Yu Changsheng cleaned up the traces on the ground. He picked up Luo Lesheng’s corpse, about to cast a Fireball Skill to destroy it, when a flash of insight struck him.

His gaze fell upon the Red Snake King.

’Feeding a Demon Beast meat yields essence. What if I feed it a Cultivator? Can I get essence from that, too?!’

The moment he had this thought, his hands began to move on their own. Part of him felt this was a wicked and heretical act, but another part felt it would be a waste not to.

So, he dangled the corpse toward the Red Snake King.

The Red Snake King blinked, seeming to understand something, and slowly slithered over.

’Master seems to want to feed me something... strange.’

Eating humans was a perfectly normal behavior among Demon Beasts. Many Bloodthirsty and violent Demon Beasts would even swallow Cultivators whole during battle.

But the Red Snake King’s Realm was currently too low for such a dramatic feat.

It moved closer without hesitation. To it, eating a Cultivator’s corpse was no different from eating a Demon Beast’s. It opened its mouth and gradually swallowed the body, following its contours until it was completely consumed.

A moment later, as Yu Changsheng watched with an expectant gaze, a system message flashed.

[You have successfully fed a Red Snake King. Consumed: Luo Lesheng x1. Reward: 50 Essence Points.]

’It really worked!’

Yu Changsheng clenched his fists in excitement. ’Thanks for the 50 Essence Points from beyond the grave, old buddy!’

However, he found it a little strange that a Qi Refining Sixth Layer Cultivator who had consumed so many Elixirs yielded less essence than a Spirit Enhancement Pill.

’Perhaps after death, the Magical Power in his body dispersed, and all the Spiritual Qi he absorbed returned to the world.’

Yu Changsheng could only come to that conclusion. His gaze then shifted to the other two corpses.

One person had already been incinerated by the Fireball Skill, leaving only two bodies. But of these two, even the one with the highest Realm, Huang Li, was only at the Qi Refining Fourth Layer. Feeding him to the snake probably wouldn’t yield much essence.

Besides, he needed to leave the bodies here to frame Luo Lesheng. It was the only way he could fool the sect and Huang Suyu to buy himself some time.

’It’s just a small delay. I can’t get greedy over a petty profit.’

Yu Changsheng controlled the Soul-Breaking Nail and struck Huang Li’s corpse a few more times, ensuring the wounds would be instantly recognizable.

Then, after carefully scanning his surroundings and seeing no issues, he cast the Wind Travel Skill and returned to the Fish Market.

...

"Why isn’t Junior Yu back yet? It’s almost cockcrow."

"You don’t think he ran into some kind of danger, do you?"

"The Cultivators on that street don’t have high Realms. If Junior Yu really had an accident, he would have called for our help. It wouldn’t be this quiet."

"Let’s wait a little longer. If he’s still not here, we’ll go look for him nearby."

Several servant disciples from the Outer Peak gathered around Zhuang Yan, muttering among themselves.

Meanwhile, Wu Shang, who had returned long ago and knew the inside story, sneered inwardly.

’These idiots actually think that little servant will come back. Just for offending Huang Li, he was a dead man. With Luo Lesheng, a Qi Refining Sixth Layer, there too, his chances were less than zero.’

’And by killing him and seizing the thousand Lower Grade Spirit Stones in rent, I can also use this to suppress Zhuang Yan and establish my own authority.’

’We walk different paths. I originally wanted to bring you along to get rich, but it’s been five years, and you haven’t changed a bit. Still so naive and kind-hearted.’

Wu Shang’s eyes flickered, feeling no guilt at all that the other man was his childhood friend.

’Since we’ve embarked on the path of Cultivation, we must be selfish. It’s the only way to stand out on this road paved with bones.’

"Alright, everyone, hand in your rent. It’s time to count it."

Wu Shang called out with a broad smile as the surrounding servant disciples took out their Spirit Stones.

But just then, a figure riding the wind arrived, drawing everyone’s attention.

Yu Changsheng landed at the entrance of the Affairs Hall. Seeing that he hadn’t missed the deadline, he breathed a silent sigh of relief and said with a smile, "Sorry to keep you all waiting."

"Junior Yu! You’re finally back!"

"I thought you’d run into some kind of trouble! You really scared us."

"Yeah, really! If you hadn’t come back soon, we were about to go looking for you."

A few servant disciples gathered around him, chattering all at once, the concern on their faces looking genuine.

Zhuang Yan nodded at him and smiled. "It’s good that you’re back. Time to hand over the Spirit Stones. Did you collect them all?"

Yu Changsheng’s gaze fell on the stunned Wu Shang, a smile playing on his lips.

"Collected every last one."

Wu Shang’s expression was incredibly ugly. He never expected the little servant to survive and actually return!

’How is this possible? What the hell is Luo Lesheng playing at? Taking my money and not doing the job!’

He gritted his teeth, utterly bewildered and filled with a sense of foreboding.

’Don’t tell me something happened to Huang Li?’

From beginning to end, it never occurred to him that Yu Changsheng could have killed all four of them. After all, he was only at the Qi Refining Third Layer. To fight and defeat so many people at a higher Realm was too absurd. Not even a highly talented Sword Cultivator could necessarily pull that off.

Yu Changsheng handed over the Spirit Stones with a faint, knowing smile and walked past Wu Shang.

After hastily concluding his business, Wu Shang immediately went to find Huang Li, eventually discovering the bloody scene in the dense forest.

"The Soul-Breaking Nail... Luo Lesheng!"

His face turned deathly pale. He had no idea how he was going to explain this to Huang Suyu and could only retrieve the body for now.

Meanwhile, after returning to his wooden cabin, Yu Changsheng eagerly opened the Hundred Treasures Pouches to take stock of his loot.

In total, he got 235 Lower Grade Spirit Stones, a bottle of Qi Blood Pills, two Spirit Enhancement Pills, a bottle of Qi Gathering Pills, and some miscellaneous Spirit Grass.

In addition, inside Luo Lesheng’s Hundred Treasures Pouch, he discovered a Hanging Pearl that could conceal one’s aura and Realm.

’Is this the Magical Artifact he used to disguise himself as a Qi Refining Fourth Layer Cultivator?’

Yu Changsheng infused his Magical Power into the Hanging Pearl and understood its two functions. Once activated and carried, it could disguise his Realm and block the Divine Sense probes of others. The disguised Realm could not exceed one’s true Realm by more than a major Realm.

For example, Yu Changsheng could now disguise himself as a lowly Junior Cultivator at the Qi Refining First Layer, or he could activate it at full power and feign the aura of a Foundation Establishment Expert!

"What a treasure! No wonder he was doing so well in the Fish Market. He killed so many people and never got caught. So this was his secret!"

Yu Changsheng forcefully activated it, and a majestic, suffocating aura surged from the Hanging Pearl, making his Cultivation appear to be at the Foundation Establishment Stage!

"This thing is amazing! As long as I don’t make a move, no one can see through my deception. Put on the mask, and I’m a Foundation Establishment Expert!"

Yu Changsheng was ecstatic. In his opinion, none of the other Magical Artifacts were as valuable as this Hanging Pearl.

Although the aura was fake, created with an Illusion Technique, the effect was incredibly realistic. At a critical moment, it would be enough to intimidate petty crooks. It could even be used suddenly in a fight to distract an opponent and force them to reveal an opening!

However, it had a drawback: he had to constantly supply the Hanging Pearl with his Magical Power. If he were to cast another Magic, the aura would dissipate in the next moment, revealing the deception instantly.

Therefore, even with this treasure in his possession, Yu Changsheng couldn’t be careless. He would have to properly act the part of a Foundation Establishment Expert.

’In the Fish Market, I doubt any fool would dare challenge a Foundation Establishment Cultivator, right?’

Yu Changsheng chuckled to himself, then looked at the two Spirit Enhancement Pills, silently thanking Huang Li for his generous contribution.