When the Side Character Gets a System and Travels through Difference Worlds

Shi Miao’s brows furrowed; she assumed Tan You was just giving her the runaround. But Tan You’s expression was one of pure righteousness, showing no hint of a lie. Still, Shi Miao couldn’t accept having traveled thousands of miles only to return empty-handed.

So, Shi Miao cast a probing gaze at Tan You and the area around her cave residence. She didn’t dare to rashly unleash her Divine Sense—who in the Cultivation World didn’t know that was an incredibly rude thing to do?

But after a quick scan, she found nothing but a few low-level demon beasts. Shi Miao’s frown deepened. "The half-demon I lost is named Qing Ming. Are you certain you haven’t seen him, Snake King?"

Tan You smiled. "Qing Ming? The Qingming Snake Clan of my Ten-Direction Mountain has many members named Qing Ming. I wonder which one you mean?"

"Let me reiterate: it doesn’t matter if the Demon Market has half-demons or not. Even if we did, there’s no reason I should be expected to hand one over just because you show up at my door. What do you take this place for? Somewhere you can come and go as you please?"

Shi Miao’s eyes slowly narrowed. "Are you warning me, Snake King?"

"Yes. Any demon beast that enters my Demon Market is under my protection. Unless they themselves agree to leave, no one can take them away."

Tan You nodded without a trace of fear, heedless that her opponent was a Body Integration Realm cultivator. ’She’s just a female cultivator on the Killing Path. As if I’d actually be afraid of her.’

The longsword on Shi Miao’s back began to hum and stir restlessly. It’s said that a sword follows its master’s will. The fact that it was so agitated proved that Shi Miao truly had killing intent.

Shi Miao glanced at Tan You, then at Bai Ze beside her, and finally at the Great Demons gradually gathering around them. Recalling the rumors about Tan You, she ultimately didn’t dare to actually face the God Trapping Array.

Back in the day, when Tan You had led the Great Demons on campaigns to rescue enslaved demon beasts, Shi Miao had been away on a training expedition when they reached her sect. As a result, she had never personally experienced the power of the God Trapping Array.

But she had friends among the cultivators, and she had taken their descriptions of it to heart. Besides, she was the one who had come here seeking them out; she was clearly in the wrong. After suppressing her violent impulses, Shi Miao adopted a more conciliatory tone. "My only purpose in coming here today was to find a half-demon who was accidentally lost from my household. If you have seen him, Snake King, I implore you to return him to me. I am willing to pay a high price to buy him back."

Peacock fanned himself. "You claim he’s your half-demon, so you two must be quite familiar. Why don’t you call out to him? See if he answers you. We are very reasonable here in the Demon Market; we would never force anyone to stay."

Shi Miao was so angry her heart clenched. One look at the flamboyantly dressed Peacock, and she immediately connected him to the Great Demon who had taken Qing Ming. ’How dare he stand here and lie to my face?’

’As if he doesn’t know perfectly well that he’s the one who brought Qing Ming here!’

Old Niu gave a simple, honest smile. "Cultivator, Peacock has a point. If you claim he’s your half-demon, then show us some proof. Demanding we hand someone over based on nothing but your word isn’t how things are done, no matter where you go."

Cornered, Shi Miao felt the blood rush to her head. She focused, calmed her energy, and activated a bloodline-sensing art. She had never used it on Qing Ming before, but she was no stranger to the technique. After all, she had a son and a daughter.

But even after pushing the bloodline sense to its absolute limit, she couldn’t detect the faintest trace of Qing Ming’s presence. It was as if the half-demon had vanished completely from the face of the earth.

Shi Miao snapped her head up, her eyes fixed on Tan You. "Bloodline stripping? Did Qing Ming strip away his Human Clan bloodline?"

Tan You smiled. "There are countless Qingming snakes in the Ten-Direction Mountain. Which one are you referring to, Fellow Daoist?"

Shi Miao could no longer contain her fury. With a sharp SHING, she drew her sword. "Stop playing dumb with me! You’re overstepping your bounds, Snake King! How dare you meddle in my private affairs? If you don’t hand over that Qingming snake today, don’t blame me for razing this Demon Market to the ground!"

The smile on Tan You’s face widened. "Private affairs? I’ve heard that Fellow Daoist Shi Miao has a son and a daughter, but I’ve never heard anything about a half-demon. So tell me, where did this half-demon come from?"

"And another thing, do any odd riffraff think they can come knocking on my door now? Raze the Demon Market? A toad yawning—all hot air."

Shi Miao’s face contorted in a snarl. "Are you comparing me to a toad? You’ve gone too far!"

Before her words faded, she slashed her sword downward. But no matter how fast her Sword Qi was, it couldn’t match the speed at which Tan You activated the array. Shi Miao’s Sword Qi never even escaped the perimeter before she herself was completely enveloped by the God Trapping Array.

A moment later, several bolts of Heavenly Thunder came crashing down. Peacock covered his mouth with his feather fan, his expression one of pure schadenfreude. "How nostalgic. It must’ve been hundreds of years since I last saw the God Trapping Array in action."

Old Niu laughed as well. "Indeed. How long do you think she’ll last?"

"An incense stick’s time, at most," a high-spirited youth with deer antlers chimed in. "Even those old bastards from the Tianyuan Sect at the Ascension Stage only lasted three incense sticks. She’s just at the Body Integration Realm..."

"It’s only because she follows the Killing Sword Dao that her combat prowess is slightly higher than other cultivators at her level."

The deer-antlered youth sneered. "The reek of blood on her is so strong I can smell it from here. Forget Jin Huan—even I want to punch her."

Bai Ze teased, "But you’re a Nine-Colored Deer, one of the most peaceful of all demon beasts. And even *you* feel like fighting?"

The deer-antlered youth replied, "Even the most peaceful temperament has its limits when faced with someone so bloodthirsty. Do you think we’ll need to get involved?"

Old Niu looked eager. "I’m ready."

Peacock, who loved nothing more than watching a good show, chimed in, "I’m game, too. It’s been a while since I’ve fought a cultivator. If we actually kill her, would that count as... delivering heavenly justice? It’s so unfair. How did someone like her even manage to cultivate all the way to the Body Integration Realm?"

"It’s no use. She’ll never be able to ascend," Tan You said, her hands clasped behind her back. "She has a Heart Demon."

"A Heart Demon?" Peacock’s fanning hand froze for a moment, then he broke into a laugh. "Now that’s a good trick. Your array can actually draw out a Heart Demon? How come we didn’t get to see that last time?"

Tan You glanced at Peacock. "It’s a recent modification I worked out. It couldn’t do that before."

She had only learned the God Trapping Array by covertly studying the God of Light. As for the current version that could induce a Heart Demon, that was something she had learned from the ancestral memories of the Golden Ring Snake. Tan You wasn’t lying about that part.

Peacock grudgingly accepted the explanation. "Good thing we demon beasts don’t have to deal with Heart Demon tribulations. Once our cultivation is sufficient, we just have to face a slightly harder tribulation, and that’s it."

Bai Ze corrected him, "It’s not ’slightly’ harder. It’s much harder. And she’s almost at her limit."

Old Niu was completely unsympathetic. "Good. She should have known her own limits before shamelessly threatening to raze the Demon Market. We haven’t even had to lift a finger, and already Jin Huan’s array has her completely suppressed."