Go and capture those thirty-six fierce villains.

The young man in the Taoist robe did not respond.

As the ferocious Taotie drew ever closer, exuding an overwhelming sense of oppression, Qin Ning's heart pounded wildly, and his fingertips trembled slightly under the influence of adrenaline.

Even so, he subconsciously bit his tongue, spitting a mouthful of blood onto the peach wood sword in his hand.

His movements were so practiced that it was as if he had been a Taoist priest for decades.

Clearly, the ordination ceremony just now was more powerful than he had imagined.

"Peach wood sword and palm lightning—these are the only two attack methods I have right now. Can they really handle this thing?"

Staring at the approaching ferocious creature, he doubted himself, and finally gritted his teeth.

He turned and ran!

Just kidding. Taotie... one of the Four Fiends. With the meager skills he currently possesses, let alone fighting, he probably couldn't even trim the opponent's nails.

Boom!

After taking a few steps, Qin Ning, who was trying to return to the main hall, bumped into an invisible wall of air at the side door.

Two hammer blows yielded no results...

"You..." He had barely uttered a single word when the dark shadow behind him pressed down.

"Since he pushed me in, he must think I can subdue this ferocious beast; after all, I was chosen by the Dao, he wouldn't just watch me die; this Taotie looks fierce, but is it just a showpiece?"

In a flash, several thoughts popped into Qin Ning's mind!

If you can't avoid it, then fight it!

Lightning Mage! Turn around! Strike!

His movements were fluid and graceful, like an old Taoist priest who had been exorcising demons for many years!

Then, unsurprisingly, his left hand, which was unleashing the Palm Lightning, was grabbed by the Gluttonous Claw...

Sizzle—Bang!

A few streaks of lightning leaked through the gaps in the claws, briefly illuminating the backyard, but it quickly returned to darkness.

Whether it was a misperception or not, Qin Ning seemed to see a hint of mockery on Taotie's face.

"..."

With his left hand controlled, Qin Ning lost the option to dodge. After a slight hesitation, the peach wood sword, stained with the blood from his tongue, drew a graceful arc in mid-air and stabbed heavily into the Taotie's eye under its armpit.

Ding!

After the brief collision, the veins on Qin Ning's right hand bulged, and a deep sense of horror flashed in his eyes.

In that instant, he felt as if his entire right arm had been struck by a heavy hammer, and the peach wood sword was nearly knocked out of his hand.

"This monster is incomplete... Is this thing really something I can handle?!"

A sense of foreboding rose from the bottom of his heart, and what followed was the ferocious Taotie's giant claws shooting out like lightning, which firmly restrained Qin Ning's right hand along with the peach wood sword.

Its upper body was stretched out like a towel, and the gluttonous human face peered down, its mouth rapidly widening, and a strong smell of blood wafted over.

"Lord Dao!"

"If we don't act now, we're doomed!"

Qin Ning turned his head and shouted, his temples throbbing.

But... no one responded.

"...Are you serious? You're really going to watch?!" Qin Ning's heart sank.

He called out again, but still no one responded.

Qin Ning panicked completely.

As the tiger's teeth, reeking of blood, drew closer, Qin Ning could even count how many teeth the other had.

If he's still in the mood.

Subconsciously tilting his head and closing his eyes, Qin Ning's mutilated left hand was still trying to cast lightning magic.

He didn't want to die so inexplicably.

However, given the disparity in strength, Qin Ning's resistance was as laughable as a mantis trying to stop a chariot, utterly ineffective.

"My life is over!"

Qin Ning's heart sank to the bottom...

One breath...

Two breaths...

The expected biting and pain did not come. Instead, Qin Ning felt her face was wet. When she opened her eyes, she saw that the Taotie was frozen in place, maintaining its biting momentum.

The black cat with heterochromia appeared on his shoulder at some point.

She was sticking out her little pink tongue, gently licking his cheek again and again.

Meow~

Upon seeing Qin Ning open her eyes, the black cat took the initiative to come forward and rub against her, as if it were catnip.

"Hahaha, were you scared?"

The Dao Lord appeared above the motionless Taotie, a gloating expression on his face.

Qin Ning was silent for a moment: "Your ass and the eyes of a gluttonous beast overlap."

Dao Lord: "..."

The air was still for a few seconds.

The Dao Master's expression remained unchanged as he leaned closer to Qin Ning's face, his tone serious and earnest.

"You think I'm playing a prank? You think I'm messing with you? Remember this!"

"Once you leave this Taoist temple, if you die, then you are truly dead."

Qin Ning was taken aback; this was the first time the other party had been so serious since he appeared.

He was about to say something.

The Taoist-robed youth suddenly floated backward: "Hahaha, you're really easy to fool."

"..."

"Alright, let's get down to business."

Before the Dao Lord finished speaking, the Taotie's body transformed into specks of light, all of which drifted towards Qin Ning's brow.

The booklet in my mind's eye, the third to last page, quietly loosened.

Suddenly losing external force, Qin Ning fell to the ground. The black cat on his shoulder was nimble; it leaped down and then rubbed against his thigh.

They seem determined to get their fill of it.

Having no time to deal with the black cat, Qin Ning's mind stirred, and the [Great Evil Talisman] appeared in his hand. He turned to the third to last page and saw a Taotie image embedded in it, surrounded by gray and white, with only the heart part being bright.

As my fingertips traced the engraving, I felt a sudden connection in my heart.

[Supernatural Power: Greed]

It can transform everything absorbed into the body into power to strengthen the physical body.

"I only have the heart of a gluttonous beast left. Be careful when you use that divine power, don't burst yourself." The young man paused, seemingly noticing Qin Ning's confusion, and then said, "That's right. Every time you subdue a ferocious beast, besides improving your cultivation, you might also improve your physical attributes or master some innate divine abilities. This is the inherent wonder of the [Great Ferocious Talisman]."

Qin Ning stood up, temporarily ignoring the black cat that was sucking her blood until she cramped up, her tone hesitant.

"Ahem, that's not what I wanted to ask..." He waved the book in his hand. "I wanted to ask why your 'Thirty-Six Great Curses' has seventy-two pages?"

Qin Ning hadn't looked at it carefully before because he was in too much of a hurry, and he only just realized that the page number and the name didn't match.

The young Dao Master was clearly taken aback.

I never expected Qin Ning to have such a strange focus.

"Oh, I forgot I didn't change the name." He looked somewhat disgusted.

"You're too weak. The first thirty-six blank pages were added by me later, for you to practice and advance. Once you advance to the fifth rank of the Daoist sect, you can try to deal with the ferocious beasts on the blank pages."

Can you do this?

Qin Ning stared at the booklet in his hand, his expression inscrutable, feeling that the Dao Master in front of him was somewhat unreliable.

After a moment of silence, he raised his missing left hand: "What about my little finger?"

The boy reached out and grabbed the little black cat that was still rubbing against Qin Ning's trouser leg, which floated to his front.

"It became the betrothal gift for this raccoon dog."

"Once you advance to the fifth rank, your finger will naturally grow back." As he spoke, he noticed Qin Ning's strange expression and suddenly leaned closer: "A pinky finger for this cat, you've hit the jackpot! Her parents were my servants when they were alive, back then... never mind, why tell you this? I've given you everything I could, you can go now."

After the boy finished speaking, he disappeared.

The heterochromatic-eyed black cat, which had been floating in mid-air, slowly landed. After looking around, it obediently ran to Qin Ning's feet and squatted down like a miniature stone lion, head held high and chest puffed out.

Qin Ning was stunned when the other person disappeared without a trace. Wait, he still had so many questions to ask!

Is it really that hasty?

He looked at his left hand, which was neither painful nor itchy, but was missing, and then at the black cat at his feet. He was silent for a moment, then bent down, picked up the black cat from the ground, and placed it on his shoulder.

He'd better keep it safe, since he traded it for a finger.

Seeing that the other party was about to "suck" her in again, Qin Ning said softly:

"Be careful."

Meow~

The kitten's meow was tinged with reluctance, but it still obediently turned itself around.

Turning back to the main hall, it was empty; the young Daoist Master was nowhere to be seen, only the broken statue behind the offering table remained.

The wooden statue was mostly decayed, with only one hand and one foot remaining. Its face was also blurred and indistinct, but the remaining corner of its mouth bore a resemblance to the gloating expression of the Taoist-robed youth.

Qin Ning remained silent for a moment, then walked to the offering table. There were no incense or candles, so he bowed three times. The little black cat on his shoulder followed suit, and somehow managed to keep its balance and not fall off.

"I was going to ask you why you didn't personally subdue those ferocious beasts, but now I realize I was being foolish."

The Taoist-robed youth suddenly appeared on the offering table, startling Qin Ning.

"Yes, I'm dead. I only have a few fragments of consciousness left, otherwise, why would a mere monster need to go through all this trouble?"

"Ah! I long to eat Kyoto's candied hawthorns again, see the pear blossoms of Cangshan Mountain again, hear the tides of the Duanhe River again, and..."

The boy looked dejected, remained silent for a long while, and then whispered:

"When you're dead, you're truly dead... Remember that."

Qin Ning opened his mouth, wanting to comfort him, but a tremendous force swept over him, pulling him away from the palace without any chance of resistance.

"Go away, don't laugh at me like that. By the way, there's a surprise waiting for you outside!"

Accompanied by that slightly disdainful voice, Qin Ning flew over the front yard.

"Will I ever see you again?" Qin Ning shouted from the air.

"Wait until you advance to the seventh rank."

The boy's voice rang in my ears.

At the same time, Qin Ning crashed into the dilapidated temple gate that he had been unable to open before and disappeared.

A moment later, the boy's illusory figure quietly appeared by the door, stared blankly at the door for a few seconds, then sighed heavily at the empty spirit official's offering table beside him.

......

A flower in front of you.

The musty smell disappeared, and a scent of grass mixed with soil filled Qin Ning's nose and mouth. The long-awaited sunlight made him squint, and the little black cat climbed onto his head, acting as a sunshade.

In the blink of an eye, the man and the cat were transported to this vast grassland. Looking around, they found it completely empty.

There was no trace of the Taoist temple or the boy left.

"These are methods I can't understand... But the surprise you're talking about can't be leaving me in my pajamas on a deserted grassland, can it?!"

A cool breeze swept by, and Qin Ning subconsciously tightened her thin pajamas, her expression quite interesting.

He carefully surveyed the surrounding area.

"The grass is greenish-yellow, so it must be August or September? Places like this usually have extreme temperature differences between day and night. Even now, with the sun high in the sky, it's still a bit chilly; it'll probably get even colder at night." Qin Ning frowned slightly, assessing his situation. "This should be the Northern Desert Grassland mentioned in the ordination information? I just don't know if it borders Great Xia or Great Ling..."

Cough—cough.

A growl from his stomach interrupted his thoughts. After a night and half a day of tossing and turning, Qin Ning was a little hungry.

"...We need to solve the problem of accommodation and food as soon as possible. Hopefully, we're not too far from any populated areas..." Qin Ning looked at the vast grassland, not feeling very confident.

"I wonder if there are any rabbits on this grassland, or even groundhogs. By the way, Tanuki, can you catch groundhogs?"

"Meow?"

The black cat on its head looked puzzled.

"Never mind, let's keep going and see if there are any wild animals we can eat."

Using the sun to determine his location, a young man in pajamas with a black cat on his head began to wander across the grassland in a bizarre manner.

Not far away, Qin Ning looked puzzled and took out a cracked Bagua plate from his pocket.

It was piping hot and glistening.

"...So, this is the surprise you were talking about?" Qin Ning narrowed his eyes and reached out to touch the peach wood sword.

According to my memory from the time of the ordination, this object was glowing and hot, indicating that there was a malevolent entity within a mile radius. White light indicated an entity of rank below the fifth grade, while black light indicated an entity of rank five or higher.

"...Since you prepared this on your own initiative, this time, it should be a ferocious beast that I can handle."

A cold wind blew by, and Qin Ning, his body tense and gripping the peach wood sword, had fine beads of sweat on his nose as he carefully looked around.

The little black cat also switched from its "sun hat" form to its battle form, quietly landing in the grass, its ten little paws popping out from its pink paw pads.

It would be a lie to say I wasn't nervous.

But everyone has to go through it the first time.

Qin Ning silently cheered herself up, then suddenly rolled to the side. When she got up again, her eyes were calm, and a few drops of crimson blood slid down her cheeks.

The "surprise" is here!