Chapter 36
The spirit pig’s screams went on and on, sharp enough to make anyone wince.
Lou Yuqing craned her neck, curiosity winning out. “Let’s go—let’s take a look.”
She knew castrated pork tasted better… but the Spirit Beast Garden’s breeding area was only responsible for raising ingredients, not processing them. That part should’ve been handled by the dining hall.
“Alright.”
Ling Yunxiao agreed quickly. The scene earlier had been… awkward. A distraction was very welcome right now. If he could erase that memory entirely, he’d be even happier.
The two walked a few steps forward.
A small crowd had gathered.
At the center, several people were holding down a plump spirit pig. Its limbs thrashed wildly, body twisting in frantic resistance, shrill screams tearing from its throat—as if it already knew what was about to happen.
“Don’t worry, my hand is very steady.”
The woman in green holding the knife spoke in a soothing tone, even patting the pig’s rump with her free hand as if comforting it.
In her mind, she sounded gentle.
In the pig’s ears—it was a death sentence.
Not only was this woman about to take its manhood, she was doing it while speaking in such a terrifyingly calm voice.
A true executioner!
Was the mighty Wild Boar King really going to fall here today?!
Grief surged. Two tears welled up in its eyes.
At that exact moment, the woman in green moved.
Her blade flashed—clean, decisive.
Before Lou Yuqing—or anyone else—could react, something fell to the ground with a soft, unmistakable thud.
For a heartbeat, everything went silent.
The Wild Boar King froze.
Then, slowly, realization dawned.
Its entire body stiffened—and in the next instant—
“Awooo!!!”
A heart-wrenching howl ripped through the air, raw and furious.
Lou Yuqing flinched instinctively, a phantom pain shooting straight through her.
…That was brutal.
“Alright. Let go,” the woman in green said calmly, already sheathing her knife. “This Crimson Hoof Spirit Boar won’t go into heat anymore.”
The others released their grip at once.
The “dying” spirit boar sprang upright like nothing had happened, its snow-white body giving a dramatic shake before it bolted.
Four red hooves blurred into streaks as it shot forward, fleeing like the wind—gone in the blink of an eye.
Lou Yuqing stared after it, completely stunned.
…That pig’s acting skills were outrageous.
No—forget acting. That was pure scheming.
There was no way that thing counted as a normal domesticated spirit beast.
“Crimson Hoof Spirit Pig…” she muttered. “That’s a pretty refined name.”
Ling Yunxiao, who had caught her words, spoke up beside her. “The Crimson Hoof Spirit Pig is a type of mount. Many sects raise them for disciples to travel.”
Lou Yuqing blinked. “You ride… pigs?”
That image was dangerously vivid.
Ling Yunxiao smiled. “Don’t let their bulky appearance fool you. They can travel a thousand miles a day. They’re also very docile. For cultivators below Foundation Establishment who need long-distance travel, they’re one of the best choices.”
Lou Yuqing slowly accepted the explanation.
Cost-effective, reliable… but still.
“Wouldn’t people laugh at you if you rode one?” she asked, staring straight at him.
Ling Yunxiao answered without hesitation, “Not at all. I’ve ridden one several times. No one even comes close to my mount—they all look at me with envy.”
Lou Yuqing: “…”
…Was that really envy?
She admired his confidence.
But ride a pig herself?
Absolutely not.
Ling Yunxiao continued, “When Crimson Hoof Spirit Pigs go into heat, their temper becomes extremely irritable. That one earlier probably developed some intelligence and didn’t want to be castrated like the others. Unfortunately…”
Lou Yuqing picked up smoothly, “Unfortunately, it couldn’t resist the chaos of being in heat and got forcibly captured by the Spirit Beast Garden… and lost its testicles.”
Ling Yunxiao: “…”
Crude—but accurate.
At that moment, the woman in green suddenly turned her gaze toward Lou Yuqing.
“I am not a pig castrator,” she said calmly.
Lou Yuqing blinked, startled.
The woman didn’t look much older than her, yet her bearing carried a quiet authority. Her seniority in the sect was clearly not low.
Best to stay low-key.
Lou Yuqing’s thoughts spun quickly, and she put on a polite, apologetic expression. “I’m sorry, Senior. I misunderstood.”
She paused, then asked carefully, “May I ask who you are?”
The woman in green didn’t answer directly.
Instead, she left behind a single sentence—
“If your spirit beast ever falls ill, come to the Spirit Beast Garden to find me.”
And just like that, she disappeared.
Lou Yuqing stood there, stunned for a few seconds.
Around her, the onlookers erupted.
“Junior Sister, that was Elder Shi Hua!”
“Our sect’s only Nascent Soul–stage Beast Tamer!”
“No matter what kind of spirit beast it is, it’ll be cured in her hands!”
“And she actually spoke to you? That’s incredible—she doesn’t pay attention to just anyone!”
“Getting a promise from Elder Shi… we’re all jealous.”
Lou Yuqing looked genuinely overwhelmed.
She had assumed Elder Shi Hua would be annoyed at being mistaken for a pig castrator.
Instead…
Not only did she not mind—she even offered to help.
Cold on the outside, warm on the inside?
Lou Yuqing blinked, turning the thought over in her mind. Then she snapped out of it and reached to pull Ling Yunxiao along to explore further—only to stop mid-step.
Not far away, a slender figure crouched on the ground.
A girl.
She held a rag, carefully wiping away the bloodstains left behind earlier, her movements slow and deliberate.
Her long hair, loosely tied with a ribbon, draped over her shoulder, partially veiling her fair profile.
Lou Yuqing paused, her gaze lingering.
For a brief moment, she simply watched.
Then a breeze stirred.
A strand of hair shifted—and a red birthmark was revealed.
Lou Yuqing froze.
It was like a splash of ink across a delicate painting, breaking its quiet beauty in an instant.
…What a pity.
As if sensing her gaze, the girl looked up.
Their eyes met—just for a fleeting instant—before she quickly lowered her head again, letting her hair fall forward to hide the birthmark.
Lou Yuqing scratched her head, a little awkward.
…Did she just scare her?
Beside her, Ling Yunxiao spoke thoughtfully. “She doesn’t have spiritual power.”
Lou Yuqing blinked. “Huh? What do you mean?”
He smiled faintly. “Exactly what it sounds like. Those bloodstains could’ve been cleaned with a simple cleansing spell. But she didn’t. She chose to wipe them manually instead.”
That… did make sense.
But—
“The sect doesn’t accept mortals,” Lou Yuqing said hesitantly. “Maybe she just prefers doing it by hand?”
Ling Yunxiao shrugged. “Perhaps.”
Lou Yuqing frowned for a moment—then let it go.
There were more interesting things to do.
She dragged Ling Yunxiao along, enthusiastically showing him around the sect, then brought him to collect his new disciple equipment.
—
Southern Ridge Mountains. Minshan Snake Cave.
The cavern was packed with venomous snakes—hissing, slithering, coiling over one another in dense layers like living ropes.
The sheer mass of them made the air feel suffocating, the sight alone enough to chill the spine.
Then—heat surged upward from below.
In an instant, the entire cave turned into a blazing furnace.
The snakes shrieked, their bodies twisting in agony as they scattered in frantic retreat, fleeing toward the edges.
At the very center, a pillar of blazing red light shot skyward.
Flames roared as they burst outward, dazzling and violent, sparks scattering like meteors. Any snake unlucky enough to be caught within was reduced to ash in an instant.
And within that pillar of light—a figure stood.
Reborn in fire.
Song Li.
Her entire body burned with poisonous flames, her eyes blazing with unyielding will.
Step by step, she rose into the air—unstoppable.
Spiritual energy surged from all directions, rushing toward her in a violent tide. She absorbed it without restraint, refining it instantly, converting everything into the power needed to break through.
Her aura climbed.
Higher—and higher still—until it reached its limit.
“Ah—!”
With a sharp cry, Song Li gathered all her spiritual power and drove it forward, crashing through the bottleneck in one decisive strike.
In that instant, her cultivation broke through into the mid-stage Golden Core realm.
A terrifying wave of heat swept outward, igniting the land for dozens of miles around. Birds scattered in panic, beasts fled in terror—and the most unfortunate of all were the snakes of Minshan.
Countless died where they lay. Those that survived were either burned alive or left half-charred, writhing in the aftermath.
Time passed.
No one knew how long.
Gradually, the violent fire energy began to subside. The blazing pillar of light collapsed inward, shrinking, dimming—until it vanished completely.
Song Li hovered in midair.
Her eyes snapped open, a sharp brilliance flashing within them. Her aura had fully stabilized at the mid-stage Golden Core realm—stronger, far stronger than before.
A flicker of satisfaction rose in her chest… only to vanish just as quickly.
Her expression darkened.
“Cen Xiaoyun… why did you collude with outsiders to harm me? And my mother…”
Her fists clenched tightly.
To protect her, her mother had drawn the pursuers away alone. Now… who knew what had become of her?
Song Li’s jaw tightened, her voice dropping colder. “I misjudged you… and nearly died by your hands. If I die, who will avenge my mother? That ungrateful wretch?”
Rage surged within her, barely contained.
Now penniless, her storage pouch stolen, she had no choice but to lie low.
But first—she needed answers.
“Cen Xiaoyun,” she said coldly, killing intent flickering in her eyes, “my mother treated you well, and you repaid her with betrayal. I will return it—with blood.”
She turned and shot into the distance.
She didn’t notice that the awakening of her Fire Poison Physique had already begun to twist her temperament, quietly pushing it toward obsession. In her mind, she had simply survived—by sheer luck.
Having just broken through, she should have stabilized her cultivation first.
But she couldn’t suppress the anger burning in her chest.
Instead, she headed straight for the nearest town—to find Cen Xiaoyun.
How could that traitor still be alive?
What Song Li didn’t expect… was that the enemy was still there—waiting.
“Fellow Daoist, you won’t escape.”
A young man in black stepped forward, blocking her path, his gaze dripping with disdain.
“Surrender obediently. You’ll suffer less.”
Song Li let out a cold laugh. “You dare block me?”
With a flick of her hand, a fire dragon surged forth.
Flames roared to life, the searing heat distorting the very air as it tore forward.
The black-clad cultivator smirked. “Just fire techniques? I—”
He never finished.
The fire dragon was already upon him.
His expression changed instantly as he hastily raised a spiritual barrier—too late.
With a sharp clang, the barrier shattered, and the fire dragon coiled around him, flames tightening like a noose. He struggled, desperately trying to break free—but it was useless.
In the end, he died where he stood, eyes wide, filled with unwillingness.
Song Li paused.
…That was it?
She hadn’t expected her attack to be so overwhelming.
The power was at least ten times stronger than she had anticipated.
They had been evenly matched before.
She had only intended to force him back—then escape.
But now… he was dead.
There was no time to think.
She snatched his storage bag, turned into a streak of red light, and fled.
Moments later, three figures in black arrived.
They stopped short at the sight of the charred corpse, their expressions darkening.
Their superior had ordered them to guard all four directions—east, south, west, north—to prevent any chance of escape.
Four against one.
Excessive… or so they had thought.
Now, they understood.
Song Li had just killed a mid-stage Golden Core cultivator in an instant.
The three exchanged glances, unease flashing through their eyes.
If their superior learned of this failure—the consequences would be unbearable.
One of them spoke coldly. “We can only track her using the residual aura on this corpse.”
The cost?
The corpse would be destroyed.
The other two said nothing. Their silence was agreement enough.
Five hours later, deep within the Nanling Mountains, Song Li sat in meditation, steadily recovering her spiritual energy.
Suddenly, her eyes snapped open.
“Since you’re here,” she said sharply, “why hide like rats?”
Three figures emerged from the shadows, forming a triangle that surrounded her.
The leader narrowed his eyes. “So you’ve reached the mid-stage Golden Core as well. No wonder you could kill him.”
A cold smile tugged at his lips. “But using that kind of power… your spiritual energy can’t keep up, can it?”
Song Li said nothing.
The three attacked at once.
Black smoke surged outward, condensing into massive demonic beasts that lunged at her. Song Li moved in response—three punches, three fire dragons—devouring the beasts in an instant.
Before the men could react, her counterattack was already upon them.
Fire dragons surged forward, searing heat crashing down.
“Not good!”
They reacted instantly. Three array plates appeared, glowing with white light as a barrier formed—completely encasing Song Li.
With a thunderous boom, the fire dragons slammed into it.
The barrier trembled… then stilled.
Song Li’s expression shifted. Her hands moved rapidly, forming seals.
“Heavenly Fire Technique!”
Firelight surged into existence, countless blazing spheres gathering in the air above—and with a sharp motion of her hand, they crashed downward.
They rained down in a blazing storm. Explosions roared, flames swallowing everything in their path—and yet, when the fire cleared, the barrier still stood.
Unbroken.
The three men let out quiet breaths of relief. Good thing they had witnessed their companion’s death earlier—otherwise, they might have died just as easily.
“In just over a month, you’ve gained such fortune,” the leader sneered. “Impressive. But this is where it ends.”
The barrier began to shrink.
Faster.
Tighter.
Closing in.
Song Li attacked relentlessly, but it refused to break. Her eyes burned red as hatred surged within her—at them, at herself.
The space around her compressed, leaving no room to escape.
The three watched her like prey, faint smiles playing on their lips.
Something in her heart cracked—and began to widen.
Just then, a cold voice descended from above:
“You vile creatures—do not harm my child!”