Chapter 42
“Oh?” The old man noticed what set Yu Tai apart and raised an eyebrow.
“Interesting.” He stroked his beard and studied her for a moment.
To have reached peak Foundation Establishment at her age was still a little lacking, but her aptitude appeared reasonably good.
After leaving the Bishui Secret Realm, Yu Tai had lied that she had encountered a fortuitous opportunity and advanced to peak Foundation Establishment.
“Little girl, what is your name?”
Jiang Li, who had plainly grown irritated at the old man’s mood, once again fixed his gaze on Yu Tai when he heard that question.
Knowing when to stop, Yu Tai deliberately made her voice hoarse and looked straight at the old man opposite her. “This junior is Yu Tai.”
The old man’s Spirit Transformation cultivation did place Yu Tai under some pressure. But for someone only a single step away from Spirit Transformation herself, it was nowhere near as unbearable as she made it appear.
The old man nodded. His relatively mild gaze instantly turned fierce when it shifted to Jiang Li. “Jiang Li! Have you forgotten why you came here?”
Hearing this, Jiang Li hesitated. He gave Yu Tai one last, meaningful look before turning away.
“Wait for me to come find you,” he said, then left with the old man.
Once the two of them were gone, that terrifying pressure vanished at once. Everyone gasped for breath, looking at Yu Tai as if she were some kind of hero.
The System: [Who says only those standing in the light can be called heroes~]
Yu Tai helped the still-stunned Li Shijie to her feet. Her voice was a little hoarse. “Senior Sister, thank you for what you did just now.”
Still shaken, Li Shijie shook her head. “I didn’t help at all.”
“Junior Sister, you were so brave just now!” Her face was pale, but her eyes shone as she looked at Yu Tai.
Only then did Yu Tai notice that the wary looks around her had completely changed at some point.
*Ah… There’s really no need for this. That pressure was honestly quite ordinary. I just couldn’t force myself to cough up blood.*
Under countless gazes full of admiration, Yu Tai helped Li Shijie return home.
Meanwhile, after Jiang Li returned to the black tortoise, the old man suddenly asked, “If that female cultivator caught your eye, you could take her back to the sect as a concubine.”
Jiang Li clearly did not want to say another word to him. He immediately turned, leaving behind only a cold back and an emotionless reply.
“No need.”
The elder watched him go and shook his head helplessly.
With talent like his, a little arrogance could be tolerated.
…
Yu Tai stayed at Li Shijie’s place until sunset before returning to her own cave dwelling.
During that time, Jiang Yibai heard the news from somewhere and rushed over without stopping. Looking frantic, he questioned Yu Tai for a long time.
When he learned that the other person was a disciple of the Zuiyin Sect, his expression visibly darkened.
“Jiang Li.”
Yu Tai noticed his voice tremble slightly as he spoke the name, as if he were afraid of something.
“It was actually him?!” Li Shijie exclaimed.
The old man had already spoken Jiang Li’s name earlier, but Li Shijie had been in too much pain at the time to notice.
“You know him, Senior Sister?” Yu Tai asked.
Li Shijie waved a hand. “How could I possibly know someone that important? I’ve merely heard of him.”
Seeing Yu Tai’s blank expression, Li Shijie sighed.
Her Junior Sister had always kept to herself, so it was perfectly normal that she knew nothing of affairs in the Upper Realm.
“Jiang Li is a genius who rose out of nowhere in the Zuiyin Sect in recent years.”
“He reached Qi Refining at five and Foundation Establishment at ten. Now, at only eighteen, he has already reached peak Golden Core. They say he should have formed his Nascent Soul this year, but his cultivation advanced so quickly that the Zuiyin Sect feared excessive fullness would lead to decline. They forcibly suppressed his cultivation and plan to let him advance to Nascent Soul after he has spent a few years consolidating his foundation. Everyone calls him a once-in-a-millennium genius of the cultivation world. His aptitude…”
At this point, Li Shijie glanced at Jiang Yibai’s expression and forced herself to continue. “His aptitude far surpasses Senior Brother Shu Li’s back then…”
Yu Tai did not react much. “I see.”
Far surpassed the Shu Li of those days… No wonder Jiang Yibai had bristled like a dog whose fur had been rubbed the wrong way.
The man was so sensitive about the name “Shu Li” that anyone who did not know better might think he and Shu Li had once been lovers, only for Shu Li to dump him.
Peak Golden Core at eighteen… That truly was once-in-a-millennium talent.
Yu Tai’s actual aptitude could only be considered above average. Her current cultivation was so high simply because she happened to be a demonic cultivator.
Demonic cultivators primarily followed the path of slaughter. As their cultivation increased, they grew ever more brutal and bloodthirsty. That was why righteous cultivators sought to exterminate them.
But there was no denying that with equal aptitude, a demonic cultivator cultivated faster than a righteous cultivator and was even more powerful.
The price was that their humanity would gradually be stripped away, and it became exceedingly difficult to make further progress after reaching Spirit Transformation.
In the Demon Realm, demonic cultivators at Spirit Transformation were everywhere, but very few stood above that realm.
After leaving Li Shijie’s place and finally shaking off Jiang Yibai’s pestering, Yu Tai at last allowed herself to frown.
Jiang Li.
Yu Tai had read the original novel thoroughly, yet she had no memory of this person.
[What’s going on?] Yu Tai asked.
The System was just as baffled. Where in the world had this person come from?
[Um… I’ll report it to the higher-ups.]
Yu Tai scoffed.
The System had said the same thing last time, but after making her wait several days, the only answer it brought back was that “there was nothing wrong with Shu Li.”
Holding no hope for the System’s report, Yu Tai decided to ask Shu Li when she returned.
But before she could even step through her front gate, her expression abruptly changed.
There were signs that someone had tried to break into the formation!
Perhaps even Yu Tai herself did not realize that, upon finding signs of a possible burglary, she did not first check the possessions in her own room. Instead, she rushed straight toward Shu Li’s courtyard without the slightest hesitation.
“Senior Brother? Xia Mo?” Only after calling out did Yu Tai realize that her voice had turned hoarse.
“Chirp! Chirp!”
The familiar cries came from behind the house. A black-and-white figure then barreled toward Yu Tai.
The moment she saw the familiar figure behind Xia Mo, the breath caught in Yu Tai’s chest finally eased.
Thank goodness. Her reserve supply of righteous qi had not gone missing. That had scared her half to death.
Yu Tai caught the charging Xia Mo and hugged it tightly, then looked Shu Li up and down. “What happened? Did someone get inside?”
Shu Li shook his head. “Their cultivation wasn’t high. They tried to damage the formation, but they failed.”
Setting the heavy Xia Mo down, Yu Tai frowned. “Did you see who it was?”
He shook his head again. “They fled as soon as their first attempt failed.”
A shadow passed through her eyes.
What had that filthy rat from the sewers been trying to do by sneaking in?
What else could it have been? Someone must have heard about her sudden rise in cultivation and grown bold enough to try stealing from her while she was away.
“Don’t worry. This won’t happen again in the future,” Yu Tai promised.
The word *future* seemed to please Shu Li. His lips curved as he stepped closer, but the instant he approached Yu Tai, his expression changed.
It lasted for only a moment. By the time Yu Tai looked up, he was as gentle as ever. “Weren’t you going shopping? What did you buy?”
Yu Tai waved a hand. “Don’t even mention it. Senior Sister Li never took me shopping at all.”
He nodded. “I see.” Then he turned, went inside, and poured Yu Tai a cup of tea.
As he handed it to her, the cup accidentally tilted, spilling tea all over Yu Tai.
The wet fabric clinging to her body was uncomfortable, but too much had happened today for Yu Tai to blame him.
“Go change your clothes,” Shu Li said.
As he watched Yu Tai turn away to change, the smile vanished from his face completely.
He had smelled it the moment he approached her.
The scent of another man.