Looks Like I Came at the Wrong Time

Danyao took out a pill from her storage bag and looked at it carefully.

This pill, which should have been round and smooth like a pearl, was actually missing a piece.

The edge was smooth — not like it had been bitten by someone, but rather like a full moon with a flaw, perfectly natural.

Looking at the pill in her hand, Danyao’s eyes grew complicated.

Then she put it in her mouth and swallowed slowly.

It was just an ordinary Qi-Nourishing Pill, which could slightly speed up the process of meditation and recovery.

It was considered a common currency in the cultivation world — even Golden Core cultivators would use it if it was of high quality.

The pill Danyao had just taken out was one she refined herself — the legendary “Heavenly Flawed Pill.”

Legend says that in ancient times, cultivators believed it represented the heavenly principle of “Fifty cycles of the Dao, one is hidden.”

Therefore, although the pill appeared flawed, it was actually in harmony with the laws of Heaven.

But in modern times, cultivators instead saw it as an ominous sign.

When Danyao first refined a Heavenly Flawed Pill, even her grandmaster, Zhao Yunlu, warned her many times not to take it.

Zhao Yunlu knew a little of the art of reading heavenly signs.

He could see things that others could not — what people called “watching the Qi.”

When ordinary pills were refined, he could see auspicious clouds rising from them.

But whenever a Heavenly Flawed Pill was created, the pill aura appeared dark and misty, shrouded like fog.

Yet this was a pill she refined herself, and it was not poisonous.

Why shouldn’t she eat it?

After Danyao swallowed the pill in front of everyone, she immediately noticed that people around her began treating her differently.

She pretended not to care, but after all, she was not made of stone.

Who could truly remain unmoved when faced with such alienation?

But her junior sister was different — a kind, innocent, and pure-hearted girl.

Though they weren’t related, her junior sister always treated her the same as before.

That slowly began to melt the heart that had long been frozen inside Danyao.

She didn’t even know who was in charge of this year’s Monster Conference — truly infuriating!

Before all this, she had been so looking forward to traveling together with Cao Xueyan.

She had imagined countless times how sparks might fly between them by accident, even losing sleep over it for several nights.

But when the long-awaited day finally arrived, they hadn’t been together for long before the great formation separated them.

During the daytime, there were fewer monsters, and most were low-level beasts — not even worth killing.

Danyao grew exhausted from fighting, panting heavily.

After counting her loot, she even felt she’d wasted too much effort.

On the road, she ran into a few other sectmates, but none of them were close to her.

They all acted as if afraid to even be near her, their expressions odd and guarded.

Everyone had noticed something strange.

As long as they didn’t gather together, they were fine.

The last two times, Danyao had been lucky — the formation had teleported her away safely.

But now, instead of fellow disciples, what appeared before her were fierce monsters.

She had barely managed to fend one off before nearly being forced to retreat under Elder Lin’s supervision from above.

With no one bothering her now, Danyao found peace in the solitude.

Before she realized it, noon had arrived.

She had just slain a monster and, ignoring the stench of its corpse, sliced it open with her sword and reached inside.

It was a snake demon — highly cultivated, its body as thick as a water tank.

Though nonvenomous, its brute strength could split mountains.

Danyao still had a few decent magic tools on her, barely enough to pierce its scales.

Without a doubt, this was a great haul.

Snake meat was nourishing, its scales valuable for refining weapons, and most importantly, its twin gallbladders were premium alchemy ingredients.

As an alchemist herself, Danyao knew their worth — taking these back would surely earn her a lot of merit points.

As she carefully extracted the galls, she reminded herself not to puncture them — a single mistake could ruin their value.

Suddenly, there was a rustling sound from the bushes nearby.

Danyao froze immediately and pulled her sword free from the snake’s body.

Blood still dripped from the blade.

She wondered if the scent had attracted other beasts.

After observing for a while, she found the movement subtle and cautious.

That meant it was likely not a monster, but perhaps… another disciple.

“Which fellow disciple is there? Dare to show yourself?” Danyao called out cautiously.

To her surprise, a voice quickly answered — tinged with pleasant surprise.

“Senior Sister? It’s you!”

Danyao’s expression shifted in disbelief.

“Junior Sister Cao? How come it’s you?”

Cao Xueyan emerged from the bushes, tossing aside some branches she had cut away.

She had been wandering the forest alone for quite some time — finally, a familiar face.

Danyao’s heart leapt with joy, and she instinctively took a step forward — only to stop abruptly.

She sighed inwardly.

If they got too close, one of them might be teleported away by the formation again.

Still, just seeing her junior sister from afar filled her heart with quiet satisfaction.

On the other side, Cao Xueyan felt the same.

The formation they were in was unpredictable and strange — better not to travel together.

“Senior Sister, are you all right? Do you need anything?” Cao Xueyan asked from a distance through spiritual transmission.

Warmth spread in Danyao’s chest.

Her junior sister still cared.

Her spiritual power was slightly depleted from fighting the snake demon — she needed to meditate.

After a moment’s hesitation, she said shyly, “Junior Sister, could you perhaps guard me for a while?”

“You need to meditate?”

“That’s right.”

“Of course. Don’t worry, Senior Sister.”

They stood quite far apart, so if danger came, Cao Xueyan might not react in time.

But she had a solution.

From her storage bag, she brought out the Iron Armored Mystic Puppet.

It wouldn’t trigger the formation’s teleportation — perfect for protecting Danyao while she meditated.

As the massive puppet strode toward her, Danyao’s heart pounded nervously, but knowing it was Cao Xueyan’s, she calmed down.

“Senior Sister, this puppet is strong and won’t be teleported away. With it here, you can rest easy,” Cao Xueyan’s voice came.

Danyao didn’t argue.

After carefully storing the snake galls, she took out a few more pills and swallowed them.

The pills looked strange — each missing a small piece.

Could they be Heavenly Flawed Pills?

Seeing them in person, aside from their shape, she couldn’t sense anything unusual.

She just wondered if the rumors were true — that eating them brought bad luck.

Cao Xueyan waited patiently.

A few minor monsters wandered near, drawn by the snake’s blood, but none were strong.

She quickly cut them all down.

Just as she thought things were settling down, a deafening thunder-like roar erupted nearby, making her ears ring painfully.

“A second-rank monster?”

Cao Xueyan’s heart tightened — she instantly warned Danyao, “Senior Sister, quick—”

Before she could finish, the world spun around her.

Her vision blurred, and when it cleared, she found herself somewhere completely different.

Before she could even react, a thick stench of blood hit her nose.

Turning her head, she saw a massive tiger demon — as large as a hill — tearing into the mangled corpse of another monster.

Blood, thick and dark, gushed from its mouth like a waterfall.

It’s over, she thought grimly.

The Iron Armored Puppet was still with her senior sister.

And she didn’t have the spiritual awareness of a Foundation Establishment cultivator — she couldn’t summon it back.

“Of all the places to teleport to,” she thought bitterly, “why here — right into a tiger demon’s territory during its meal!”

Monsters were fiercely territorial about their food, and her sudden appearance was like walking in on a beast mid-bite.

The tiger demon stopped eating.

Its eyes — as large as bronze bells — locked onto her tiny human figure, gleaming with predatory hunger.