Yellow Skinned Taoist Master

Chapter 138: You Called Me a Waste?

As the saying goes — an old villain who refuses to die is the wiliest of all.

Chi Xie was cunning.

Chen Huangpi couldn't outmaneuver it.

But he had the Liver Temple.

Once the Liver Temple was fully forged, all he needed to do was open its gates.

Whether you were an evil spirit or a god, no matter how terrifying you were or how abundant your human qi — an irresistible, eerie pull would mesmerize you, and you'd crawl into that temple of your own accord, unable to resist.

In a sense.

Chen Huangpi still had four chances of invincibility.

Although this particular chance wouldn't be used on Chi Xie.

His Liver Temple, however, was nothing more than a hazy outline at the moment — not yet fully forged.The Brass Oil Lamp knew this perfectly well.

And yet, it was neither worried nor afraid.

Because Chen Huangpi wasn't afraid either.

Seeing this, Chi Xie couldn't help but ask, "Chen Huangpi, why aren't you struggling?"

"Why should I struggle?"

"I'm going to devour and refine you. Aren't you scared?"

This Chen Huangpi was the egg.

When that egg had plummeted into the Celestial Realm long ago, Chi Xie hadn't witnessed it firsthand — but it understood what that had meant.

The Heaven and Earth Mutation.

Out with the old heaven, in with the new.

A True Immortal born from descension — a genuine True Immortal.

If not for the fact that it had been a stillborn, Chi Xie wouldn't have dared entertain the slightest notion — even if Chen Huangpi were a newborn.

And so, Chen Huangpi's composure now filled Chi Xie with a creeping, nameless dread — as though a pair of eyes lurked in the shadows, silently watching everything it did.

It hesitated.

"Chi Xie, oh Chi Xie — you don't understand me at all."

Chen Huangpi said earnestly. "The only thing I'm afraid of is caterpillars. I'm not afraid of you. Not only am I not afraid — I know that for all your scheming, you can't hurt me in the slightest."

"Arrogant!"

Chi Xie laughed in disbelief. "I am the Lord of the Small Scarlet Heaven. You are nothing but a boy called Huangpi. In terms of power — though I've fallen far, I remain leagues above any common evil spirit. My fire seed still burns. How could I not kill you?"

"In strength and in cunning, I surpass you."

"How dare you compare yourself to me?"

Inside the flesh temple, scarlet flames continued to erupt.

And with them, Chi Xie's voice took on a bewitching, demonic quality.

Chen Huangpi scoffed. "Useless. My Dao heart is unshakable. Not even Master's bamboo switch could waver my will. Your pathetic siren song can't touch me."

"Is that so?"

Chi Xie's tone was doubtful.

Really?

Chen Huangpi's Dao heart was that firm?

Not even the Dao Lord himself had been able to alter this boy's resolve?

If that were the case, then Chi Xie's own tricks were indeed laughable.

And yet — Chen Huangpi's eyes were bloodshot, and deep in his pupils, Chi Xie could see its own fire seed burning.

That was clearly the result of demonic corruption affecting his mind.

One thought from Chi Xie, and he would lose his soul, surrendering completely.

"So you do have a hidden card."

Chi Xie sneered, manipulating the surrounding hellfire to steer clear of Chen Huangpi. Its voice dripped with wariness. "I knew it. You are the Dao Lord's only disciple, and you were born from that egg. Even if you were a stillborn, you must be extraordinary."

"Anyone else would have treated you as a clueless child — and walked right into your trap."

"Unfortunately for you, it was me you encountered."

"I am the Lord of the Small Scarlet Heaven. I have weathered more battles than I can count. Your schemes are like tissue paper before my eyes — one poke and they fall apart."

"Huang Er, what does it mean?"

Chen Huangpi asked, genuinely confused. "Why don't I understand?"

But before the Brass Oil Lamp could respond.

Chi Xie cut in coldly. "Still playing the fool? You truly think I'd fall for that?"

"When the sun and moon converge, this Old Temple will undergo a great upheaval."

"At that point, you won't be able to leave even if you wanted to."

"I'm not the one who should be anxious — you are. So stop hiding your hand. Whatever trump card you have — play it now."

Hearing this.

Chen Huangpi said in surprise. "How did you know I had a trump card?"

"How dare you humiliate me like this!"

Chi Xie roared. "You are the Dao Lord's own disciple. I saw through your ploy, and yet you keep feigning ignorance — again and again. Fine. Fine. Fine. If that's how you want it, let's see who outlasts whom."

It made up its mind.

If Chen Huangpi didn't move, Chi Xie absolutely wouldn't strike first.

After all, it wasn't the one on a clock.

Off to the side.

The Brass Oil Lamp stared blankly at this exchange.

It couldn't make sense of it.

Couldn't see what was happening.

Chen Huangpi's Liver Temple wasn't even finished yet.

So how was he already suppressing Chi Xie?

'Buddy, you've been hiding your depth...' the Brass Oil Lamp whispered secretly in Chen Huangpi's mind. 'What's your real trump card? Even this Chi Xie is wary of you.'

"It should be wary."

Chen Huangpi said proudly. "This is the Old Temple. All I have to do is shout 'Third Master, save me!' and Chi Xie could have all the power in the world — what good would it do?"

"It was all arranged by Third Master."

"Is that really it?"

The Brass Oil Lamp's eyes were full of confusion and bewilderment.

True — the Guanzhu was the Heaven Dao of the Hundred Thousand Mountains. He had arranged everything and cleared the path for Chen Huangpi long ago.

But Chi Xie didn't know that.

If it did, it would never have dared act this way.

The more the Brass Oil Lamp thought, the more things didn't add up.

But no matter how hard it thought, it couldn't figure it out.

So it simply urged, "Something feels off about Chi Xie's head. When your Liver Temple is complete, whatever you do, don't pull it inside — it'll be a bad influence."

Chen Huangpi agreed. "I also think something's wrong with its brain. Spouting all that nonsensical gibberish."

Thinking this, Chen Huangpi took a deep breath.

To Chi Xie's eyes, this was unmistakably Chen Huangpi losing his patience — readying himself for a clash of abilities.

So Chi Xie silently stoked its fire seed, igniting every scrap of the temple's living flesh.

In an instant, the blood-red flames inside the temple detonated in a violent eruption.

Diminished though its power was.

A full-force strike like this would force even an immortal to retreat.

If even this couldn't overcome Chen Huangpi, then Chi Xie would accept defeat gracefully. But at that moment.

Something Chi Xie didn't expect happened.

It heard Chen Huangpi screaming.

"Ow, it hurts! It hurts so much!"

Chen Huangpi yelped. "It feels like there's a fire burning inside my chest! Why is this fire so strange?!"

Chi Xie blurted out reflexively, "This fire is my natal fire seed. Any thought you have will be ignited by it. As they say — thoughts are born in the heart, so naturally the fire burns in your heart. But your Dao heart..."

"..."

"Your Dao heart is this fragile?"

Chi Xie's voice was a mess of shock, disbelief, and emotions too tangled to articulate.

Finally, it exploded in fury. "My fire was stored and ready — I was waiting for you to make your move so we could have a proper battle! But before I even struck, the residual heat alone was enough to crush you!"

"Where are your hidden cards?"

"Where is your cunning?"

Chi Xie demanded answers.

But Chen Huangpi's face was ashen. He clutched at his chest, his expression twisted in unbearable agony.

His eyes had gone completely crimson, as if blood might drip from them at any moment.

He couldn't get a single word out.

Chi Xie bellowed, "Get over here!"

The instant the words were spoken.

Chen Huangpi walked straight over.

At this, Chi Xie couldn't help but laugh.

A laugh full of rage. A laugh full of bitter indignation.

"I should never have overestimated you."

Chi Xie snarled through gritted teeth. "I thought you were pretending. But it was all real. Good. Good. Good. Chen Huangpi — you truly are what you see is what you get. What you say is what you think."

"I never lie to anyone."

"Shut up!"

The entire flesh temple roared: "You are a waste! How could the Dao Lord have taken you as his disciple? If it were me, I would rip the golden-black qi right out of you and use it to build the foundation of my own Dao!"

The word "waste."

Chen Huangpi froze in place.

Inside his head, only that single word echoed.

The last person to call him a waste had been Chen Huang — because he had devoured the Great Qian Immortal Dynasty's vast resources and still failed to be born. He remained a stillborn.

That time.

Chen Huangpi had been furious, and in agony.

He knew his origins were extraordinary.

He knew that perhaps many people had placed their hopes on him.

Because the moment he was born, he would automatically be a True Immortal.

His cultivation would surge — one realm per day.

But in the end, things hadn't gone to plan. Master had done so much for him — letting him absorb the entirety of the Underworld Yellow Spring, allowing him to transform from a stillborn into human form, paving every inch of his path — and yet he had only managed to reach somewhere between Nascent Soul and Spirit Transformation.

And at his age.

Master had already achieved True Immortality long ago.

He wasn't as good as Master. He wasn't as good as many others, either.

"Buddy, calm down."

The Brass Oil Lamp said urgently. "You're not a waste. You're a genius — the most gifted genius under all of heaven. That Chi Xie is nothing but a loser the Guanzhu already defeated. Compared to you, it doesn't even count as a fart."

"Laughable!"

Chi Xie sneered. "His mind is under my control. You could say a thousand words, ten thousand words — he wouldn't hear a single one."

"He is a waste."

"I am not..."

Chen Huangpi's head snapped up. His blood-red eyes turned crystal clear.

His expression was blank.

Not a trace of emotion.

The thoughts in his heart were no longer being ignited by that fire.

Instead, a different fire had begun to burn within him.

It was liver fire.

A blazing, furious liver fire.

The Liver Temple — which had been nothing but a hazy outline — was now shaking violently, as if on the verge of eruption.

Riiip...

Below Chen Huangpi's left eye, the skin of his cheek split open. A dark cyan eye emerged from the tear — crystal clear, yet radiating an indescribable malevolence.

Chi Xie's expression shifted.

It didn't know what was happening. Only that the dark cyan eye gave it a profoundly unsettling feeling.

The mere act of meeting its gaze conjured the illusion of being controlled.

But that was not all.

Chen Huangpi covered his face with both hands.

Rip, rip...

The sound of flesh tearing came in rapid succession.

Chen Huangpi lowered his palms. A dark cyan eye now stared out from each palm.

Across his entire body, over a hundred more eyes opened.

"I can see you."

"What?!!"

Chi Xie's voice was deeply unsettled. Long before it had realized Chen Huangpi possessed no cunning whatsoever, it had quietly hidden its true body here. This place had appeared to be an escape route.

In truth, anyone who came this way would walk straight into its trap.

The cunning rabbit has three burrows.

But now, every one of its arrangements was laid bare in Chen Huangpi's eyes — all reduced to nothing.

The dark cyan eye on the back of Chen Huangpi's skull contracted slightly. A ripple passed through its pupil.

The next instant.

The Brass Oil Lamp appeared in Chen Huangpi's hand.

One of the dark cyan eyes crawled from the back of Chen Huangpi's hand onto the lamp's body, then embedded itself firmly into the metal.

In an instant.

The Brass Oil Lamp transformed into the Nine Nether God Lantern.

And an overwhelming torrent of icy, spectral fire erupted from the lantern, flooding the temple in every direction.

"Chen Huangpi — you've fallen to madness!"

The Brass Oil Lamp screamed in terror. "Second Guanzh—"

Before it could finish, the eye embedded in its body seized control and forced its mouth shut.

Chen Huangpi said coldly, "Huang Er, I am not a waste."