novelraw Chapter 29 : The Protagonist Is Really Useful
Chapter 29 : The Protagonist Is Really Useful
Chapter 29: The Protagonist Is Really Useful
The sun stood high, and the crowd buzzed noisily.
On the bluestone platform, banners fluttered. Below, some sat while others stood—disciples of sects in white robes with swords on their backs, and independent cultivators in mixed, disorderly attire.
The master of Medicine Master Manor, You Yiming, adjusted his attire and stepped onto the high platform, cupping his hands in greeting to all directions.
Everyone knew he was the host, and more or less gave him face, lowering their voices.
When the noise subsided slightly, You Yiming spoke loudly:
“Fellow Daoists, today’s gathering is for discussing the Dao, for exchanging treasures, and even more so—for exterminating evil!”
“Half a month ago, the traitor Luo Yi of the Pure Yang Palace colluded with a demoness of the Skin-Stripping Path, slaughtering eighteen righteous cultivators. What kind of place is the Skin-Stripping Path? A demonic faction that cultivates using human skin! Luo Yi betrayed his sect and associated with such evil—he has already fallen into the demonic path!”
“The heroic souls of those eighteen fellow Daoists still weep blood upon the road to the Yellow Springs, awaiting justice!”
Someone in the crowd shouted in agreement, and curses erupted everywhere.
You Yiming raised his hands to calm them, then took out a small green jade box from his robes.
The lid opened slightly, and instantly a pill fragrance spread in all directions. A faint glow shimmered, revealing a pill the size of a longan, flowing with seven-colored brilliance.
“This is the treasured pill of my Medicine Master Manor—the Six-Turn Glazed Pill. It can heal grievous injuries and reconstruct the body. Even if only a single breath remains, it can bring the dead back to life.”
He lifted the jade box high, letting sunlight shine upon the pill. The rainbow light circulated, astonishing everyone present.
“Today, I am willing to use this pill as the prize, inviting all of you to participate in this grand undertaking! After we slay that traitor Luo Yi, this pill will be awarded to the Daoist who contributes the most and achieves the greatest merit!”
He put the box away and swept his gaze across the crowd like lightning:
“This villain Luo Yi—everyone has the right to kill him! Are you all willing to lend me your strength?”
The crowd responded with a thunderous roar.
Although Medicine Master Manor was not a formal sect, its skill in alchemy and medicine granted it considerable status.
Moreover, it specialized in cultivating medicinal herbs.
Independent cultivators inevitably suffered injuries—major and minor—and disturbances of inner demons and restless fire were common. Areas that the Alchemy Cauldron Path could not fully cover were supplemented by secondary forces like Medicine Master Manor, so naturally many were willing to give face.
“To eliminate demons and defend the Dao, it is our duty!”
“My Azure Sword Sect is willing to follow Manor Master You to slay this traitor!”
“Fairy Lü, scold me!”
“That Luo Yi is utterly insane, consorting with demonesses—he deserves to be cut into a thousand pieces!”
In a corner, a cultivator wearing a bamboo hat silently drank.
The shadow covered the upper half of his face. His firm, masculine jaw carried a bitter smile as he drank cup after cup without stopping.
He lifted the jug again.
It was already empty.
Looking at the jade box in You Yiming’s hand on the platform, his gaze grew firmer… and carried a resolve for death.
Just as Luo Yi was about to rise,
a large hand suddenly pressed down on his shoulder.
His whole body trembled, and cold sweat instantly broke out.
He was a Fourth Realm Sitting in Forgetfulness expert. Detached from form and knowledge, harmonized with all things, he had already partially merged with the rhythms of heaven and earth.
At this True Cultivation Assembly, aside from those few from the Twelve Orthodox Paths on the platform, no one present should be his match.
As long as he sank into Sitting in Forgetfulness and breathed with the vegetation, there should have been no way for him to be discovered—or silently approached!
Luo Yi turned back in shock.
A blazing Great Sun True Flame surged up from his body like a rising sun.
But the familiar voice that followed froze him in place.
He had only met the owner of that voice once.
Yet that one meeting had exposed his identity, and that handsome yet gloomy face had been etched into his mind.
“See, Brother Dai? I told you Brother Luo would be here.”
Fang Chang still wore a smile.
He patted Luo Yi’s shoulder like an old friend.
With his other hand, he casually flicked away sunflower seed shells he had been chewing.
“Indeed! Brother Luo! Long time no see.”
Dai Bojun also came over, his face bright with pure joy at meeting a friend again, completely unaware of Luo Yi’s distress.
Luo Yi’s expression stiffened. “Brother Dai… Brother Fang.”
Fang Chang grabbed a handful of sunflower seeds and stuffed them into his hand, not even lowering his voice.
Using the seeds to point toward You Yiming on the platform, he said:
“That kind of pill glow and seven-colored brilliance can be faked by capturing a low-tier demon toad called a Rainbow Mirage Clam Toad, refining the fat within its body into a paste to disguise it. But it cannot change the essence—bright on the outside, dull within.”
Luo Yi’s pupils trembled slightly, remaining silent.
“The pill is fake. And you’re truly stubborn.”
“I have no choice, Brother Fang. Zhao Zhao… my Dao companion… she cannot hold on much longer.”
Luo Yi’s voice was filled with painful sorrow. His eyes were hollow, his entire face almost crumpling.
“Do you trust me?”
Fang Chang curled his lips into a frivolous smile.
The shell he flicked away landed on someone’s head.
If not for his strikingly handsome face, he would look like an unreliable street rogue.
Before Luo Yi could answer, Dai Bojun spoke first.
“I trust Brother Fang.”
He had no idea what was going on—he just joined in.
Patting his thin chest, he said loudly, “Brother Fang saved my life. He is my benefactor. Even if he says a secret realm will suddenly appear here, I would believe him.”
“……” Fang Chang glanced at him.
Luo Yi remained silent.
Fang Chang continued, “Your two senior brothers are here. If you try to seize the pill, you will undoubtedly die. If you listen to me, not only can you save your little yellow weasel, you can also help her shed the suffering of her beast body.”
To be honest,
aside from players, Pure Yang Path cultivators were extremely rare—unprecedentedly so in the cultivation world.
First, they only accepted boys with pure yang bodies.
Second, their excessive yang energy made it extremely difficult for them to produce offspring.
With both factors combined,
the fact that they sent two cultivators to this True Cultivation Assembly already showed considerable importance.
And even so,
the Pure Yang Palace still ranked among the Twelve Orthodox Paths.
This alone demonstrated the strength of that path.
“You… you…”
Upon hearing the words ‘little yellow weasel,’ Luo Yi’s pupils suddenly shrank. “Who exactly are you… how…?”
His heart was filled with shock.
Previously, Fang Chang revealing his identity on the lake had already been astonishing, but at least it had a traceable basis.
Now even his Dao companion’s true form had been exposed—it was no longer something simple…
Fang Chang suddenly said coldly, “Stop hesitating. Whether you and her are separated by life and death, or live together as companions, depends entirely on this one thought of yours!”
Luo Yi’s heart waged an intense struggle.
He knew Fang Chang was only a Qi Absorption cultivator, yet his instinct was to believe him—completely, without doubt!
After a moment, he ultimately could not resist the desire to remain together.
He stared at Fang Chang, bloodshot veins filling his pupils.
“Brother Fang, I entrust this to you.”
Fang Chang’s expression remained cold. “This matter is simpler than the current situation, but it still requires you to fight with all your strength… However, don’t worry. With Brother Dai alongside you, your life will be safe.”
Luo Yi nodded heavily.
“Me?”
Dai Bojun pointed at himself, somewhat confused.
Fang Chang looked at him. “Brother Dai, Brother Luo is willing to risk death to save his Dao companion. I can’t stand by—I have to help him. What do you say?”
Hearing this, Dai Bojun did not feel pressured at all.
Instead, he became excited, his posture straightening.
His face flushed, almost as delicate as a woman’s.
“Upholding justice and helping the righteous is what people like us should do! Brother Fang, Brother Luo—if there’s anything you need from me, just say it!”
The protagonist really is useful.
Fang Chang smiled inwardly.
“The two of you, listen carefully. I need you to wait in advance at…”