Chapter 306: Defying Fate (Part 11)

The speed of the black-robed female ghost perfectly embodied the term “ghostly apparition.”

Without the slightest warning, she launched another sudden attack, her sword aiming directly at Xiaohei’s vital spot—swift, ruthless, vicious, and deadly.

Xiaohei was greatly alarmed and quickly dodged away.

What startled him wasn’t her speed, but rather the accuracy of her sword strike. He had hidden his demonic core beneath his lower abdomen, yet she had pinpointed its location in an instant. This clearly revealed her terrifying strength and profound cultivation. One must never be careless against such an opponent, or the price paid would be extremely heavy.

“Damn it! Are you out of your mind?”

Xiaohei’s specialty was dodging and fleeing. In an instant, he had escaped more than ten meters away and shouted at the black-robed female ghost.

“Hmph!”

The female ghost vanished again in a flash. Xiaohei focused his senses and narrowly dodged her deadly strike once more.

“Haha! Is that really all you’ve got? You still have a long way to go if you want to compete with me in dodging!”

Xiaohei was extremely confident now, as he had discovered that the female ghost’s dodging speed was slightly slower than his. As long as he remained vigilant, he could easily evade her attacks—and even counterattack.

“Hmph, arrogant little demon.”

The black-robed ghost turned and coldly snorted at Xiaohei. Her figure flickered, and suddenly another clone appeared.

“Kid, I haven’t even used my full strength yet.”

Then, another voice came from behind Xiaohei.

In other words, the black-robed ghost had not created just one clone, but two.

The two clones in front of him—one dim and the other dark yellow—were clearly transformed from her earthly and human souls, while the one behind him was much paler, transformed from her heavenly soul.

The clone formed from her heavenly soul held a white sword, now pressing against Xiaohei’s backside, leaving him unable to move.

Still shaken from the near miss, Xiaohei no longer dared to be arrogant or indulge in verbal mockery. He quickly changed his tone, “Please, please, let’s talk this over. We don’t even know each other. We have no grudges, old or new. Why must we fight like this?”

“No, we definitely do have a grudge.”

The heavenly soul of the female ghost coldly laughed, “My enemy is your master. You’re just his henchman. If I don’t start with you, then who else should I target? Besides, you’re so loyal—capturing you gives me a bargaining chip when I negotiate with him, doesn’t it?” Her earthly and human souls stepped forward together.

Xiaohei’s eyes turned crafty, “You… you’re that notorious thief who looted the Yellow Spring Sect, right?”

“Oh, looks like I underestimated you. I didn’t expect you to be so clever,” the female ghost’s three souls merged again, but she still pointed the white sword at Xiaohei’s backside. “That’s right, I’m Bai Luolan. That brat Shui Miao ruined my plan and stole the Nine-Tripod Cauldron. Tell me, shouldn’t I go after him to get it back?”

“Well…”

Xiaohei thought for a moment and then shook his head, “Since you say I’m clever, let me add a few more words. I think your real target isn’t the cauldron, but Shui Miao himself.”

“Why do you say that?” Bai Luolan stood behind Xiaohei, narrowing her eyes with ill intent.

Xiaohei suddenly smiled, relaxed, “Because my real master is Yingshen, not this Shui Miao. I’m just here to watch him on Yingshen’s behalf. Of course, I occasionally help him run errands… I’m actually quite deep and cunning. I’ve long known that you’re closely connected to Heishan Laomu. So, you’re here to avenge her, right?”

“Xiaohei, must you keep pretending to be smart?” Bai Luolan sneered coldly, “Trying to intimidate me with Yingshen? You’re too naive. I’m Bai Luolan, who fears neither heaven nor earth. Whoever dares to touch my Nine-Tripod Cauldron, I will make them pay. From now on, don’t drag me into the same category as Heishan Laomu. I’m just me—free-spirited, independent, and seeking my own justice.”

“Wow, that was such a classic line. Should I give you a round of applause?” Xiaohei suddenly grinned sinisterly.

Xiaohei suddenly grew confident because his demonic core was protected by a mysterious talisman granted by Yingshen. Under the threat of the white sword, the talisman had already been activated, giving Xiaohei the confidence to act boldly.

“Brat! You dare mock me? You’re asking for death!” Enraged by Xiaohei’s mockery, Bai Luolan thrust her white sword into Xiaohei’s demonic soul, aiming directly at his demonic core. If Xiaohei said even one more word, she might have pierced his core with a single strike. However, Bai Luolan soon discovered that her white sword was wrapped in a black mist, rendering it completely immovable.

“What the hell is this thing?!”

Bai Luolan was greatly alarmed and tried to pull her sword out, but it wouldn’t budge. The black mist spread toward her fingers. Feeling an intense pain, she quickly cut off her fingers with a knife. Activating her yin cultivation, she quickly regenerated her fingers, while the severed ones on the ground dissolved into yin energy and vanished.

Then, the white sword stuck in Xiaohei’s demonic soul also dissolved under the corrosion of the black mist.

“It’s Soul Devouring Qi!”

Bai Luolan finally recognized the black mist, her face full of disbelief, “How is this possible? How can you possess Soul Devouring Qi?”

“Haha, beautiful Bai Luolan, thank you so much! If you hadn’t done this to me, I wouldn’t have known how powerful the talisman given by Yingshen is!” Xiaohei’s tone became flippant again, “Oh, right—you’re supposed to be that fearless, independent, and self-willed notorious thief. Can it be that you’ve already run out of ways to deal with me?”

“…”

Bai Luolan’s eyes flickered, and she coldly smiled at Xiaohei, “Just a little demon, no bigger than that. You’re celebrating too early, aren’t you? Tell me, what if I told Shui Miao everything you just said? Do you think he would still trust you? You’re just a spy sent by Yingshen, and you can even use Soul Devouring Qi.”

“You… you… you mustn’t say anything…”

Hearing this, Xiaohei was instantly stunned.

Yingshen had given him the talisman with a warning: if he didn’t want his soul to be destroyed, he must never reveal his secret mission of secretly monitoring Shui Miao.

But now, in his momentary arrogance, he had let the secret slip.

Seizing Xiaohei’s weakness, Bai Luolan laughed out loud, delighted that she had accidentally achieved her goal, “Xiaohei, the reason I came to find you today wasn’t to cause you trouble, but to propose a cooperation that will maximize our mutual benefits. So rest assured, as long as you cooperate with me, I will never betray you. On the contrary, I will give you a large amount of pills to help you improve your cultivation. One day, your strength will surpass even that so-called Yingshen. But the premise is that we must cooperate well.”

“What do you want me to do?”

Xiaohei had no choice. He understood Shui Miao’s character. He even knew that Shui Miao had always been suspicious of him. If Shui Miao were to discover that he had been sent by Yingshen to spy on him, the consequences would be extremely serious. In the end, he would end up in a lose-lose situation.

Bai Luolan had stolen pills from the Yellow Spring Sect. He thought her suggestion of cooperation was not entirely unacceptable.

Seeing that Xiaohei was hooked, Bai Luolan smiled easily, “It’s simple. Help me keep an eye on him. Tell me everything he does. I won’t let you down.” Saying this, Bai Luolan placed a pill in Xiaohei’s hand, “This is a Triple-Life Pill, an extremely valuable high-grade pill. You can take it first. In the future, I will give you even more and better pills to help you improve your cultivation.”

“A Triple-Life Pill…”

Xiaohei looked at the three-colored pill in his hand in astonishment. It was a combination of three round pills of different colors. He had heard of the Triple-Life Pill before—it was a legendary soul-enhancing medicine that all mortal cultivators dreamed of. It could replenish and strengthen the heavenly, earthly, and human souls. One pill could save hundreds of years of cultivation.

“Then… how do I contact you?”

Xiaohei was tempted—not for anything else, but for this Triple-Life Pill.

Bai Luolan vanished in a flash, but her voice still echoed around Xiaohei, “I’ll naturally have ways to find you…”

Bai Luolan left, disappearing without a trace.

Xiaohei looked at the Triple-Life Pill, swallowed hard, and was about to swallow it in one bite. But then he had a sudden idea, kept his wits about him, and carefully stored the pill away before quickly vanishing.

Xiaohei soon caught up with the caravan.

Shui Miao didn’t say much and immediately summoned Xiaohei into the Holy Yuan Bracelet.

As soon as Xiaohei entered the bracelet, Zhuge Abacus caught the scent of the Triple-Life Pill on him…

Zhuge Abacus had lived in the Yellow Spring Sect for hundreds of years and was extremely knowledgeable about all kinds of pills.

Moreover, Zhuge Abacus desperately needed the Triple-Life Pill now, so the scent of it was especially sensitive to him.

“Back already!”

Zhuge Abacus remained calm, smiled slightly at Xiaohei, and greeted him normally.

“Yeah.”

Xiaohei was somewhat afraid to meet Zhuge Abacus’s gaze. He nodded, glanced at the cauldron, and anxiously asked, “Senior Zhuge, is there anything I can do for you?”

Zhuge Abacus shook his head and smiled, raising his hand to invite Xiaohei to sit down, “Nothing much. Since we’re idle anyway, why don’t we just chat for a while?” Originally, the Holy Yuan Bracelet was empty, but after Shui Miao looted the Yellow Spring treasure vault, it now contained many items. For example, the white jade benches and chairs filled with highly refined Yin Holy Yuan Spirits were all taken from the Yellow Spring treasure vault.

After Xiaohei sat down, Zhuge Abacus immediately began chatting casually.

“Xiaohei! In just a few days, we’ll be able to produce many pills.”

“Many?” Xiaohei scratched his head, “But we don’t seem to have many raw materials, do we?”

“It’s different this time. In the past, the Yellow Spring Sect used ordinary herbs to make pills. This time, Shui Miao has brought out sacred herbs, so we can produce many top-grade pills.” Zhuge Abacus remained calm, speaking in a very ordinary tone.

“Top-grade pills!”

Upon hearing this, Xiaohei immediately became interested, “Can we make Triple-Life Pills?”

“Haha…”

Zhuge Abacus laughed heartily, “Xiaohei, you really know how to joke! What’s a mere Triple-Life Pill? This batch of herbs can at least produce ten Triple-Sacred Pills. One Triple-Sacred Pill is worth ten Triple-Life Pills. Everyone will get their share, and our cultivation will surely skyrocket, hehe…”

“…”

Upon hearing this, Xiaohei’s heart was shaken, and he immediately started calculating in his mind.

Zhuge Abacus looked at Xiaohei’s expression and frowned, asking, “Xiaohei, you seem to have something on your mind?”

“Senior Zhuge, save me!!”

After weighing the pros and cons, Xiaohei suddenly knelt in front of Zhuge Abacus.

Zhuge Abacus feigned concern and quickly helped Xiaohei up, “What’s wrong, Xiaohei? Come on, stand up and tell me. As long as I can help, I will do my best.”