"You're no use," an old man said, "I've never seen a cultivator as weak as you, you're utterly pathetic."
"Hey, quit the chit-chat," Xiao Kai said, "If you don't help, I won't follow."
"Alright, take this," as soon as the old man spoke, two small round tokens appeared in Xiao Kai's hand, "These are teleportation symbols, allowing you to travel a thousand miles during the day and eight hundred miles at night. I tell you, Xiao Kai, the symbols we give you are condensed with vital energy, very damaging to the body. You can't always rely on us!"
"Tch, look at you being so petty," Xiao Kai said, sticking the tokens on his legs, "Just give you a few drops of blood when I return at night."
With the teleportation symbols attached, Xiao Kai felt lighter all over, his legs filled with strength. Stepping forward, the breeze brushed past, and he unexpectedly took a stride that was three or four meters long. This was his first experience of this kind, feeling quite exhilarating as he moved forward with wind-borne steps for the first time in less than a minute, catching up with the two in front.
After about ten minutes, estimating how far they had walked at their speed, they had probably traveled at least dozens of miles. Huang Bei and Sima Tingxue finally stopped, standing in an empty, wild area with waist-high grass rustling in the evening wind.
"Strange, what are they going to do?" Xiao Kai was curious, then saw Huang Bei produce a shining long sword, the blade made a "clang" sound as it struck the void in front.
The next moment, everything became clear as if an invisible curtain had been drawn back. A thatched cottage appeared out of nowhere in front of them.
"Sister, your powers are indeed profound!" Sima Tingxue immediately buttered Huang Bei up, but unfortunately, Huang Bei's expression remained cold as ice, seemingly unaffected by the compliment.
The thatched cottage looked tattered, as if it could collapse at any moment, with stray strands of straw hanging down from the roof. It seemed to be a typical dilapidated house, yet Xiao Kai knew inside there must be something extraordinary going on.
Indeed, the moment the cottage appeared, a voice inside the house exclaimed sharply, "What are you here for again?"
The voice sounded extremely mournful and ferocious, as if hiding deep-seated resentment. However, Xiao Kai could tell that the voice actually had excellent tonal quality, soft and crisp, not the least inferior to the melodious voice of the Emei sect leader, Lantian Yu.
"Respected senior, I am Huang Bei, a disciple of the Emei sect leader Xue Feng. I've been sent to deliver elixirs to the senior." Huang Bei's voice was devoid of emotion, and her face remained still. Yet, at this moment, Xiao Kai was right next to her, and he could see a very subtle, fleeting emotional fluctuation on her face.
"Hmm, heart rate increased by twenty beats, blood flow accelerated. This girl must be very nervous." An old man immediately made the judgment, "Today's visit is not in vain. It's going to be an interesting day. Haha."
Xiao Kai was a bit puzzled, "Aren't cultivators supposed to have no desires or wants? Why are they so fond of spectacles?"
"Tch, who said they have no desires or wants?" the old man asserted, "Cultivators are actually the most desire-driven people in the world. For the sake of immortality and ascension to the heavens, they endure what ordinary people cannot. In our day, selecting disciples was mainly based on their strong desire to survive and their unwavering perseverance. If you claim that cultivators have no desires or wants, does that mean the world has regressed to that point? Have they even lost understanding of the most basic requirement for cultivators?"
Xiao Kai was dumbfounded, "Then... wouldn't I be very unsuitable for cultivation?"
"There's no doubt about that," the old man struck Xiao Kai with a harsh blow, "You, a slacker with no ambition, money-grubbing and lascivious, are a disgrace to the cultivation world."
"Damn it, I'll teach you a lesson if you don't watch it. Don't forget, I have you all in my hands," Xiao Kai became angry, "Can't you speak more tactfully?"
"Hehe, good, good," the old man, far from being afraid, even applauded and laughed, "This shows a bit of domineering spirit, and that's a bit of the spirit of a cultivator. Keep working at it."
Xiao Kai had no reply.
The cottage fell silent for about a minute before the shrill voice came again, "You're not the thousand-knife killer Xue Feng! You are Xue Feng's disciple?"
"Yes, senior," Huang Bei said calmly.
"You... you are named Huang Bei?" the voice inside the cottage suddenly became agitated, "Is your surname Huang?"
"Yes, senior," Huang Bei's brow furrowed abruptly, then slowly eased, and she said calmly, "May I know what advice you have, senior?"
The entire cottage suddenly trembled. It wasn't just a shudder in one spot, but the entire structure shook, even the ground where the cottage was erected started to sway. This time, it trembled for five minutes before the tremors inside the cottage subsided and the voice inside quivered, "You... are twenty-three years old this year? Your birthday is on the fourth day of the eighth month? Do you have three black moles on your buttocks?"
Xiao Kai could clearly see that Huang Bei's emotional fluctuation was even more intense this time. Her fresh lips twitched suddenly, then immediately returned to normal, her voice, however, remained calm and carried a hint of surprise, "How do you know?"
"Roar!" A wild beast-like roar echoed from inside the cottage, causing the entire structure to shake violently. Xiao Kai was somewhat afraid and quietly moved a little further away. Then, the four old men burst into laughter, "Xiao friend Kai, don't be scared, we're here, nothing will happen to you."
"What's going on?" Xiao Kai asked, "Is there a wild beast inside?"
"Of course not," one of the old men laughed, "That roar just now was from the woman inside the house. She must be so distressed that she can make such a sound. As for this thatched cottage, it's not an ordinary building, but an extremely powerful formation. The woman inside has extremely high cultivation, but due to the powerful suppression of this thatched cottage, she has no way of breaking free."
"How high is it?" Xiao Kai was secretly surprised and asked, "Is it even higher than the Snow Wind Sect Master?"
"There's no doubt about that," an old man said, "This thatched cottage is clearly a treasure, and if I'm not mistaken, it should be called the 'Golden Light Cauldron', a rather famous treasure in the Emei Sect."
"The Emei Sect... the Golden Light Cauldron..." murmured Xiao Kai to himself, "Could it be that the Snow Wind Sect Master imprisoned this woman here?"
As he pondered on this side, he was unaware that the old man speaking in the silent book was desperately scratching his head and muttering to himself, "Hmm, strange, why do I remember the Emei Sect? Why do I remember the Golden Light Cauldron? Why does it all feel so familiar? Oh, I seem to have remembered something, but when I try to think about it, I can't remember anything!"
The other three old men also nervously watched him, clenching their fists tightly and encouraging him, "Keep thinking, try hard to remember, you must remember who we are!"
But leaving Xiao Kai aside, at the thatched cottage door, Sima Tingxue saw that Huang Bei seemed to be lost in thought, and couldn't help but pluck up the courage to tug at her sleeve, "Senior Sister, it seems dangerous here, shall we take a step back..."
Huang Bei suddenly reacted, harshly pushing away his hand and scolding loudly, "Who asked you to touch me? Get away from me!" She had always been cold and aloof, but now her reaction seemed quite out of character, and Xiao Kai, seeing this, felt even more convinced that there was some kind of secret here.
Sima Tingxue's face turned red, nodding repeatedly, "Yes, yes." She obediently retreated behind her, but her eyes remained nervously fixed on the increasingly violent shaking of the thatched cottage, determined that if any danger arose, she would push her goddess back for protection, even at the risk of her own life.
The cottage shook violently for about ten minutes before finally coming to a stop, and from inside, someone was panting heavily, then spoke sharply, "Huang Bei, when Snow Wind took you as a disciple, did he ever make you do something unspeakable?"
Huang Bei replied respectfully, "Master has shown me great kindness, and my Emei Sect is a sacred place in the world of cultivation. How could I possibly do anything unspeakable?"
Hearing this, there were contemptuous sneers and cold laughter from inside the cottage. Sima Tingxue couldn't hold back any longer and angrily shouted, "You ungrateful person! Master spent countless efforts collecting spiritual medicines from around the world to refine this 'Elixir of Creation', and ordered us to come and deliver it to you with all our might, just so that you could extend your life for ten years. However, instead of being grateful, you slander my master everywhere. What is your intention?"
"Humph, intention?" the voice inside the cottage sneered, "You only know how much effort he put in, but you don't know what he did to me. How can the mere ten-year lifespan compared to the prime years of my life that he took away from me?"
"Alright, tell us, what did Master do?" Sima Tingxue was getting angry.
"Humph, I was just about to tell you what despicable things he did," the woman inside the cottage said darkly, "Thirty years ago, your good Sect Master..."
Huang Bei quickly furrowed her brow and said in a low voice, "That's enough, junior brother, there's no need to say anything, I'll give the Elixir to her and we'll leave."
"I don't want it!" the voice inside the cottage shouted nervously, "I don't want the Elixir of Creation, I don't want to live anymore. Girl, you keep the elixir for yourself, you'll have use for it in the future!"
"Humph, you say you don't want it, don't you?" Huang Bei took a step forward and with a flick of her hand, a fiery red bead shot into the cottage.
"I don't want it, so take it back!" A force dashed out of the cottage, sending the elixir flying out, straight towards Sima Tingxue.
Sima Tingxue had cultivated for a few days and had some skills. Acting quickly, he grabbed the elixir, but the force caused him to stagger back, taking several steps until he finally steadied himself, spitting out a mouthful of blood.
"Wow!" Xiao Kai gasped. The woman in the cottage could unleash such a huge force with just a casual strike. It seemed that she was indeed as powerful as the old man had said.