C18 I Am Not a Human!

Ho Liao was startled; it was his first time seeing someone fall from the sky, and they must have been gravely injured, he thought to himself.

As he approached to see what was going on, he stopped in his tracks. The person who had fallen was already staggering toward him, covered in blood, their face obscured.

"Who are you, kid?" the person asked in a wary, aged voice.

"Just a passerby. Are you hurt, sir?" Ho Liao replied politely.

"If you don't want to die, leave now. Otherwise, I'll consider you an ally of Zhang Qu, my sworn enemy, and I will kill you. Understand?" the person warned harshly.

"But I don't even know Zhang Qu!" Ho Liao replied, feeling helpless.

"Get out of here!" the person warned one last time, raising a hand as if to attack.

Ho Liao felt bewildered but had no desire to become someone's enemy, so he decided to leave. Just then, a small flying vessel swiftly approached, carrying four young women, all dressed in red with black veils covering their faces.

It was Ho Liao's first time seeing a flying artifact, and he was momentarily stunned.

"Zhao Bu, today the Silverbeards will bring justice and end your wickedness, you vile scoundrel!" one of the women shouted angrily at the injured man from the vessel.

"Zhao Bu, if I survive today, I'll make sure to settle this score!" Ho Liao shouted in anger.

"Hey, do you think that person over there is Zhao Bu's ally?" one masked woman asked Zhang Qu.

"Hmph, no wonder Zhao Bu kept running this way. He must have backup here!" another masked woman said coldly.

Ho Liao was frustrated, thinking, "What did I do to deserve this? I'm caught in the middle, with Zhao Bu thinking I'm with Zhang Qu, and Zhang Qu thinking I'm Zhao Bu's accomplice!"

Who could he turn to for help?

"Hey, folks, I'm just a passerby!" Ho Liao explained with a wry smile.

"Brother, I'm in a tight spot today. That thing is yours, now get out of here!" Zhao Bu suddenly shouted to Ho Liao.

Ho Liao froze, realizing Zhao Bu was trying to frame him, hoping to create confusion. Furious, Ho Liao focused on Zhao Bu's chest, and a blade of energy shot out, aiming straight for Zhao Bu's chest!

Zhao Bu, already badly injured, was caught off guard by Ho Liao's swift and decisive attack. The energy struck Zhao Bu's left shoulder, and that was only because he managed to dodge quickly.

As Zhao Bu winced in pain, another burst of energy shot out from Ho Liao's left ankle, hitting Zhao Bu before he could even react!

Whoosh!

The sword energy sliced upward, severing Zhao Bu's throat, and his body fell backward.

"Now you should understand I'm not with that guy, right?" Ho Liao shouted toward the airship above.

"You're just silencing him!" the third masked woman retorted coldly. "Where is the Golden Seal?"

Golden Seal? What on earth is that?

"Can't you see he was framing me?" Ho Liao quickly calculated his defense.

"Why wouldn't he frame someone else?" the woman demanded, glaring at Ho Liao. "The Golden Seal belongs to the Silverbeards. We must retrieve it. If you don't tell us, you'll experience the Silverbeards' eighteen tortures!"

"There's no one else here but you and me, so of course, he wouldn't frame anyone else!" Ho Liao quickly replied.

"Enough talk, kill him and find the Golden Seal!" Zhang Qu ordered sharply.

These four women were all at the Soulkeep level, the weakest being at the seventh level, while Zhang Qu was at the ninth, just a step away from Spirit Shedding.

Moreover, they had the advantage of the airship, giving them a superior position. Ho Liao knew he would surely lose in a direct confrontation. If they pursued him with the airship, he wouldn't even have a chance to escape!

In this critical moment, Ho Liao didn't hesitate. He unleashed seven streams of sword energy from his brow, all targeting the airship instead of the women.

Under Ho Liao's sudden attack, the vessel was pierced with seven sword holes, immediately losing its power and plummeting rapidly. Seizing the opportunity, Ho Liao turned and fled!

Despite the quick response from the four masked women to manage the vessel's crash, they were all in a state of disarray. Regaining their composure, they looked around, but Ho Liao was already gone.

“After him!” shouted Zhang Qu in anger.

The four masked women, like gusts of wind, sped off in the direction Ho Liao had disappeared.

After about a moment, Ho Liao emerged from a cluster of bushes, brushing ants off his clothes. He thought to himself, "Just my luck, running into women who are all unreasonable! But I need to find that Golden Seal; it’s probably on Zhao Bu or hidden nearby."

Approaching Zhao Bu's body, Ho Liao began a thorough search. He found a storage bag, opened it, and poured out a heap of miscellaneous items. Most were spirit stones, along with some spirit herbs and elixirs, and a chillingly cold treasure sword.

As for the Golden Seal, Ho Liao didn’t find it. He repacked the items, tucked them into his belt, and headed toward where Zhao Bu had fallen. Given the short time frame, Ho Liao figured Zhao Bu couldn’t have hidden the Golden Seal too securely. Sure enough, within the broken trunk of a peach tree, Ho Liao discovered a square, golden seal. It was modest in size, about the width of four fingers, but it emitted a strong, icy aura.

Ho Liao carefully examined the golden seal before placing it into his storage bag, thinking to himself that he should ask his mentor about its purpose when they next met. He picked a few large peaches from a tree, eating them as he continued on his journey.

"You little rascal, already eating? That's all you can think about!" A blue light flashed at Ho Liao's waist, followed by the voice of the Book Spirit.

"Master, you're back! I just got a golden seal, but I have no idea what it's for. Do you have any advice?" Ho Liao asked excitedly.

"A golden seal?" The Book Spirit paused, then said, "No wonder the chill around you has increased so much. I was just about to ask you! It seems you're quite the lucky one, managing to get a golden seal behind my back in no time at all."

Ho Liao recounted in detail how he had acquired the golden seal.

"Not bad!" the Book Spirit said with satisfaction. "The golden seal can greatly benefit your cultivation. It's a spiritual tool, perfect for assisting female cultivators with a yin constitution. But it also has significant uses for you. When you're on the verge of a breakthrough, using it to balance the surging pure yang energy within you can ease the pain of your breakthrough!"