Chapter 23: Chapter 21: The Deceptive Pig Emperor

Days passed, one after another. Mo Qi’s daily routine was to feed the pig and practice his Staff Technique, then feed the pig and practice his Staff Technique again.

The difficulty of his training gradually increased.

At first, he would place a giant rock on the other end of the staff, balancing it in mid-air, and hold it for two hours without letting it drop.

Later, after he completed the Fourth Transformation: Bone Tempering of the Nine Transformations into Spirit and broke through to the Fifth Transformation Nourishing Divine Being, he simply added the Obsidian-forged wok, cleaver, and long ladle, one by one.

Each of these three items was no lighter than the Fire Stick.

In the end, Mo Qi could lift the entire three-piece kitchen set with one hand, holding it perfectly still for twelve hours straight.

His progress was immense and rapid, but Mo Qi knew opportunities like this were rare.

After getting the young pig’s permission, he used the surrounding Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures to cook a special pot of Medicinal Cuisine for himself each day.

Once he left the Wailing Abyss, he wouldn’t have so many fine things to squander.

Moreover, as Mo Qi grew more skilled at preparing the Medicinal Cuisine, not only did his speed increase several times over, but his success rate also rose from seventy to ninety percent.

Coupled with the young pig’s excellent appetite, it refused nothing offered.

The Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures that had once been everywhere were almost completely devoured.

The one-month deadline for his duel with Wang Hao was now only three days away.

It was time to leave.

Mo Qi didn’t know if the young pig would let him go, but he had to try.

"Pig Emperor, I want to leave."

The young pig smacked its lips, savoring the delicious aftertaste of the Medicinal Cuisine, and shot Mo Qi a faint glance.

Then, with a leap, it jumped onto Mo Qi’s shoulder and settled into a comfortable spot.

’What... does that mean?’

"What are you spacing out for? You can’t be thinking of abandoning this emperor and leaving alone, can you?" the young pig snorted in displeasure. "Don’t forget, you still owe me a Celestial Fire!"

Mo Qi was stunned for a moment, then overjoyed.

"You’re coming with me?"

’The Pig Emperor is a Spirit Beast! With it around, won’t I be able to do whatever I want?’

The Pig Emperor seemed to read Mo Qi’s mind and poured cold water on his excitement. "Don’t get ahead of yourself. This emperor doesn’t fight. I have no combat power."

Mo Qi stumbled and nearly fell. ’A dignified Spirit Beast that doesn’t fight?’

’If it has no combat power, how does it have its own territory at the bottom of the Wailing Abyss? And why don’t the other Fierce Beasts and Yin Spirits and Ghosts dare to come near?’

Of course, the Pig Emperor wouldn’t tell Mo Qi that this was all thanks to the Netherworld Flame.

"So you’re saying you can’t get me up there?" Mo Qi pointed toward the top of the Wailing Abyss. He had been hoping the young pig could use some Divine Technique to send him straight back to the surface.

"Nonsense. If I could get out, I’d have fucking left ages ago. Who would stay in this godforsaken place?" The young pig looked at Mo Qi as if he were an idiot.

"Then what can you do?" Mo Qi asked weakly.

"Eat, sleep, and speak human. Isn’t that enough?" the Pig Emperor said as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

The corner of Mo Qi’s mouth couldn’t help but twitch. ’Have I really been waiting on such a character all this time? And I was scared stiff every day.’

’What species is it, anyway? It can talk, is highly intelligent, and can withstand the Medicinal Power of so many dishes.’

It was the first time Mo Qi had this question.

"Longevity Dragon Pig, juvenile form. Zero combat power. Extremely sensitive to Energy fluctuations. Can devour all things. Its meat is delicious and highly nourishing. A very interesting creature."

This line suddenly appeared from the Chaos Scripture, leaving Mo Qi dumbfounded.

’If you knew the Pig Emperor’s species, why didn’t you say so sooner? You let me wait on it like an ancestor for nearly a month!’

’And what the hell is this about its meat being delicious and highly nourishing?’

Because of the Chaos Scripture’s description, the way Mo Qi looked at the Pig Emperor changed.

’So it really has no combat power. Even the Chaos Scripture calls it highly nourishing and delicious. It must be nourishing on a whole other level.’

’Just listen to that name, Longevity Dragon Pig. What a magnificent ingredient!’

The Pig Emperor felt a chill run down its spine under Mo Qi’s gaze and shrank its neck.

"Hey, hey, hey! What’s with that look? Don’t forget, you still owe this emperor a Celestial Fire!"

Mo Qi’s temper immediately vanished. He did indeed owe it the Netherworld Flame.

"Alright, then how do we get up?" Mo Qi asked, looking up at the sky.

He still didn’t understand what the Chaos Scripture meant by "a very interesting creature." The day he finally did, he would truly learn the meaning behind "the world is full of wonders" and "the Creator works in mysterious ways."

The Pig Emperor lifted its eyelids, grunted, and said, "Idiot. We climb, of course."

"Climb?" Mo Qi wanted to stew the Pig Emperor right then and there, but he restrained himself. "Are there no shortcuts?"

"None."

Mo Qi sighed, walked over to the cliff face of the Wailing Abyss, and prepared to climb.

"I wonder if three days will be enough."

The Pig Emperor spoke up again to remind him, "Bring all the remaining ingredients. We’ll need them on the way."

Mo Qi: "..."

...

For many in the Void Sect, today was no ordinary day.

Mo Qi, a Kitchen Hand, had scored a high eighty on the entrance exam, yet he was a waste who couldn’t condense True Essence.

Wang Hao, the biological grandson of Third Elder Wang Xinglong, was a favored son of heaven, a cultivator at the Qi Refining Ninth Heaven, and ranked among the top ten Inner Sect Disciples.

These two, who shouldn’t have ever crossed paths, were set to fight a battle to the death in front of everyone today.

A month ago, after Mo Qi had chosen *Basic Staff Technique* and *Medicinal Cuisine Record* from the Martial Hall, he seemed to have vanished. No one had seen him since.

The vast majority of people thought Mo Qi had gotten scared and was hiding, too afraid to fight.

Only Wang Hao knew that Mo Qi was already long dead.

The Void Sect forbade private duels between disciples but provided a platform for resolving conflicts, such as the Gambling Arena where one could fight to the death.

Once you stepped onto it, it was equivalent to signing a death waiver. Life and death were left to fate, all grievances were settled, no one was allowed to interfere, and retaliation afterward was strictly forbidden.

The sun was already high in the sky, and a sea of spectating disciples packed the plaza.

"Is that Mo Qi coming or not? Look at the time!"

"Exactly! If he’s too scared, he should just openly admit defeat. What’s the point of being a coward and hiding in his shell?"

"Nonsense. The guy can’t cultivate and can’t condense True Essence. Fighting Wang Hao is blatant suicide. If it were you, would you dare to show up?"

"You can’t say that. If he didn’t dare to fight, he shouldn’t have acted tough and initiated the challenge in the first place."

"He knows he’ll die. So what if he breaks his word? What’s a little reputation compared to your life?"

While the crowd chattered, Wang Hao waited calmly beside the Gambling Arena, holding a teacup and sipping leisurely.

A month had passed. Liu Ruyan hadn’t come looking for him, nor had she blamed anyone for the incident with Fang Min.

It seemed the matter with Fang Min was closed, and Liu Ruyan probably had no relationship with that waste, Mo Qi.

What he didn’t know was that if Liu Hong hadn’t stopped her, Liu Ruyan would have already torn the Void Sect apart.

Mo Qi not showing up was one thing, but for a whole month, Liu Ruyan had searched the entire Void Sect without finding him. That was a huge problem.

She knew something must have happened to Mo Qi.

Her first suspect was, of course, Wang Hao.

Given her temper, she would have already seized Wang Hao and tortured him for information.

But Liu Hong had stopped her. Liu Hong said this was a necessary trial on Mo Qi’s path of the Martial Dao.

They could help him once or twice, but they couldn’t protect him forever.

If Mo Qi couldn’t even overcome this small trial within the Void Sect, then he wasn’t worthy of being with Liu Ruyan.

Liu Ruyan was furious. She had immediately confiscated all of Liu Hong’s snacks, not even letting him taste the "Bear and Tiger Fight."

Although Liu Hong was incredibly tempted, when it came to a matter of principle, he wouldn’t budge an inch.

Liu Ruyan had already decided: if Mo Qi didn’t appear today, she would do whatever it took to wrench his whereabouts from Wang Hao’s mouth, even if Liu Hong tried to stop her.

If Mo Qi had been harmed, she would make the entire Void Sect pay with their lives.

From the shadows, Liu Hong stroked his beard, shaking his head repeatedly. The most difficult trial in heaven and earth was the trial of love.

"My dear granddaughter, I saw you bring back a food box the other day. What was inside? Was it a dish made by that rascal Mo Qi?"

"Hmph!"

Liu Ruyan turned her face away, ignoring Liu Hong, still sulking.

Liu Hong gave a dry laugh. "From what I can tell, that boy doesn’t have the face of one destined for a short life. Don’t worry, he’ll be fine."

How could Liu Ruyan believe him? She remained silent, her expression cold.

Liu Hong’s face was grim. He was completely helpless against this granddaughter of his.

...

At Mo Qi’s residence, Liu Hui was thrown in, a bloody mess.

His limbs were broken, not a single part of his body was unscathed, and blood steadily seeped from a thumb-sized hole in his lower abdomen—the location of his Dantian.

Qi Yun pressed his foot onto Liu Hui’s face and said with a smile, "I was originally going to just kill you. But on second thought, wouldn’t it be better to let you live as a cripple, barely surviving like an ant?"

Liu Hui was too weak to speak, but his eyes were incredibly resolute, filled with hatred.

Qi Yun didn’t care in the slightest and laughed. "I truly hope you can keep that look in your eyes forever. Oh, right, today’s the day of the life-and-death battle between Wang Hao and your so-called master. I’m going to witness the moment Wang Hao obliterates him. A pity you won’t get to see it."

After speaking, Qi Yun burst into laughter and turned to leave.

Liu Hui, summoning strength from some unknown place, struggled to get up. But with his Dantian destroyed and his body subjected to endless torture, he no longer had the strength to stand, or even to crawl.

Two streams of bloody tears fell—not from pain or anger, but from desperation.

"Mo Qi, oh, Mo Qi... it seems I, Liu Hui, will never be able to repay my debt to you in this lifetime."

Rather than live as a cripple, it would be better to just die.

Just as Liu Hui was about to bite his tongue and commit suicide, a figure crashed through the courtyard wall and flew in. It was Qi Yun, who had just left a moment ago.

Qi Yun’s face was now filled with terror. He paid no mind to his disheveled state and scrambled backward.

"You... aren’t you supposed to be in a life-and-death battle with Wang Hao?" 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

A youth in tattered clothes walked in, a palm-sized young pig perched on his shoulder. It was Mo Qi, who had just climbed up from the bottom of the Wailing Abyss.

His clothes were in shreds and he was covered in grime. Anyone who didn’t know him would have mistaken him for a beggar who had wandered in from some chaotic slum.

The Pig Emperor had really put him through hell. For the past three days, he had faced not only the bottomless cliff face but also all sorts of unknown dangers.

If the Netherworld Flame hadn’t flared up at critical moments, he would have died countless times over.

Mo Qi ignored Qi Yun and walked straight to Liu Hui’s side. He checked his injuries, and his expression turned incredibly grim.

Qi Yun tried to use the opportunity to sneak away.

"If you dare run, I’ll take your life!"

Mo Qi tossed the words over his shoulder without looking back, frightening Qi Yun so much he froze in his tracks, not daring to move.

Having not seen him for a month, he found that Mo Qi had become even more terrifying. To describe him as unfathomable would be no exaggeration.