The Villainous Demon Lord’s Handbook for Success: Rebirth - Chapter 37

“It is good that you understand,” Feng Ge said. After looking at her, she waved her hand and led the other disciples, marching straight into the dense forest overgrown with bushes. Hong Ying still wanted to say something, but ultimately he shook his head. Just as he was about to step forward and follow them, he suddenly discovered that Rong Jin and Liu Wenzhu were still standing in their original spots.

“What are you doing?” he asked gruffly.

“Since the senior brothers and sisters are unwilling to bring Ning Fuyi along, then we will not leave either. After all, our cultivation cannot compare to yours, and we are terrified of holding everyone back!” Rong Jin spoke with a cold expression, unfastening the bow and arrows from his shoulders as he spoke.

“You all!” Hong Ying was somewhat angry by now. He glanced back at the departing team, then looked at Rong Jin with an expression of bitter disappointment. “Forget it! Since you are willing to give up the opportunity on your own, there is nothing I can do!”

Having said that, he suddenly spun around, his body transforming into a residual shadow as he left the place.

The dense forest fell into a quiet hush. Ning Fuyi sighed and said, “Wenzhu, Senior Brother, there is absolutely no need for you to accompany me.”

“When the former sect master was around, she taught us that the martial world is vast, and as members of the same sect, we should act as one another’s wings, never abandoning each other. How can we abandon a fellow disciple just to grab a few more beast stones? What kind of principle is that?” Traces of anger remained on Rong Jin’s face. “I am naturally unwilling to associate with such fellow disciples!”

“Yiyi, let us go. Even without them, we can find beast stones just the same,” Rong Jin said. Sweeping away the vines blocking his face, he strode with large steps into the dense forest.

“Senior Brother Rong Jin is correct,” Liu Wenzhu said softly, slipping her soft hand into Ning Fuyi’s palm. “We have been like this since we were young, and I will always accompany you.”

As the warmth from the girl’s fingertips was conveyed, the corners of Ning Fuyi’s mouth relaxed, and that warmth seemed to flow directly into her heart.

This love was something she had not felt for so long, giving her the brief illusion that she wanted to shed tears.

She lowered her eyelashes slightly to conceal the softness in her eyes. Suddenly, she tilted her head and smiled slyly, saying, “Wenzhu, Senior Brother, come with me.”

After the time it took for half a stick of incense to burn, the three of them had already appeared inside Tongchuan. This place was covered in moss everywhere, presenting an entirely green view at a glance. The green vegetation extended all the way up the surrounding towering tree trunks. It was unknown what species those trees were, but each was a full two arms wide, encircling one another as they stretched toward the sky, making the area feel like the bottom of a well.

Liu Wenzhu and Rong Jin followed Ning Fuyi all the way, watching her search left and right before them. Rong Jin wanted to ask Ning Fuyi what she was searching for several times, but he never managed to voice the question.

“Since we cannot take the top spot anyway, just let her play around,” Liu Wenzhu said, tugging at Rong Jin’s sleeve.

“That makes sense,” Rong Jin said, nodding.

“I found it, it is right here,” Ning Fuyi suddenly called out loudly. She pointed with her foot on the ground. This area was a massive clearing, covered in a chaotic mess of prints that looked vaguely like the footprints of a giant beast.

“It looks like a mid-tier spiritual beast, and its size is very large,” Rong Jin said, hurriedly tightening his grip on his bow and arrows. “Be careful.”

“Numerous footprints of spiritual beasts have been left here, proving that there must be a nest nearby. Furthermore, we passed a river on our way here, and judging by the freshness of the footprints, they must travel back and forth frequently to gather water,” Ning Fuyi said. Suddenly, she leapt up, her toes resting upon a tree branch. Her finger channeled a thread of immortal energy, drawing a formation directed at the empty clearing beneath her feet.

“What formation is this? How have I never seen it before?” Liu Wenzhu stood on her tiptoes in surprise, looking at the patterns appearing on the ground beneath her. Those patterns only emerged for a brief moment before vanishing into the soil.

“Never mind you, even I have never seen it before,” Rong Jin said, looking up at Ning Fuyi. “Fuyi, where did you learn this formation? Be careful not to injure yourself!”

“Rest assured,” Ning Fuyi said. In the midst of their conversation, the formation had already taken shape. She leapt lightly down from the treetop, her eyes scanning the surroundings as she appeared to face a bit of a dilemma.

“What is the matter?” Liu Wenzhu asked.

“It is nothing. It is just that although we have a trap, we lack bait. How are we going to lure the spiritual beasts over?” Ning Fuyi’s beautiful eyes narrowed slightly, her gaze circling around before landing on Rong Jin beside her.

Rong Jin froze.

Consequently, after another half a stick of incense had passed, continuous beast roars echoed across a hundred miles, interspersed with the shouting of a man, drawing closer from a distance.

“Ning Fuyi!” Rong Jin’s usually gentle and elegant face was currently covered in a wretched state. Running wildly from the depths of the dense forest with a blood-covered wild boar on his tail, he screamed at the top of his lungs while taking flight into the air just as he approached the clearing.

Thus, the several spiritual beasts following behind him charged across, falling one after another into the formation. The scene was spectacular, resembling dumplings dropping into a pot. Every spiritual beast that entered the formation let out an angry roar, subsequently being bound by the formation as their bodies stiffened and collapsed.

For a moment, mud and sand splashed wildly while leaves flew everywhere.

Ning Fuyi and Liu Wenzhu had concealed their auras and hidden within the dense thickets of wild grass. At this moment, spitting out the grass leaves from her mouth, she extended her head along with Liu Wenzhu to take a look.

“Yiyi, this method of yours is truly ingenious!” Liu Wenzhu said, looking at the spiritual beasts entering the formation, her face turning bright red with excitement. “There are quite a few mid-tier spiritual beasts inside.”

“Is this not much faster than hunting them down one by one?” Ning Fuyi smiled with curled lips, reaching into the bushes to pluck a few wild fruits and handing them to Liu Wenzhu.

“Senior Brother, continue!” she called out loudly.

Rong Jin was drenched in the blood of the wild boar, and his hair was filled with leaves. He spat out the dust from his mouth as he drifted down slowly from the sky. He pointed his finger at Ning Fuyi and Liu Wenzhu for a long time, before finally uttering the word “shameless,” angrily flipping his sleeves, and continuing to serve as bait.

By operating in this manner for only half an hour, they harvested a full bag of beast stones. Seeing that Rong Jin was too exhausted to catch his breath, the three of them finally deactivated the formation and sat down in place.

“Here, Senior Brother, this is yours. Wenzhu, this is yours,” Ning Fuyi said, sitting cross-legged as she handed the beast stones, which had been divided into three portions, to each of them.

“This method is indeed excellent. Although there are no high-tier spiritual beasts, as long as we have enough beast stones, we might still be able to secure a ranking,” Rong Jin said, finally wiping away the blood from his body. “Let us rest a bit before trying again.”

Ning Fuyi nodded, rising to pat the dirt from her hem. “We need to find another location. The spiritual beasts in this vicinity already know there is a formation here, so the number of beasts we can lure over is dwindling.”

Liu Wenzhu and Rong Jin both agreed, so the three of them packed up their hunted beast stones and walked cautiously toward the deeper areas.

The closer they drew to the center of Tongchuan, the more high-tier spiritual beasts or even demonic beasts there would be. Therefore, the three of them stopped laughing and joking, walking cautiously in silence instead.

However, after walking for only a short while, Ning Fuyi sensed that something was amiss, and Liu Wenzhu beside her spoke up as well.

“Why do I constantly feel a chill down my back, as if someone is watching us?” Liu Wenzhu said in a low voice, involuntarily slipping her hand into her sleeve to grip her magic weapon.

“I also feel that someone is following us,” Rong Jin likewise lowered his voice, extending his arm to shield Ning Fuyi and Liu Wenzhu behind his back while simultaneously pulling out his longbow. “Furthermore, their cultivation is extremely high; I actually cannot judge their position at all.”

Meanwhile, outside the Primordial Realm, half of the disciples had already been eliminated from the realm by this time, sitting back on the high platforms in a dejected state, causing the area to become lively once more.

“Sect Master, look quickly!” Elder Xiangsong of the Tianji Sword Sect suddenly said loudly, pointing his finger toward the ink writing on the side of the arched gate that displayed the names of individuals and the number of beast stones obtained. “The people from the Guijian Sect have surpassed us.”

The people from the Yunji Sect nearby also discovered the anomaly. Elder Pingyao’s brows twisted into a tight knot, and she could not help but stand up.

“What is going on? The beast stones obtained by Hong Ying and Feng Ge were originally in second place. How did this Guijian Sect surpass us all of a sudden?” she asked in surprise.

“The increase in beast stones for the remaining people has a traceable pattern, but theirs appeared out of thin air,” Elder Yuanming said from the side while popping grapes into his mouth, acting as though he were entirely accustomed to it. “Elder Pingyao, please calm yourself. This Guijian Sect has always had unclean hands, so they likely snatched them from another sect again.”

“However, our Yunji Sect is no pushover either, so set your mind at ease,” Elder Yuanming said with a smile. “Look, that child Ning Fuyi’s beast stones are actually increasing quite well, leaving the other sects a considerable distance behind.”

“She is showing some backbone after all,” Elder Pingyao said, letting out a breath as her state of mind stabilized slightly.

However, after a short while, she stood up again. “I should still go pay my respects to the Holy Maiden of Zhaoyao and clarify the situation to her. If things always proceed in this manner, what fairness remains in the Zhaoyao Grand Assembly?”

“Elder, please stay your footsteps,” Elder Yuanming said, blocking her with his fan. “It is better if I go instead. I visit Mount Zhaoyao frequently and know where the Holy Maiden conducts her secluded cultivation.”

Having said that, he turned toward Chu Qingqiu. “Deity, I shall return shortly.”

Chu Qingqiu’s fingertips, which had been resting on the table, twitched slightly. Then she offered a soft grunt of assent, her gaze returning to the arched gate as the light in her eyes deepened.

While the exterior was in a state of chaos, the interior was dead silent.

“Be careful,” Ning Fuyi said suddenly. She halted her footsteps and reached out to brush away the wild grass before her, her pupils instantly contracting.

Seeing the object amidst the wild grass, Liu Wenzhu nearly screamed in terror, but her mouth was quickly covered by a quick-witted Rong Jin from the side.

“This, this is…” Liu Wenzhu had never witnessed such a scene before, and her face instantly drained of color. “A dead person?”

“It is a disciple of the Kongming Sect,” Ning Fuyi said in a low voice. She bent down to place her hand on the person’s pulse, then shook her head. “They are completely dead.”

“However, this Primordial Realm is merely a trial ground protected by divine ruins. Injured individuals should only be eliminated and ejected, so their lives should absolutely not be endangered!” Rong Jin also found it difficult to remain calm, hurriedly scanning left and right, yet discovering nothing.

Gazing at the disciple’s blackened face, Ning Fuyi’s heartbeat accelerated instantly.

That was a manifestation of being injured by demonic energy.

“Someone else has entered,” she said in a whisper.

“Someone else…” Rong Jin wanted to say more, but he suddenly fell silent. The three of them simultaneously heard shouting, instantly concealing their auras.

The shouting sounded very familiar. They hurriedly hid behind a tree, and as expected, over a dozen people flew down from the sky, splitting into two groups upon landing.

Liu Wenzhu grabbed Ning Fuyi’s arm. Ning Fuyi did not need her reminder, recognizing the newcomers at a single glance.

On the left side were the disciples of the Yunji Sect who had departed just now, while on the right side were the members of the Guijian Sect.

“Relying on you lot with your shallow cultivation, you actually want to seize beast stones from our hands? Dream on!” Feng Ge said, the spiritual sword in her hand gleaming brightly, her high-bound hair flying in the wind as she spoke sharply.

In contrast, the several disciples of the Guijian Sect opposite her acted as though they had not heard a word, merely raising their hands. “Hand over the beast stones.”

“Truly shameless!” Feng Ge cursed. “You only know how to play underhanded tricks!”

“It actually turns out to be the people from the Guijian Sect,” Liu Wenzhu said with furrowed brows. “They truly lack righteousness. However, Senior Brother Hong Ying and Senior Sister Feng Ge’s cultivation is far above these few individuals, so they will certainly not lose to them.”

“No,” Ning Fuyi said suddenly. Her eyes stared intently at those few disciples of the Guijian Sect, her beautiful eyes narrowing slightly.

“What do you mean, no?” Liu Wenzhu froze.

“Those are not people from the Guijian Sect; that is the Soul-Stripping Art of the Demon Race,” Ning Fuyi said softly. “They have been possessed.”

The moment her words fell, the people from the Guijian Sect opposite them suddenly moved, their hands rising at a bizarre angle.

“The Demon Race?!” Rong Jin said anxiously. “Then we must inform them! Otherwise, there will be danger.”

Before Ning Fuyi could say anything, Rong Jin had already leaped out. “They are demons, watch out!”

Ning Fuyi slapped her hand against her forehead. She herself possessed no concern regarding the survival of these individuals, but she had unfortunately forgotten that Rong Jin was an excessively kind-hearted soul.

She uttered a quiet curse, pressed Liu Wenzhu, who was also about to rise firmly back into the grass, and transformed into a residual shadow at maximum speed. A surge of immortal energy erupted from her hand, blasting away the foremost individual, while her hands simultaneously tackled the remaining people to the ground, evading the black smoke that poured from the hands of the Guijian Sect disciples.

The moment that black smoke emerged, the group felt as though they had entered the underworld, with the wailing of fierce ghosts echoing everywhere.

Some individuals had already been ensnared and were engaged in combat with the Guijian Sect disciples. However, how could they match the Demon Race? For a moment, screams and pervasive bloody scents filled the air. The several individuals pushed down beneath Ning Fuyi were completely stunned, only then thinking to extend their hands to summon a barrier to block the black smoke.

“Ning Fuyi?” Feng Ge dragged her spiritual sword as she crawled up in a wretched state, hurriedly joining in to disperse the black smoke, speaking in shock.

“Run quickly!” Ning Fuyi knew these individuals were formidable, shouting angrily. At the same time, they had been completely surrounded, and another wave of scarlet energy washed over the crowd. At this critical juncture, Ning Fuyi held her breath and bent down, reaching into her Yinian prayer beads to fish out a magic weapon.

As a result, she groped around twice without finding it, pulling out a fluffy object instead.

Half an instant later, amidst the black smoke and bloody mist, she found herself staring eye-to-eye with a white rabbit.

When exactly had she put the Nightmare beast inside?

Suddenly, another violent gale struck, carrying a pain that felt as though it were tearing her cheeks apart. In a flash of lightning, Ning Fuyi completely disregarded everything else, abruptly hoisting the rabbit high into the air.

She shouted anxiously, “Chu Qingqiu!”

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