Chapter 17: A Disguise, A Bounty, and an Unkillable Foe

Ye Qingfeng draped the cloak back over her shoulders, the mask obscuring her face.

She meticulously scrutinized her reflection in the mirror, nodding with satisfaction once certain that her appearance was utterly unidentifiable to an ordinary person.

Subsequently, she proceeded directly to the Reward Pavilion, nestled beside Xingqing City’s Lord’s Manor.

The Reward Pavilion served as Xingqing City’s designated hub for rogue cultivators in the surrounding regions to accept bounty missions.

Its offerings spanned a vast array, from quests to locate rare beasts and spiritual elixirs, to tracking down elusive targets and eliminating demonic cultivators.

Upon her initial arrival in Xingqing City, Ye Qingfeng’s first destination had been this very place.

She had initially envisioned showcasing her prowess, anticipating a swift accumulation of spirit stones; however, engaging in such endeavors revealed that luck-based tasks were wholly unsuitable for someone whose fortune clearly registered at zero.

Moreover, missions focused on eliminating demonic cultivators invariably targeted individuals at a minimum of the Origin Reversion Realm.

While challenging cultivators beyond one’s realm was indeed a brilliant feat, other avenues had been available to her then.

Having once been an Origin Reversion Realm cultivator herself, Ye Qingfeng understood the vast disparity between realms and had thus never considered such an excessively risky approach.

Now, however, she had no choice but to reconsider.

Even among the bounties for eliminating demonic cultivators, certain intricacies existed.

Some offered scant information, sometimes only detailing the target’s appearance and cultivation level, which Ye Qingfeng promptly dismissed.

To complete such a bounty would demand an exorbitant amount of time gathering intelligence, and should she eventually locate the target only to discover their strength surpassed her own, it would truly be a catastrophic misfortune.

Yet, this did not imply that bounties with excessively detailed information were popular; quite the contrary.

Both the least and most detailed bounties were the ones rogue cultivators were most reluctant to accept.

The former presented too many unknowns, making it easy to stumble into unforeseen perils.

As for the latter… well, one could only wonder why, despite such extensive information, the bounties remained perpetually unclaimed.

After roughly the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, Ye Qingfeng’s gaze settled upon an Origin Reversion Realm cultivator from the Blood s*ave Gate.

Though the bounty lacked descriptions of the target’s specific techniques or magical artifacts, the Blood s*ave Gate was, nonetheless, a somewhat notorious demonic sect within the Yongzhou territory.

Rogue cultivators likely possessed limited intelligence on this demonic sect, which explained why, despite clearly outlining the disciple’s activity zone, methods, and criminal acts, no one had claimed the bounty.

However, having been a disciple of the Sky Philosophy Sect before her forced defection—one of Yongzhou’s eight Daoist sects—Ye Qingfeng naturally possessed extensive knowledge of the demonic sects within her territory.

These sects, after all, served as legitimate targets for their disciples to hunt and gain experience, just as the disciples themselves were thorns in the side of these demonic factions.

Sect disciples were required to periodically update their understanding of these demonic sects, with particular emphasis on their techniques, to avoid falling prey to them.

‘An Origin Reversion Realm disciple of the Blood s*ave Gate, then?’

Ye Qingfeng meticulously reviewed the provided intelligence, covertly confirming a crucial detail that instantly bolstered her confidence in completing the commission.

It was at this precise moment that Ye Qingfeng detected a faint anomaly; she felt as though she had been targeted.

Feigning ignorance, Ye Qingfeng strolled towards the Reward Pavilion’s most crowded herb bounty section.

Unlike the demonic elimination bounties, where only a handful of individuals idly wandered, the herb bounty section teemed with fortune-seekers.

Using the throng of people as cover, Ye Qingfeng vanished around a corner.

Moments later, a male cultivator rushing forward caught Ye Qingfeng’s eye.

‘It was him.’

Treating the surrounding cultivators as mere obstacles, Ye Qingfeng clearly discerned the tracker’s face.

‘A familiar face, no less.’

This male cultivator had once been a member of the bandit gang that ambushed Ye Qingfeng.

However, Ye Qingfeng, having sensed their presence, had evaded the ambush, inadvertently exposing their identities to her instead.

Yet, his appearance, in Ye Qingfeng’s estimation, wasn’t necessarily a bad omen.

Ye Qingfeng observed the man contemplatively; if her suspicions were correct, he still intended to profit from her.

‘Heh, profiting sounds good.’

A faint smile touched Ye Qingfeng’s lips, and a chilling aura subtly emerged on her face, making her appear alluring and captivating, much like a demonic enchantress.

‘To deal with that Blood s*ave Gate disciple, she happened to be in need of some assistance.’

‘Since someone was so eager to help, how could she possibly disappoint their expectations?’

‘Heh heh heh, kid, you didn’t expect this, did you? I’ve been forced by life to stop being a good person!’

The real challenge, however, lay in figuring out how to best utilize them.

“So, you’re here.”

Just then, a voice abruptly materialized from behind Ye Qingfeng.

It was so sudden, so startling, so utterly chilling.

Almost instinctively, she coalesced an ice needle between her fingers, turning without a moment’s hesitation to thrust it towards the person’s heart.

Ye Qingfeng was utterly confident.

Even amidst the clamor of the Reward Pavilion, her graceful movements, decisive technique, and invisible killing tool were infallible.

‘She simply needed to feign being a relative of the deceased, carry this ‘sleeping’ relative out, and dispose of them in a filthy ditch!’

‘Perfect!’

That was, until Ye Qingfeng saw Quan Haoqing’s stunned expression.

‘Hmm?’

‘Wrong target?’

‘Well, not exactly wrong, she supposed; he was also an adversary, though he remained unaware that she had changed her shell, transforming from a red tortoise into a green one.’

Ye Qingfeng glanced down at the ice needle, which had fully embedded itself in Quan Haoqing’s heart.

To ensure a swift kill, she was currently pressed against Quan Haoqing’s chest like an affectionate girlfriend, keenly feeling his body temperature steadily diminish with the needle’s penetration.

‘Was this, then, considered preemptively eliminating a potential threat?’

‘Heaven and Earth bear witness, Immeasurable Heavenly Venerate be my judge!’

‘She swore, she truly hadn’t intended to attack Quan Haoqing!’

‘Before knowing her true identity, her impression of him had been that of a good person!’

‘She had even been preparing to mend their relationship!’

‘Who could have known that the person she had struggled so desperately to kill before her transformation could now be accidentally dispatched in this new form?’

‘Indeed, life was unpredictable; one never knew whether good fortune or misfortune would arrive first.’

Believing Quan Haoqing was all but dead, Ye Qingfeng, with a touch of theatrical lament, quipped: “Alas, brother.

You surely didn’t check your almanac before leaving today.

May the God of Fortune be above us; I’ll repay you in the next life by offering myself to you.”

Quan Haoqing gazed strangely at Ye Qingfeng, who remained sprawled on his chest with no intention of moving.

Initially, Ye Qingfeng’s actions had indeed infuriated him, and the thought ‘the more beautiful a woman, the more deceitful she is’ had flashed through his mind.

However, upon hearing Ye Qingfeng’s flippant remark, he realized her actions weren’t directed at him, and he was subsequently amused.

Driven by a playful desire for revenge, he asked teasingly: “Fellow Daoist jests, but what if we settled it in this life instead?”

“Hmm?”

‘That didn’t sound like something a dead person would say, did it?’

Moreover, Ye Qingfeng noticed Quan Haoqing’s body temperature rapidly rising.

She then looked at his chest where the ice needle had pierced; the pinprick wound had completely healed, leaving no trace of a scar.

‘What the hell!’

‘Why didn’t it work?!’

[Xuan Yin Book Spirit kindly reminded: “Master, the Blazing Starfall Tome Art cultivates internally before externally.

Upon initial mastery, the heart must be tempered with pure Yang energy into an indestructible furnace, subsequently refining the five viscera and six bowels.

Although the heart is the vital gate of the cultivation art, it is also the most resilient and tenacious part of the entire body, moreover, it is enveloped in pure Yang energy.”]

[“It’s not that the Xuan Yin Netherworld Art can’t break through his defenses—that’s absolutely impossible.

But perhaps you should increase your force?

A single needle, upon entering his body, likely melted instantly.”]

Ye Qingfeng asked, bewildered: “But I felt his body grow cold, didn’t I?”

[“When the ice needle melted, the cold energy wouldn’t immediately dissipate.

The human body is a closed environment, and as the cold dispersed, it caused a temporary drop in his internal temperature.”]

[“Listen to me,” Xuan Yin Book Spirit encouraged, “Increase your force, and you’re guaranteed to finish him off.

The Blazing Starfall Tome Art is just a small bonfire to me.

You only need to…”]

“Shut up, I get it.”

Interrupting Xuan Yin Book Spirit’s eager attempts to prove itself, Ye Qingfeng earnestly tilted her head back to meet Quan Haoqing’s gaze, stating without evasion: “I am a person who upholds integrity, reporting every word I utter to the Immeasurable Heavenly Venerate at all times.

Therefore, no.”

Though her face was largely obscured by the veil, at such close proximity, Ye Qingfeng’s shimmering, autumn-like eyes were like a refreshing spring nourishing his heart, causing it to flutter.

“Next life it is, then.

Were you being followed?”

Having never truly expected Ye Qingfeng to so easily offer herself, Quan Haoqing swiftly moved past the topic, lowering his head to whisper into Ye Qingfeng’s delicate, rounded ear.

Whether due to his cultivation art or not, Ye Qingfeng found Quan Haoqing’s breath somewhat scorching, causing her already sensitive ear to quickly flush the color of maple leaves.

Realizing they were far too close, she deliberately pulled away, softly replying: “Yes, I possess some scattered wealth, and it seems I’ve been targeted.”

Quan Haoqing inquired thoughtfully: “Would you like help sending these ‘wealth-scattering boys’ to the side of the God of Fortune, then?”