Don't Cause Trouble Chapter 39: The Four-Sided Earth Treasury Staff

The effects of the Earth Illusion Lotus were far from over, even after the earth dragon had been slain.

Within the secret realm, the scent of the lotus continued to attract and confuse the nearby beasts, driving them into a frenzy and drawing them into bloody fights.

Before Ye Su and the others even got close, they could already smell the heavy stench of blood in the air. When they finally arrived, sure enough, the ground was littered with beast corpses. Some were nearly trampled into pulp, others still twitched in their final struggles.

At the very center, three powerful beasts were locked in a savage brawl, biting and clawing at one another. The rest of the creatures dared not approach.

"A Horned Roc, a Daba Leopard, and a Smoke Alligator," Xu Chengyu identified the beasts from a distance. "All of them are late-stage Golden Core level."

Ye Su stepped forward beside him and looked ahead. "There are quite a few cultivators hiding nearby."

"They’re after the demon cores," Xu Chengyu said. "Golden Core-level beasts usually form demon cores."

"Did that earth dragon earlier have one?" Ye Su asked instinctively.

Xu Chengyu shook his head. "Earth dragons born with a secret realm only develop cores after the first growth phase is complete."

So that’s how it worked.

The three of them didn’t head straight for the center, nor did they try to hide. Instead, they skirted the perimeter, collecting the remains of fallen beasts.

Bones, fangs, intact hides… all materials Ye Su needed for refining tools.

She didn’t mind getting her hands dirty, bloodied and sticky with bits of meat, fully focused on gathering what she needed.

Xu Chengyu stayed nearby with sword in hand, on guard in case any beasts or cultivators tried to ambush them. As for You Fushi…

He clearly disliked such filthy surroundings and couldn’t bear to watch that mortal woman soaking herself in blood and gore—so he kept casting cleaning spells on her.

Ye Su: "…Junior brother, if you’ve got nothing better to do, lend a hand."

You Fushi was stunned. He was trying to help this mortal, and now she wanted to put him to work?

"You can wear the Mistflower Fang for ten more days," Ye Su added casually.

You Fushi hesitated, then turned his head away, pretending he hadn’t heard.

"Fifteen days."

Still pretending not to hear—but he took a step forward.

"Ten days."

Why was it getting lower?

You Fushi frowned and finally looked at Ye Su. "It should be twenty days." Clearly, this mortal wasn't as good at math as he was.

Ye Su lowered her head and began stowing beast remains in her Qiankun bag. "I already offered you fifteen. If you don’t want it, that’s fine."

"…"

You Fushi silently added another mark to his internal record of grudges against this mortal. Then he said, "It’ll dirty my Qiankun bag."

"Use mine," Xu Chengyu said, removing the pouch from his waist. "Just return it after we leave."

"Thanks." Ye Su nodded at You Fushi, indicating he should take over.

You Fushi ignored her, but still opened his own pouch and began collecting beast remains without another word.

……

The two continued gathering ready-made materials. Some cultivators who had been hiding nearby saw they were unharmed and gradually came out to scavenge the beast corpses as well.

As more cultivators gathered, the three beasts in the middle of the fight took notice. Their movements slowed, and their strange, feral eyes swept over the group. One by one, they stopped fighting and instead began charging toward them.

The Horned Roc flapped its wings, the Smoke Alligator scrambled on all fours, and the Daba Leopard charged ahead—astonishingly, they all targeted You Fushi, who was collecting corpses near the edge.

"It’s the beasts!" shouted the nearest cultivator—his last words before the Daba Leopard bit him clean in half.

The other cultivators panicked and scattered. Ye Su frowned, seeing that You Fushi still had his back to the beasts. She rushed toward him and dragged him away.

By then, the three beasts had reached them, surrounding Ye Su, You Fushi, and Xu Chengyu, who had just arrived.

Ye Su activated her Flying Mirror Armor, raising a shield to block the beasts’ attacks.

The Horned Roc struck from above, while the Daba Leopard and Smoke Alligator attacked from both sides. The shield rippled under the pressure.

"Ye Su, you two stay inside," said Xu Chengyu, gripping his sword, eyes burning with fighting spirit. "I’ll take them on."

He stepped outside the shield. The three beasts glanced at those inside, but ultimately decided to attack the one who had come out.

Ye Su watched Xu Chengyu locked in battle with the three beasts. Her eyes briefly scanned the scattered corpses, then she said to You Fushi, "They were charging at you earlier."

The beasts’ target had been obvious—they were aiming for You Fushi but had plowed through several unlucky cultivators along the way. Hidden among the crowd, You Fushi hadn’t stood out—at least not to Xu Chengyu.

You Fushi was still spotless. Unlike Ye Su, who handled the corpses by hand, he had used a bit of spiritual power to toss them into his Qiankun bag.

When Ye Su spoke, he acted like he didn’t hear, glanced at her bloodstained hands, and silently cast another cleansing spell on her.

"……"

Ye Su fell silent. If he really was a demon, she had no idea what kind. Obsessed with cleanliness, disgusted by anything ugly—was he perhaps... a narcissistic daffodil spirit?

Outside, Xu Chengyu had been grabbed by the Horned Roc, its talons locked around him. Blood streamed from his shoulder, and the Smoke Alligator had clamped its jaws around his sword.

"My sword—come!" Xu Chengyu shouted, reaching out.

The sword trembled in the beast’s mouth, gradually glowing with sword intent. At last, it broke free, slicing a bloody gash in the Smoke Alligator’s mouth.

Xu Chengyu caught the flying sword midair and spun, slicing clean through the Horned Roc’s legs.

The Roc let out a wail. Its wings were already wounded; now, crippled without legs, its dominance vanished. Just then, the watching Daba Leopard pounced from above and sank its fangs into the Roc’s head.

—And just like that, only two beasts remained.

At that moment, Ye Su received a message from Ma Congqiu.

"Your junior brothers and sisters are all having breakthroughs," Ma Congqiu said, pointing to Ming Liu Sha and the others in meditation. "The spiritual energy here is abnormally strong—probably due to some formation laid by the realm’s master. Something feels off. You’d better come check."

"We’ll come over soon. Your senior brother…" Ye Su looked at Xu Chengyu. Each time he swung his sword, the surrounding spiritual energy surged. His sword intent grew sharper with every strike.

"What’s wrong with Senior Brother?" Zhou Yun asked nervously.

"He’s about to break through," Ye Su said. "He grasped sword intent earlier."

"Sword intent?!" Ma Congqiu exclaimed excitedly.

A sword cultivator who comprehends sword intent during the Nascent Soul stage is already a genius. But Senior Brother had grasped it during the Golden Core stage?

Ma Congqiu’s face lit up. "Sword intent at Golden Core level—if the Sect Master hears about this, he’ll be thrilled!"

"We’ll head over once this is done," Ye Su replied. "Keep an eye on my juniors for me."

"Don’t worry, Fellow Daoist Ye," Zhou Yun said nearby. "With us here, they’ll be safe."

Elsewhere, Xu Chengyu was covered in wounds—but the two remaining beasts were also in bad shape.

He was honing his sword intent through combat, refining his understanding with each clash. He needed no assistance.

"I’m hungry," You Fushi suddenly said as Ye Su watched Xu Chengyu.

Ye Su, used to this by now, casually handed him a bottle of fasting pills, eyes still fixed on Xu Chengyu’s sword.

You Fushi took the pills and began popping them one by one. Before he finished, he said again, "Ye Su, I’m sleepy."

"…There’s no place to sleep here. Wait until we’re out," Ye Su turned to look at him—a handsome, aloof face with dark, indifferent eyes and a tall, refined figure. He didn’t look like the kind of person who lived to eat and sleep.

ROAR—

A desperate beastly roar rang out across the field.

Ye Su looked up and saw Xu Chengyu standing tall, his sword dripping blood. Both the Daba Leopard and Smoke Alligator had been decapitated.

"Let’s go." Ye Su retracted her armor, took You Fushi by the hand, and walked toward Xu Chengyu. "They’ve reached the Eye of the Realm."

Xu Chengyu swallowed a healing pill, nodded, and said, "Sorry, the demon bones were shattered."

For a weapon refiner, an intact demon skeleton is ideal—but all three Golden Core beast skeletons were now broken.

Ye Su, however, was more concerned with something else. "You’re close to breaking through?"

Xu Chengyu closed his eyes briefly, sensing the spiritual energy within, then opened them again. "Yes. Forming a Nascent Soul will take time. Let’s head to the realm’s core first."

He looked a little embarrassed. He was supposed to be helping Ye Su and the others improve, but ended up being the one to advance first.

Ye Su seemed to notice and chuckled. "Refiners have a more complex path to breakthroughs. It’s different from sword cultivators."

Xu Chengyu glanced at You Fushi and hesitantly asked, "Is he… injured?"

Though usually quiet, this junior from Qianji Sect had always struck him as rather arrogant.

"He’s sleepy."

Xu Chengyu fell silent. Sleepy—in a deadly secret realm? Did they just feel that safe?

The three turned and headed toward the realm’s core. A few lagging cultivators cautiously emerged, looked at the bloodied Xu Chengyu, then at Ye Su—and wisely decided not to make a move.

……

Inside the boundary’s core.

Ma Congqiu and Zhou Yun stood in front of and behind Ming Liu Sha and the others, holding their swords and constantly scanning the surroundings.

They had taken advantage of the beast chaos to reach the core, and some quick-thinking cultivators had also rushed over—not for the spiritual energy, but for the treasures hidden in the boundary.

The five of them picked a spot, and Ming Liu Sha, Xi Yu, and Xia Er began meditating to absorb the spiritual energy and try to break through.

Some people thought something was hidden beneath where they were sitting and tried to attack, but Ma Congqiu and Zhou Yun blocked them.

Sword cultivators are never easy to deal with—especially those from one of the top sects, the "Sword Sect."

Ma Congqiu and Zhou Yun struck quickly and decisively. The other cultivators realized they weren’t to be messed with and didn’t dare come closer again.

"Senior Brother!" Zhou Yun called out when she saw Xu Chengyu enter. Seeing the blood on him, she asked nervously, "Are you hurt?"

"I’m fine," Xu Chengyu gestured for her to stay alert, then walked forward on his own.

Ye Su walked in holding You Fushi’s hand, and they were instantly hit by an overwhelming wave of spiritual energy.

"The spiritual energy here… it’s too dense," Xu Chengyu frowned. His spiritual core was already boiling, barely able to contain his realm.

Even a senior disciple from the Sword Sect thought the energy was excessive. Ye Su glanced around the core area. There was also a pond filled with blooming lotuses, and off in the distance, cultivators were fighting over a magical artifact.

"A four-sided staff."

"The Four-Sided Staff from the Ten Thousand Buddha Sect?" Xu Chengyu shook his head. "I’ve seen it. The lotus base of their staff is made of jade."

Ye Su looked again toward the center of the boundary. There, a seven-foot-tall four-sided staff floated upright on a lotus pedestal. The top of the staff featured a triple-layered black lotus base, with four outward-facing half-circles, each ringed with small round hoops.

"A Four-Sided Earth Treasury Staff from before the Divine Fall stage," Ye Su said slowly.

The nearby disciples from the Sword Sect turned toward her instinctively when they heard "Divine Fall stage." Zhou Yun asked, "Divine Fall stage?"

Ye Su didn’t respond. She had only seen a description of it once in an old manuscript from the Qianji Sect.

Just then, You Fushi casually pulled out the Phantom Lotus from her Qiankun bag and pointed toward the center of the core. "Put this there—it’ll look nice."