Chapter 93: The Early-Death White Moonlight in a Cultivation Novel (Part 24)

When Zhou Yanxi saw her father's expression change, the first thing she did was grip the life-saving jade token her master had given her.

As expected, a moment later, a plain-looking Nascent Soul cultivator suddenly appeared behind them. He was clearly using a disguise artifact—his face was so ordinary it was completely unremarkable.

"Chongyuan, you really are the best bait. Look, you've lured in two more little fish.I could tell you tried your best to trap yourself, just to avoid falling into demonic ways and harming others. I was even thinking of collecting your corpse out of pity…"

"Cut the sarcasm. If you've got business, come at me. These two juniors have nothing to do with this—cough, cough…"

"You think you can still fight me like this? All I did was use Chonghua's death to provoke you, and you walked right into my trap.And now, you want me to let these two go? Wishful thinking. Especially now that I know—your daughter has a Demon-Expelling Pill…"

Before the arrogant man could finish gloating, Zhou Yanxi immediately activated the saber technique embedded in the jade token from her master, simultaneously deploying her strongest defensive shield.

Sure enough, even a Nascent Soul powerhouse was helpless before a blow from the Soul Transformation stage. The blade aura pierced his body instantly—he was killed on the spot.

Moments later, his nascent soul attempted to flee his body. Zhou Yanxi wasted no time—she drew out her magical weapon and slashed it apart before it could escape.

In the cultivation world, a Nascent Soul cultivator's nascent soul can often escape upon death and potentially possess another body or cultivate as a ghost cultivator.

But Zhou Yanxi never left room for her enemies to make a comeback. Even the smallest crack would be sealed tight.

Her actions were swift and ruthless, executed in mere moments. The two men behind her—her father and senior brother—were stunned speechless. They hadn't expected her to act with such precision and decisiveness.

In truth, Zhou Yanxi had seen through the enemy from the start. His arrogance and habit of toying with his prey were clear—he had delayed taking action, which gave her the perfect window.

Villains always die from talking too much.

But Zhou Yanxi was the opposite—she struck first and asked questions later.

Once she confirmed that the man's soul had been destroyed, she finally exhaled a deep breath. Her back was already drenched in cold sweat.

This time, they'd survived by sheer luck. If even one step had gone wrong, all three of them would've perished—souls and all.

If the enemy hadn't underestimated them, even the jade token from her master wouldn't have been enough. It could only be activated three times and only worked when the opponent had no time to react.

They'd come dangerously close to dying.

Afterward, Zhou Yanxi asked her senior brother to tend to her father, while she quickly cleaned up the battlefield:

Took the man's storage ring

Collected his magical weapon

Stripped him of his clearly expensive robe

Pulled off his boots

Watching Zhou Yanxi pick the corpse clean like a ruthless scavenger, the two men behind her visibly twitched. They had no idea when she had become so focused on material gain, especially since they'd already given her quite a bit themselves.

After collecting everything, Zhou Yanxi looked down at the now naked male cultivator, found the sight unbearably tacky, and cast a fireball to reduce him to ashes—so he wouldn't pollute the area.

Seeing she was finished, Yuan Hen summoned a flying shuttle and quickly ferried them away.

Zhou Yanxi didn't try to show off. She knew that now wasn't the time for bravado. Yuan Hen, being at Core Formation stage, was the strongest of the three and thus the best choice to lead their retreat.

Once they were a thousand miles away from the danger zone, True Lord Chongyuan finally had the strength to explain what had happened.

"That day, I had just left the main hall after my shift and encountered that guy.He started insulting Chonghua, and I lost my temper. I followed him out and was ambushed. His demonic qi infiltrated my body, but I didn't want to turn into a demon, so I hastily set up a trapping array…"

After hearing this, Zhou Yanxi didn't even know what to say. Such an obvious trap, and her father still fell for it.

Love really does make people blind.

"Wait, weren't you on a mission in Yunlan City?" her father asked.

Zhou Yanxi didn't hide anything. She gave him a quick rundown of the events after his disappearance—especially the sect's reaction and True Lord Yuan Neng's actions.

When her father heard that Yuan Neng had taken over his position, he became visibly agitated, coughing violently.

"Dad, you just took a Demon-Expelling Pill. You need to rest—don't get worked up!"

"Sigh… You don't understand. That old bastard Yuan Neng—when my second disciple got corrupted by demonic qi, he blamed me for handing over my pill for research.You two being targeted is likely also his fault—he's a short-sighted fool..."

Due to the danger surrounding the Demon-Expelling Pill, the three decided to lay low in the mortal world until her father was fully recovered.

After a quick discussion, they set the flying shuttle toward the mortal realm.

They arrived at a small town and took on the identities of a family of caravan guards.

With both men possessing strong, muscular builds, claiming any other identity would've seemed suspicious.

They rented a courtyard residence and rarely left the house. Zhou Yanxi survived on Fasting Pills, while the two men had already passed the stage of needing food.

Although spiritual energy was thin in the mortal realm, Yuan Hen still set up a large concealment array and a spirit-gathering formation. It consumed spirit stones but ensured safety and allowed them to keep cultivating.

Zhou Yanxi didn't inform her master of their escape. The sect was too full of secrets and political traps—she didn't dare act rashly.

Meanwhile, back at Haomiao Sect, unease was spreading. The sect leader's recent actions had sparked whispers among the disciples.

Especially the way they'd handled True Lord Chongyuan's disappearance—cold and dismissive. If even a peak master was treated this way, what hope did the ordinary disciples have?

The sect was rife with instability and hidden currents.

At the same time, the alchemists in Yunlan City, after months of effort, finally found a substitute for Xuanxing Grass—a plant called Yangling Grass. Using it, they began mass-producing a low-grade version of the Demon-Expelling Pill.

This pill could remove demonic qi from the body, but at a cost: the cultivator would drop a minor realm in cultivation.

Still, it was better than being corrupted. Most had no choice but to take it.

And now, people began to miss the cultivator who had contributed that original pill for research—True Lord Chongyuan.

As for Zhou Yanxi, she sold that Nascent Soul cultivator's robe, crown, boots, and more to the system's marketplace, all in one go.

She earned 8,000 points, finally recovering the cost of the treasure she bought earlier. As for who ended up with the cursed loot—she didn't care.

A year later, True Lord Chongyuan fully recovered from his internal injuries. The ordeal had helped him break through a longstanding heart demon, turning misfortune into fortune.

Now that he had regained his strength, the three of them planned to head to the Endless Sea for training.

As for returning to the sect?

All three unanimously chose to ignore the idea.