Chapter 34: I Want Him Dead!

Chen Xian immediately activated the Supreme Chaos Technique. A pair of swirling vortices appeared between his palms, spinning slowly. Several pig heads and legs were caught by the vortex’s pull, revolving along with it...

Sizzling sounds followed as the pig heads and legs rapidly dissolved, turning into wisps of barely visible energy. The vortices absorbed this energy into his palms, which then channeled it through special pathways, ultimately collecting it within the space of the spiritual wheel. Chen Xian closed his eyes and gazed inward—he could sense the spiritual energy inside his spirit wheel gradually increasing...

In the third-largest city of H Province, on a small hill at the outskirts, stood a four-sided courtyard house. At this moment, inside a dimly lit hall over a hundred square meters wide, only a few candles flickered in front of a shrine, their flames casting eerie shadows.

At the front of the room, seated cross-legged, was an old crone with snow-white hair, a face full of deep wrinkles, and a pallid complexion. Her eyes were tightly shut, her silence so complete she seemed more akin to a corpse than a living person.

The door creaked open. The night wind slipped through the doorway, making the candle flames dance.

“Ancestor, something terrible has happened!”

A middle-aged man in a suit rushed inside, his voice full of urgent anxiety as he addressed the old woman.

Her wrinkled eyelids trembled. She opened her eyes, revealing a pair of murky, ancient pupils. Looking at the man, her voice was hoarse and feeble:

“Ma Tian, as the head of the family, you mustn’t panic. Compose yourself and explain what’s happened.”

“Ancestor, the Guangnan casino was raided by the police—Little Seven was arrested, and even Deputy Director Xu from the H City Police Headquarters, who backed our Ma family, was taken in as well!”

Ma Tian rattled off the news in a single breath.

The old woman’s murky eyes flashed with sudden sharpness, as if she had come to life: “How could this happen? Why would the police suddenly act against us? Little Seven is a peak-level martial artist, surrounded by men. Even if the place was surrounded, he should have been able to break out.”

“I don’t know the details either! But from what I’ve heard, before the police stormed in, all the casino’s bodyguards had already been mysteriously knocked out... Ancestor, please—save Little Seven. He’s the most talented of all our Ma family’s descendants.”

“Little Seven must be saved. First, let’s go to the casino and see what’s really going on inside Guangnan. Whoever is behind this, I want him dead!”

With that, the old crone turned to face the shrine, where a one-foot-tall, fierce black idol with shut eyes was enshrined. To call it a deity was generous—it looked more like a fierce ghost.

She pressed her hands together, kneeling with utmost devotion. Her parched lips moved in incessant whispers, as though praying to a god, or perhaps performing some ancient ritual.

After a long while, she rose, picked up a dagger, and lightly drew it across her withered hand. Drops of fresh, crimson blood dripped onto the idol.

A strange and chilling scene unfolded.

The fierce idol seemed to come alive, opening its mouth to reveal fangs, extending its tongue to lap up each drop of blood.

After swallowing nine drops, the tongue retracted, and the idol returned to its original, motionless state.

“Thank you, almighty spirit, for allowing your faithful servant to take you forth.”

The old woman staunched her wound, lifted the shrine with both hands, and walked outside. The middle-aged man hurriedly followed...

At the break of dawn, the Guangnan casino deep in the mountains received unexpected visitors. A group arrived under the fading stars, led by the white-haired, emaciated old woman bearing the shrine in her arms. She lifted her cloudy old eyes to the sealed doors and said, “Open the gate!”

Ma Tian immediately ordered his men to comply.

The iron gate creaked open, and the party entered the casino. At the very center, the old woman set the shrine on a table, knelt in devout worship, and once more performed her mysterious ritual.

Then, she sliced open her palm again, letting more blood flow onto the idol’s head...

A moment later, the idol let out a ghastly cackle. Its eyes, previously shut, snapped open—blood-red and chilling. In those bloodshot eyes appeared the image of a young man: close-cropped hair, dusky skin, and brilliant, piercing eyes...

The young man was none other than Chen Xian.

Ma Tian, upon seeing the youth, said gravely, “A single person who could incapacitate so many casino bodyguards must at least be at the peak of the Dark Force realm, perhaps even at its very height.”

“Ma Tian, remember this face. Even if we have to dig three feet into the ground, we must uncover everything about him—and kill him!” croaked the old woman, her voice laced with icy malice.

...

Darkness gave way to light, and dawn returned to the world.

By the next morning, the mountain of meat that had filled the living room of Villa 101 in the Jinxiu Community had vanished without a trace—not even a drop of blood remained.

Chen Xian’s lips curled into a faint smile.

After a night of ceaseless refinement, he had absorbed all the meat, transforming it into spiritual energy.

His spirit wheel now brimming with energy, he had gained as much as he would have in months of hard cultivation.

Still, it was far from being completely filled.

He was in no rush—so long as he had a steady supply of fresh meat, he was confident he could fill the first spirit wheel space within a few months.

Moreover, Chen Xian discovered that as he used the Supreme Chaos Technique to refine more and more meat, his speed at doing so was also increasing.

With enough money, he would have no worries about cultivation for the time being.

Meow, meow, meow~~~

Suddenly, the sound of cats mewling came from outside, catching Chen Xian’s attention. These cries were clearly not from Little Mei.

Curious, Chen Xian got up, walked to the door, and opened it—only to be taken aback by what he saw.

There on the steps, standing upright with her back to him, was the inky-black spirit cat, looking as if she’d just emerged from a pool of ink. She wiggled her little rump, appearing to dance or perhaps practice some feline martial art, her movements elegant and refined.

In front of her was a small group of other cats—three in total, of varying sizes. One even wore a dirty, colorful shirt. They lined up in two rows, imitating the spirit cat, standing on their hind legs and “dancing.”

As they danced, they called out in unison, “Meow, meow, meow,” almost like a team chanting in rhythm.

When the cats noticed his arrival, they all stared at Chen Xian with wide, unblinking eyes, halting their dance.

The spirit cat turned to see her master.

“Master, you’ve finally finished cultivating! Little Mei is hungry—take me to eat something tasty!” she said playfully, blinking her big eyes and speaking in a childish, sing-song voice.

Chen Xian nodded, but asked with curiosity, “Little Mei, you can have something delicious, but first tell me—where did these cats come from? What are you teaching them?”

“Master, these are my new followers. I’m teaching them the Body Tempering Method of the Cat Clan. With practice, their bodies will get stronger and stronger,” said the spirit cat.

Impressed, Chen Xian gave her a thumbs up. “Amazing—you recruited three little brothers in just a night!”

“But Little Mei, we need to go out now. You should tell them to go back to their own homes.”

He was worried their owners might come looking for them.

“Master, Little One, Little Two, and Little Three are all strays—they don’t have homes!” the spirit cat piped up in her childish voice.

Meow, meow, meow!

The three stray cats nodded with surprising intelligence, meowing in agreement.

Chen Xian chuckled at the names Little Mei had given them.

In the end, he allowed the strays to stay, took Little Mei with him, and set off for the slaughterhouse.

Henceforth, Chen Xian, in need of vast quantities of meat for his cultivation, decided to source his supplies directly from the slaughterhouse—far more convenient and cost-effective this way.