Chapter 867: A Token of Appreciation

The young woman in the black skirt stared intently at Su Yi, then said softly, “Young Lord, are you afraid? Or do you think poorly of me?”

Su Yi retracted his gaze, then said coolly, “If anything happens on the road ahead, I guarantee you’ll die a horrible death.”

The young woman’s pupils constricted, as if this sudden declaration alarmed her.

A moment later, she furrowed her brow in confusion. “Young lord, what… do you mean by that?”

Su Yi took out a jug of wine and drank, then said distractedly, “Figure it out on your own.”

The look on the young woman’s face shifted erratically.

Finally, she raised her arms off the railing and stretched. Her red lips parted slightly, and she broke into a radiant smile. “Very well. Let’s just wait and see what happens.”

With that, she turned and left.

It was only after she’d disappeared from view that Su Yi turned to leave as well.

However, when he passed the little girl in pigtails, he stopped, crouched, and patted her on the shoulder.

“Big brother, is something wrong?” The little girl looked up at him in confusion.

“Little one, going forward, remember not to start conversations with strangers,” Su Yi said softly.

The little girl was confused, but before she could ask, Su Yi had already walked away.

A thin, pale green thread floated above his palm.

The little girl had no idea, but the young woman whose beauty she’d just praised had, while caressing her cheek, left an all but untraceable parasite inside her body: a Spirit-Locking Devilworm.

This type of parasite could silently fetter the soul. The caster could then strip away the victim’s soul with a single thought.

It was as cruel and insidious as could be.

A heretical cultivator is mixed up with a descendant of the Ghost Serpents? There’s got to be something going on here. Unless I’m mistaken, the Ghost Serpents' predicament is far graver than I imagined,?Su Yi thought to himself.

The pale green, threadlike parasite struggled continuously in his grip, but it was to no avail; he held it firmly in place.

Not long after Su Yi left, the white-haired, black-robed elder watching over the children approached the little girl and whispered, “Yuerong, what did that person say to you just now?”

The pigtailed girl chirped, “That big brother said I shouldn’t talk to strangers.”

The white-haired, black-robed elder hadn’t expected that. “He didn’t say anything else?”

The pigtailed girl shook her head.

“Does that mean there was a problem with that young woman in black just now?” The elder mulled it over for a long time, but he couldn’t figure it out, so he set the matter aside.

……

In the wee hours of the morning, Su Yi was cultivating in?his room when someone suddenly knocked on his door. “Dear passenger, someone asked me to deliver a letter to you.”

Su Yi opened his eyes, and his eyebrows rose. “Come in.”

He raised his hand and dispersed the formation covering the room.

On board the Cloud Tower Treasure Ship, every premium pavilion was protected by a formation. The formation wasn’t anything impressive; it was at best good for soundproofing.

The door swung open, and a young man who looked like a servant entered and respectfully proffered a letter with both hands.

Su Yi opened the envelope.

Bang!

Black smog exploded out of the envelope, transforming into an illusory skull that charged at Su Yi.

It attacked at such close range that the black smoke instantly devoured Su Yi.

The “servant boy” then rose to his full height, and his unassuming aura expanded. At the same time, his features changed, and he transformed into a stout, vicious-looking man.

There was an unearthly, blood-red flower emblem on his forehead.

“And here I thought this guy was something special. So, this was all he had? I’d been holding onto that talisman for years. What a waste!” the man grumbled, looking pained.

He watched as the black smog enveloped Su Yi completely, and snake-like tendrils of smoke bore their way into Su Yi’s body.

This was the “Ghost Smog Heart Curse”, and it was tyrannical and insidious. When used to ambush a target, it could deal devastating damage to a Spiritual Revolution Realm cultivator in a single attack!

“Did that woman send you?”

A calm voice rang out, and the stout man stiffened. Then, without even looking, he threw a punch.

His arm muscles were like boulders, and as he punched, ring after ring of dark light condensed around his fist. It instantly burst with enough power to destroy mountains and overturn seas.

This ferocious, intense attack was enough to leave a Spiritual Revolution Realm cultivator on the brink of death, yet a large, fair-skinned hand suddenly took hold of it. The fist’s destructive power instantly dispersed, like a clay ox melting into the ocean.

The stout man couldn’t help but look astonished.

Only then did he see clearly that the blue-robed young man who had just been enveloped in the Ghost Smog Heart Curse still stood. His expression was calm, and his gaze was distant.

He didn’t have so much as a hair out of place.

Crunch!

The sound of breaking bones rang out.

The stalwart man felt an intense pressure bear down on him, forcing him to his knees. The floors, which were forged out of Profound Iron, boomed on impact.

The stout man cried out, and beads of sweat formed on his forehead. His expression filled with alarm. “Friend, please, show mercy!”

Su Yi remained seated, stroking his chin with one hand, while the other held a jug of wine. He said casually, “You’re obviously targeting the Ghost Serpents, so why attack me?”

The stout man’s expression shifted, and he explained, “This was a complete misunderstanding…”

Before he could finish, Su Yi flicked his finger. A streak of sword qi appeared, slicing off the man’s right arm. The cut was perfectly smooth, and fresh blood gushed out like a geyser.

The man’s face contorted with agony, and he quivered head to toe.

“I don’t like listening to nonsense,” said Su Yi.

The stout man looked into Su Yi’s eyes with dread and said in a quavering voice, “I won’t lie to you, friend. I came here tonight on orders. I… don’t know why I was told to target you either.”

“Whose orders?”

“Our Holy Maiden’s.”

“And what clan are you from?”

“Err…” The stout man hesitated.

Splurt!

With a spray of fresh blood, the stout man’s left arm fell to the floor. He gasped as agony washed over him, and the blood drained from his face.

“Speak,” Su Yi said flatly.

The stout man’s breathing sped up, but his eyes flashed with ruthless light. “I’ll die if I talk, and I’ll die if I don’t talk, so why should I cooperate with you?”

He’d only just said this when the blood-red flower marking on his forehead squirmed like mad, devouring his spirit, essence, and qi completely.

Before his voice had even finished echoing through the air, the stout man was reduced to a shriveled corpse.

While the red flower marking originally emblazoned on his forehead transformed into a strange, blood-red yao flower. Its petals consisted of thirty-six blood-red hands, with an unearthly, icy, vertical eye at the end of its pistil.

Boom!

The blood-red flower bloomed, and the thirty-six hands that made up its petals formed strange seals as it suddenly bore down on Su Yi.

The Vertical Eye Demon Lotus Seal? So, she really was a Blood Pheasant yao cultivator,?Su Yi thought to himself.

He remained seated, and he casually swept his finger through the air.

A streak of golden sword qi full of Apex of Genesis Dao Intent exploded into being.

Bang!

The seals condensed by the strange, blood-colored flower shattered and fell like rain.

Then, with a flick and a tap of Su Yi’s finger, the stout man’s shriveled corpse turned to ash and disappeared.

A few treasures remained on the floor.

Su Yi glanced at them, but immediately lost interest.

Within the Spirit Dao, those treasures would have been impressive to others, but such things had long since ceased to interest him.

Then, as if nothing had happened, Su Yi restored the room’s formation and returned to his meditation.

……

The following morning.

Su Yi got out of bed, then walked straight to the top of the ship.

First, he had himself a piping hot breakfast in the restaurant. Then, he proceeded to the observation deck.

The light of the heavens was resplendent, and the sea of clouds churned.

The treasure ship bore through the sea of clouds. The mountains and rivers were like decorations adorning the boundless landscape.

The children he’d seen the night before were currently playing, and that white-haired, black-robed elder was watching silently from afar.

When he saw Su Yi approach, the old man hesitated, but nonetheless approached and said in a low voice, “This old man is Elder Xie Kuiju of the Netherworld Spirit Sect. Might I ask your honorable name, sir?”

Su Yi glanced at him. “My name is irrelevant. If you have something to say, just say it.”

Xie Kuiju smiled a bit awkwardly, then looked at the pigtailed girl not far away. “That Yuerong has an innate talent for cultivation. She’s a good seedling, but her parents died when she was young. When I found her, she was begging for food on the streets. She was quite pitiful.”

“Mm,” said Su Yi distractedly. “Relax; I’m not trying to snatch the Netherworld Spirit Sect’s disciples away.”

Xie Kuiju sighed, seemingly in relief, and clasped his fist. “Many thanks.”

It was then that the pigtailed little girl suddenly walked over, holding a jujube, which she raised and presented to Su Yi. “For you, big brother!”

Su Yi was stunned. “What for?”

“Last night, when you said those things, I could tell that you were worried about me! Of course I have to thank you!”

Su Yi had nothing to say to that. He looked at the jujube she was offering. It was perfectly ordinary, but she’d cleaned it off well. It looked thin-skinned and juicy.

“Lass, only children eat jujubes,” sighed Xie Kuiju. “Quick, put it away.”

However, Su Yi reached out and accepted it. “It’s the thought that counts. I accept this token of your appreciation.”

He then reached out and tousled the girl’s hair.

“Big Brother, you really are different from other people. The other times I gave people jujubes, they didn’t like them,” said the pigtailed girl with a delighted smile. Her eyes sparkled.

“That’s because they didn’t understand that it’s the thought that counts,” Su Yi said gently.

He’d only just said this when a slender, graceful figure in a black dress approached from afar.

This was the very same woman he’d seen the night before.

She looked first at the pigtailed little girl, then at Su Yi, whom she flashed?a charming smile. “Young lord, it seems you and I need to have a chat to avoid any misunderstandings that might lead to unpleasantness.”

Su Yi couldn’t help but find this strange. I wouldn’t have thought this woman would dare appear in front of me again.

He thought for a moment, then said, “Last night, I already said everything I had to say. If you don’t mind getting yourself killed, you’re welcome to keep doing what you’re doing.”

His tone was icy and not the least bit polite.

The young woman’s smile disappeared, and her beautiful eyes glinted with cold light.

The atmosphere was suddenly tense and oppressive.

Xie Kuiju stiffened, and his hair stood on end.

But the playing children didn’t notice any of this, and the sound of their play and laughter continued.