The Journey of Immortal Cultivation

He took out the small silver knife from his waist, the knife flashing like the wind, and split a flaky pastry into four pieces. Only then did he let out an "ah" and say, "All the maids have gone out. So I’ll just have to serve you your food myself!" With that, he forked up one piece and held it out, almost poking it into the tip of her nose.

Ning Xiaoxian watched him putting on an act, half annoyed, half amused. Seeing him charge in, brandishing the pastry so aggressively, it was clear he had absolutely no experience in serving someone food; his posture was awkward and stiff. If she didn’t take it, she’d probably end up with her face smeared with pastry crumbs and lard by Tu. She was naturally fastidious and could never tolerate that, so she could only part her lips slightly and let him feed her the pastry.

Huangfuming fed her with a grin, clearly finding it entertaining, but when he slowly drew the silver knife out from between her red lips, the expression in his eyes suddenly darkened even further.

The pastry did taste quite good. With one bite she could tell it had fried fragrant garlic inside, and also used the rare local Honey. No wonder it was so fragrant, sweet, and delicious. But how could she be in the mood to savor it right now? Before he brought the next bite over, she quickly asked, "Where’s Ahua?"

She actually asked about that little Cat Demon the moment she opened her mouth! An unhappy look flashed across Huangfuming’s face, and he snapped, "Being kept outside, doing just fine. You don’t need to worry, that black cat can’t bully it." As he spoke, he ground his teeth and said, "The meridians in your body are eight or nine parts withered, and many are even severely blocked. Just who used such a vicious hand on you? I’ll grind his bones to dust for you!" He had originally only intended to find her on this trip, but when he saw her in the cave, injuries and illness layered upon each other, it truly gave him quite a fright.

She shook her head. "It wasn’t someone else. It’s just that the Magic I cultivate is special, leaving this kind of aftereffect. A few days of recuperation and it will be fine." Thinking of this, her heart stirred. "Those four households in that little county town—were they all killed by people you sent?"

Huangfuming clenched his teeth and let out a cold, sinister laugh. "That’s right, those people deserved worse than Death. As soon as we entered the city, we heard rumors at the inn about a demon injuring people. I had the so‑called eyewitness, the Third Son Xu, dragged over. After questioning him, we learned they actually dared to harbor dirty thoughts about you! Hmph, sister, you only killed three of them, but didn’t think about what kind of fine family could raise that sort of scum. Better to kill them all clean and be done with it! Oh, and that inn clerk who tipped them off—we didn’t spare him either." By the end, a faint Evil Qi was circulating around him; clearly, even slaughtering an entire family had not completely vented his anger.

Ning Xiaoxian knew he was venting his anger on her behalf, so she could only say softly, "Thank you."

"It was just a small effort. But you, a young lady, disciplining some useless demon doesn’t require you to risk your life. How did you end up with the bones in your hand shattered?" The beauty before him—he had only lightly touched her small hand when applying medicine, yet those mortals had actually dared to turn their filthy schemes on her. It was a pity they died too quickly; otherwise, he could have devised hundreds of ways to torment them.

Her heart gave a jolt. This brat really did know even how the bones in her hand were injured. It looked like he had already gone to the underground palace and had used some unknown Divine Skills to trace her faint clues. She sighed and said, "You traveled thousands of miles to find me—what exactly was it for?" What was bound to come would come; better to get straight to the point.

Sure enough, Huangfuming put away his smile. "The underground palace you went to a few days ago holds two items that I’m determined to obtain. When I slipped in yesterday, the Chi Wen had already been Dead for quite some time. As far as I know, the only one to have left that place alive was you, sister." When he straightened his face, a faint aura of威煞 emerged on his handsome features, enough to make anyone feel a bit cowed before him.

Ning Xiaoxian was silent for a long moment before saying, "It was me."

Huangfuming said solemnly, "Those two items are of utmost importance to me. I must ask sister to fulfill me in this."

Ning Xiaoxian’s expression sank. "So you’re even going to rob me now?"

Huangfuming saw her delicate brows slightly knit, her face full of feigned anger, which chased away a little of her sickly pallor, and he couldn’t help staring blankly for a moment before continuing, "Those two things truly are useless to you, but to me they are treasure beyond price. I hope you’ll be willing to part with them!"

Forget it, forget it. Ning Xiaoxian closed her eyes briefly and said, "Take them yourself." She knew she couldn’t move; for him, taking the Sea Bag from her would be the easiest thing in the world. Discussing it with her like this was nothing more than courtesy. Whether she agreed or not, he was going to take the Stone Heart and Yi Divine Bow. Yet Changtian had, for these few items, even ended up lost in some distant Plane, and she herself had spent a great deal of effort to steal them out from the tomb. To have them snatched away by a fisherman profiting from others’ struggle like this left her extremely resentful.

Moreover, Huangfuming’s ties with the Barbarians were surely countless and tangled. Though the Barbarians had almost vanished from the Southern Continent, the current situation was still unclear. She had no idea what influence Huangfuming’s gaining these two items would have on the Hidden Stream.

If there were even the slightest chance, she did not wish to hand over those two things.

She let out a soft sigh and said, "You’ve already gotten what you wanted. I can leave now, right?" She had already tried just now; a restriction had been set up in the vicinity, and the Earth Yin Messenger simply could not enter. The Hidden Guards who had gone to the small county town to fetch her were surely frantic after finding nothing there.

He had already gotten everything he wanted? Huangfuming chuckled. "Sister, your injuries aren’t healed yet. Just stay here a while longer. Don’t be angry. I’ve made you suffer a big loss today, but I’ll definitely make it up to you later. Whatever you want—even if it’s the stars in the sky—I’ll pluck them down for you!" He had used the Soul Peeping and Memory Tracking Technique and understood that if Ning Xiaoxian hadn’t, by a lucky mistake, opened the true door to the inner palace, then with his and his subordinates’ tempers, they might not have been able to make the Chi Wen willingly open the door for them. Therefore, he truly did owe her a tremendous favor. (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, you are welcome to visit Qidian (qidian.com) to cast recommendation tickets and Monthly Tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please read at m.qidian.com.)