Chapter 9
Thinking of this, Ward Jimmy prepared to get up and rescue that poor woman. After all, the inner talisman that could restore the evil spirit within her body was still in that woman’s possession.
But suddenly, the world around him spun wildly. When he came to his senses, he found himself among a herd of beasts!
The woman being chased by the pack of beasts was winking at him. Her gaze seemed to be telling Ward Jimmy that she was the one who had done this.
The woman took out a talisman from her bosom and lit it. A strange smell spread throughout the air. Ward Jimmy understood what was happening.
The ground demon has poor eyesight. It can’t distinguish between humans and animals from a distance of one meter. It relies entirely on smell. This woman is trying to confuse the ground demon’s sense of smell! That makes it much easier for her to escape!
Sure enough, the earth demons immediately stopped chasing the woman. They lowered their heads, trying to detect the scent of the inner essence. But no matter how hard they sniffed, all the earth demons could detect was the scent emanating from Ward Jimmy. More precisely, they sensed the magical fluctuations around Ward Jimmy.
The ground demons hesitated for a moment, then began to chase after Ward Jimmy! They thought Ward Jimmy was the one who had done this, while the real culprit slipped away right before Ward Jimmy’s eyes.
Ward Jimmy only hated the fact that, perhaps due to his youth, he didn’t realize that even an ordinary incense-amulet could be used in that way.
Realizing that he couldn’t outrun the earth demon in terms of stamina, Ward Jimmy stopped in his tracks. He channeled the magic within him into his fists and punched the lead earth demon. The internal energy from his punch penetrated the Earth Demon’s body, causing its heartbeat to cease instantly.
Before Ward Jimmy could even realize the power of those punches, a second ground demon rushed at him. Then a third, a fourth…
Ward Jimmy cried out in alarm. Two fists couldn’t stand against four hands. No matter how skilled Ward Jimmy’s fists were, he had no chance against a swarm of beasts attacking him at once.
At this moment, the voice of the High Elf Tianyao rang out again.
“Magnetic power is condensed into golden claws, with mountain-shattering fists as complements. I call this the Purple Golden Claw. I lend you a wisp of my divine fire to envelop the claw. This is your first spiritual skill: the Purple Golden Demon Claw.”
Ward Jimmy suddenly opened his eyes wide. He accelerated his breathing rate to transform his magical energy into gold. With a loud “Ha!”, all the ground demons that rushed at him were sent flying. With one punch, claw marks appeared on the ground, a sight that was truly terrifying!
The ground demons that didn’t charge forward trembled in fear at the demonic aura emanating from Ward Jimmy.
They were familiar with that scent—it was the scent of their ancestors from millions of years ago.
Ward Jimmy raised his eyebrows. His pupils had turned into animal-like eyes. He moved his lips and spat out three words in a cold tone.
“Still not leaving?”
The ground demons were so terrified that their legs went weak, and they lay there, too scared to move.
Ward Jimmy didn’t understand why the earth demons feared him so much. He had used his magic to test a woman who had been severely injured by the earth demons. That woman’s magical power was clearly greater than his own. So why weren’t the earth demons afraid of her, but instead feared him?
Ward Jimmy speculated that this was related to the divine fire he had borrowed for his spiritual techniques. Could it be that even after tens of millions of years, some spiritual beasts still remembered its scent?
Ward Jimmy rubbed his chin, decided not to think too much about it, climbed up the tree trunk, picked Vanny Jimmy down, and walked deeper into the peach orchard.
What’s most important now is to get through the peach blossom forest. He asked the all-powerful high elf, Tian Yao. But Tian Yao told him that if he could cross the peach blossom forest, Vanny Jimmy would be cured.
After passing through the peach blossom forest, one truly enters Peach Mountain. From there on, there’s no longer any protection from the barriers around Snowden Gate. Everyone must rely on their own abilities to survive here. It’s said that within five miles of leaving the peach blossom forest, there are no dangerous magical beasts. But the further up the mountain one goes, the stronger and more ferocious these beasts become.
Ward Jimmy quickly crossed through the peach blossom forest and placed Vanny Jimmy in a cave that was hard to spot. He created a barrier at the entrance of the cave to prevent any magical beasts from approaching.
Although there are no fierce spiritual beasts, the current Vanny Jimmy can’t even withstand ordinary spiritual beasts.
Ward Jimmy couldn’t let Vanny Jimmy take that risk. He had to find a source of water and bring some back for Vanny Jimmy.
That little girl kept saying she was thirsty just then.
But just a few steps after Ward Jimmy took, he saw a familiar figure.
It’s that woman who abandoned herself in the midst of the beast horde!
Ward Jimmy frowned and walked toward the woman. He needed to get an explanation from her. If possible, he’d also take the elixir from her.
In fact, Ward Jimmy couldn’t get much information out of her. When he went in, he saw that the woman had lost consciousness. Most likely, she’d lost too much blood, and after being chased by those ground demons for so long, she became too weak due to exhaustion and anemia.
Ward Jimmy really wanted to say that fortune favors the brave.
This woman just abandoned him to the beast horde without caring. Now she’s in my hands. Wait… that bottle around her waist…
Ward Jimmy crouched down, tore the jade bottle from the woman’s waist, and upon opening it, he saw that it was indeed the Inner Elixir of the Beast King, which the High Elves needed!
“Then I’ll consider it as payment for you tricking me into saving your life! As for you, just stay here and let the magical beasts eat you.”
Ward Jimmy put away his inner alchemy tool. After taking a few steps, he cursed under his breath and turned back. He tore off a relatively clean piece of cloth from his clothes and began to bandage her wound.
“You’re too soft-hearted…”
The High Elf Demon spoke again.
“It’s not a matter of being soft-hearted. I simply took away the inner essence she had worked so hard to obtain. The injuries she’s suffered are a price I’m willing to pay. If I didn’t bandage her wounds, it would be completely inhumane of me.”
Ward Jimmy said those words, mostly to himself. The worst thing on the path of cultivation is losing one’s humanity. Just like Angelo Churchill and his grandson, like the seniors from the experimental class back then, and like the woman standing before him now.
On the path of cultivation, they sacrificed too much in pursuit of spiritual growth. When they finally gained longevity and power, they often forgot their original goals.
Once, he asked one of his junior peers who had just started elementary school why they wanted to pursue the path of cultivation. He remembered that the junior raised his head without hesitation and told him that he wanted to protect everyone.
But on the very day he arrived at the janitorial office, that junior said to the other seniors, “From now on, let the previous seniors be the ones to wash our clothes!”
It’s utterly ironic.
The high elf demon sensed Ward Jimmy’s thoughts. The flame moved slightly, but said nothing.
“Umm…” The woman suddenly opened her eyes. When she realized what Ward Jimmy was trying to do, her pretty face turned red. She quickly pushed Ward Jimmy’s hand away.
“What the hell are you doing! I don’t need your fake attempts at bandaging!”
As she spoke, the woman’s hand moved toward her waist. It seemed she had realized that Ward Jimmy had taken away her Spiritual Beast King’s Inner Elixir. She prepared to fight with Ward Jimmy.
“Give back my Spiritual Beast King’s Inner Elixir!”
The woman summoned the magic within her, prepared to punch Ward Jimmy with all her strength, but collapsed in Ward Jimmy’s arms due to exhaustion.
“Look at yourself—you don’t even have the strength to rely on luck. So stop trying to compete with me for the Spirit Beast King’s Inner Elixir.”
Ward Jimmy sighed and said.
