Bai Yue's expression, initially weary, turned to one of resentment upon hearing Xiao Yu's voice.
She was a smart woman and naturally guessed what Xiao Yu had been up to outside for so long.
"Bastard... you bastard!! I will make sure you die... I want you dead!!!"
"I, Bai Yue, swear... even as a ghost, I won't let you go! Just you wait!"
"I curse you to die a horrible death! Curse you!!!"
Xiao Yu, instead of getting angry, seemed amused, resting his chin on his hand as he spoke, "Talking to you is always interesting, such a fiery personality!"
"That's what makes it fun~ Sect Leader Bai~"
"But... I'm a bit puzzled, you've been here for a while now, and you don't feel you've done anything wrong? Do you really think that?"
Bai Yue screamed hysterically once more, "What did I do wrong!!!"
"Isn't it said that the guilty will always find a reason? You know exactly what you were plotting! Can you honestly say you didn't have any ulterior motives from the start?"
"Hmm? All men in the world are the same, none of them are any good!"
"Don't wait for me, Bai Yue, to escape, or I'll tear you to pieces! Tear you to pieces—!!!"
"I'll slice the flesh off your bones piece by piece! Slice it off!!!"
Xiao Yu shook his head helplessly.
It seemed reasoning was out of the question; this woman had lived for over two hundred years, and her mindset was likely long set in stone.
Could a Golden Core Stage cultivator even admit they were wrong?
Probably not that easily.
Looking at Bai Yue's twisted face, Xiao Yu instinctively swallowed, "If I'm not mistaken, in your and your disciple's eyes, I'm worse than a righteous faction's dog?"
"Saving you was with ill intent, taking you away was with ill intent, and harming me is defending the Dao by eradicating demons!?"
"Heh, so everything is determined by your righteous faction, huh? I want to see how stubborn you can be..."
...
The next morning.
Xiao Yu's cultivation base had already risen to the first layer of the Qi Refining Stage!
As Xiao Yu was pondering, the Judgment Chamber suddenly resounded: [Good morning, all Vicious Maidens, the second day's judgment begins!]
At this moment, he could clearly feel the magical power flowing through his body, though it was thin, he could now use magical artifacts!
He went to the courtyard outside, picking up the Inferior Artifact Eagle-Claw Blade and the Jade Maiden Gourd he had obtained earlier.
Under his magical power's control, the Eagle-Claw Blade moved around him like a living creature.
Xiao Yu grasped it with one hand, using his magical power to propel himself forward with the Eagle-Claw Blade.
He cast the Swiftstride Mantra underfoot.
Xiao Yu instinctively frowned, watching the colorful magical power fluctuations as he attacked again.
With a horizontal slash towards the sky, a half-meter-long blade aura was instantly unleashed.
"So this is the boost from the Blissful Harmonious Union Art... why does it have a sweet scent..."
Xiao Yu said, slashing again, the blade aura wreaking havoc, splitting a distant shrub in half.
"The destructive power is there, but I wonder if there are other effects, I'll see later..."
Xiao Yu said, taking out the Jade Maiden Gourd.
Feeling the extremely cool aura above, he couldn't help but focus his mind.
He tried concentrating, releasing his Divine Sense.
The moment his Divine Sense touched the Jade Maiden Gourd, he sensed the presence of living people.
"There are living people inside the gourd..."
Xiao Yu's eyes widened with anticipation, quickly using his Divine Sense to probe the gourd's interior.
Inside, it seemed like an incineration furnace.
Soon, he saw several women within.
They huddled in the center of the gourd, resisting the surrounding flames together.
Some of the women were already burned.
But after watching for a while, the Vicious Maiden System didn't prompt him, making him hesitate.
Were those four women good people?
Wait, why are there three mortals...
Xiao Yu's eyes widened in confusion.
Only one woman in red was a cultivator at the third layer of the Qi Refining Stage.
The woman in red was desperately protecting the mortal women, her lips pale.
A twenty-year-old girl behind her cried in despair, "Mother... I'm so scared, I want to go home... I won't go up the mountain again... sob sob sob!"
Xiao Yu looked at the women again.
The leading woman in red was quite pretty, though not as much as Bai Yue.
But her face showed a resilience and integrity Bai Yue lacked.
The other three mortals seemed to include a mother and daughter pair.
Another mortal woman had a rather distinguished air, looking somewhat like an official's daughter.
In Xiao Yu's impression, whether righteous or demonic path cultivators, mortals were mere ants in their eyes!
In such a situation, using magical power to protect mortals?
Seeing this, Xiao Yu quickly raised his hand to release the four of them.
The moment they appeared, they fell to the ground.
Xiao Yu wanted to greet them, but the female cultivator collapsed from magical exhaustion.
The other three hurriedly pleaded.
Xiao Yu, unfazed, stepped forward, looking at the unconscious female cultivator, and fed her a Qi Restoration Pill.
Then he carried her into the house, "Don't be afraid, I'm not Elder Wu, go to the water well and fetch some water to care for this girl."
The mother and daughter looked at each other, not daring to move.
Instead, the official's daughter-like woman stood up.
After settling the female cultivator, Xiao Yu had the mother and daughter care for her.
The official's daughter-like woman hurriedly knelt, "Thank you, Immortal, for saving my life... this humble woman, Li Qingyun, is eternally grateful..."
The mother and daughter quickly knelt too, "Thank you, Immortal, for saving our lives... this humble woman, Zhang Lan, and my daughter, Huang Xiang, Xiang'er, bow to our benefactor!"
The young girl quickly kowtowed, "Thank you, Immortal, for saving our lives..."
Xiao Yu couldn't help but frown.
Li Qingyun, seeing Xiao Yu silent, quickly whispered, "This humble woman was saved by the Immortal, if the benefactor has any requests, this humble woman will not refuse even at the cost of her life! But... I beg the Immortal, could you let this humble woman return home to see her family... to let them know I'm safe!"
"Afterwards, this humble woman is willing to be at the benefactor's service... I beg the benefactor to help this humble woman..."
Xiao Yu pondered silently, although the system hadn't judged them as Vicious Maidens.
It didn't mean they wouldn't pose a threat to him.
Better to be cautious.
"Hmm, if I'm not mistaken, there should have been more than just you four in the gourd, many must have died inside!"
"You were likely captured by Elder Wu to be refined into Human Pills, but what about you mortals?"
Li Qingyun quickly bowed, "Replying to the benefactor... we heard from Senior Zhao that the three of us seem to have Spirit Roots, and they wanted to refine us into Human Pills. We've been inside for half a month, if not for Senior Zhao providing us food and sacrificing herself to protect us, we would have become bones..."
Xiao Yu glanced at the female cultivator inside the house.
Li Qingyun nervously followed, "Benefactor, Senior Zhao Hongye is a rogue cultivator with no sect, she is upright and kind, she would never harm you..."
Xiao Yu chuckled softly, "That may not be true, otherwise why is she pretending to be dead after waking up?"
Zhao Hongye