10: Giving mung beans to a lame man will blind me?

In the early morning, the mountain wind was cool, carrying the unique fresh scent of the mountains, yet it could not dispel the gloom in Zhang Xuanyi’s heart.

He squatted under the eaves of the woodshed, his gaze fixed on the only two remaining “heavenly eye mung beans” on the tattered cloth stall, his brows tightly furrowed, his eyes filled with worry and contemplation.

Last night’s chaos was still vivid in his mind; Zhao Sanpao had forcibly consumed the “Pseudo-Three Caverns True Qi Liquid.” Although he didn't die on the spot, his meridians were damaged, leaving him extremely weak and requiring three days of rest to recover.

At this moment, the system’s cold notification sound mercilessly rang in his mind: “New mission issued: Have an ordinary person defeat an Innate Anomalous Being. Reward: 200 spirit coins, unlock ‘Proto-Spirit Vision’.”

This mission was like a huge boulder, pressing heavily on Zhang Xuanyi’s heart.

Have an ordinary person defeat an Innate Anomalous Being?

This was simply a fantasy!

The gap between an Innate Anomalous Being and an ordinary person was like an unbridgeable chasm; ordinary people were as fragile as ants before an Innate Anomalous Being.

Unless… his gaze slowly fell upon Crippled Chen, who was sunbathing in the corner of the courtyard.

Crippled Chen was a lame folk Warlock, and although he was crippled, his will was extremely tenacious.

Moreover, the resonance of the photocopy yellow paper still lingered in his body, perhaps allowing him to use this power to stimulate his potential in a short time.

However, sending him to participate in the battle would be tantamount to pushing him into the abyss of death.

Zhang Xuanyi was deeply conflicted, knowing the risks involved; every decision could be a matter of life or death for Crippled Chen.

Just as he was hesitating, the woodshed door was gently pushed open, and Su Qingzhu slipped inside.

Her expression was somewhat solemn, and she whispered, “I found out that someone in the black market is offering a reward for the ‘photocopy yellow paper’ formula. The buyer’s codename is ‘Blood Eye.’ This ‘Blood Eye’ is extremely cruel; he once disemboweled three Talisman Cultivators alive, gouging out their eyes to refine talismans.”

Zhang Xuanyi’s heart jolted violently, and an ominous premonition surged within him.

He immediately pulled out the system log and carefully checked the source of the “heavenly eye mung beans.” It clearly stated “Wanfa Pavilion remnant formula.”

And “Blood Eye” was the legendary codename for the guardian of Wanfa Pavilion who had his eyes gouged out when the pavilion was destroyed three hundred years ago.

He suddenly realized that someone had already set their sights on the “eye-opening” essence of the “heavenly eye mung beans”!

A chill rose from Zhang Xuanyi’s feet; he realized that things had become increasingly complicated.

If “Blood Eye” learned of the existence of the “heavenly eye mung beans,” he would undoubtedly seize them by any means necessary.

And now, these two mung beans in his hand had undoubtedly become a huge hidden danger.

That night, the sky was as dark as ink, and a mysterious aura permeated the mountain forest.

Under the cover of night, Zhang Xuanyi quietly came to Crippled Chen’s dwelling.

He slipped a “heavenly eye mung beans” into the herbal pouch Crippled Chen had brought, then whispered, “If anyone comes to snatch your daughter, swallow it, and then… remember, don’t look at the moves, look at the ‘void’.”

Crippled Chen nodded blankly, and before he could ask more, a putrid scent suddenly wafted from deep within the mountain forest.

The putrid scent was pungent and foul, as if emanating from hell itself.

Immediately after, a blood mist snaked its way over, and a figure was vaguely visible within the blood mist.

This person wore a bronze judge’s mask, and all five fingers of his right hand were wrapped in talisman paper, dripping black blood.

Cui Jiu appeared, his voice as grating as sandpaper on bone: “Zhang Xuanyi! Hand over the mung bean formula! I only want the method of restoring sight!” As soon as his voice fell, he suddenly flipped his palm, and three “Vein Burning Talismans” shot out.

The three talisman fires, like twisted fire snakes, were vivid and alive, carrying a scorching aura, heading straight for where Crippled Chen and his daughter were hiding.

In the nick of time, Crippled Chen gritted his teeth, bit open the medicine pouch, and swallowed the “heavenly eye mung beans.”

In an instant, the world seemed to suddenly slow down.

He saw the trajectories of the talisman fires extending like red threads in the air; every air disturbance 0.5 seconds before each talisman fire ignited was clearly discernible.

His brain worked at high speed, and he instinctively rolled, using his crutch to leverage himself off the ground, and surprisingly, with his crippled leg, dodged two attacks.

The third talisman fire grazed his body and ignited the dry grass nearby.

Cui Jiu’s pupils suddenly contracted, his eyes filled with shock: “A mortal… can predict Innate Talisman Arts?!” He never expected that an ordinary cripple could dodge his Innate Talisman Arts.

This simply exceeded his cognitive scope.

Crippled Chen, seizing the moment of Cui Jiu’s astonishment, grabbed the charcoal pencil his daughter had used to draw talismans last night and hastily drew a crooked “Evil Suppressing Rune” on the ground.

This “Evil Suppressing Rune” was an introductory talisman he had taught his daughter; although drawn crookedly, under the enhancement of the “heavenly eye mung beans,” it briefly activated the earth’s Yin Qi, forming a faint Recoil Force.

The talisman fire rolled back, scorching Cui Jiu’s sleeve.

Cui Jiu, enraged, laughed instead: “An ant dares to injure me?!” He was completely provoked and quickly formed hand seals, preparing to cast a stronger spell.

Just as he was about to act, Zhang Xuanyi burst out the window, throwing out the last piece of photocopy yellow paper.

That yellow paper quickly replicated a phantom of the “Purifying and Calming Talisman” in the air, sweeping towards Cui Jiu.

The phantom of the “Purifying and Calming Talisman” emitted a soft glow, disturbing Cui Jiu’s mind.

Cui Jiu snorted coldly, his figure flickered, and he vanished into the blood mist.

Before leaving, he stared intently at Zhang Xuanyi and said, “You possess all methods, yet you are stingy in saving one person… You cannot save everyone!” As his voice fell, the blood mist gradually dissipated.

The system notification sounded in Zhang Xuanyi’s mind at the opportune moment: “Mission complete, rewards issued. The price of the heavenly eye has been planted; the host will suffer a ‘Blind Tribulation’ within twenty-four hours.”

Zhang Xuanyi had just breathed a sigh of relief when he suddenly felt his eyes go black; his vision instantly became pitch black, as if splashed with ink.

His five senses also suddenly lost light; he staggered, leaning against the wall, hearing only the wind and his own violent heartbeat.

Outside the woodshed, the tattered cloth stall moved on its own without wind, slowly spreading out.

The cloth surface was slightly warm, as if responding to his predicament.

Zhang Xuanyi gritted his teeth and murmured, “Even if I can’t see… I can still win.”

In the distant mountain forest, a cold wind rose again, and a white figure stepped on leaves, silent and barefoot.

Li Wujiu’s voice echoed faintly: “Little Daoist, you have lost your sight. Today… I will not be reasonable.”

Zhang Xuanyi gripped the yellow paper in his hand and sneered, “Old man, a blind man can still beat you.” Although he had lost his sight, his fighting spirit had not diminished in the slightest.

In this darkness, his mind became even more focused, as if he could perceive all the subtle changes around him.

At this moment, the atmosphere inside the woodshed became extremely tense, and a fierce battle was about to erupt.

And Zhang Xuanyi, in this “Blind Tribulation,” could he rely on his wisdom and courage to defeat Li Wujiu and overcome this ordeal?

At midnight, inside and outside the woodshed, there was a deathly silence.

Zhang Xuanyi sat cross-legged before the tattered cloth stall, his eyes vacant, as if he had fallen into an unknown contemplation.

Darkness enveloped him, and also the entire woodshed, making one unable to help but worry for his fate.