What if I don't want to ascend to immortality?

Chapter 6 The Girl Who Attracts Demons

Han Jie closed his eyes and pondered for a long time before saying softly, "This reason is not good enough."

Meng Qingtong curled her lips and said, "You already know the real reason, why do you have to tell me? It makes me seem so materialistic and pragmatic, which is not good."

He opened his eyes and said sincerely, "But my disheveled state just now wasn't entirely an act. My strength was greatly affected. For the time being, I can't find a solution."

Meng Qingtong tilted her head and said somewhat angrily, "But what I just said is true. I am really good at fighting. If I asked you for help, no one would believe that I wasn't trying to take advantage of your strength. But I really didn't want you to fight to the death. I myself would not want to do such a dangerous thing. I understand the principle of 'Do not do to others what you would not have them do to you.'"

“Well then,” she extended her right hand, “we’ve only just officially met today, so it’s not good to be too forward. Let me help you settle down in Dongding City first, so you can get to know me better, and I can get to know you better too. Once you find me trustworthy and a good partner, then we can discuss cooperation, okay?”

Seeing that Han Jie didn't move, she softened her tone, adding a pleading tone: "If you agree, then extend your right hand and shake it with me, gently shaking it up and down. That's called a handshake, and I'll teach you for free."

"Why such strange etiquette?" Han Jie asked, while reaching out to shake her hand briefly, not daring to touch it for long, and then letting go.

"It is said that in the past, spiritual cultivators would show their right hand, which they usually used to make hand seals, to show that they had no hostility... Who knows? Several great battles have been fought, and history has long been forgotten." After shaking hands, Meng Qingtong smiled and happily went to the tree to get her backpack. She then walked towards the golden light shield that was on the verge of dissipating, preparing to rearrange the spiritual array.

She took two steps, then suddenly remembered something. She turned to look at Han Jie, then looked up at the two small trees with wild fruit hanging on them on the mountain before she jumped down. She smiled slightly, took a small bag out of her backpack, and handed it to him. "Han Jie, to avoid being exposed, I won't always call you 'senior' or anything like that. I have bread and milk here. I'm on a diet and can't finish it all. Can you help me finish it?"

Han Jie knew that with his cultivation level, he wouldn't starve to death no matter how much he ate. But it was really uncomfortable. Moreover, the spiritual energy outside was thin, and replenishing his internal spiritual sea through absorption would be extremely slow. Given his body's depletion, he couldn't afford to waste spiritual energy to replenish it.

But he also knew that this bag of food and drinks was probably prepared by Meng Qingtong for lunch. She said she was on a diet and couldn't finish it, but that was just because she was afraid he would refuse to accept it because she wanted to save face.

He thought for a moment, took the bag, took out the thing called bread, tore it open, and said, "Stop setting up the golden light barrier. What are you planning to do? I'll help you."

Meng Qingtong took the desiccant out of the packaging and put it in a garbage bag. "This can't be eaten. Hmm... I need to capture a demon alive. I'm not sure what this thing would be called in your era's knowledge system. Anyway, we all call it a thief rabbit now."

Han Jie took a bite of the bread. Compared to the dry biscuits his parents used to make for him in his distant memories, it was indeed much more delicious, soft and tasty, but it didn't feel very filling.

He looked at the pile of bait and asked, "Is it one of those grayish-black demons with pointed ears, like a big rabbit?"

"Yes, yes, that's it."

“Back then, people used to call it the Little Thief Demon.” He looked around. “These things usually travel in packs. What’s so special about the one you’re trying to catch?”

“No, it’s just an ordinary one. It was wandering around a neighborhood in the suburbs and happened to steal an important ornament from my client’s home. I’m here to take it back.” Meng Qingtong took out a photo from her bag. “This photo has a connection to the stolen item. I can sense it with my divine sense and roughly pinpoint its location.”

Han Jie glanced at the thing called a photograph, silently pulled up the relevant common knowledge in his mind, and studied it while reviewing it. At the same time, he asked in confusion, "The little thief demons don't attack people on their own. How are you going to lure the target to your trap? They tend to swarm in the wild. Even if these demons are not very strong, if they gather in large numbers, it will be troublesome for you alone, right?"

Meng Qingtong fanned herself with the photo, hesitated for a moment, and whispered, "I know your secret. To be fair, I'll tell you one of my secrets too. Promise me you won't tell anyone, and that you'll just keep it to yourself. Okay?"

Han Jie frowned and said, "If I don't know your secret, does that mean I can't understand the methods you use to summon demons?"

"Hmm," she responded, then muttered somewhat disgruntledly, "Don't you have any curiosity at all? I offered to tell you my secret, and you act like I have to give you money as compensation?"

"Because it feels too troublesome." Han Jie raised his hand and touched his chest, sensing the restless Heart Sword Form. "I don't like things that are too complicated."

That would affect his sword-making—to create a sword from the heart, the mind must be extremely pure.

"Never mind then, I won't say anymore. Anyway, I can lead the target to where I want it to go. It doesn't matter what kind of demon it is, no matter how strong it is." Meng Qingtong waved her hand, "You eat first, I still have enough materials, I can set up a new golden light shield. It won't take more than a few minutes."

Han Jie roughly understood her plan. First, she would use her secret methods to lure all the nearby little thief demons, then use bait to guide them into the golden light barrier. She would then ambush them from the trees, trapping them. Given the strength of the little thief demons, even if hundreds of them huddled together, they wouldn't have a chance to break through the golden light barrier. She could then eliminate them all one by one from the outside.

As a genius who carries nine Heart Swords with him wherever he goes and chooses the appropriate Heart Sword to cut through any demon he encounters, he has never used such a roundabout tactic before.

He had to admit that the world's scarce spiritual energy did not actually make cultivators weaker.

“No need to set it up.” He thought for a moment and decided to prove his worth first, and also save this thrifty girl some money—the materials for high-level spirit arrays are not cheap. “You use your methods to lure the little thief demon here, and I will help you deal with it.”

His ordinary spiritual techniques were indeed less effective due to the problem with his sea of ​​consciousness, but he had confirmed that all nine Heart Swords were without fault. Therefore, let alone some minor thieves and demons, even if the Demon Emperor were to reappear with his forces, he would still dare to step forward and fight.

"It might attract a lot of people. Are you sure you can handle it without setting up an array?" Meng Qingtong looked at him with expectant eyes, but her words were full of worry. It seemed that Feng Leiyi's fall earlier had indeed left a deep impression on her.

“No matter how many little thieves you attract, I guarantee I won’t be able to hurt a single hair on your head.” Han Jie swallowed the last bite of bread, picked up the milk carton, and pondered which of the things he had retrieved from his sea of ​​consciousness was the correct way to drink it.

"If someone else who can't even use a straw said that, I'd definitely think they were bragging." Meng Qingtong reached out and stuck the straw in his mouth, then smiled and spread her hands. "So I'll just go ahead and cause trouble, and you can clean up the mess?"

"Just let go." Han Jie finished his milk in one gulp and stood in front of her. "I'm also very curious about just how many you can attract."

"Can you capture one alive? Just one will do."

"What's the use?" he frowned. "Eradication must be thorough, and the weak should not be spared either."

Meng Qingtong said very seriously, "Didn't I say before that I would definitely figure out where the evil spirits came from in the future? You need to catch one alive for me so I can prove to you that I'm not just talking nonsense."

"No need to prove it, I believe you."

"Uh...catching one alive would be useful to me too. How about you wait until I've squeezed all the value out of it?"

Han Jie was a little surprised. She didn't resort to reverse psychology at this point, but instead spoke frankly about the pros and cons. It seemed that this request wasn't a roundabout way of getting him to show more of his strength; she genuinely needed it. So he nodded, "Okay, I'll try to kill them slowly in a bit. You can find opportunities to capture them alive yourself. Remember, I can use my methods at will. Just go ahead and capture them without worry; I won't hurt you."

"Alright, then... I'll begin." Meng Qingtong pressed her hands against her lower abdomen, her spiritual energy flowing through her. Even through her tight-fitting sportswear, a faint light could be seen emanating from her slender waist.

Han Jie was slightly surprised. He could tell without even looking that Meng Qingtong wasn't setting up an array or activating a talisman. Not only was she not using any spiritual techniques, but she was also gradually suppressing the effects of a long-term spiritual array on her body.

It wasn't any spirit array he was familiar with before; it seemed to be some clumsy and immature creation with a peculiar effect, as if it were blocking or isolating something that was neither spiritual power nor aura.

What's even stranger is that, as she suppressed herself, the strange pull that Han Jie had sensed earlier gradually became clearer and more distinct.

He immediately realized that something was hidden in Meng Qingtong's soul.

As the isolation gradually dissipated, the power of that thing began to be released.

Immediately, Han Jie sensed the restlessness of a large number of demons within a radius of several miles.

Those that had been hiding began to peek out, those that had been wandering around turned to observe, and the little thieves that had been clustered nearby rushed toward them without the slightest hesitation, moving at an incredibly fast speed.

This truly surprised Han Jie!
Since he began exterminating demons everywhere, he is confident that he is one of the people in the world who understands demons the most. He has also summarized the behavioral patterns of many powerful demons. However, he has never seen anyone who can make all the demons in such a large area flock to him just by the aura released from his soul.

If he had such a helper by his side when he was at his peak, wouldn't it be much easier to wipe out the evil spirits?
When he looked at Meng Qingtong again, his gaze burned with intensity. He hadn't expected that this girl hadn't been speaking carelessly just now.

Meng Qingtong didn't have time to pay attention. She was struggling to control the suppression of the spiritual array within her body. It seemed that she had also noticed that several miles away, there were auras far more powerful than the little thief demon slowly moving around.

Han Jie didn't think it mattered much; he'd deal with one if one came, and two if two came. It was a good opportunity for him to familiarize himself with the fighting style in this completely new environment.

"Don't we need to warm up a bit?" Meng Qingtong finally brought the spirit array under control to the desired level, breathed a sigh of relief, and said with a smile, "The thieving rabbits are almost here."

Han Jie didn't respond, continuing on his own: "By using yourself as bait, you can indeed make the demon appear where you want. Is this the secret you wanted to tell me?"

Unexpectedly, she shook her head. "What's that saying again... knowing what but not why. I would be very grateful if you could help me find the real reason."

"Then what was the secret you wanted to tell me earlier?"

"Wait till I catch one, then I'll show it to you." She rubbed her hands together, took out two talismans just in case, and reminded them, "The first wave is coming. The target isn't here; it looks like the next batch won't arrive."

"Should I kill them slower? So as not to scare the rest away."

"No need. When I fish myself, I don't let the fish run away until it takes the bait."

"That's good." Han Jie took two steps, and with his right hand he swept across his left chest. Strands of spiritual energy transformed into fine threads of light, which flowed rapidly between his wrist and fingers, and in the blink of an eye, they transformed into the transparent outline of a long sword.

"This... isn't a magic spell of the spirit weapon type." Meng Qingtong's eyes widened, not even bothering to look at the demon that had already appeared in her field of vision.

Han Jie stretched out his right arm and clenched his fist. The outline of the illusory light instantly solidified into a real sword about four feet long. The blade was silvery-white and covered with a thin layer of mist. The hilt was adorned with a teardrop-shaped crystal, which was not transparent but seemed to have mist swirling and flowing within it.

This is the Misty Cloud—the weakest of his heart swords in terms of offensive power, yet it is perfectly suited for this moment.

Dozens of little thief demons had accelerated to their limit, leaving trails of gray-black in their wake among the wild grass and forest.

Even the weakest demon is still a demon; we cannot be careless and must not give them any chance.

Since they couldn't escape Meng Qingtong's attraction and there was no need to worry about them running away, Han Jie didn't wait any longer. With a wave of his hand, he slashed at the group of small, menacing creatures from afar.

A vast expanse of waist-high, hazy white mist suddenly appeared hundreds of meters in front of him, flowing freely without wind.

In just a few breaths, the little thief demon who was at the forefront plunged headfirst into the fog.

The fog was very light, barely affecting the visibility of those around them.

Therefore, Meng Qingtong could see clearly that as soon as those little thieves rushed into the mist, they were like being trapped in a maze, running around aimlessly like headless flies. If they bumped into their own kind in the mist, they would pounce on them and fight.

She studied it for a moment, then exclaimed softly, "What a powerful illusion! Even demons fell for it so quickly..."

“It’s not an illusion.” Han Jie casually flicked his wrist, planting the misty fog in the ground in front of him.

The pervasive fog thickened, and within the changed fog, the movements of the little thieves suddenly slowed down. Some of the smaller ones even swayed and couldn't stand steadily.

When the second wave of little thieves recklessly rushed into the mist, half of their predecessors had already fallen to the ground, their legs twitching.

Meng Qingtong's target was among this group.

Clearly, she remembered what Han Jie had said earlier and believed him without a doubt. So, without even asking whether the mist would harm her, she grabbed the talisman and strode forward.

The already weak little thief demon posed no threat whatsoever in this terrifying fog. Meng Qingtong kicked away a few troublesome ones and smoothly arrived at her target's side. She bent down, grabbed him by the scruff of his neck like a cat, casually slapped a talisman on his neck, and ran back happily.

Slightly puzzled, Han Jie continued to supply spiritual energy while holding the hilt of the Misty Sword, and asked, "What's the use of catching this thing?"

Those bright, sparkling eyes turned around, carrying a mysterious smile.

"Would you like to know the real name of this demon?"

(End of this chapter)