Sitting inside his cave, Hui circulated his qi and investigated his new ghoul skin more closely. His qi flowed easily from one shard of flint to the next, confirming his first glance. I already used the flint as a sort of network, but now they’re definitely even more connected.

He held up his hand, clad in ghoul skin, and drew his sword. Lightly, he slashed at the skin.

Nothing.

Eyebrows raised, Hui pushed harder, harder, harder. At last, at the peak of his strength, he felt a pinch. Hui lowered the sword and looked at his palm. An indent marked its center where he’d pushed with his sword, but the sword failed to pierce through.

Hui flexed his palm, forming a fist. Impressive! It’s at least at the peak of third tier, if not at fourth tier in terms of defensive power. For this small cultivator, this is a heavenly armor!

He drew the hammer head out of his storage ring. Melted and lopsided, it rattled and leaned against the bone floor. He nudged it curiously, then drew it into his lap and assumed a lotus pose. Sending his qi into the hammer, he searched out the spell he’d sensed in it earlier.

The hammer resisted his qi. The spell loomed in the metal, sunk just out of his reach. Hui frowned, pushing harder. The spell raced away from him. Rather than chase it, Hui pulled back. Patiently, he waited.

Slowly, the spell returned. Hui reached out again. It flinched away. Frowning, he held his qi back and observed it from a distance. There’s definitely some kind of spell embedded in this hammer. Something to do with those vibrations that attacked my internal organs earlier? But the spell… I’ve never encountered this before. Maybe I’m too weak to comprehend it.

Hui retreated from the hammer and set it on the ground. Crossing his arms, he thought.

I could fight the people above me to climb the vertebra, but… first, I don’t like fighting, and secondly, they’ll hold grudges against me and want their vertebra back. I’d end up snarled in an endless loop of battles! No, no. The demonic sect might want their disciples to engage in daily bloodthirsty battles, but not this small cultivator.

Instead, I can jump up an entire coil by moving up a realm! I’m already at the third realm. If I rebuild my death qi, I should be able to take leaps and bounds up the skeleton.

He turned, gazing through the bone wall as though he could see the distant valleys outside. Death qi…

The Corpse Refining Valley seems like a good place, but people own those ghouls. I can’t just walk up and take their ghouls’ death qi without insulting them. I could try in my soul form, but if Fa Chuyou can sense me in my soul form, the higher-level cultivators almost certainly can, as well. If I get caught in that form… I’m lucky Fa Chuyou was so kind to this small cultivator!

No… the better answer is… the Beast Valley!

I don’t like fighting, but at least I’m not fighting humans. And we’re allowed to kill those beasts. They’re allowed to kill us, but… it’s not as if I’m helpless. As long as I stick to the low-level areas, I should be fine. Besides, I need the death qi, not battle skill or beast materials. It shouldn’t matter if they’re weak.

Unless… the lower level ones have less death qi…

I’ll cross that bridge when I get to it! Worst case, if I end up in a situation I can’t win, I’ll simply… play dead and run away! Anyways, even if the lower level ones have less death qi, I only need to surpass Qi Gathering to move up to the next stage of the snake’s skeleton.

I don’t want to kill, but if I have to choose between people and savage beasts, I… I have to choose the savage beasts! I don’t want to enter any of the valleys, but staying in the 108th vertebra as everyone’s target is a worse fate!

He stood and stretched. Adjusting his robes, he took a deep breath. I have plenty of talismans. I’ve gathered a good amount of death qi. Elder Sister Fa Chuyou has refined my ghoul skin. I’m ready.

…So why am I still hesitant?

Hui shook his head. “Be strong, Hui!”

Zhubi reared from his robes and tilted his head at Hui.

He circulated his qi and calmed his breathing. Petting Zhubi’s head, he nodded firmly at himself. Alright. Here I go!

Stepping out into the day, he took off at top speed, operating his movement technique as fast as he could. A few cultivators turned and stared as he passed by, but Hui blasted by before anyone could challenge him to a fight or call out to him.

The valleys loomed up before him. He sped by Fa Chuyou’s regiment of ghouls. She waved as he passed by, and he waved back, casting a wishful glance at the ghoul regiment. So much death qi there… ah, I want it.

And a regiment of ghouls? This small cultivator isn’t a demonic cultivator—far from it! But… wouldn’t ghouls make perfect body doubles? Not only can I disguise them with my skin technique, but they can even sneak attack after I ‘die’ and distract any cultivator who tries to call my bluff.

If you stab a clone, it usually disappears. Stab my skin, and it crumples. Stab a doll, and stuffing comes out. Stab a ghoul, and it doesn’t care! It even bleeds. Ah… it’s perfect!

But I’m not a demonic cultivator, so it’s only a thought. Nothing more.

He rushed off, leaving the ghoul regiment behind.

The Valley of Beasts appeared before him. Vast, it descended deep into the earth. Thick forest climbed up its sides and along the bottom. Small clouds dotted the valley in the distance, the cleft in the earth so deep it created its own weather.

Gulping one last time, Hui descended into the valley.

The forest swallowed him up. Thicker even than his master’s forest, trees towered overhead, so broad he couldn’t wrap his arms around them. A gentle wind blew. Sun filtered through the leaves, dancing over the forest floor. He crunched along, kicking his way through the leaves.

Something hissed behind him. Hui whirled, lifting a wind talisman.

A two-meter-tall rabbit loomed over him. Instead of fur, scales coated its body, and thin antennae danced back from its forehead. Emanating the aura of a hundred-year spirit beast, it stood on its hind legs and hissed at him.

Hui furrowed his brows and stepped back. It’s… it’s adorable. I can’t kill it.

Wait—I almost made a crucial mistake! The last time I killed what I thought was an ordinary animal, it turned out to be the Sect Leader’s pet! This small cultivator learns from his mistakes. I won’t kill these beasts!

The rabbit screeched and lunged at him.

Releasing the full power of his cultivation for a moment, Hui slapped the rabbit. It stumbled back, woozy. Tripping over its feet, it fell to the ground, unconscious.

Hui hung his head. Is it impossible for me to cultivate death qi normally?

Zhubi reared out of his robes and hissed, tilting his head.

“No, you’re right, Zhubi. I can’t give up yet. Maybe there’s—” Hui whipped around, staring into the distance.

A wisp of death qi emanated through the forest.