Daily life of a cultivation judge

The ninefold natural yin array cicada looked even more confused than Yang Qing as its gaze fell on the dark grey fog enclosed within the bubble.

Even though it had already been disintegrated, the cicada could still sense traces of its spell within that nebulous yin qi.

"This makes no sense!" it said, deeply scrutinizing the yin qi.

"If I had that delicious-looking qi, wouldn't I be aware of it?" it added, voicing its doubts.

It quickly followed up with another statement. "It wasn't in the other spells either, otherwise the quality would've been much different than what I showed."

The cicada suddenly looked up at Yang Qing with an almost pleading expression. "I'm not lying to you. I really don't know where this qi came from."

"I believe you," Yang Qing softly said, bringing much-needed relief to the ninefold natural yin array cicada.

"But that still doesn't change the fact that the qi did indeed come from you. I can still sense some traces of it in you," he added, his moon-shaped irises glimmering slightly.

"Y-you… W-what are you planning?" the cicada stammered in a panic as it darted backward, attempting to flee—but its fear had paralyzed it too much to move properly.

But even if it could control its body… what then?

It had seen Yang Qing's abilities firsthand and knew there was no way it could escape him. No matter what means it employed, they were all doomed to end in failure.

"I don't taste that well," It hurriedly said, choosing to use the one mode of defense available to it. "I've been told on more than one occasion that I taste like cold, dry ash with a bit of goat dung flavor," it immediately followed.

"Eating me will do you no good other than ruin your tongue and your appetite. And I'm not even filling either, with this tiny body of mine," the cicada added, pointing to itself.

"Who said I want to eat you?" Yang Qing answered back with a wry smile.

"You don't?!" the cicada replied, clearly surprised. "You're sure you don't want to eat me?" it pressed, as its eyes narrowed slightly, overflowing with deep suspicion.

It may have been cowardly, but its cowardice wasn't like that of the others. Its cowardice was built from its experiences and sharp senses.

Ever since it was a larva, everything and anything had been after it, looking to eat it. That life had left it deeply cautious, somewhat vindictive, and a little insidious at times.

But more than anything, it had turned it into a survivor. One of the reasons it had lasted this long was its senses. They had been honed to such a degree that it could detect the appetite of beings within a certain radius, much like how seasoned veterans could sense killing intent or bloodlust, even when it wasn't consciously released.

The ninefold natural yin array cicada could do something similar when it came to sensing appetite or desires related to it. At first it could only detect such emotions when they were directed at it, but over time, after enduring countless attempts on its life and as the strength of its soul grew, it gained the ability to sense even latent appetites in living beings, even when it wasn't the intended target.

And right now, without a doubt, it could sense that same emotion in Yang Qing, and it was the most intense it had ever sensed.

It could hardly believe that such a body could contain such an enormous appetite. By the cicada's humble estimates, given the level of appetite it sensed from Yang Qing, the latter could eat the entire gorge, and still remain unsatiated.

This was exactly why the cicada could hardly relax around him. The calming effects of the lark above were about the only thing keeping it functional... albeit barely.

He definitely wants to eat me! the cicada thought fearfully.There was nothing Yang Qing could say or do that could convince it otherwise.

Given what it had sensed from him, even Yang Qing's calm denial felt no different than this:

A stranger appears in someone's house late at night. The owner suddenly wakes to find him seated calmly beside the bed, smiling as he enjoys the cool, refreshing water from the earthen jar the owner had left out before he went to bed.

As the owner panics, wondering Who is this? What is he doing here?—The stranger, with the gentlest tone, explains that he was just feeling thirsty and came in for a drink. Nothing more.

Despite the strangeness of the situation, it wasn't out of the realm of possibility that maybe, just maybe, the owner might believe him.

That is, if he hadn't noticed what lay at the stranger's feet, which was two sickles, drenched in blood, the crimson liquid slowly trickling onto the floor, filling the room with its unmistakable metallic stench.

Given such a sight, would the owner still believe the stranger's claim that he only came in to drink from a dusty jar he barely even cleans? Or would he, as any sane person would, draw his own conclusions based on the evidence lying in plain sight?

Like the uninvited guest who entered silently into his room, in the dead of night, sitting silently at his bed with a certain carefreeness to him like it was his own home, and last but not least... the bloody sickles left casually in the open where he would definitely see them.

In such a scenario, both that owner and the cicada had only one path ahead of them.

The ninefold natural yin array cicada obsequiously rubbed its two front limbs together and lowered its head slightly as it said,

"Please don't be angry with me, Senior Immortal. I was just temporarily muddle-headed. I've lived alone here for nearly a century, with nothing but my imagination to keep me company—and that's left me a bit ill-mannered.

Please forgive me for my rude accusations. I know a powerful immortal like yourself would have no need for a lowly insect like me."

Please don't eat me! Please don't eat me! Please don't eat me! it screamed inwardly.