When the Cannon Fodder Male Supporting Role Picks Up the Script - Chapter 42

The demonic beast is dead, and extracting its demon core is no difficult task. Ji Ruo, panting heavily, drags a bag full of demon cores back. Even without having to fight the beasts himself, digging out over a dozen cores in a row is still hard work.

The self-esteem of the proud young master of the Demon Palace takes another hit, and half of his fear toward Yun Zhuoran turns into resentment.

He silently curses this miser in his heart. He didn’t even leave me a single monster pill! Is he planning to sell them or something?

Just as Ji Ruo is speculating, Yun Zhuoran picks out one demon core and hands it to the inner demon.

The inner demon swallows it in one gulp.

Ji Ruo is left dumbfounded.

The heart demon isn’t satisfied and inches toward the storage pouch in Yun Zhuoran’s hand. Yun Zhuoran doesn’t let it eat too much. He gives it another smaller core as a snack before putting the storage pouch away. Seemingly in a good mood, he raises a hand and pats Ji Ruo on the shoulder, saying flatly, “Good work.”

Ji Ruo pouts and hums in response.

A streak of golden-red light silently flows from Yun Zhuoran’s palm into Ji Ruo’s shoulder, though he doesn’t notice. Seeing Yun Zhuoran about to leave, Ji Ruo quickly follows, his eyes shining.

“Are we going to find Ji Wuwang now?”

Yun Zhuoran ignores him, but Ji Ruo knows full well that, with his own abilities, he can’t make it out of the Ten Thousand Beasts Forest alive. He dares not make a fuss.

Along the way, Yun Zhuoran clears the path, while Ji Ruo obediently collects demon cores, not daring to pocket even one.

By the time they leave the mountain range, no demonic beasts dare to cross their path. They encounter no other people, either. During the beast tide outbreak, most cultivators don’t dare venture into the deeper, more dangerous parts of the forest.

As they move outward, the demonic beasts they encounter become lower in level. It takes them two days to leave the forest’s central region.

With little to do, Ji Ruo seriously counts the demon cores they’ve collected along the way and finds that they’ve surpassed one hundred. Most of the beasts are of the third or fourth rank. Although low in value individually, the accumulation could be exchanged for quite a few spirit stones. However, to Yun Zhuoran, these cores are nothing more than snacks for the heart demon.

Watching the heart demon crunch away at the demon cores for days, Ji Ruo’s reverence for Yun Zhuoran grows, overshadowing the resentment he’d initially felt. Yun Zhuoran and his heart demon are overwhelmingly powerful—to them, killing someone like Ji Ruo is as effortless as crushing an ant.

Realizing this, Ji Ruo no longer dares to secretly complain about Yun Zhuoran’s stinginess, even in private.

On the fourth day of the new barrier sealing the Ten Thousand Beasts Forest, the sky remains dark and heavy.

When they near the forest’s outer perimeter, Yun Zhuoran senses someone several hundred miles away. This is the first time in days that he’s detected living cultivators.

Taking Ji Ruo along, Yun Zhuoran heads in their direction and arrives just as a group of cultivators is battling a fifth-rank giant serpent.

Under a waterfall, the sound of rushing water is deafening, occasionally punctuated by thunderous booms that echo across the water’s surface. Yun Zhuoran suddenly feels a sense of déjà vu. When he looks closely, he recognizes Li Jianming among the cultivators from various sects surrounding the serpent. On the other side, someone is climbing the cliff wall, moving against the waterfall’s current. About thirty meters up, the figure stretches out a hand, desperately reaching for a red spiritual plant growing nearby.

When Ji Ruo sees Li Jianming, he immediately bristles with anger.

“That’s the fake Yun Zhuoran who killed the Illusion Demon!”

Yun Zhuoran quietly tilts his head to look at him.

Ji Ruo, now instinctively afraid of him, immediately shuts his mouth. Under Yun Zhuoran’s cold gaze, Ji Ruo stiffens, then suddenly realizes something. “The Illusion Demon… was eaten too!?”

Ji Ruo looks at the heart demon perched on Yun Zhuoran’s shoulder, at a loss for words.

Yun Zhuoran offers no explanation.

At this moment, the figure on the cliff, a white-clad youth shrouded in faint purple energy, finally plucks the spiritual plant. Without hesitation, he leaps down and calls out to Li Jianming and the others.

“Senior Brother Li! I’ve got the Vermillion Fruit!”

As Gu Qiuming speaks, the fifth-rank giant python lets out an earth-shaking roar, its bloodshot eyes glaring fiercely at the reckless young cultivators around it.

Li Jianming, feeling proud, suddenly notices the serpent’s thick, long tail swinging directly at him. He quickly retreats with a few fellow cultivators, but the serpent doesn’t linger to fight them. Instead, it breaks away and leaps out of the water, charging straight at Gu Qiuming!

Li Jianming is startled and hurriedly raises his sword to summon lightning, but before he can finish his incantation, the serpent collides mid-air with an invisible spiritual barrier that appears out of nowhere. With a loud splash, it crashes back into the pool.

The serpent, seemingly stunned by the impact, remains momentarily dazed. Everyone else is equally shocked, especially Gu Qiuming, who stares blankly into the distance. He suddenly catches sight of a figure in white and his eyes light up.

“Senior Brother Yun!”

Following his gaze, Li Jianming turns around and also sees Yun Zhuoran in the distance. However, hearing the sound of water beginning to boil in the pool, he hurriedly waves to Gu Qiuming.

“Stop shouting and get over here! We’re leaving!”

Gu Qiuming rushes over, and Li Jianming grabs him, lifting the youth onto his sword as they fly away from the pool. The remaining cultivators cover their retreat and also leap onto the shore.

They all understand that if the fifth-rank serpent recovers, it will be too late to escape.

Once on land, Li Jianming and Gu Qiuming run toward Yun Zhuoran to meet up with him. Li Jianming is all smiles at first, but when he notices Ji Ruo standing beside Yun Zhuoran, his expression quickly shifts to one of alarm.

“Why is he here?!”

Ji Ruo, simmering with anger and regret, grows more frustrated the more he thinks about it. How could he have failed to see Yun Zhuoran’s true nature from the beginning? Time and again, he lets Yun Zhuoran’s heart demon devour the demon pets he has painstakingly raised!

But there’s nothing Ji Ruo can do to Yun Zhuoran. For now, he still needs Yun Zhuoran’s protection.

Hearing Li Jianming’s words, Ji Ruo merely suppresses his frustration and lets out a disdainful snort.

Yun Zhuoran’s gaze briefly sweeps over the people behind Li Jianming, none of whom he recognizes. Without asking any questions, he looks toward the waterfall. The giant serpent, its head emerging from the pool, slowly sinks back beneath the water, as if startled by something. The pool grows quiet, leaving only a few bubbles rising to the surface.

Satisfied, Yun Zhuoran nods and sets off with Ji Ruo to catch up with Li Jianming and the others.

A quarter of an hour later, under Li Jianming’s guidance, Yun Zhuoran and Ji Ruo enter a mountain valley. The valley is dotted with caves, and Yun Zhuoran’s quick scan reveals roughly thirty people within. The righteous cultivators have set up layers of defensive formations inside and outside the valley. However, the formations are not particularly sturdy—any fifth-rank beast that discovers them could easily break through.

Li Jianming hands over the Vermillion Fruit to a few female cultivators from the Lingshan Sect waiting at the valley’s entrance. Then, he leads Yun Zhuoran to the cave where he has been staying. Gu Qiuming instinctively begins building a fire, and the warm glow soon fills the small space.

The cave is not very spacious and contains only the belongings of Li Jianming and Gu Qiuming, indicating that the two have been together this whole time.

As Yun Zhuoran takes a seat, Li Jianming keeps sneaking glances at Ji Ruo behind him.

“Why is he following you?” Li Jianming finally asks.

And why has Ji Ruo been so well-behaved along the way, almost as if he’s obedient to Yun Zhuoran?

Li Jianming is baffled. Is this really the same spoiled young master of the Demon Palace they encountered at Locust Tree Ridge?

At the moment, however, the so-called “young master of the Demon Palace” is sulking as he watches Gu Qiuming across from him boil water to make tea.

Yun Zhuoran calmly explains, “He was captured earlier by Senior Brother Shen and Senior Brother Lu. When the beast tide broke out, he escaped in the chaos. Unfortunately, his cultivation isn’t high enough to get far, so he’s temporarily following me. Once we leave this place, I’ll hand him over to Senior Brother Shen.”

Ji Ruo turns his head to look at Yun Zhuoran and doesn’t dare to retort even a single word.

Li Jianming gives Yun Zhuoran a thumbs-up. “Yun Zhuoran, you’re really something! The dignified Young Master of the Demon Palace, and you’ve managed to discipline him this well.”

The more Ji Ruo listens, the angrier he gets. He glares at Li Jianming and asks, “What’s your name?”

Li Jianming chuckles. “This young master goes by no other name—Shen Yu.”

Ji Ruo snorts. “I’ll remember you!”

Watching this, Gu Qiuming can’t help but laugh, which draws Ji Ruo’s attention.

Li Jianming quickly winks at Gu Qiuming.

Gu Qiuming presses his lips together to stifle his laughter and brings over a cup of spiritual tea for Yun Zhuoran. His eyes sparkle with pride as he hands it over. Yun Zhuoran accepts the tea and glances at Gu Qiuming, noticing his cultivation has risen to the 9th level of Qi Refining. He nods in approval. “It seems you’ve been working hard on your cultivation recently.”

To advance two levels in just a few days might not be difficult for Yun Zhuoran, but for someone like Gu Qiuming, who has only recently begun the Qi Refining stage, it is quite an achievement.

Li Jianming is even prouder on Gu Qiuming’s behalf. “Look at our little Gu. When I took him under my wing, didn’t I promise you I’d take care of him? Look, he’s still in one piece—I didn’t let you down!”

Yun Zhuoran doesn’t respond to Li Jianming’s pride, his expression remaining indifferent. After the small talk, he gets straight to the point. “What exactly were you doing back there? That giant python is at least 5th level. Are you all trying to get yourselves killed?” A 5th-level monster is on par with a cultivator at the Nascent Soul stage, and even ten Golden Core cultivators like Li Jianming wouldn’t stand a chance against it. Yun Zhuoran suspects that if not for Gu Qiuming’s purple aura, Li Jianming wouldn’t have made it out alive.

Li Jianming waves it off nonchalantly. “There is no other choice. No one knows why the Ten Thousand Beast Forest is suddenly sealed off this time, and the beast tide is terrifying. High-tier beasts have emerged from the depths of the forest and injured many of our comrades. We’re also running out of the cores we brought.”

Gu Qiuming chimes in, “Our senior brothers and sisters are severely injured protecting us, and we can’t afford to wait any longer. That’s why everyone risks their lives to gather Vermilion Fruits!”

Ji Ruo, holding back his frustration, seizes the opportunity to mock someone weaker. “And a little Qi Refining cultivator like you dares to join? You’re not even enough to fill a beast’s tooth gap!”

Gu Qiuming frowns, hesitates for a moment, then says nothing, his expression turning cold.

Yun Zhuoran intervenes, “Shut up.”

Ji Ruo snorts in defiance and turns his back, muttering, “Don’t get mad, don’t get mad.”

Yun Zhuoran doesn’t speak up to defend Gu Qiuming—he simply doesn’t want Ji Ruo to interrupt his conversation with Li Jianming. As he glances at Ji Ruo, his gaze flickers to Gu Qiuming, who looks slightly aggrieved. The scene brings to mind the storybook Gu Qiuming has shown him, where Ji Ruo frequently bullies him. Despite this, Gu Qiuming always endures in silence to avoid unnecessary trouble.

Yun Zhuoran pauses for a moment, then turns back to Li Jianming. “Who else is here?”

Li Jianming immediately straightens up and reports the situation. Most of the cultivators hiding in the valley are from the four major sects. They have banded together to survive the beast tide. However, in recent days, high-level monsters have been passing through the area, leaving them with severe casualties. Even Luoying, the strongest senior sister of the Lingshan Sect, has been injured.

As Gu Qiuming mentions, Senior Sister Luoying urgently needs the Vermilion Fruit to recover. She is one of the most outstanding disciples of the younger generation in the righteous sects, her reputation no less than that of Shen Lingshu. Her cultivation has reached the early Nascent Soul stage, but even the strongest can grow weary. After repeated battles, she finally falls.

With the Vermilion Fruit, her life is no longer in danger, but nearly forty cultivators in the valley are injured, and resources are scarce. They lack the strength to fend off more beast attacks.

Li Jianming shrugs helplessly. “Last night, we notice someone firing signal flares to the northwest. We suspect it is from one of the other three major sects. Once Senior Sister Luoying recovers a bit, we plan to head over.” He then looks at Yun Zhuoran curiously. “Didn’t you encounter any beasts on your way here? Did you really come alone?”

Ji Ruo snickers inwardly, thinking Li Jianming is an idiot. He seems to have a good relationship with Yun Zhuoran yet doesn’t realize Yun Zhuoran’s true strength. If Yun Zhuoran reveals the monster cores in his storage ring, Li Jianming would probably cry in shock.

Ji Ruo, always bothersome, keeps making inexplicable, provocative noises. Li Jianming shoots him a strange look.

Unperturbed, Yun Zhuoran replies, “Of course, I didn’t come alone.” He glances at Ji Ruo, who has his back to them, and says, “Even if the Ji Young Master is lacking, he still counts as a person.”

Ji Ruo freezes. “…?”

From the corner of his eye, Ji Ruo notices Gu Qiuming’s expression soften considerably. Realizing the subtle jab, Ji Ruo turns to Yun Zhuoran in disbelief, then points accusingly at Gu Qiuming. “You’re taking his side to mock me, aren’t you? Yun Zhuoran, I didn’t think you are this petty! Admit it—who is he to you?”

Li Jianming bursts out laughing. “What’s this? Is little Ji trying to compete with Xiao Gu for Yun Zhuoran’s favor?”

This time, Yun Zhuoran is the one confused. His cold eyes blink in doubt, unsure how the conversation derails so quickly.