Chapter 59: The Stance Between Man and Monster
"What are you trying to do?"
"You and I are both of the demon race, how can you betray me?"
The rabbit spirit struggled continuously, her fur standing completely on end as if about to explode.
"You also know that you and I are both of the demon race?"
"Then why did you try to shift the disaster onto me?"
"And why did you clearly have the strength to deal with it, yet feigned weakness?"
Before Yu Qiye's eyes, the rabbit spirit was as good as stripped bare, with no secrets left to hide.
[Race: Rabbit Clan.]
[Tier: Early Demon General.]
[Traits: Deeply Concealed (Red), Illusory Transformation (Purple), Treacherous Intent (Purple), Malicious (Purple)...]
Malicious, Treacherous Intent.
Two simple traits completely laid bare the true nature of this rabbit spirit.
She was no kind-hearted rabbit.
Beneath her seemingly pure and innocent exterior lay a venomous heart.
One must remember, she possessed the cultivation of a Demon General.
While this human cultivator was not bad, according to the terminology of the demon race, he possessed merely the strength of a Great Demon.
A Great Demon chasing down and trying to kill a Demon General?
That was truly turning the heavens upside down.
Still, this little rabbit was quite skilled at concealing her cultivation. Not even he had noticed it at first glance.
Yet, this little rabbit had been clever by half and run right to Yu Qiye's side.
As a being with Profound Immortal cultivation, coupled with innate divine eyes and the ability to view the trait panel, if he still failed to spot this little rabbit's true strength, Yu Qiye might as well go bang his head against a brick wall and die.
"Fine, fine, I'll give you credit for having sharp eyes to actually see through my disguise."
"I advise you to let me go right now. The mistress behind me is someone you cannot afford to offend."
...
The rabbit spirit's voice suddenly turned shrill, scolding him in a threatening tone.
"Is that so?"
A ethereal voice echoed through the air.
Immediately after, amidst the rabbit spirit's utter bewilderment, the handsome face abruptly shifted, transforming into the giant, bloody-moon-eyed head of a raven.
Its beak opened wide.
A powerful suction force burst forth, and amid a succession of shrill screams, the raven swallowed the rabbit spirit's entire body into its belly.
"I detest threats the most."
Having finished all this, Yu Qiye's head transformed back into a human shape once more, a sneer playing on his lips.
[Ding! You have slain the rabbit spirit and randomly plundered the trait: Deeply Concealed (Red). Do you wish to fuse it?]
[Deeply Concealed (Red): Capable of concealing one's cultivation and aura, making it extremely difficult to detect even by those surpassing you by one or two major realms.]
This was a very fine trait.
It suited Yu Qiye exceptionally well.
The corners of his mouth curved upward into a satisfied smile.
It was only then that Yu Qiye raised his eyes to look not far away.
At this moment, that human cultivator had already landed on the ground.
Panic-stricken, he backed away step by step.
Unable to believe his eyes.
Even more incredulous.
The rabbit spirit, who had been fighting him to a standstill, had been swallowed whole in a single gulp by this figure.
This...
"Um, pardon the interruption. This humble one is an elder of the Moon-Worship Country's Sword Sect. For disturbing Senior's secluded cultivation, I beg for forgiveness."
The old man repeatedly bowed in apology, his expression tense to the extreme.
Yet the very next moment, a fierce glint flashed in the old man's eyes, and a streak of sword light suddenly lunged straight toward Yu Qiye.
"Interesting."
With a soft chuckle, Yu Qiye's figure, which had been standing far away, vanished like a teleportation and abruptly appeared right in front of the human elder.
"Ah..."
Frightened out of his wits, the human elder stumbled and fell backward to the ground.
"You were the one who attacked me first!"
The ethereal voice carried not a hint of emotion.
Following that, a fair right hand descended upon the old man's face.
Within the Eight-Nine Mysterious Arts, there existed a secret technique.
Known as—Soul Searching.
It could search another's soul and read their memories, though its side effects were massive.
However, the question was, Yu Qiye was not performing soul-searching on *himself*, so why should he care about side effects?
As for indiscriminate slaughter?
Pardon me,
he was the one who attacked first.
Besides...
This was a world where humans and demons coexisted.
While one could not strictly say that humans and demons were sworn enemies, the reality was not far off.
Demons devoured humans, and humans refined demons into pills.
That was only because Yu Qiye possessed high cultivation.
Had his cultivation been a few notches lower, he would have been the one hunted down and killed.
Yu Qiye was very clear on his own stance.
Since he was born as a demon in this lifetime, he naturally stood on the side of the demon race.
Moreover, Yu Qiye happened to be quite curious about the surrounding area and wanted to test out secret techniques like Soul Searching anyway.
"Moon-Worship Country, Sword Sect, Beast-Taming Sect, and the Great Serpent Mistress?"
Yu Qiye had not expected that a small human nation which he barely paid any mind to would be so complex.
The human sects alone numbered three or four.
Not to mention the Great Serpent Mistress, known as the 'King of a Hundred Demons'.
Rumored to be a hundred zhang long and wrapped in white scales, the Great Serpent Mistress was extremely terrifying.
"Since I have nothing better to do, I might as well take a trip there."
With that, Yu Qiye looked down at the human elder, who was now reduced to a vacant, foolish state.
Then, with a wave of his right hand, he stirred up a surge of potent demonic energy.
Boom!
Amidst a sudden roar, the human elder's entire body was shattered by Yu Qiye, pulverized until he vanished from heaven and earth.
He was shattered beyond all recognition, reduced to a state of 'fragmentation' even tinier than dust.
Leaving behind only a flying sword that clattered to the ground.
At that moment, Yu Qiye plucked a black feather and gently blew upon it.
Instantly, the black feather continuously shifted and transformed, eventually turning into an exact replica of the human elder in appearance.
"From now on, you are Li Buyu, the Third Elder of the Sword Sect."
As he spoke, Yu Qiye unfurled a folding fan and smiled faintly.
"And I am your newly accepted disciple—Li Qiye."
At that very moment, however, Yu Qiye noticed that he seemed to have gained an extra trait.
[Ding! You have slain a human cultivator and randomly plundered the trait: Sword Bone (Blue). Do you wish to fuse it?]
[Sword Bone (Blue): Born with a sword bone, vastly accelerating the speed of sword cultivation comprehension.]
Mediocre.
That was Yu Qiye's evaluation of this trait.
Not worth fusing.
However, it could be retained.
In the future, it could serve as nourishment to feed into similar traits, or be bestowed upon a subordinate.
...
In the Moon-Worship Country, there existed a sect known as the 'Sword Sect'.
Its members all practiced the way of the sword.
Boasting the motto: 'With a single man and a single sword, slay demons and vanquish devils.'
On this particular day, Li Buyu, the Third Elder of the Sword Sect, took on a personal disciple.
Named 'Qiye'.
Originally, this was just a very minor affair.
Yet as luck would have it, this disciple was not only strikingly handsome but also possessed extraordinarily peerless talent.
In a mere three months, he advanced time and time again, showing a strong momentum of 'surpassing his predecessors'.
However, that was not all...
During the Heart-Trial Path of the sect's grand tournament, he even boldly proclaimed:
'Three million sword immortals in the heavens, seeing me must also lower their heads.'
This statement was arrogant.
Arrogant to the absolute extreme.
Yet it left the elders and the sect master utterly astonished.
It also caused the female disciples of the sect to gaze at him with eyes full of brilliant light.
Yet at this moment, none knew that over these past three months, Yu Qiye's talent in the sword dao had been growing day by day.
From the initial [Sword Bone], to the later [Sword Heart], and then to [Clear Sword Heart] and [Peerless Sword Dao]...
Trait after trait related to the 'Sword Dao' was continuously reaped by Yu Qiye.
"It seems I've come to the right place."
Standing on a peak of the Sword Sect, Yu Qiye's eyes flickered.
He had originally come to the Sword Sect merely harboring the mindset of playing a game.
Never did he expect such continuous surprises.
With over a thousand cultivators in the entire Sword Sect, it was no exaggeration to call them 'walking Sword Dao traits'.
"Ding! If you plunder a sufficient number of similar traits, you can reorganize and synthesize them, potentially creating a golden trait of the same category."
The sudden prompt echoed in Yu Qiye's mind.
It left even him shaken.