Calamity

“What the hell is going on, System?!”

Xu Ya looked up at Shi Yuzhen, who, as far as she could tell, showed no signs of anything unusual. The question burst out in her mind almost instinctively.

The system didn’t answer her directly. It just kept repeating its warnings over and over.

Left with no choice, Xu Ya changed her approach. “Then what should I do?”

【Please make reasonable use of your cheat to help the male lead survive this calamity.】

Seriously?! At a time like this, the system still had the nerve to crack jokes?

Her so-called cheat was just a fried chicken recipe and the fried chicken set meal, wasn’t it?

Given the current chaos, never mind whether it was appropriate or not—how was she even supposed to whip out fried chicken in the middle of a multi-sided battle?

Not to mention she was completely confused and had no idea what was even happening. Wasn’t this pushing things a bit too far?

But the male lead’s condition was clearly deteriorating. Xu Ya hesitated in the corner. Over the years, her cultivation had improved somewhat, but she still couldn’t perform aerial spells with much skill.

She looked up. Shi Yuzhen was currently positioned above her to the left. After a moment of thought, she quickly circled around to a lower part of the eaves and, taking a risk, began climbing up—first, she had to get close to him.

The Giant Rooster, distracted during the fight, caught sight of Xu Ya climbing up the eaves out of the corner of its eye. It swooped low, aiming to seize her as its next prey.

Suddenly, A Xi, in his rooster form, rushed up to intercept it with all his might.

Shi Yuzhen, still suspended mid-air, also reacted.

The Giant Rooster’s expression twisted into a wicked grin as it launched a surprise attack on both of them.

Shi Yuzhen was wounded for the first time.

Caught off guard, Shi Yuzhen was bitten hard on the arm by the massive beak. Blood sprayed through the air. He hadn’t yet entered the tribulation stage and was still in a mortal body, so the pain instantly drained the color from his face. Clutching his bleeding arm, he fell—landing right on the section of the eaves Xu Ya had been climbing toward.

Xu Ya didn’t have time to think. She scrambled up with both hands and feet, rushing to the top to catch the falling Shi Yuzhen.

But the moment she touched his body, it was as if a weight of lead had been poured into her limbs. She was instantly paralyzed.

Xu Ya’s heart pounded. Her sixth sense suddenly rang out like an alarm bell inside her mind.

Moments later, the world around her began to distort, as if her vision were failing. Then, everything changed in an instant.

She was back in that vast, snowy landscape.

But this time, in the eerie stillness, Xu Ya’s heart thudded wildly. She could feel something was about to happen.

As always, the first thing she did in this strange environment was call for the system. And, as always, there was no response.

Every time she ended up in this place, she would call out to the system, refusing to give up. What exactly was this place?

Worried about Shi Yuzhen’s injury, her steps quickened involuntarily. She paced through the illusion, casting spell after spell in an attempt to escape.

But Xu Ya gradually realized that the illusion was closing in, shrinking at a speed visible to the naked eye. There were no obvious signs, but she could feel it—an inexplicable sense of pressure.

She walked a little farther.

And saw something different.

…It was the same withered tree she had seen before.

Only now, there was no one beneath it.

Xu Ya took a few more cautious steps forward until she stood beneath the tree, startled to realize it was an ancient, massive tree with an incredibly thick trunk.

Her current physique was no longer what it used to be. The closer she got, the more she could feel two powerful, indistinct spiritual forces coiling around the tree’s branches, slowly rising.

A dead leaf, disturbed by something unseen, drifted down and landed on her arm. The moment it touched her skin, it burned so hot that she cried out in pain.

That cry didn’t seem to belong to her. It rippled outward, forming a ring of spiritual energy.

The secret realm echoed with a deep, resonant roar, like the cry of a Pulao.

Boom—

Boom—

Boom—

In the next instant, a figure covered in blood appeared beneath the tree.

For the first time, Xu Ya clearly saw the person’s face and form.

It was Shi Yuzhen?!

Without thinking, she rushed forward and cradled the blood-soaked Shi Yuzhen in her arms.

But to her shock, the man in her arms suddenly opened his eyes—bloodshot and crimson. His hand shot out, gripping her tightly.

It felt just like the first time she had met Shi Yuzhen, when he had lost control and seized her by the throat.

She had noticed something was off. Over the years, although the male lead remained as cold and aloof as ever, Xu Ya, with her limited perception, had never seen him act as violently as he had that first time.

Struggling, Xu Ya forced out a few words: “You… who are you…”

“Shi Yuzhen” let out a savage grin. He was clearly different from the man she knew.

The mysterious man propped himself up. His large hand—indistinguishable from the male lead’s—smeared with sticky blood, reached up and caressed Xu Ya’s cheek. “Clever little girl.”

Xu Ya shivered at the nickname “little girl.” She fought to suppress the instinctive tremble in her body, not daring to make a sound. She had no idea how powerful this impostor really was.

The mysterious man, wearing Shi Yuzhen’s face, chuckled darkly and continued, “You really are a treasure. It seems he’s been distracted for quite some time because of you. And now, with him injured, I’ve completely taken over his body. Hehehe… you could say you’re the reason I succeeded in seizing it.”

Xu Ya turned the sentence over in her mind, focusing on the key word… “he”… Was this Shi Yuzhen’s inner demon? Otherwise, why use the word “seize”?

Did that mean the reason the progress was stuck at 98 percent was because there was still one opponent left—this inner demon born from the same source as him?

Wasn’t that how it always went in novels?

This was bad…

She recalled the system’s message: she needed to use her cheat to help the male lead survive this calamity…

Even though she was being restrained by the male lead’s inner demon, both her arms could still move quietly.

The system’s suggestions were always unreliable, but somehow, they always ended up benefiting the male lead in the end.

And if it helped the male lead, it helped her too. She wanted to go home.

So she decided to trust that ridiculous-sounding suggestion one more time.

Without giving anything away, she reached behind her back and felt for the treasure pouch tied at her waist. Confirming that it had come with her into this illusion, she braced herself and spoke up. “Um… are you hungry?”

“Heh… Do you think I’m as easy to fool as that idiot? Trying to pull some trick again? Back when I was sealed inside that brat’s body, I could never understand why his spiritual power kept growing stronger over the years, leaving me no chance to break free. But even though I was trapped, I still knew what was going on in the outside world…”

Xu Ya hadn’t expected him to be so perceptive. It sounded like he’d been suppressed by the male lead for a long time, and there was a dark edge to his voice.

The more she listened, the more off it felt. Judging by how he referred to himself, Xu Ya really didn’t want to believe this was some split personality of the male lead. Calling himself “this seat” with Shi Yuzhen’s face—it was just too much of an act.

Even someone like Xu Ya, who was usually clueless about emotional matters, found herself inexplicably missing the real, normal “Shi Yuzhen.”

As she was lost in thought, the man in front of her suddenly changed.

The inner demon seemed to be affected by the original body. His whole form twisted for a moment, and he let go of Xu Ya, clearly in pain.

“You… you really aren’t ordinary…”

That was all he said, out of nowhere.

Then, the scene around her shifted again. Xu Ya was suddenly back on the eerie rooftop, surrounded by the strange, unsettling cries of chickens.

This time, the man in her arms had truly become that Shi Yuzhen.

Shi Yuzhen suddenly coughed, mimicking the exact same gesture as the inner demon. Her arm reached out and pulled Xu Ya tightly into her embrace, her voice low and heavy as she asked, “You… where did you go just now…?”

Xu Ya thought for a moment, then met Shi Yuzhen’s concerned yet brooding gaze and told the injured Shi Yuzhen everything that had happened, without leaving anything out.

In the end, Xu Ya still hadn’t fully adjusted to the world of cultivation, so her descriptions were rather abstract.

But Shi Yuzhen understood. She frowned. “You actually entered my sea of consciousness just now… You must have seen it… Did it harm you?”

Xu Ya shook her head in confusion.

The Giant Rooster’s thunderous snores still echoed in her ears. Earlier, Shi Yuzhen had been caught off guard and pecked by the Giant Rooster. Then, Xu Ya had suddenly vanished without a trace. By now, Shi Yuzhen was already seething with rage.

Out of the corner of her eye, Shi Yuzhen caught sight of the Giant Rooster preparing to dive at them again.

But what the Giant Rooster didn’t know was that the situation had quietly shifted.

In the distance, the rooster transformed from A Xi had also undergone a subtle change upon witnessing Xu Ya vanish into thin air.

It seemed to regain a moment of clarity. Just for a brief instant, it took a stand opposite the Giant Rooster, forming a subtle encirclement with Shi Yuzhen and Xu Ya.

Shi Yuzhen mobilized the spiritual power throughout her body, while A Xi flapped his massive wings, trapping the frenzied Giant Rooster within a confined space.

Unable to withstand the combined force of the three, the Giant Rooster crashed heavily to the ground…

At last, everything settled.

After a prolonged struggle, the captured Giant Rooster was finally brought back to Xianze by the group.

A Xi, now barely clinging to life, had taken on a terrifying half-human, half-rooster form. The Giant Rooster was sealed into a spirit pouch, but Xu Ya couldn’t bear to leave A Xi behind and insisted on helping him back by herself.

A Xi had already grown lanky, and now, after undergoing a physical mutation, he had become even taller and more imposing. Standing next to Xu Ya, the sight was undeniably strange.

But Xu Ya was determined. Everyone already understood her true status within Xianze—she was Shi Yuzhen’s Dao companion! Not a single person dared to criticize her actions.

The disciples from Xianze who had come to assist immediately sensed the oppressive aura radiating from Shi Yuzhen and all lowered their heads, busying themselves with the tasks they had been assigned.

Xu Ya’s eyes shimmered as she stared at Shi Yuzhen. Shi Yuzhen could only swallow her words and remain silent, neither objecting nor speaking.

So Xu Ya, small as she was, summoned all her strength and hoisted one of A Xi’s wings over her shoulder.

Shi Yuzhen had no choice but to secretly cast a spell to help lighten Xu Ya’s burden.

Upon returning to Xianze, disciples from both the alchemy and Culinary Cultivator branches immediately began drafting recipes to prepare the Giant Rooster for refinement.

At the same time, after an overnight investigation by Zhan Zhengzhen and the others, the brutal truth behind the Giant Rooster incident was finally uncovered.

— Translator’s Notes —

– Pulao: Pulao (蒲牢) is one of the nine sons of the dragon in Chinese mythology, known for its loud cry.