Chapter 28: The Monster, Deep in the Night

With a shimmering flash of crystalline light, Hongyun raised his hand, concealing the aura of the place and quietly remaining alert.

Within the hefty wooden tub, Hongyun gazed at Chai Xiaoyue, whose tiny head barely peeked out, eyes filled with wonder. Ordinarily, whether human or demon, most spent a hundred days seeking the Sha Aura; it was no trivial matter. Yet the little girl before him, under his careful guidance with medicinal baths and recitation of scriptures, had condensed her Sha node and stored her first strand of Sha energy in merely seven days, stepping into the Postnatal Realm.

Recalling his own experience, he had taken sixty-four days to reach the Postnatal Realm, and that was after five days of scripture recitation—a feat already considered remarkable talent at the time.

Compared to this child, that was not mere talent, but an extraordinary prodigy!

In his memory and the records of the scriptures, even the earliest ones to enter the Postnatal Realm during the hundred days of Sha seeking spent at least twenty-one days—there was simply no comparison!

“Xiaoyue, now that you’ve entered the Postnatal Realm, you are a Sha cultivator. If, in the future, anyone asks how long you spent seeking Sha, you should say forty-nine days. Do you understand?”

Forty-nine days?

Chai Xiaoyue listened, half understanding. She looked at her fingers, tempted to ask why, but after a moment’s thought, she simply nodded.

“I understand, Uncle Yun.”

Seeing her obedient and sensible response, Hongyun sighed quietly and went to prepare the next batch of medicinal herbs, speaking in a gentle tone:

“Stay here until the sandglass runs out, then change your clothes and call for me.”

Hearing her soft reply, Hongyun felt reassured and made his way to the study.

...

In the courtyard, Chai Xiaoyue sat uneasily, listening carefully for Hongyun’s movements. Only when she heard his familiar footsteps did she finally relax.

“Now that you’ve entered the Postnatal Realm, you need to learn an appropriate method for storing Sha. I have five Sha-condensing techniques here: ‘Waves Sift the Sand,’ ‘Faded Moon and Waning Candle,’ ‘Bell Tolling Over Ox Bones,’ ‘Dark Mountain Transforming Bone,’ and ‘Listening to Rain, Departing from Grievance.’ Would you like to choose one?”

Besides preparing seven days’ worth of medicine, Hongyun had transcribed these five Postnatal Sha-condensing methods, allowing the little girl to choose by instinct.

“Uncle Yun, I already have one...”

She looked up at him, hesitated for a moment, then stretched out her small hand, pointing toward Hongyun.

“It’s the one beside you, who spoke to me while I was sleeping. He told me not to tell you.”

What!?

Hongyun’s expression froze, then shifted to alarm as his energy surged protectively.

To avoid detection by someone of his caliber—a host with mid-level Treasure Body Realm cultivation—was exceedingly dangerous.

He scanned the surroundings but saw nothing amiss. Stepping forward to shield her, he asked warily:

“Xiaoyue, where did you see him before?”

“Huh? Isn’t he still here?”

Confused, Xiaoyue stood on tiptoe, reaching behind Hongyun and gripping his back.

“He’s the one who told me. Don’t you know, Uncle Yun?”

He?

Hongyun sensed her movement; when she drew out the leg bone from his back, he became aware.

Watching her gently stroking it, Hongyun narrowed his eyes with a slight smile. He removed the beast-hide pouch containing the leg bone, shrank it, and hung it around her neck.

“Then, Xiaoyue, practice according to the method he taught you.”

Moments earlier, he had clearly sensed a faint fluctuation of calamity energy.

Though subtle, it could not escape his keen eyes.

It was but a Sha treasure; he did not mind parting with it. Though the true nature of the change was unknown, without such events, life would indeed be dull.

...

Hongyun sat quietly, contemplating the profound mysteries of the Moon Surge Sect.

At his level, he had already seen through the barriers to further advancement; breaking through was simply a matter of course.

In barely a month, he had reached the mid-stage of the Treasure Body Realm, his foundation stable and steadily approaching the late-stage pinnacle.

As long as his body remained unimpeded, his progress in cultivation would be unhindered.

He glanced toward the distance, where Xiaoyue, carrying the leg bone, practiced her forms. Admiration flashed in his gaze.

In the wilds of the ancient world, such talent might be unremarkable, but in the Bottle World, she was truly an unparalleled prodigy...

For generations, the children of the Bottle World spent a hundred days seeking Sha, a thousand days refining Sha, and only upon adulthood broke through to the Sha Condensing Realm.

Those especially gifted advanced quickly—like himself, who entered the Innate Realm at nine and reached the Sha Condensing Realm at thirteen, earning the reputation of a genius in the Moon Surge Sect.

As for Chai Xiaoyue... Her hundred days seeking Sha and thousand days refining Sha became seven days seeking Sha and a hundred days refining Sha!

Indeed, today, the little girl had broken through again, entering the Innate Realm of the Bottle World.

If the original merchant caravan still existed, there would only be four half-demons with such cultivation!

It was time.

Hongyun gazed at the full moon above, narrowing his eyes slightly.

During his breakthrough to the mid-stage Treasure Body Realm, he had sensed, as Xiaoyue absorbed the moonlight, the strength of the chief of Cangxi Town—merely at the peak of the early Treasure Body Realm.

Tonight was the full moon, the time when Moon Surge Sect cultivators were at their most powerful; it was time to deal with that man.

Hongyun thought to himself, polishing his crescent moon blade again and again with Sha energy—not only due to Zhao Jingcheng’s lingering obsession, but also because the Moon Surge cultivation method was intricately tied to the Cang Wolf.

“Xiaoyue, tonight we shall leave this place.”

Hongyun approached and gently patted her head.

“In a while, I’ll help you back into the wooden box. Cultivate well inside—at least for a short while, at most two hours. I’ll return shortly.”

After she agreed, Hongyun hesitated, then took off a string of beads from himself and tied it to her wrist.

“Carefully sense the flow of Sha energy within. If needed, throw it out—it will keep you safe.”

Pleased by her obedience, Hongyun carried the wooden box beyond the city for over ten miles, settling her behind a shrine he had prepared long ago, then hurried back to Cangxi Town.

Tonight, your fate ends at midnight; I shall not let you live to dawn!