After reading the line of small text, Nian Jiaojiao subconsciously read it aloud:
"With a butcher's knife in hand, I command the world."
After finishing, Nian Jiaojiao's face darkened.
She could feel the intense "malice" of the blacksmith when forging this knife, with such a chuunibyou line.
However, the moment she uttered the line, the knife's body erupted in golden light.
Nian Jiaojiao raised the knife again and looked at the tentacles. This time, the moment the tentacles met the blade, they were cleaved in two.
Nian Jiaojiao happily patted the blade. Even though it was a butcher's knife, it was truly effective.
Thinking this, she charged directly into the most concentrated area of tentacles, wielding the knife like chopping vegetables and wreaking havoc. Kuaishuge.
"Sizzle—"
A dull groan came from the desert below.
The owner of the tentacles seemed to be terrified by Nian Jiaojiao's chopping. The remaining tentacles rapidly retreated into the sand.
Nian Jiaojiao seized the opportunity to look at a few more tentacles, but unfortunately, there were too many, and quite a few intact ones still escaped the sand.
"Hmph, you sure are fast to escape!"
Nian Jiaojiao lowered her gaze to the tentacles that were cut off but still wriggling on the sand, speaking coldly.
...
Meanwhile, far away in the Royal City's Gongyuan.
Deep within the Gongyuan, two silver-haired old women were leisurely playing Go.
"Elder Duan, I heard that the butcher's knife you forged was taken by a new disciple."
The silver-haired old woman on the left, dressed in a deep green scholarly robe, took a sip of tea while her opponent was thinking, then slowly spoke.
The old woman on the right, named "Elder Duan," was dressed in a gray coarse cloth robe, her hairpin askew, barely holding her hair in place.
She looked like an unkempt elder.
However, such an elder held a special position within the Gongyuan.
Elder Duan's cultivation had reached the fourth layer, the Object Manipulation realm.
Although she was in the Gongyuan, she didn't follow the path of calligraphy but rather martial arts.
She was also one of the only two martial cultivators at the Object Manipulation realm in the Royal City.
But what truly gave her a special status was not her martial cultivation, but her exquisite forging skill.
Elder Duan was the only forging master in the Royal City capable of forging artifacts in the Object Manipulation realm, though she mostly forged artifacts for the Object Taming realm.
And that butcher's knife was a work from her youth.
Elder Duan, holding a black stone, found a spot and placed it. She curved her lips and said meaningfully:
"You all look down on that butcher's knife, but perhaps the disciple holding it is happy right now."
The old woman in the deep green scholarly robe on the left shook her head dismissively.
She had always considered that butcher's knife to be the other party's dark past, and she would tease her about it whenever she had the chance.
Now, she thought the other party was just being stubborn...
...
And on the other side.
After the tentacle demon escaped, it left a huge pit in this desert.
Nian Jiaojiao, skilled and bold, jumped directly into the pit from above, hoping to find clues from its "temporary residence."
After jumping down, she didn't land immediately but fell for about the time it takes to steep a cup of tea.
Upon landing, the surroundings were dim, but Nian Jiaojiao keenly detected faint breathing sounds in the pit.
This... are there survivors?
Could ordinary people survive here?
Nian Jiaojiao hesitated for a moment, took out a fire starter from her怀, and lit it.
Because it was so dark all around, even with the lit fire starter, it could only illuminate a very small area in front of her, making it impossible to see the situation inside the cave.
So, she took out paper and pen from her怀 and wrote:
As the lamps are lit, fireworks bloom.
After writing, she used her ability to whisper it aloud.
In an instant, the entire pit was brightly lit, and the situation inside was revealed under the light.
Nian Jiaojiao, with her excellent eyesight, quickly spotted two humans still alive about 1000 meters away.
She strode towards them, but when she reached them, she was momentarily stunned into silence.
She saw two men bound to pillars by tentacles.
One of them was the Holy Son of the Black Lotus Sect, Jun Ye.
And the other was Yu Chuan's long-lost father.
What surprised her even more was their current posture.
Their clothes had been stripped clean, their fair skin a stark contrast to the black tentacles, which served as their only covering.
Especially Jun Ye; it was unclear if the tentacle monster also had an eye for looks, but Jun Ye's current appearance was even more pathetic.
He was posed by the tentacles in a humiliating position, his legs spread wide, allowing the arriving Nian Jiaojiao a clear view.
Jun Ye and Xu Ji'an sensed footsteps approaching.
They both managed to look up, and upon seeing Nian Jiaojiao, they were both startled.
Jun Ye: "Why are you here?"
Xu Ji'an: "Why did you come here?"
Although both were surprised, the latter's voice clearly carried more concern.
Xu Ji'an looked at Nian Jiaojiao and said anxiously:
"Jiaojiao, there's a tentacle demon here, hurry and leave. If you encounter it, you're done for."
Nian Jiaojiao was silent for a few seconds.
He was her husband's father, could this be something a junior like her should witness?
She then took off her outer robe and threw it at Father Xu.
As Nian Jiaojiao made her move, the two people sitting on the ground realized their current embarrassing state.
Father Xu's old face flushed red, and he even forgot his anxiety for a moment.
Jun Ye, with a dark expression, said to Nian Jiaojiao:
"Woman, throw over a piece of clothing."
Nian Jiaojiao glanced at him, then quickly turned her head away, ignoring him.
This Black Lotus Holy Son had pursued and attacked her multiple times; it was good enough that she didn't add insult to injury, and he still wanted her clothes.
Bah!
She said gently to Father Xu:
"Husband's father, I'll get you out now."
"Jiaojiao, no, no..." useless.
Before Father Xu could finish speaking, Nian Jiaojiao had already drawn the butcher's knife and severed the tentacles on him.
"Husband's father, what were you saying?"
"Nothing."
Father Xu's words took a turn.
Then Nian Jiaojiao suddenly said:
"Husband's father, there's a tentacle around your waist. Please lift your robe a little. If I damage your clothes, I won't have any other scholarly robes for you."
Father Xu's limbs were now free. He blushed and lifted his robe. Nian Jiaojiao didn't think much of it; her attention was entirely on the tentacle at his waist.
Because the tentacle at his waist was the most forceful, faint bruises could be seen there.
Nian Jiaojiao lightly sliced with her knife. As the tentacle fell, Father Xu finally caught his breath.
Jun Ye, standing by, watched the entire scene with a dark expression.
He understood in his heart that the person before him would absolutely not make a move on him.
However, it was precisely this realization that made Jun Ye's already dark face even more unpleasant.
This woman...