A Bit of Awareness, But Not Much

Morning.

Chen Baiqing sat cross-legged on the bed, spiritual energy faintly swirling around her.

After a while, the energy settled, and Chen Baiqing slowly opened her eyes.

Though she was on a journey of tempering herself, cultivation could not be neglected. Without sufficient spiritual energy to aid her practice, she focused instead on honing her divine abilities.

After all, mastering the techniques her master had bestowed upon her would still require a considerable amount of time.

While these abilities aligned well with Chen Baiqing and she found them somewhat intuitive, the profundity of the techniques made them no easy feat.

For Chen Baiqing, the term "tempering journey" did not carry the same fruitful connotations as it did for her senior sister or second brother.

She understood that this expedition was about stepping beyond the confines of books—experiencing the world firsthand, learning the intricacies of human affairs, and sensing all that written words could never convey.

Only by ensuring her own safety first could she prove her independence.

The previous day, Chen Baiqing had not taken any action. Instead, she had meticulously questioned Li Qiyun about his investigations in the village.

According to Li Qiyun’s observations over the past two days, the situation with the demonic beasts attacking the village was rather peculiar. Aside from the local creatures, even those from hundreds of miles away seemed to be gathering toward a certain location, as if migrating.

Such behavior defied the usual habits of demonic beasts.

Once they cultivated enough to gain sentience, even migratory beasts would rarely abandon their territories without necessity.

Lesser demons, too, held strong territorial instincts.

Moreover, most demons seldom attacked humans.

After all, humans were known to retaliate without restraint.

Though their intelligence might not be razor-sharp, they possessed a clear awareness of danger.

For a thousand years, humans had suppressed demons with a simple, brutal principle—kill one of us, and we exterminate your entire kind.

No trials, no justifications. Just mark the territory and purge it clean.

Of course, there were always exceptions—those who lost their minds or sought power at any cost.

But such cases were rare. A significant portion of so-called supernatural incidents were not the work of demons at all—but humans exploiting their name.

Beyond his usual teasing, Chen Baiqing’s master had also imparted serious lessons.

For instance, always assume the worst and prepare accordingly. Any reliance on luck was nothing but delusion.

And this batch of demons, aside from their strange migration, had largely lost their sentience, reduced to mindless creatures driven solely by hunger and slaughter.

They devoured any beasts they encountered, heedless of danger or death.

Every day or two, the villagers could hear the distant roars and violent clashes of demonic beasts locked in combat.

The village had no cultivators. Generations of farmers had tilled this land, and abandoning their hard-won fields was unthinkable.

The fertile lands beyond were already claimed.

To reclaim barren soil would take years—a luxury those barely scraping by could not afford.

Only in the face of utter devastation would they dare leave everything behind.

Even then, most would cling to their homes until starvation left them no choice.

For now, the situation was not dire enough. As long as the villagers avoided the deep mountains, the demonic beasts had yet to strike. Perhaps the village simply lay outside their path.

But the future was uncertain. Resolving this matter would be for the best.

To these ordinary folk, the land was their very life.

As for Li Qiyun’s words, Chen Baiqing took them as reference. She needed to see the truth for herself.

Rising to her feet, she pushed open the door and stepped outside.

The courtyard they stayed in was the finest in the village—though "finest" merely meant a simple earthen house with whitewashed walls, tiled floors, and a proper door.

The compound consisted of four modest rooms and a main hall. Chen Baiqing, Li Qiyun, and Tang Wanjun each occupied one.

"Morning."

Li Qiyun greeted her with a smile, seated on a slightly worn wooden chair.

Tang Wanjun stood a short distance away, gripping a slender sword. Faint spiritual energy rippled around her as an immature sword intent slowly receded. Noticing Chen Baiqing’s arrival, she hastily sheathed her blade, her expression tinged with shyness.

She had only recently reached the Foundation Establishment stage, while Chen Baiqing—as her token revealed—was at least a Golden Core cultivator.

Her own rudimentary skills…

Chen Baiqing paid little mind to Tang Wanjun’s awkwardness. After all, even Li Qiyun, a Golden Core cultivator, struck her as rather unimpressive.

If Tang Wanjun was a shaky Foundation Establishment cultivator, so be it.

No wonder her senior sister often said most outsiders were either foolish or weak.

"Morning. I plan to investigate the forest later," Chen Baiqing replied with a slight nod. "If I find anything new, I’ll let you know."

Li Qiyun stood. "Why not go together? I’ve scouted the area a few times and know it well. Besides, we can watch each other’s backs."

Chen Baiqing was about to decline when Tang Wanjun spoke up softly, "I’ll come too. If this turns out to be man-made trouble, numbers will help."

Hearing this, Chen Baiqing turned her gaze to Tang Wanjun. "Very well. Let’s go together."

She sensed something unspoken between the two. Though her disguised female form was nothing remarkable, knowing propriety and ignoring it was no different from ignorance.

"This is where I witnessed two demons fighting two days ago," Li Qiming said, scanning the area while extending his spiritual sense to stay alert. He kept Tang Wanjun close, shielding her.

Tang Wanjun, for her part, remained obediently by his side, neither acting nor speaking out of turn.

The scene before them was one of devastation—shattered tree trunks, scattered pits, and a slope nearly flattened. The stench of blood still lingered in the churned earth.

Dried bloodstains clung to the hollows.

Chen Baiqing’s eyes swept over the remnants, detecting faint traces of lingering spiritual energy.

Two beasts on the verge of Foundation Establishment.

One had emerged victorious… and advanced.

Suddenly, Chen Baiqing lifted her head, her gaze piercing deep into the forest.

Li Qiming noticed her movement and opened his mouth to ask—but before he could speak, a deafening beastly roar erupted from the woods, followed by violent surges of clashing spiritual energy.

The sound of a fierce collision reverberated through the air.

Chen Baiqing glanced at the two. "I’ll check it out. Be careful."

"We’ll go with you," Li Qiming responded, pulling Tang Wanjun along as he hurried after Chen Baiqing.

In a flash, Chen Baiqing leaped onto a towering tree, surveying the scene below.

A frenzied Foundation Establishment boar charged wildly, locked in combat with an equally ferocious black bear of the same level.

Li Qiming arrived a moment later, Tang Wanjun in tow, perching on a neighboring tree.

He suggested, "Should we capture one first to study?"

"Let me try first."

The Azure Sky Treasure Ring on Chen Baiqing's right hand faintly glowed, then expanded slightly and slipped off his wrist.

In the next moment, a soft azure light emanated from the ring.

The wild boar, which had been about to turn and charge at the black bear again, suddenly froze mid-motion.

Its initial furious snarls shifted into strange, subdued grunts.

The bear behaved even more oddly—the rock it had casually picked up to hurl at the boar was now lowered in an unnatural motion.

Seeing this, Chen Baiqing remarked calmly, "They still retain some self-awareness, but not much."

If their consciousness had remained fully intact, the boar would have been rolling on the ground like a house cat by now, and the bear would have been sitting upright like a dog.