Wild cultivation begins with wielding the Taiyin talisman.

It stared at Ning Che's empty sleeve, its smile deepening.

"The Demon Lord's messenger, are you unaware of your own identity?"

Ning Che finally spoke: "What exactly are you trying to say?"

The rat demon's voice suddenly became seductive and deep: "The wise master has prepared a new body for you. As long as you are willing, we will transform you and make you a born saint with precious blood flowing through your veins."

What does it mean to be born holy?

Seeing that the other party had no intention of launching a preemptive attack, Ning Che was naturally happy to exchange a few words. If he could stall until the moon came out, that would be even better.

The rat demon paused upon hearing this, as if lost in thought: "For example, true dragons, phoenixes, unicorns, saints, and golden cicadas—these are all naturally born saints who once dominated the nine heavens and ten earths, supreme races."

They were born divine, and their cultivation would naturally increase even without cultivation. But… that's all in the past.

It stared at Ning Che with blood-red eyes, its tone filled with gritted teeth: "The Human Emperor broke his oath and passed the throne to his son, thus treating the entire world as his private property and all races as his enemies, denouncing him as a 'demon'!"

Its resentment seemed genuine, reminding Ning Che of Yue Can.

Forgetting is a disease of mortals. Since his soul was forged, Ning Che has never forgotten even a single detail.

He still remembered how Yuecan resolutely crashed into the rusted iron, forging this crescent moon with his blood.

To be honest, Ning Che still doesn't know what a spiritual weapon is. He can only feel that the Crescent Moon Blade is easy to use and has never caused him any trouble because of the weapon.

After a moment of silence, Ning Che pulled himself together and said, "I don't know anything about what you're saying, as for you—"

The rat demon sensed the killing intent. That pure killing intent, unadulterated and without any hesitation, was like cold water poured on a winter night, drenching it from head to toe.

It instinctively took a step back.

Then it realized it had retreated, and a hint of annoyance flashed in its dark red eyes.

"How ungrateful!"

It opened its mouth, and another cloud of black mist spewed out. But this time, it didn't aim at the house, but went straight for Ning Che's face.

Ning Che was prepared.

He didn't dodge, but instead took a deep breath, and the Golden Sword Qi of his lungs, carrying the medicinal power of the Poison-Repelling Pill, burst forth from his mouth, directly clashing with the black mist.

The two streams of air collided in mid-air, producing a hissing, corrosive sound. The black mist was torn open by the sword energy, and Ning Che's figure passed through the opening.

Ning Che's knife was too fast.

The rat demon was already desperately burrowing into the ground, a yellow light shone around it, and the soil began to loosen.

But a cold glint still caught up with it.

The blade struck at the base of its tail, sending half of it flying off, spraying purplish-black blood onto the ground. The rat demon let out another mournful scream, then disappeared into the earth.

Ning Che did not pursue.

It wasn't out of any sense of propriety, nor was it out of fear of an ambush.

He simply can't burrow underground, so there's no way to catch him.

The village fell silent again, and the shaman tentatively approached: "Sir, we have prepared a room for you..."

"No need."

Ning Che waved his hand, and the shaman dared not disobey and went back on his own.

Then, you could hear a few villagers who had boldly come over to watch, whispering among themselves, before they soon disappeared into the distance.

Ning Che did not rush to cultivate, but instead thought about what the rat demon had said again.

Of course, he didn't trust that so-called wise teacher. If the other party had sent him a few spirit stones, he might have considered accepting them. But such a callous disregard for human life had already crossed his bottom line.

Perhaps there really was a history unknown to him, but everything must start from the present. What great cause can be discussed with such a demon?

He reached out and ran his hand over the cold blade of the Crescent Moon Blade, closed his eyes, and his consciousness sank back to the door.

He was confident he could push it away tonight. If all went well, it probably wouldn't even take an hour.

But what exactly is this so-called calamity?

-----------------

After an unknown amount of time, the sound of rapid hoofbeats came from afar.

Ning Che opened his eyes and placed his hand on the hilt of his sword.

The firelight shone from the direction of the village entrance, illuminating the silhouettes of the group. Leading the way was Zhao He, mounted on horseback, looking somewhat listless. Behind him followed a carriage and four or five horsemen.

The carriage curtain was lifted, and a young woman dressed in a plain dress jumped down, carrying a medicine box in her hand, and walked quickly toward them.

In the hazy moonlight, Ning Che almost mistook it for Zhong Hongyao. But after all, they were comrades-in-arms who had gone through thick and thin together, and he quickly discerned the differences.

Their appearances are at least 99% similar, but their expressions are completely different.

She wore a rather intricate updo, her black hair like swallowtails, tied in a bun on top of her head and then cascading down her shoulders. Her eyelashes were long and curved, and her eyes were large and bright, reflecting the moonlight.

Then, Ning Che saw her look away, her chin slightly tucked in, as if she felt uncomfortable being stared at by him.

Ning Che suddenly realized that staring at her like that was obviously impolite, so he awkwardly turned his head away as well: "Who are you?"

"Zhong Lingsu." Her voice was soft, but her pronunciation was clear. "The Zhong family's physician, Zhong Hongyao is my sister."

Before Ning Che could exchange any more pleasantries, Zhong Lingsu had already taken half a step forward. Her brows furrowed as she stared at his fingertips, her words quickening: "You've been poisoned."

Ning Che lowered his head.

He then noticed that his fingertips were covered with a bluish-black tinge, which spread upwards from the edge of his nail and had already passed over the first knuckle.

When?

Seeing him frown, Zhong Lingsu immediately realized she wouldn't get anything out of him. So she simply took out a roll of cloth from her waist, unfolded it with one hand, and found several silver needles and two small porcelain bottles inside.

"Don't circulate your qi yet," she said. "This thing flows with the qi and blood; the more you urge it, the faster it will move."

Ning Che had indeed intended to try to expel the poison by circulating his internal energy, but upon hearing her words, he stopped.

"Can it be solved?" he asked.

Zhong Lingsu didn't answer immediately. Instead, she pinched his wrist and flipped it over, pressing her thumb against his wrist. Her fingers were very cold, probably because she had been standing for a long time at night.

After a few breaths, she released her grip, her expression visibly relaxed: "The poison hasn't penetrated deep; it's still on the surface of your meridians. I'll remove the poison for you now, and you should be better by tomorrow."

Ning Che pointed to the room next to him and said, "Could we postpone this for a while? The patient inside probably can't wait."

"Is it your relative?"

"We've only met by chance, but if they die here, wouldn't our trip have been in vain?"

Zhong Lingsu was somewhat taken aback and looked Ning Che over again. Then she inserted the silver needles into his acupoints, muttering as she circulated her internal energy, "This is really strange."

After a moment, she stopped and instructed, "Don't touch this hand until I come back, especially not the needle on it."

"I guarantee I'll complete the mission!" Ning Che replied.

Zhong Lingsu ignored his strange remarks, used her magic to conjure a light veil over her face, and went inside.