Chapter 44: Mantis Stalking the Cicada (Part 4): An Eye for an Eye, A Tooth for a Tooth Part 2

She kicked aside some debris, flipped over a stone, and sat down. Shang Shan took her food and peeked down the slope.

A few small spotted cicadas had already crawled to the edge of the hive, completely ignoring the enraged bee swarm as they used their mouthparts to sample the syrup on the ground.

Judging from the way they fluttered their wings, this honey was a supreme delicacy. But after just a tiny taste, they retreated back into the woods and vanished.

Shang Shan said, “Why aren’t they eating? Hmm, let me think—the book mentioned something…”

Qin He smiled as she watched her. Shang Shan chewed on her beef jerky with muffled sounds before swallowing and saying, “I remember now. In places where the Spotted Cicada King is active, the best food is always reserved for the king. The other spotted cicadas would be killed if they dared sneak a bite.”

Qin He said, “Exactly. So we’re very lucky—there really is a Spotted Cicada King here.”

“Then we just wait. Great.” Shang Shan sighed appreciatively. She wolfed down her food in a few bites and stretched out her long legs to feed some roadside berries to the red satin.

Mu Qian Tan leaned against the stone wall with one leg bent to support the hand holding her food and the other leg stretched flat. Her free hand rested lightly on her stomach.

In an offhand glance upward, she noticed that the red satin had pried its eyes open into slits. It looked like the feeding over these two months had gone well; it should be able to speak again before long.

Sticking by the side of a dragon clan descendant might suppress it with bloodline until it couldn’t move, but the cultivation speed was terrifying enough to make up for it.

Mu Qian Tan nibbled on her cornbread, lost in thought about something.

Shang Shan wiggled her toes and said, “But you’re really amazing. Using spiritual power to make a water ball and transport the hive like that—I couldn’t do it. Even aside from having no spiritual power at all, I wouldn’t have thought of such a clever method.”

Even though the qi apertures on her face and both arms had already opened, she still couldn’t draw in any spiritual energy from the natural world, let alone convert it into spiritual power for her own use.

She had asked Qin He plenty about it during this time and read no small number of beginner books, but she still couldn’t grasp the knack for drawing in qi. It was baffling.

When Qin He saw this, she sought out her master, the Feng Ling Immortal, to check if there was something wrong with Shang Shan’s body. Jiang Zhouyao had felt her pulse and meridians and more or less said:

Those who could open qi apertures were often sensitive to the spiritual power in nature and had them burst open unknowingly. Alternatively, they could be forcibly opened with medicines or other methods, but that required vast heavenly treasures and earthly rarities, with a very low success rate. Being able to open even one was quite impressive.

In Shang Shan’s case, though it wasn’t a natural opening, she had opened several qi apertures in a short time. That should indicate exceptional talent, yet she couldn’t sense the spiritual energy in nature at all. It was unheard of.

Shang Shan grew even more confused and stubbornly refused to ask Mu Qian Tan about it. She could only hug her books and puzzle it out herself.

Why? What was the reason?

Was there something special about her body?

Qin He poked at the fire and replied upon hearing this, “Not at all—the cause and effect are backward. It’s because you haven’t grasped spiritual power yet that your thinking is limited. It’s like if you’ve never used a sword before—how could you come up with brilliant sword techniques? Hmm… well, not necessarily.”

There really was someone in the Cultivation World who had studied the icicles under the eaves and devised stunning sword techniques—and that person was sitting at the highest position in the First Immortal Gate. Qin He adjusted her wording. “What I mean is, you’re actually very smart. Your mind is flexible and your reactions quick. Once you can condense spiritual power, you’ll definitely come up with lots of interesting tactics. I believe in you.”

Such positive encouragement from a friend always lifted her spirits. Shang Shan grinned. “I’ll borrow your auspicious words! Thanks!”

To keep her from dwelling on it further, Qin He suddenly asked, “What grade of demon is the Spotted Cicada King?”

Shang Shan was already used to this review style after two months and blurted out, “White flesh, sword tier!”

Qin He said, “Correct.”

Mu Qian Tan half-listened with little enthusiasm and dimly recalled the notes from Qin He’s copy of the Demon Ghost Record.

All demons in the world could be divided into four major categories: virtual spirits, dead bones, white flesh, and living instruments.

Souls that mutated into demons after departing dead flesh were virtual spirits.

Corpses that became demons after their souls departed were dead bones.

Living beings that transformed into demons were white flesh.

Inanimate objects that cultivated into demons were living instruments.

For example, the Spotted Cicada King was white flesh. After its death, when its soul departed the shell, that soul would be a virtual spirit, while the remaining shell was dead bone. Meanwhile, that pipa demon from Prosperous Joy Workshop was a living instrument.

Beneath the four major classifications, there were also three ranks divided by strength: Curse, Sword, and Pipa.

This classification system was actually quite ancient. The predecessors had simply analogized it to the popular weapons of the time based on their strength when categorizing demons—Curse being the strongest and Pipa the weakest. By now, it was no longer applicable, but everyone had grown accustomed to it, so no one bothered to change it.

However, it was rumored that Ximeng Immortal Panxiang Yin of Tianyu Sect recently intended to reestablish various standards in the Cultivation World. Leaving aside the other contentious issues, just talking about this demon strength classification—even though everyone was used to it—changing it wouldn’t really cause much fuss.

The reason was simple, and also rather amusing.

Nowadays, there were far too many demons, so three ranks weren’t enough. Thus, more detailed classifications like Upper Curse, Mid Curse, and Lower Curse emerged.

This led to a rather hilarious rank: Lower Sword.

Even demons needed to save face. Who would want to be called that? Cultivators didn’t like saying it either, and it was even more inappropriate to write it in books.

If they could avoid it, they would, but Lower Sword was a term that came up frequently. The gentlemen found it awkward to mention, and using alternatives felt imprecise, so they could only hem and haw, gloss over it, or simply omit it.

Therefore, when it came to unifying the standards, no one had any objections on this point.

After running through this anecdote in her mind, Mu Qian Tan couldn’t laugh. She gripped the cornbread, closed her eyes, and urged sleep to come faster.

Over there, Qin He asked a few more commonly tested questions on demon types. Seeing that she answered them all correctly, she said, “Good job.”

Shang Shan smacked her lips and sighed. “I’ve seen rats that could fight people before, and back then I thought that was incredibly spirited. I never imagined I’d get used to talking frogs now, or that they’d use wild bees in the forest to catch spotted cicadas. It’s truly unbelievable.”

Qin He chuckled lightly. “The world is vast. When you venture farther in the future, you’ll see even more wondrous things.”

Shang Shan said, “Great! Once I finish my studies and graduate, let’s travel the world together! I really want to see what the outside is like!”

The firelight flickered as it devoured the firewood, emitting tiny popping sounds. Qin He lowered the watery hue in her eyes and gently brushed the hilt of the sword at her waist, saying nothing.

Shang Shan counted on her fingers. “You say we’ve seen plenty, but out of those four demon types, I’ve only actually encountered two. White Flesh is the most common, and for Living Instruments, only the Pipa Demon. I still need to gain more experience.”

Qin He said, “You’ll see them all eventually.”

Mentioning the Pipa Demon reminded her of the past when she had been oblivious and plunged into danger, only to be saved by her enemy. Her heart inevitably ached again, and she said softly, “That time, I was too careless, and my strength wasn’t enough, so the demon landed a hit on me. If you hadn’t been by my side, I probably would have died.”

Shang Shan shook her head hurriedly. “Don’t say that! You, careless? If not for your keen observation, how would you have noticed those string-like wounds on the corpse? How would you have realized it was an instrument demon at work? Besides, that demon was ferocious—even my master was injured at the time. You’re the same age as me; how could you have fought it off?”

Qin He said, “Only you praise me endlessly without discrimination.”

Shang Shan said, “Are your ears deaf? Everyone in Tianyu Sect praises you to the heavens! Yet you say only me—have your eyes gone bad? You know, you’re not gold hidden in a stone; you’re gold carved into beautiful jewelry! My eyes are sharp, sure, but everyone can see your brilliance!”

Whenever she felt the slightest lack of confidence in her cultivation, Shang Shan would launch into a grand “lecture,” showering her with praise. Qin He smiled and didn’t pursue it further. She asked if she wanted more to eat, but Shang Shan shook her head, saying to save it—there were still four days ahead.

After chatting, they continued resting, but the earlier words lingered in their minds.

Shang Shan used a leaf to wipe the mud and water from her grass shoes, but her eyes once again conjured the intense Fire Sea of Prosperous Joy Workshop.

Her master had indeed been injured then, but not by the Pipa Demon—instead, to protect her, she had been struck by a burning beam and even bled…

No, that woman said it wasn’t for protection! No more wishful thinking!

She tossed the leaf away, puffed out her cheeks, and shot a resentful glare at the woman leaning against the stone wall.

But as soon as she looked, the resentment vanished. She was surprised to see the woman with her eyes slightly closed, her face pale, her breathing slow and shallow.

The food in her hand wasn’t much, yet she still hadn’t finished it. She seemed unwell.

Thinking back, her complexion had been off since they encountered the spotted cicada that afternoon.

Unable to help staring more closely, Shang Shan noticed that the hand not holding food was pressed hard against her stomach—not lightly at all, with her fingertips flushed red.

Was it stomach pain?

She wanted to ask, but remembered the woman’s cold words that afternoon. Her little heart hardened. Shang Shan turned away, raised her voice, and complained, “So many mosquitoes!”

Her voice wasn’t quiet, startling Mu Qian Tan from her half-asleep state.

She instinctively gripped her food and tensed her body. Once she recognized her surroundings, she relaxed and continued eating slowly.

Qin He showed a regretful expression. “Sorry, I didn’t consider that.”