Qian Qiu Yue appeared before Li Hui in white robes, lacking the stunning presence or heroic air, appearing simple and unpretentious, fresh and reserved.

“Uh? Senior Sister, are you sure you’ve ascended and not fallen back to the Gather Spirit stage?” Li Hui blinked, completely unable to connect the person in front of him with the imposing Qian Qiu Yue he knew.

“ hehe, think whatever you like!” Qian Qiu Yue smiled easily.

Li Hui clicked his tongue in amazement. He had never seen Qian Qiu Yue smile like that before—unsophisticated, unboastful, and unfathomable; it felt like running into the neighbor girl casually chatting.

Suddenly, another Qian Qiu Yue emerged from behind her, radiating an indescribable sharpness, her gaze icy and piercing as she looked ahead.

Hongmo Xi stepped out, looking at the two entirely different Qian Qiu Yues with a frown and said, “The path of heart refining? Just recently ascended to Bosa and already forged a battle body, advancing directly from the early to the mid-stage Bosa! Looks like your true body cultivation is quite impressive! How many times have you refined your body? Haven’t you cleansed the mundane world yet?”

Qian Qiu Yue replied calmly, “What does it matter how many times? This battle body’s sword light can chill nineteen continents; its foundation is as a sword cultivator. You’re not thinking of trying the Jin Tian Sect’s sword cultivator techniques, are you?”

“Not at all!” Hongmo Xi looked at the proud and unyielding figure behind Qian Qiu Yue, a deep sense of caution rising in her eyes as she smiled coldly and said, “No wonder you needed a few Heartless Worms. Too bad they weren’t used on a lover but to assist this refined body in forging the battle body. Speaking of this, Zhengfang has run into a bit of trouble, and I need this kid’s help.”

“You want me to help?” Li Hui found it absurd. When did a Condense Essence Stage Demon Cultivator ascending to Bosa need assistance from a Spirit Motion Stage cultivator?

“Hmph!” Hongmo Xi snorted coldly, “Don’t think I can’t see through you. You have ways to seize others’ luck. The more things Zhengfang takes from you, the greater his future losses will be. I planned to strike you dead; since someone is protecting you, let’s return the seized luck, otherwise, will the array maps I produce only be for external use and not internal?”

Li Hui suddenly understood. Hongmo Zhengfang had taken numerous treasures from the Yin-Yang Nine Heads, forgetting about the Fortune Ascending Talismans. The more he took, the more he lost, resulting in issues during his ascension.

So that was the crux of it. Li Hui sensed the situation and discovered that in the past few days, the light of the four Fortune Ascending Talismans had actually restored to about ninety percent.

“Ninety percent? How did that happen? It’s not that I look down on Hongmo Zhengfang; how much does he have left? Can even the luck carried by the red fruit be absorbed? Or has Hongmo Xi learned the whereabouts of the Ten-Thousand-Year Ginseng King from me, invoking fortune in the depths of fate, making him pay more?”

As thoughts raced in his mind, Li Hui shook his head and refused, “I can’t control luck, but I have two Ice Silkworms preserved in the Ten-Thousand-Year Abyssal Wood. I would appreciate it if you could take them out for me, and I will offer the abyssal wood as a token of gratitude.”

“You’re talking about the Ten-Thousand-Year Abyssal Wood?” Hongmo Xi’s breathing quickened. This item might be useless for upright cultivators, but it played a crucial role for demon path cultivators, especially in calming the mind and banishing inner demons. It could even be effective in the All-Manifestation Realm!

Li Hui placed two thick pieces of black wood on the ground and slowly stepped back to Qian Qiu Yue’s side. After days of careful observation, he had confirmed that the wood held dark seals, making it nearly impossible to extract the Ice Silkworms, so he sought someone to help.

“Indeed, it has been preserved for ten thousand years,” Hongmo Xi affirmed, her gaze flickering, considering for a moment before waving her hand. Two magic puppets emerged from behind her, and she let out a strange laugh as she took out a bright red heart, squeezing it to let its blood spill over the magic puppets, then stepped back slowly.

The two magic puppets crouched down and began to unravel the dark seals on the Abyssal Wood.

Before long, with a loud “bang,” the magic puppets seemed to be struck by lightning, twitching and frothing at the mouth as their bodies turned into black water, splattering and corroding the ground beyond recognition.

Li Hui watched, his heart racing. Luckily, he had been cautious and did not attempts to unravel the dark seals rashly.

“Hahaha!” Hongmo Xi laughed, lifting the Ten-Thousand-Year Abyssal Wood with satisfaction. Nodding, she said, “Excellent, there are genuinely two Ice Silkworms inside, and they are distinct varieties at that, perfect for seeking the Ginseng King! Kid, consider this a lesson: don’t let me catch you off guard again, or you’ll find it hard to survive and impossible to die.”

The Fortune Ascending Talismans were indeed marvelous; however, this time they didn’t increase a bit of luck but lost two Ice Silkworms instead, making it a case of losing more than one gained.

Hongmo Xi left with big strides. It was not until her tall and slim figure disappeared that Li Hui stepped forward.

Holding his nose, he circled the two pools of black water, managing to glean some insights. The key lay in that heart from which blood had been squeezed, allowing the magic puppets to bear the loss of luck.

“Junior Brother, did you see that? This is what demon cultivators are like; trading with them usually doesn’t yield good results,” Qian Qiu Yue did not intervene. Whether she could suppress Hongmo Xi was one thing; she intended to teach Li Hui a lesson.

“Senior Sister is right. Trading with demon cultivators usually doesn’t have good outcomes. Besides, if it weren’t for your protection, I would have perished on the spot,” Li Hui sincerely accepted the lesson, realizing he needed to be cautious when dealing with demon cultivators in the future. However, this didn’t mean the matter was over.

Once Qian Qiu Yue returned to meditation, the black water on the ground solidified. Li Hui reached into the Yin-Yang Nine Heads’ mouths and pulled out three treasures.

“I’m not afraid of you! Just because you’re a true disciple of the Hongmo Sect? Repaying debts is the right thing to do!” Li Hui declared. “Ice Silkworms aren’t so easily obtained! When it comes to tricks, I am the inheritor of the Jade Symbol Sect’s legacy.”

Li Hui began crafting talismans, first making twenty tracking talismans, then drawing thirty causal judgment talismans, and finally creating fifty principal-plus-interest talismans, all crafted with Nine Patterns Three Exotics, incredibly close to the Treasure Level.

The causal judgment talismans consumed the most resources; it took three treasures to complete the task. After that, there were hardly any remaining, as Hongmo Zhengfang had already selected from them, leaving only poor-quality ones.

“Hmph! My Li Yingjun’s principle is to never let revenge linger overnight. The Jade Symbol Sect’s looks are so easy to bully, huh? Fortunately, it took less than an hour.”

“Fast!”

“Fast!”

“Fast!”

Li Hui forcefully smashed the spirit talismans down at the two pools of black water, starting with the tracking talismans. The talisman light splashed out, hesitating as it touched the ground.

“No good, I need to amplify it!”

He reached back into the Yin-Yang Nine Heads’ mouth and squeezed out the last four treasures, gathering his energy. A Buddha’s patience was like burning a stick of incense; today he planned to go all out.

Continuing to smash the tracking talismans down, one after another, he finally produced a faint reaction, slightly coaxing out a trickle of blood light. Li Hui felt like he had found a great treasure and quickly activated the Cloud-Brush Dragon Claw Technique to seize that glimmer of blood light.

“Come! Cause and effect, adjudicate Yin and Yang.”

“Puff, puff, puff…” Five causal judgment talismans surged toward the faint blood light, instantly creating ripples that spread outward.

After unleashing five more talismans, upon releasing the twenty-sixth, it was as if a mirror reflected Hongmo Xi’s face back at him. Li Hui hurriedly activated the principal-plus-interest talismans, and the moment to collect was approaching…