Chapter 379: Outsmarted Instead

“Indeed, you’re quite something!”

Shui Miao squinted his eyes slightly and faintly smiled.

When the old monster saw Shui Miao’s reaction, he felt greatly surprised. Just as he was about to grab Shui Miao’s neck, a sudden golden light emanated from Shui Miao’s body. Immediately after, thick black mist emerged and transformed into a giant hand that reached back toward the old monster. Forced to retreat repeatedly, the old monster exclaimed, “Kid, is this your dark magic?”

“You’re the one using dark magic…”

Shui Miao’s mind flickered, and the Soul Devouring Force instantly dispersed outward, seemingly dissipating entirely.

Frowning, the old monster shouted, “We’ve never met before, nor do we have any past grudges or recent conflicts. Why are you after me?”

“I’m not after you. I was just curious why you were inside the church and even wanted to befriend you. Also, I wanted to find out how you could suddenly disappear. That’s why I accepted one of your moves just now, and now it’s your turn to accept one from me.” As Shui Miao’s words fell, the Soul Devouring Force surrounding the old monster instantly condensed into a black sphere that engulfed him.

“Grandpa, Grandpa…”

Seeing the old monster trapped inside the sphere, the young monster panicked and rushed toward it.

“Little Bean, don’t come over here!”

The old monster reached out to touch the sphere of Soul Devouring Force but had his fingers corroded by it, causing waves of pain and making him panic even more.

“Haha! That’s enough.”

Shui Miao unexpectedly attacked and then just as unexpectedly withdrew the Soul Devouring Force.

The Soul Devouring Force had already corroded some of the old monster’s aura, and Shui Miao felt that was sufficient. If he had corroded too much, it would have been hard to continue the conversation afterward.

Confused and then released by Shui Miao, the old monster was perplexed, “What exactly do you mean?”

“Hehe, didn’t I just say? I only wanted to befriend you. Besides that, I’m just curious about a few things,” Shui Miao took a few steps closer to the old monster and smiled at the young monster, “Don’t worry, I mean no harm and am telling the truth. If you trust me, consider me a friend. Perhaps I can even help you a bit, since I’m a local here.”

Actually, Shui Miao had come here after discussing plans with Wang Yong and Lin Xue, who were waiting in a car not far away.

Shui Miao thought it was better to be cautious. He wanted to approach the old and young monsters first as a stranger to find out their purpose in coming to Huanghai City. Then he could let Wang Yong and Lin Xue appear.

“Sorry, we don’t need any friends.”

The old monster frowned deeply, “Also, thank you for sparing me just now. If there’s nothing else, my grandson and I will take our leave.”

He couldn’t defeat Shui Miao, nor did he trust him.

“Looks like you still don’t believe me!” Shui Miao blinked, “Old man, to be honest, the police already know about your hiding beneath the church. Plus, you brought toxic rats here. Now the police suspect you of planning a catastrophic disease outbreak and have labeled you terrorists. They’ve already set up a tight net to capture you.”

“Are you with them?”

The old monster shielded the young monster protectively, highly alert.

Shui Miao smiled slightly, “I’m just a cultivator, but I have police friends, so I know some things. Right now, I only want to help you, befriend you, and learn about your mysterious techniques. Of course, if you need any help, I’ll do my best to assist.”

“You… you really can help us?”

The old monster seemed to waver.

Shui Miao quickly nodded, “Of course. My word is my bond. Besides, I have no reason to harm you.”

After a pause, the old monster nodded, “Alright, we’ll trust you, but first you must help me find someone before I can tell you the secret of my techniques and consider you a friend.”

“Find someone? Such a small matter is no problem.” Shui Miao scoffed, wanting to say that the person he was looking for was already in the car.

But the old man said seriously, “Don’t think this person is easy to find. He used to be a grave robber. He appears ordinary, but he’s actually a hidden master, much more powerful than me.”

“A master?”

Could the person he was looking for not be Wang Yong? Shui Miao’s eyes flickered, “Tell me who he is. I’m very interested in masters and am sure I can help you find him.”

“He’s called Wang Yong, nicknamed You Tiao. Back then, my master took him to Kunlun Mountain to find an immortal’s tomb. He entered the tomb and retrieved for my master an Unwritten Divine Book and a black cold jade stone. Not long after, he disappeared. Later, my master accepted me as a disciple and took me back to the immortal’s tomb again. We found many treasures inside, so my master concluded that Wang Yong had returned there and taken away some important items. Young man, if you can help me find this Wang Yong, all those treasures will be yours. I only want the second half of the Unwritten Divine Book. Of course, I can also teach you both halves of the book, but you must become my disciple.”

…

Shui Miao was momentarily stunned. This story sounded too fantastical!

Could Wang Yong really be the mastermind behind everything?

Impossible! How could that be? If it were Wang Yong, why would he still live such a miserable life?

Shui Miao couldn’t believe Wang Yong was that powerful.

Since Wang Yong wasn’t that strong, what the old monster said must be a lie.

“Hmph! Old man, you’re really stretching the truth. You’ve stretched the bull so far it’s flying in the sky. If you could understand the first half of the Unwritten Divine Book, how could you lose to me? Besides, judging from your appearance, you don’t look like someone who has cultivated the immortal techniques described in the book. You look more like a rat to me.” Shui Miao sighed deeply, “I think you must have mistaken me for some naive, dreamy, simple-minded kid, trying to trick me into doing things for you. But you’re really underestimating my intelligence, aren’t you?”

“I knew you wouldn’t believe me.” The old monster took out a book with a dark yellow cover, “Let me tell you, when my master told me this, I didn’t believe it either, but this Divine Book is real.”

“This is the Divine Book?” Shui Miao glanced at it disdainfully, “Looks like it was picked out of a trash can.”

“Trash can?”

The old monster sneered coldly, stepped closer to Shui Miao, and threw the Divine Book at him, “Take a look. Is this paper ordinary paper?”

What’s going on here? Shui Miao caught the Divine Book and examined it. He found that the paper was indeed special. Touching it felt like touching a baby’s skin—soft and smooth—with a faint fragrance. However, there were no words on it, only blank pages.

“Why is there no writing?”

Shui Miao asked in confusion and secretly activated his immortal power, opening his Yin-Yang eyes to examine the Divine Book.

The old monster approached Shui Miao and said calmly, “Because it’s the Unwritten Divine Book. Ordinary people naturally can’t see the text. This book can only be read by those with pure hearts or innocent children. Of course, if you calm down, young man, maybe you can see it too.”

“Let me try…”

After opening his Yin-Yang eyes, the Divine Book still looked the same. Shui Miao closed his eyes, calmed his mind, and instead of immediately sensing the words in the book, he first sensed the old monster’s expression, fearing he might have ill intentions and attack him secretly. Feeling no unusual movements from the old monster, Shui Miao focused his mind on the book. As he slightly opened his eyes, he suddenly saw the words in the book, although they were in ancient script and somewhat obscure.

“Hey, can you see it?” The old monster seemed surprised, “Oh my, my master said that those who can see the words in this book are people with a destined connection to it. Since you can see it, young man, it proves we are destined to meet! Here, young man, keep reading, keep reading…”

The old monster’s expression turned serious, and his face broke into an excited smile.

“Could this really be the Divine Book!?”

Shui Miao read carefully, becoming more and more engrossed. Amazingly, as he kept reading, he found himself able to understand it easily. It was a method of channeling energy! Shui Miao flipped through over ten pages and reached the eleventh, which described various techniques. Suddenly, he felt exhausted and empty-headed, as if he hadn’t eaten for many days.

He persisted in reading about the Three Real Fires technique but then couldn’t continue anymore, his vision blurring.

“Why is this happening? Why does reading this Divine Book make me feel so tired?” Shui Miao tried to channel the immortal power in his dantian but found that it had been completely drained.

How could this be?

Could there be something strange about this Divine Book? Shui Miao was startled and quickly threw the book away, but his spirit was at its weakest.

“You… you tricked me?” Shui Miao was greatly shocked and hurriedly pointed at the old monster in accusation.

The old monster picked up the Divine Book, exchanged a glance with the young monster, smirked coldly, and then said in a mocking tone, “Young man, what are you talking about? This is the Divine Book. I showed it to you without hesitation. How could you suspect me? You’re really ungrateful.”

“That’s right! My grandpa really showed you the Divine Book,” the young monster also spoke up, his childish voice slightly huffing, “Who asked you to read it so seriously, pouring all your energy and magic into the book? But you were pretty impressive. My grandpa could only read six pages back then, but you managed eleven.”

“Oh right, young man, I forgot to warn you. Reading this Divine Book comes at a cost—it absorbs your magical power. The longer you read, the more it takes. You reading it for so long surprised me, but now it’s too late. You’re already like this, and I can’t save you anymore.” The old monster approached and grabbed Shui Miao’s hand, examining his neck before turning to the young monster, “Little Bean, this man’s magic may be drained, but his body is almost immortal-like, and his blood contains a large amount of spiritual energy. Bite him and drink his blood. Drink as much as you can.”

“Really!?”

“That’s great! Thank you, Grandpa!”

The young monster, excited, turned his head toward Shui Miao’s neck and suddenly opened his mouth, biting Shui Miao’s neck fiercely.