C9 There Were Always Villains Who Wanted to Harm Me!

The elderly man, with his cultivation at the Divine Ruins Stage, effortlessly evaded the guards and slipped into Zhuang Banxue's private quarters. To his surprise, Banxue was nowhere to be found. Instead, a black and white mutated beast lay sprawled across the bed, its snores booming like thunder.

"Hmm? Where's Banxue?" he muttered, his brow furrowing briefly before smoothing out again. "Finding her shouldn't be difficult. Capturing this mutated beast and exploiting its bond with Banxue will lead me right to her, as simple as turning over my hand."

With this in mind, the old man wasted no more time. A swift flick of his wrist, and a blood-red, perfectly round Spirit Inhibition Pill materialized in his palm. This pill was designed to momentarily dampen the beast's spiritual essence, making it more amenable to control.

Pill in hand, he approached Wu Zhi, ready to pry the beast's jaws apart and force the pill down its throat. But then, the unexpected occurred. Wu Zhi, who had been in a deep slumber, suddenly acted as if he caught a whiff of something enticing. His small, black nose twitched vigorously.

In the next instant, Wu Zhi's mouth snapped open, and a powerful suction force burst forth. The old man could only watch, dumbfounded, as Wu Zhi gulped down the pill from his hand and began to chew with audible crunches. The entire episode unfolded in mere moments.

Wu Zhi's eyes remained closed throughout, his slumber undisturbed. Swallowing the pill seemed to be an innate reaction.

"This... this works?" The old man was flabbergasted. In his seventy-plus years of cultivation, subduing numerous mutated beasts, he had never encountered one that willingly ingested a Spirit Inhibition Pill.

"This creature's appetite is insatiable!" he exclaimed, momentarily unsure of how to proceed. However, he quickly regained his composure and chuckled to himself. "To think it would so readily consume the Spirit Inhibition Pill! This beast must indeed share a special connection with the Fifteenth Princess. I had intended to exert a bit of force to discipline you, to ensure your future obedience to the princess, but it seems that won't be necessary."

"It seems there's no need for that now!"

The elder was feeling quite elated.

But just as he was indulging in a fantasy about the Fifteenth Princess acquiring the mutated beast, and his own status soaring as a result, the creature abruptly opened its eyes.

"Ptui! Ptui! Ptui!"

In the old man's astonished gaze, Wu Zhi spat out the pill he had just chewed and swallowed!

The pill fragments, now mixed with Wu Zhi's saliva, smeared all over the elder's face.

But Wu Zhi wasn't done yet.

He stuck out his tongue and frantically scratched at it with his chubby paws, as if he was desperate to remove every last bit of the pill residue.

"This tastes horrible! So horrible!"

"What kind of pill is this?!"

"Why does it taste so awful?!"

As Wu Zhi was furiously scratching, the old man finally snapped out of his shock.

The smile on his face vanished, replaced by a surge of rage.

"You wretched beast!"

"It seems I need to teach you a lesson!"

With a furious shout, the elder's hands moved swiftly, summoning a torrent of spiritual energy that transformed into a whip-like force, striking directly at Wu Zhi!

At that moment, Wu Zhi finally took notice of the old man.

Recognizing his face and realizing he was the Fifteenth Princess's master, he grasped the gravity of the situation.

What the hell? This old geezer dares to target me?

Not only did he disturb my sleep, but he also fed me a low-quality pill that tastes like canned herring?

This is outrageous!

This is damn infuriating!!

This old man's actions are unforgivable!!!

In that instant, Wu Zhi was truly furious.

This was his first real outburst of anger since arriving in this world!

"Roar!!!"

Wu Zhi's form swelled dramatically!

His innate ability, Dharma Cosmic Phenomenon, activated!

Then, Wu Zhi opened his mouth and unleashed a thunderous roar.

This roar was nothing like the playful sounds he made during his carefree days of charm and leisure.

It was as if a dragon that had slumbered for a millennium had finally awakened.

It roared towards the heavens and earth, swearing an oath to herald the return of the ancient overlord!

It was merely a single roar.

The spiritual energy that the old man had condensed into a solid form instantly dissipated!

At that moment, an unparalleled terror burst forth from the old man's eyes!

"How can this be?!"

He could never have imagined that his full-force strike would be obliterated by the beast's mere roar!

This was certainly not within the capabilities of an ordinary mutated beast!

Not even a Divine Ruins Stage expert of the same caliber as the old man could achieve such a feat!!

Cold sweat trickled down his temple.

He was suddenly filled with regret.

Why had he sought out this beast?

He was clearly incapable of taming such a fearsome mutated beast!

"We must leave, now!"

"This will require a more considered strategy!"

Though reluctant, the old man was helpless and had no choice but to flee.

But Wu Zhi disagreed.

Did he think he could disturb my sleep and just walk away?

"Roar!!!"

Another thunderous roar shook the air.

Wu Zhi raised his right claw high and then brought it down with a fierce swipe!

The old man instantly felt an invisible force lock onto him, rendering him completely immobile!

All he could do was watch in horror as Wu Zhi's massive claw hurtled towards him!

"No..."

"No!!!"

The old man's eyes were filled with fear as he screamed for mercy.

But alas, Wu Zhi had no intention of sparing him.

The claw came crashing down!

"Bang!"

The old man was instantly reduced to a smear of gore!

Dead.

A Divine Ruins Stage warrior, considered a master in the Lee Dynasty, had been slain by a single blow from Wu Zhi's claw!

Even Wu Zhi, the instigator of this carnage, was taken aback.

He hadn't expected to be so powerful!

He gazed at his right claw, bewildered.

Was the Dharma Cosmic Phenomenon truly this mighty?

No, it wasn't just the Dharma Cosmic Phenomenon.

He had absorbed a significant amount of spiritual energy earlier that afternoon... His Spiritual Energy had surged exponentially!

The combination of these factors had elevated his power to a fearsome level!

That explained how he could kill the old man with a single swipe of his claw.

Cultivation, it seemed, was surprisingly straightforward!

Wu Zhi couldn't help but smile as he withdrew his mastery of the Dharma Cosmic Phenomenon.

Taking the life of the old man didn't weigh on Wu Zhi in the slightest.

It was, after all, the old man who had sought his own demise.

Nevertheless, there was still the matter of the corpse to attend to.

Swiftly, Wu Zhi carried the body out of the sleeping quarters and made his way toward the secluded mountains behind the Imperial Palace.