Chapter 176 - 175: The Shorty’s Vicious Mind

In just a short while, the remaining forty-nine souls were all exchanged.

However, many of them, like the little girl from the beginning, couldn’t produce one hundred Origin Pearls. In the end, they only managed to collect about three hundred Origin Pearls, less than half of their initial estimate.

Adding the fifty Origin Pearls from Elder Yu, they had only three hundred and fifty in total.

The old man, seeing she wasn’t in a good mood, tried to comfort her. "This stuff doesn’t grow on trees. Getting this much is already quite good. It should be enough to alleviate the situation a little."

"Like the torrential rains this time?"

This was Chu Liangyu’s most pressing concern. If it continued, she feared everyone in the Beast World would die. If that happened, what good would being the Beast God be?

He hesitated for a moment before saying, "It should."

Right now, his abilities were sealed within the Sumeru Space. Therefore, to deliver the items to the Origin Pearl, he would need to leave this space.

"That’s about it. We should get going."

Seeing this, the people gathered around them also prepared to disperse. However, a sudden voice caught their attention.

"In such a hurry to leave? Don’t tell me you two were the ones who smuggled these souls in the first place?"

Chu Liangyu stopped and looked in the direction of the voice, her brows knitting together tightly.

It was Lai San. The little brat walked out from the crowd with his arms crossed, a punchable look on his face as he approached Chu Liangyu and her companion.

Chu Liangyu subconsciously glanced behind him but didn’t see Yu, who had been with him last time.

’No wonder this little brat is so arrogant this time,’ she thought. ’Turns out there’s no one here to keep him in line.’

"You can eat whatever you want, but you can’t just say whatever you want. Do you have any proof for such an accusation?"

Chu Liangyu was already irritated, and now he had just walked right into the line of fire. Naturally, her tone was less than polite.

"Everyone knows your Beast World is on the verge of collapse. To scrape by and survive, Origin Pearls have become your only solution."

"And what a coincidence. You trade away these smuggled souls, and just like that, you have Origin Pearls."

Chu Liangyu let out a soft chuckle. She didn’t rush to refute him. Instead, she walked right up to Lai San, raised an eyebrow, and said, "With an obnoxious person like you, if it were me, I would have at least smuggled in eight or ten souls from your world."

"Why would I give you the chance to stand here and watch the show, shorty?"

Although Chu Liangyu’s tone was calm, her words made Lai San’s expression shift dramatically.

He pointed a finger at Chu Liangyu, stammering "You... you..." for a long moment, unable to form a sentence.

After a good while, he finally managed to organize his thoughts. "Who are you calling a shorty?!"

"Do you have any manners at all? Launching personal attacks right off the bat!"

Chu Liangyu hadn’t expected Lai San to be so childish that his attention could be diverted with just a few words.

She was a little surprised, but this played right into her hands. So, she continued, "Whoever answers to it, that’s who I’m talking about."

The crowd, which had grown wary because of Lai San’s words, suddenly relaxed.

That was just a momentary impulse. Now that they thought about it, among those who had exchanged souls, several came from worlds with a higher rank than the Beast World.

Never mind how they could have smuggled souls; their own world was still unstable. It was a feat just to keep it running normally.

How could they possibly have time to smuggle souls from other people’s worlds? Thinking this, they understood Lai San’s intentions.

There was probably some conflict between the two parties, and he was using this opportunity to stir up animosity against them.

"Kiddo, so this is where you were. I happen to have some business to discuss with you."

At some point, Elder Yu had appeared behind Lai San and said this with an amiable tone.

Lai San, not expecting someone to appear so suddenly, froze for a second before turning around.

Seeing it was Elder Yu, his eyes flickered. Gone was the arrogance he had shown Chu Liangyu, replaced by a hint of courtesy. "Ah, what is it?"

"A private matter. Let’s find another place to talk." Elder Yu gave Chu Liangyu and her companion a look and then led Lai San away.

With no one to stop them, the two exchanged a glance and quickly left the Sumeru Space.

----

"Elder Yu, what on earth is this about? Did we really have to leave the Sumeru Realm to talk?"

However, Elder Yu’s smile was somewhat eerie. The only answer Lai San received was the CRACK of a whip tearing through the air.

"AH! It hurts! It hurts!"

Elder Yu showed no mercy despite Lai San’s childlike appearance. No matter how Lai San dodged, the whip landed squarely on his body every single time.

If the Sumeru Realm hadn’t temporarily sealed his powers, Elder Yu would have attacked the very instant he saw Lai San. He never would have waited until now.

"It’s supposed to hurt. If you dare to have crooked thoughts about me, you should be prepared to face the consequences."

It was a complete suppression of power. Lai San struggled for a long time but could only take the beating passively.

After an unknown amount of time, the clothes on his body were no different from tattered rags.

"I... I don’t know what you’re talking about."

No matter how weak a Guardian was, they were no match for an ordinary person. If his life were truly in danger, the Heavenly Dao of the world he protected would intervene.

Although Elder Yu was furious, he didn’t want to confront a Heavenly Dao.

Estimating that Lai San wouldn’t be able to cause any more trouble for a while, he finally stopped.

"This is just a warning. If I catch you again, it won’t be resolved so simply."

Elder Yu didn’t care whether he admitted it or not. He gave him a disdainful glance, flicked his sleeve, and turned to leave.

A long time later, Lai San, with not a single spot on his body left unscathed, stood up.

Tears and blood mingled on his face, and a deep whip mark on his eyelid made him look exceptionally miserable.

But he stared intently at the spot where Elder Yu had disappeared, the thick, vicious, and malevolent emotions in his eyes no longer concealed, erupting completely in that moment.

Limping, he walked in the opposite direction. He reached out a hand, and with a gentle swipe, a rift appeared.

Inside the gray, hazy space were two bamboo houses and a plot of land about a mu in size. That was all there was.

"You... Who did this to you?"

A man in white walked out of a bamboo house. Seeing Lai San’s state, he frowned instinctively.

Tears welled up in Lai San’s eyes. He wanted to cry but held it back. "Yu, that old coot Elder Yu found out about us smuggling souls. He’s the one who gave me these injuries."

"I know. I’ll get revenge for you."

----

At that time, Chu Liangyu had no idea that the chain reaction started by this incident would indirectly increase the difficulty of her mission in the Cultivation World.

"Since things are settled here, I’ll be heading back first."

’The next time I return, it will be after I’ve dealt with Jiang Li,’ she thought.

"Be safe."

Chu Liangyu’s figure paused. She knew what the old man meant.

This time was different from the past. Between her and Jiang Li, one of them was bound to die. The old man’s words meant he wanted her to survive and be the final victor.

She didn’t look back, only nodding slightly before continuing to fly forward.

On the way back, Chu Liangyu once again tore through space to shorten the distance.

When her energy was nearly depleted, Chu Liangyu stopped to rest.