’Even though it’s just the lowest-tier Abyssal Demon, it’s a nightmare for Low-Tier Cultivators. Unless you completely obliterate it in one go, it can regenerate in an instant, making it practically undying.’

Somewhere in the shadows, the old man couldn’t resist any longer. He took out the Medicinal Cuisine Mo Qi had prepared and began to savor it in small bites, all while watching Mo Qi’s every move.

’Oh? He can trade blows with an Abyssal Demon and not be at a disadvantage. Not too shabby. But how is he going to finish it off?’ The old man slowly chewed the steak, a look of sheer delight on his face.

「In the dense forest.」

’What in the world is this Abyssal Demon? It doesn’t look human, nor does it look like a Demon Beast,’ Mo Qi wondered, a little confused.

The Pig Emperor explained, "Mo the kid, the world is filled with countless beings and a multitude of races. It’s not just humans and Demon Beasts. Moreover, while many of these races possess self-awareness and are even incredibly powerful, they aren’t technically living creatures."

"Take this Abyssal Demon, for example. It’s a vile creation, born under special conditions from the convergence of the world’s resentment, yin qi, and baleful aura. Strictly speaking, it can’t be considered a life form, but it most certainly exists, and it’s incredibly powerful."

Mo Qi raised an eyebrow at this. "What else do you know?"

The Pig Emperor opened its mouth to continue, but its mind suddenly went blank.

It was as if it had blacked out from drinking; it just couldn’t recall what came next.

"I... I can’t remember," the Pig Emperor said, tugging at its ears with a pained expression.

’Damn it! My memories always cut out at the most critical moments!’

Right then, the legacy memories in its mind were a tangled mess, and it couldn’t make heads or tails of them.

Mo Qi smiled reassuringly. "It’s alright, don’t worry about it. You’ll sort through your memories eventually. For now, let me just deal with this thing."

With that, Mo Qi darted to the side, dodging the Abyssal Demon’s second attack.

With the Obsidian Kitchen Knife in hand, he activated his Nether Soul Flame Yang Fire with a thought, and it wreathed the blade’s edge.

Mo Qi swung his arm, delivering a backhanded slash at the Abyssal Demon.

SWOOSH!

The Nether Soul Flame’s Yang Fire possessed the Supreme Yang Attribute, making it the bane of all things dark and malevolent.

And his Obsidian Kitchen Knife, having been enhanced by the Chaos Scripture, was not only indestructible but also incomparably sharp.

The Abyssal Demon’s defenses were a complete joke before Mo Qi’s kitchen knife. The slash shattered its spine, exposing its pitch-black innards, from which a supremely dark and vile energy surged.

The next moment, the Nether Soul Flame Yang Fire unleashed its power.

BOOM!

The flash of fire came and went in an instant, just like ignited gunpowder. A dazzling light blossomed from within the Abyssal Demon’s body, but it vanished in less than a second.

The Abyssal Demon stood frozen in place like a statue. Aside from the black smoke continuously rising from the gash on its back, it made no other movement.

A moment later.

CRACK!

With a cracking sound, the Abyssal Demon toppled over. Its massive frame crumbled, disintegrating and scattering like dust and ash.

A light breeze blew past, leaving nothing on the ground.

Mo Qi put his kitchen knife away.

’Good thing I have a habit of storing my kitchen knife and the big black wok separately from my External Incarnation. This wouldn’t have been nearly as easy bare-handed.’

After slaying the Abyssal Demon in a single slash, Mo Qi didn’t linger. He and the Pig Emperor departed swiftly, heading toward the location tied to the clue about his mother.

The old man, who had been eagerly awaiting a good show, was utterly stunned by this scene. He accidentally swallowed the piece of steak he was chewing and nearly choked.

’One Slash?!’

’The Abyssal Demon I thought would surely give Mo Qi some trouble was taken down in an instant, killed with a single slash!’

But that wasn’t what shocked the old man the most. What truly stunned him was the Nether Soul Flame.

Others might not have recognized it as a Celestial-level Fire Seed, but how could he fail to?

’Isn’t that the Celestial Fire Nether Flame that belongs to that crazy girl? Why does this kid have it?!’

’No, wait! The Netherworld Flame seems different somehow. Its quality... it seems even higher than before!’

’But how is that possible? It’s unheard of for a Celestial-level Fire Seed to evolve again!’

’No, I have to follow him and take a closer look. There’s definitely more to this kid than just being chosen by that crazy girl.’

In the dense forest, Mo Qi moved like an agile ape, weaving nimbly from tree to tree.

"There’s a Spirit Medicine fluctuating about a thousand yards to your front-left," the Pig Emperor said. "By my estimate, it’s between six and eight thousand years old."

Hearing this, Mo Qi instantly changed direction, speeding toward the spot the Pig Emperor had indicated.

The root systems of two towering, ancient trees were tangled together. Nestled between them grew a small, six-petaled red flower, so vibrant it looked as if it might drip blood.

A message appeared from the Chaos Scripture: *Drunken Immortal Flower, a powerful tonic for one’s Divine Sense. It can enhance the Power of the Soul. Additionally, it is a fine ingredient for winemaking.*

’What a treasure!’

Mo Qi’s eyes lit up as he landed. He had already collected the Purple Sky Thunderbolt and just so happened to be missing the other ingredients needed to make Purple Sky Wine.

The Drunken Immortal Flower was the perfect ingredient!

"Why is there no Spirit Guardian?" the Pig Emperor muttered in confusion.

As a rule, any unclaimed Heaven and Earth Spiritual Object would have a Spirit Guardian nearby.

A Spirit Guardian could be a human, a Demon Beast, or any other kind of being.

They might be the ones who first discovered the Spiritual Object, or perhaps they stole it from someone else. But without exception, they were all waiting for the opportune moment to consume it.

Thus, any outsiders who drew near would be attacked and driven away.

But after scanning the area, the Pig Emperor found no sign of a Spirit Guardian.

Mo Qi extended his senses for a moment and noticed something. He smiled. "There’s no Spirit Guardian, you’re right. But there is a Spirit Protection Array."

With that, Mo Qi strode forward, walking directly toward the Drunken Immortal Flower.

The old man, observing from the shadows, felt a slight smile grace his lips. ’This kid’s luck is pretty good, finding a treasure so quickly. But my things aren’t so easy to take. My Array was made to be...’

Before the old man could even finish his confident thought, his expression changed drastically, as if he’d just seen a ghost. 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

Down in the forest, as Mo Qi drew closer, a powerful wave of Energy suddenly surged up around the Drunken Immortal Flower.

But the wave of Energy seemed to completely ignore Mo Qi, flowing right past him.

Mo Qi plucked the Drunken Immortal Flower without any resistance and tossed it into the space within the Chaos Scripture.

Then, he dusted off his hands and continued on his way with the Pig Emperor.

’How could this be? Did the Array fail because it’s so old?’

’Impossible!’ The old man immediately dismissed the thought.

’This entire mountain range belongs to me. Before I went into slumber, I put measures in place so that any new, high-quality Spirit Medicine would automatically be covered by an Array. I check on them constantly; there’s no way one could have failed.’

’So how did the kid do it?’

Even with the old man’s heaven-defying power and vast experience, he would never have guessed that Mo Qi possessed an ultimate cheat like the Chaos Scripture.

Any Array Restriction was nothing before the Chaos Scripture.

’Hm? Is his luck really that good?!’

Just then, the old man’s Divine Sense picked up Mo Qi and the Pig Emperor finding a second Spirit Medicine.

He hadn’t yet realized the truth of the matter, simply chalking it up to Mo Qi having good luck.