At the foot of the mountain.
A small team of cultivators was battling a bull demon.
Perhaps their intel was wrong, or perhaps they overestimated their own strength.
Out of the entire fifteen-man team, fourteen were already dead.
The bull demon, let alone injured, hadn't even lost a single hair.
The sole surviving male cultivator was filled with despair.
"Moo—!"
The bull demon let out a roar at the male cultivator, seemingly a victor's declaration.
The male cultivator stared blankly.
Run?
Too much to hope for…
What else could he do but wait for death?
…
With this thought, the male cultivator closed his eyes in despair.
The sharp bull horns flashed with cold light, swiftly charging towards the male cultivator's chest.
The male cultivator's eyes snapped open, and he looked up at the sky.
Though my strength is weak, I will die with dignity!
At least before I die, I'll have one last look at the blue sky that represents freedom.
Speaking of which, can souls truly reincarnate?
If so, I wish…
I could be born into a good family in my next life.
And then…
He saw light…
Blinding golden light!
"Bang—!"
"Plop!"
The golden light instantly crashed to the ground, followed by two sounds.
By the time the male cultivator regained his senses, he found that the bull demon, which had been in a state of invincible might just moments ago, was now lying on the ground.
Two spirals of smoke spun in its eyes.
Its mouth was full of foam.
Its body and limbs twitched uncontrollably.
…
Next to the bull demon was a handsome man.
In his arms, he held an extremely beautiful woman.
Both of them appeared to have no cultivation, completely indistinguishable from ordinary mortals.
But the cultivators knew they could not possibly be mortals.
Could mortals glow with golden light all over their bodies?
Could they instantly take down such a fearsome bull demon?!
"Greetings, two seniors!" the male cultivator hurriedly performed a junior's bow.
Ye Fan glanced around and understood what had happened.
Cultivators and demonic beasts battling to their deaths was a daily occurrence in the cultivation world.
Ye Fan was too lazy to explain about being called a senior.
After all, it was something that couldn't be explained to them clearly…
"Hello," Ye Fan replied politely.
The bull demon beside them slowly woke up, blinking in confusion.
It struggled to stand up, but after several attempts, it failed.
"Moo?"
Why am I lying on the ground?
What happened?
Seeing the bull demon awake, the male cultivator couldn't help but become nervous.
After all, the trauma it had inflicted on him just now was too great.
"Don't worry," the little vixen nudged the bull demon on the ground with her foot. "It's just a little calf, nothing to be afraid of."
With the little vixen's nudge, the bull demon finally remembered.
It was these two people!
They had suddenly crashed into it just now, injuring it!
It was over!
These two people looked like powerful big shots, I'm doomed…
What should I do?
"Big shot, I'm just a small demon, please let me go like a fart…"
Driven by the pursuit of survival, the bull demon decisively chose to beg for mercy.
Unfortunately, it overlooked the most crucial issue of language communication.
Its current cultivation level was not enough to support it speaking human language…
Its pleas for mercy, to the little vixen's ears, became a monotonous 'moo moo moo…'
"Ye Fan," the little vixen suddenly frowned, looking at the bull demon and saying with a serious expression, "It looks very pained, we must have injured it when we fell on it…"
"What?" Ye Fan said casually, "Feeling pity for it, moved by compassion?"
Although the bull demon couldn't understand what they were saying, it could tell they were discussing something.
Most importantly, it didn't sense any killing intent!
No killing intent meant there was still a chance!
So it struggled to kneel on the ground, looking at the two with teary eyes.
Its pitiful appearance even softened the heart of the male cultivator from before.
"What I mean is, why don't we end its suffering?" the little vixen said excitedly. "Speaking of which, I haven't eaten beef hotpot in ages."
"Makes sense," Ye Fan stroked his chin. "This bull demon looks severely injured, it's likely not going to make it."
After speaking, Ye Fan walked up to the bull demon and extended his left hand to stroke its head.
The bull demon thought Ye Fan was expressing friendliness and quickly adopted a "I'm very obedient" posture.
Only when it saw Ye Fan produce a knife from his right hand did it realize something was wrong!
What the hell?
Why are you holding a small knife?
Let's talk properly, can you put down the weapon first?
…
Facing the threat of death, the bull demon unleashed unprecedented potential!
Its eyes widened, its four limbs tensed!
Then…
Its body tilted, and it fell to the ground again…
It wasn't a lack of explosive power, but rather that circles of golden light had condensed into ropes around it, binding it tightly. It couldn't move at all.
And a golden light flashed on the cleaver Ye Fan was holding.
Throughout the entire process, the system didn't say a word…
It silently completed everything…
The bull demon was gone.
It passed away peacefully and decisively.
As for sharing its pain, only it would know…
Half an hour later, the aroma of beef hotpot wafted through the air.
The male cultivator instinctively twitched his nose and secretly swallowed.
It smelled so good!
Actually, he had intended to leave at first.
But Ye Fan was busy cooking and didn't pay him any attention, so he didn't dare to leave on his own.
After all, the temperaments of powerful figures were often peculiar.
What if he left on his own and the big shot misunderstood it as disrespect?
Ye Fan was also puzzled while cooking.
The danger had been eliminated, why hadn't this person left yet?
And judging by his demeanor, it seemed he intended to freeload.
However, as a lazy person, Ye Fan didn't say anything to chase him away.
A meal was a small matter, no big deal.
Thus, this male cultivator inexplicably ended up having a hotpot meal with them.
"Fellow Daoist," Ye Fan said while eating, "I need to ask you something, is it convenient?"
"Senior, you are too polite!" the male cultivator immediately said solemnly. "Please ask anything, senior! I will surely tell you everything I know!"
"It's like this," Ye Fan replied. "Have you heard of a place called Geshan City?"
The cultivator's face immediately froze, and the chopsticks in his hand clattered onto the table.
"Clatter,"
Ye Fan's spirits instantly lifted!
There's a lead!
It seems this guy knows!
"Pre… Senior… Are you sure you're asking about Ge, Ge, Geshan City…?" The cultivator's speech started to stutter due to extreme nervousness.
"Yes," Ye Fan nodded.
However, he was inwardly perplexed.
Why did this person look so nervous and scared?
Could Geshan City be some kind of dragon's lair or tiger's den?
"I have indeed heard of it…" the cultivator replied cautiously.
"Let's make a deal," Ye Fan took out a ninth-grade pill. "If you take us to Geshan City, it will be yours."