Isn't that Li Haochen? He was right there. In a flash, Zhou Yanxi seemed to understand something.
Just as she was about to turn and head downstairs, a waiter from the restaurant opened the private room's door to serve their meal.
Zhou Yanxi was torn. She really wanted to go down there, but she was the host today. If she just abandoned her senior brother, she couldn't help but feel guilty.
But Yuan Hen was a perceptive person. He immediately noticed her anxious expression—it was clear she had something urgent on her mind. Seeing her conflicted, he instantly understood.
So Yuan Hen turned to the nearby waiter, who had not yet walked away, and instructed, "Please pack up today's dishes in a food box. We'll take them to go."
The waiter bowed and began packing up the food.
Zhou Yanxi secretly let out a breath of relief. My senior brother is amazing! She quickly handed some spirit stones to the waiter and said they'd return shortly to pick it up.
Ke Yunlai Restaurant was the flagship eatery in the market district, and naturally they wouldn't dare to skimp or mishandle a customer's takeaway, so Zhou Yanxi felt secure enough to teleport away from the scene.
Yuan Hen followed closely behind. He was worried for his junior sister's safety. Even though the marketplace was close to Haomiao Sect, there were still shady characters lurking around, waiting for opportunities to stir up trouble.
Unfortunately, when Zhou Yanxi arrived at the stall, she could only see Li Haochen arguing with a female cultivator, surrounded by a crowd of onlookers.
Zhou Yanxi had no intention of stepping in now. The two were fighting over an unknown medicinal herb, completely pitch-black like ink. If she suddenly joined the fray, she'd look like a fool—and only make it more obvious that this was something valuable.
She wasn't going to make herself a target over a mere item that was only useful for system points. That wasn't worth it.
If before, Zhou Yanxi had been obsessed with getting her hands on the Spirit-Cleansing Herb, after her recent epiphany, she had let go of a lot of that attachment.
At this point, the stall owner looked at the two bickering cultivators and rolled his eyes. He loudly announced, "Since both fellow Daoists want this herb, let's settle it with a bidding war. Highest price wins."
In the end, the white-clothed female cultivator won the herb with 60 low-grade spirit stones.
Li Haochen, with little money to his name, simply couldn't match the bid. Realizing his strength was far too low, he had no choice but to give up on the herb he'd noticed first.
He lowered his head in humiliation, expression unreadable. But if anyone had looked closely, they'd have seen his eyes were completely bloodshot.
He was truly enraged. If only I had enough spirit stones, he thought bitterly, I wouldn't have lost that thing. As for that female cultivator—this grudge, I'll remember. I'll definitely get back at her next time.
Zhou Yanxi, seeing the matter resolved, quietly dispersed into the crowd and left. She returned to Ke Yunlai to retrieve their packed meal. After all, the show was over—there was no point in sticking around.
As she left, her mind lingered on that female cultivator. There's something strange about her soul, Zhou Yanxi thought. If I hadn't cultivated "Forging the Divine" and strengthened my divine sense across multiple worlds, I might not have even noticed.
But she decided not to investigate further. As long as that woman doesn't interfere with my missions, it's none of my business. And as for stealing Li Haochen's fortuitous encounter? Zhou Yanxi could practically clap with joy.
In truth, that female cultivator did have something off about her. Her name was Zheng Sumin, a rogue cultivator. Recently, she'd encountered a mysterious expert who told her the herb in her hand was a rare treasure.
What Zhou Yanxi didn't yet know was that the Blood Demon had multiple avatars, and one of them was currently possessing Zheng Sumin.
The Blood Demon had one main avatar and one secondary. The one inside Zheng Sumin was the secondary.
Originally, the demon had intended to bind its main soul fragment to a promising host. But thanks to Zhou Yanxi's interference, it accidentally ended up bound to a low-talent female cultivator instead.
Worse still, if this avatar got destroyed again, it would lose its last chance to rise ever again.
For the record, a true Spirit-Cleansing Herb should appear moon-white, its surface shimmering with silver light. But this one had been coated with a mysterious liquid to hide its appearance, which was why no one else recognized it.
After obtaining the herb, Zheng Sumin didn't dare wander around. She immediately returned to her rented cave dwelling in the market.
There, she eagerly consumed the herbal decoction, which only increased her cultivation by a few years, pushing her into late-stage Qi Condensation.
Actually, this spirit herb was a treasure deliberately left by the world's Heavenly Dao for someone destined to find it. If anyone else consumed it, they would only receive a small boost to their cultivation.
The Blood Demon inside Zheng Sumin was extremely dissatisfied. This host's fortune is way too low.
He had originally planned to bind to a heaven-blessed protagonist—that same lucky brat from earlier—but that damned girl (Zhou Yanxi) had ruined everything and wrecked a plan that had been brewing for thousands of years.
Now, he was stuck in a weakling's body, with no idea when he'd ever return to the Spirit Realm. Just thinking of Zhou Yanxi made his soul tremble with hatred. Too bad she's so strange—he couldn't do anything to her yet.
Still, the Blood Demon had an idea: he could manipulate his current host and use her as a tool to get revenge. Just imagining Zhou Yanxi's soul being torn to pieces made him want to howl with laughter.
On the way back to the sect, Zhou Yanxi felt a bit disappointed. If only my senior brother hadn't come along today, she thought. This would've been the perfect chance to eliminate Li Haochen quietly.
Meanwhile, Li Haochen, who had lost his lucky encounter, simmered with resentment. Though furious, he didn't dare retaliate. At this moment, his only thought was: Someday, I'll have endless power. I'll drag everyone who's ever humiliated me into the abyss.
And with that hatred festering in his heart, a demonic seed had already taken root within Li Haochen. All that remained was for it to sprout.