Something Strange (Part One)

Rong Aoqing said, “It’s probably just a wild beast that wandered in. Don’t act rashly.”

Hearing this, Yu Manjing finally relaxed a little and gave a reluctant nod.

Xu Ya stood unsteadily on the Ink Sword, struggling to maintain her balance. It took all her focus just to stay upright.

The path ahead grew darker and darker. With no more spiritual energy to spare for probing, Xu Ya could only observe her surroundings anxiously. Her top priority on this journey was to stay alive. That thought alone made her curse the male lead more than once in her heart.

And right on cue, the system chimed in like a doting mom defending her precious son.

Xu Ya was so tense she didn’t even realize she was the one gripping the male lead’s hand tightly and refusing to let go.

Shi Yuzhen, feeling the warmth of their joined hands, was carefully scouting the path ahead.

Suddenly, Zhan Zhengzhen spoke up. “There’s a suspected array within an array ahead. Everyone, stay alert.”

It felt like there was another barrier in front of them. The cultivators tried channeling spiritual energy into it using hand seals, but it was useless.

Only Shi Yuzhen tried again with stronger spiritual power. In an instant, the array core seemed to recognize him and opened up to him.

A pitch-black talisman was etched onto the array core, surrounded by drifting black matter. No one could tell what kind of formation this was anymore.

Shi Yuzhen sensed something off with his spiritual energy and quickly stopped channeling it—but it was already too late.

In the blink of an eye, the feeling of being consumed by inner demons surged through him once more.

A sudden wave of fear gripped Shi Yuzhen—an emotion he had never experienced before.

Zhan Zhengzhen noticed that Shi Yuzhen had let go of Xu Ya’s hand and was now walking toward the talisman like he was in a trance. Alarmed, he called out, “Great Senior Brother, don’t go near it!”

“Great Senior Brother!” Rong Aoqing also called out when she saw Shi Yuzhen ignoring Zhan Zhengzhen’s warning.

“What do we do?” Yu Manjing asked anxiously, turning to Rong Aoqing.

Hearing the group’s panicked voices, Xu Ya immediately realized something was seriously wrong.

She racked her brain, trying to recall if the half-torn script she had received had any clues. Shi Yuzhen’s behavior was far from normal.

Remembering that the torn script had been left behind in the little hut, Xu Ya couldn’t help but feel a wave of regret.

The part of the script Xu Ya had gotten was from the very beginning of the story. Most of the plotlines hadn’t even started yet, and even Master Xu’s schemes were still unknown—only that he was a villain.

Xu Ya suddenly felt a wave of paranoia. She was convinced that the talisman was no ordinary thing.

What do I do?

【Host, no need to worry. Requesting access to future plot from higher authority… Progress: 1%…】

Xu Ya stood on the Ink Sword, watching Shi Yuzhen, who was still stumbling forward like he was possessed, her worry growing by the second.

Just as the Ink Sword sensed its master’s unstable spiritual energy and prepared to assist, Xu Ya suddenly leapt off the sword.

She didn’t know why, but the bad feeling in her chest was growing stronger and stronger. A single thought rose in her mind: I have to stop him from going any further.

Everyone else merely watched from a distance. In Xianze, the rule of survival had always been to protect oneself first. Xu Ya wasn’t even an official disciple of Xianze. But she took a bold step forward and grabbed Shi Yuzhen, who was still walking forward in a daze.

But he was a fully grown man. How could a frail girl like Xu Ya possibly hold him back?

Instead, she was dragged along with him for several steps.

Only then did the others realize something was wrong. They exchanged glances, then quickly formed hand seals and channeled spiritual energy to help subdue Shi Yuzhen.

But the moment they did, their bodies were pulled toward the talisman as if by an invisible force, like puppets in a zombie movie.

Xu Ya panicked.

Something was very wrong.

In the blink of an eye, five out of their six-person team were incapacitated—all because Xu Ya had no spiritual power to speak of.

What do I do, what do I do??

【Progress: 8%…】The system gave no further response.

Xu Ya clutched Shi Yuzhen’s robe, hopping in place with anxiety.

At first, only Shi Yuzhen had been acting strangely, but after the others formed hand seals, they too fell under the same spell.

Xu Ya keenly sensed that there was something off about the talisman.

Screw it, she thought.

She abruptly let go of Shi Yuzhen’s hand and, due to momentum, fell hard on her backside. Ignoring the pain, she scrambled forward on hands and knees toward the talisman.

If spiritual energy couldn’t break it, then maybe magic could beat magic.

Xu Ya’s legs sank into the black sludge, a searing pain rising up from her skin.

Clearly, the talisman had been artificially reinforced.

Gritting her teeth through the burning pain, Xu Ya used her hands and feet to destroy the talisman’s markings.

Desperate times called for desperate measures. That’s how they always did it in TV dramas!

The talisman on the ground had the texture of a child’s sand painting, and Xu Ya, like a mischievous adult, began to wreck it.

Finally, after relentless effort, she managed to destroy the talisman to the point where its original form was no longer recognizable.

At that moment, the five others were simultaneously hit by a backlash of spiritual energy, coughing up blood mist as they clutched their chests and collapsed to the ground.

Xu Ya had no time to worry about the burning pain from the black mist infecting her body.

She quickly pulled out her portable treasure pouch and took out the pre-packed food boxes, handing one to each person.

The group clutched the boxes weakly. As the scent of unfamiliar but fragrant Crispy Fried Chicken wafted up, their dazed eyes suddenly regained clarity.

One by one, Xu Ya helped them over to sit beneath a large tree.

Her small frame was nearly crushed under the weight of the spiritual-energy-rich cultivators.

She gritted her teeth and, stumbling and staggering, managed to get everyone moved to safety.

Next came the challenge of getting them to eat her Fried Chicken.

Xu Ya tore off pieces of chicken, the crispy skin clinging to the tender meat. Carefully, she fed each person a little bit.

She had no idea what was wrong with them, but she could only hope her golden finger—Fried Chicken—would work its magic.

But the chicken didn’t have the immediate effect she’d hoped for. Everyone still looked half-dead, slumped against the tree roots.

Xu Ya was frantic, pacing in circles.

Shi Yuzhen, in a daze, saw a petite figure bustling back and forth in front of him.

One moment she was tearing off pieces of Fried Chicken from the box in his arms and stuffing them into his mouth, the next she was doing the same for the others.

The little girl looked scared, timid, and frowning, a tear hanging from the corner of her eye without her even noticing.

She shoved the food in too forcefully, and the cultivator coughed up the previously swallowed meat.

Xu Ya was so frightened she didn’t dare move again.

Shi Yuzhen summoned all his strength to swallow the chicken in his mouth.

The girl had been thoughtful—she’d torn it into bite-sized pieces that were easy to eat.

Before long, Shi Yuzhen recovered enough to sit up and begin meditating to restore his energy.

That place had been extremely strange. Normally, breaking a formation required everyone to inject spiritual energy into the array core together.

But that talisman had absorbed all their spiritual power and stirred up inner demons to cloud their minds.

Shi Yuzhen had been caught off guard and fell into the trap.

That feeling of losing control over his body—it was exactly like when he had choked the Junior Sister and had been powerless to stop himself.

Shi Yuzhen was furious at his own lack of control. He had wanted to warn the others not to act, but by then it was too late.

All five sword cultivators had fallen into the trap.

The only one who remained unaffected was Xu Ya.

She had no spiritual power, but she acted decisively and, unafraid of pain, destroyed the talisman completely.

The moment the talisman was broken, a powerful backlash of spiritual energy surged back—several times stronger than what had been injected.

Caught off guard, Shi Yuzhen had no choice but to cough up the blood it forced out.

Fortunately, by some miracle, Xu Ya had managed to break the bizarre talisman despite having no spiritual power. Otherwise, they might all have died there. The consequences would have been unimaginable.

By nightfall, everyone had eaten Xu Ya’s special Fried Chicken and fully recovered.

Except for Rong Aoqing, none of the others had tasted Xu Ya’s Fried Chicken before.

After falling into a trance and suffering a backlash from spiritual energy, they finally came to understand the miraculous effects of Xu Ya’s fried chicken.

It turned out she hadn’t been spouting nonsense. What she said back then was actually true.

For those without cultivation, eating it could fill the stomach and strengthen the body. For those with low cultivation, it could help circulate qi and improve their level. For those with high cultivation, it could dissolve old blockages and enhance their foundation.

Cultivators typically had no desire for food, having long since entered a fasting state.

Yet they found themselves craving the taste of that fried chicken, unable to stop after just one bite.

The fried chicken truly had special properties. The other four, having witnessed this firsthand, silently vowed never to underestimate Xu Ya again.

Seeing that everyone had recovered, Xu Ya once again pulled out more food boxes from her treasure pouch.

In that moment, the foggy forest was filled with a strangely picnic-like atmosphere.

No one dared to treat the food boxes lightly anymore. Once they regained their strength, they reached out to take them on their own.

Then, politely and quietly, they retreated to the corners, tearing open the fried chicken and eating bite after bite.

“Thank you, Junior Sister,” Zhan Zhengzhen praised without reservation. “This is truly delicious.”

Once Rong Aoqing had recovered, she also murmured her thanks.

After regulating her breathing, Yu Manjing also realized it was all thanks to Xu Ya. She had always looked down on her, thinking she was a useless burden clinging to Senior Brother Shi. Who would have thought that, at such a critical moment, they would have to rely on her to save them—and that she would even share her fried chicken without holding a grudge?

Yu Manjing was just thinking that she should properly thank her—what’s right is right—when she saw Xu Ya approaching with a cup of water in hand, speaking in a soft, sweet voice: “Senior Sister, have some water.”

Yu Manjing blushed for no reason, stammering slightly, “…Thank you.”

Cai Wenle stared solemnly at the completely destroyed rune and voiced his suspicion. “Great Senior Brother, I feel like I’ve seen this rune before.”

Zhan Zhengzhen nodded. “Indeed. This rune is strange. Injecting spiritual energy into it causes a seventy percent loss. It’s extremely sinister. I even used a magical tool to test this formation before we set out. There shouldn’t have been any danger. So why…”

Shi Yuzhen forced himself to stand, leaning heavily on Xu Ya as he moved toward the rune. Xu Ya couldn’t openly defy the Great Senior Brother, so she had no choice but to support him and follow along.

He didn’t seem to think he was being a burden at all, pressing his full weight onto Xu Ya, making it nearly impossible for her to walk.

Shi Yuzhen moved left, then right, remaining silent for a long while before finally speaking. “This is the same technique used by the one who ambushed me the other day.”

“??!” Cai Wenle was stunned. After a long pause, he asked, “…Are you certain?”

Cai Wenle had always loved visiting the Immortal Marsh Library to read ancient texts and records. This formation closely resembled a forbidden technique he had once seen in an old book, titled Heaven-Seizing Creation. Because it was a forbidden art, the book had deliberately omitted several key details to prevent students from imitating it. Cai Wenle had only skimmed it at the time, but now that so many people were involved, he hesitated—should he tell the Great Senior Brother?

At that moment, Xu Ya’s system suddenly spoke up in her mind: 【Host! I’m back! You must stop the male lead from approaching that rune!! That symbol is part of the body snatching technique from Heaven-Seizing Creation!! The moment he touches it, his soul will be forced out, and the rune will burn it to ashes almost instantly!!】

The calm electronic voice then jolted in surprise: 【Eh? Host, you already handled it?】

Xu Ya could feel herself gritting her teeth as she replied in her mind, “If I’d waited for your warning, we’d all be dead by now…!!”

— Translator’s Notes —

– inner demons: Psychological obstacles or personal weaknesses that can hinder a cultivator’s progress and potentially lead to qi deviation or loss of control.