In that instant, Yunxiang shot past like a streak of light. No matter how Elder Wind God unleashed his Saint Emperor–level power, he just couldn’t hit her. Furious, he even pulled out a wide-area killing move, almost flattening the entire School of Chi.

Boom—!

When the storm finally died down…

“Old Man Wind, are you trying to wipe my School of Chi off the map today?”

No one knew when Hatachi had appeared in the sky, but he was there, taking Elder Wind God’s killing blow head-on.

“Ah… please forgive me, Sect Master.”

The moment Elder Wind God saw Hatachi, the Chi swirling in his hands pulled back in a hurry.

Since Hatachi was the sect master of the School of Chi, his strength was naturally the greatest. Elder Wind God could only treat him with serious respect.

“Man… Old Wind, you’re not young anymore. Ever thought about being a role model for the juniors?”

Seeing Elder Wind God calm down, Hatachi narrowed his eyes slightly as he spoke.

Honestly, if Hatachi hadn’t stepped in on time, the School of Chi would be a pile of rubble by now.

By then, who knew where the tens of thousands of disciples would even go.

“Heh, Sect Master, don’t worry. This old man knows his limits. I’d never damage the academy itself. But! I’ve no idea where that little bastard popped out from, daring to eat the Chaos Fruit I spent so many years raising… Sigh, that Chaos Fruit is the core ingredient for a Chaos Chi Pill. And that one was a ten-million-year-grade fruit. I only get the chance to find one every ten years!”

Elder Wind God glared viciously toward Yunxiang in the distance, eyes full of rage.

The huge commotion had naturally drawn everyone’s attention. More than half the School of Chi was shaken. All the disciples stared at Elder Wind God and Yunxiang chasing each other across the sky, and every last one of them felt that this cat was insanely bold, capable of doing absolutely anything.

“This time she’s really in deep trouble. She actually dared stir up crap right on Elder Wind God’s head. That little beast really doesn’t know how high the sky is or how thick the earth is.”

“Yeah, she’s clearly not a simple cat, but to mess with Elder Wind God… she’s got no brain.”

The two disciples beside Bei Luoyu chimed in one after another.

“Hahaha, that damn cat demon’s gone and made another huge mess for Little Brother Long Wuxian. Once Old Wind blows his top, he’s definitely gonna drag Long Wuxian into it. That ten-million-year Chaos Fruit is his favorite thing to use in alchemy.”

Bei Luoyu laughed as she spoke.

Everyone had already decided this cat was dead for sure—and that Long Wuxian would be dragged down with her.

In the School of Chi, you could touch anyone’s stuff—except Elder Wind God’s herbs. And this was his proudest creation: the key ingredient in the Chaos Pill, the ten-million-year Chaos Fruit.

Many people couldn’t help but sigh. Long Wuxian really was a walking disaster. He’d only been at the School of Chi for a few days, and the sect hadn’t had a moment of peace. The trouble just kept getting bigger.

Up in the air, Yunxiang clearly knew this old guy behind her was bad news, so she just kept frantically flying away.

Her pair of fiery bright eyes suddenly spotted a familiar figure below, and she dove straight down.

“Ah—shit!”

Seeing Yunxiang flying right at him, Long Wuxian instantly knew what she was trying to pull.

Yunxiang landed on his shoulder, acting all calm and innocent, like nothing had happened at all.

Of course, she could pretend nothing happened, but would Elder Wind God see it that way?

“Get lost!”

Long Wuxian grabbed her by the neck and yanked hard, flinging Yunxiang away.

But Yunxiang was still a cat demon; her speed was on par with a Saint Emperor powerhouse.

“Nope.”

She stuck out her tongue, looking shameless, and darted right back onto Long Wuxian’s shoulder.

Long Wuxian felt like crying to the sky with no tears. That Chaos Fruit was a ten-million-year treasure. If he had to compensate, he honestly had nothing of equal value to trade.

“Yunxiang, did you… no, you ate it, didn’t you?”

Long Wuxian stared at her in shock.

Bang!

Before he could get the full question out, Elder Wind God dropped from the sky. When he hit the ground, he smashed out a deep crater. His fury was so intense it looked like he wouldn’t calm down unless he burned Yunxiang to ashes.

“Brat, this cat demon your pet?”

Elder Wind God blocked Long Wuxian’s path. Seeing Long Wuxian, he finally remembered: when he’d gone to Long Wuxian’s place earlier, he’d indeed seen a cat just like this one.

“Elder, you’re mistaken. This cat isn’t mine. Please, feel free to punish her however you want.”

Long Wuxian rushed to speak.

“Hold up, you’re seriously heartless, you know that?”

Yunxiang’s big eyes widened.

“That damn cat stole my Chaos Fruit. I’m gonna refine her into a pill!”

Elder Wind God roared, anger shooting sky-high.

“Perfect, Elder Wind, need a hand from me?”

Long Wuxian said, then grabbed Yunxiang—one hand on her neck, one on her waist—and proactively handed her over in front of Elder Wind God.

“You bastard, you trying to get your granny killed?!”

Yunxiang almost spat blood. She tore free of Long Wuxian’s grip, turned into a streak of dazzling white light, and shot toward Long Wuxian’s courtyard.

“You little punk, you brought that old cat here. You’re paying me back for the Chaos Fruit.”

At that moment, Elder Wind God jabbed a finger at Long Wuxian. The cat was gone, fine, but now he’d found her owner. The Chaos Fruit was already digested; even if he skinned her, pulled out her tendons, and threw her in the furnace, he wouldn’t get that ten-million-year medicinal effect back.

Honestly, Long Wuxian really felt like dying right now. This damn thing…

First she’d gotten him tangled up with the Heavenly Dragon Sect, and now this… The more he thought about it, the angrier he got. If he kept her by his side any longer, he’d probably die before he found the second Sea-Calming Divine Pearl.

Sure, if she died it wouldn’t be that big a deal—she was already so old. But he was still a young, handsome man. Wouldn’t it be a waste if he died?

“Elder Wind, don’t be mad. I’ll compensate you.”

Long Wuxian hurried to say. The old man in front of him was truly enraged. If Long didn’t give him an answer today, he’d probably fight him to the death.

Besides, Long Wuxian’s impression of Elder Wind God wasn’t bad to begin with. And he knew he was in the wrong; Yunxiang was indeed brought here by him.

Yunxiang had already fled, but even if she hadn’t, Long Wuxian couldn’t really let Elder Wind God throw her into a furnace. Just now he’d only scared her on purpose.

“Compensate? With what?”

Elder Wind God’s beard bristled as he glared.

Damn it, a late–Immortal Emperor outer disciple—how was he supposed to pay for that fruit? That was a ten-million-year Chaos Fruit, worth more than a city. He’d gone through hell to get it, and now a cat had gobbled it up. How could he swallow that?

“Elder Wind, calm down first. I’ve got a pill formula here—for a Soul-Restoring Pill. Its value should already be above your ten-million-year Chaos Pill, right?”

Long Wuxian said, sounding a little embarrassed.

“To hell with your Soul-Restoring Pill. Soul… Soul-Rest—hold on. A Soul-Restoring Pill formula? Brat, you sure you’re not messing with this old man?”

The moment Elder Wind God repeated “Soul-Restoring Pill,” his expression changed completely. His eyes went wide as he stared at Long Wuxian, suspecting his ears had betrayed him.

A Soul-Restoring Pill—that was a real monster of a treasure. Even calling it a monster was an understatement; its value was definitely above most holy artifacts.

“Please take a look, Elder Wind.”

Long Wuxian flipped his palm. A scroll appeared in his hand.

“No, no, no. Something this valuable… that fruit isn’t worth this much.”

“Heh, just take it as a small token from a junior.”

“Uh… in that case, this old man won’t waste breath on polite words. Long Wuxian, if anything happens in the sect in the future, you come find me.”

Elder Wind God licked his lips, a trace of greed flickering in his eyes.

“What exactly is this Chaos Pill thing anyway?”

Long Wuxian asked curiously.

“Uh… to be honest, I was planning to use the Chaos Fruit to refine a Chaos Chi Pill, not a Chaos Pill. I’d already gathered all the ingredients, and I was just about to start refining. Who knew that damn cat would sneak in while I was gone and eat my Chaos Fruit.”

As Elder Wind God spoke, he didn’t forget to jab a finger hard in Yunxiang’s direction.

“Hmph! Old man, don’t act like you’re the victim after getting the better deal.”

Yunxiang snorted, refusing to back down.

“Hey, you little beast, believe it or not, I’ll turn you into side-dish for my pet’s wine right now.”

Elder Wind God fumed.

“Hahaha, let’s go with Elder Wind’s idea.”

Long Wuxian nodded in great satisfaction, deliberately showing a meaningful smile.

“You…”

Yunxiang could only shout one word before she chose to shut up.

Forget it, just take it as a lesson…

Long Wuxian glanced at her bowed head. The whole Chaos Fruit mess had been settled at the cost of him handing over the Soul-Restoring Pill formula (not that he hadn’t memorized it). Both men had also gotten a better sense of each other’s temperament.

“Elder Wind, if I’m not wrong, you were planning to use the Chaos Chi Pill to break through to the Heavenly Venerable realm, right? Chaos Chi Pills are refined by combining a variety of yin–yang harmonizing ingredients. But that kind of pill has flaws. Even with a ten-million-year Chaos Chi Fruit added in, you can’t fully erase those side effects. One Chaos Chi Pill really could help you hit Heavenly Venerable, but the downside of forcing your realm up with pills will damage your foundation and hurt your future cultivation. So… are you really going to go that route?”

Long Wuxian said slowly.

His words left Elder Wind God stunned on the spot. The old man stared at Long Wuxian with pure disbelief.

“You know phantom alchemy as well?”

Elder Wind God couldn’t hide his shock. Long Wuxian’s insight was razor-sharp. His analysis of the pill was on point. Even his past self wouldn’t have understood it so clearly. He’d only discovered these drawbacks after studying the Chaos Chi Pill in depth.

But Long Wuxian had just heard the name and already pointed out the pill’s flaws—and even knew it was made from yin–yang harmonizing ingredients.

It was insane. Was this monstrous genius with heaven-defying talent also a top-tier phantom alchemist?

“I know a thing or two. After all, I’m a phantom alchemist myself.”

Long Wuxian said, not even pretending to be modest.