CHAPTER 465: CHAPTER 465 VOID BUTTERFLY_1

"Fall!" Yu Shengjing bellowed as the giant sword plummeted at an unimaginable, terrifying speed.

Tan Chang’s heart pounded in his chest. What kind of sword is this? he thought in shock. It seems capable of tearing the very firmament apart.

Yu Shengjing was very pleased with the shock on Tan Chang’s face, and he laughed heartily. "Years ago, I was mentored by Rong Sanyue of Hua Country’s Penglai Sword Pavilion, a powerhouse in the Divine Gate Realm. Her mastery of the sword left me in awe. This strike... is the fruit of my enlightenment!"

In the blink of an eye, the hundred-zhang sword of spiritual energy had fallen from a kilometer high in the sky, looking as if it would crush the fragile bodies of Xu Lai and Tan Chang.

"Pfft!"

Unable to withstand the oppressive force, Tan Chang spat out a mouthful of blood and fainted.

"Supreme Emperor, the Mistress is calling you home for dinner."

A crisp voice suddenly rang out. Yu Shengjing was horrified to discover that a young girl had appeared at the foot of Mount Haitang at some unknown time.

She wore her hair in a ponytail and bounced her way over to Xu Lai. Looking up at the sky in surprise, she muttered, "Where did this lousy sword come from?"

With a casual wave of her hand, the hundred-zhang giant sword shattered!

"What!?"

Yu Shengjing stared at the little girl in disbelief, his eyes filled with terror. "Who are you?"

"Hello. I’m a Taotie. How may I help you?"

The little girl was, of course, Yun Jin, also known as Little Glutton. She cracked a brilliant, wide-mouthed smile.

Although the girl’s face was pretty and full of childish innocence, an inexplicable terror welled up inside Yu Shengjing. This little girl... she feels like an ancient demonic beast, or a soul-devouring, bottomless abyss. As if she could swallow me whole in a single bite.

"I am here on the orders of the Saint of the Moon Sect to kill Xu Lai. I advise you not to meddle in affairs that don’t concern you," Yu Shengjing said coldly. He couldn’t gauge the little girl’s power, so he could only try to sound harsh, hoping to intimidate her into backing down.

"Have you been eating celery? You’ve got a lot of nerve," Yun Jin said earnestly.

"..."

Yu Shengjing was speechless. He snorted coldly. "Consider yourself lucky today, Xu Lai. I’ll be back to take your life another day."

Xu Lai’s expression remained blank.

Yun Jin gasped, then quietly gave him a thumbs-up. "Daring to curse the Supreme Emperor himself... I respect your guts. When you get to the Samsara Sea, you can ask for an extra bowl of Reincarnation Soup."

Yu Shengjing was stunned. What does that thumbs-up mean? And what’s this Samsara Sea? She talks as if my death is a certainty.

"Supreme Emperor, can I eat him?" Yun Jin asked, tilting her small face up innocently.

"Do as you please," Xu Lai said.

"Hmm." Yun Jin’s smile was radiant, but her eyes filled with disdain as she sized up Yu Shengjing. "On second thought, no. He looks like he would taste foul."

"How dare you!" Yu Shengjing rebuked. Although he knew he was no match for this girl, he was still enraged by her contempt.

"Oh? And who are you calling daring?" Yun Jin said, her eyes smiling.

At the same time, a colossal silhouette appeared behind her petite frame. Though the figure was ethereal, it seemed to cause space itself to ripple and collapse. An endless, chilling wind swept out. It was a massive Taotie!

The Taotie stared menacingly at Yu Shengjing, its enormous head radiating a palpable killing intent.

"..."

Yu Shengjing felt his scalp tingle as his pupils shrank to pinpricks.

The cultivation technique he practiced wasn’t an Earthly Martial Dao, but one bestowed upon him by the Saint of the Moon Sect. This was why he had become such a devoted believer. Along with the technique, he had been given an illustrated guide to certain creatures and plants. If he ever encountered them on Earth, he was to report them immediately.

Most were heavenly materials and earthly treasures. A small portion were various rare demons. Among them was the Taotie. The text described the Taotie as a great evil, a creature to be avoided at all costs and never confronted head-on.

Recalling the explanation from the guide, Yu Shengjing swallowed hard. His mind raced, and he finally stammered, "If I said that this... this was all a misunderstanding, would you believe me?"

"Do you think I would believe you?" Yun Jin tilted her head, giving Yu Shengjing an odd look. The Taotie behind her tilted its head in perfect sync.

The identical movement filled Yu Shengjing with boundless fear.

Without the slightest hesitation, Yu Shengjing burned his life essence and fled.

SWOOSH—

The sound of him tearing through the air resounded. In a mere instant, he was over two hundred meters away, but he had no time to feel relieved. He heard the crisp voice of the young girl behind him. "And where do you think you’re going?"

As she spoke, Yu Shengjing realized with despair that he could no longer move forward a single inch. Instead, an unimaginable force yanked him rapidly backward. In the blink of an eye, he was standing before the little girl who called herself a Taotie.

The next moment, the Taotie shadow behind Yun Jin swatted down with its palm.

BOOM!

Yu Shengjing was instantly pulverized into ash without even a scream. The impact caused the entirety of Mount Haitang to tremble three times over.

Xu Lai couldn’t help but glance at Yun Jin.

Little Glutton herself was startled; she had forgotten to hold back. She said timidly, "Supreme Emperor, the Mistress is calling you home for dinner..."

"Mm," Xu Lai nodded and started up the mountain with Yun Jin.

Just as he turned, he said flatly, "How much longer are you going to watch?"

The instant he spoke, a butterfly that had been concealed in the void was violently knocked out of space.

"It’s... a Void Butterfly!" Yun Jin exclaimed, then happily scurried over to catch it.

The Void Butterfly was an extremely rare creature in the Immortal Domain. It possessed no combat or defensive abilities but had a natural affinity for the void. It could live its entire life hidden within it. By attaching a thread of Divine Sense, one could see through the butterfly’s eyes. It was like having clairvoyance, a way to be present at a scene from afar. Regrettably, one could only see images, not hear any sound.

In the Immortal Domain, it was said that these butterflies were born in the void and died in the void. Moreover, the Void Butterfly was a supreme material for Artifact Refining and Alchemy. Because of its helplessness, it was hunted extensively by Cultivators. The already small population had vanished from the Immortal Domain, and they were thought to be extinct. It was a complete surprise to catch one on Earth.

Yun Jin’s cheeks flushed with excitement as she looked expectantly at Xu Lai. "Supreme Emperor, this Void Butterfly..."

"You can keep it," Xu Lai said casually.

While a Void Butterfly was a treasure to the Cultivators of the Immortal Domain, it was just an ordinary demonic beast to him. At his Boundary, he no longer had much need for such creatures in his Artifact Refining or Alchemy.

"Mhm, mhm, mhm!" Yun Jin grew even more excited. She would sell this living Void Butterfly when she got back to the Immortal Domain and get some startup capital.

Capital for what? Why, to build a downline for Sister Yiyi... no, that’s not right, to recruit followers for her! She would let the Immortal Domain know that in the distant East, there was an Empress who would one day become the ruler of the Immortal Domain.

The two returned home. A joyous Little Glutton Yun Jin immediately went to find Yiyi to show her the butterfly she had just caught.

Meanwhile, Xu Lai sniffed the air, and his heart sank. Oh no. What’s that burning smell? Don’t tell me Ruan Tang is cooking again?

With a sense of dread, Xu Lai walked toward the kitchen. Sure enough, he saw a pale-faced Ruan Tang wearing an apron, clutching a cutting board, and standing a safe two meters away from the stove. The oil in the wok was already boiling. She was clearly too afraid to dump the vegetables in, fearing the hot oil would splatter on her.

As she hesitated, the flame under the wok WHOOSHED up and into the oil, startling Ruan Tang so much that she took another step back.

"Honey, I’ll do it! I’ll do it!" Xu Lai was just as startled and quickly took the cutting board from her. He said with a hint of resignation, "Why are you cooking again? You can just leave these things to me."

"I just wanted to help you relax a bit," Ruan Tang said, tying another apron on Xu Lai. She looked down like a little girl who had done something wrong, not daring to meet his eyes. She was annoyed with herself. How can I be so clumsy? I can’t even cook a simple meal.

"It’s okay, just leave it to me." Xu Lai gently rubbed her head and got back to cooking, completely ignoring the two burned meat dishes that were already on the counter.

Well... at least the kitchen didn’t explode. As long as the kitchen doesn’t explode, everything else is a minor problem.

...

...

「The Moon.」

Within the palace of the Upper Crescent Moon Clan, Crown Prince Ji Gui was clutching his face and howling in agony. Blood streamed from his right eye.

Ji Jie, the eldest daughter of the Moon King, stood clad in a long dress. Pure as a Fairy who had descended to the mortal realm, she looked at her brother with a serene smile. "Look at you, what a mess. It was just a thread of your Divine Sense attached to a Void Butterfly being severed. Is that any reason to roll around on the floor in agony?"

"You must remember, you are the Crown Prince of the Moon Clan, the future king! If anyone saw you in such a disgraceful state, your reputation would be utterly destroyed."

Ji Jie’s words sent a surge of fury through Ji Gui. "Ji Jie, your plan failed! What do you have to say for yourself!" He kept his face covered, a trickle of blood sliding from the corner of his eye, a shocking sight.

Ji Jie’s plan had been simple: have a Human Puppet on Earth attack Xu Lai while releasing the Void Butterfly to monitor him. Yu Shengjing’s supposed mission to kill Xu Lai was merely a distraction. That Void Butterfly had been an incredibly valuable gift from the Moon King himself when Ji Gui came of age.

And now it had been captured, and the thread of his Divine Sense attached to it had been severed... It was a reality Ji Gui found impossible to accept.

"Look at you, being so petty," Ji Jie sneered. "Though the loss was heavy, it... wasn’t without its gains. All things considered, it’s an acceptable outcome."

"What gains!?" Ji Gui seethed, his tone accusatory. He must have been out of his mind to cooperate with Ji Jie’s plan and release that priceless Void Butterfly.

"Ji Wuming once sent a Sea Demon to attack Xu Lai with a Crystal Ball that sealed a Taotie. And the result?" Ji Jie said coolly. "Xu Lai didn’t die, there was no sign of a great battle, and the fate of the Taotie remained unknown."

Ji Gui froze. Then it hit him. "That Taotie... isn’t it the one by Xu Lai’s side?"

Ji Jie narrowed her eyes. "That man can actually control a Taotie. And a juvenile one, at that..."

Ji Gui fell silent. The intense pain from his severed Divine Sense had clouded his judgment. Now that he had calmed down, sheer terror flooded his mind. This Xu Lai... what Boundary is he at? How can he be... so terrifying!

Ignoring Ji Gui’s horror, Ji Jie’s slender fingers began to tap lightly on the armrest of her chair. The rhythm wasn’t fast, yet it slowly forced Ji Gui’s own frantic heartbeat to match its pace.

THUD...

THUD...

THUD...

An inexplicable, crushing pressure descended upon Ji Gui, followed by a wave of despair. He realized that he, the Crown Prince, didn’t even dare to interrupt his sister’s rhythmic tapping. The thought filled him with absolute hopelessness.

"Ji Gui," Ji Jie said suddenly, "I plan to go to Earth to meet this Xu Lai in person. What do you say?"