Chapter Five: The Fall of Niu Hongtian

Of course, being low-key doesn’t mean slacking off; if you don’t draw energy into your body, you can still comprehend other types of spiritual energy! Putting in more effort now and ensuring smooth cultivation is more important than anything else.

This was also Elder Zhao’s experience. Usually, when ordinary people perceive spiritual energy, once their affinity reaches a certain level, they directly draw the energy into their bodies. No one has the leisure to contemplate other spiritual roots. Hence, many cultivators with multiple spiritual roots tend to think their secondary roots are a hindrance, without realizing they simply haven’t invested enough effort into those roots.

Wen Yue agreed with this notion—effort leads to reward, which is only natural. Moreover, roots with inherently poor affinity require even more diligent practice.

Whether it truly works or not remained unknown, but Wen Yue decided to proceed this way. Even a slight increase in affinity would be beneficial!

Her current goal was to lay a solid foundation. As for danger, drawing energy into the body wouldn’t instantly make one invincible. For higher-level cultivators, whether or not they’ve drawn energy in matters little; it’s akin to the difference between an ordinary ant and a stronger ant.

As for her peers, at the first or second stage of Qi refinement, few had spells, so everyone was on roughly the same level.

Though somewhat fatigued initially, after successfully perceiving spiritual energy, Wen Yue felt mentally invigorated, as if she had just had a refreshing sleep. No wonder people say cultivation requires tireless dedication—perhaps it’s because cultivation feels so comfortable that one doesn’t mind the exhaustion!

Such a vibrant state was too precious to waste. There were still two types of spiritual energy she had yet to perceive. Without hesitation, she sat cross-legged and meditated on water and earth energies but unfortunately felt nothing.

This was understandable, though. Her wood spiritual root had reached full value on the first try—what luck to have two full-value roots?

After cultivation, Wen Yue took a nap—not because she was sleepy, but because she missed her bed.

She wasn’t sure how long she slept, but judging by the still-dark sky outside, it couldn’t have been long.

Back to cultivation! She methodically perceived all spiritual roots except wood, knowing she wouldn’t make much progress but remaining earnest.

Finally, when her spirit was somewhat weary, she meditated once more on the wood root. When she emerged from her room, she was once again vibrant and full of energy.

She thought she had arrived early, but many people were already in the courtyard. Yet their gazes were strange—some reverent, some fearful, some admiring, others curious. About a dozen people, their expressions remarkably varied!

Last night, even after fighting with Niu Hongtian, many had merely shown indifference toward her, disregarding Wen Yue entirely as someone unworthy of attention.

Now, after a single nap, their attitudes had changed. Wen Yue wondered what had happened overnight that she was unaware of.

Her curiosity was short-lived. Elder Zhao soon arrived, accompanied by an elderly, unattractive woman, heading straight to Niu Hongtian’s room.

Wen Yue recognized the woman: it was the Corpse Matron. She wondered what business the Corpse Matron had here at this hour.

No one in the courtyard gathered to watch, but all listened intently.

The old woman’s anxious voice came through: “Slow down, don’t damage it! This corpse is so delicate! You mustn’t be clumsy with it. Let me do it myself!”

“Be careful, Corpse Matron!” Elder Zhao warned.

“Careful? You weren’t even born when I started handling corpses!” the Corpse Matron replied dismissively.

Who had died? Surely not Niu Hongtian? Though badly injured yesterday, his wounds shouldn’t have been fatal; even infection wouldn’t act so fast.

Judging by the looks from the crowd, everyone seemed to blame Wen Yue for Niu Hongtian’s death. She had no desire to explain.

Soon, the Corpse Matron and Elder Zhao emerged. Elder Zhao followed behind and closed the door carefully.

The Corpse Matron cradled Niu Hongtian’s body as if it were a priceless treasure, stroking his pale, distorted face with delight: “Look at that expression—so natural, so cute!” She even cast a longing glance at the onlookers.

Elder Zhao, about to close the door, noticed that the others remained in the courtyard instead of going to eat. He said, “Aren’t you going to eat? Is this trivial matter worth lingering over?”

Trivial matter? Wen Yue felt her worldview needed reshaping.

Elder Zhao left without asking a single question about how Niu Hongtian had died.

Though Niu Hongtian was no good man—in fact, a villain—Wen Yue would have dealt with him if necessary. Yet a human life was still a human life. Elder Zhao didn’t even inquire, and the Corpse Matron might have even wished more had died.

Wen Yue was struck by the coldness of the Demon Sect. In her previous life, even a chicken crushed by a cart would warrant compensation claims; here, no one even cared, which chilled her heart.

But such reflections were fleeting. She nonchalantly went to the dining hall—same chef, same setup—filled her bowl and began eating quietly.

It seemed no one knew who had killed Niu Hongtian, only suspecting Wen Yue. She became curious—among the eleven people living in the courtyard, who could have killed Niu Hongtian in secret?

While eating, Wen Yue observed the group carefully but noticed nothing unusual. Her special ability, proven in her previous life, could detect any killing on one’s hands. This ability hadn’t disappeared either. Could it be that none of these people had killed Niu Hongtian?

No, wait. The shy, timid boy, later identified as Yin Yicheng, had somewhat lessened his sins overnight. What good deeds could he have done to reduce his sins while everyone else slept?

If this was the only incident, could Yin Yicheng have killed Niu Hongtian? If so, why had his sins lessened instead of increased? Perhaps because Niu Hongtian was sinful himself, killing him might have been considered a meritorious deed.

Wen Yue had never encountered such a case before, but this interpretation seemed plausible.

She glanced curiously at Yin Yicheng. He seemed scared, his gaze evasive for a moment before meeting hers squarely. If she hadn’t been watching, she wouldn’t have noticed.

It was likely Yin Yicheng killed Niu Hongtian. Whether killing a deeply sinful person counts as a deed remains uncertain; she would observe and wait for more opportunities.

That day, Elder Zhao continued teaching about drawing energy into the body, emphasizing the essential step of perceiving spiritual energy beforehand. He explained that many could only perceive tiny flames or water spheres the size of a bowl, which was sufficient to draw energy in.

“Old Zhao, I’ve heard some people can perceive vast oceans or boundless seas of fire. Why do you only say we perceive small fireballs or water spheres? Are you looking down on us?” a beautiful girl who had spoken to Wen Yue the previous night quickly challenged Elder Zhao.