Chapter 57

Chapter 57: Reaping the Fisherman’s Gain

“No need.”

Song Wan Ning beckoned lightly, and the storage pouch flew into her hand.

A quick glance told her enough—mid-grade spirit stones, and plenty of them, likely far more than four hundred thousand.

Satisfied by their sense, she smiled faintly. She placed Bai Yang onto a flying carpet and left at once.

The carpet streaked away, shrinking into a black dot until it vanished from sight.

Yun Jin Yue clutched the pill bottle tightly, still shaken with gratitude.

“We just injured True Lord Song’s disciple, yet True Lord Song still helped us without holding a grudge,” she murmured, eyes red. “She’s nothing like what people say outside.”

Outside, everyone claimed Song Wan Ning was narrow-minded and willful, that she didn’t care whether fellow disciples lived or died.

Now it all seemed false.

Even people she met by chance, True Lord Song could help. How could she watch a fellow disciple die without lifting a finger?

Then that fellow disciple must have done something unforgivable.

Yun Jin Yue tucked the pill away in her storage ring, then led her people back toward Yun Xiang City at top speed.

—

Ye Chu Xue crashed down into a ravine and hit the ground hard, stars bursting behind her eyes.

“Tsk!”

Every inch of her body screamed. She sucked in a sharp breath and forced herself upright.

Where was this?

She frowned and looked around. The Thousand-Mile Teleportation Talisman had a random destination—and this one was a defective product.

She had no idea where she’d been thrown.

She didn’t waste time. Ye Chu Xue pulled out a Voice-Transmission Talisman and tried to contact the sect.

Bai Yang had stayed behind.

She didn’t know what Yun Xiang City would do to him…

“Yun Xiang City,” she hissed through clenched teeth. “I’ll remember this. When my master wakes up, I’ll make you pay!”

Ignoring the ache in her bones, she released the talisman.

It flew only a few meters before—

A strike snapped it from the air.

“Who is it?!” Ye Chu Xue spun, instantly on guard, retreating a step.

A figure stepped out from the bushes.

Mo Yuan.

He wore a half-mask that hid the markings on his face, leaving only half of a stunningly beautiful profile exposed.

Ye Chu Xue froze, recognition slamming into her. The auction host from the auction house.

“It’s you!” Her grip tightened on her storage ring. Every nerve in her body went taut. “Why are you here?”

He had personally delivered the pill back then.

He had to be here for the Heaven-Origin Heart-Nourishing Pill.

Ye Chu Xue bit her lip, fury and dread rising together. She had never expected a single pill would bring wave after wave of trouble.

In the past, Song Wan Ning had plenty of this kind of pill. Master could get it with ease.

She’d never imagined it would be so precious in the outside world.

Mo Yuan’s eyes narrowed. His voice turned cold. “Hand over the pill, and I’ll spare your life.”

His expression twisted. A gray-green wave crawled across his skin, making him look terrifying. At the same time, demonic qi poured out, swirling like black smoke around his body.

“You’re a demonic cultivator?” Ye Chu Xue stared, shock turning her stomach. “Shen Xing Tian Xia Auction House dares to hide a demonic cultivator?”

A demonic cultivator.

They were infamous for killing without blinking.

This was bad.

“You talk too much.”

Mo Yuan lifted his lids. A bloodthirsty glint flashed in his eyes.

“Since you won’t take the toast, don’t blame me for the punishment!”

He lunged.

Ye Chu Xue was already injured from the earlier fight. The lingering poison in her body hadn’t been fully cleared, and now her spiritual energy felt thin and unstable.

Within a few moves, Mo Yuan wounded her again and forced her into a corner with no path out.

Left with no choice, she yanked out the magical artifacts she’d gathered over the years and detonated them on the spot.

The explosion of a magical artifact was terrifying.

It heavily injured Mo Yuan—and blasted Ye Chu Xue away as well.

“Pff—!”

She spat blood and slammed to the ground like a rag doll.

Mo Yuan sprayed blood too. He was thrown dozens of meters, smashing into a cliff before tumbling down in disgrace. The impact battered his organs and shook his soul.

He forced himself upright, agony twisting his face. The look he gave Ye Chu Xue was drenched in bloodthirsty malice.

A little worm—and it dared to hurt him.

Mo Yuan dragged the Black Sakura Spear as he stalked toward Ye Chu Xue.

The spearhead scraped across stone with a sharp, grating screech, and Ye Chu Xue’s heart dropped with it.

She lifted her head, eyes blazing with killing intent, and struggled to stand.

Even if she died, she would never let this damned demonic cultivator have his way.

At worst, they’d die together.

Ye Chu Xue’s gaze turned vicious. She snatched up a thick stack of talismans from her storage ring—low-grade, but enough in quantity to cause trouble.

At the same time, she pulled out the last few artifacts she had left and flung them straight at Mo Yuan without hesitation.

Mo Yuan’s pupils trembled.

Where did this slut get so many treasures?

He’d thought she was an ordinary cultivator. Instead, she was a tough one.

But there was no retreat now. He could only meet it head-on.

Boom!

Boom!

Boom!

A chain of explosions tore through the ravine. The entire valley shuddered, nearly leveled.

When the roar finally faded, Ye Chu Xue and Mo Yuan lay sprawled in the wreckage, both badly hurt and unconscious.

In the instant they blacked out, the same thought rose in both their minds.

If he didn’t die, he would make sure she died without a burial place.

If she didn’t die, she would make sure he died without a burial place.

…

When the smoke thinned, the valley was a ruin.

Song Wan Ning drifted in on her flying carpet, lazily scratching at her ear. The blasts had been so loud her ears still rang.

She looked down at the two unconscious figures, then descended at an unhurried pace. Her gaze swept the mess, and the corner of her mouth lifted.

Mo Yuan had played a small trick on the pill—locking onto Ye Chu Xue’s location. Even with a Thousand-Mile Teleportation Talisman, she still couldn’t shake the tracking.

In the end, it became mutual destruction.

Song Wan Ning’s eyes were cool as she walked to Ye Chu Xue. Her gaze paused on that slender, pale neck.

For a heartbeat, she truly wanted to squeeze—

To hear the snap in a single clean motion.

A thick, violent aura surged in her eyes. Song Wan Ning closed them, forced the hatred down, then crouched and tore Ye Chu Xue’s storage ring off by force.

It still didn’t feel like enough.

Crack.

She snapped both of Ye Chu Xue’s wrists. The sound was crisp, clean.

Song Wan Ning stood and kicked her a few times for good measure.

No matter what she did, Ye Chu Xue would blame it all on Mo Yuan in the end. If so, why not do it?

A gentle smile spread across Song Wan Ning’s lips as she vented again and again, until the knot of resentment in her chest finally loosened.

Then she walked over to Mo Yuan and tossed a black sack onto him.

The sack swelled in the wind, swallowing Mo Yuan whole.

With a light wave, it lifted into the air and landed neatly on the flying carpet.

Song Wan Ning sat back down, eyes shimmering with a strange brilliance.

In this life, could Mo Yuan still become Ye Chu Xue’s loyal lapdog?