The Place Where Dreams Begin

If Bai Xuanling hadn’t arrived, Li Yingling wouldn’t have dared to speak like this, and Chu Xingchen would have certainly taught his rebellious disciple a proper lesson—force-feeding her a few refined versions of the "Ten Perfect Pills."

But now, with a Tribulation-stage powerhouse delivering a death sentence, Chu Xingchen found himself lacking some of his usual confidence. He’d regain it once he ascended past his own tribulation.

With a displeased expression, Chu Xingchen casually tossed out a cheaply brewed bottle of healing pills and said calmly,

"Deduct it from your monthly allowance."

Li Yingling caught the bottle and gave him a puzzled look.

"Master, our sect doesn’t have a monthly allowance system. You said so yourself—‘Master isn’t a spirit stone printer.’"

Chu Xingchen glanced at his rebellious disciple.

"Then you owe me."

"Oh… Well, when you finally get a monthly allowance, just deduct it from that."

Li Yingling took out several pills from the bottle, pried open the mouths of the little demons with her spiritual energy, and shoved three pills into each of them.

The scene looked familiar to Chu Xingchen—Li Xingtian had force-fed Li Zi pills in much the same way.

Though Li Zi had eaten two whole bottles.

These demons only got three each.

Chen Baiqing cautiously approached Chu Xingchen, tilting her head as she curiously examined the three little demons her senior sister had brought back.

A weasel, a bull, and a… snake?

Except the snake’s face was stripped of scales, its skin raw and bloodied.

Yuzhou City occupied a crucial position along the waterways, and the Xuanwu Kingdom maintained strict control over it—even the head of the Demon Suppression Bureau here was at the Golden Core stage.

As a result, demonic disturbances were rare.

This was her first time seeing actual demons. Before, she’d only heard stories from villagers—tales of creatures that could steal souls with a breath, soar through the skies, and kill with ease.

But now, looking at them… they didn’t seem all that impressive.

Chen Baiqing watched as the three unconscious demons suddenly began convulsing after swallowing the pills.

Her senior sister stood coldly with her sword drawn, watching them closely.

The first to wake was the weasel.

Its eyes snapped open as it felt its body tearing apart, a strange energy surging through its veins.

The energy felt like it was splitting its very soul, forcing it out of its body.

Suppressing the pain, the weasel glanced at the bull and the unfortunate snake—the one whose scales had been stripped clean.

With just a quick look, it knew this was human territory.

The two pigs, the stinking lizard… even the rat and those two lowlifes—all dead.

Its voice scraped out from its throat: "Humans! I’ll kill—"

Before it could finish, a crushing, soul-shaking pressure silenced it.

Instinct forced it to the ground, its mouth snapping shut.

The terror was primal, like facing a natural predator—resistance was unthinkable.

The weasel’s eyes darted toward the source of the pressure and landed on a young man gazing at it with calm indifference.

Those eyes were serene, but the message was clear—insults would be punished.

The weasel felt its body tearing apart, its soul nearly wrenched free, all while Chu Xingchen’s pressure pinned it in place. It let out a hoarse, agonized cry:

"Just… kill me."

Chu Xingchen studied the weasel with mild interest.

[Target: Weasel Demon]

[Cultivation Equivalent: Qi Refining, 7th Layer]

[Blue Trait: Clever]

[Blue Trait: Tenacious]

[White Trait: Basic Social Awareness]

[Black Trait: Brutal]

[Black Trait: Bloodthirsty]

[Does Not Meet Disciple Criteria]

With a wave of his hand, Chu Xingchen immobilized the weasel, sealing its voice as well.

His disciple might want to interrogate it, but this demon wasn’t particularly useful.

Then again, his disciple didn’t have the Trait System, so her judgment was understandable.

If they were going to question anyone, it shouldn’t start with this weasel.

Chu Xingchen turned his gaze to the convulsing bull demon on the floor.

[Target: Bull Demon]

[Cultivation Equivalent: Qi Refining, 5th Layer]

[Blue Trait: Thick-Skinned]

[White Trait: Gentle Temperament]

[Black Trait: Dull-Witted]

[Black Trait: Impulsive]

[Does Not Meet Disciple Criteria]

Hmm… this one would do.

As for the scaleless snake demon beside it, its traits were similar to the weasel’s.

Chu Xingchen looked at Li Yingling. "You want to interrogate them?"

Just to be safe, he handed out additional Truth-Seeking Talismans to everyone.

He already knew why Li Yingling had brought these three back.

Li Yingling cleared her throat. "I tried. They wouldn’t talk. Can you do it, Master?"

"I’m passable at it."

"Then I’ll leave it to you!"

Chu Xingchen gave a slight nod.

Coincidentally, he also needed to study Chen Baiqing’s methods.

This was as good an opportunity as any.

Cui Hao watched with curiosity.

Since joining the sect, he’d never seen his master display any real techniques.

Their trip to the Central Continent had been derailed by his not-so-bright second senior brother’s blunder.

All he knew was that his master was approachable and easygoing.

Not long after the weasel woke up, the nearly scale-less snake also stirred awake.

This snake had it even worse—its eyes had barely opened when Chu Xingchen immobilized it on the spot.

Only its icy serpentine pupils remained, spinning wildly, while crimson veins bulged grotesquely across its gaze, a testament to the vicious side effects of the pill.

The wild ox demon, with the lowest cultivation, struggled slightly as it pried its eyes open, catching a faint glimpse of a human cultivator.

But in the next blink—

Its vision blurred.

When it opened its eyes again, it found itself lying in the middle of the camp.

Confused, it glanced around but detected nothing unusual. The annoyingly clever weasel was nearby, meditating with its eyes closed.

The boar demon, whose head had been lopped off by a human swordsman moments ago, now lay snoring against a wooden plank, fast asleep.

The ox demon’s mind was a muddled mess. It frantically patted its body, only to find no injuries.

Yet its entire being ached unbearably!

A strange, agonizing sensation spread through every inch of its flesh.

Had it… just been dreaming?

What a terrifyingly vivid dream.

"Er Niu, what’s wrong? You look off."

Just as the ox demon marveled at the dream’s realism, the weasel’s voice snapped it back to reality.

The ox demon quickly shook its head. "Nothin’... just had a nightmare."

"Good. We’re patrolling the eastern plains soon." The weasel paused, scrutinizing the ox’s pained expression before frowning. "You look like you’ve been tortured. Maybe you should rest tonight."

The ox demon took a deep breath, forcing down the excruciating torment writhing inside it. "Nah, I’ll go."

The weasel didn’t argue, giving a slight nod before standing and barking, "Up, all of you! Move out!"

Gritting its teeth, the ox demon trudged along with the patrol, enduring the bizarre agony for the first time.

It felt as if its entire body were being torn apart, every fiber of its being rejecting its very existence.

Had it eaten something foul?

Just as the ox demon puzzled over it, a chillingly familiar phrase slipped from the weasel’s mouth.

"What’s the damn point of scouting this empty plain…"

The ox demon froze mid-step, its face paling as it stared at a thicket of grass not far away.

That… was where the nightmare had begun.