As the man looked at everything before him, memories flooded back.
Months ago, he had been hunted by a group of people. On the brink of death, he had chanced upon this strange area.
For the past three months, he had been recovering his injuries by refining the flesh and blood of cultivators. Now, he had finally passed the most dangerous period.
"Once my injuries heal, our score will need to be settled!" the man declared hatefully, then sat cross-legged in the center of the grand formation to cultivate.
He had gone out earlier to hunt some cultivators, but his good deed was ruined by a Golden Core stage fellow who suddenly appeared.
Although he had eliminated the other party, it had caused his old wounds to relapse.
It was a pity that he had abandoned the Golden Core stage body earlier, fearing the enemy might have reinforcements!
A faint black mist emerged above the grand formation, engulfing the man.
An hour later, the man slowly opened his eyes.
"Hmm?" Seeing that the black mist around him had not dispersed as usual, the man was startled.
This was not right.
Normally, these black mists would automatically dissipate after helping him refine the flesh and blood of the cultivators.
Could the grand formation be malfunctioning?
"Whoosh—!"
Just as the man was about to carefully inspect the grand formation, a chilling wind suddenly blew out of nowhere.
"Who!" The man nervously looked around.
This grand formation not only aided his cultivation but also acted as a barrier. There should be no reason for wind to appear out of thin air!
He suspected he had been targeted by a cultivator of higher cultivation.
But then he thought again, it was unlikely.
He possessed a treasure that could block wicked arts, and it was thanks to this artifact that he hadn't been exposed until now.
"Caw caw!"
As he pondered in confusion, a strange cackle suddenly reached his ears.
The sound was incredibly unpleasant, like the grinding of two pieces of crystal.
"No need to look, you cannot see me." A sinister voice suddenly sounded. "What, as my believer, are you afraid of your faith?"
As the voice faded, an immensely powerful evil aura descended upon the man!
The man was first stunned, then his heart filled with ecstatic joy!
Such pure evil energy, coupled with what the other party had just said...
The identity was already clear!
"Gulp!"
The man stumbled back a few steps and immediately prostrated himself on the ground: "Greetings, Emissary Demon Lord!"
Emissary Demon Lord, or Shimo, referred to the envoys under the command of great demons.
They were also objects of faith for all demonic cultivators.
For the Emissary Demon Lord's identity was the great demon's representative in the human world.
"I am the Seventh Emissary under the Heart-Devouring Battle Demon," the Emissary Demon Lord's sinister voice sounded again. "You may call me Nie Zui."
"Greetings, Lord Nie Zui!" The man bowed respectfully again.
"Recently, the seal has loosened, and I have gradually awakened," Nie Zui continued. "From now on, go and capture a batch of cultivators for me, the more the better!"
"Lord Nie Zui, I am currently injured, and even dealing with Golden Core stage cultivators is a struggle..." the man replied awkwardly.
"As long as they are cultivators, even those at the Qi Refining stage will do," Nie Zui said indifferently.
"I will go and do it now!" the man replied excitedly.
"Rest assured, when I emerge, you will naturally receive your rewards. Go," the Emissary Demon Lord casually said, and then fell silent.
Immortal Jade Peak summit.
[The sign-in point at the Host's residence has been refreshed. Host can sign in to receive top-tier rewards.]
Ye Fan ignored it and continued cooking.
[...]
[Sign-in successful for Host. Congratulations to Host for obtaining an Exorcism Talisman.]
[Exorcism Talisman: Possesses strong purification effects against evil forces, a nemesis to all demonic paths!]
A complex talisman appeared beside Ye Fan.
Ye Fan casually crumpled it into a ball and threw it into the nearby trash can.
[...]
[System crash, rebooting...]
"Is Senior Brother Ye here?" Just then, Li Mingbai's voice came from outside the door.
"Junior Brother Li, you've worked hard." Ye Fan walked into the courtyard and took the vegetables Li Mingbai had delivered. "It's good timing, dinner is almost ready. Come in and share a meal."
Ye Fan had calculated that today was the day Li Mingbai would bring up the vegetables, so he had specifically prepared a portion for him as well.
Half an hour later, Li Mingbai happily carried a bag of trash down the mountain.
Ever since he had found that peerless secret manual in Ye Fan's trash last time, Li Mingbai had developed an unprecedented enthusiasm for Ye Fan's refuse!
Upon arriving at the landfill, Li Mingbai placed the trash bag on the ground.
However, he did not rush to empty it. Instead, he devoutly bowed in the direction of Immortal Jade Peak.
Then, he turned and bowed to the trash bag...
After emptying the trash, Li Mingbai's excitement cooled by half.
There were no cultivation manuals, nor anything that seemed like a magical artifact...
"It seems I was too greedy..." Li Mingbai murmured and turned to leave. "Being able to get one peerless cultivation method was already a stroke of great fortune. How could there be treasures every time..."
After walking a few steps, Li Mingbai turned back.
He was still a little unwilling to give up.
So, Li Mingbai rummaged through Ye Fan's trash one item at a time, hoping for new discoveries.
Finally, his gaze fell on the crumpled paper in his hand.
He felt that the color and texture of the crumpled paper looked more and more like talisman paper.
With a heart full of anticipation, he unfolded the crumpled paper, and Li Mingbai was instantly excited!
It was indeed a talisman!
He didn't recognize the script on it.
However, he was certain that anything from Senior Brother Ye must be of the highest quality!
It was definitely worth keeping!
Li Mingbai reached into his crotch and took out the "Eternal Undying Art," carefully sandwiched the talisman between its pages, and then stuffed it back into his crotch.
Li Mingbai hummed a happy tune and returned.
The next day.
In the morning, Li Mingbai headed to the town at the foot of the mountain.
He was going to attend a drinking party.
However, he was not just going to drink.
He planned to earnestly tell his fellow disciples that while fine wine was good, one should not be greedy.
After all, they were cultivators, and their primary focus should be cultivation!
Although Li Mingbai enjoyed being admired, he had not let it cloud his judgment.
He was well aware in his heart of who had brought him to his current status.
It was Senior Brother Ye!
If not for Senior Brother Ye's cultivation method, he would still be just an insignificant nobody in the outer sect!
However, when he entered the restaurant, he was stunned.
It was empty, not a soul in sight!
"Master Li, you've arrived." The innkeeper hurried forward to greet him.
"Where are my fellow disciples?" Li Mingbai asked in a daze.
"They seemed to have something to attend to earlier and all headed north," the innkeeper replied truthfully.
A quarter of an hour later.
North of the town.
Li Mingbai searched for more than ten li, but still couldn't find his fellow disciples.
"Strange? Did they go back?"
Just as Li Mingbai was about to turn back, he suddenly saw an old man lying by the roadside, who appeared to have fainted.
"Elder?" Li Mingbai quickly went forward and called out a few times.
After fussing over him and finding no reaction from the old man, Li Mingbai simply picked him up and carried him towards the town.
As a kind-hearted cultivator, Li Mingbai would never stand idly by and watch someone in need.
After taking the old man to all the doctors in town, Li Mingbai reluctantly brought him to an inn.
The doctors had all said there were no problems with the old man's health, and they were also unclear why he wouldn't wake up.
After settling the old man, Li Mingbai simply sat by the bedside and began to cultivate.
Since the old man was physically fine, he could only wait for him to wake up before making any further plans.
Time passed quickly while cultivating. Before he knew it, night had fallen.
Li Mingbai stood up, stretched, and lay down on the bed to sleep.
The inn's bed was large enough, and even with him and the old man lying on it, it wasn't crowded.
In the early hours of the morning.
The old man's eyes suddenly snapped open!