Chapter 115: How Terrifying

Xu Zhe strolled leisurely along the narrow path winding through the herb fields.

His dual purpose was to check for any exceptional medicinal herbs that might be plucked early and to get his bearings. The scale of this herb field was truly immense; it was hard to imagine what kind of legendary figure could have orchestrated such a vast secret realm. Even the Immortal Emperor families of the Heavenly Domain in his past life could not easily conjure up a herb garden of such staggering proportions.

As a newcomer, Xu Zhe was unfamiliar with the terrain. Beyond hunting for herbs, he needed to orient himself to locate Chu Xiaotong and the others with greater efficiency. He walked at a steady pace for a while, then suddenly accelerated, occasionally glancing toward a different direction before slowing down again.

Thus, his movement through the herb field followed a rhythmic pattern—slow then fast, fast then slow, alternating between cautious probing and sudden dashes.

Before long, other figures began to appear ahead. Although there was only one entrance to the Divine Pill Grotto, everyone who entered was transported to a different location, provided they did not enter simultaneously. The group Xu Zhe encountered this time consisted of several cultivators with more formidable cultivation bases: the Out-of-Body stage.

The group of three men and three women wore similar attire, suggesting they belonged to the same sect. They traveled together, seemingly heading toward a specific destination with a clear purpose. Xu Zhe’s path happened to be the opposite of theirs, and as they approached, they spotted him from afar. Initially, they paid him little mind, but the sight of a Golden Core stage cultivator appearing in a realm that imposed no restrictions on cultivation levels drew a second look.

That single glance, however, left them utterly stunned.

"Xu the Prodigy!"

"Damn it, didn't Prodigy Xu go to the Immortal Burial Valley? What is he doing here?"

"Fellow Daoists..." Xu Zhe began as they drew near.

However, the expressions of the six changed instantly. Without a moment's hesitation, they turned and fled.

"Hey, fellow Daoists, please stay a moment!" Xu Zhe called out hurriedly.

Unexpectedly, this only made them run faster, and in an instant, they had vanished from sight. Xu Zhe stood there, dumbfounded and bewildered. He only wanted to ask if they had seen Chu Xiaotong—why were they running?

"How baffling!"

Xu Zhe shook his head and continued on his way. In the distance, the six had sprinted a great distance before finally slowing down, relieved to see that Xu Zhe had not pursued them.

"That was close. He didn't chase us."

"Terrifying. It’s the first time I’ve ever been scared off by a Golden Core cultivator."

"Don't even mention the Golden Core stage. Can any other Golden Core cultivator wipe out the entire Mo family with a single seal?"

"Although he looks different from when he suppressed the Mo family on the Spirit Net, just seeing him brings that scene to mind. A madman..."

"Junior Sister, you're being naive. Think about the works written by Prodigy Lu. There’s a Taoist named Shen in them who is always shouting 'Fellow Daoist, please stay,' and nothing good ever comes of it."

"Right, right! That Old Demon Xu shouted the exact same thing just now. It was so scary!"

"Let’s take another route. We were only here to try our luck anyway. If we happen to stumble upon a Divine Pill, that would be a huge profit."

The six conversed with lingering fear, tacitly choosing to detour a long way to keep their distance from Xu Zhe. At this moment, Xu Zhe remained unaware of the immense influence he had generated after wiping out the Mo family. He had spent his time in the Immortal Burial Valley, and upon emerging, he had concealed his identity to attend the Divine Pill Conference. With the buzz having faded, he had heard no one discussing the Mo family.

***

As he continued, Xu Zhe encountered several more groups. They were mostly Nascent Soul or Out-of-Body stage cultivators. Every time he opened his mouth, the others would immediately turn and run before he could say a word. Some would flee the moment they caught a glimpse of him. Others, even those in the middle of a conflict over an herb field, would stop their fight the moment someone yelled "Prodigy Xu," and both sides would flee in perfect unison.

"Strange. Do I need to change my appearance?"

Xu Zhe frowned. By now, he had a vague inkling of what was happening. Fine, if that was the case, he would change his appearance to avoid startling everyone!

A shimmer of light passed over him, and he transformed into an ordinary-looking young man before setting off again.

Not long after, another group of cultivators flew past him. They were Nascent Soul stage cultivators—two men and three women—wearing varied attire that gave no indication of their sect or affiliation.

"Golden Core stage?"

They noticed Xu Zhe immediately and stopped in mid-air, their gazes sharp.

"A rogue cultivator?" the woman in black asked, staring at him.

Xu Zhe was relieved. At least they weren't running away this time. "Yes, I am a rogue cultivator. Fellow Daoists, I wonder if you..."

"Kill him."

Before he could finish, the woman in black spoke coldly. Without hesitation, one of the men flicked his sleeve, and a ray of light shot out—a flying sword, gleaming with a frigid edge, struck directly at Xu Zhe.

*Clang!*

Xu Zhe stood still, looking stunned, and allowed the flying sword to strike him. It emitted a metallic tremor before falling to the ground.

The scene fell into a dead silence. The five Nascent Soul cultivators were dumbstruck, especially the man who had launched the sword, whose eyes nearly popped out of his head.

*What in the hell is this physical body made of?*

"You... you are..." The woman in black suddenly realized something, her face turning pale and her voice trembling.

"Why are you all so unreasonable? I was just trying to ask a question. What is the meaning of this?" Xu Zhe frowned, pointing at the sword on the ground as he looked at them.

At the same time, a flash of light passed over him, revealing his true form.

"Xu... Prodigy Xu! It’s a misunderstanding! A misunderstanding!" The woman in black was terrified and scrambled to explain.

The others were equally panicked. As the sword lay on the ground, they too realized the identity of the person before them. After all, across the four great continents, who else at the Golden Core stage possessed such a monstrous physical body? Now that they saw his true face, their hearts trembled with dread.

This was the ruthless man who could crush even those at the Spirit Severing stage! Why were they so unlucky?

"Never mind the misunderstanding. Answer me first: have you encountered Chu Xiaotong and Gu Jia'er?" Xu Zhe asked calmly.

"No... no, we haven't." They shook their heads frantically.

"Very well. You may go."

Xu Zhe raised an eyebrow and waved his hand, signaling they could leave.

The group let out a long sigh of relief, but in the next heartbeat, their expressions contorted. With a loud *bang*, they exploded into clouds of blood mist that rained down from the sky.

"Oh, bother. I forgot that I’m a Heavenly Pill cultivator now, my strength has increased greatly, and I was a bit irritated, so I didn't control my power..."

Xu Zhe realized his mistake. He looked up at the blood mist in the air, offering his deepest apologies and expressing his heartfelt regret.

Not far behind, several other cultivators witnessed everything. Their faces drained of color, and they shivered uncontrollably.

"It’s him. It really is him."

"Old Demon Xu is truly in this place, and he’s killing people."

"It’s too terrifying. He changed his appearance to lure people in and then murdered them."

"Run! He seems to have spotted us!"

"Damn it, he’s coming this way! Retreat!"

***

"Sigh."

Watching another group scramble away in a panic, Xu Zhe could only sigh. He decided to keep his true appearance; there was no point in hiding it anymore. Otherwise, whenever he changed his identity, there would always be some unscrupulous cultivators trying to kill him for his treasures, which was truly troublesome.

"Ultimately, it's because my cultivation base is too low. If I had the aura of an Out-of-Body or Spirit Severing stage cultivator after changing my identity, they wouldn't run upon seeing me, nor would they rashly try to kill me."

Xu Zhe summarized the situation with a grave expression. "I must hurry and break through to the Nascent Soul stage, then step into the Out-of-Body and Spirit Severing stages."

He set off again, ignoring the reactions of others, keeping his divine sense wide open as he continued his search.

The next day, Xu Zhe reached the depths of the herb fields and stopped before a high mountain in the distance.

"From where I started to here, this is the end of the straight line. Given the range of my divine sense, I can be certain that Chu Xiaotong and the others are not in this sector."

Xu Zhe pondered, looking toward the right. Since they weren't in this half of the area, they must be in the other herb field sector.

*Whoosh!*

He transformed into a stream of light and sped toward the right.

Meanwhile, news of Xu Zhe’s presence in the Divine Grotto began to spread throughout the realm. It was said that Old Demon Xu was masking his identity to lure people into committing crimes, only to then... murder them cruelly. Others claimed he wasn't even hiding his identity anymore and was killing anyone he saw—even more terrifying than when he had wiped out the Mo family.

For a time, the Divine Pill Grotto was gripped by fear, and the cultivators lived in constant dread.

***

[Sorry to keep you waiting, dawn has broken.]