Ji Yuan looked at the heavily injured Big Toad in front of him.

He never would have imagined that the first to risk their life for him wouldn't be a person, but a demon beast—a toad, to put it plainly.

They were both demon beasts, and both Tier Two demon beasts as well.

Ji Yuan couldn't quite tell if they were low or middle-tier, but for the Big Toad to end up looking like this after the fight… the two must be about the same level.

Fighting to the death at equal level, just to deliver something tasty to him.

This really was a desperate gamble.

Ji Yuan looked at the Big Toad before him, as if it had lost half its life. He didn't know what to say, so he could only let out a long sigh.

"Guaa-woo—"

The Big Toad thought he wasn't satisfied with the food, so its croak sounded a bit resentful and weak—pitiful, really.

Ji Yuan wasn't in the mood for alchemy by now, seeing the toad in this state.

It was just a night's wait anyway—better eat this food first and talk later.

He leaped down from the flying boat and landed in front of the giant bug. With a wave of his hand, he summoned his Qiongfu Flying Sword, first slashing at the bug's two huge pincers.

The flying sword scraped past, throwing sparks everywhere.

This high-grade flying sword couldn't even break through the defenses of a Tier Two demon beast—damn… this is crazy.

Even Ji Yuan couldn't help but reassess the Big Toad's strength.

He glanced at the giant bug. Its true fatal wound was where its head joined the body—the neck hung limply, like the head had been ripped right off.

The only thing capable of doing that was the Big Toad's tongue.

Ji Yuan shrunk his flying sword to normal size and sliced through the cracks in the bug's shell, finally separating its head from the body.

With a wave of stink, what tumbled out from the bug's head was a blood-red demon pill about the size of a pigeon's egg.

This was Ji Yuan's first time seeing a demon pill. He couldn't help but let his heart thought move, picking it up into his hand.

The pill was slightly warm, and he could feel the spiritual qi flowing inside—though it wasn't pure, it carried a hint of demonic energy.

So demon pills can't be absorbed directly by cultivators… unless one has a death wish.

Otherwise, they have to be refined by an alchemist into elixirs, with the demonic energy removed before consumption.

"Gudong—"

The one gulping wasn't Ji Yuan, but the Big Toad.

Demon pills can't be taken directly by cultivators, but for demon beasts, there's no such worry. Demon beasts fight each other most often to claim one another's demon pills.

But what Ji Yuan hadn't expected was that the Big Toad didn't try taking the demon pill for itself.

It really seemed to act as if this was a gift, something tasty it was offering to Ji Yuan.

A Tier Two demon pill could be sold… for at least a few hundred low-grade spirit stones—such a precious treasure.

Ji Yuan flicked his finger and popped it into the Big Toad's mouth. The toad gulped it down instinctively, its eyes lighting up. At once, blood energy began to leak out from its body, and some of its minor wounds visibly started healing.

"Guaa—"

The Big Toad hadn't expected to end up eating the precious treasure itself. For a moment it seemed… embarrassed?

"You're so badly hurt. Just save your life first."

Ji Yuan didn't care if it understood or not. After saying this, he waved it off, turning his gaze back to the giant bug's corpse.

This thing… That shell should fetch a few hundred low-grade spirit stones too.

The meat inside, of course, he planned to savor himself—no way he'd waste the Big Toad's goodwill!

And Tier Two demon beast meat—eating it would nourish both the body and spiritual qi.

The giant bug was too big for one pot, so Ji Yuan decided to cut it up, store it in his storage bag, and eat it slowly. Finally, he looked at the still pity-inducing Big Toad beside him.

He fished out a pork knuckle from his storage bag and tossed it over. That stuff's good for body refining and, for a demon beast strong in physical prowess, would be a real treat.

This time going home, Ji Yuan had gotten two more spirit pigs—he couldn't finish them all, so sharing a bit with the Big Toad seemed fitting.

Not to mention the pigsty kept spitting out new ones—every seven days, four mature at once.

That night.

Ji Yuan cooked up a huge spread of demon beast meat, stir-fried, steamed, garlic, spicy—everything imaginable.

This stuff looked like little lobsters on the outside, and tasted even better when eaten. Really superb.

After eating his fill, Ji Yuan had Tu Yue clean up while he hurried off to the cave mansion to cultivate—the effects of Tier Two demon beast meat were way better than low-grade spirit stones.

No way was Ji Yuan wasting a single bite.

So over the next several days, Ji Yuan spent his time eating, drinking, and cultivating—and sometimes he'd even barbecue some meat for the injured Big Toad.

Sometimes it was spirit pig, sometimes spirit chicken, sometimes spirit fish fished straight from the pond.

Ji Yuan ate every day, and combined with spirit stone cultivation, his cultivation steadily grew.

The Big Toad was even more dramatic. Already thick-skinned and robust, it had eaten a demon pill from a peer, plus Ji Yuan's seasoned spirit pig meat and other demon beast meat.

Its wounds healed at an astonishing speed—visible to the naked eye.

Ji Yuan, besides cultivating, was still working hard at high-grade elixir alchemy, determined to become a Tier One high-grade alchemist as soon as possible.

But he still lacked enough experience, so the progress was slow.

Most of his alchemy was focused on making Tier One middle-grade elixirs, but he could now easily inscribe Tier One high-grade talismans.

Ever since eating Ji Yuan's grilled fish and meat, the Big Toad refused to eat raw food anymore, let alone swallow weeds.

Ji Yuan also forbade it from eating spirit chickens or spirit fish from the chicken cage or fish pond, so the toad roamed the area every day, leaving early and coming back late.

Every morning it left empty-handed, and every evening it returned with all sorts of spirit fish or demon beasts.

Ji Yuan managed to explain after much effort—the importance of bullying weaker demon beasts… You're a dignified Tier Two demon beast, why pick fights with other Tier Twos?

Go hunt Tier One demon beasts, flex your strength, one-shotting them—much better.

Now it usually brought back a Tier One demon beast every day.

The edible meat was butchered by Ji Yuan and the toad, the rest of the materials were packed up by Ji Yuan and every few days he'd go to the local market… and sell them.

Couldn't be helped—the Big Toad hauled in new loot almost daily.

Ji Yuan's storage bag for demon beast materials filled up fast.

Several months passed in a flash. He even found time to return to Zengtou City, meeting up with Lin Hu and the others, just in case anyone was looking for him.

It turned out, not—except Du Wanyi had dropped by a few times.

Nothing important, just wanted to check if Ji Yuan had come back.

After six months of hiding out on Mist Island, the season turned to the heart of winter—another ten days or so and it'd be New Year.

After the New Year, the Water Dragon Sect's selection was coming up.

The thought filled Ji Yuan with anticipation.

Cloud Rain Marsh was too small—he'd outgrown it, and now that he was at Qi Cultivation ninth layer, close to the peak, it was time to plan for Foundation Establishment.

For example, that main herb Wen Lin mentioned for the Foundation Establishment Pill—a thousand-year blue orchid.

Such a treasure—he had to get it before leaving Cloud Rain Marsh.

The timing was just right; once he fetched it, it'd line up perfectly with the New Year.

With this thought, Ji Yuan began preparations to leave.

First he gave Tu Yue a series of reminders, telling her to properly raise the pigs on the island, then did some charades with the Big Toad, letting it know he'd be gone for a few days and not to let anyone onto the island.

Luckily, after living and eating alongside the Big Toad for months,

They'd established a basic method of communication.

Probably since Ji Yuan often left previously, the toad didn't act strange when he left this time—just croaked a few times as if telling him to come back early.

If he wanted the blue orchid, he had to go find Wen Lin for the details.

So he'd have to head to Zengtou City first.

A day later, when Ji Yuan arrived at the Wen family and brought up the subject, Wen Lin clenched his fists with excitement, his expression complicated—excited, bitter, relieved, and more.

Zhao Yuechan even tried to drag Wen Linger down with her to kneel before Ji Yuan.

Hurriedly, he raised a hand and guided them both to sit with his spiritual qi, "Sit, let's talk sitting down."

Ji Yuan waved his hand, and all four took seats.

Zhao Yuechan and Wen Lin both looked somber, and even little Wen Linger, normally lively, was scared pale, hugging her mother's clothes tight as she sat on Zhao Yuechan's lap.

"Brother Wen, you can tell me now."

Last time, Ji Yuan hadn't made sufficient preparations, so Wen Lin didn't explain the details, and he was still unclear.

Wen Lin had been waiting for Ji Yuan to act for a long time, yet now that the day had come, he found it hard to start.

After a long silence, he finally spoke slowly: "Brother Ji, have you heard of the Yue Family at Spirit Mountain Square?"

"Brother Wen, you're from Spirit Mountain Square?"

Ji Yuan remembered Wen Lin previously saying he was from Black Water Square.

Wen Lin gave a rueful smile: "A stray dog, living in terror every day—I had to change my face. Please forgive me, Brother Ji."

He stood, bowed with hands clasped, "My real surname is Yue, name's Yue Lin. Wen is my mother's maiden name."

Ji Yuan stayed silent, waiting for Wen Lin to continue.

As for the Yue Family, Ji Yuan had heard Du Wanyi talk about it before. The Yue Family of Spirit Mountain Square and the Qin Family of Zengtou City were much alike, or rather, all the cultivation clans in the Cloud Rain Marsh markets were more or less the same.

"I am an illegitimate child of the Yue Family, and my father was always a weak-willed man, so the entire clan resented me."

Wen Lin spoke dispassionately, "If it were just so, I'd accept my fate. But when I was ten, my mother died inexplicably."

"My father's legal wife killed her, so she's the first person I intend to kill."

"Don't worry about her, Brother Ji. She's from Spirit Mountain Square, her family have been fishermen for generations. No real background—she only married into the Yue Family through coincidence."

Wen Lin handed over a portrait, with detailed information about the woman beside it.

Ji Yuan glanced at it… Cultivation level: Qi Cultivation stage seven!

"She's already Qi Cultivation late stage?"

This honestly surprised Ji Yuan.

The current patriarch of the Yue Family should be Wen Lin's grandfather's generation, so this woman was the second generation, and a married-in wife at that—achieving Qi Cultivation late stage was rather rare.

"Yeah, but it's just superficial late stage."

Wen Lin's eyes flashed with disdain and mockery as he spoke.

"Oh?"

"That connects to the second person I want to kill." Wen Lin said, turning his gaze to Zhao Yuechan.

She understood immediately, picking up Wen Linger, "You two talk—I'll take Linger to bed first."

Mother and daughter left for the bedroom, and after watching them shut the door, Wen Lin spoke again.

"Her cultivation was raised by my great-uncle, Yue Zhu, the current patriarch of the Yue Family."

"When she married into the family, she was only at Qi Cultivation stage four. Once she got close with Yue Zhu, he kept supplying her spirit stones, and her cultivation kept rising with those resources."

"Wait, hold up."

Ji Yuan picked up the portrait again, looking at the notes. "This woman, Wang Shan, is your father's legal wife, and she hooked up with your great-uncle?"

——

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