The Soul-Devouring Green Infant

Just then, a soft laugh suddenly rang out.

“Heehee, how interesting. I didn’t expect to see a murder-and-treasure-grabbing job while napping here. But the funny thing is—two Foundation Establishment cultivators were scheming against an Nascent Soul cultivator. Am I still not awake?”

The voice was young and crisp, sounding like a little girl giggling.

At these words, Han Li’s expression flickered slightly. The short, fat cultivator and the bald, burly man looked as though they had been struck by lightning. Their faces went pale, drained of blood.

“Nascent Soul cultivator?” the fat man shrieked, staring at Han Li as though he had seen a ghost.

“Impossible! If he’s an Nascent Soul cultivator, it must be one of his accomplices trying to scare us with empty words.” The burly man was equally panicked but then, as if grasping at a thought, he shouted to encourage himself. Even so, his body involuntarily stepped back as he glared around, searching for the girl who had spoken. As if finding her would restore his courage.

But all around was empty. There was no sign of anyone.

Inside, Han Li’s shock far exceeded that of the Twin Terrors of Peng and Yi.

For some reason, the instant he heard the girl’s voice, a chill ran through him. His Nascent Soul, which had been sleeping in his dantian, woke up on its own, its small face tight with something close to fear.

What was even more unsettling was that he had just swept his spiritual sense across every inch of ground within ten li. There was absolutely no fourth person. Yet the girl’s voice had clearly come from nearby. At his current early Nascent Soul cultivation, with the added boost of the Great Derivative Art, how could he fail to detect her? Was her technique so profound that it surpassed his perception, or was there some other trick at play?

Han Li’s throat went dry.

“Who? Who’s playing tricks? How dare you toy with me, the Twin Terrors of Peng and Yi?” The fat man had recovered some color, as if the giant’s words had calmed him. He kept looking left and right as he spoke. A layer of yellow light flickered into a protective barrier around him, and then a small black shield was offered up to block in front of him.

“Heehee. If this old woman let you see me, I might as well knock my head against a wall until I die. But you—Nascent Soul cultivator—your spiritual sense is quite strong. If it were just a bit stronger, you might have found my trail.” The girl spoke in the same bold tone.

Han Li’s expression darkened. He listened to the girl’s words while still frantically searching the area with his spiritual sense. It was too strange. Everywhere his sense touched, there was still no trace of any cultivator.

“Mm, I’m a bit hungry. Why don’t the three of you let me eat you? Tsk, tsk. A cultivator’s Nascent Soul—I haven’t tasted one in a long time. I really miss that flavor!” The girl’s giggling words came one after another, her tone innocent, but the content was utterly horrifying.

Hearing this, Han Li remained expressionless as if he hadn’t heard. But with a low grunt, he stopped concealing his cultivation.

Blue light flashed across his body, and an astonishing aura burst forth. Dozens of blue streaks shot out—seventy-two Green Bamboo Cloud-wisp Swords emerging at once, forming a protective ring around him.

“It… it really is an Nascent Soul cultivator! Spare us, Senior! We were blind and didn’t recognize you. We didn’t mean to offend you! Second Brother, what are you doing? Don’t run! In front of Senior Han, we have no chance of escape.” The fat man, seeing Han Li’s true cultivation and the release of so many flying swords, was terrified out of his wits. Without a second thought, he fell to his knees and kowtowed, groveling for mercy.

The burly man did the opposite. His face turned white, and in an instant, he produced a golden talisman, slapped it onto himself, and transformed into a streak of golden light that shot into the sky.

“Trying to run? Do you think a golden escape talisman will let you get away?” A sneer flickered across Han Li’s face. He pointed a finger, and one of his flying swords let out a clear ring, turning into a blue rainbow that vanished in a blink. The next moment, it appeared right behind the golden streak that had barely flown any distance—its speed left one dumbfounded.

The blue light flashed sharply. A scream rang out from midair. The golden streak immediately dispersed into tiny golden specks and vanished. The burly man was gone as well.

“Tsk, tsk, what a waste. A Foundation Establishment cultivator’s primordial spirit makes for excellent nourishment. I’ve only eaten seven or eight since I woke up.” The girl’s voice now sounded a bit frustrated, and she openly complained to Han Li.

“Why keep playing your tricks, friend? You’re nothing but an early Nascent Soul cultivator yourself. Yet you speak with such arrogance. Do you want me to drag you out by force?” Having dealt with the burly man, Han Li ignored the trembling fat cultivator in front of him. Instead, he turned his head and suddenly stared at a nearby small tree. A faint blue light flickered in his eyes as he spoke.

The girl’s voice abruptly stopped. After a long while, it sounded again, coldly.

“How did you find me? My ‘Dazzling Light Illusion Art’ should be impossible for an Nascent Soul cultivator to see through.”

“How I found you is not for you to know. Will you show your true form now, or do you want me to chop you—a tree—into a few dozen pieces?” Han Li had no intention of answering her question. His tone was calm, but inwardly he was dripping with cold sweat, counting his blessings.

In his desperation, he had unconsciously used his Bright-eyed Spirit Pupil technique to test the surroundings. And in the blue light, he had caught a slight difference between that small tree and the other trees near the evil man. Taking a gamble, he had bluffed. As it turned out, his guess was right.

“An early Nascent Soul cultivator, and your tone is not modest either. I wonder what swallowing your Nascent Soul would taste like.” The girl’s voice suddenly turned cold. At the same time, the small tree flickered with green light, shrank, and transformed into a figure no more than half a foot tall.

This small figure had a delicate, handsome face and somewhat long hair. Its body was wrapped in a hazy green light, appearing stark naked. The girl’s voice was indeed coming from this little person’s mouth.

“Nascent Soul! No, that’s not right!” Han Li blurted out when he saw the little figure, but then hesitated as he looked more closely.

“Nascent Soul! Heehee, that’s not wrong to call it. But you are the first Nascent Soul cultivator I’ve seen since I woke up. I wonder if that’s your misfortune or my good luck!” The little person looked at Han Li and spoke leisurely.

Then, with a flicker, it appeared right behind the fat cultivator. It said cheerfully:

“I’ll borrow your refined soul to fill my stomach. How about it?”

“No! Spare me, Senior!” Realizing this little figure was an existence not inferior to an Nascent Soul cultivator, the fat man screamed for mercy, his ball-like body leaping up in an attempt to flee far away.

But a ferocious expression flashed across the little figure’s face. It transformed entirely into a ball of green light that shot straight into the fat cultivator’s body. It emerged in an instant and reformed into the humanoid shape. However, its small hand now held a thumb-sized green light sphere that flickered unsteadily.

The leader of the Twin Terrors of Peng and Yi had gone limp, his eyes vacant. He collapsed to the ground, motionless.

The little figure said nothing. It brought the light sphere directly to its mouth and swallowed it down in a few gulps. The green light around its body intensified by another measure.

“What are you, human or ghost? How dare you directly devour a living soul?” Seeing this, even Han Li could not remain calm. He pressed his lips together and barked.

He had clearly sensed that the little figure’s spiritual energy matched his own—early Nascent Soul stage. Yet after devouring such a soul, its cultivation had actually increased by a trace. Though small, it proved this being could raise its cultivation by directly consuming cultivators’ souls. What kind of technique was this? It was simply unbelievable.

“The appetizer is done. Now for the main course. You are an Nascent Soul cultivator. I wonder, if I devour your Nascent Soul, will this old woman directly advance to mid Nascent Soul stage?” The green little figure ignored Han Li’s question, instead staring at his dantian area and muttering to itself, its face full of greed, as if it could see his Nascent Soul directly.

“Devour my Nascent Soul? Aren’t you afraid it will burst your belly?” Han Li laughed in anger at these words. He clapped his hands together, and a low rumbling sound arose. A thick, pale-golden arc of lightning appeared between his palms.

Since entering the Nascent Soul stage, Han Li had been able to store the Flying Sword’s Purifying Spirit Lightning directly inside his body. So even though his seventy-two flying swords were all outside, he could still control the lightning without issue.

“Golden lightning? I feel like I’ve heard of that somewhere before. But I can’t remember where…” The green little figure tilted its head when it saw the Purifying Spirit Lightning between Han Li’s palms, muttering to itself.

“Why don’t you taste it and find out?” Han Li raised an eyebrow and said coolly. At the same time, he struck his palms together, and the lightning arc instantly transformed into a golden python that lunged fiercely at the little figure not far away.

To Han Li’s surprise, the little figure just giggled and didn’t dodge or block. It let the python swallow it whole. Countless golden arcs of lightning coiled around the little figure, exploding and crackling, turning the area into a sheet of golden light accompanied by thunderous roars.

Han Li stared at the spot with half-closed eyes, his face showing no joy but only deepening darkness.

For the other party to dare receive his Purifying Spirit Lightning so casually meant it had long been confident. There was no way he could have dealt with it so easily.

As expected, before the golden light had even faded, the girl’s giggling voice came through the thunderous roar.

“Ah, I remember now. Isn’t this Purifying Spirit Lightning? Tsk, tsk. This is no ordinary treasure. Who would have thought a mere early Nascent Soul cultivator would possess such a rare heavenly artifact. But you don’t think this old woman practices some demonic or ghostly art, do you? Using this lightning against me? What a waste of such a treasure!”