Chapter 47 – Every Day the Protagonist Wants to Capture Me

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Chapter 47 A Life Worse than Death

 

The cave was extremely cold. Even though cultivators do not fear heat or cold, once they enter that cave they feel a slight, eerie chill.

Chu Yu and Xie Xi, who were walking behind the others, looked at the distant Song Jingyi. Moving closer to Xie Xi, Chu Yu said softly: “Since Song Yuanzhuo has given him a defensive treasure, it is likely that he also has other things. Be careful later.”

From the very start, his only thought was to hog everything for himself. How could Song Jingyi, who had tasted the sweetness of success earlier, suddenly become generous? Leading them all here was probably part of a sinister plan.

The deeper they went into the cave, the smaller and narrower the passageway became. Chu Yu frowned in discomfort. It was now more convenient for the brightly smiling Xie Xi to cling to him tighter than before. How could they take care of any sudden situation that may occur later?

Chu Yu gave Xie Xi a look, silently warning him not to overdo it or talk too much.

After a long time, Song Jingyi, who was leading the way, stopped. The deepest part of the cave was no longer narrow. The passageway had opened up, revealing a stretch of open ground.

Chu Yu raised his head and avoided Song Jingyi’s gaze. He saw that there was a quiet pool in the middle of the clearing and in its center rose a bit of flat land. Just a moment ago, they had clearly seen the spirit grass that was growing on that bit of land.

Three stalks of spirit grass.

The faint light that was shining inside the cave was reflected in the eyes of several Tian Yuan Sect disciples that flashed with excitement.

Recalling that time earlier when Chu Yu had used his talismans to probe the area for traps, they did not act rashly, resisting the temptation to rush forward. Song Jingyi looked back at Chu Yu and Xie Xi who were leaning against the stone walls of the cave, seemingly unmoved. Frowning, Song Jingyi threw out a talisman to test if there was a barrier.

The talisman flew steadily, unhindered.

The frown on Song Jingyi’s brow smoothed out and he said with a smile: “It looks like we were too cautious. There is no barrier here.”

After he had finished speaking, he moved aside. Putting away his sword, he silently stood still.

Song Jingyi has already taken a stalk of spiritual grass. For him to grab another one, that really would be unjustifiable.

Several disciples, their expressions showing a bit of relief, looked at each other then secretly raised their defenses, on guard against the people around them.

For a time, no one moved. Lin Shidi looked at Song Jingyi then back at Chu Yu and his Shidi who seemed to want to watch a good show. He hesitated for a moment before slowly walking back to the pair of fellow disciples.

When he moved, the others were alarmed. Someone immediately used his sword to fly over the peaceful-looking deep pool when they heard the sound of someone jeering.

It was a very soft sound.

A few of his fellow disciples, who hadn’t been fast enough to catch up with him and were cursing him in their hearts, suddenly felt a chill and stopped subconsciously.

The impetuous disciple who had been the first to fly was frozen in place in the air above the pool for a long time. He turned his head mechanically, his eyes wide, as he stared at Song Jingyi who had just tried to place a restriction him.

Song Jingyi looked at him calmly. He even had a slight smile on his face.

The disciples’ eyes became wider and wider.

He had always fawned on Song Jingyi and slandered Chu Yu, that person who was a thorn in Song Jingyi’s side. Not only that he also secretly tried to assassinate Xie Xi during the war though he didn’t succeed…

It was too late to think about and regret it. It happened in an instant. The next moment, starting from the top of his head, his body split into two. The metallic scent of blood gushed out then, with a clanging sound, the sword under his feet broke into two pieces and he fell straight down into the pool along with the broken sword. In a flash, his body was dissolved, turning into blue smoke.

Even though they had seen countless deaths in the war against the demonic cultivators, in a fight between cultivators, the person who lost was at least granted a little bit of dignity. Though the soul might be scattered, the corpse would be preserved, perhaps beheaded or a nail driven through the back of the head…

Demonic cultivators have a lot of cruel ways of killing but there was no chance of seeing it on the battlefield. None of them had ever seen such a death.

Everyone’s face had turned a little bit white, including Song Jingyi, who harbored ulterior motives.

Unexpectedly, Song Jingyi would go so far…

Chu Yu was shocked and displeased. He felt the urge to vomit.

Xie Xi stroked his back and whispered: “Shixiong, how about you leave first?”

Chu Yu shook his head and glanced at his fellow disciples of the same sect. After all, the root of this trouble was only that da***d Song Jingyi.

“Shidi, if something happens later, can you keep everyone safe?”

Xie Xi was obviously not very happy. He looked down at Chu Yu and nodded. “Yes.”

After a pause, he looked around and saw that no one was watching them. He lowered his head and kissed Chu Yu on the lips. He smiled sweetly. “I’ve received my reward.”

Chu Yu was helpless: “… You’re too kind.”

Xie Xi said: “If I were not afraid that Shixiong would be angry at Shidi, how could the reward be so little?”

Chu Yu: “…What do you want?”

Xie Xi hesitated a bit. His eyes full of expectation, he said: “Volume one, page twenty.”

What?

Chu Yu was shocked then suddenly reacted.

… Those little yellow books were burned by him. But he did read the first volume. Thinking it over carefully, that page was…

Chu Yu scowled: “Don’t even think about it!”

Xie Xi was extremely hurt and his eyes filled with tears.

Chu Yu ignored him and continued watching the others, eager to see what was going to happen next.

Several Tian Yuan Sect disciples were terrified. Their faces distorted with all of them looked at Song Jingyi and exclaimed: “Song Shixiong! You just, you just…!”

Song Jingyi looked sad and confused: “What’s going on? Just now, based on Chu Shidi’s method, why did it go wrong like this…?”

Seeing Song Jingyi pointing a finger at him, Chu Yu’s eyebrows twitched and he said: “This prohibition seems to work only on things that are spiritually controlled. Could it be that Song Shixiong threw that talisman only using physical strength?”

Everyone’s eyes turned back to Song Jingyi who was silent for a moment then shook his head: “How could Chu Shidi not warn us about it earlier, alas…”

Lin Shidi said, in a tone of voice that was neither hot nor cold: “I’m a little puzzled. Normally, cultivators will throw talismans using spiritual energy. Why did Song Shixiong suddenly think of throwing the talisman using physical skills only?”

The expression on Song Jingyi’s face was calm: “I didn’t know that I needed to use spiritual energy to throw it. Is Lin Shidi doubting me?”

Lin Shidi sneered: “I wouldn’t dare.”

Obviously, Lin Shidi had said it sarcastically but Song Jingyi accepted it at face value and said lightly: “Now that the misunderstanding has been cleared up, you should pick up the herb quickly.”

Altogether, there was a total of nine people. Chu Yu, Xie Xi, and Lin Shidi voluntarily gave up their share of the spiritual grass and one of them had died. Song Jingyi had already taken his share. With that, there were still four people left but only three stalks of spiritual grass in the middle of the pool.

A few people looked at each other. The scent of blood still filled the air, making them feel weak at the knees. They didn’t dare to move.

How extremely terrifying!

The swords from the sword mound are at least mid-grade immortal weapons or higher yet the prohibition easily cut the cultivator and the immortal sword into two pieces. There were so many spiritual plants here, who knew if there were still several layers of prohibitions?
A disciple, his hand shaking, had just taken out a talisman, ready to test it out when Song Jingyi suddenly smiled: “Since everyone seems to have no objection, then I won’t be too polite.”

After saying this, he quickly flew up. The prohibition had been broken so he flew safely to the side of the spiritual grass. He opened his hand, three round purple balls, which looked as big as pigeon eggs and emitted purple light. One look and people could tell these were high-quality goods.

Lin Shidi sighed: “Heavenly Thunder Eggs!”

Items that could harm even Nascent Soul stage cultivators! One glance and they knew that it was something that Song Yuanzhuo had passed on to Song Jingyi!

“Song Shixiong, what are you planning to do?!”

“Song Jingyi!”

Seeing the Heavenly Thunder Eggs in Song Jingyi’s hands, the remaining disciples were shocked and angry, not to mention endlessly frightened. If one were hit by that, Nascent Soul stage cultivators would be injured while Core Formation stage cultivators would just die.

Even if one escaped the Heavenly Thunder Eggs, if power beyond the Core Formation period appeared, this secret realm would collapse. This place right now was probably the innermost part of the secret realm so it would be almost impossible to escape to the exit before it collapsed.

Song Jingyi suddenly burst into loud laughter, now completely setting aside the mask of hypocrisy that he normally wore. He laughed loudly and unrestrainedly: “Hahahahaha, you want this spiritual grass, too? Giving it to you people would be a waste! You bunch of useless trash!”

His eyes were a bit red as, holding the Heavenly Thunder Eggs, he pulled out a stalk of spiritual grass and threw it into his mouth. Feeling the immense spiritual force rushing into his body, he couldn’t help but burst into wild laughter.

Chu Yu shook his head.

A person can’t escape the disaster that he has brought on himself. Song Jingyi had fallen into the pit he had dug and wouldn’t be able to climb out.

“Chu Yu!” Song Jingyi suddenly stopped laughing and stared coldly at Chu Yu. “You’ve been looking down at me from the time I entered the sect. I want you to take a look at us now. You, the Chu family’s young master, think you’re superior to others? You can’t compare with me!”

Chu Yu’s mouth twitched: “Sorry, you think too much.” … Was it because of the original Chu Yu’s cold, noble, and aloof attitude that Song Jinyi thought the original Chu Yu despised and looked down on him?

Oh, right, it seems that the original Chu Yu has made amends by passing away.

“Again and again you’ve escaped death but you won’t be able to escape this time.” Holding up the Heavenly Thunder Eggs, Song Jingyi said gloomily: “Blame Chu Yu for the fact that you all have to die today!”

When he raised his hand to throw the Heavenly Thunder Eggs, he suddenly froze, unable to move. Song Jingyi hadn’t even seen him move but Xie Xi was behind him.

The expression on Xie Xi’s his face was cold as he gripped Song Jingyi’s hand tightly. Xie Xi said: “Are you done?”

Song Jingyi’s hair stood on end. He had just opened his mouth to scold Xie Xi when Song Jingyi’s face turned red.

Xie Xi took the Heavenly Thunder Eggs away from Song Jingyi, jumped to the edge of the pool then casually walked toward Chu Yu saying, “Shixiong, you can take this Heavenly Thunder Egg-”

“Xie Xi, watch your back!” Chu Yu shouted and waved his hands, staring at something behind Xie Xi.

Xie Xi was stunned. He didn’t look back but automatically put a strong defensive barrier.

“Bang!” The sound of a loud explosion filled the air. Chu Yu could only watch as Xie Xi was enveloped in purple lighting. Chu Yu’s heart almost stopped beating.

Neither one of them had expected that Song Jingyi had another Heavenly Thunder Egg hidden!

Song Jingyi burst into laughter. In the midst of his wild laughter, he suddenly fell silent, unable to make a sound. Blood started flowing from his mouth, nose, ears, and eyes. He fell to the ground as though all of his bones had been crushed.

After a long time, the purple light faded away. A large, deep pit appeared in the flat ground of the cave. The others who had escaped in time gasped and stared incredulously at Song Jingyi, who was lying paralyzed on the ground.

Chu Yu’s entire body trembled. He wiped away the tears that had sprung up in his eyes for no reason. His eyes were still smarting because he had been staring directly at the intense purple light. Almost stumbling, he ran over and shouted: “Xie Xi?!”

“…”

“Shidi?”

Chu Yu was almost desperate.

What would happen if the protagonist dies…

Was Xie Xi just killed?

His mind was in chaos when, suddenly, he was embraced.

Xie Xi, who had been silent for a long time, finally said, “… Shixiong, are you crying?”

Chu Yu rubbed his eyes hard then opened them wide, finally seeing Xie Xi in front of him. Chu Yu shivered then pushed Xie Xi away, looking him up and down, examining every minute detail.

Good, very good, there were no missing arms or legs or any other parts.

Everything looked normal except for his damaged clothes.

Chu Yu breathed a sigh of relief, but Xie Xi embraced him again. Xie Xi sighed and said: “I thought I wouldn’t be able to see Shixiong again… Shixiong was worried about me and started crying?”

Chu Yu: “… The light made my eyes water.”

Xie Xi laughed softly and joyfully. He gave Chu Yu what he had in his hand: “Shixiong put this away, maybe it will be useful later.”

Chu Yu glanced at the Heavenly Thunder Eggs then silently collected them. Pushing Xie Xi away, he strolled towards the fallen Song Jingyi’s side who was still lying paralyzed on the ground. Looking at Song Jingyi’s pained expression, Chu Yu slowly lowered his body and said: “Does it hurt?”

Song Jingyi’s face was gray and he couldn’t speak.

Chu Yu said as though he was just talking to himself: “This kind of plant is actually for monsters to eat. A cultivator can only eat one plant in his life, if he is too greedy and eats another one…” Chu Yu lowered his eyes and smiled slightly. “Just like what happened to you, that greedy cultivator can only collapse to the ground, powerless, as he feels his Core break apart. Years of cultivation become nothing. Inch by inch your spirit veins are torn apart by the wildly rampaging spiritual energy until you turn into a useless person for your entire life…”

When a cultivator’s spiritual veins are ruined, their spiritual power is crippled. For them, this is the same as dying.

Even if one was lucky enough to keep a trace of cultivation, they can only stay in the Qi refining period forever, never able to cultivate to the next level.

If this were to happen to a cultivator, they would regard death as a welcome relief.

That is especially true for people like Song Jingyi.

Song Jingyi made a few wordless sounds¹ then, not knowing where he found the strength, said fiercely: “Chu Yu! If you have the guts, kill me!”

Suddenly, there was rumbling sound. The secret realm was about to collapse.

A flash of joy lit up Song Jingyi’s face for a moment.

Knowing that he was eager to die here, Chu Yu sneered: “Sorry, but not only will I not kill you, I will even save you.”

 

*********

Translator’s Notes:

• What’s on page twenty?? My first thought was that it was something extremely *cough* … Then I thought: what is it’s something extremely cute instead? Maybe Xie Xi wants Chu Yu to put on a cute bunny costume!
• If you liked this chapter then please consider supporting my Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/bcnovels or donating. Here is an anonymous Paypal donation button. It will take you to ko-fi where you can donate and leave a message. Both options will give you early access to the first drafts of chapters.

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1. 嗬嗬了几声 – literally “Hey! Hey! A few times”