Zi Yu touched her belly with a distressed expression.
She had eaten so much dirt earlier, yet she felt ravenously hungry again.
On impulse, she scooped up a handful of earth and shoved it into her mouth.
No matter how much she ate, the gnawing hunger remained.
Suddenly, Zi Yu felt something amiss with her body!
Her limbs began to twist and distort, reverting her to her floral form!
Her face cracked open, disintegrating into petals…
She had become a strange hybrid of human and flower…
Zi Yu put aside all other thoughts and plunged her branches into the earth, consuming it greedily.
As she ate, she suddenly tasted something peculiar.
It was far more delicious than dirt!
Zi Yu peered closely and discovered that one of her branches had pierced into the carcass of a wolf king.
That delicious sensation was coming from the wolf king!
Monster beast meat was even tastier!
Upon receiving this signal, Zi Yu's tendrils frantically burrowed into the wolf king's body.
The petals around her neck unfurled, revealing rows upon rows of sharp fangs.
"Chomp!"
The petal-covered maw, bristling with fangs, latched onto the wolf king's head, devouring it completely!
"Crunch—!"
"Crunch—!"
"Crunch—!"
...
The crisp chewing sounds were remarkably invigorating in the night…
A few minutes later.
Zi Yu transformed back into a maiden in purple, while the wolf king on the ground had vanished without a trace…
Zi Yu felt incredibly full, even bloated.
Her instincts told her that refining the contents of her stomach would bring her immense benefits.
With this thought, Zi Yu rose and flew back towards the Ziyun Sect.
From this day forward, Zi Yu's life underwent a drastic transformation.
When hungry, she would hunt monster beasts in the Monster Beast Forest, using their corporeal energy to continuously improve her cultivation.
During the day, when she had nothing else to do, she would conceal her presence and follow the disciples of the Ziyun Sect, observing their every word and action, learning how to better integrate into human society.
Fortunately, her innate talent for concealment meant that even if she stood brazenly beside these disciples, they couldn't detect her.
Otherwise, the Ziyun Sect would have been in quite a commotion…
Li Mingbai was in good spirits lately.
After Ye Fan's departure, he had been promoted to an Outer Sect Deacon.
While not as esteemed as an Inner Sect Elder, he was second-in-command within his sphere of influence.
However, he did not grow arrogant.
He knew that all his current glory was thanks to his senior brother, Ye Fan.
If not for the "Eternal Undying Art" bestowed by Senior Brother Ye back then, he would still be a nobody now!
Having completed his morning cultivation, Li Mingbai slowly opened his eyes.
According to the scripture, he had now preliminarily cleared his meridians.
Although he hadn't reached the入门 stage yet, he was now immune to all poisons.
Any toxic substance that touched him would be automatically refined and absorbed by his body.
He could even slowly increase his cultivation by consuming poison.
However, Li Mingbai had no immediate plans for that.
While the scripture mentioned it, it still felt somewhat risky.
He would wait for Senior Brother Ye's return and inquire further before making a decision.
Straightening his clothes, Li Mingbai left his room.
"Deacon Li," a disciple approached him, "There's an old man outside the mountain gate, claiming to have urgent business with our Sect Master. What should we do about it?"
"Junior brother, please call me Senior Brother from now on. Calling me Deacon sounds too distant," Li Mingbai said, patting the disciple's shoulder with satisfaction. "You've done well. Such a minor matter doesn't require alarming the Sect Master. I'll go take a look."
"Yes, Deacon," the disciple replied promptly. "I'll lead the way for you."
With that, the disciple respectfully led the way.
Li Mingbai was quite pleased.
So considerate!
Not long after, the two arrived at the mountain gate.
"I heard you were looking for our Sect Master?" Li Mingbai glanced at the old man before him. "Which sect are you from? Do you have a calling card?"
"Young master, you jest. I'm no cultivator like you."
The old man chuckled and produced a letter.
"I met a Young Master Ye when I visited the imperial city to see relatives. He entrusted me with this letter for your Sect Master."
Li Mingbai took the letter and examined it.
The envelope bore four characters: "To the Esteemed Master, For Your Eyes Only."
"Thank you for your trouble, old sir," Li Mingbai said, handing the old man some silver to send him on his way.
Imperial city, surnamed Ye.
It had to be Senior Brother Ye and his companions.
Yet, he felt a pang of confusion.
If Senior Brother Ye had something important to convey, couldn't he have used a communication jade slip directly?
Why resort to sending a letter?
Never mind, he'd better deliver it to the Sect Master quickly.
A faint green light emerged from the letter and slowly seeped into Li Mingbai's body.
However, preoccupied with his journey, he didn't notice it at all.
The old man accepted the silver, offered his thanks, and departed.
After evading the sight of the guards at the entrance, the old man flickered and vanished.
He reached out and wiped his face, his appearance instantly changing.
His previous guise was merely a disguise; his true identity was the Third Elder of the Zhenxie Sect!
The letter he had given Li Mingbai was no ordinary missive.
While it appeared innocuous on the outside, it concealed a potent poison!
The moment the letter was opened, a miniature formation within would activate, releasing the hidden toxin that would spread rapidly!
Rather than outright killing his target, he relished the idea of watching them slowly decay from the poison.
He also intended to test the effectiveness of his newly developed poison, which would allow him to refine it further in the future.
His next step was to relax nearby and await the results that evening.
Not long after, Li Mingbai arrived at the Ziyun Hall with the letter.
"This is how things transpired," Li Mingbai recounted the sequence of events and handed over the letter.
"Strange. Didn't my precious disciple signal the imperial city earlier? Why would they send a letter?"
Sect Master Ziyun muttered to himself and took the letter.
The moment he opened it, Sect Master Ziyun's expression contorted!
"Which idiotic… bored individual is playing such a prank!"
"Sect Master, it wasn't Senior Brother Ye who wrote this?" Li Mingbai realized something was amiss.
"See for yourself," Sect Master Ziyun grumbled, tossing the letter to Li Mingbai.
Li Mingbai took it and glanced at it.
Only a few words were scrawled on the letter.
Ziyun Sect, your doom has arrived!
Indeed!
Senior Brother Ye would never write something like this!
"By the way, did you hear anything just now?" Sect Master Ziyun asked out of the blue.
"Hear anything?"
Li Mingbai blinked in confusion, then instantly understood.
Sect Master had almost blurted out an expletive just now…
"Sect Master, I didn't hear anything at all!" Li Mingbai replied with utmost seriousness.
Sect Master Ziyun nodded with satisfaction and then contacted the other elders.
Once everyone had gathered, they began to deliberate.
While it appeared to be an idiotic prank, they couldn't rule out the possibility of a declaration of war.
The Ziyun Sect was currently at its peak, and it was plausible that someone might be envious or driven to madness.
While they, the elders, might be fine, the safety of the disciples was a different matter.
"Sect Master, rest assured, I will protect the disciples of the sect," Li Tianju declared resolutely, his demeanor exceedingly humble.
"Sect Master, me too!" Ah Da quickly chimed in.
Though I may not match you in flattery, Senior Brother, in terms of attitude, I, Ah Da, will not be outdone!
"Then I shall trouble both of you," Sect Master Ziyun replied with a smile.
Li Tianju and Ah Da had been performing exceptionally well recently, serving as models of diligence.
Such obedient and useful subordinates naturally brought her great relief.
Hmph, much better than her own disobedient disciple!
After instructing the other elders to strengthen their defenses, the Ziyun Sect assembly officially concluded.
"Oh, speaking of which, we haven't played together in ages," Sect Master Ziyun said after concluding the serious matters, pulling out a set of Mahjong tiles. "How about we play a few rounds today?"
"Sect Master, the safety of the disciples is paramount. I shall take my leave!"
"Recently, the disciples mentioned a malfunction in the protective formation. I must go inspect it!"
"I need to brief the disciples and tell them to stay indoors for the time being!"
...
In the blink of an eye, everyone had vanished!
What a joke!
Who would want to play with you!
If you lose, you don't pay spirit stones, and if you win, we wouldn't dare renege…
Sect Master Ziyun sighed helplessly.
"Loneliness of the master…"
In the early hours of the morning.
The Third Elder of the Zhenxie Sect once again appeared before the Ziyun Sect's mountain gate.