Chapter 50 — TVF Chapter 50

Metaphysics Master (7)  Given his cheap daughter’s current physical condition, even if her soul were summoned back… let’s generously assume the demonized Jin Yuansheng possessed the ability to perfectly return her soul to her body—his cheap daughter still wouldn’t wake up.

It was like a computer with a broken motherboard. Even if the CPU was perfectly fine, the machine still wouldn’t boot.

Qin Jingzhou raised his hand and lightly tapped the pocket holding his daughter a few times. The daughter who had been scratching at the pocket like a little cat dissatisfied with being shut in instantly quieted down.

He went to the garage to get his car, then drove off, following the locator he had planted on Jin Yuansheng.

Even after demonization, Jin Yuansheng was still a law-abiding good citizen at heart. He was casting spells right in his own home, summoning the soul of his obsession from his previous life—his biological younger sister.

Qin Jingzhou soon arrived outside the residential complex where his cheap son lived and found the security surprisingly diligent. With no better option, he parked the car and flew in…

Only after reaching the Core Formation stage could one truly fly independently by relying on one’s own power. However, with the right techniques, even a Foundation Establishment cultivator could achieve limited low-altitude hovering for a short time.

Qin Jingzhou deliberately presented himself as Foundation Establishment. Even if someone noticed afterward, he wasn’t afraid of being investigated.

After asking Mother Jin, Qin Jingzhou learned his cheap son’s exact address. Following the locator, he soon appeared outside the window of the apartment.

He punched forward, precisely destroying the window lock, yanked the window open, and stepped into the living room. It looked like he was walking, but in reality, his feet never touched the ground.

The system watched with high spirits as its host bypassed all surveillance, broke the window, and entered the living room. The most outrageous part was that he hadn’t made a single sound the entire time. “Zhou-ge, why are you so skilled at this?!” “Practice makes perfect,” Qin Jingzhou replied, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly, as he kicked open his cheap son’s study door. As expected, blood covered the floor, and his cheap daughter’s body lay in the center of a formation drawn entirely in blood… a sight that would probably make most people faint.

With insufficient cultivation but needing to summon a soul, one had to use spell materials of some value. Demonized Jin Yuansheng would rather harm himself to save his sister—Qin Jingzhou was honestly a little moved by that devotion.

Jin Yuansheng’s eyes were bloodshot, strands of demonic qi coiling behind him. Blood continued to seep from the wounds on both wrists. “You… who are you?”

Before the words had even settled, he took a kick from Qin Jingzhou and fell flat on his back.

The system gloated. “Not recognizing your own dad now, huh? Just like I said—if you don’t beat him, he won’t behave.”

Qin Jingzhou first stopped the bleeding for his cheap son, then placed a hand on his forehead to check. Hm? Two souls?

The reincarnations he’d seen recently all involved extra memories—the soul itself was still the same. But Jin Yuansheng’s situation was different: his soul from a previous life had crossed over entirely… which was quite rare.

Because there were two souls, the demonized soul had no memories belonging to the original soul. That was why demonized Jin Yuansheng didn’t recognize this suddenly-appearing biological father.

Qin Jingzhou released his daughter from his pocket, explained the current situation to her, then snapped his fingers. A cleansing spell fell, and in less than ten seconds, all the bloodstains vanished—along with every trace of smell.

Jin Ziyun floated above her brother’s head, anxious. “Dad, then what do we do?!”

Qin Jingzhou tore off a bedsheet and wrapped up his daughter’s body. “We don’t do anything special. You get an extra brother who dotes on you. I get an extra punching bag.”

Jin Ziyun: …

In the end, Qin Jingzhou slung his daughter over one shoulder, grabbed his son, and flew out the way he came.

When he reached the residential complex wall, the son in his hand woke up—this time it was the non-demonized one. He opened his eyes, rolled them back, and passed out again.

Jin Ziyun whispered, “Dad, my brother’s afraid of heights.” After saying it, she felt a little embarrassed herself. Not just for her brother—she was a total rookie too!

Their father really hadn’t raised them. But ever since she’d glimpsed just the tip of her father’s strength, she couldn’t help but reflect: with the level of talent she and her brother had, maybe they’d have been better off knowing nothing and living as ordinary people. It was just that fate hadn’t let them go.

Qin Jingzhou stuffed the two heavy “packages” into the car, took the driver’s seat, and only then said, “Your brother who crossed over recently carries demonic qi. It can’t be concealed. At the latest by tomorrow, someone will come knocking.”

Jin Ziyun cried out softly, “Ah!”

Qin Jingzhou started the car as if it were nothing. “Don’t worry. I may not have raised you, but I still have the ability to let you live freely.”

Jin Ziyun dove straight into her father’s pocket and went silent.

Qin Jingzhou drove home, then contacted Mother Jin, telling her both children were with him and there was no need to worry.

As soon as he finished speaking, he heard a very reluctant “Alright then” from the other end.

Even without seeing what was happening over there, he could guess most of it. So he said frankly, “If fellow cultivators have any questions, they’re welcome to come by and ask. I run an open business—I’ll answer anything I know, as long as the money’s right.”

Sure enough, someone else took over the call.

The other party introduced themselves first. They and their colleague were on official duty: one from the Special Talents Affairs Department, the other from the Ancient Martial Association.

The Special Talents Affairs Department, as the name implied, managed cultivators in Huaguo. The Ancient Martial Association was essentially the official cultivators’ association.

The Taixu Sect that Chao Lan came from claimed to be Huaguo’s number one sect. In reality, the true number one sect had always been the authorities themselves—much like how, in feudal times, the imperial family was always the greatest clan under heaven.

Qin Jingzhou listened patiently, then asked, “So?”

“My colleague and I would like to visit in person. May we ask if Mr. Zuo is available?”

Qin Jingzhou agreed readily. “You can come.”

He put down his phone. Jin Ziyun, who had just cried, asked him, “Dad, is it really okay for me to be like this?”

Qin Jingzhou smiled and shook his head. “Of course it’s okay.”

Seeing her father’s smile, Jin Ziyun finally felt at ease. “Oh.”

…

With one son and one daughter settled—each stuffed into a guest room and given some spiritual liquid—the two officials arrived right on time.

The two officials were surnamed Zhang and Zhao. Once seated, they got straight to the point.

They weren’t particularly surprised by Qin Jingzhou, a suddenly-appearing Foundation Establishment cultivator. Huaguo was vast, with a long history. Inherited lineages, accidental legacies, people who quietly learned and cultivated while lying low for years—old foxes hiding in the shadows—they’d seen plenty.

Even the two of them had their own fortuitous encounters and secrets that allowed them to reach their current cultivation levels. Putting themselves in others’ shoes, they didn’t pry.

They had spoken with Mother Jin and then immediately sought out Qin Jingzhou for one reason only: demonic qi.

This world was somewhat special. The vast majority of cultivators who practiced demonic-path techniques never actually produced demonic qi. Anyone who naturally manifested demonic qi was without exception a person of extraordinary talent.

Although cultivators in this world also acknowledged that demonic qi, like spiritual qi, was a form of cultivation energy—and could even be converted between the two—the key issue was that Huaguo cultivators with talent were generally “intolerant” to demonic qi. In other words, demonic qi didn’t affect ordinary people, but it would cause most people with cultivation talent to become demonized, body and even spiritual roots included.

Fortunately, demonized “victims” rarely infected others. However, their temperaments often changed drastically, and their power usually increased to some degree. After turning their hands against friends and family, they often went on to commit several major crimes…

And demonization was extremely difficult to treat—often equivalent to a terminal illness for cultivators. As a result, the moment someone capable of releasing demonic qi appeared, the entire cultivation world went on high alert.

After explaining the situation, the two officials finally stated their purpose: according to last night’s surveillance footage, Jin Yuansheng had deliberately released demonic qi, contaminating Chao Lan, Su Weiwei, and Gu Yu, then openly taken his sister Jin Ziyun away. They now hoped Qin Jingzhou would hand over both children to them.

Qin Jingzhou felt a sudden clarity: so the task in this world was for him to protect his two children.

Earlier, when he’d tossed his cheap son into the guest room, he’d discovered a small demonic core beside the child’s dantian.

A demonic core—true to its name—was an “organ” that converted spiritual qi into demonic qi.

Qin Jingzhou muttered to his system, “Jin Yuansheng’s demonic core is already low-grade. Its output and efficiency are both terrible. In the world I cultivated in, demonic cores were only considered lower-mid tier among demonic cultivator talents.” Above that were superior talents and heaven-defying talents.

In other words—“this kind of talent doesn’t even deserve a second glance.”

The system asked cautiously, “Zhou-ge, what level is your talent?” Qin Jingzhou was curious too. “Didn’t you know my talent when you bound to me?” The system fell silent for a moment, then chose honesty. “My description says Five Spiritual Roots, but the main system said you’re the best host I could ever encounter.” Qin Jingzhou burst out laughing. “I am Five Spiritual Roots. But each of the five is a Heavenly Spiritual Root.” System: …silenced by sheer casual superiority…

Qin Jingzhou let the system go sulk and turned back to the two officials with a faint smile. “No.” Then he released the Core Formation aura he had simulated.

Though the aura flashed only briefly, Mr. Zhang and Mr. Zhao were utterly shaken, as if nailed to the spot, unable to speak for a long while.

Seeing their upright auras, Qin Jingzhou was willing to be patient. “Don’t rush to persuade me yet. Come take a look.”

With that, he headed toward the west guest room.

The two exchanged a glance and followed in perfect unison—when a Core Formation senior was in front of you, it wasn’t your place to say “no.” Even if it came to conflict, it certainly wouldn’t be now, and definitely not with just the two of them.

They first followed Senior Zuo to see Jin Ziyun, who was still recovering.

At a glance, they could tell Jin Ziyun’s soul was tucked into the senior’s pocket, and her body was rapidly healing thanks to wood-element spiritual qi.

Next came Jin Yuansheng, who was also unconscious.

Following the senior’s instructions, they extended their divine sense into Jin Yuansheng’s dantian and indeed “saw” a demonic core wreathed in demonic qi beside it. As they lamented Jin Yuansheng’s ill-timed birth, the demonic qi swirling around the core suddenly lunged forward, wrapping around their divine senses.

They were shocked and immediately cut off that strand of divine sense—but the speed of the demonic qi’s infection far exceeded their expectations. They watched helplessly as strands of demonic qi drilled straight into their sea of consciousness.

Just as fear and anger rose—and before they could say anything—they saw lightning flash brilliantly at Senior Zuo’s fingertips.

Everything went white. When they regained their senses, the demonic qi in their seas of consciousness had vanished without a trace.

At the same time, they smelled burnt hair.

Both men raised their hands to rub their heads. There was a faint burning sensation on their scalps. Looking at their hands—they were covered in ash.

The two were ecstatic. “Senior! You can treat demonization caused by demonic qi!”

Qin Jingzhou nodded. “Burning it away with lightning works, but the cost is high. The best method is still to resolve it with merit.”

…

At the same time, Chao Lan had awakened. Looking at his reflection—his irises blood-red—he smiled. “So this is the legendary demonic eye… strengthened by blood?”

He blinked, and his eyes in the mirror gradually returned to deep brown. “So there really is a better way to help Weiwei.”