Chapter 17 Zhao Chi was forced to crane his neck and utter words with difficulty.

New flesh grew from the sword wound, severed blood vessels reconnected, and demonic power flowed powerfully through her meridians. She could clearly perceive every ice crystal in the snow on the trees, the scent of animals hiding beneath the snow, and the direction of every gust of wind.

The target, Zhao Chi, who was fleeing in the dark, was using the cover of the leaves in the forest to escape.

She was suddenly struck by a murderous intent, but when she turned around, she saw no one who had been following her.

As she charged forward, snow fell from the trees diagonally ahead. She gripped her sword tightly, sensing the source of the killing intent, but could not detect any trace of the other party's presence.

Ling Shu? Impossible, every stab she landed was a fatal wound.

As we continued flying forward, snow kept falling from the diagonal front and to the left and right sides.

Who is it? Who is chasing her?

Suddenly, a bright light flashed before my eyes, a blinding white light, and it was a thunderbolt striking a tree.

thunder!

Zhao Chi broke out in a cold sweat. Ling Shu had old injuries, and now she had a fatal new one. Only the immortal Zhuang Jinfu of Shangqing Mountain could save her from this level of injury, but Zhuang Jinfu had set off for Dongli and would definitely not be back within an hour. No one could heal Ling Shu's injury, and she was doomed. Ling Shu couldn't possibly be here, it was impossible!

Zhao Chi dared not stop, disregarding any need for concealment, and charged recklessly through the forest, seeking only a sliver of hope for survival.

With a muffled thud, a snowball struck Zhao Chi's feet. Immediately afterward, several more snowballs flew over, carried by pinkish-purple magic. Zhao Chi used his magic to sweep them away, but the snowballs were numerous and dense. They were very painful to hit, but not fatal. They kept hitting him for a quarter of an hour, which was quite annoying.

Exhausted from dealing with the situation, Zhao Chi relaxed his guard for a moment when he suddenly saw a sword light flying from the frequent and dense snowballs. Zhao Chi then saw the face of the person wielding the sword.

This face has a touch of childishness, yet it is stunningly beautiful. The smirk on its lips is incredibly manic, and its alluring eyes are captivating. Being stared at by those eyes will instill a chilling fear in you.

"Zhao Chi, you've lied to me."

The sword was pointed directly at his heart, without the slightest deviation.

The two swords clashed violently. Zhao Chi said, "If I die by your hand today, someone will surely come to settle accounts with you tomorrow."

Ling Shu chuckled, "So your life is that valuable? Even after you die, someone will still seek justice for you."

Zhao Chi was forced to retreat inch by inch by Ling Shu's sword energy, but he gritted his teeth and insisted, "Do you think anyone can enter Shangqing Mountain? My current identity is still that of a disciple of the Danmai Sect, an inner disciple of Elder Shanji. If I die, everyone in Qingxi Mountain can testify that I went to Qingxi Mountain to find you, and after you left with me, I died. Tell me, will they believe a demoness or a cultivator recommended by a noble family?"

"What a vicious scheme!" Ling Shu gritted her teeth. "Why did you kill me?"

Zhao Chi's feet were pressed to the ground, and he leaned back, enduring the powerful sword energy brought by the thousand-year-old demonic power: "Not everyone wants you to live like the Immortal Venerable does."

Ling Shu used magic to control the sword, took his hand off the hilt, clapped his hands and said, "Good, very good. I will personally deal with those who want me dead, one by one. You are very lucky, you are the first one."

"What... what are you going to do?" Zhao Chi was so frightened by the sudden surge of pressure that his legs went weak and he immediately fell to the ground, his sword slipping from his hand.

Ling Shu controlled the sword and headed towards her Achilles tendon, saying softly, "I remember you wanted to sever my Achilles tendon."

The sword flashed and fell so fast it was like a phantom, and blood stained the white snow beneath Zhao Chi's legs.

Zhao Chi gritted his teeth and remained silent.

"Zhao Chi, why didn't you shout?" Ling Shu sheathed her sword, squatted down beside her, pinched her cheek, and said fiercely, "Was I too lenient? Or do you have guts and aren't afraid of death?"

Zhao Chi was forced to raise his neck and utter with difficulty: "I bet you wouldn't dare kill me."

"If you kill me, you can never go back."

Ling Shu tightened her grip on her cheek, her sharp fox claws piercing her flesh: "What makes you think you can speculate about me?"

Zhao Chi laughed so hard his chest heaved: "Ling Shu, your covetousness for your master is written all over your face. Next time you make a lover, hide your weakness first."

"You've really dared to fall in love with your master! This time she punished you by making you kneel in the snow, will she kick you off the mountain next time? Would the aloof and proud immortal allow a demon to covet her so much? Hahahaha."

Ling Shu roared, "What's it to you what I do!"

Zhao Chi's eyes were filled with disdain: "The little demon has been provoked. How interesting."

Zhao Chi's smug look enraged Ling Shu, who slammed her head to the ground, then dragged her up and threw her over her shoulder. Zhao Chi's legs were now crippled, making it impossible for her to practice martial arts and swordsmanship again.

However, Zhao Chi remained relaxed, and even when he was thrown to the ground and got up again, he was still full of mockery towards Ling Shu.

Ling Shu was practically tearing his hair out. This person couldn't be killed, but letting him go easily wouldn't quell his hatred either.

Zhao Chi lay on the ground like a lump of mud, while Ling Shu stood beside her, pondering angrily.

Zhao Chi: "What other tricks do you have? Bring them on."

Ling Shu remains silent.

Zhao Chi propped himself up on his elbows and slowly stood up. He couldn't walk anymore. The pressure emanating from Ling Shu, comparable to that of a Mahayana cultivator, was a warning that Ling Shu was no longer worthy of being killed.

"Since you don't have any brilliant ideas, I won't waste my time with you here." Zhao Chi's sword was already at his feet.

Ling Shu suddenly said, "Stop."

A sinister killing intent arose again. Before Zhao Chi could react, she looked down and saw a hand piercing into her dantian.

"You humans want to extract my demon core, but have you ever thought that one day I will also extract your golden core?"

"Pfft"—blood gushed from Zhao Chi's mouth.

Ling Shu held the golden pill that was radiating golden light in her hand, and in an instant, it turned into dust.

"You say you're a disciple of the Danmai sect, so you must be a Dan cultivator. Without an inner core, how can you condense your magic power to refine pills? What a pity. A cultivator with dual spiritual roots can only refine low-grade spiritual pills for the rest of his life. Do you think Elder Shanji would keep a piece of trash in the sect? Would she kick you off the mountain?"

Zhao Chi was stunned. She was overwhelmed by disappointment. Every cultivator in the Shangqing Realm began to form a Golden Core during the Qi Refining stage. The Golden Core was related to a cultivator's entire cultivation life. She prided herself on her exceptional talent with dual spiritual roots. At only seventeen years old, she was already able to refine a first-grade high-quality Qi Refining Pill. With just one pill, she obtained a recommendation from a noble family. She came to Shangqing Mountain as she wished and became a disciple of her favorite elder.

She never imagined that choosing the art of killing spirits would be a path that would ruin her future.

This vixen...this vixen, she dares to!

"Aaaaaaaahhhhh!!!"

Zhao Chi completely broke down because she was utterly ruined.

"I'm going to kill you, Ling Shu! I'm going to kill you!!!"

Without her magic power, Zhao Chi could only wield her sword and kill indiscriminately. Ling Shu disarmed her and used her demonic power to force her: "Tell me, who wants me dead?"

Zhao Chi let Ling Shu support him: "No one, no one wants you to die, it's me who wants you to die. I'm jealous that you caught the eye of the Immortal Venerable just because of your bloodline. You didn't do anything, while we ordinary people cultivate from dawn till dusk, fight each other for spiritual energy, fail the entrance exam, and finally get a recommendation from a noble family to enter Shangqing Mountain. In the end, we still can't compare to people like you who get into the sect by relying on bloodline. I hate it, I hate it!"

Ling Shu roared, "Bloodline, ha, bloodline, hahahahaha! This is the funniest thing I've heard all year! If I had a choice, I would never have chosen to be born as a half-demon, even if my other half of my bloodline is incredibly noble. I was born into this world, but I have no one behind me. My only clansman, my mother, was forced to her death by you cultivators. Now you want me to cultivate on Shangqing Mountain, which is full of cultivators, cultivate, hahahahahaha! You hate it! Don't I hate it too?!"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Chi suddenly calmed down: "You're in such a terrible situation too?"

Ling Shu was stunned: "...Otherwise what?"

Zhao Chi: "Why don't you let go first? A miserable person shouldn't make things difficult for another miserable person."

Ling Shu felt that pinching her was useless; she wouldn't let go. Having just lost her golden core, she was extremely vulnerable, and she couldn't use any of the illegal methods in her mind. Otherwise, she really wanted to tear this person to pieces before she would feel better.

Ling Shu let go, but as soon as she did, Zhao Chi grabbed her neck: "You dug out my golden core, I'll strangle you to death!" Ling Shu dared not use force, afraid that she would kill the person with a single wave of her hand. Ling Shu withdrew her demonic power and instead grabbed her neck: "You stab me, I'll strangle you to death!"

"Who is this benefactor you're talking about?!"

"No one else, only myself!"

"Die, you old lady!"

"I'll strangle you, you vixen!"

Then the two of them started fighting, neither willing to give in, rolling around in the snow several times until they were covered in dirt and their hair was all disheveled, neither wanting to let the other go.

Early the next morning, two people who looked like beggars arrived at the foot of Shangqing Mountain.

The screams of the senior female disciples guarding the mountain gate echoed throughout the mountains and fields.

"A demon! A demon!!!" The senior sister on the left screamed, while the senior sister on the right drew her sword to meet the enemy. They were facing two inhuman beings: one with tattered clothes and bloody holes in his clothes, and the other with a large hole in his dantian and covered in snow crystals.

Ling Shu took off the clean jade lotus-patterned pendant from her waist and held it up in front of the two of them: "A demon from Qingxi Mountain."

At the same time, another person took off the jade pendant from his waist and held it up in front of the two: "Zhao Chi from Danjing Peak."

After checking, the senior sisters confirmed that they were from Shangqing Mountain. They didn't know what the two had gone through to be so injured, so they quickly used the sound transmission talisman to call the elders of each branch to come and take them away.

A moment later, a white-haired woman in a blue robe arrived on a sword. When she saw Zhao Chi, she said indifferently, "Come back with me." She turned and left without caring whether Zhao Chi could keep up or not. Zhao Chi followed her with his head down, feeling awkward.

Ling Shu originally intended to leave on her own, but when she saw Elder Shanji come to lead people away, she also wanted someone to come and lead her.

After all, she had said that her master would never find her disciple troublesome, and that she would never abandon her no matter what.

After their argument, will Zhuang Jinfu still come to pick her up?

Ling Shu waited anxiously for her to appear.

But she didn't wait for it.

Appearing before the mountain gate was Wang Lifu, dressed in purple. His first words to her were a curse: "You wretched child."

The gatekeeper bowed respectfully to Wang Lifu, but Ling Shu spat at her the moment she saw her, much to the gatekeeper's shock.

Wang Lifu wiped it away with a handkerchief, his face displeased: "You wretched child, come up here now."

Ling Shu could only follow her up. Wang Lifu wanted to fly on her sword, but Ling Shu didn't know how. She had to walk up the steps. When she passed Wang Lifu, she bumped her hard with her shoulder and climbed up one step at a time.

Wang Lifu flew to her on his sword, and with a flick of his magic, Ling Shu was brought behind her.

"Put me down."

"Ten thousand steps, you want to climb them?"

"That's still better than sharing a sword with you!"

Ling Shu aimed at the ground, making a move to jump down, but Wang Lifu grabbed her: "Wait." Then he suddenly rose several feet, and jumping down would mean being smashed to pieces.

Ling Shu struggled to shake off her hand, but Wang Lifu's attitude left no room for doubt. Ling Shu had no choice but to think of that person. That person would rather climb ten thousand steps with her than ride a sword with her. What kind of feelings did she have for him?

"Where is my master? Why...why didn't she come to pick me up?"

"How dare you mention her?"

"What's wrong with asking a question? I didn't kill anyone or set any fires. Can't I even ask where my master is and why he didn't come to pick me up?"

"You didn't kill anyone. In the Spirit Array of Bitan Mountain, you abused your demonic power to bully your fellow disciples, almost trapping and killing twenty-three people inside the array. You committed such a grave mistake, and you still have the nerve to mention your master? She went against everyone's wishes to insist on taking you as her disciple, and this is how you repay her?"

"I didn't ask her to take me as her apprentice!"

Wang Lifu was so angry he wanted to kick her off her sword: "You... wretched child. Since she's not at the sect, then I, as the sect leader, will discipline you properly on her behalf."

Wang Lifu suddenly turned around, and Ling Shu grabbed her arm: "Hey! Where are you taking me!"

“Shuijia Lake.” Wang Lifu endured the pain in his arm and frowned as he spoke.

"A water prison?" Ling Shu pinched even harder, as if she could twist the flesh off with just a little more force. "What kind of mother is this!"

Wang Lifu pointed to his arm: "You still know I'm your mother? Can't you learn even a little respect?"

Ling Shu rolled her eyes, let go of her hand, and ignored her. As they drew closer to Shuijia Lake, Ling Shu wondered to herself, "Now that I have Li Chang's sword, could I try flying on it?"

She secretly used her magic to guide the sword behind Wang Lifu's back, but found that the spiritual energy of Shangqing Mountain was thin and the sword spirit needed spiritual energy to nourish it. At this moment, it was not in good condition, and no matter how many times she tried to guide it with her spiritual magic, the sword was unwilling to be drawn.

"Don't try it." Wang Lifu said coldly, "You destroyed the Spirit Suppression Array. The spiritual energy of the entire Shangqing Mountain is now unbalanced. The elders are working on resetting the array. It will take another day or two to restore it to normal. This time you have aroused public resentment. As the sect leader, I have no choice but to punish you."

"..."

Wang Lifu sighed, hands on his hips, "When will you change your bad temper? They didn't even lay a hand on you, yet you dragged them into the formation to trap and kill them. This time, even if your master speaks up for you, you can't escape punishment. You'd better reflect on your actions in Shuijia Lake."

Ling Shu frowned and said coldly, "They insulted me, and I fought back. I did nothing wrong."

Wang Lifu said earnestly, "There is no only way to retaliate by killing. If someone insults you, you kill that person. If everyone in the world insults you, you kill everyone in the world. That is too extreme. Not all voices are worth your attention. Instead of getting into trouble over these things, you should spend more time focusing on cultivation. After you ascend to the Great Dao, most of those who oppose you will be convinced by your strength. Strength can shut most people up."

Why is she suddenly being so nice to me?

Ling Shu wasn't buying it: "I'm not wrong. They want me dead, but I don't need to give a bunch of people who want me dead a nice face. You're the same. Aren't you the one who wants to kill me the most? When I was undergoing my tribulation, you were hoping I would fail. I remember it all. In my opinion, you're the one who ordered Zhao Chi to assassinate me."

Wang Lifu frowned, his brows furrowing, his eyes filled with deep thought: "I never sent anyone to kill you."

Ling Shu curled her lip: "Who would believe your nonsense?"

Believe it or not.

The two couldn't agree on anything. On the way, Ling Shu tried to fly on his sword several times, but Wang Lifu caught him each time. Wang Lifu's solid cultivation over many years at the Nascent Soul stage was no match for Ling Shu, who had just mastered a thousand-year-old demon power. In the end, Ling Shu was not experienced enough and was put at a disadvantage. Ling Shu was tightly restrained and imprisoned in Shuijia Lake.

"You bastard, let me out! I did nothing wrong!" Ling Shu was pushed by Wang Lifu, stepped into the water, and was stopped by a barrier when she rushed forward.

Wang Lifu stood on the shore, looking down at the gradually dissipating pinkish-purple demonic power in her hand. Even after the demonic power had completely disappeared, she had not come to her senses. When she looked up again, her daughter, Ling Shu, was clamoring to come out of the lake.

Ling Shu's figure overlapped with the pink-clad woman in her memory who was sobbing and casting a barrier. Ling Shu's tender face was full of her shadow, but Ling Shu's personality was completely different from hers. Wen Ji was gentle as water and would never say harsh words to anyone, but on the day they broke up, Wen Ji said it.