Chapter 46: The Demonic Daughter’s Ingenious Plot

Chang Heyu watched Ye Qingfeng, who was rushing towards him with fiery impetuosity, a silent exasperation etched across his face.

Through his perception of the blood parasite within Ye Qingfeng, he knew this person was not an imposter.

‘Could she not be so boisterous next time? It hardly suits her former elegant demeanor, does it?’ he mused.

Chang Heyu took a deep, steadying breath, his gaze cold as he watched the excited Ye Qingfeng stride up to him.

Ye Qingfeng had appeared on the verge of speaking, but upon seeing Chang Heyu’s expression, she instantly became timid and submissive, lowering her head and daring not to utter a single word.

Seeing this, Chang Heyu sternly reprimanded her, “To make any progress on the demonic path, one must practice self-restraint and remain unmoved by either honor or disgrace.

Look at you now; how many demonic cultivators are as unaccomplished as you are?”

Ye Qingfeng trembled, then promptly slapped herself across the face.

“Foster Father is right to reprimand me; I was far too impulsive.

How could I become so complacent over the souls of merely eight cultivators?

It truly was inappropriate.

With Foster Father’s immense power and abilities, surely obtaining the souls of a few cultivators would be effortless…”

Before Ye Qingfeng could finish her self-reflection, Chang Heyu suddenly shrieked.

“Wait, the souls of eight cultivators?! Are you serious?!”

“Foster Father, calm yourself!

You must remain unmoved by either honor or disgrace!

Unmoved by either honor or disgrace!”

This time, it was Ye Qingfeng’s turn to remind Chang Heyu.

She longed to step forward, a dutiful daughter, and gently pat her foster father’s back.

However, Chang Heyu forcibly reined in his emotions, directly waving her off, and his complexion swiftly returned to normal, regaining his grandmaster’s demeanor.

Yet, his rosy complexion, as if he had experienced a second spring, still betrayed his true feelings.

Chang Heyu, feigning composure, spoke with a slight tremor in his voice, striving to maintain an indifferent tone as he commanded, “Elaborate on what transpired.”

‘The old man is quite the actor,’ Ye Qingfeng silently mused.

After silently complaining to herself, Ye Qingfeng proceeded to embellish the tale of her scoundrel of a husband’s plan to gather seven Bone Cleansing Realm cultivators to crusade against Chang Heyu.

Ye Qingfeng recounted the events with an air of profound confidence and undisguised contempt for others.

“Those ignorant ants, with only a slight numerical advantage, actually dare to disregard the vast disparity in our cultivation realms and attempt to strike at you, Foster Father.

It’s time we set a trap and let them understand the true terror of us demonic cultivators!”

For a fleeting moment, Chang Heyu’s expression seemed unnatural, but he quickly feigned calmness and uttered, “One must not be careless.”

‘Seriously, you’re at least an Origin Reversion Realm cultivator, aren’t you?’

‘Big brother, it’s really not that serious.’

‘I recall back then, when I was only in the early Origin Reversion Realm, hunting down Quan Haoqing was truly effortless; that kid was just too slippery to catch.’

Seeing his hesitation, Ye Qingfeng knew she had to offer the old man some reassurance, so she promptly declared, “Foster Father, do not fret!

Those are merely a motley crew of cowards who bully the weak and fear the strong.

I dare call this a joyous occasion for you, Foster Father, because I naturally have a method to capture them all in one fell swoop!”

“Nonsense!

They are but a swarm of Bone Cleansing Realm ants; how could I possibly panic?!

A mere group of Bone Cleansing Realm cultivators, ignorant of their own limitations!

Once I capture them, I will surely make them understand the methods of us demonic cultivators, and make them regret ever being born into this world!”

Chang Heyu’s voice was high-pitched and resonant, as if he were trying to bolster his own courage, before he eagerly pressed, “What method do you speak of?”

Ye Qingfeng was rather speechless; Chang Heyu truly wanted to have his cake and eat it too, a fact she naturally couldn’t voice aloud.

Instead, she confidently declared, “Foster Father speaks wisely.

Foster Father, have you forgotten that I have become your adopted daughter?

That ungrateful wretch has no idea.

He still believes I remain timidly subservient to him, enduring his beatings and scolding, and he even entrusted me with the task of gathering intelligence on you, Foster Father.”

A cold sneer twisted Ye Qingfeng’s lips, contorting the muscles of her face and making the lower half, already resembling gnarled tree roots, appear even more ferocious and terrifying.

Even Chang Heyu turned his face away.

“So, what do you plan to do?”

“It’s quite simple: I’ll drug them!”

Ye Qingfeng’s tone was grim and chilling as she explained, “Moreover, it must be a poison with a delayed onset.

That way, they will believe victory is within their grasp and obediently come to their deaths.

What do you think of this method, Foster Father?”

Chang Heyu stroked his beard, even nodding in satisfaction as he replied, “While simple, this method is quite effective.

But are you certain you can administer the drug to them without them detecting it at all?”

Ye Qingfeng patted her rather flat chest, asserting, “Naturally, I can.

However, I do not possess such a poison, so I must request that you, Foster Father, bestow the medicine upon me.”

A flicker of reluctance crossed Chang Heyu’s face upon hearing this.

He hesitantly retrieved a small black medicine bottle from his robes.

“This is a Gu poison I brought from my sect,” he explained.

“It dissolves in water, colorless and tasteless.

Once ingested, the Gu worms will lie dormant within the person’s body.

As long as they are within a certain distance of me, I can control these Gu worms to gnaw at their heart and lungs.

While it may not kill them, the excruciating, unforgettable pain is something they simply cannot endure.”

Ye Qingfeng’s eyes lit up, and she praised him sincerely, “What an excellent item!”

She grasped the medicine bottle in her hand, the gleam in her eyes resembling the twinkling of celestial stars.

“Excellent, this is precisely it!

I want that ungrateful wretch to suffer a fate worse than death!

I’ll feed him ten at once!

Let him hurt to death!”

No sooner had the words left her mouth than Chang Heyu’s face darkened, and he snatched the bottle back.

This item was his most valuable possession, with only twenty pills in total.

Had it not been to elevate the quality of his Blood-Stained Banner and acquire the souls of eight Bone Cleansing Realm cultivators in a single stroke, he would never have parted with them.

Yet, this wicked daughter wanted to use half the entire supply on just one person at once; what a wasteful creature!

With a cold expression, Chang Heyu counted out eight pills and poured them into Ye Qingfeng’s hand.

“One for each of them,” he instructed.

“If anything goes awry, do not blame this father for his ruthlessness!”

Ye Qingfeng attempted to haggle.

“Could you possibly give me one more, so I can feed that scoundrel of a husband an extra pill?”

“Hmph, absolutely not!”

Chang Heyu’s refusal was decisive.

Ye Qingfeng, with a hint of regret, accepted the eight pills.

‘It’s a pity I couldn’t snatch the whole bottle,’ she thought, ‘but no matter.

Once I do away with this old bastard, everything will be mine anyway.’

As these thoughts crossed her mind, Ye Qingfeng produced a book from her robes and announced, “As the saying goes, good things come in pairs.

A couple of days ago, that scoundrel of a husband found a cultivation manual somewhere, and with a little trickery, I managed to snatch it from him.

I thought it would make a suitable gift for you, Foster Father.”

Chang Heyu accepted the manual with a hint of surprise, his brow furrowed.

“You presumptuously stole this manual from him; will he not notice?

If this manual, which likely records some minor path, causes our entire plan to fail, I will not forgive you.”

“Foster Father, rest assured!”

Ye Qingfeng patted her rather flat chest, asserting proudly, “That idiot couldn’t understand this manual at all.

He simply tossed it to me, telling me to auction it off at an auction house.

Since he has no idea of the manual’s true value, I can just give him some random spirit stones to placate him.

Even if he suspects the amount of spirit stones is incorrect, he’ll only assume I embezzled them for myself, never imagining I presented it to you, Foster Father.”

“Not bad, a teachable child indeed.”

Since it hadn’t cost him a single spirit stone and wouldn’t impact the plan, Chang Heyu accepted the manual with a clear conscience.

He intended to study it another day, and if it proved useless, he could always profit from auctioning it off.

Casually flipping through a few pages, he suddenly realized that this cultivation method was far from simple.

The only drawback was a restrictive condition: the practitioner needed to possess a Pure Yang Constitution.

Chang Heyu secretly regretted this; despite only a cursory glance, he could vaguely sense that this cultivation method was likely far superior to the introductory techniques of the Blood s*ave Sect that he had learned.

However, even if he couldn’t cultivate it himself, someone would surely be willing to pay a high price for it.

The Pure Yang Constitution requirement would indeed affect the manual’s value, but he could simply conceal that restriction.

Carefully putting the manual away, Chang Heyu coldly inquired, “Do you have anything else?”

Ye Qingfeng shook her head, preparing to leave, when she suddenly remembered something and turned back abruptly.

“Oh, right, Master, are there any dietary restrictions for these pills?”

Chang Heyu was a little bewildered.

“What do you mean?” he asked.

Ye Qingfeng posed a question Chang Heyu had never considered.

“Like, before taking this pill, should one avoid spicy or salty foods?

Could eating certain foods reduce its efficacy, or perhaps cause it to take effect prematurely?

After all, it’s essentially a worm, isn’t it?

What if the worm gets an upset stomach?”

Chang Heyu opened his mouth, speechless.

No one had ever asked such bizarre questions!

If it were about antidotes, he could answer, but asking about a worm’s dietary restrictions?

Where would one even begin to know that?!

Only the inventor of such Gu poison pills would understand!

Yet, he couldn’t help but feel that Ye Qingfeng’s words made genuine sense.

Idealism had encountered a dimension-shattering blow from materialism, leaving him utterly dumbfounded.

He couldn’t possibly tell Ye Qingfeng, ‘Just believe it,’ could he?

So, Chang Heyu opted for bluster.

“No, this divine pill is a secret medicine of the Blood s*ave Sect, unsolved by anyone since ancient times.

Instead of worrying about such trivial matters, you should focus your mind on how to administer these pills to those ants!”

Ye Qingfeng had an epiphany, nodding, “So that’s it, a secret sect medicine.

My knowledge is indeed limited.

But are you truly certain there are no dietary restrictions?

After all, this involves many cultivators; what if one or two don’t react as expected?

We can’t let a few bad apples spoil the whole batch, can we?”

Seeing Ye Qingfeng’s serious demeanor, Chang Heyu became conflicted, staring blankly at the black secret medicine bottle in his hand, and for a moment, even began to doubt its efficacy.

‘Could there really be some dietary restrictions?’