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According to the sect’s rules, if any disciple on a trial dies outside, the accompanying disciples must bring back their waist token. If all of them die, the sect will dispatch disciples to retrieve the waist tokens and enshrine them in the Hall of the Departed. As for the bodies, if conditions permit, they are to be buried on the spot, allowing their flesh to return to the earth.
Sui An felt her waist and only then remembered that she didn’t know where she had lost her token. Each person’s waist token was imprinted with their spiritual sense. When a person died and their spiritual sense was extinguished, the spiritual sense on the derivative waist token, which was a copy stored in the Hall of the Living, would also be extinguished.
Thus, the waist token was also called a Life Soul Token. If the original waist token could not be recovered, the derivative waist token would be used for enshrinement.
Sui An’s lost waist token could only be found using her own spiritual sense. But since she couldn’t leave the sect, she could, however, sneakily use the derivative waist token from the Hall of the Living.
Sui An stroked her chin. She seemed to remember feeling the presence of her waist token on Huaiyang, but the faint feeling had vanished in an instant, and she wasn’t very sure herself.
“Senior Sister An!”
Sui An looked to the side. In the pitch-black night, she saw Yu Mufei limping towards her. His face was covered in cuts of various sizes, and the clothes on his body had been torn into strips of cloth, revealing a strong chest.
Sui An turned her head away and closed her eyes. The flame went out, leaving only the moonlight to illuminate the surroundings. She pointed at him, her voice filled with anger, “You… can’t you change your clothes first? To be so exposed, chest and back bared, what a disgrace!”
Yu Mufei pulled the cloth strips together, scratched his head with a bashful smile, and muttered under his breath, “Sorry, I almost forgot that the people here are very conservative in their thinking.”
Sui An was at the Foundation Establishment stage; her hearing was good enough to catch that. As she was pondering Yu Mufei’s words, the system’s voice sounded in her mind.
[Host, what Yu Mufei just said was a bit strange, as if he’s hiding something. It would be best for the Host not to trust this person too much.]
Hearing this, Sui An’s heart went cold. In such a world of deceit and intrigue, who could she trust!
“Senior Sister, I’m dressed.”
Yu Mufei had simply put the clothes on. He looked a bit mismatched, but at least his body was properly covered.
Sui An narrowed her eyes. “Why are you here?”
“Hah, don’t mention it. I was chased all over the place by that senior brother. Wu Bin saved me, but the next thing I knew, Wu Bin had snatched the porcelain bottle you gave me, so I didn’t go to the teleportation formation,” Yu Mufei said with an apologetic look. “I’m sorry, I wasted your kind intentions, Senior Sister. It’s all my fault for being so stupid. I shouldn’t have trusted Wu Bin.”
“The Golden Spirit Beetle I gave you was snatched by Wu Bin?” Sui An’s eyelids trembled. No matter how much she wanted to change things, why was it still the same as before her rebirth?
Yu Mufei nodded. He said angrily, “Isn’t that right? And to think I saw him being bullied before and secretly refined a sword to give him. In the end, he used that very sword to ambush me. Even the worst person isn’t as bad as him. So ungrateful!”
She tried hard to change things, but to little effect. Perhaps the system was right; she should have stayed by Tan Yun’s side. As long as she didn’t leave, Tan Yun would have no reason to lock her in the water prison.
“The path ahead is blocked. Can you fly on your sword, Senior Sister?” Yu Mufei asked.
Sui An had consumed a lot of energy, but the night sky was now unobscured by clouds. Her speed of absorbing spiritual energy was a bit faster than before, so flying on her sword wasn’t a big problem.
She quietly looked at Yu Mufei’s dirty face, which was covered in cuts of various sizes. She smiled lightly, tossed him an Origin Recovery Pill, and said, “Not right now. You should regulate your breath for a moment first. With such a huge commotion here, the sect should send people to rescue us.”
Yu Mufei pursed his lips and said a word of thanks.
He looked down at the Origin Recovery Pill in his hand and put it into his storage pouch, as if he were going to treasure it. Sui An didn’t know if he was wary of her, afraid it was poison and putting on a show, or if he was genuinely treasuring it. She was finding it hard to tell anymore.
Suddenly, the surface of the nearby stream began to churn. Sui An lit a flame on her fingertip, and with a flick, the flame shot across the water. She saw a creature, drenched and dripping, with a fish’s mouth and covered in scales—a monster that could barely be considered human—climbing onto the bank, blowing bubbles from its mouth with a gurgling sound.
“Bobo!” It walked towards the two of them.
[Host, this is a member of the demon race. Any demon race member that has transformed has strength no less than a Golden Core cultivator, or even stronger.]
Sui An’s heart jumped in alarm, and she took half a step back.
Looking at this demon’s appearance, its transformation hadn’t been very successful; it was half-human, half-demon. Could it be that this was the one who had just undergone the lightning tribulation?
“Bobo… humans?” It spoke in a human tongue.
Sui An held her sword. Although she couldn’t judge its strength, she could feel a suffocating pressure. It was definitely not something she could deal with at her current level.
Its eyes were like a human’s, but they were motionless, as if they were fake eyes that had been installed. Every time it wanted to look at something, it turned its entire head. “Humans!”
It advanced towards them with stiff steps.
Yu Mufei’s expression was grave. He held a black ball in his hand and said, “Senior Sister, you go first. I’ll hold it off.”
Sui An was stunned. Yu Mufei’s actions didn’t seem to be for achieving some hidden purpose, which made her hesitate for a moment. In that instant of distraction, Yu Mufei threw the black ball at the creature!
It tilted its head, puzzled. Thinking it was some kind of bait, it opened its mouth and swallowed it whole, leaving the two of them dumbfounded.
With a muffled grunt, its stomach bulged. It opened its mouth, and a puff of smoke came out. Its eyes widened, and it turned its head to stare at Yu Mufei. “It hurts, it hurts! Bobo is going to kill you!”
“Run!” Yu Mufei shouted.
With that, he ran off in the other direction.
Seeing this, Sui An said, “Don’t, come back!”
Yu Mufei held another black ball in his hand, cold sweat beading on his forehead. By now, the fish demon’s body had already turned towards him. With one stride, it was instantly beside him, staring at him with a pair of dead fish eyes.
Yu Mufei’s whole body went rigid. At this moment, he couldn’t move, let alone detonate the black ball.
Bang! Sparks exploded in the sky.
The fish demon tilted its head and looked up.
Sui An shot another fireball, which flew high into the air and exploded into many flower-like sparks. “Yu Mufei, what are you standing there for? Run!”
Only then did Yu Mufei turn and run away.
The creature blinked, opened its mouth, and spat lightly. A gob of saliva pierced his body. Yu Mufei fell directly to the ground, his whole body twitching.
Seeing this, Sui An gathered a fireball and shot it at the ground beside the creature. The flames immediately scattered, blocking its path.
As Yu Mufei twitched, black veins crawled up his neck, as if countless spiderwebs had formed there.
Sui An ran to his side and fed him a Hundred Herbs Pill. As soon as he swallowed it, the veins on Yu Mufei’s neck began to slowly recede. Even Sui An was surprised by the pill she had refined.
Yu Mufei weakly pointed behind her.
Sui An’s pupils shrank. She turned her head to look.
The fish demon tilted its head. “Bobo… humans?”
Sui An gripped her sword in one hand, her mind connecting with the Heaven-grade chain in the system’s storage. With her current cultivation, she couldn’t yet control this chain. She wouldn’t use it unless it was a last resort.
She glanced at the sky. She had set off so many fireballs in the air just now. She could only hope that a nearby rescuing fellow disciple had seen them!
“Humans.” It tilted its head, not attacking.
Sui An didn’t answer. At this moment, she could only be on the defensive. The fish demon bent down, and a fishy stench hit her as its mouth came close.
“Bobo… humans, what are you doing?”
Sui An was stunned. Could it be that it didn’t remember what had just happened? She tried asking, “Do you still remember who I am?”
It scratched its head. “Who are you?”
Just as I thought!
Sui An smiled. “I’m Sui An, your good friend. Don’t you remember?”
It scratched its head again. “Good friend?”
Sui An nodded and even took out a Spirit Nurturing Pill, handing it over. “That’s right. See, this is what you used to love to eat. Remember?”
It sniffed at it with its nostrils, swallowed it, and immediately clapped its hands happily. “Yummy, yummy! Bobo has a good friend, Sui An is a good friend.”
“Right, right, good friends!”
The fish demon’s behavior was like that of a child a few years old, but Sui An didn’t dare to be careless about the immense aura it exuded.
“Yes, we’re good friends.” Sui An carefully helped Yu Mufei up. “But it’s very late now. I have to go home first. I’ll come and play with you another day.”
The fish demon’s shoulders slumped.
The two slowly backed away. But suddenly, the fish demon appeared behind them again. “Bobo… humans?”
Sui An frowned and turned back with a smile. “Bobo, do you still remember who I am?”
The fish demon shook its head.
“I’m Sui An, your good friend.”
“Good friend Sui An. Bobo has a good friend.” The fish demon clapped its hands happily again. Immediately after, it scratched its head and asked, “Who are you?”
Sui An was tongue-tied. This fish demon’s memory wasn’t very good. “Sui An. Your good friend.”
The fish demon tilted its head. “What’s my good friend’s name?”
“…” Sui An couldn’t stand this repetitive answering.
But she couldn’t anger the fish demon either. Sui An simply wrote a note, and with a slap, stuck it to its forehead. On it was written: Sui An is Bobo’s good friend.
The sight was comical, like a reanimated corpse with a talisman stuck to it. Yu Mufei, at the side, couldn’t help but tremble, his face flushed red from holding back laughter.
The fish demon clapped its hands, bubbles coming from its mouth. “Bobo has a friend! Sui An is a good friend.”
With that, it hugged Sui An and spun around joyfully. The strong fishy smell filled her nose, making Sui An feel very uncomfortable, as if a large piece of unwashed raw fish had been stuffed directly into her mouth. She decided she would never eat fish again!
“Bobo, let me go first.”
The fish demon turned a deaf ear. “Bobo’s good friend, won’t let go, won’t let go. If I let go, I’ll forget again.”
“You let me go first, and I’ll give you something tasty to eat.”
Hearing this, the fish demon’s grip loosened slightly.
Just as Sui An breathed a sigh of relief, a slender silver thread wrapped around the fish demon, binding it tightly. It was yanked high into the air, pulling Sui An up with it. Her heart jumped in alarm. She glanced to the side and saw the Grand Elder with a cold expression, her face filled with disgust for the fish demon.
“You vile demon! Because of you, countless outer sect disciples of my sect have died or been injured. I’ll take your life to commemorate them.”
With that, another silver thread wrapped around Sui An, instantly separating her from the fish demon. The fish demon’s eyes widened, bubbles coming from its mouth.
“Good friend!”
Sui An bit her lower lip. She had just opened her mouth, wanting to plead for the fish demon, but her gaze fell upon the body of the young girl below. Thinking of the countless disciples of the sect who had died because of the lightning tribulation, she found she couldn’t speak the words.
Sui An was thrown to the ground. Her injuries hadn’t healed, and the pain made it impossible for her to stand. Yu Mufei helped her sit up. The note on her forehead came loose and fluttered to the ground.
Seeing this, the scales on the fish demon’s body solidified into blades. With a powerful struggle, it severed the silver thread and instantly appeared in front of Sui An. It picked up the note from the ground and handed it to her. “Bobo’s good friend.”
Sui An was stunned.
The Grand Elder was furious. “You thief, you dare!”
She formed a hand seal and opened her palms.
Under the moonlight, the dark surroundings faintly shimmered with a silver reflection. The range was vast, enveloping an area of a hundred li.
The fish demon saw that Sui An didn’t take the note and extended its hand a little further. But in just that small distance, a small piece of the scales on its wrist was suddenly cut off. It froze.
“I have set up Entangling Silks all around,” the Grand Elder said, extending her hand and pausing it in mid-air. “Entangling Silks, once entangled, are hard to break. Move a single silk, and your whole body will be entangled.”
She flicked and stroked a finger in the air.
Sui An heard a whistling sound by her ear but felt no wind. She only saw the hem of her skirt, along with the fish demon’s right leg, suddenly get sliced off clean. The fish demon threw its head back and let out a painful cry.
Sui An’s heart trembled.
Only then did she realize that the strength the Grand Elder had shown was merely the tip of the iceberg. Tan Yun and she were likely evenly matched, yet it had taken Tan Yun three days to capture her. She must have been holding back.
This level of strength was deeply imprinted in Sui An’s heart. The desire to become stronger was more intense than ever before.
The fish demon stood on one leg.
It slowly raised its head, glaring at the Grand Elder. The scales on its body stood on end, their sharp edges facing outwards. Immediately after, it spun and leaped in place, but froze in mid-air.
The Grand Elder flicked her finger again.
The surrounding Entangling Silks danced, wrapping tightly around the fish demon, constricting it. The sharp scales shattered one by one, creating small cuts. The fish demon was still struggling in mid-air, but it still held that piece of paper in its hand, protecting it perfectly in its clenched fist.
Seeing this, Sui An finally couldn’t help but shout, “Bobo, run! You can’t beat the Grand Elder.”
The Grand Elder frowned and scolded, “Sui An, do you know how many disciples of the sect this demon killed with its tribulation?”
“I… I don’t know. Bobo… it…” It didn’t mean to. Sui An really couldn’t say it. With a dead body lying right in front of her, how could she ignore it?
The Grand Elder snorted coldly. With another flick of her finger, the Entangling Silks tightened, and the fish demon let out another tragic cry.
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Glossary
Hall of the Departed (死奠堂, sǐ diàn táng): The hall within the sect where the tokens of deceased disciples are enshrined and honored.
Hall of the Living (生奠堂, shēng diàn táng): A hall that likely holds the ‘backup’ or ‘derivative’ tokens of living disciples, used to monitor their life status.
Life Soul Token (命魂牌, mìnghún pái): Another name for the waist token, emphasizing its connection to a disciple’s life force and soul.
Bobo (啵啵, bōbo): The onomatopoeic name the fish demon gives itself, likely from the sound of bubbles.
Entangling Silks (缠丝, chánsī): The name of the Grand Elder’s technique, a web of invisible, cutting threads.
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Reika’s Notes:
- The translation of this chapter will be in parts because it’s very long.
- A regular chapter is around 3000 characters. This one is 9516 characters.
- This text was translated by RudeGirl and given to BC Novels for publication.
- I helped with the footnotes, formatting, grammar, etc., the usual stuff that is needed to post this on the website.
- Please let me know if there are any errors. Thanks for reading!
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