Chapter 8
Before Ward Jimmy could show his pass, the student with the hand raised spoke up loudly.
“I’ve long heard that senior Ward Jimmy’s magical power is at the peak of the beginner level. But I never saw you at Peach Mountain. Why do you come here to seek your death now that your magical power is useless?”
“The pass is here. May I be allowed to enter?”
Ward Jimmy ignored the student’s extremely unfriendly tone and simply handed over the pass, asking calmly.
Upon seeing the pass, the student said nothing further. With a cold snort, he muttered, “Ward Jimmy is too arrogant and overconfident.” Then he tore off a talisman from behind him, gestured at Ward Jimmy with his lips, signaling him to enter. After that, he took out another talisman from his pocket and handed it to Ward Jimmy, saying:
“After entering the barrier, light this talisman. It will lead you inside. Remember: For the first ten miles through the Peach Blossom Forest, do not touch any of the peach blossoms.”
The student watched as Ward Jimmy stepped into the barrier, then smirked.
That wasn’t some kind of spell for guiding the way at all. Once Ward Jimmy lit that talisman, its strange fragrance would envelop him. Then, all the wild beasts in the mountains would be attracted by that scent. By then, even if Ward Jimmy had ten lives, they wouldn’t be enough to save him.
As soon as the word of Ward Jimmy’s death spread, the professor would promote him to the experimental class.
Ward Jimmy didn’t know what kind of deal existed between the student with the door and Angelo Churchill. But after all, he had studied spells for a few years himself. He knew whether that talisman was actually a guide talisman or not.
“Young master, why don’t you light the talisman?”
After walking a few steps, Vanny Jimmy, seeing that Ward Jimmy had no intention of attacking, couldn’t help but ask out of curiosity.
Could it be that the young master had been here before? That’s why he doesn’t need talismans to find his way?
“This isn’t a guide token,” replied Ward Jimmy.
Of course, he had never been to Taoshan. If he had known earlier, back when he was in the experimental class, Jiang Liu had repeatedly told him not to enter Taoshan. If he did enter, he would never be able to leave again.
If it weren’t for that old scoundrel Angelo Churchill forcing him to come here, he would never have gone to Taoshan, that hellhole where people get exploited without any mercy.
“Then… that guy at the door wants to harm us!”
Vanny Jimmy widened her eyes, rolled up her sleeves, and was ready to go out and give that student who was blocking the door a beating. But Ward Jimmy stopped her.
“This isn’t the time to worry about such things. Besides, who knows, this talisman might come in handy someday.”
In a place like Taoshan, where magical beasts are everywhere, a decoy is extremely important.
It’s important enough to sometimes save Vanny Jimmy’s life.
Vanny Jimmy couldn’t understand what Ward Jimmy said, but she knew that the young master was never wrong!
The young master is always right! That’s something Vanny Jimmy has known for a long time.
She would never forget the day Ward Jimmy saved her at the foot of Snow Mountain.
That day, she took her usual route up the mountain to cut down some wood in exchange for money. Unexpectedly, there were bandits who tried to rob her. If Ward Jimmy hadn’t intervened in time, she would have either been killed or taken captive by those bandits.
Vanny Jimmy recalled Ward Jimmy’s bravery that day, and before she knew it, she had arrived at the peach blossom grove.
“Upon entering the Peach Blossom Forest for ten miles, not a single peach blossom may be touched or fallen.”
Ward Jimmy murmured the words the student had said. He wasn’t sure whether they were true or false, or if they had any basis in reality. But it’s always better not to touch things randomly.
“Young master…”
Vanny Jimmy suddenly grabbed Ward Jimmy’s sleeve, her voice weak and lacking its usual energy. Ward Jimmy became puzzled and turned around. To his surprise, Vanny Jimmy’s face was red and swollen!
It was as though she’d been poisoned by some deadly substance: her lips were purple, and her little face was severely swollen.
Ward Jimmy was extremely worried. Throughout their time together, Vanny Jimmy had never mentioned being stung or bitten by anything. Could it be a pollen allergy? But during their time in the experimental class, there were plenty of flowers and plants in the yard. Vanny Jimmy had never acted like this before!
“Vanny Jimmy, what’s wrong with you?”
Ward Jimmy almost shouted those words. He was terrified—afraid of losing Vanny Jimmy, afraid of losing the only family he had in Snowden Gate.
“Young master, I’m fine…”
Vanny Jimmy moved her lips with difficulty and uttered a sentence.
How could it be nothing serious? It suddenly became so swollen and red—either it’s poisoning or an allergic reaction! Either way, it worried Ward Jimmy greatly. He wasn’t knowledgeable about medicine at all. In the past, Vanny Jimmy would take care of his wounds. Now that Vanny Jimmy was injured, Ward Jimmy didn’t know what to do.
“Young master… be careful! Someone has brought the spiritual beast over…”
As soon as Vanny Jimmy finished speaking, she closed her eyes and fainted.
Spiritual Beasts?
Ward Jimmy was puzzled. He couldn’t sense any magical fluctuations from any spiritual beasts in the vicinity. How did Vanny Jimmy know then? After all, Vanny Jimmy was just an ordinary person who had never practiced any martial arts or magic!
Nevertheless, Ward Jimmy didn’t doubt what Vanny Jimmy said. Vanny Jimmy wasn’t anyone else—it was impossible for Vanny Jimmy to harm him.
Ward Jimmy picked up Vanny Jimmy and leaped onto a branch of a peach tree—a relatively safe place at the moment. Ward Jimmy had no idea who had brought that magical beast here at this time, or for what purpose. If that beast hurt Vanny Jimmy, then he wouldn’t spare the person who brought it there!
Soon after, a woman indeed ran towards them from afar. Behind her was a vast crowd of figures. Ward Jimmy looked closely, and the figures of those ground demons gradually became clearer against the backdrop of the swirling dust.
Beast Horde!
These two words flashed through Ward Jimmy’s mind. He stared intently at the woman not far ahead of the group of ground demons, his teeth gnashing together.
Earth demons are originally gentle and social creatures. There’s only one reason why they attack in groups: this woman stole the inner essence of the Demon King!
Perhaps because Ward Jimmy was staring intently, the running woman noticed him and gave him a desperate look for help.
It’s a pity that Ward Jimmy wasn’t the kind to stir up trouble for no reason. He waved his hand at the woman, then hugged Vanny Jimmy and prepared to go somewhere else to avoid the beast horde.
He had no need to risk his own life and that of Vanny Jimmy for a stranger he’d never met before.
You should know that although earth demons have a gentle nature, they’re still spiritual beasts after all. An enraged earth demon can be quite destructive, let alone a group of them.
"Gain the elixir to restore my soul..."
An ancient voice, as if coming from the depths of hell, spoke. It didn’t reach his ears; rather, it spoke directly to his soul.
At the same time, the flame within his energy core flickered slightly.
It’s a high elf demon!
The soul of that fierce demon resides within his body!
Ward Jimmy instinctively covered the area where his energy core was located. It was right there, at the site of his energy core.
Could this fierce spirit really expect me to help it regain its soul and be reborn?
Ward Jimmy recalled the memories that suddenly flooded his mind that day. It was indeed the memories of that high elf demon.
What to do? Should I help it or not? If I do help it, once its spirit recovers, its physical body will be in danger. But if I don’t help it, since it’ll still be in my energy core, won’t that monster still have control over my future cultivation path?
After careful consideration, Ward Jimmy decided to help the High Elf Demigod restore his soul. After all, that fierce deity had also helped him repair his energy core, right? It was only fair to return the favor a little, so that they could get along better in the future.
