Chapter 134

Chapter 134: A Shameless Bargain

Yun Xi swiftly rose to her feet, waving away the strange powder. Her eyes blazed fiercely as she demanded, “What are you trying to do?”

The female cultivator’s face remained cold and distant as she replied, “Who told you to travel alone? Such a perfect chance fell right into our laps—why should we let it pass by?”

Yun Xi tried to fight back but realized her spiritual energy was locked away. She whipped her gaze sharply toward the woman, shouting furiously, “What have you done to me?”

“Don’t bother struggling,” the female cultivator replied calmly. “It’s a Sealing Spirit Pill. Though inhaling it isn’t as effective as ingestion, simply coming into contact with it is enough to seal your spiritual energy and leave you helpless.”

The woman stepped forward and snatched Yun Xi’s storage pouch from her waist but soon found she couldn’t erase the spiritual imprint. Confused, she raised her head, blurting, “Why won’t it—”

Yun Xi had long awaited this moment. She hadn’t resisted when her storage pouch was taken, but the instant her opponent failed to erase the imprint, Yun Xi seized her Seven Star Fatal Staff and swung it toward the woman’s head.

The two male cultivators behind her finally noticed something was wrong and rushed to help their companion. But Yun Xi had already split the Mystic Ice Needle in two, piercing straight through their dantians, then driving into the back of their skulls, shattering their spiritual seas.

Everything happened in an instant. Within three breaths, the two male cultivators had fallen lifeless, leaving only the female cultivator desperately struggling against Yun Xi. But witnessing the swift demise of her companions left her shaken and slow. Yun Xi seized the opening and struck her unconscious with a swift blow.

Yun Xi swept the cavern with her divine sense, confirming there were no other threats. Only then did she put away her life-ending staff, collect the fallen male cultivators’ storage pouches, and reduced their remains to ashes using a Fireball Spell.

From their pouches, Yun Xi took out a Sealing Spirit Pill and forced it into the unconscious woman’s mouth. Then she conjured a water orb to splash her awake.

The female cultivator jolted upright, noticing immediately that only she and Yun Xi remained in the cavern. Panic gripped her as she tried forming a spell, but when she found her spiritual energy sealed away, her eyes widened with horror, “What have you done to me?”

With a gentle smile, Yun Xi replied, “Didn’t you say the Sealing Spirit Pill is more effective when ingested? I gave you one to test it, and it seems the result is indeed immediate.”

The woman’s face turned pale. Realizing she’d kicked an iron board, she instinctively tried to run, but an ice spike stabbed into the ground inches from her feet, stopping her cold.

“If you don’t want to die, then speak truthfully. What did you really plan to do after capturing me?”

“We…we just wanted your storage pouch.”

Yun Xi arched an eyebrow. When the woman answered, her eyes flickered suspiciously. Though quickly hidden, Yun Xi had already caught it with her keen divine sense.

Refusing to waste time, Yun Xi used a Wind-Binding Technique to rip the woman’s storage pouch from her waist, swiftly erasing the spiritual imprint.

“Aaagh!” the woman collapsed to her knees, clutching her head, sweat pouring down her face as the agony of having her soul-mark forcibly removed nearly overwhelmed her.

Yun Xi calmly browsed through the pouch, collecting ten thousand low-grade spirit stones along with a few rare ores, before asking once more, “Now, will you tell me the truth?”

Panting heavily, the woman finally surrendered, “I… I’ll talk.”

“Speak,” Yun Xi urged, listening attentively.

“The four of us entered Rosy Cloud Valley’s inner region. After three days, we successfully found the nest of the third-rank Flying Rosy Cloud Butterfly and took its eggs. But just after we seized them, four men in black robes attacked us.”

“One of them was a Golden Core cultivator. We couldn’t fight back, so we handed over the eggs. But they weren’t satisfied, continuing their pursuit until we were forced to abandon Xia You in exchange for our lives.”

Yun Xi asked sharply, “Why Xia You and not you?”

The female cultivator lowered her eyes, saying softly, “My cultivation isn’t as high as hers. Xia You was about to break through to the late Foundation Establishment stage.”

Yun Xi smiled faintly, not pressing further, and shifted to another matter, “Then, why did you ambush me after escaping?”

The woman swallowed nervously, explaining, “The four men said that if we wanted butterfly eggs, we could exchange another female cultivator for them.”

“Ha! Bargaining with beasts. You really think they’d hand over the eggs in exchange for me?”

“They swore a Heavenly Dao Oath! They said as long as we delivered someone, they’d return the eggs. We didn’t want to return empty-handed—”

“And the path you took leaving was suggested by them too?” Yun Xi cut her off abruptly.

“No, this was the way we initially entered. It’s safer here; running into you was pure coincidence,” she quickly clarified.

Without another word, Yun Xi flashed behind the woman, knocking her unconscious again with a swift chop. Then, pulling Dian Dian out, she whispered, “Ask the Flying Rosy Cloud Butterfly if it recognizes these three people. It conveniently failed to mention the Golden Core cultivator earlier.”

Dian Dian huffed in annoyance, clearly displeased that the butterfly was trying to deceive its master. Stomping its tiny feet, it began angrily communicating with the Flying Rosy Cloud Butterfly.

Yun Xi carefully reviewed the information she’d gleaned:

First, the “villains” mentioned by the Flying Rosy Cloud Butterfly were clearly demonic cultivators—a group of four, with one at Golden Core stage.

Second, these three cultivators had clearly clashed with the demonic cultivators before, thus bearing the scent Dian Dian had detected—likely marked by demonic cultivation methods.

Third, to survive, these cultivators shamelessly sacrificed their teammate Xia You. Driven by greed for butterfly eggs, they targeted Yun Xi, hoping to use her as a bargaining chip with the demonic cultivators.

Lastly, and most importantly, the demonic cultivators cleverly manipulated the greed of ordinary cultivators, transforming them into hunters who captured female cultivators. They granted butterfly eggs in return, enticing more and more cultivators into Rosy Cloud Valley, creating endless prey—a truly cunning scheme with multiple gains.

In truth, it was an ordinary trap, but due to the powerful presence of a Golden Core Demonic Cultivator, it was carried out smoothly. Those who resisted were likely reduced to ashes, leaving no chance for the truth to escape the valley.

Once Yun Xi finished analyzing, Dian Dian concluded its communication with the Flying Rosy Cloud Butterfly, saying resentfully, “Master, the butterfly admitted it saw those three but said you didn’t ask specifically, so it didn’t mention them. Now it offers ten additional butterfly eggs for your help. The Heavenly Dao Oath has already been made, so it can’t renege.”

Puffing angrily, Dian Dian added, “Master, it’s too sneaky. We shouldn’t help it! Let’s leave here!”

Yun Xi spoke meaningfully, “It’s fine. That’s just its way of survival. But spirit stones never simply fall from the heavens.”

“What will you do next, Master?” Dian Dian asked cautiously.

“Let’s meet those people first, confirm they’re truly demonic cultivators, then take action. I’ve prepared plenty of third-rank talismans—perfect to test their effectiveness.”

“And this female cultivator?” Dian Dian questioned, looking down at the unconscious woman.

Yun Xi smiled faintly, “Since she wants butterfly eggs so badly, I’ll naturally help fulfill her wish. With her leading me, they won’t suspect anything.”