Chapter 24 Burning the Soul: This is her hunting ground.
Shen Lixia was searching for the way down the mountain.
The place was desolate and seemed impossible to descend. She carefully probed with a branch, tapping here and there, and after walking for a week, she finally found a mountain path that she could follow.
“Wan Jian Feng is indeed steep,” Shen Lixia clicked her tongue. “It’s a pity I don’t have the same sword intent as my senior sister, otherwise I could use a tree branch as a sword to climb down the mountain.”
She muttered that she wanted to go down the mountain path, and roughly calculated the time; if she quickened her pace, she might still have a chance to get there—
That is, Jingzhe Peak where Lin Fenghua lives.
After inquiring, she learned that Lin Fenghua did not live on Bailu Peak, where the Nine Branches True Lord resided, like ordinary students, but rather lived on Jingzhe Peak with his elders.
There have been many affairs in the sect lately, and the elder is probably not on the peak at the moment. She only needs to set up an array on the path he is bound to take back to the peak to intercept him, without having to enter the interior.
The complexity of the Great Dream Formation is categorized by its effectiveness; she only needs to trap the opponent for an hour, and if she acts quickly, that's all that matters.
"Wait a minute!"
A hurried shout came from behind her. Startled, Shen Lixia turned around without making a sound and saw the black-clad female cultivator she had seen before flying towards her on her sword not far away.
She secretly circulated her spiritual energy, thinking that if the other party tried to stop her, she would kill her as well. At worst, she would use divine fire, injuring a thousand enemies while losing eight hundred of her own. This person's cultivation was unfathomable, definitely higher than hers, perhaps similar to her senior sister, both at the Foundation Establishment stage. She looked very young, probably sixteen or seventeen years old, still quite childish.
Although Lin Yuxian didn't know what Shen Lixia was thinking, she knew that Shen Lixia must be very wary at the moment, so she spoke up to explain, "I am an array cultivator. If I wanted to harm you, I would have to draw talismans and set up an array. If I'm not mistaken, you are going down the mountain to Jingzhe Peak, right?"
Did they see through her intentions? No, as long as she stubbornly denies it, the other party can't do anything about it. At worst, she can just kill them both.
A complex emotion flickered through Shen Lixia's heart, and she suddenly realized that she was filled with murderous intent. Her pupils contracted slightly, and she quickly took two deep breaths before replying, "I can't tell you. What brings you here?"
It seems that the extraordinary power was not a gift from heaven, but rather came with a price already set in secret.
From the moment it was repaired, she felt a surge of resentment, which greatly affected her temperament.
Lin Yuxian stopped beside her and took a step forward. "Since you don't deny it, then I'll continue. You want to kill Lin Fenghua, right? I can help you, from taking you down the mountain to helping you cover for yourself..."
Shen Lixia suddenly laughed, with a sarcastic tone, "You say you'll help me, so you'll help me? If you wanted to help earlier, why did you stand by and do nothing at the beginning? Stop with the nice words, you might as well just tell me that you'll benefit from Lin Fenghua's death."
As she spoke, a bright flame lit up in her hand.
"Speak up, if your motives are impure, you two will be buried together."
Looking at the young man before her, whose cultivation was clearly a level lower than hers yet whose killing intent surged, Lin Yuxian felt a chill run down her spine and trembled imperceptibly. Shen Lixia's words struck a chord with her long-standing resentment, leaving Lin Yuxian's eyes filled with complex emotions, a bitter smile tinged with sadness.
Her voice softened: "Yes, I do have other motives. Lin Fenghua previously impersonated me and became a disciple of the Nine Branches True Lord, and together with the aristocratic families, she made trouble for me, using the name of an inner disciple to bully others. I can't swallow this insult... Therefore, I am willing to assist you."
For some reason, even though Lin Yuxian knew that the person in front of her was only at the late stage of Qi Refining, her intuition told her that this person might be even more terrifying than her senior sister surnamed Qiao.
Nevertheless, she could not regain the precious opportunity that Xiao Bi had won. However, her inner demons had been building up for too long, and Lin Yuqian had never truly let go of them.
"To put it more righteously, this can be considered as eliminating pests for the sect. Cultivators doing righteous things is beneficial to their cultivation progress, and no one will stop me in the next competition."
She laid out the chips one by one, waiting for Shen Lixia's reaction.
"I thought you were going to say you also wanted to take his place as the eldest son and change the world for your aristocratic family." But Shen Lixia shrugged and said nonchalantly, "Ordinary novels... or do you call them storybooks here? That's how they're all written, right? Without burgeoning ambition, how can you touch such overwhelming power? Do you really think you'll always be someone outside the stage?"
Before Lin Yuxian could understand the meaning of her words, the young man reached out cheerfully, the gloom on his face dissipating, leaving only his usual bright smile that instantly made people feel friendly.
"Deal. Take me down the mountain, then find a convenient place to set up the formation."
Lin Yuxian reached out and shook her hand, still reeling from the ripples caused by her words. Shen Lixia took two steps onto her sword, crossed her arms, closed her eyes, and adopted a superior posture.
The young man spurred his sword and sped off towards Jingzhe Peak, leaving behind a commotion on the field in the distance.
At the summit of Wanjian Peak, someone was pleading in sorrow on the arena.
"Master, this time it was Feng Hua's oversight that she didn't use any array techniques, thinking that her sword would be sufficient..."
Qiao Yanshen stood to the side, frowning as he listened. So this person was still trying to argue even at the end, making it seem like he had let her win.
His face was so swollen that his features were completely unrecognizable, but he could still manage to utter a few words.
"The Nine-Branch True Lord has actually come."
The students below whispered amongst themselves, their gazes fixed on the cold-faced female cultivator in black robes, their voices filled with surprise.
Generally speaking, as outer disciples, they rarely have the opportunity to meet the peak masters of the sect unless there are extremely important events in the sect. True Monarch Cangling occasionally wanders around to observe the atmosphere within the sect. Like True Monarch Lanqiu, who is skilled in crafting magical artifacts, they are two relatively easy-going immortals.
But the Nine-Branch True Lord is different. She studies both array formations and elixirs, and is said to be accomplished in mechanical arts as well. She has already grasped the principle of simplicity in the great way and can apply her wisdom to multiple fields.
As for the other True Lord, it seems to be named...
The voices abruptly ceased, and the chilling sword energy spread out invisibly, suppressing everyone even before the person had arrived, like a vast snowstorm that instantly buried all sounds.
“This student is bound to make mistakes with his words. Chi Jiuzhi and I have already watched the whole thing from the sidelines.”
A female cultivator in white robes arrived on a sword, a pale blue tassel fluttering in the wind behind the hilt. Her hair and clothes were all a cool, pure white, and her eyes gleamed with a faint silver light, bringing a chill to the season.
Those on the field couldn't discern her cultivation level, only feeling a cool sensation with each breath, instantly relieving the oppressive heat.
She glanced at Chi Yueying, said nothing more, and stopped beside Qiao Yanshen. After examining him for a while, she smiled and said, "You have sword intent and profound spiritual power, but you lack the skill to use it. If the previous ones are your own strength, then you lack a suitable weapon to fully utilize them."
Qiao Yanshen sensed that the other party's cultivation was extremely profound. He treated her with the respect due to an elder in the sect. Then, he raised his head, showing no fear in his eyes, and said neither humbly nor arrogantly, "The outer sect only teaches basic sword moves. Disciples can only ask the master who teaches them for guidance in private, and break down a couple of moves and make slight modifications. It is very clumsy."
Yan Xueya nodded, lowering her sword slightly: "In that case, you mean you need further instruction?"
She glanced at the broken sword that had been tossed aside and continued speaking.
"The sword has been destroyed, and the Wan Jian Feng (Ten Thousand Swords Peak) is steep. It will probably take quite a while to descend on foot. Borrowing other things is also not a good idea. You should come down the mountain with me."
Without waiting for Qiao Yanshen's reply, she quickly grabbed him by the back of his collar and lifted him onto the sword.
"Chi Jiuzhi, it's time for you to clean house and get rid of all that worthless trash!"
Yan Xueya saw that Qiao Yanshen's calm face showed panic and confusion for the first time. When Qiao Yanshen mentioned her, Qiao Yanshen struggled like a kitten. Yan Xueya felt a surge of pleasure and raised her voice to throw the words at Chi Yueying before turning into a streak of light and disappearing in an instant.
Chi Yueying ignored Lin Fenghua's pleas and saw him still mumbling his explanations and even banging his head on the ground. She cast a gagging spell to silence him and pressed her hand to her brow: "You must not leave Jingzhe Peak for the next few days. You must diligently cultivate and reflect on your mistakes on the peak. Do not cause any more trouble in the future."
After saying that, as if she found the air around Lin Fenghua's place too polluted, she flew outside the arena and said to the students below, "The competition is over. Go back and cultivate. Don't get involved in anything that's not relevant to the excitement."
So the disciples gradually dispersed, and every now and then someone could be heard asking about the identity of the white-robed female cultivator, but the person being asked could not answer.
Chi Yueying flew away on her sword, leaving the man kneeling alone on the arena. A young man ran over to help him up, but was slapped and sent back several steps.
"roll!"
After Chi Yueying left, the gagging spell was lifted, and Lin Fenghua's face was completely disfigured. His eyes, squeezed into slits, revealed a look of resentment and venom. He used his longsword to support his body and slowly stepped off the arena. After taking out two spirit stones to restore his basic spiritual power, he slowly flew down the mountain on his sword.
Seeing that the man had been slapped, the other boys dared not approach him again and went home.
Upon reaching the foot of Jingzhe Peak, Lin Fenghua suddenly sensed something strange—although Jingzhe Peak was not close to Guyu Peak, they were still in the same area, yet the light had been very dim recently, with thick fog rising everywhere.
Perhaps Lin Yuxian was testing a new array technique. Thinking this, he didn't take any precautions and headed directly towards the mountain path. He lived near the foot of Jingzhe Peak, and now that his spiritual energy was depleted, he figured it was better to climb up on foot than waste spirit stones.
Holding a longsword, he recalled the battle just now, drew the sword on the ground a couple of times, and mumbled some incoherent words: "Don't underestimate a young man's potential... So what if he's a True Monarch, or a Foundation Establishment cultivator of a few days..."
The air was thick with the scent of sandalwood, creating an eerily cool atmosphere.
Muttering to himself, he suddenly saw a pale figure ahead. Overjoyed, he gripped his longsword tightly and nearly scrambled forward a few steps to thrust the sword at the other person.
As the figure vanished, Lin Fenghua burst into laughter, but the movement aggravated the wound on his face, causing him to cry out in pain halfway through his laughter. Just as he was feeling extremely pleased, he suddenly felt a chill on his abdomen. Looking down, he discovered that a sword had pierced through his abdomen. The sword slashed downwards, instantly shattering his dantian, which was unprotected by spiritual energy.
Lin Fenghua's smile froze on his face. Seeing his tattered robes soaked with blood, he inexplicably mustered a surge of strength and began to run forward shakily, drawing the sword away. After running a short distance, he turned back to see who had done it, only to see a pair of cold, serpentine golden eyes emerge in the pale mist, gleaming with a chillingly sharp light.
"I will...tell..." He choked on the blood rising in his throat, managing to utter broken words, "Elder..."
Shen Lixia's eyebrows curved, and her voice, coming through the mist, gave people a hazy, ethereal, and gentle feeling.
She whispered, "Run!"
It then slowly took a step forward, as if it had locked onto the target, the mother leopard, its pupils narrowing into sharp vertical slits.
"I'll give you half an incense stick's time to run out of here, and I'll let you go," she said with a smile.
What a merciful grace.
The man stumbled forward, glancing back every now and then, only to see the boy's figure gradually fade into the mist. Just as he was about to mobilize his depleted spiritual energy to heal his injuries, a sharp shadow carrying a gust of wind grazed his neck, leaving a cut that was then sealed by charred flesh, preventing it from bleeding.
Lin Fenghua then realized that he was being watched closely by those golden eyes from behind.
This is her hunting ground.
It was a burning arrow, but it vanished before he could see it clearly.
The man was soaked in blood, and he kept seeing figures flashing by in the fog. Terrified, he didn't care about his appearance anymore. He was drenched in sweat and ran frantically, howling. He felt a chill on his body from time to time, but he didn't know what it was, so he continued to rush into the thick fog for his life.
After an unknown period of time, the fog suddenly dissipated, revealing a bright spring scene ahead. The courtyard where the elders resided came into view, and Lin Fenghua's face immediately cleared up. Looking down, he saw that all the wounds on his body had healed at some point, as if everything before had just been a dream, causing him to break out in a cold sweat.
"Uncle-Master He An! Save me!"
He cried out and lunged at the courtyard in a near-mad frenzy. Suddenly, he tasted a sweet, metallic flavor in his mouth, followed by excruciating pain that overwhelmed his limbs and made him unable to feel his hands and feet.
A burning sensation surged in his chest, and he blankly repeated the process—
"save......"
Then, the faint sound suddenly turned into a heart-wrenching scream, accompanied by a hissing sound of burning. The man's body was instantly engulfed by the flames, and in the blink of an eye, not a trace of ash remained. A wisp of white smoke, tinged with color in the firelight, tried desperately to escape, but was swallowed by the flames, letting out only a weak scream before vanishing into nothingness.
As the mist dissipated, the two youths stood at the foot of Jingzhe Peak, with nothing in front of them. The raging fire that had just burned had dissipated, leaving behind a scorching heat.
The sky was dyed red by dusk, and the magnificent light fell on Shen Lixia, intertwining with the bloodstains on her clothes. Her golden eyes shone astonishingly bright in the dark shadows, and even with her eyelashes wet with sweat, they seemed to be burning fiercely.
"Thanks," she said, turning to Lin Yuxian. "If you hadn't temporarily modified the array, I'm afraid I wouldn't have been able to kill him so... humorously."
Lin Yuxian wiped the cold sweat from her forehead, suppressed the fear in her heart, and refrained from asking Shen Lixia about the origin of the flames. She said, "Why not kill him with one sword, but instead cripple his cultivation and limbs... and then erase his soul?"
She had heard the scream just now; though faint, it was heart-wrenching.
Shen Lixia smiled as brightly as ever and said lightly, "I don't want him to die in his dream, nor do I want him to die suddenly—he can't die too easily."
“His soul and spirit have been destroyed. Not only can he not enter the cycle of reincarnation, he can't even return to the world... In that case, aren't you afraid of bearing the karmic burden of killing and being tormented by inner demons?” Lin Yuxian raised her voice anxiously, “This will damage your cultivation!”
"I suspect that you are developing inner demons because you still feel guilty towards those students who were secretly helped and harmed by you."
The flames flickered between Shen Lixia's fingertips, sometimes visible and sometimes hidden.
“But I had no other thoughts about this man’s death. Don’t you think the way he writhed at the end looked like an insect? Then I crushed the insect, that’s all. If you feel guilty about this, how many ants would you have to apologize to?”
As she spoke, she bit her lower lip, enduring the burning pain and scalding heat as she forcefully channeled her spiritual energy. She nearly lost her balance and was about to collapse to the ground, curling up in pain. Lin Yuxian was alarmed and went to help her, but Lin Yuxian dodged her.
"This is filthy." Shen Lixia used a cleansing spell to sweep away the bloodstains from her body, muttering to herself, "I can't let her find out..."
I need to find some incense later so that no one can smell any odor at all.
She sighed, and seeing Lin Yuxian standing frozen to the side, she said weakly, "The obstacles ahead of you have been cleared. Go do what you need to do. I'm leaving."
As he spoke, the boy slowly walked in another direction, his hands clenched tightly at his heart, cold sweat soaking his clothes and dripping down his cheeks.
After her figure disappeared into the blood-red setting sun, Lin Yuxian looked down at her hands.
The surface was roughened by long-term practice of drawing talismans and array formations, covered with calluses and fine scars. The repeated wear and tear made it impossible for spiritual power to repair it. The surface was full of a heavy sense of power, and it was no longer as white and delicate as jade as the name given to her by her elders.
But this, on the contrary, transformed the complex emotions in her heart into a feeling of joy.
Because it bears the weight of countless days and nights of her hard work.
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