Chapter Twelve: Carrying a Few Immortal Artifacts for Protection

“They’re here…”

In less than a few minutes, those cultists had already arrived on the wasteland in front of the tavern, each exuding a murderous aura.

Outwardly, Ye Qiu remained composed, but inside he was utterly panicked. Any one of these people could easily slaughter him—how was he supposed to handle this?

Yang Xuan suddenly pointed at the leader at the very front. “My god, isn’t that Ye Tongtian, the Grandmaster of the Underworld Sect? Why is he here too…”

“We’re doomed. That guy is a Supreme-level powerhouse! Even though he’s only at the early stage of Supreme, among all the Supreme cultivators, his strength is still renowned. Even for someone as formidable as the Great Elder, capturing him wouldn’t be easy. Now that he’s shown up, it seems we really can’t escape disaster this time…”

“Shut up! He’s just a mere Supreme cultivator, what’s so impressive about that? Don’t you see the senior is still here? No matter how mighty Ye Tongtian is, in front of the senior, he’s nothing but a weakling…”

Yang Xuan rebuked, lavishly praising Ye Qiu.

Ye Qiu truly wanted to retort, “Could you stop pretending and leave me out of this? I’m really not as powerful as you imagine. I’m just a little nobody!”

These days, does no one believe the truth anymore? I really am just an ordinary person. Why do you all insist I’m so formidable? I don’t even know how to use the strand of energy within me, and you want me to duel him? What a joke. Do you think I’m stupid?

Ye Qiu was truly exasperated. It would be fine if he really were that powerful, but the problem was he wasn’t, not even close. All these years, aside from reading books and practicing music, chess, calligraphy, and painting, he had never cultivated, not even glanced at a cultivation manual. He didn’t even know why there was a strand of energy in his body, let alone how to fight. Fight, my foot...

“Damn system! Why won’t you give me a single cultivation manual? Day after day you make me read, study, and write, but never teach me how to fight. Now I can’t even pretend to be awesome if I want to—you’re just making things hard for me on purpose.”

Ye Qiu was on the verge of tears!

When he first crossed over, that unreliable system dumped a pile of books on him and then disappeared—was it really that busy? And the books it left were all classics and ancient texts, every kind you could think of, except not a single one on cultivation.

Come on, man, did you bring me to the wrong world? This is a world of cultivation, not a place to take imperial exams.

Ye Qiu wanted to cry, but no tears would come.

After reading for twenty years, the only thing he’d gained was that strand of energy within him. This was hardly the setup a transmigrator should have. Forget about not getting any cheats, they didn’t even give him a cultivation manual.

Forget it, just accept your fate.

At this moment, Ye Tongtian led his disciples to the tavern. Seeing the corpses of cultists strewn everywhere, he was immediately enraged.

“Damn it, who did this?”

Ye Tongtian roared in fury, scanning the area for a long time. Aside from the tavern ahead, there was nothing else in sight.

“Grandmaster, we’ve finished checking. These bodies are all disciples of the Underworld Sect—the group that got separated from the main force earlier. The number matches exactly. They’re all dead…”

Hearing this, Ye Tongtian’s face grew even darker, staring murderously at the tavern before him.

He could sense there was something odd about this tavern, but couldn’t pinpoint what it was. The darkness didn’t help his vision, so he didn’t spot the sword on the roof.

“Damn it! Someone dares to slaughter hundreds of my disciples? I don’t care who you are, today you’ll die here for sure…”

With a thunderous shout, Ye Tongtian strode forward and called out to the tavern, “Listen up inside! You have three minutes to come out! If no one steps forward to admit what happened within three minutes, then everyone here will die today…”

These words sent a chill through everyone inside the inn, tension rising to a fever pitch.

Ye Qiu was in total panic, thinking, “It’s over! All those people were killed by the mechanisms. If they start asking questions, won’t they execute me to avenge those cultists? No, no, it was Cao He who operated the mechanisms, maybe I can send him out to stall for time?”

Ye Qiu was at his wit’s end! But sending Cao He out didn’t sit right with him—after all, the man had served him loyally for twenty years. If he really sent him out, wouldn’t that make him inhuman?

“Senior, go on! He’s already cursing us down there—can you tolerate that?”

Yang Xuan grinned, egging him on. They all knew Ye Qiu was a reclusive master, but none had seen his true strength, and they were eager to witness it firsthand.

“Go yourself…”

Ye Qiu almost erupted in curses, but managed to hold back. The situation was almost certain death, and he had no idea if the mechanisms could withstand an assault.

“There’s no other way—just have to put on another act. Maybe I can get out of this…”

Steeling himself, Ye Qiu turned to the others. “Stay here, don’t run around…”

Then he went downstairs alone, found Cao He, and instructed, “I’ll go out and hold them off for a bit. You be ready. If I’m exposed and they attack, activate the mechanisms immediately to cover my retreat.”

“Don’t worry, boss. But before you go, better leave the inn’s cash with me, just in case you don’t come back…”

“Get lost…”

Ye Qiu’s face darkened. He’d just been feeling guilty about sending this guy out to die, and here he was eyeing his money? Damn it, even if I die, I’m taking that cash with me—can’t risk being penniless in the afterlife.

“Heh, just kidding! Don’t worry, if anything happens to you, I’ll avenge you. And even if I can’t, I’ll follow you into the afterlife and keep serving you…”

Cao He grinned foolishly. Though Ye Qiu tormented him daily, he was actually the closest person to him in this world. If Ye Qiu died, his only emotional anchor would be gone too—there would be no point in living.

“At least you have some conscience left!”

Ye Qiu shot him a glare, then continued, “No, I’m still not reassured. Watch things here, I’m going to the forge…”

He entered a secret room, gathered a pile of weapons, and hid them all over his body, covering them with clothing to avoid detection. Even if they wouldn’t help, they might boost his courage.

“All right, the cold wind whistles at Yi River! Off I go…”

With a final, tragic soliloquy, Ye Qiu opened the tavern doors and stepped out alone.

He appeared in white robes, exuding a transcendental air, a fan in hand and a zither slung across his back.

“What a heavenly immortal in exile! That bearing—absolutely peerless…”

As soon as Ye Qiu appeared, the people upstairs were in an uproar, whispering among themselves. “He stands unshaken even as Mount Tai collapses before him—such composure is truly admirable.”

“A true master! Did you notice? The senior’s fan is a rare treasure!”

“Look at that zither… It seems to be an immortal artifact too. My god, how terrifying is that? He carries immortal artifacts as if they were nothing!”

The crowd was stunned—at this rate, victory seemed assured. Those immortal artifacts alone could turn the tide; Ye Qiu wouldn’t even need to lift a finger.

Ye Qiu drifted out of the inn and stopped at its entrance, careful not to step beyond the protective barrier in case they launched a sudden attack.

The moment Ye Qiu appeared, Ye Tongtian’s heart skipped a beat, his brows furrowing in shock, but then he sneered.

“A mere brat, still wet behind the ears—you’re the one who killed hundreds of my disciples? You’ve got guts. Today you’ll pay for it in blood…”

Just as Ye Tongtian was about to strike, Ye Qiu’s nerves got the better of him, and a small hammer fell from his clothes.

“Ah…”

The moment he saw the hammer, Ye Tongtian staggered back several steps, cold sweat breaking out all over him.

“This guy actually has an immortal artifact?”

Ye Tongtian’s heart was in turmoil, a chill running down his spine. Good thing he hadn’t attacked just now—this kid was actually carrying an immortal artifact? Judging from the aura, that hammer was indeed an immortal artifact; Ye Tongtian could feel the immortal energy emanating from it.

As soon as the hammer appeared, the whole crowd went wild, stunned speechless.

Ye Qiu was panicking inside. “Damn, I hid that so carefully, how did it fall out? Now I’ve revealed my weapon ahead of time—what if they get angry and attack?”

No, if they really attack, I’m finished!

He bent down awkwardly to pick up the hammer. The thousands of cultists ahead all took a hurried step back as well.

The scene was utterly ridiculous.

Ye Qiu was baffled—what were they afraid of? He was just picking up a hammer.

“Uh, sorry! I may run a tavern, but I occasionally moonlight as a blacksmith, so it’s not unreasonable for me to carry a hammer, right?”

Ye Qiu tried to explain, but Ye Tongtian was nonplussed. “Damn, is that reasonable? You say you’re a blacksmith, but why show off an immortal artifact?”

This guy definitely wasn’t as simple as he appeared. That was close… If he’d attacked just now, the entire Underworld Sect might have been wiped out.

At last, Ye Tongtian understood why those hundreds of cultists had all perished. It turned out this man was a master.

Damn, you really pulled it off—I almost fell for it.

“Heh, of course it’s reasonable!”

Ye Tongtian didn’t dare lose his temper. That was an immortal artifact, after all. Even a holy land like Yaoguang might not possess one, yet Ye Qiu had one on him—clearly he was no ordinary man.

Ye Qiu breathed a sigh of relief, but as he straightened up, a wrench fell out…

“Another immortal artifact?”

“Damn, this guy…”

Now Ye Qiu had no idea how to cover this up.

He picked up the wrench and tried to explain, “As everyone knows, I’m a blacksmith, so carrying a wrench is perfectly reasonable, right?”

“Absolutely reasonable, not a thing wrong with it…”

Ye Tongtian forced a smile, his face gone pale.

Damn, you call this reasonable? How many immortal artifacts do you actually have? You say you’re a blacksmith—are you an immortal artifact manufacturer?