Chapter 38 – Strange Beast Shangfu, Might of Foundation Establishment

“Uncle Tian, Xiaoye and I will head back to school now. You can get back to your work!”

“Alright, be careful on your way.”

“Don’t worry, Uncle Tian. Xiaoye and I are cultivators now. Nothing will happen!”

Yu Tianqi smiled and waved goodbye to Lu Chen and the others, then returned to the shop, closing the glass door behind him and temporarily closing for business.

“Uncle Tian, after all these years, have you managed to locate the lair of those people?”

Yu Tianqi sat down opposite Bailing, silently took out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, lit one, and began smoking.

“If those people were that easy to find, I wouldn’t have stayed here for ten years.”

“But you must have uncovered quite a bit, haven’t you?”

Yu Tianqi didn’t answer immediately, instead remaining silent for a long time.

After all, he had already guessed why Bailing had come to find him.

After a moment of quiet, Yu Tianqi took out a list from his pocket and placed it in front of Bailing.

Bailing picked up the list and examined it carefully.

The list contained many names, ranging from the upper-class elites of Luocheng to the common folk and various unsavory characters on the streets.

Its scope was so broad that it almost covered every aspect of Luocheng.

As Bailing looked at the names on the list, her pupils suddenly contracted, and she asked, “Are you… sure it’s them?”

“Not entirely, but there are definitely some among them who aren’t clean.”

“Understood.”

After memorizing all the names on the list, Bailing put it away.

Then she took out a box and handed it to Yu Tianqi, saying, “Uncle Tian, this is something the boss specifically asked me to bring to you before I came to Luocheng.”

“He also asked me to pass on a message…”

“Monsters are destined to be unable to coexist with ordinary people, even if they try their hardest to pretend to be ordinary.”

After saying this, Bailing politely arranged the finished bowls and chopsticks neatly, then stood up to leave.

Just as Bailing was about to step out of the shop, Yu Tianqi suddenly spoke.

“The Five-Spirit Blood Pill Technique is a heretical art used by the Black Lotus Sect to deceive ordinary people. If you notice someone who was previously unremarkable but suddenly experiences a rapid improvement in Aptitude or a surge in cultivation in a short time, it’s highly likely they’ve used the Blood Pill Art.”

“I’m aware of that, and I know how to handle it.”

“Then you should also know they won’t admit it easily, and others may not understand you.”

“After all, without solid evidence, you can’t be certain they’ve used the Blood Pill Art.”

Bailing looked at Yu Tianqi and changed the subject.

“Uncle Tian… is there really nothing else you want to say to me?”

Hearing this, Yu Tianqi took a deep drag from his cigarette, then extinguished it with his bare hands without using an ashtray.

He stood up, his tall figure stretching long under the dim light in the shop.

The tables, chairs, bowls, and chopsticks in the shop began to shake violently at that moment, as if affected by something.

He looked at Bailing, his expression turning unprecedentedly serious.

“If, and I mean if…”

“If Lu Chen really used the Blood Pill Art… please leave him to me.”

“Alright.”

After saying this, Bailing pushed open the glass door of the shop and walked in the direction Lu Chen and Mu Xiaoye had left.

Yu Tianqi watched Bailing’s departing figure and silently opened the box she had given him.Inside the box lay a broken black iron staff.

And at the center of the staff were two striking crimson characters… Qitian.

The characteristics of someone who had used the Five-Spirit Blood Pill Technique were originally unremarkable, but their cultivation or aptitude would surge dramatically in a short period.

And these two points… Lu Chen currently matched them perfectly!

Therefore, his name and information had undoubtedly appeared on the list Yu Tianqi handed to Bailing.

That’s right, Lu Chen had now become one of the targets Bailing needed to investigate.

Moreover, his priority ranking… was within the top three.

After all, aside from extremely rare special circumstances.

The only method that could enable an ordinary person with an Inferior Spiritual Root to reach a level comparable to a genius within just one or two months was the Black Lotus Sect’s Five-Spirit Blood Pill Technique.

Thus, even though Yu Tianqi had a good relationship with Lu Chen, upon noticing these clues, he chose to set aside personal feelings and include him in the suspect list.

After Bailing left, Yu Tianqi silently stared at the broken staff in the box for a long time before closing it again.

“Xiao Lu, you must not let Uncle Tian down…”

Luocheng, East District, bus stop.

“Xiao Lu, I’ll reluctantly consider this meal passable, but if there’s a next time, I…”

Mu Xiaoye turned to say something to Lu Chen, only to find that he, who had been standing beside her, was gone.

“Xiao Lu???”

Mu Xiaoye looked around and discovered that among the flow of people at the bus stop, there was no trace of Lu Chen whatsoever.

She had clearly come here with Lu Chen to wait for the bus back to school.

Yet in the brief moment she turned her head, such a living person as Lu Chen had vanished into thin air right beside her.

Something was wrong, very wrong.

Mu Xiaoye anxiously scanned her surroundings, a strange unease beginning to rise in her heart.

After searching fruitlessly, Mu Xiaoye immediately took out her phone, attempting to contact the disappeared Lu Chen.

But the busy signal from the phone only intensified the unease in her heart.

It seemed… something had happened.

Meanwhile, Lu Chen, who had been waiting at the bus stop, suddenly noticed changes in his surroundings.

Quiet, eerily quiet.

Though he was in a bustling urban area, he couldn’t hear any sounds around him.

What was even stranger was that in just a moment of distraction.

The previously crowded bus stop was now completely empty except for him.

It was as if he had been abandoned by the entire world.

“Lu Chen, currently a third-year Humanity Class student at Luocheng High School, Inferior Mixed Spiritual Root, Qi Condensation Stage fourth layer cultivation.”

“But strangely, your condition is completely different from what I saw in the records.”

“Could you explain to me how you managed to elevate your spiritual root… to the supreme grade level in just one summer vacation?”

Lu Chen spun around abruptly and saw a five-meter tall three-headed monstrous bird emerging from the empty road, slowly approaching him.

The voice questioning him came from beside the monstrous bird.

Looking at the white-haired girl standing next to the monstrous bird, Lu Chen felt an unprecedented pressure.

This feeling was even more overwhelming than what he had experienced from Ye Chenglin in the Ancient Cultivator Tomb.

It made Lu Chen feel as if he couldn’t breathe.

‘Is this the true power of the Foundation Establishment Stage?’

‘Or is she… not an ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivator?’Lu Chen gazed at Bailing, whom he had encountered once before, standing beside the strange bird. Without a word, he retrieved the Magic Sword from his Storage Bag and assumed a guarded stance.

His defiant silence only deepened the chill in Bailing’s eyes.

“Refusing to answer my question, are you?”

“No matter. I’ll find the answers my own way.”

“Go, Xiao Shang, seize him.”

“Screech!”

At Bailing’s command, the three-headed monstrous bird let out a furious cry and charged toward Lu Chen with the force of a collapsing mountain.

Wherever it passed, the ground split and stones flew!

[Classic of Mountains and Seas Mythical Beast – Shangfu Bird]

[“Classic of Mountains and Seas: Southern Mountains Scroll” records: There is a bird here, shaped like a chicken but with three heads, six eyes, six feet, and three wings. Its name is Shangfu. Eating its flesh prevents sleep.]

[Characteristics: Possesses immense strength, neither ages nor dies]

(End of Chapter)