I Just Wanted To Live but I Somehow Became Better Than the Protagonist

Next, he merely needed to deal with the malevolent spirit lurking beneath the pool, then hand the rogue cultivator over to the officials of Ninghai City, and the matter would be resolved satisfactorily.

Evil spirit, I am coming.

Just as Ye Yong prepared to use his water-avoidance tools and leap into the pool, footsteps suddenly echoed from the direction of the forest.

A companion? Only now do they choose to appear? Too slow to react, or perhaps overly cautious?

Ye Yong focused intently on the source of the footsteps.

The once hazy moonlight now broke through the clouds, casting a gentle glow that illuminated the orchard. A young man stepped forth from the shadows. Upon seeing the stranger’s face, Ye Yong’s breath caught, his eyes widening in disbelief.

It was Long Tian!

Ye Yong was bewildered. Did you plant a tracker on me or something? Why do we keep running into each other? Where’s your Uncle Liu? What about your village? Aren’t you supposed to be erecting a monument for the villagers? Why are you wandering around aimlessly?

Ye Yong couldn’t tell if the old immortal was awake or still in slumber. Though he had been dead for ages, he had once been a celestial being, his perception far beyond that of ordinary cultivators. Ye Yong quickly stepped back.

“This must be Tanqing Village,” Long Tian said, gazing at the village before him, a sigh escaping his lips.

Earlier that day, he had spent a long time with Uncle Liu’s remains. In the afternoon, he recalled Liu’s wish to visit Ninghai City to buy the famous candied nutgrass to eat. So, taking advantage of the daylight, Long Tian set off for Ninghai City.

Unfortunately, during the New Year festivities, the city was teeming with people, shops bustling with business. The candied nutgrass was in high demand, and after much searching, he finally found a shop that still had some ingredients. However, he was informed that they were missing a crucial component, which the shopkeeper sourced from Tanqing Village. The shopkeeper was too busy to make the trip himself, so if Long Tian could fetch the materials, he would gladly give him a portion of the candied nutgrass for free, along with some extra compensation.

Having dispatched three crystalline assassins and collected their bounty, Long Tian was not short on money. If possible, he wanted to avoid wasting time and simply buy the treat Liu had longed for.

But as mentioned earlier, the supply of candied nutgrass was scarce, so rather than continue searching, it was far more convenient to agree to the shopkeeper’s request.

“Hmm?” Long Tian’s focus was sharp; as he emerged from the orchard, he noticed a figure sprawled by the pond.

A bad premonition flickered in his mind.

Could it be that bandits attacked the village!?

With that thought, Long Tian rushed to the fallen figure, helping him to sit up.

“It’s a Golden Core cultivator, poisoned with something like Soft Bone Fragrance,” the old immortal informed Long Tian of his findings.

“Soft Bone Fragrance?” Long Tian pondered, retrieving the detoxification pills he had crafted. He fed several to the fallen cultivator, who slowly began to regain his strength, indicating the poison was of a high grade.

“Thank you, young friend,” the cultivator said, a friendly smile gracing his lips. But then, a glint of malice flashed in his eyes as he raised his palm and struck fiercely at Long Tian’s chest.

Who was Long Tian?

In a split second, he leaned back, narrowly evading the attack.

Fortunately, the assailant had not fully recovered, his speed diminished. Had he been at his peak, Long Tian felt he would have been in grave danger.

“What do you mean by that?” Long Tian seethed with anger. He had acted with kindness to save a life, only to be attacked by the very person he rescued. Who would be pleased in such a situation?

—

“Little brat, playing your little tricks, you think you’re still using the leftovers from my glory days? You think that by deliberately dizzying me and then pretending to save me, I would believe you?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Oh, putting on quite the act, aren’t you?” As a formidable Golden Core cultivator, a practitioner of the dark arts, he had been secretly poisoned and brought down—didn’t he care about his pride? The more he looked at the brat before him, the more irritated he became, and he launched another attack.

“The palm print carries dark energy; he’s a practitioner of the dark arts,” the old immortal warned.

Long Tian’s expression turned serious as he dodged attack after attack.

“Stand still, you little wretch!” Seeing that Long Tian evaded every palm strike, the cultivator resorted to close combat: “Prepare to die!”

Ye Yong paid no mind to the unfolding situation. After all, he could think of three possible outcomes.

First, Long Tian would be knocked into the pond, using the dark entity to counter-kill the Golden Core cultivator; second, he would be injured and escape, returning to fight another day; third, he would fail to escape and, while being pursued, create an opportunity for a counterattack.

Becoming transparent, Ye Yong returned beneath the little magic carpet, removing the talisman. As soon as Qin Shidream noticed him, she immediately controlled the carpet to descend.

Qin Shidream had no particular thoughts about Ye Yong’s transparency; after all, if he could wield even celestial-level techniques, what was a mere transparency talisman?

“Aren’t we going to help?” Though she didn’t know Long Tian, that didn’t mean she was willing to watch as a dark cultivator killed a righteous one.

“No need, he’s fine,” Ye Yong waved his hand. Now he was just waiting to see which of the three outcomes would unfold.

If it was the first, he could take Qin Shidream home directly; there would be no more business for him here. If it was the second or third, and Long Tian managed to lure the dark cultivator away while escaping, then Ye Yong would still have a chance to practice against the dark entity.

Qin Shidream didn’t believe Ye Yong was the type to ignore someone in peril; since he said it was fine, it must be fine.

On the dark cultivator’s side, although the poison from the soft bone incense hadn’t fully taken effect, he could only exert half his strength. Yet, with a cultivation level of the fifth layer of Golden Core, he was not to be trifled with, easily suppressing Long Tian by an entire realm—something Long Tian simply couldn’t handle.

Seeing the situation turn dire, the poison within the dark cultivator intensified, and Long Tian, unwilling to linger, threw out a smoke bomb and immediately turned to flee.

“Just playing your little tricks, you can’t escape! Little brat!” The dark cultivator was clearly losing his cool, relentlessly pursuing Long Tian.

Not the first outcome—good, Ye Yong still had a chance to confront the dark entity.

However, the commotion from the fight attracted the villagers, who began to gather. Time is money; Ye Yong couldn’t wait for the villagers to disperse on their own, so he piloted the little magic carpet to the edge of the pond.

A flying carpet, upon which sat a man who, under the moonlight, radiated a holy light effect, so handsome that words could scarcely describe him—the villagers all knelt in excitement, welcoming the immortal.