I Became the Alchemy Master by Picking Up Trash-Chapter 230 - 228: The Invisible Monster

Li Xing’s aura contracted around her, reverting to a gentle, harmless appearance as she calmly put away the Heavenly Wolf Saber.

Only then did Cui Tianxiao dare to speak to Li Xing.

"Ah Xing, don’t hide it from us. What did you actually see?"

Cui Tianxiao was perceptive, not foolish. Li Xing had definitely seen something. But given how close he and Qingtian were to Chu God, if there really was something around Chu God, with their alertness, they wouldn’t have missed it. Li Xing’s reaction was truly puzzling.

Ye Qingting also said, "Yes, Ah Xing, just tell us what’s going on, we’ll share the burden together."

Chu Yunyi didn’t speak, staring steadily at Li Xing. The latter gave a small smile, full of apology, and said:

"There’s nothing, if you don’t believe me, at least you should believe in Brother Chu’s spiritual power? It must be that I stayed underwater too long and the pressure and lack of oxygen caused hallucinations. I misjudged. Brother Chu, sorry I nearly injured you just now!"

Hearing Li Xing say this, Ye Qingting and Cui Tianxiao immediately felt pained. Ah Xing, no matter how strong, was still a girl. She never complained about hardship, but her body didn’t lie, and there was always a breaking point. Now, she was seeing things! It was all their fault for being too weak to help.

"Ah Xing, do you want to lie down for a bit? I’ll take off my clothes and make a cushion for you!"

Ye Qingting wanted to find something to help Li Xing replenish her strength, but after rummaging through his spatial button, there was nothing edible. Remembering that all the food on this journey was provided by Li Xing, Ye Qingting felt even more guilty.

"Ah Xing, wait, I’ll catch a Star Beast and grill it for you to eat!"

Li Xing stopped him, saying calmly, "I’m fine now, no need to rest, and I’m not hungry. We should leave soon, otherwise when the sand worms wake up, we’ll be in trouble."

Chu Yunyi nodded, "You’re right, wait a moment while I check the remaining passages."

"Brother Chu, I’ll come with you."

"Alright."

The two of them walked towards the edge of the cave. Cui Tianxiao, with his hands in his pockets, followed closely behind them, only to be pulled back by Ye Qingting, who asked in a low voice:

"Where are you going!"

"I’m going with Ah Xing! She’s very tired, if there’s danger, I can protect her."

"Ah Xing is with Cousin, what danger could there be?"

True.

Cui Tianxiao scratched his head, looking at Li Xing and Chu Yunyi, who had already walked far away, then at Ye Qingting, whose expression was a bit conspicuous, as if understanding something, his tone turned teasing:

"Qingtian, you can’t be believing those online gossip posts, really thinking there’s something between Xing and Chu God, afraid I’ll go and be a third wheel, right?"

Ye Qingting was taken aback, "Wh-when did I!"

Cui Tianxiao snorted, continuing, "Our Xing has such a terrifyingly disciplined life, going back and forth between school and her shop, if she’s not practicing martial arts, she’s engaged in Alchemy and Medicine, and any spare time she has is spent on Big Mouth. Do you think with a lifestyle like that, Xing could easily fall in love?"

Ye Qingting had nothing to say.

Before today, he had also dismissed the online posts, but the strange thing was Chu Yunyi’s attitude towards Li Xing.

Ye Qingting knew his cousin too well. He appeared amiable, but was actually distant and aloof. Except for a few close family members and childhood friends, no one could get close to him.

But during their time trapped in the underground passage, Ye Qingting was surprised to find that Chu Yunyi showed a clear favoritism towards Li Xing.

For instance, he would subtly manipulate the airflow to reduce resistance for her, causing gentle winds to keep her comfortable, and when Li Xing was tired and needed to sit, he would thoughtfully brush away the dust with the wind...

Li Xing, unaware of it all, didn’t notice, but Ye Qingting did. Recalling the online post, Ye Qingting thought this might not be a baseless suspicion. Li Xing might be oblivious, but his cousin wasn’t without intention.

Li Xing and his cousin were the people Ye Qingting was closest to, so naturally, he hoped the two could become a couple. Thus, when Li Xing suggested going with Chu Yunyi, he felt a bit happy and instinctively stopped Cui Tianxiao.

Blocked by Qingtian, Cui Tianxiao lost interest in following them, pouting as he sat by the shore, skipping stones angrily, grumbling to himself.

"Those online posts dare to write anything, the Heavenly Court CP is way more popular than the Star-Cloud CP. Since you believe it, I’ll avoid suspicion and keep my distance!"

Seeing his brother upset, Ye Qingting realized his earlier actions were inappropriate, but was too embarrassed to apologize directly to Cui Tianxiao, so he wandered off, picking up flat stones to keep for Cui Tianxiao to throw.

Meanwhile, Chu Yunyi and Li Xing had already walked further away, and Chu Yunyi asked Li Xing in a lowered voice, "Ah Xing, what was that just now?"

Li Xing could fool Cui Tianxiao and Ye Qingting, but Chu Yunyi knew her spiritual power matched his, so there was no chance she’d missee something.

"I didn’t see it clearly. The thing was translucent, and if not for its tentacles moving, causing slight refraction, I might have missed it."

Chu Yunyi frowned. Tentacles? So the attacker wasn’t human?

"Could it be some kind of Star Beast?"

"Maybe. Did you feel anything strange just now?"

Chu Yunyi recalled carefully and hesitated, "If there’s anything strange, I felt a sudden exhaustion for a moment."

This feeling was so brief that Chu Yunyi figured it must have been a sense of relief after seeing Li Xing return safely, dismissing it as an illusion.

"Brother Chu, have you ever crossed paths with the followers of the Cult of Zhuxian?"

Chu Yunyi lowered his gaze, his thick eyelashes concealing the turbulent emotions in his eyes.

"The Cult of Zhuxian is a heretical group condemned across Qianyuan Continent. No one would publicly declare themselves a follower in public to risk condemnation. I never quarrel with others, so even if there were such a person, I wouldn’t know they belong to a cult."

Li Xing nodded; they were in the open, while the Cult of Zhuxian remained hidden. They must remain vigilant. Even if Chu Yunyi wished to keep a low profile, the cult might target him, either to eliminate a threat or to recruit him.

"Ah Xing, why do you ask? Do you think the thing that attacked me is related to the Cult of Zhuxian?"

"I just have my suspicions. That thing exudes a strange aura similar to the cult. Either way, we must stay cautious. It may attempt to target you again. While we’re underground, don’t act alone. Stick with me."

"Okay."

Li Xing finally remembered where she had encountered the translucent creature’s aura before—the three-eyed mutant cicada that emerged from Jiang Junnan’s body!

The aura on the cicada wasn’t even a fraction of the translucent creature’s, but they were very similar. Thus, it was highly likely that the group attacking Chu Yunyi was the Cult of Zhuxian.

However, the matter of the three-eyed mutant cicada was something only she and Yang Zhou knew. Li Xing couldn’t share it with Chu Yunyi, so she covered it up with evasive words.

If the translucent creature shared its origins with the three-eyed mutant cicada, only Divine Sense could reveal its true form. To prevent it from targeting Chu Yunyi again, Li Xing had no choice but to act as his personal bodyguard.