A Trap

Pei Xuan only heaved a sigh of relief when Pei Ling knelt without hesitation.

At this moment, an icy cold voice with a tinge of anger sounded from the temple. "What's the matter?"

"Reporting to Fairy Li," Pei Xuan hurriedly said. "We understood that you were here cultivating, so we didn't dare disturb you. However, my nephew, Pei Ling, has only just returned from Yuanlao Mountain. He said that he had discovered Wu Tingxi's traces and was afraid of alerting the enemy. He didn't dare to send out the family's signal. He thought that Fellow Daoist Zheng was in the manor…"

"Wu Tingxi?" Before he could finish his sentence, the door of the spartan house suddenly opened silently. A figure rushed out in a flash. She was wearing a black dress and black shoes with a veiled hat on her head. A black veil, the same as the hem of her dress, hung down to her chest, obscuring her appearance.

When she appeared, Pei Xuan had already swiftly lowered his gaze and looked down, not daring to be careless in the slightest. Pei Ling's reaction was slightly slower and he caught a glimpse of her figure. He felt that this woman had a graceful figure, especially her slender waist that could be grabbed with one arm. However, the aura around her was particularly fierce, like an unsheathed sword that was oppressive.

Fairy Li stretched out her hand and beckoned. There was a crisp sound of the wind chimes, and the mens' minds were in a mess. When they returned to their senses, they saw that the wind chime of a skull was already hanging by her waist. Her curtained hat was tilted slightly. Fairy Li tilted her head and asked, "Where is he?"

Pei Xuan looked at Pei Ling, who composed himself and clenched the pellet tightly. He said in a deep voice, "Reporting to Fairy, Wu Tingxi is already dead."

"What?" Pei Xuan was startled.

Fairy Li did not mind. "Where is the technique?"

"Outside the city." Pei Ling felt that this fairy was so imposing that Zheng Jingshan could not be compared to her. At least, when he met Zheng Jingshan in the main hall of the Pei family, although he was high and mighty, he did not give him any special feeling.

However, at this moment, through the veil, he could sense that Fairy Li's gaze was like a bolt of lightning. When she looked over, it was as if Pei Ling was stared at by an extremely terrifying object, causing the hairs on the back of his neck to stand up in horror.

He swallowed his saliva with difficulty and forced himself to calm down. He said, "I was fortunate to encounter Wu Tingxi in a cave. At the time, he was already severely injured and on the verge of death. After a desperate struggle, I killed him. I planned to return after retrieving the items, but I was afraid that I would lose them on the way, so I hid them outside the city."

Fairy Li did not comment. "What do you want?"

Pei Xuan was standing behind her. When Pei Ling admitted to killing Wu Tingxi, he was already covered in sweat. Upon hearing this, he secretly heaved a sigh of relief and signaled to Pei Ling to speak for the family.

However, Pei Ling had risked his life to return for himself only, so how could he possibly care about Pei Xuan?

He ignored Pei Xuan and said solemnly, "Fairy, please save my life!"

"Save your life?" Fairy Li sized him up and said casually, "Wu Tingxi's Five Poison Finger is truly not something that a person of your cultivation level can withstand."

She casually threw a jade bottle over. "There are three Poison Expelling Pills in here. Eat them all and meditate for a while."

"As for the Rakshasa Painting…" The fairy said calmly," Once I retrieve the jade slip and confirm that there are no faults, I will naturally tell that garbage Zheng Jingshan about it! "

Pei Ling caught the jade bottle and poured it into his mouth without waiting for her to finish. He sensed that the poison that had spread to his left shoulder had indeed stopped. He calmed down and hurriedly said, "Thank you, Fairy Li! The jade slip is at the bottom of a small hill outside the city. It would be in a triangular formation of three scholar trees."

After saying this, he clenched the pellet in his sleeve tightly and held his breath.

Fairy Li did not look at him again after he spoke. With a wave of her sleeve, she disappeared in the blink of an eye amidst the crisp ringing of the wind chime.

"…"

Pei Ling wiped his cold sweat with lingering fear. Fairy Li gave him too much pressure.

Although from Wu Tingxi's attitude before his death, the pellet in his hand was most likely his trump card, after personally facing Fairy Li, he was not sure whether this pellet could threaten her.

Fortunately, although this fairy was cold and arrogant, she did not have the intention of burning the bridge after crossing the river.

This was the most desirable outcome he had hoped for before he returned.

From the looks of it, it could be said to be a great fortune amidst misfortune.

"Pei Ling, what is the meaning of this?!" Pei Xuan heaved a sigh of relief when he saw Fairy Li leave. His expression darkened as he berated, "This is a rare opportunity. Why are you thinking only about yourself instead of the family? Don't forget that the Pei family has raised you all these years!"

Although Pei Ling had consumed the Poison Expelling Pills, the unyielding attention in the surrounding air was like maggots latching onto his bones, intensifying every second. How could he be in the mood to talk to the Family Head?

He replied promptly, "Yes, I will always remember the Pei Clan's kindness. Therefore, I'm afraid that if I die at a young age, I will not be able to continue serving the family. Please don't worry, Master. In a while, when Fairy Li comes back and helps me deal with the painting, I will put in a good word for the family."

With that, he cupped his hands to the family head and turned to leave.

He hurriedly returned to his residence, his face had already turned pale, and was on the verge of collapse. He forced himself to close the door, and Pei Ling felt that it was getting difficult to think straight.

"No!" He bit the tip of his tongue hard and forced himself to stay awake.

If this carries on, I'm afraid I won't be able to last until Fairy Li retrieves the cultivation technique jade slip.

The only thing he could do now was to let the system cultivate like before!

The problem was that he did not dare to attempt the Bone Forging Art's one-click management anymore.

Who knew what the system would steal from Zheng Jingshan or Fairy Li with his body this time?

These two would be returning to the Jade Parasol Compound in a while. When the time came, they would probably see him steal something from their room and still swagger about cultivating on the spot. One could imagine the outcome.

"System, I want to cultivate!" Amid his anxiety, Pei Ling suddenly remembered that he could not only choose the Bone Forging Art now.

He hurriedly called out in his mind, "Select the Nameless Divine Art, then select [Temporary Cultivation—Smart Duration], and [One-Click Management]!"

"Ding-dong!" The system operated rapidly. "The Smart Cultivation System is at your service! One-click management, smart upgrades! Beginning cultivation now, a thoughtful reminder: During the cultivation period, the host will lose control of the body. Please do not panic…"

The moment his body was taken over by the system, the invisible eyes from the Scarlet Bone Rakshasa pattern rapidly disappeared.

Pei Ling secretly heaved a sigh of relief, but he still observed the system's actions nervously.

The system placed his body in a completely different position from the Bone Forging Art. The spiritual power in his dantian also began to circulate in a new manner.

As his cultivation progressed, the effects of the Poison Expelling Pill that he had taken previously began to show. Pei Ling could feel that the toxicity in his left shoulder was beginning to subside and his senses were recovering…

At the same time, outside Deer Spring City, on the small hill by the three scholar trees that Pei Ling had mentioned, Fairy Li successfully found the cultivation technique jade slip that Wu Tingxi had left behind.

There were still some miscellaneous items with the jade slip, but she did not even take a look at them. "Although Luo Qiao's core formation is only low-grade, he's been in the Core Formation Stage for many years. He won't make a rookie mistake. There must be something special about this Six Desires Secret Manual for him to take the risk to switch cultivation."

Fairy Li murmured to herself before putting the jade slip between her eyebrows with great expectations.

However, just as the jade slip touched her skin, it suddenly emitted a cold light.

Whoosh!

Fairy Li reacted quickly and threw the jade slip away. However, before she knew it, the cold light still crashed towards her sea of consciousness at the speed of lightning!