"Chen Daqiang, come in."
Chen Xiao called toward the door.
Chen Daqiang, the Fire Qilin who had transformed into a big, red-haired dog, bounded in happily, wagging his enormous fluffy tail.
"Do you have anything poisonous that isn't deadly, but extremely insulting?" Chen Xiao asked, eyeing his flattering companion.
The Bone-Eroding Soul-Dispersing Incense that had been used on Liu Ruyan earlier had come from Chen Daqiang.
The Fire Qilin was a top-grade divine beast in the Spirit Transformation Realm — practically unstoppable in the world of immortal cultivation. Over the past three centuries, it had plundered countless treasures.
Chen Daqiang hurriedly opened his mustard-seed-sized storage space and rummaged inside. He produced a small white porcelain bottle and presented it to Chen Xiao with a fawning look.
"Young Master Tiandao…"
Chen Xiao interrupted immediately:
"Stop! Don't call me 'Young Master Tiandao.'"
If others heard, it would be disastrous.
Chen Daqiang hesitated, then quickly corrected himself:
"Master! This is the Three Yin Divine Water! A single trace can throw a cultivator's five internal organs into chaos, imbalance the spleen and stomach… the insult… is extremely strong!"
Chen Xiao's eyes gleamed.
Perfect. If the five internal organs are destabilized, the spleen and stomach thrown into chaos… that's diarrhea.
Beside him, his shadow demon incarnation rolled the bottle of Three Yin Divine Water away, vanishing from sight.
"It's fine, just keep protecting me," Chen Xiao said.
Chen Daqiang barked eagerly, "Master, don't worry about me! Focus on your cultivation, I'll watch the door!" And with that, he dashed out to guard Chen Xiao.
Chen Xiao returned to his bed, sitting cross-legged as the Nine Heavens Thunder Scripture to Control Disasters roared into action.
Now at the Foundation Establishment Stage, he could manipulate spiritual creatures' birth and the heavenly tribulations that cultivators faced to become immortals. He aimed to master these tribulations and assist his ancestors in passing theirs painlessly.
His body still needed to cultivate to the Nascent Soul stage — the motivation driving him at this moment.
---
Meanwhile, Chen Xiao's shadow demon incarnation, carrying the bottle of Three Yin Divine Water, slipped southward toward Aurora City's largest treasure repository — the Imperial Treasure House.
Here, all manner of natural treasures, spiritual stones, and elixirs were kept.
The shadow demon silently infiltrated the Yubaozhai warehouse. Despite nine layers of protective formations, the shadow demon — a being of shadow, intangible and invisible — passed through effortlessly.
Soon, Chen Xiao found his prize: a sealed and restricted pill.
On the surface, it was a top-grade Soul Tempering Pill, capable of tempering one's physique and refining bones. But in reality, it contained the Innate Anti-Spiritual Pill — a heaven-defying elixir that could reconstruct spiritual roots.
This was Chen Xiao's first opportunity arranged by heaven, the fate he was meant to claim.
According to the original plot: after Liu Ruyan broke off the engagement and scolded him for bullying the poor young man, Chen Xiao would realize his mistakes and begin diligent cultivation. Despite being talented, seventeen wasted years meant it was already late.
Coincidentally, Yubaozhai held an auction at this time. Chen Xiao would try his luck, accidentally acquire the Innate Anti-Spiritual Pill, and forge an immortal spiritual root — rising to become the top genius of the Dayu Immortal Cultivation Dynasty.
But the Destiny Villain System had already spoiled this plan. The pill, along with Chen Xiao's heavenly fate, was intercepted by the villain.
Now, however, Chen Xiao had discovered the villain's interference. He held in his hands the very elixir meant to change his fate.
"The Destined Villain?" A sneer spread across Chen Xiao's face.
Yun Ranran had explained: the Destined Villain didn't kill him immediately because Chen Xiao was protected by good fortune. The villain could not harm him until all his luck had been plundered.
Similarly, even if Chen Xiao killed the villain, the Destiny Villain System would bind it to another host. Whoever was bound became the Destined Villain.
Chen Xiao's current goal: consume the power of the villain system. Without replenishment from heavenly fate, the system would weaken and eventually perish.
He eyed the pill maliciously.
One hand became a shadow, directly piercing the restrictions around the pill and extracting the Innate Anti-Spiritual Pill within.
He then submerged the tiny thumb-sized pill into the bottle of Three Yin Divine Water. The elixir absorbed the entire bottle without a drop left.
A single drop of Three Yin Divine Water could force a cultivator to defecate for three days and nights. A whole bottle? Nearly half a year of misery.
Though colorless and odorless, refined it could cleanse the marrow and essence, removing impurities. But ingested directly…
Chen Xiao's wicked smile widened.
He resealed the pill and disappeared silently into the shadows of the warehouse.
---
By noon, Chen Xiao emerged from practice. He opened the door and froze.
"Dad, why are you here?"
Chen Junluo was seated cross-legged, brushing off imaginary dust.
"It's fine. I had a sudden realization and decided to meditate on it here," he said calmly.
Chen Daqiang stared at him in disbelief — clearly, he was guarding his master!
"Oh, right. The Demon-Suppressing Pass is in danger. Today I'm leaving for the Far North Demon-Suppressing Pass. Stay home and don't cause any trouble!"
Chen Xiao's eyelids twitched.
The Far North Demon-Suppressing Pass borders the Dayu Immortal Cultivation Dynasty and the northern demon tribes. Currently, only a small group of demons is causing trouble, but in a year, the northern demon tribe would gather to raid the Pass.
In the original plot, Chen Xiao would arrive just in time to turn the tide and save the Pass. But tampered by the villain system, he would fail, causing Chen Junluo to be seriously injured and several of the Chen family's top cultivators to die — planting the seeds for future genocide.
Now that Chen Xiao knew the outcome, he would take precautions.
Grinning, he said, "Dad, don't worry. I'll never give you trouble."
"Hmph. Where are you headed now?" Chen Junluo asked, unconvinced.
Chen Xiao scratched his head. "The Liu family hasn't delivered the compensation yet, right? I'll have to go there myself."