Spin!
Tian Ji Han the Spirit Budgie watched as Xiao Feng and everyone else disappeared with Chen Zixi on top of his spinning top treasure towards Yin Na’s last-known headed direction.
“I have faith that they’ll be able to catch up to that villain Yin Na,” thought Tian Ji Han. “He is now a mortal, and cannot travel fast, whereas that treasure mount of Chen Zixi’s is able to travel at breakneck speeds per spin. Now, if only I can catch up to them with these wings! Thankfully although a Spirit Budgie’s appearance is plump, it has little effect on my speed as my bones are light. It seems that the chubby appearance of a Spirit Budgie is mostly due to the disproportionate size of its Dan Tian in relation to its body, so I do have some qi to spare for usage in emergencies. Now all that matters is for me to train my flying speed!”
He did not care if the endeavor would take hours or several days. Tian Ji Han flapped away in joint pursuit of Yin Na.
While he flew, Tian Ji Han practiced vocalizing. The closest he could manage at the moment were weird high-pitched rasps, like tropical parrots imitating human speech. Otherwise, 98% of the time he just sounded like a tweeting, chirping Spirit Budgie, and it was quite frustrating.
Along the flight he also had to cope with hunger and exhaustion. He was forced to stop and find berries and nuts to eat, as the Spirit Budgie was a herbivore.
“I’ll catch up to you guys yet!” Tian Ji Han swore as he hungrily gobbled Spirit Gingko nuts on top of a rich, matured tree.
Meanwhile, a few dozen li ahead…
“Have you noticed that some of the branches and even trees are disturbed along the path?” said Xiao Feng from inside the Six Worlds Crystal hanging on Chen Zixi’s neck. He was small and naked again, but was intently observing the outside world where Chen Zixi was traveling at a rapid speed on top of the treasure spinning top mount.
“Yes, that could be Yin Na on top of his Spicy Oil Boar,” said Brother Sun Lu. “We’ve noticed similar sized damage on the forest floor along this entire pursuit. We’re definitely pursuing a beast on the run.”
“Looks like we’ll be preparing for combat after all,” said Brother Liu Kang. He felt the adrenaline building within his heart, his palms were sweaty even though he was the size of pollen within Chen Zixi’s Six World Crystal.
Ying Er was silent. She was trembling with hate and anger at Yin Na for killing her crush, but also with fear. The idea of her first life-or-death battle, to say nothing of combat with such a powerful demonic cultivator who could even kill Tian Ji Han, was something unfathomable to her delicate and inexperienced mind!
Chen Zixi said nothing as he continued to spin every few seconds. With every spin, the forest passed by them in a blur. Occasionally he spun them to a higher elevation to observe changes in Yin Na’s direction from an aerial view.
Just a few more li ahead…
Mao Shiqi’s cat ears went erect in full alertness. Even through her headdress and hair which were wrapped in a way to hide her Yao Guai origins, Yin Na could see the pointed ears vibrating with alarm.
“What is it?” Yin Na asked.
Mao Shiqi decided that she could not hide it from Yin Na.
“Just a few Li away…” she said. “A very powerful Core Formation cultivator is headed this way.”
“A Core Formation cultivator?” Yin Na said. “Another one? Does he have friends?”
“I cannot tell. But his aura is overwhelming, he might be a Golden Core.”
Yin Na sighed. This was an undesirable event, but it was one possibility that was never disregarded in his mind: revenge for killing Tian Ji Han. Most likely, he reasoned, this particular Core Formation cultivator wasn’t out on a leisurely stroll through the valley. He believed that this was a member of the Heavenly Sword Sect, already sent on his trail in revenge for his reported deeds.
“Hmm, he won’t be able to sense you now, you’re currently in disguise and not projecting any qi usage,” said Yin Na. “Very well. Mao Shiqi, I permit you to leave me.”
“Ha?!” Mao Shiqi could not believe her ears.
“Don’t worry about the contract, I am not going to die. I still need to help you cultivate and become human. You will ensure that Li Haotian survives by getting away from here as far as possible.”
Yin Na was not doing this out of the kindness of his heart. If that Core Formation cultivator got within fighting range he would be able to detect Mao Shiqi’s Yao Guai aura, even if she were hiding and cloaking her presence as best as she could.
“What are you doing?” Mao Shiqi was stunned as Yin Na calmly landed the Spicy Oil Boar mount to a halt onto the forest floor.
He whispered into the Spicy Oil Boar’s ear. Then he turned to face Mao Shiqi.
“My Spicy Oil Boar will now obey your commands.”
Before she could react, Yin Na punched himself viciously in the face!
With one blow, his face was covered in blood as his nose was broken.
This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.
Even after a fresh rebirth, with a new youthful body free of blemishes, Yin Na had the will to damage it just to disguise himself. This action left a deep impression in Mao Shiqi’s mind.
“Shame I don’t carry any pills that can alter disguise for a Qi Formation stage,” said Yin Na. “I can’t risk the damage to my organs and lifespan from eating higher-leveled pills that would achieve this. This will have to do for now.”
Using his golden dagger, Yin Na cut his smooth long hair off in big strands. He did a messy job, and by the time he was finished he looked like a young master that just got a beating. Mao Shiqi watched wordlessly as Yin Na brushed bits of hair off his shoulders.
“Well, what are you still doing here?” Yin Na asked. “Scram!”
Mao Shiqi didn’t waste any further time and hopped back on the Spicy Oil Boar and with a “Jia!” fled from the scene.
Yin Na sighed.
“Alright, I’m left to my own devices. Without me, the Spicy Oil Boar can travel at its top speed again. Mao Shiqi knows that if I’m using her as bait, that she’s going to have to travel as fast as possible away from here to evade these pursuers. Either way, I would have caught this pursuer(s)’s attention by now, I could buy time for them to flee even further out of range. Anyway, it’s time for me to complete this disguise further.”
Yin Na stooped around the nearby grass, gathering herbs and roots he recognized. He ground a combination of wild jelly rice and scuttle bugs into a sticky paste, which he used to attach the ends of a white and black moss that uncannily resembled the facial hair of humans onto his chin. He ground certain key ingredients with the brick into paste or powder, and with the finishing touch, rubbed a black-purplish paste made from Withered Duck Blossoms and Scarab Petals into his eyes.
He was semi-blind, but most importantly, he looked the true part of a blind martial artist. He then took spare clothing and wrapped the bandages around his “damaged” eyes.
“Now’s a good time for me to consult the brick,” said Yin Na. He spoke the password.
“7, 4, 5, 6…”
“AHHHHH!!!” The voice from the brick that belonged to Deng Peng’s grandfather, Deng Tai Fan erupted in anger. “WHAT HAPPENED? WHY DID YOU SHUT ME OUT AND THREW ME INTO THE DARKNESS? YOU RUDE, UNGRATEFUL PUNK, DOGSHIT DISCIPLE-”
“Forgive me, Master,” said Yin Na. “But your disciple’s life is in danger.”
“...What happened?” Deng Tai Fan’s voice grew quiet. “How come you’re blind and in different clothing?”
“I don’t have much time,” Yin Na said honestly. “I've regressed to the Qi Refining stage again. I don’t have much qi left to maintain your awareness.”
Yin Na told a quickly abridged story filled with convenient lies to bridge the gaps in his adventure and shorten the explanation.
“Hmm, so you’re not really blind. You’re being pursued by allies of the Yellow Fox Sect whom you’ve eradicated with my grandson Deng Ping. What I don’t understand is how you’re able to sense the cultivators arriving here and their power level since mere mortal martial artists aren’t able to fathom cultivation levels from the spirit level onwards. No matter. Your life is in danger of being ended before burying and giving my grandson an extravagant funeral at his home village.”
“Precisely so, master,” said Yin Na.
“And where is Deng Ping? Where is my grandson’s body?”
“He is hidden a couple of meters away nearby in a bush.” Yin Na lied without missing a beat.
“I see,” said Deng Tai Fan. “...”
After a long silence, Yin Na asked gently,
“Master, what shall I do?”
From the brick barked a gruff voice in response: “Well… I’m out of ideas!”
“What?!” Yin Na could not believe his ears. He felt weakened from the qi draining usage from maintaining Deng Tai Fan’s awareness in the jade brick, and he wanted to pass out. This was the last thing he wanted to hear.
“Aren’t you supposed to be good luck or something?” Yin Na said, abandoning his polite tone. “Your disciple is about to die here, and now you’re telling me you have no method to save me?”
“Hey, I’m not the Jade Emperor himself!” Deng Tai Fan said. “Ah well, I guess we’ll wait another few years, maybe even a few hours for the brick to land a new owner.”
Yin Na grit his teeth. “Master, if disciple dies now, who would be able to carry on your legacy and teachings? Who will bury your grandson’s body?”
“...”
“Hello? Deng Tai Fan? How would the Demon King have responded when you were in perilous situations with the brick?”
Yin Na was inquiring about Demon King Mao, the other consciousness sleeping within the jade brick which had not revealed himself to him yet.
“Hmm, he would have told me to escape. Or if I couldn’t, there was the rare instance that he’d possess me.”
“Can you arrange it with him to do that again?” Yin Na asked desperately. “I may really need him now!”
“NO!” Deng Tai Fan screamed in a loud geezer voice. “HE CANNOT BE OUT.”
“How did he possess you, what did you do?” Yin Na tried again. “How can I get Demon King Mao to possess me?”
“I’d try smashing my head with the brick! Har har har!”
Yin Na’s eyes, even behind the bandages, squinted in crafty anger.
He had been probing Deng Tai Fan within the brick with his questions. Evidently, from its lack of responses and willingness to help him, Deng Tai Fan either truly found the situation hopeless or realized Yin Na for the selfish demonic cultivator he really was, and understood that his intentions of burying Deng Ping were a lie all along.
“This Deng Tai Fan realized it doesn’t need me…but I might still need it…or more accurately- Demon King Mao who is still sleeping within. But I cannot figure out how to make contact with him yet.” thought Yin Na.
He cut off the qi that he was supplying to provide consciousness to Deng Tai Fan, and put it defeatedly back into his pockets.
“If I didn’t drink the 1,000-year spirit wine that supplied me with abundant qi reserves I’d already be completely drained of qi. Pity, all that cultivation meant for distributing to my meridians went to complete waste as the brick provided me no helpful answers. No matter, sometimes you can only rely on yourself!”
Yin Na prepared himself mentally to survive the upcoming encounter through any means possible, even without the aid of a semi-omniscient brick. He buried his possessions methodically into inconspicuous locations. He then walked aimlessly as a blind man would, albeit with the combined grace of a martial artist and the wobbliness of a man who was recently defeated in battle.
Within the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, he heard an unbelievably loud noise in his now-mortal ears, as Chen Zixi manifested a couple meters above him on top of his spinning top mount.
“Hello, Yin Na!” the Golden Core cultivator snarled.