Calamity
"What exactly is going on with this system?!"
Xu Ya looked up at Shi Yuzhen, who appeared normal to her so far, and the words of doubt almost slipped out of her mouth.
The system did not directly answer Xu Ya's question; it simply continued to issue warnings.
Xu Ya had no choice but to rephrase her question: "Then what should I do?"
[Please make good use of your cheat ability to help the male protagonist overcome this tribulation.]
What time is it?! Does the system still have the mood for jokes?!
Her secret weapon is nothing more than the fried chicken recipe and those two fried chicken essentials, isn't it?
In this situation, putting aside whether it's inappropriate or not, it's a question of how she even managed to pull out fried chicken amidst the entanglement of several parties!
Not to mention she was completely bewildered and had no idea what was going on. Isn't this putting her in a bit too difficult?
However, the male lead's condition was clearly quite bad. Xu Ya hesitated in the corner. Although her cultivation had improved over the years, she still couldn't perform levitation spells very well.
Xu Ya looked up and saw that Shi Yuzhen was currently to her upper left. She thought for a moment and quickly went around to the side of the roof where the eaves were lower, and took the risk of climbing up the roof—first of all, she wanted to get closer to him.
The giant rooster, distracted by the fight, glanced to the side and turned to see Xu Ya struggling to climb onto the roof.
It flew low overhead, preparing to seize Xu Ya as its new prey.
Suddenly, Ah-Xi, who had transformed into a rooster, rushed up and tried her best to stop it.
Shi Yuzhen, who was suspended in mid-air, also reacted.
The giant rooster revealed a wicked expression and killed the two of them with a sudden, swift attack.
Shi Yuzhen was injured for the first time!
Suddenly, Shi Yuzhen was bitten on the arm by a huge chicken beak, and hot blood splattered. Shi Yuzhen had not yet experienced the Heavenly Tribulation and was still a mortal. She was in pain and her face changed. Holding her blood-covered arm, she fell right onto the roof that Xu Ya was about to climb.
Xu Ya disregarded everything else and scrambled up the roof, rushing to the top to catch Shi Yuzhen, who was about to fall.
Unexpectedly, as soon as Xu Ya touched Shi Yuzhen's body, she felt as if she had been injected with lead and immediately realized that she could not move.
Xu Ya's heart pounded; her sixth sense suddenly rang out in her mind.
A short while later, Xu Ya's surroundings distorted as if her eyes were malfunctioning, and when she looked again, a sudden and drastic change occurred.
She seemed to have returned to that vast, snowy landscape.
But now, in such a desolate environment, Xu Ya's heart was pounding wildly, and she felt that something was about to happen.
The first thing she did in this situation was to call the system, but as expected, there was still no response.
Every time Xu Ya encountered this situation, she would call out to the system in disbelief, asking, "What kind of place is this?"
Concerned about Shi Yuzhen's injuries, Xu Ya quickened her pace involuntarily, pacing hurriedly within the illusion, constantly casting spells in her hands, trying various ways to escape the illusion.
Xu Ya gradually felt the illusion shrinking at a visible speed. Although she couldn't see any clues at the moment, she could inexplicably sense it.
Walk a little further ahead.
Xu Ya saw a different scene.
...it was the dead tree we encountered back then.
However, no one was seen under the tree.
Xu Ya took a few more steps forward and came to the base of the withered tree, only to be surprised to find that it was such a huge and heavy ancient tree.
Xu Ya's physique is now different from before. The closer she gets, the more she can feel two mysterious and powerful spiritual energies entwined around the branches of the ancient tree, slowly rising.
A withered leaf, startled by something, drifted down and landed on Xu Ya's arm, instantly burning her and causing her to scream.
That sound seemed not to belong to Xu Ya, but it formed a spiritual circle and spread outwards.
The secret realm seems to echo with the long cry of the Pulao.
Thump—
Thump—
Thump—
The next instant, a figure covered in blood appeared beneath the withered tree.
Xu Ya saw the person's figure and face clearly for the first time.
It was actually Shi Yuzhen?!
Ignoring everything else, she anxiously stepped forward and cradled the blood-covered Shi Yuzhen in her arms.
Unexpectedly, the person in her arms suddenly opened their bloodshot, scarlet eyes and quickly reached out to control Xu Ya's body.
This feeling was very similar to when Xu Ya first met Shi Yuzhen, and Shi Yuzhen lost control and choked her.
She had already noticed something amiss. Over the years, although the male lead remained aloof, Xu Ya, with her limited perception, knew that he had never acted as cruelly as he had the first time.
Xu Ya managed to utter a few words with difficulty: "Who...are you..."
Upon hearing this, "Shi Yuzhen" immediately revealed a wicked smile, indeed different from the male lead Xu Ya knew.
The mysterious man propped himself up, and his large hand, which was no different from the male protagonist's, smeared with sticky blood, climbed up Xu Ya's cheek: "The little girl is quite clever."
Xu Ya was startled by the title "little girl" and tried her best to resist the involuntary trembling of her body, but she dared not utter a sound. She had no idea how strong this person who was disguised as Shi Yuzhen really was.
The mysterious man, wearing Shi Yuzhen's face, chuckled and then said, "You really are a treasure. He seems to have been restless for a while because of you. And now, the opportunity to be injured has been completely taken over by me. Hehehe, you... you can be considered a hero in my taking over this body."
Xu Ya pondered the key words in that sentence... Was he... was he Shi Yuzhen's inner demon? Otherwise, why would the word "possess" be used?
Does that mean that the reason his progress is stuck at 98 is because he still has one opponent to defeat, perhaps the inner demon that is born from the same source as him?
Isn't that how it's always written in novels?
That's going to be difficult...
Remembering the system's prompt, I need to use the cheat system I've acquired to help the male protagonist overcome this ordeal...
Although she was controlled by the male protagonist's inner demons, she could still move both of her arms secretly.
Although the system's suggestions were always unreliable, the final results were always favorable to the male protagonist.
What benefits the male lead is also beneficial to her; she wants to go home.
So she decided to trust that seemingly unreliable suggestion again.
She subtly touched the treasure pouch tucked into her lower back, confirming that it had come to this illusion with her body, and then forced herself to speak: "Are you... are you hungry?"
"Hmph... Do you really think I'm as easy to fool as that silly boy? What tricks are you up to now? When I was imprisoned within that boy's body, I couldn't understand why his spiritual power had increased so much over the years, leaving me no opening at all. But even though I'm restricted, the outside world can't be kept from me..."
Xu Ya was unaware that this person was so perceptive; she must have been suppressed by the male lead for a long time, as she could sense a somewhat gloomy atmosphere in his tone.
Xu Ya found it increasingly strange. Judging from how he referred to himself, she really didn't want the male lead to have a split personality. Using the male lead's face and constantly referring to himself as "this one" did seem a bit like he was pretending.
Even though Xu Ya was not very sensitive to emotional issues, she inexplicably began to miss the normal "Shi Yuzhen" at this moment.
While she was pondering, the man in front of her suddenly encountered a problem.
The inner demon seemed to be affected by the main body; its entire body twisted for a moment before it released Xu Ya, appearing to be in considerable pain.
"You...you really are extraordinary..."
All I heard him say was this sentence out of the blue.
The surrounding scenery suddenly changed, and Xu Ya was back on that gloomy rooftop filled with eerie chicken cries.
This time, the man in her arms had truly become Shi Yuzhen.
Shi Yuzhen coughed suddenly, mimicking the inner demon's action: she stretched out her arms and tightly embraced Xu Ya, asking in a deep voice, "Where...where did you go just now..."
Xu Ya pondered for a moment, then met Shi Yuzhen's concerned yet gloomy gaze, and told the injured Shi Yuzhen everything.
Xu Ya ultimately failed to adapt to the world of cultivation, describing it in a rather abstract way.
But Shi Yuzhen understood, and frowned: "You actually entered my sea of consciousness just now... You must have seen it... Hmm, it didn't hurt you, did it?"
Xu Ya shook her head, bewildered.
The giant rooster's loud snoring still echoed in her ears. Shi Yuzhen had just been pecked by the giant rooster when she was caught off guard, and now Xu Ya had suddenly disappeared. She was furious.
Out of the corner of her eye, Shi Yuzhen saw the giant rooster about to swoop down towards them again.
However, what the giant rooster didn't know was that the situation had already quietly changed.
The rooster that Ah-Xi transformed into, located in the distance, underwent a subtle change upon witnessing Xu-Ya's sudden disappearance.
It seemed to briefly regain its senses, and for a moment, it stood on the opposite side of the giant rooster, forming a subtle encirclement with Shi Yuzhen and Xu Ya.
Shi Yuzhen channeled her spiritual power, and Axi waved her giant wings to trap the chaotic giant rooster within a small space.
The giant rooster was no match for the three men and crashed heavily to the ground...
Everything has finally settled down.
After several struggles and captures, the giant rooster was finally taken back to Xianze by the group.
Ah-Xi was on the verge of death and had become a terrifying half-human, half-chicken. The giant rooster was put into the spirit bag, but Xu-Ya couldn't bear it and insisted on helping Ah-Xi back by herself.
Ah-Xi had already grown taller, and now, after undergoing a physical transformation, he had become even taller and more imposing, looking rather strange standing next to Xu-Ya.
But Xu Ya insisted on her decision, and everyone already knew her true status in Xianze—she was Shi Yuzhen's Daoist partner! No one criticized her behavior.
The disciples of Xianze who came to help immediately sensed the low pressure emanating from Shi Yuzhen and lowered their heads to deal with the official duties assigned to them.
Xu Ya stared at Shi Yuzhen with watery eyes, and Shi Yuzhen could only swallow her tongue, neither objecting nor speaking.
So Xu Ya, with her small stature, picked up one of Ah Xi's wings and draped it over her shoulder in one go.
Shi Yuzhen had no choice but to secretly use magic to deplete Xu Ya's power.
Upon returning to the Immortal Realm, all the alchemy and food cultivation disciples contributed recipes to prepare the giant rooster.
Meanwhile, after Zhan Zhengzhen and his team investigated overnight, the truth behind the giant rooster incident was cruelly revealed.
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