Chapter 7 | How Could the Master of All Villains Be Righteous?

The main mine that had been raided by the demon beast was hidden deep within a remote mountain range, protected by a massive natural chasm.

This mountain range was known as Mount Duanya.

By the time Wen Li and her group arrived, the other six cultivators had already ventured deep inside.

First, they went to inspect the injured miners who had been attacked by the demon beast.

“Senior Brother, these wounds are poisonous and corrosive, with fang-like bite marks. The demon beast might be as tall as three men.”

Seeing the pathetic state of the miners, Lin Qing couldn't bear it. He quickly pulled out some medicinal pills and fed them to the miners. Ordinary herbs were useless against the demon beast's venom; without immediate treatment, they would likely face amputation.

Even though the Li Manor belonged to the richest merchant in Yongdi City, they were helpless when faced with the exorbitant prices of pills in the cultivation world.

Seeing those gruesome wounds, Yao Dai turned pale with fright and felt a wave of nausea, yet she held it back and could only tightly hug Wen Li's waist.

After treating the common folk, the four left and headed into the depths of the Duanya Mountain Range.

Though it was bright daylight, the towering trees deep within the mountains blotted out the sun. Coupled with misty swamps and rotting leaves mixed with mud underfoot, the path was extremely difficult to navigate.

Although Yao Dai was only at the fourth layer of Qi Refinement after several months of cultivation, thanks to Wen Li forcing her to practice body-refinement techniques, she was able to adjust quite well.

“Fellow Daoist Wen, you...” Du Mojin was leading the way at the front when something occurred to him.

“Just call me Wen Li.”

“Alright. If we encounter any danger later, protect Yao Dai first while my junior brother and I fight. Although Li Bincheng speculated that the demon beast is only at the Second Realm Mid Stage, I fear unexpected turns.”

Even Lin Qing didn't talk back this time, simply walking at the very rear.

Wen Li recognized his good intentions. “No need to worry. My disciple here is skinny and scrawny. The demon beast would find her too bony to stomach and would throw her right back up.”

Yao Dai clutched her sleeve in panic. “Master, don't! I can still be saved, really!”

Wen Li patted her on the head. “If it grabs you, just smear poop all over yourself. That'll keep you alive for a while.”

“Could it be you know what kind of demon beast it is? Does it have a clean freak complex?” Du Mojin asked out of curiosity.

“I have no idea.”

Wen Li turned her head with an expression of utter sincerity. “A demon beast at the Second Realm Mid Stage has already gained intelligence, equivalent to a teenager. Would you eat food covered in dung when you were a teenager?”

“...”

Her eyes were so clear that no one could detect even a hint of malice in them.

Du Mojin opened his mouth, but in the end, he lacked the courage to continue the topic. He turned around and silently kept leading the way.

Junior Brother Lin, suddenly I want to punch someone too.

Lin Qing's lips twitched. Though her reasoning was technically sound, it was downright disgusting.

Seeing his senior brother reduced to such silence, the hostility in his heart toward Wen Li faded quite a bit.

He had thought Wen Li's venomous tongue was aimed specifically at him, but it turned out she targeted everyone equally.

For some reason, he felt a sense of relief—and even a tiny bit of joy.

“Hey, Master, isn't that... Cloud-Grade True Grass?!”

After walking deeper into Mount Duanya for half an hour, the sharp-eyed Yao Dai suddenly noticed a pale pink, shimmering herb growing halfway up a cliff face not far away.

“I remember that Cloud-Grade True Grass is a Mid-Grade Tier-Three spirit herb. Its growing conditions are extremely harsh as it absorbs the spiritual energy of heaven and earth. One only appears near a Supreme-Grade spirit stone vein!”

Everyone looked over. The Cloud-Grade True Grass was pink with fine silver patterns embedded along its edges and a sturdy stalk. At the heart of the herb grew a few pale purple blossoms, emanating a faint, gentle glow that had a soothing effect on the mind.

Spirit herbs of heaven and earth were divided into four grades from lowest to highest: Low Grade, Mid Grade, High Grade, and Supreme Grade. Each grade consisted of ten tiers. The higher the tier, the rarer the herb, the longer its growth cycle, and the greater its effect and value.

Du Mojin frowned slightly. “It truly is Cloud-Grade True Grass.”

“Senior Brother, there seem to be bloodstains and signs of a struggle on the rock wall around the herb,” Lin Qing said, narrowing his eyes.

At those words, everyone instantly grew vigilant.

Observing no unusual movement around, the four slowly flew on their swords to the cliffside.

Du Mojin reached out and rubbed the bloodstains on the rock wall; they had not fully congealed.

“This blood was spilled just recently.”

Lin Qing knitted his brows. “Could it be that the other six fellow Daoists met with tragedy?”

The atmosphere instantly grew tense.

Clinging to Wen Li's waist, Yao Dai poked her head out and sniffed. She was extremely sensitive to the smell of blood. Although it looked similar in texture to blood, she couldn't smell anything off it. It seemed like...

She couldn't resist sticking out her tongue and taking a lick.

“Are you a dog?!”

Startled, Wen Li grabbed her by the neck, but it was already too late. She hurriedly pinched Yao Dai's jaw, thrusting a fistful of spiritual energy into her throat to seal her airway and prevent poisoning.

“Gag! Gag!”

Surged with spiritual energy, Yao Dai dry-heaved, rolling her eyes as she raised a hand to wave.

“Wait, it seems she has something to say.”

Seeing this, Du Mojin quickly rescued Yao Dai from Wen Li's grip.

Finally able to catch her breath, Yao Dai gagged with tears in her eyes as she voiced her grievance.

“Gag! It's fruit... juice! Gag! Not blood... gag!”

Wen Li froze in embarrassment. “...Why didn't you say so earlier?”

Yao Dai wailed, “Master, did you even give me a chance to speak?!”

Instead of being poisoned to death, she had almost been choked to death.

Even Lin Qing couldn't help but pat Yao Dai's back out of sympathy to help smooth her breathing.

To be stuck with a master like this... sigh.

“Hey, what are you doing?! Trying to sneak-attack me?!”

“You hypocrite, I despise you!”

Who would have thought that as soon as his hand touched her, Yao Dai—who had just been suffering—would instantly become vigilant? She scrambled to hide behind Wen Li, terrified that he might pull his sword on her again.

“Don't be afraid, my disciple! Your master is here!”

Wen Li promptly cast a look of stern condemnation at Lin Qing, attempting to divert the topic. “Daoist Lin, with me here, don't even think about hurting my disciple.”

Now she put on the air of a dutiful master again.

The two of them united against outsiders with astonishing synchronization.

“...You... both of you are insane!”

Lin Qing clenched his fists and endured it, but in the end, he couldn't hold back a roar of fury. As expected, this master and disciple deserve each other! Wish them the best!

He didn't care anymore!

Furious, Lin Qing stomped off to the other side, putting as much distance between them as possible.

Yao Dai whispered, “Master, he got exposed and flew into a rage out of humiliation.”

Wen Li replied, “See? Some people can't keep up the act and ran away.”

Du Mojin slapped a hand against his forehead and sighed. “...”

I regret this.

I miscalculated.

Wen Li cleared her throat lightly and got back to business.

“This fruit juice is likely from some spiritual fruit. Even that Mid-Grade Tier-Three Cloud-Grade True Grass hasn't been picked. Given the signs of a fight nearby, could there be a spirit herb even more valuable than the Cloud-Grade True Grass?”

“Li Bincheng mentioned that this main mine only recently reached the inner area of Mount Duanya, and coincidentally, it was attacked by the demon beast these past few days. Furthermore, that demon beast was already injured...”

Du Mojin picked up on her underlying meaning. “So that demon beast was likely guarding a maturing spirit fruit, killing people nearby as a warning because it feared being disturbed?”

Wen Li said, “That possibility can't be ruled out, but...”

Lin Qing, who had been sulking a moment ago, realized what she was suspecting. “If it was already injured, it shouldn't have left to go around killing people. It would guard the fruit day and night. Could it be that while guarding the fruit, someone else came to compete for it, and in the resulting fight, it got injured? Is that why it went crazy, killing people nearby to search for the fruit?”

“If that's really the case, whoever injured a Second Realm Mid Stage demon beast and snatched the item must either be a cultivator stronger than it, or...” Yao Dai chimed in, “...a higher-stage demon beast!”

Humans were manageable; without a conflict of interest, one could still reason with them. But demon beasts were different. Even if intelligent, they were extremely prone to harming humans. Not to mention, their mission was to capture the demon beast inside to prevent further harm.

Du Mojin understood the implicit danger and turned to look at Wen Li.

“It seems the situation is a bit more perilous. Fellow Daoist Wen Li, my realm is only mid-stage Foundation Establishment, and Junior Brother Lin is early-stage Foundation Establishment. What is your realm?”

They couldn't sense any spiritual energy fluctuations from Wen Li.

“I am also early-stage Foundation Establishment.”

Wen Li raised her eyes and answered truthfully.

Lin Qing's eyes flashed with slight surprise. Seeing that Wen Li looked three or four years younger than him, he hadn't expected her talent to be so remarkable.