Chapter 049

Chapter 49: First Kill

A grunt of pain slipped from Chen Feng’s mouth. He had never expected Yun Xi to fight back so fiercely. The lightning charm she used was clearly high-grade, and a thread-thin bolt had struck him dizzy.

Yun Xi had no intention of giving Chen Feng time to recover. Acting on the principle of taking his life while he was weak, she lunged forward with her spirit sword. Although she hadn’t systematically learned sword arts, she had diligently practiced basic moves: slashing, hacking, thrusting, flicking, and lifting. Now she unleashed them all against her foe.

It was rare to have a living opponent to practice on, so she certainly wouldn’t miss this opportunity. Coupled with her natural strength, even simple moves carried considerable power. Chen Feng quickly found himself overwhelmed.

The more Yun Xi fought, the more excited she grew, whereas Chen Feng felt increasingly alarmed. He shouted harshly, “You hid your cultivation!”

Yun Xi didn’t pause, replying swiftly, “How else could I lure you out?”

Truthfully, Yun Xi hadn’t anticipated Chen Feng’s ambush. But since he’d guessed her hidden strength, she simply used his assumption to unsettle him, indirectly justifying her actions.

Yet Yun Xi knew clearly in her heart: Chen Feng had to die. If she let him escape, who knew what vengeance he’d seek later?

Determined, she swung her sword even harder, occasionally tossing out attack charms to disrupt Chen Feng’s rhythm.

Chen Feng hastily formed a defense shield, blocking six blazing fireballs, then threw out a thick smoke charm, hoping to flee under its cover. Realizing he had underestimated Yun Xi, he decisively chose to retreat.

But Yun Xi wouldn’t allow him that chance. Her divine sense locked onto his fleeing form, and she immediately threw her spirit sword, aiming straight at his heart.

Chen Feng heard the whistling danger behind him. Quickly, he rolled aside, narrowly avoiding the blade as it stabbed deeply into the ground.

Not sparing the fallen sword even a glance, Chen Feng scrambled toward the tunnel he’d secretly dug. Just as he was about to slip in, he stiffened. Looking down in shock, he saw a shard of ice piercing through his chest. With a weak shudder, he collapsed, lifeless.

A pungent smell of blood reached Yun Xi, but she didn’t approach carelessly. Instead, she pulled out ten first-grade fireball charms and hurled them at Chen Feng’s fallen form, unwilling to risk a final desperate counterattack.

Her caution proved wise. Amidst the roaring flames, Chen Feng suddenly groaned and desperately clawed at the tunnel entrance. Only when the fire fully consumed him did he finally fall still.

Holding back nausea, Yun Xi used telekinesis to retrieve Chen Feng’s storage pouch, emptied its contents into her space, then threw the pouch back into the flames. Once his corpse and belongings turned completely to ash, Yun Xi finally turned aside and retched violently.

Having come from a peaceful era, this was her first time killing someone. The shock was immense. During the battle, adrenaline had kept fear at bay, but now, with the danger passed, terror surged belatedly through her veins.

This incident starkly demonstrated the brutality of the cultivation world. Both she and Chen Feng belonged to the outer sect, and their earlier conflict had been trivial. Yet, rather than letting it go, he’d plotted revenge against the Wei disciples, waiting patiently for a year until the matter faded from memory before ambushing her alone.

If she hadn’t hidden her true cultivation, if she’d genuinely been at the fourth layer of Qi Refinement, tonight would have ended differently. Had Chen Feng chosen to attack while she was busy drawing charms with her spiritual energy nearly exhausted, she’d have stood no chance.

Fortunately, he’d arrived after she had fully recovered her spiritual energy, and the smoke he’d created to cover his retreat had also conveniently hidden her actions.

Throwing the spirit sword had been a feint to distract Chen Feng, while the swiftly conjured Ice Spike was her true lethal strike. Thankfully, her gamble had succeeded, or Chen Feng might really have escaped.

After retching for a while without relief, Yun Xi steadied herself, thoroughly erasing all traces Chen Feng had left behind, sealing the tunnel completely before returning to the straw hut.

Yet she had no heart to meditate. Sitting silently inside, her thoughts churned. This was her first true crisis since transmigrating. Her luck had pulled her through this time, but she couldn’t rely on luck forever.

This event served as a stern warning. She needed reliable offensive techniques, not merely charms, which could run out at critical moments.

Her mind buzzed chaotically through the night, until dawn finally broke. Only then did she gather herself and head out to inspect the young seedlings in their spiritual fields.

She meticulously checked both her and Zong Hao’s plots, removing a few weeds competing with the spiritual rice. Afterward, she returned calmly to the hut, careful not to reveal anything amiss.

Throughout the day, she extended her divine sense, observing if anyone paid undue attention to her, suspecting Chen Feng might have accomplices.

Fortunately, no one watched her closely. Yet she didn’t relax, scanning her surroundings every half-hour until Zong Hao finally returned.

“Yun Xi, was everything alright yesterday?” Zong Hao casually asked.

Yun Xi nodded naturally, “Your spiritual field is fine. I just pulled a couple of weeds this morning.”

“That’s good,” Zong Hao smiled broadly. “I had a good trip, bought spirit flour buns from the dining hall, some first-grade spirit rabbit meat, and a whole spirit chicken from the marketplace. Enough food to last us a while!”

Yun Xi immediately smiled, two charming dimples appearing. “That’s wonderful! Did you get the stove?”

“Yes, I bought a secondhand one for only fifty spirit pearls. There was even a senior sister selling her own grown spirit vegetables, so I grabbed some of those too.”

“Perfect! Oh, how are Yun Ying and the others?” Yun Xi asked lightly.

“They’ve finished their short-term tasks. Yun Ying, Zong Jin, and Zong Yu returned to the outer peaks. Only Wei Yun Qing didn’t return—some disciple from Alchemy Peak favors her, so she stayed there sorting spirit herbs and even got extra spirit stones.”

Hearing that, Yun Xi paused briefly in sorting vegetables, then continued calmly, smiling. “That’s good for her. At least she can stay on Alchemy Peak. I heard the spiritual energy there is richer than at the cultivation halls.”

“Just her dumb luck,” Zong Hao remarked dismissively.

With his current aptitude, Wei Yun Qing no longer posed a threat. It would be impossible for her to suppress the other Wei disciples now.

That evening, Zong Hao and Yun Xi enjoyed a delicious stew made from the fragrant spirit chicken. The following day, Yun Xi turned the leftover chicken broth into flavorful noodle soup, treating them again to a sumptuous meal.

The tasty spiritual meals soothed Yun Xi’s troubled heart. Chen Feng’s matter gradually faded from her mind, and she deliberately avoided mentioning it to Zong Hao—such things were safer kept secret.

By the second month, the spirit rice had grown nearly a meter tall, entering the grain-filling stage. Both of them were busy daily, using the Rainfall Technique twice each day to ensure a good harvest.

Yet as the spiritual rice reached maturity in the third month, Yun Xi noticed suspicious figures lingering around her and Zong Hao’s fields.