Archfiend

Chapter 68: Chase to Kill (1)

 Of the 50% of pill elixirs on the market, Dew Congealing Grass was one of the main ingredients! It was even a primary component for the Guyuan Elixir that Qi Condensation cultivators frequently used! [1]

This toad had cooperated with Venture Pharmaceuticals for nearly a decade. From where did he get so much Dew Congealing Grass? There was only one answer. He possibly had some kind of field that ranked as a low-grade heavenly treasure. Otherwise, it was simply impossible for him to have provided a supply for an extended period of time!

If Xu Yangyi bared blade and spear to force the youth to hand it over, the other wouldn’t be willing to in the least bit. This was his capital to survive. However, substituted with a seemingly tad coarse method, Xu Yangyi had a way to get the other to “voluntarily” hand it over.

“Make the contract.” Xu Yangyi stood up, looking straight at the toad. The other tremblingly stood up and gritted his teeth, closing his eyes with resigned misfortune. His mouth opened shakily, and countless wisps of white qi slowly spilled out from his seven apertures. Congealing yet not scattering, the qi was like hazy mist, condensing into the form of a thumb-sized toad.

Xu Yangyi bit his hand and a drop of blood flew into the toad’s body. Instantly, a crisp and clear ribbit reverberated in the air, and the youth trembled all over. As if he had lost all of his blood, he fell to the ground with a wan complexion.

His heart was filled with unparalleled regret. If only he had known earlier… Why did he have to go and provoke this fierce god? Not only had Xu Yangyi killed the berserker… but he had also escaped from the hands of Vermilion Snow!

A single misstep, an error at each pace, this was cultivation… A minor mistake was enough for him, who had not been cautious enough, to forfeit his body. He powerlessly lied down on the floor, absent of a single trace of thought.

Xu Yangyi waved his hand, and Zhou Tingting stood outside in shock. Just now, Xu Yangyi had isolated all sound within a meter of his surroundings. She could only see that he had opened his mouth to say something, yet she was unable to know what was said.

“J-Just now, did he spit out his prime essence?” She looked at Xu Yangyi and lowered her head deferentially. “T-T-This is the first time I’ve seen something like this… Is it the same like what it says on the internet, where after you drop blood on it, you can control the life or death of a demon?” [2]

“It ordinarily exists in a demon’s qi sea. Demons aren’t the same us; they cultivate qi to condense their own qi’s appearance. Afterwards they refine out the impurities within it step by step and it finally becomes a demon core.” Xu Yangyi laughed as he said, “The stronger the demon, the greater the likelihood their prime essence will congeal and not disperse. It’ll even stay as it is two centuries after their death. So, remember, if you see the skeleton of a prehistoric greater demon later on, no matter what you do, don’t go inspecting it. Even if all that’s left behind is its prime essence, that’s enough to kill you ten thousand times over.” 

“Once you sign a life-death pact, you can communicate with the pactee regardless of barrier. For example, you don’t have to talk, and as long as you think of something in your mind, the pactee will know via spiritual sense. However, the distance apart doesn’t go over a hundred meters.”

Zhou Tingting promptly nodded and soon after glanced at Xu Yangyi somewhat fearfully. She softly said. “Sir, how do you know so much?”

“Because I’m a professional.” Xu Yangyi kicked at the youth lying on the ground. “Name?”

“Li Zongyuan…” The toad weakly replied, yet he had no choice but to forcefully rouse his spirit to stand up, carrying the hint of a smile even more unsightly than weeping. “Master, do you require the Dew Congealing Grass?”

He couldn’t expose his great killing intent again. Presently, so long as Xu Yangyi willed it, he could render him in a state where he no longer possessed the will to live but was denied the release of death. He had to wait… wait for an opportunity, wait for a chance to erase the other’s brand from his prime essence, and then when that time arrived...

He would flee the country!

“Take out your savings first.” Xu Yangyi lit a cigarette yet didn’t take a drag of it. He looked at the ceiling and said, “Pick a good spot and buy a house. It has to be completely private and soundproof. Pick one with an underground garage and remodel it. I’ll be needing it in a week.”

At the moment where he was most short of funds to kickstart his operations, he had suddenly chanced upon Li Zongyuan who had once ran off from Sanshui City that year. The law of providence followed cyclically; it allowed respite, but never reprieve. 

With this money… and a fully soundproof quiet place thrown into the mix...

Next, he would cultivate the first part of the Eternal Alchemy Canon!

During the End of Days, natural resources were the greatest problem that constricted cultivators from making breakthroughs. However, since ancient times to the modern day, anyone who wanted to obtain even more resources only had a single path, and that was in their qualifications itself!

Xu Yangyi remembered a matter, the one when he was on the plane. Hibiscus, Vulture, and Lilac had all said that they would open such conditions to the champions. However, to those with alchemy, artificing, and talisman Elysial Bestowments, the highest condition could reach thirty fold! 

But what if… this alchemy was genuine alchemy? What kind of conditions would they be willing to produce?

And as for a cultivator who was ill-adept at utilizing their inborn advantages that wanted to reach the apex? Was this a dream? Which one of the figures that stood at those ten Core Formation positions wasn't an illustrious figure of the modern era? Or an unparalleled greater demon? 

A fire sparked and died away within his heart, but in the next second a feeling of danger caused him to swiftly narrow his eyes. There was someone… Someone in the vicinity.

Three Qi Condensation cultivators. Two men and one woman… They were true killers, outstanding scouts, and while the odor of blood was masked rather well on them, their baleful auras were like an unusual flavor in the wind. After Xu Yangyi’s spiritual sense increased explosively, this aura could be no more distinct. 

This was a naked provocation towards him!

Good… He clenched his fists. Since this was a provocation, he reckoned he would fire back. A tiger trapped for three years was now a fierce tiger released from his cage. Whether or not he was still capable of the awe-inspiring might from three years prior was something he wished to know, as well.

As expected, he still thirsted for battle… He inhaled deeply and waved his hand towards Li Zongyuan. “Go.”

“Yes.”

He didn’t move, but rather he sat in the room until the evening. Heavens Law didn’t teach much, but reconnaissance, counter-reconnaissance, and killing methods were given the heaviest weight.

As such, there were four usages, one: to see if the other party was with or without intent. Presently, he could basically confirm that these three people, two men and one woman, were rushing towards him. 

The other party’s spiritual senses were nearly locked dead on him, and there was never a single person in the surroundings who was seen. 

Two: to probe out the other party’s intent. Was it surveillance or something else? He wasn’t quite certain on this point.

Three: exhaust the other party’s strength. If they were at a disadvantage against him, it was because fasting couldn’t be accomplished at the initial stage of Qi Condensation. Scouts like this fundamentally wouldn’t be disturbed by starvation though. This was elementary. 

In the space of real action, there was a 1% possibility that the tides of favor could turn. [3]

Four: to weigh the other party’s essence.

These things had almost become instinctive for Xu Yangyi. They had long since been carved into his bones, and upon running into a corresponding situation, they immediately erupted.

“Elites…” He narrowed his eyes, his finger gently rapping the table. He muttered to himself, “Who is it? Why are they using these kind of elites to keep tabs on me? Or maybe they want to accomplish something else?”

“Their concealment skill is excellent, and they’re hovering at the boundary an initial-stage cultivator’s spiritual sense is capable of expanding. In addition, they’ve even lengthened the distance by 10% to be cautious. These are the tell-tale signs of specialized scout training and long-term combat…”

“The blind spot in their thinking is that an ordinary cultivator can’t extend their spiritual sense to maximum length. But it’s a pity…” He laughed grimly as he stood up. “The one you’ve encountered is the real paragon of Nantong from three years ago.”

These words were incredibly proud. He held absolute confidence in his own strength. With his status as a paragon, they wanted to monitor him?

An hour passed. Two hours passed… Nearly five hours had passed. At that time, all Xu Yangyi did was pick up his cell phone and make a call. 

“Since you’re not making a move, then allow the ‘prey’ to take initiative.” He walked out leisurely step by step and even whistled. Taking out a pack of cigarettes, he even put on a pair of slippers like he was at home. This wasn’t a pretense, but rather… true disregard.

The shoes had nothing to do with it, but it was by these slippers that he was wearing that he had sent the Luo Sanfeng of that year flying with a kick. 

“He’s on the move.” At this moment, a thousand meters away on the roof of a commercial building, there were three figures stationed that seemed to blend in with the night. 

Even if someone was besides them, that person wouldn’t hear their breathing. Even their body heat, pulse, and heartbeat would go unfelt. They appeared like three human-shaped statues placed here.

The distance from the ground was tens of meters high. In the night, the trio’s complexions were without a shred of change, as if they were treading on level earth.

“It’s possible we were detected.” An extremely soft voice, yet clearly audible, said somewhat gruffly, “At first, we relied on less than fifty percent of an initial-stage cultivator’s spiritual sense range in order to confirm the target.”

“Impossible. Only if he can maintain the expansion of his spiritual sense at will. Otherwise, only a grand craftsman whose neurons have transformed would have such incredible sensitivity to the external world. Our existences could only have been perceived if his neurons expanded over the A-level and his spiritual sense overflowed.” At this moment, the pupils of the man whose face was covered in camouflage turned into three. As if they were an insect’s compound eyes, they focused on the direction that Xu Yangyi had left. 

“This is a true fiend. One that any of the several powers couldn’t possibly let go of. A crafts genius… is an existence favored even more than a cultivation genius.” [4]

Before his voice even fell, on his shoulder, an owl holding a mouse in its mouth startled, screeching as it took of in flight towards a far away place. 

“Continue to follow. Tiger King-03, stay behind. You’re in charge of contacting the branch master.”

“Yes.” The woman answered.

Just as their voices subsided, their two silhouettes walked down from the top of the building like geckos. They were both elites, and their cooperation would simplify matters. Moreover, they were without a shred of contempt.

Any situation had to be treated carefully. This was the advantage they relied on to achieve a higher ranking. However, they held their own similar pride within their hearts. Their opponent was also initial-stage Qi Condensation. However, it was no more than the initial stage of Qi Condensation!

They were also elites within the initial stage! Since it was two on one, the possibility of Xu Yangyi’s capture was considerably great!

“Did any of the top five paragons from each of Heavens Law’s provinces within the last fifteen years have this person’s face?” As they slid down, the bald man whose face was covered in camouflage asked.

“No.” The slim man said heavily, “Among the top five, even if we combined the three of our strengths, we wouldn’t be opponents at all. And that’s not even mentioning a paragon. The top five of each province in these past fifteen years have all been fought hotly over by each major power. I’m crystal clear on their appearances.”

“The hidden geniuses of each major power?” 

“No way. We’re not scared of those geniuses. After all, they haven’t crossed over the line of life and death like us.” The slim man laughed wryly. “We only have to worry about the kind that’s come from that damned hell, Heavens Law.”

There was no further talk.

From the deduction of any indicators, their opponent wasn’t a person that they couldn’t deal with. However, they still held onto the caution that had already become instinct, at the bottom of their hearts. All they planned on was testing the waters. If their strike didn’t meet target, they would immediately flee far away.

One hit was already enough to allow these elite scouts to infer the other party’s level.

1. I generally dislike leaving things in pinyin, but I’m kinda hard pressed to in this case. Guyuan is an ancient medicinal food known for promoting various kinds of health benefits. It kinda looks like a solid black paste block with some white marbleization based on what you put in it. From my research, it is made from Longyan (chinese fruit, look up dragon eye fruit if you want to know more), black sesame, rice wine, donkey hide glue (traditional chinese medicine), walnuts, wolfberry, sugar, and red dates. It kinda looks like a brownie with all these nuts in it.

2. 精元 - Prime essence. Also translated as original essence. This is part of an important concept in Daoism known as the “Three Treasures”. The three treasures being essence, qi, and spirit.

3. Literal chinese here is “comeback weapon” - “Turn back the tide”. This didn’t really make sense to me in terms of the text, so I had to look it up. Closest thing I found was something related to Dota/LoL. It’s something along the lines of a “carry hero”, where you can just win the game solo if you’re good enough. I think.

4. Chinese here is literally “side door genius” I had some issues trying to translate this into something that sounds good, but I think crafts is decent. Whenever you see “side door” untranslated, know it’s related to the supplementary activities of alchemy, artifact refining, and talismans/formations.