Chapter 48: Daring to Toy with This Little Monk? Tired of Living?

The Fallen Spirit Pool was a fragment of a natural pocket world, a miniature heaven and earth sealed off from the outside.

Normally, once someone entered the Fallen Spirit Pool, they’d be completely cut off from the outside world.

But Xu Gu’s identity was special. In the Devil’s Den, he was revered as the foremost Heaven-sent Demon Child, so his treatment was naturally exceptional.

Blueflame Elder and Redfire Elder had specially left a channel open for him inside the pool. If Xu Gu needed anything, he could give orders at will. If he ran into danger, he could directly exit the Fallen Spirit Pool.

Of course, they had also warned him to avoid using that channel too often, because every use would tug at the surrounding space and easily trigger spatial rifts, inviting unnecessary trouble.

Mi Suhui and Kong Haoran also held unusual status in the Devil’s Den, though far beneath Xu Gu’s.

“True enough. Since Demon Child Xu hasn’t raised any questions, there shouldn’t be a problem.” Blueflame Elder nodded.

As they spoke, bright smiles returned to both elders’ faces as they turned to look at Alchemy Peak behind them, still belching black smoke. Their excitement and delight were plain as day.

Neither of them had ever dared dream that one day, as hunted old demons who’d spent their lives skulking and hiding and couldn’t even get hot pills to eat, they’d actually become the peak masters of Alchemy Peak.

And not just any Alchemy Peak—the first Alchemy Peak in the entire history of the demonic path.

This was the peak of their demonic lives. The dark patriarchs of obscure cults!

And the price? At most, giving away a few Fallen Spirits.

They’d earned big.

No—this was a win-win!

Surely Demon Child Xu, who would end up with the Fallen Spirits, would be very happy too.

…

“How did those three get all the way down to the edge of the pool?”

“Why can’t we?”

“But seriously, are they here to be funny? Nets? Are they planning to trawl for fish?”

“That one’s even worse. He brought a tiger. Here to do circus tricks for the fish?”

Far off, the watching figures saw Xu Gu’s group of three standing right at the bank of the Fallen Spirit Pool, occupying the best position. Shock warred with blazing envy and jealousy on every face.

After all, there was a formation barrier near the pool. They were repelled by it and couldn’t get close.

They could only hang in the air several li away and fish from the sky, using their own flesh and blood and essence as bait.

Anyone could tell that was horribly inefficient, and the price was terrifying.

But when they saw that trio’s gear, their envy and jealousy vanished, twisting into mockery and ridicule.

So they were just three idiots.

There were Fallen Spirits in the pool, not fish. Even with their toes they could figure out that nets weren’t going to catch Fallen Spirits.

“This…”

“Feels like that bunch out there is laughing at us,” Mi Suhui said, face turning dark. He had a bad premonition.

“They’re just sour grapes,” Kong Haoran said calmly. He’d already gotten his net ready and was about to cast, and still didn’t forget to say to Xu Gu, “Senior Brother Xu, take a breather first. Once we’ve hauled up enough, it’ll be your turn.”

As he spoke, the net had already gone out.

“Chi! Chi! Chi!”

But the moment the net touched the water of the Fallen Spirit Pool, several jets of pitch-black liquid shot out from the depths and blasted the net away like bolts of dark water-thunder.

“Huh?!” Kong Haoran’s brows shot up. “What’s going on? Not letting me cast the net? Now I definitely have to!”

He’d already noticed something was off. This pool water was special. Nets wouldn’t go in— even his net woven from Sky-Spider Demon Silk couldn’t. But that only made him more unwilling to accept it.

He circulated his spiritual power, gathering thousands of catties of strength, and forced the flung-away net down again with a heavy press.

He tried to brute-force the incoming black water jets.

The scene froze for a moment.

Far off, the cultivators watching all stared, dumbfounded.

These three looked so young, yet they were that strong?

Were they actually about to let him force his net in?

Was this that legendary “overwhelming strength solves everything”?

And then—boom, boom, boom—stronger pillars of black water erupted from the pool, completely flinging Kong Haoran’s net high into the air and sending it slapping back onto the bank.

You could even sense something terrifying down in the pool, still brewing.

“All right, all right, you win. I submit.” Kong Haoran spread his hands helplessly, reeled the net back in, and sat down cleanly on the stone stool he’d brought. He sighed to Mi Suhui, “Guess we’d better behave and just fish properly.”

Clearly, he’d underestimated the methods of these demon elders.

Mi Suhui was a bit disappointed as well, then turned to Xu Gu, who remained perfectly calm, and asked, “Senior Brother Xu, you already knew this would happen?”

“This pool is no ordinary thing. It once nurtured a hundred thousand evil spirits. Even though they eventually slaughtered each other until only forty-nine Fallen Spirits remained, the negative emotions and power from the others fused into the water itself.

“To be precise, this water is the remnant bodies of those who lost the competition. It holds a terrifying power. Even a Nascent Soul expert might not be able to forcefully stir it.”

Xu Gu’s expression didn’t change. He’d always had a habit of doing his homework beforehand, and had already asked his guide, Yaphenon, about it.

“So we really can only fish honestly?” Kong Haoran sighed deeply, utterly disappointed.

“Even Senior Brother Xu has no way to cheat?” Mi Suhui asked.

Xu Gu shook his head slightly and didn’t answer.

“Forget it, fishing is fishing. With our kind of luck, we’re bound to hook a few Fallen Spirits,” Kong Haoran said, sounding upbeat again.

Out in the righteous world, both of them were peerless geniuses, and their mental fortitude was nothing to scoff at.

They began to fish in earnest.

Xu Gu remained relaxed the whole time, unhurried. He didn’t even take out a rod; he simply observed the terrain, and looked like he might just be spacing out.

“The handsome one in the middle—has he given up? He hasn’t even taken out his rod.”

“Damn it.”

“Squatting on the best spot and not even fishing!”

Far away, the cultivators who’d been gleefully mocking Kong Haoran and Mi Suhui after their net-casting failure had originally wanted to shake their Dao hearts. But those two had iron wills, focused entirely on their task, and didn’t care at all.

If a bit of heckling was enough to make your emotions roil with rage, what was the point of cultivating? Might as well go home and study classics instead.

The more they were ignored, the more irritated they became, until finally their jealousy turned to spite and they began to jeer at Xu Gu instead.

Xu Gu naturally couldn’t care less. He only said to Mi Suhui and Kong Haoran,

“When you have time, kill them all for me.”

“Okay,” the two answered without hesitation.

Demon cultivators deserved to die to begin with. And these were also gamblers.

Time passed. Night descended. The surface of the pool grew restless. After lying quiet for so long, ripples began to spread across the dark water.

Everyone was suddenly energized.

Including Kong Haoran and Mi Suhui, who’d been waiting the whole day.

Especially when a Fallen Spirit slowly drifted toward Kong Haoran’s hook. They could clearly see it testing the bait.

“That’s it, that’s it, that’s perfect,” Kong Haoran whispered excitedly, eyes bright with hope. “Come on, bite it already.”

Mi Suhui also held his breath, gripping his mourning club.

They were both extremely tense, fully focused. The moment the Fallen Spirit bit down, Kong Haoran would yank the rod, and Mi Suhui would swing the club. They were certain they’d land it.

However…

That Fallen Spirit kept circling around the hook. It even put the hook into its mouth, swallowing and spitting, swallowing and spitting—but it just wouldn’t clamp down.

Like that, an entire stick of incense burned away.

“Son of a—! It’s playing with us! It’s playing us on purpose! It dares to play us!”

By the end, Kong Haoran’s eyes were bloodshot. He was furious, unable to bear it anymore, and was about to jump into the Fallen Spirit Pool himself.

With a splash—

Mi Suhui had already leapt into the pool, his whole body blazing with golden light. A zhang-tall golden body manifested around him as he shouted a Buddha’s name at the top of his lungs:

“Amitabha! Daring to toy with this little monk—are you tired of living?!”

(End of this Chapter)