Before they left, the villagers from Nanxi Village sent them off with many gifts: free-range eggs, wild vegetables, dry rations…
and a flapping hen.
The people of Nanxi Village were simple and unpretentious, giving the cultivators all the best things they had to offer.
Cui Hong and Duan Wenhao were both worldly men.
When they saw the villagers offering them the smelly hen, they immediately covered their noses and mouths, their faces masks of disgust.
“It reeks!
Get that thing away from me.”
The tanned villager gave an awkward smile.
He was Song Ying’s father, Song Yongnian.
He had wanted to give them some local specialties in the hope that they would look after his daughter, but he never expected them to react with such disdain.
Song Yongnian glanced nervously at Song Ying, afraid he had embarrassed his precious daughter.
Song Ying knew exactly what was happening.
‘These people look down on us.’ She couldn’t bear to see her father treated this way and was about to speak up.
A slender hand reached out and took the chicken.
Yun Fuzhao beamed.
“Perfect timing!
I haven’t had chicken in ages.
Thank you, Uncle.”
‘This kind of free-range chicken is the most nutritious, too.’
Yun Fuzhao had lived with her grandparents for a time as a child, and their family had raised chickens and ducks.
Back then, her favorite pastime was chasing and catching the fluffy little chicks.
Later, whenever she went back to her old home for summer vacation, her grandfather would slaughter one of their chickens for her.
It was so fragrant and tender, a taste Yun Fuzhao constantly craved.
Song Yongnian knew that Yun Fuzhao had just saved him from an embarrassing situation, and on top of that, was being so kind.
He broke into a bashful, good-natured smile.
Speaking in heavily accented Mandarin, he invited her to visit Nanxi Village again and kept calling her “Fairy.”
All the praise made Yun Fuzhao flush with embarrassment.
Nearby, Cui Hong stared at Yun Fuzhao with an indescribable expression.
When he saw her grab the chicken with her bare hands, he recoiled in disgust, taking several steps back to put a wide distance between them.
Song Ying knew Yun Fuzhao had done it to save her from embarrassment.
She was so moved that if it weren’t for all the people around, she might have burst into tears.
The group soon returned to the Wuya Sword Sect.
An Inner Sect Disciple friendly with Cui Hong stepped forward to fawn over him.
“As expected of Senior Brother Cui!
You took down the Soul-devouring Beast just like that.”
“I heard it was a Demon Beast, no less.
Senior Brother Cui, you’re truly incredible.”
“I really don’t see the point of those Outer Disciples.
Every time there’s trouble, we’re the ones who have to clean up their messes.
It’s such a pain.”
In the past, such disparaging remarks would have left the Outer Disciples burning with shame and indignation.
But today was different.
Hearing the comments, they all remained perfectly calm and composed.
This only served to annoy the Inner Sect Disciples.
They were still talking when Cui Hong raised a hand to cut them off.
“We’re going to the Merit Hall to have the Beast Core appraised.”
The other Inner Sect Disciples exchanged glances.
Sensing a good show was about to start, they followed along.
The person in charge of the Merit Hall was a gray-haired old man named Qiu Haoshang, whose Daoist title was Master Yunhai.
He loved to drink and seemed to be in a perpetual state of tipsiness.
When they arrived, Qiu Haoshang was lounging on a rattan chair, so lost in a drunken haze he seemed to have forgotten what day it was.
“Elder Qiu, this disciple, Cui Hong, has come today to ask you to appraise a Beast Core.”
Hearing this, the old man on the chair cracked open an eye.
He languidly lifted a hand, and an image of the Soul-devouring Beast just before its death was projected into the air.
Cui Hong smirked.
He shot a smug glance at Yun Fuzhao, fully prepared to see her humiliated.
The image showed the massive Soul-devouring Beast biting down on Duan Wenhao’s leg.
He let out a bloodcurdling scream, begging for help as tears and snot streamed down his face.
Seeing this pathetic display broadcast once more, Duan Wenhao’s face turned crimson.
He wished the earth would open up and swallow him whole.
Then, Yun Fuzhao appeared.
In a flash, the giant beast was cleaved in two, without even a moment to react.
The hall fell completely silent.
Cui Hong watched it again in disbelief, clearly unable to accept what he was seeing.
“This is impossible…”
The Inner Sect Disciples who had come for the drama were equally stunned.
“Yun Fuzhao killed the Soul-devouring Beast?
How is that possible?
Wasn’t she just at Foundation Establishment?”
From his rattan chair, the old man muttered lazily, “That girl is already at the Spirit Severing Great Perfection realm.”
His words struck the crowd like a bolt of lightning, leaving everyone utterly stunned.
Yun Fuzhao.
Spirit Severing Great Perfection.
They understood the two concepts separately, but together, they made no sense.
Did Master Yunhai mean that Yun Fuzhao, who was at the Foundation Establishment realm just a few days ago, had seen her cultivation suddenly skyrocket to Spirit Severing Great Perfection???
‘Is that even a human’s cultivation speed?’
It took Cui Hong a long moment to find his voice.
“Elder Qiu, you must be joking, right?”
Qiu Haoshang had never had his judgment questioned.
He shot up from his chair, fuming.
“You little whelp, you dare question my eyes?”
His own cultivation was at the Nascent Soul realm; seeing through Yun Fuzhao’s cultivation was as easy for him as drinking water.
Yun Fuzhao, however, had other concerns.
‘I hadn’t wanted to reveal my cultivation level,’ she thought.
‘After all, such a rapid increase is bound to attract suspicion.’
‘Competition between sects is fierce, and the Wuya Sword Sect isn’t even a ranked sect.
If one of the Major Sects decides they want to nip me in the bud, I’m afraid even nine lives wouldn’t be enough.’
‘I’ll check the system’s store for an item to conceal my cultivation when I get back.’
Since Qiu Haoshang himself had said it, everyone had no choice but to believe it, no matter how reluctant they were.
Yun Fuzhao held her hand out to Cui Hong.
“My Beast Core.
Give it to me.”
Still reeling from the double blow of reality, Cui Hong was in a daze.
He subconsciously handed the Beast Core over.
Yun Fuzhao held it in her palm; it felt like a cool stone.
She looked over at the Inner Sect Disciples and said with a grin, “Who was it you were just saying has to clean up the messes?
If you ask me, Inner Sect Disciples aren’t all that special either.”
The Inner Sect Disciple who had made the earlier comment flushed with shame and lowered his head, not daring to say a word.
The Outer Disciples standing near Yun Fuzhao, however, felt thoroughly vindicated.
They couldn’t help but puff out their chests and shoot smug looks at the others.
Having had her moment to show off, Yun Fuzhao was in high spirits.
She left, casually tossing the Beast Core up and down in her hand.
Song Ying and the others followed close behind.
“Senior Brother Cui…”
Seething with frustration, Cui Hong shoved aside the person next to him and stormed off.
Meanwhile, when Yun Fuzhao returned to her quarters, Song Ying announced she was going to slaughter the chicken to make a nourishing meal for her.
Yun Fuzhao’s eyes lit up, and she sat to the side, waiting eagerly to eat.
Song Ying’s movements were clean and practiced; you could tell at a glance this wasn’t the first chicken she’d butchered.
With a few deft motions, the little hen was prepped and in the stew pot.
Soon, a savory aroma began to drift from the pot.
While she waited, Yun Fuzhao suddenly felt the Spirit Beast Egg in her Divine Sense Space stir.
A moment later, a crack appeared on its shell.
Yun Fuzhao immediately made an excuse about needing the latrine, found a secluded corner, and took out the egg.
More and more cracks began to appear.
‘This is a Heavenly Spirit Beast Egg!
I wonder what’s going to hatch from it.’
Her heart hammered in her chest as she rubbed her hands together in anticipation.
A smooth, white head poked out, and its ruby-red eyes met Yun Fuzhao’s.
A scarlet, forked tongue flicked out.
Yun Fuzhao: “…”
The little white snake slithered out of the egg.
Its smooth, cool body coiled around Yun Fuzhao’s arm as it tilted its head, observing her curiously.
The girl and the snake stared at each other, wide-eyed.
‘Petrified.
Utterly petrified.’
Yun Fuzhao’s eyes rolled back, and she fainted dead away.