Chapter Thirty-Six: Fury

Breathing in the aroma of the tea stall’s hearth, gazing upon the verdant trees and emerald mountains around him, and feeling the cool morning breeze, Shi Qi sensed a rare and indescribable pleasure.

“Little Daoist, your flatbreads are ready—enjoy,” the old man said, bringing over a plate piled high with flatbreads. He ladled steaming tea from a wooden bucket and set several bowls before Shi Qi. “Try my flatbreads—they’ll leave you lingering for more.”

“Thank you, sir,” Shi Qi replied with a gentle smile.

Su Xiaomu, nose twitching, inhaled deeply. “Smells amazing!” She grabbed a flatbread from the table and stuffed it into her mouth.

“Eat slowly,” Shi Qi said, patting Su Xiaomu’s head.

This little girl was a fox cub born at the base of Mount Jiuhua, pure-hearted and kind, with no faults aside from a mild gluttony.

“Little Daoist, have mercy—could you spare a flatbread…” Shi Qi had just picked up a flatbread when a raspy voice sounded beside him.

He turned to see a bedraggled beggar sprawled on the ground, looking up at Shi Qi with pitiful eyes.

“Little Daoist, please, I haven’t eaten in days…” the old beggar croaked weakly.

Su Xiaomu frowned at the beggar, thoughtful.

Seeing the beggar’s state, Shi Qi handed him the flatbread. Yet, deep within Shi Qi’s mind, a sense of imminent danger surged. At that instant, Su Xiaomu cried out, “Big brother, watch out!”

Reacting faster than thought, Shi Qi raised his hand and conjured a curtain of water before him.

The beggar snapped his head forward, spitting three silver needles from his mouth straight at Shi Qi’s face.

A sizzling sound rang out as the needles struck the watery shield, slowed for a split second before piercing through, continuing their deadly path.

But the water curtain had slowed them, giving Shi Qi ample time to react. He dodged the needles with a tilt of his head, and a golden flash appeared in his hand as he pulled a spear from his Qiankun Bag, thrusting it at the beggar.

This spear was the very one Shi Qi had knocked from Yuan Chenglu during their battle yesterday; Su Xiaomu had snatched it away and lost it, only for Shi Qi to reclaim it during the chaos at Diǎnxīng Manor. It had been tossed into the Qiankun Bag—not a high-grade magical weapon, just an ordinary cultivator’s tool, far inferior to the Azure Cloud Umbrella.

Shi Qi’s spear thrust at the beggar’s face, but missed. The beggar dissolved into a cloud of black mist, vanishing before Shi Qi’s eyes.

Shi Qi channeled his true energy, sensing changes in the spiritual energy around him.

Suddenly, black mist surged around the tea stall, spreading quickly and encircling them.

“Xiaomu!” Shi Qi called, “Take the two elders and break out!”

“Yes!” Though Su Xiaomu was greedy, she knew what mattered most. With a flash of green light, she scooped up the two elders and dashed out of the black mist.

Shi Qi and Su Xiaomu acted swiftly, but the elders had already inhaled some of the black mist and were now unconscious.

Shi Qi held his breath, avoiding the mist, and instantly moved to escape.

A black arrow shot from the mist, aimed at his face.

He raised his spear to block it. The spear and arrow clashed; the arrow was deflected.

More arrows whistled toward him.

Shi Qi stowed the spear in his Qiankun Bag and unleashed his frigid true energy, instantly forming an ice shield in his hands.

The arrows embedded themselves in the shield without penetrating, but transformed into black mist.

Shi Qi thought, “These arrows aren’t real—they’re formed from black mist. It’s an array.”

Indeed, the beggar had laid a trap here.

Where there’s an array, there’s a focal point. Break the focal point and the array collapses.

Wondering how Su Xiaomu fared outside, Shi Qi knew he had to hurry.

While he pondered, two black-bladed knives emerged from the mist, slashing toward him.

Shi Qi raised his shield; the knives struck, turned to mist, and the ice shield shattered.

He mused, “This mist can morph into any weapon to attack. But where’s the beggar’s true form?”

As he thought, two black spears thrust at him.

“Thousand-Ton Shield!”

Shi Qi produced the Thousand-Ton Shield, calling its name. It transformed into a massive shield before him. The spears pierced it, but the shield remained unscathed; the spears dissolved into mist.

“I see you now!” Shi Qi had activated his Heavenly Eye during the spear attack and spotted a subtle shadow flicker as the spears turned to mist.

Shi Qi smiled slightly, his hand behind his back, secretly gathering true energy in his fingertips.

A long knife circled the shield, coming from behind to strike Shi Qi.

He stood unmoving; when the blade was about to land on his head, his left hand transformed water to ice, forming a glove. He lunged forward, grasping the blade firmly.

The blade morphed into black mist.

“Now!” As it turned, Shi Qi shot a pre-prepared Water Spirit Pellet at it.

The moment the blade became mist, a faint shadow appeared within. Before it could merge with the array, Shi Qi’s pellet struck it dead-on.

Blood sprayed from the mist. Shi Qi, seeing the opportunity, moved with supernatural speed and followed up, right hand forming an ice spear, thrusting it forward.

He felt the spearhead hit a hard object, then pushed harder, driving the spear deeper.

The black mist rapidly gathered at the spear’s tip, coalescing into the beggar’s form—the same one who had ambushed Shi Qi.

The spearpoint pierced his shoulder, blood staining his filthy face.

“Who are you? Why attack me?” Shi Qi demanded, gripping the ice spear.

The beggar chuckled. “Little thief, you don’t know the price on your head, do you? Let me tell you—it’s worth a high-grade magical treasure!”

Shi Qi frowned, thinking it likely the work of Diǎnxīng Manor. They moved quickly, which only confirmed that the golden stone he held was no ordinary item; it must be comparable to, or even more valuable than, a high-grade treasure.

“Big brother!” Su Xiaomu suddenly called, “They… they’re not waking up!”

Shi Qi turned and saw the two elders at the tea stall unconscious by Su Xiaomu’s side. He’d been a step too late; the black mist had gotten to them. Ordinary bodies couldn’t withstand cultivator magic—they hadn’t survived.

The beggar seized the moment, dissolving into black mist and fleeing.

Shi Qi’s mind echoed with the elder’s kindly voice: “Little Daoist, our flatbreads are famous far and wide. Even a cultivator like you hasn’t tasted the earthy flavor of my flatbreads.”

“Scoundrel!” Shi Qi turned, his gaze icy as he faced the black mist. This time, his anger was real. “Why harm ordinary people? You’ve crossed the cultivators’ line!”

“Hahaha…” the beggar’s voice came from the mist. “A line? Don’t be foolish, child. The line is not to harm ordinary people—but ordinary people are not all equal. This rule is made for some. As for those two old fools? Killing them means nothing. The Alliance won’t hunt me for them. Don’t be naive! From the moment I set this array, they were doomed. Crushing two ants, that’s all!”

Sixty years, for cultivators like Shi Qi, meant little. A cultivator at Foundation level could live a century; at Golden Core, three to five centuries; Nascent Soul, eight centuries; Small Ascension, a thousand years; Great Ascension, two thousand, then on to immortality.

But for ordinary people, sixty years is a lifetime. The elders lived simple lives, striving just to survive, laboring for a meal—yet today, the beggar called them ants.

No, they were not ants! Shi Qi’s rage soared. They might have grandchildren waiting at home for a family reunion, meals together, the joy of earning a living to share with their children. They were people, just like cultivators!

“Just because you’re stronger, what gives you the right to decide their fate?” Shi Qi said coldly to the mist.

“What gives me the right?” The beggar laughed. “Strength. Survival of the fittest. The strong trample the weak—it’s the law of nature!”

“Fine. Very well,” Shi Qi’s face was expressionless. “Then today, I’ll tear you apart, right here, to honor the elders.”

“With what?” The mist solidified into the beggar’s form.

“You’re but at early Golden Core. I am at full Golden Core. What makes you think you can kill me?” the beggar sneered. With his mastery of black mist techniques, he was confident in his escape.

Shi Qi stood silent, his dark eyes locked on the beggar.

The beggar frowned. He shouldn’t fear this junior, but those blue eyes unsettled him.

Blue eyes?

Shi Qi himself didn’t know when his eyes had turned blue.

Suddenly, his clothing split open. From his back, a pair of immense blue wings unfurled, exposed to the air.

The wings spread wide, their blue feathers crystalline and bright in the sunlight, glowing with spiritual energy.

“This—!” The beggar gasped, “What are you? A demon? Or a half-demon?”

His answer was a flash of blue shadow.

The beggar’s vision blurred; a blue light flickered. Looking down, he saw an ice sword embedded in his chest.

“How… how is this possible… so fast!” Clutching his chest, the beggar stared at Shi Qi in shock.