It was a shell—a gigantic shell towering over the teahouse.

Yes, it looked like a shell.

The monstrous shell opened its gaping maw, but instead of a glimmering pearl, it revealed a tongue that took up half the mouth, covered in nauseating saliva. As it moved, it made squelching sounds, as if chewing on something. Clearly, the sound Bai Fanlu had heard earlier came from it.

Bai Fanlu quickly recognized the creature from its distinctive appearance—it was one of the Four Demon Beasts described in the book, the gluttonous *Taotie*. Known for its insatiable appetite, it had no eyes, but its massive tongue could devour anything in its path. Its shell was also incredibly hard, impervious to blades and weapons.

However, this beast was supposed to appear only after the original Bai Fanlu became the Demon Lord and wreaked havoc across the three realms. So why was it showing up now?

First, the Demon Clan Elder, and now the Demon Lord’s pet—both were appearing out of sequence.

Bai Fanlu had a sinking feeling.

His premonitions were usually spot on, and sure enough, the enormous *Taotie* started hopping toward him. Each leap caused the ground to tremble, trees to topple, and buildings to collapse. The sight was nothing short of terrifying.

Bai Fanlu certainly didn’t want to be squashed into a pancake, but he also didn’t want to foolishly try taming this giant pet that would eat him out of house and home. The best course of action was to cast a spell and disappear.

Just as he was about to chant, he suddenly heard the cry of a child nearby.

Turning his head, he saw the little beggar from earlier sitting on the ground. Somehow, he had ended up even closer to the spot where Bai Fanlu had set him down. In his arms were two buns—one with a bite taken out of it, and one untouched.

Why hadn’t he run away?

Bai Fanlu had assumed the child had already fled, but it seemed the boy had returned to retrieve the fallen buns. Now, paralyzed with fear after seeing the monstrous creature, he could do nothing but cry.

In an instant, the *Taotie* was upon them, and Bai Fanlu cursed under his breath as he leaped over to the child.

With a thunderous crash, the shell slammed down like a mountain.

Bai Fanlu grabbed the little beggar and leaped to the side of a wall, preparing to fly away on his sword. But then he felt something squishy under his foot and instinctively looked down. It was a sticky, transparent liquid with a faint greenish hue, reeking of an acrid stench—likely…

Gross! Bai Fanlu’s stomach churned, threatening to revolt. More of the viscous liquid suddenly dripped from above, followed by a powerful suction of air that swept over them.

The *Taotie* had opened its enormous mouth, revealing a dark throat beyond its tongue—a black hole ready to devour everything.

Bai Fanlu quickly planted his feet and cast a grounding spell, barely managing to hold his position against the suction. But he had forgotten about the child in his arms.

“Brother—” the little beggar cried out as he was ripped from Bai Fanlu’s grasp.

Bai Fanlu immediately let go of his grounding spell and lunged forward, pulling the child back into his arms.

But in the next moment, everything went black—they were swallowed whole by the *Taotie*.

This was unbelievable. Bai Fanlu couldn’t help but think, first he was attacked by an ally, and now he was eaten by a pet. Being a villain really wasn’t as easy as he’d thought. Were they trying to force him to fight back?

“Brother…”

In the darkness, Bai Fanlu felt the little beggar clinging tightly to his robes, as if afraid he might be abandoned. Bai Fanlu reassured him, “Don’t worry, brother will get you out of here.”

Despite his words, Bai Fanlu had no real plan.

It was only now that he realized how foolish he had been. All he had thought about was getting far away from that troublemaker Yun Zhan, forgetting that his body had been seriously injured. His skills were still rusty, and he had rashly come down the mountain.

But there was no use regretting it now. He had to find a way out. He used his spiritual energy to light up the space around him, revealing the surrounding muscle tissues, all covered in a thick layer of mucus. The ground beneath his feet was soft and springy, like walking on flesh.

Bai Fanlu forced himself to ignore the goosebumps and carefully moved forward.

“Brother, it hurts…” the little beggar whimpered.

“Where does it hurt?” Bai Fanlu didn’t recall the child being injured.

He quickly moved the light over the boy’s body, noticing that he was trembling and seemed too pained to speak, only managing to cry.

Bai Fanlu hurriedly examined him, finally noticing a burn-like mark on the boy’s dirty, thin arm. The skin had blistered, clearly having just been burned.

Bai Fanlu immediately understood and quickly cast a protective shield around them. At that moment, a drop of the faint green liquid fell from above, sizzling as it hit the shield and releasing a wisp of white smoke.

It was the *Taotie’s* digestive fluid, highly corrosive.

But maintaining the shield consumed a lot of spiritual energy. Bai Fanlu had no idea when or how he would find a way out, and if his spiritual energy ran out, they’d be in serious trouble.

“Brother, are you an immortal?” the little beggar asked, his fear seemingly dissipated as he watched Bai Fanlu use magic. His tone was filled with awe, even though his dirty little face was smeared with tears, making him look rather comical.

“Yes, so don’t be afraid. Brother will protect you.”

Bai Fanlu carefully shrank the protective shield to cover only the little beggar.

He prided himself on having an immortal body and demon blood. He could handle a bit of digestive fluid.

Despite his bravado, the sensation of the liquid continuously dripping on him was far from pleasant. And the ground beneath his feet, well, that was best left unmentioned.

He had to come up with a plan, fast.

Bai Fanlu tried sending a message with his spiritual sense, but he wasn’t sure how far they were from the sect. Even though he sent out the signal, he didn’t hold out much hope.

To conserve energy and find the way out more quickly, Bai Fanlu extinguished his light and tried to navigate in the dark. The book mentioned only one person ever being swallowed by the *Taotie*, and that was Yun Zhan. Bai Fanlu was now following the method Yun Zhan had used.

Nervously, Bai Fanlu moved through the darkness, with the little beggar remaining silent. Having received Bai Fanlu’s promise of protection, the boy fully trusted him, his harsh upbringing making him mature early. He understood that now was not the time to cause trouble.

Gradually, Bai Fanlu saw a faint light in the distance. The closer he got, the stronger the nauseating stench became, stinging his eyes.

Suppressing his discomfort, Bai Fanlu finally reached the source of the light. It was a core embedded in the flesh—*Taotie’s* heart, just as described in the book. The creature had two vital points: this heart and a hidden spot on its shell.

In the original story, when Yun Zhan and the demon lord Bai Fanlu fought, Yun Zhan was swallowed by the *Taotie*. He escaped by piercing the creature’s heart. As for the weak spot on its shell, Ling Qingzi had taught Yun Zhan how to exploit it before the battle. It couldn’t kill the creature but could immobilize it.

But that was later in the story, and Yun Zhan had used the legendary weapon Bi Luo. Bai Fanlu’s current weapon was just an ordinary flying sword—whether it could pierce the heart was questionable.

But there was no other choice now. Bai Fanlu summoned his sword and thrust it toward the heart with all his might.

It penetrated the flesh!

Crack… Crack!

Bai Fanlu stared in disbelief as cracks appeared on his sword, which then shattered into several pieces.

To his astonishment, the sword’s tip had indeed pierced the heart, but the flesh was slowly swallowing the blade, crunching as it went, as if it were enjoying a tasty meal.

Bai Fanlu was dumbfounded.

Before he could react, the ground beneath his feet began to tremble, then shake violently. Bai Fanlu nearly lost his balance.

A roaring sound echoed around him, similar to the turbulent air currents when the *Taotie* had swallowed them. An idea suddenly struck Bai Fanlu—could the shell monster be about to sneeze?

Bai Fanlu quickly looked back, and sure enough, a horizontal line of light appeared before him—the *Taotie* was opening its massive shell-like mouth!

Bai Fanlu grabbed the little beggar and flipped them onto the peak of the air current. As a gust of wind surged toward them, they were swept out.

The world around them suddenly brightened—they were out! Just as Bai Fanlu was about to cast a landing spell, he realized his energy reserves were empty, and his limbs felt weak.

He braced for impact, clutching the little beggar tightly to protect him. But suddenly, a gentle cloud-like force cushioned their fall, setting them down safely.

Bai Fanlu looked up and first saw the *Taotie*, now motionless. Its tongue was still hanging out, held weakly by its two shell halves, and the dark aura surrounding it was gradually dissipating.

Could it really be that one sneeze nearly killed this mighty beast?

Of course not. Bai Fanlu’s gaze moved past the *Taotie* to the figure standing on the opposite side—a young man in blue robes. In that moment, a flood of emotions washed over Bai Fanlu, so complex that he found it difficult to put them into words.

He could only manage a sigh, “Junior Brother…”

Yun Zhan didn’t respond to Bai Fanlu’s greeting. The Bi Luo weapon was still spinning in his hand—a green flame that had taken the form of a sword. At this moment, the blade was lodged in the top of the *Taotie’s* head.

With a flick of his wrist, Yun Zhan retrieved Bi Luo, which then shrank into an invisible point of light at his waist.

Bai Fanlu immediately understood—*Taotie* hadn’t sneezed because he had irritated it; Yun Zhan had forced it to open its mouth. Bai Fanlu couldn’t help but wonder how Yun Zhan already knew the beast’s weak spot and managed to subdue it with a single strike.

This was the difference between the protagonist and a mere side character.

Accepting his inferiority, Bai Fanlu conceded, “Junior Brother, thank you.”

Yun Zhan glanced at him but said nothing, his eyes shifting to the little beggar in Bai Fanlu’s arms.

“Oh, I rescued him just now,” Bai Fanlu explained, noticing Yun Zhan’s gaze. He set the little beggar down, realizing that the boy was still clutching the buns he had earlier. Despite everything, the boy hadn’t let go.

Feeling a twinge of sympathy, Bai Fanlu reached into his pouch, intending to give the boy his last remaining bits of silver.

But Yun Zhan interjected, “Giving him too much will only bring trouble.”

“What should we do, then?”

Bai Fanlu wasn’t usually the charitable type, but this small child had touched a sensitive chord within him. He wanted to help in any way he could. Otherwise, once the buns were gone, what would the boy do?

Yun Zhan pulled out a few copper coins and handed them to the little beggar. “Take these. In the southern part of Wan Hua City, you’ll find lodging at the Zi Yue Inn.”

The boy’s dirty face lit up with joy. “Thank you, Immortal!”

He then turned to Bai Fanlu and gave a deep bow. “Thank you, Immortal Brother!”

The little beggar waved and was about to leave when Bai Fanlu called after him, “Wait.”

Yun Zhan also turned to look.

Bai Fanlu took a small box from his bundle, opened it to reveal a medicinal ointment that gave off a fragrant scent. He dipped his fingers into the ointment, knelt down, and gently applied it to the boy’s burn, infusing a bit of spiritual energy into the wound.

“There, all done. Be careful on your way.”

The little beggar’s eyes reddened, and he sniffled. “Immortal Brother, you’re so kind.”

With that, he gave Bai Fanlu a quick hug around the neck before half-laughing, half-crying as he ran off into the distance.

Bai Fanlu stood up, exhaling a long breath. But when he turned back, he noticed Yun Zhan seemed to be looking at him, though his gaze was unfocused, and his expression was contemplative.

It lasted only a moment before Yun Zhan’s expression returned to normal. He spoke calmly, “Senior Brother.”

Now that they were alone, Bai Fanlu felt a bit uneasy facing Yun Zhan by himself. Trying to maintain his composure, he searched for something to say. “Junior Brother, how did you end up here? Did you receive my message?”

While Bai Fanlu had indeed been trying to avoid Yun Zhan, he also realized that Yun Zhan had just saved him, so he ought to show some gratitude. He was surprised that his hastily sent message had actually reached the sect.

“…Yes.” Yun Zhan gave Bai Fanlu a curious look.

“What should we do with this creature?” Although the dark aura around the *Taotie* had dissipated, Bai Fanlu could still sense that the beast was alive.

“We’ll take it back and let Master deal with it.”

As Yun Zhan spoke, he summoned a transparent sphere of water, encapsulating the *Taotie*. With a gesture, he compressed the sphere, making the massive beast disappear.

Bai Fanlu was no longer surprised by these feats. He was about to say, “Junior Brother, I won’t be returning to the sect for now, so I’ll be on my way,” when Yun Zhan asked him, “Senior Brother, are you feeling unwell?”

“Unwell?” Bai Fanlu quickly assessed himself. Besides a bit of itching, his feet…seemed…

Bai Fanlu suddenly looked down, horrified to see that both his feet had turned an inky black, darker than any paint, and he couldn’t move them. His ankles were completely numb.

“They’ve been corroded by the *Taotie’s* fluids,” Yun Zhan stated flatly.

Bai Fanlu’s first reaction was panic, thinking he might lose his legs. Seeing Yun Zhan’s indifferent expression, he couldn’t help but feel a surge of frustration. “Why didn’t you warn me earlier?”

This was too much! Yun Zhan had just saved him, and now he was toying with him?

“Will Senior Brother be returning to the sect?” Yun Zhan asked, still calm and composed.

Bai Fanlu was in a state of frantic worry, too distracted to catch the meaning behind Yun Zhan’s words. He quickly replied, “Yes, of course!”

Help me, Master!

Yun Zhan nodded. “Very well.”

With that, he lightly tapped his foot, and a flying sword materialized beneath him. He stood on it effortlessly, his blue robes billowing in the wind, cutting a graceful figure.

Bai Fanlu was stunned, unable to believe what he was seeing. Was Yun Zhan really planning to just leave him there?

Teleport? Bai Fanlu checked his energy reserves—completely drained. He didn’t dare try teleporting, fearing he might end up in another hidden location instead of Tian Shu Sect.

Flying sword? His sword was broken, and his feet were paralyzed… He couldn’t move at all!

While Bai Fanlu was in a state of despair, suddenly his body felt lighter, as if he had collided with something hard yet soft.

Looking up, he found himself face-to-face with Yun Zhan. The wind tousled Yun Zhan’s hair, brushing it against Bai Fanlu’s face, carrying a subtle, grassy scent.

Bai Fanlu shuddered. Wait a minute… Was Yun Zhan holding him as they flew?

And what’s more, he was being held with one arm under his shoulders and the other under his knees.

This was the legendary… princess carry?!