Chapter 36 Jun Lintian took Xiao Liuying on a date, and she seemed to have overheard it...
The moment Shi Liuying finished speaking, the completely transparent pen in her hand suddenly emitted a blinding light!
Without the slightest hesitation, she swiftly sketched in the air with her pen.
In Shi Liuying's vision, the words "Accept the love of the five women in front of you" on the transparent system panel in front of Chong Cang were distorted and flickering.
Her eyes were sharp as she pointed her pen fiercely at the word "love".
"Buzz—!"
An invisible ripple spread outwards.
The five women who had been tightly restraining Chong Cang, their eyes vacant, suddenly froze.
A fleeting moment of confusion crossed their numb eyes, as if they had been put on pause.
Although his hand was still gripping Chong Cang, the "love" and "desire" forcibly imposed by the system receded like the tide, leaving only the purely manipulated physical restraint.
Almost simultaneously, Shi Liuying turned her pen towards Rong Yan.
In Rong Yan's mind, the system task, "Give up resistance, let the three men in front of you do whatever they want to you, and experience the ultimate pleasure," had the words "do whatever they want to you" and "ultimate pleasure" forcibly distorted and blurred by her power.
The three male corpse puppets that were entangled with Rong Yan suddenly became stiff and sluggish, their empty eye sockets now only displaying the most basic command to "entangle".
Shi Liuying had had enough of these disgusting system tasks. The moment she saw the elder and her senior sister being bound at the same time, she wanted to destroy the system completely.
However, her abilities are not yet that great.
In her extreme anger, Shi Liuying did not choose to modify the mission, but instead erased it.
"A good opportunity!" A sharp light flashed in Chi Yang's harmless eyes. She had been waiting for the right moment, and her hands formed a hand seal. The bells on her wrists rang, and the air around her twisted.
Several spirit beasts of various shapes appeared out of thin air, exuding a ferocious aura. They roared and pounced on the three corpse puppets, tearing them apart in an instant with their sharp claws.
Rong Yan felt a sudden relaxation wash over her, and the disgusting system whispers subsided considerably. She was both surprised and delighted, her gaze towards Shi Liuying filled with disbelief: "Junior Sister! You've become even more amazing!"
It's not changing, it's erasing!
Chong Cang seized the opportunity to catch his breath, and the suppressed demonic power within his body suddenly erupted.
Silver-gray demonic flames erupted from his body, blasting the five women away.
"How is this possible?!" The half-demon roared in shock and rage, staring incredulously at the strange pen in Shi Liuying's hand. "What is that thing?!"
After the pen appeared, the power that had appeared out of nowhere in his body and was able to contend with the great demon began to disappear little by little.
Moreover, it also felt that the restraints it had placed on Chong Cang and Rong Yan had been greatly weakened.
A strong sense of unease rose within him.
We can't delay any longer!
"Roar—!" The half-demon roared to the sky, his bluish-gray demonic aura surging like boiling water. A foul wind swept through the cave, and the mummified corpses of dogs and people on the ground trembled as if they were about to rise again.
"Swallow them!"
It opened its blood-red maw, and a powerful suction force locked onto Shi Liuying, its target being the pen in her hand and her own unique aura.
Shi Liuying frowned, feeling as if the spiritual energy in her body was being pulled out by the suction force, and the transparent pen in her hand became extremely heavy.
Rong Yan and Chi Yang wanted to step forward to help, but were forced to retreat repeatedly by the sudden increase in demonic energy emanating from the half-demon. Chong Cang was even more suppressed by the residual system current and demonic energy, making it difficult for him to break free.
Just as Shi Liuying was about to be swallowed by the suction force, suddenly, an indescribable power pierced through the cold aura of the cave and precisely injected into Shi Liuying's body.
Shi Liuying was shaken, feeling her limbs and bones instantly filled with power. The cultivation barrier that had been stuck at the early stage of the Nascent Soul stage was easily pierced like a thin sheet of paper, and her cultivation soared all the way up!
The pressure of the Nascent Soul stage cultivator emanated uncontrollably from her body.
Seizing the opportunity, she instinctively raised her hand. Without any complicated moves, she simply concentrated all the unfamiliar power surging into her body, along with her anger, into the tip of her pen and gently drew a line towards the half-demon.
"laugh--!"
There was no earth-shattering roar, only a perfectly condensed, transparent watermark that rippled out.
The half-demon's triumphant grin froze on its face as it sensed an irresistible force of rules descending upon it.
The surging demonic energy around it instantly dissipated, and the transparent ripple silently swept across its body.
The half-demon froze completely, its bulging eyes filled with fear and bewilderment.
The next moment, its bluish-gray body split open, turning into the purest demonic energy, which was then completely annihilated by the remaining transparent power, leaving not even a speck of ash behind.
The cave was deathly silent.
The eerie suction force disappeared, the surging demonic energy subsided, and even the system currents around Chong Cang and Rong Yan vanished.
Shi Liuying stared blankly at her hand. The immense power came and went quickly, as if it were just an illusion.
She tried to mobilize her energy again, but her body was completely empty, and her cultivation level had dropped back to the early stage of the Nascent Soul realm. Only the slight throbbing pain in her meridians reminded her of the reality of that moment.
"That...that was just now..." Rong Yan clutched her chest, still shaken.
Chi Yang's expression was also solemn: "The power of the Nascent Soul stage... though it only lasted for a moment. Little Firefly, you..."
Shi Liuying shook her head blankly: "I don't know... It seems like someone suddenly helped me."
She was filled with confusion; the power was warm and unfamiliar, and certainly not something she possessed herself.
The half-demon was defeated, and the five women it controlled, along with the remaining corpse puppets, lost their support and collapsed to the ground.
The teacher's wife and the fat boy were so frightened that they collapsed to the ground, their faces ashen.
Shi Liuying ignored them and scanned the cave. Soon, she found an exquisite wooden box that exuded a faint spiritual aura in a hidden stone niche.
She walked over and opened it; inside was the thousand-year-old Tai Sui, plump and full of spiritual energy.
Chong Cang paused to catch his breath, then walked to her side and explained to Tai Sui, "The immense vitality contained in this item is a treasure for cultivators and most demons."
"But this half-demon has an evil foundation and is not a true demon race favored by heaven and earth. It is not recognized by the Heavenly Dao, so it cannot absorb the power of Tai Sui and can only hide."
"They probably want to wait until they've fully cultivated into a demon before consuming it."
A faint smile appeared in Shi Liuying's eyes.
The best thing would be to get a perfectly intact Tai Sui!
Having obtained the Tai Sui, the main objective of this trip had been achieved. All eyes involuntarily fell on the trembling master's wife and the boy.
To kill or not to kill?
Cultivators are forbidden from killing mortals; this is an ironclad rule. Moreover, this is, after all, Shi Liuying's blood relative... The group hesitated for a moment.
Just then, a mad, resentful glint flashed in the eyes of the teacher's wife, who had been slumped on the ground.
She suddenly pulled a gleaming dagger from her sleeve and pounced on Shi Liuying, who was facing away from her and examining the Tai Sui, as if she had gone mad!
"It's all your fault! You jinx, you bad luck charm! You ruined everything I had!"
She screamed shrilly, her face contorted in agony: "I should have been the noble Duchess, and later the Empress! Everything changed because you came back! Die!"
The sudden turn of events was so unexpected and the distance so close that Rong Yan and Chi Yang cried out in alarm and rushed to their aid.
Just as the poisoned dagger was about to pierce Shi Liuying's back, a sharp whistling sound tore through the air!
"call out--!"
A jet-black spear shot out from the cave entrance at an extremely fast speed, exceeding the limits of what the naked eye could perceive!
"Pfft!"
The spear pierced through the wrist of the master's wife, who was holding the dagger, with perfect accuracy. The immense force sent her flying backward, and with a thud, she was pinned firmly to the hard stone wall.
"ah--!"
The teacher's wife let out a shrill scream, and the dagger clattered to the ground.
Everyone was stunned by the sudden shot.
Shi Liuying suddenly turned around and looked in the direction from which the spear had come.
At the entrance to the cave, several figures stood against the light.
The leader was none other than Jun Lintian, who had returned after leaving.
He was still wearing a moon-white Taoist robe, his face pale, but at this moment, he stood there steadily, his posture as upright as a pine tree.
Beside him stood a boy dressed in bright yellow casual clothes, with a youthful face but trying hard to maintain a dignified demeanor.
Behind them followed several imposing palace guards.
And the one who threw that life-saving shot...
Shi Liuying stared intently at Jun Lintian's hand, which had not yet been fully withdrawn.
At that moment, she seemed to see a completely different Jun Lintian—no longer the gentle yet aloof and weary senior brother of the Myriad Manifestations Sect, but a young general who dominated the battlefield and looked down upon the world.
Jun Lintian felt her gaze, slowly lowered his hand, met her eyes, nodded slightly, his eyes still gentle, as if the earth-shattering throw just now was just a casual act.
The young Emperor Jun Jingyan stepped forward, his voice carrying the majesty of an emperor: "Upon investigation, it has been found that the Duke of Yang practiced sorcery, harming twelve people of the Great Liang. The evidence is conclusive. Furthermore, he used sorcery to deceive the emperor, forming cliques for personal gain. His crimes deserve execution! Effective immediately, his title is revoked and his property is confiscated!"
His gaze swept over the teacher's wife, who was nailed to the wall and wailing, and the terrified boy: "The son of the Duke of Yang and his wife, Lady Wang, aided and abetted the tyrant, and are guilty of the same crime... They should be executed."
After speaking, he subconsciously turned his head to look at Jun Lintian beside him. The composure he had been trying to maintain on his youthful face cracked, and a hint of barely perceptible expectation was hidden deep in his eyes.
Like a child who got a perfect score waiting for praise.
However, he discovered that the legendary Prince Jing, who had once dominated the battlefield and then turned to Taoism, kept his gaze fixed on the girl in the light blue Taoist robe from beginning to end.
The young emperor's gaze lingered between the two of them, and he pondered deeply, stroking his chin, until he understood something.
Several strong guards immediately stepped forward to drag the teacher's wife and the boy away.
The intense pain and fear of death completely shattered the teacher's wife's psychological defenses.
Wealth, status, everything she had worked so hard for, vanished in an instant.
Despite her wrist still being pinned by the spear, she struggled, futilely stretching forward with her remaining hand, crying out to Shi Liuying with tears streaming down her face:
"Firefly, Firefly, my child, I was wrong, I know I was wrong! Please save me, save your brother!"
“You are a celestial master. If you plead with the emperor, your words will surely carry weight.”
"Mother doesn't want to die. Mother will treat you well from now on and cherish you like the apple of her eye."
"Firefly! For the sake of your mother raising you, please spare your mother! Huh?!"
Shi Liuying watched her hysterical performance quietly, looking at that face filled with greed, fear, and scheming.
Once, the owner of this face, like her gentle grandfather in her memory, was someone she desperately wanted to protect.
She slowly lowered her eyelashes, concealing the last trace of emotion in her eyes.
She knew that the bond between her and her daughter should end at this moment.
Seeing that Shi Liuying had no reaction, the young emperor secretly glanced at Jun Lintian. Seeing that his ancestor still didn't show any emotion, he immediately understood and waved his little hand with a decisiveness beyond his years: "What are you still standing there for? Take him away!"
"No—! Shi Liuying, you wretched, unfilial daughter! I will haunt you even as a ghost—!"
The teacher's wife uttered a desperate and venomous curse before being roughly dragged away by the guards, her voice gradually fading into the depths of the cave.
The soldiers began clearing the scene and removing the bodies of the victims.
Rong Yan suddenly spoke up: "Wait!"
She strode towards the women and corpse puppets lying on the ground.
She crouched down, her fingertips glowing faintly as she examined them carefully. After a moment, she breathed a sigh of relief: "These men have been dead for a long time; their souls have scattered, and there's no way to bring them back. But these five young ladies..."
She pointed to the five women who had been controlled by the half-demon, "They were only drained of a large amount of their life force last night, and their souls were imprisoned in their bodies by demonic magic, putting them in a state of suspended animation."
She stood up and looked at everyone: "There's still hope!"
Upon hearing this, Shi Liuying's eyes lit up instantly: "Senior sister is amazing!"
Looking into Shi Liuying's eyes, Rong Yan felt as if she had become the junior sister who looked at her with admiration when she first entered the sect, and the heart that had been hanging in suspense finally settled down completely.
She proudly raised her chin, a smile playing on her lips: "Of course! I've already told you, that half-demon playing puppets in front of me is like showing off his axe skills in front of Guan Yu!"
She began to focus on using the secret techniques of ghost cultivation. The ghostly light enveloped the five women, gradually awakening their imprisoned souls and guiding their vital energy back to its source.
Shi Liuying stared blankly at Rong Yan's focused and confident profile.
What was Senior Sister like when she wasn't bound by those messy system tasks?
Is it like this now, like a pure white, elegant cat with a touch of pride, shining brightly in its own territory?
-
As dusk settles, the setting sun casts a warm glow on the cobblestone alleyways. Smoke curls from every chimney, and the evening breeze carries the comforting aroma of cooked meals.
This is just an ordinary alley in Beijing.
However, deep in the alley, there was a house with a glaring white cloth hanging at the door, and faint, suppressed sobs could be heard coming from inside.
A girl dressed in a cross-collar linen skirt, her face still somewhat pale, arrived at the door of the house, escorted by a soldier in light armor.
The soldier stepped forward and knocked on the door.
The door creaked open, and a woman with half-gray hair and red, swollen eyes poked her head out.
When she first saw the soldier, a look of panic flashed across her face, and she stammered, "Sir...sir...I don't know what our family has done wrong..."
The soldier smiled, stepped aside, and said gently, "Ma'am, look who this is?"
The girl behind him timidly peeked out, looked at the woman, her eyes instantly reddening, and her voice choked with sobs: "Mother... I'm back."
The woman was struck dumb, frozen in place.
Her eyes were fixed on the girl, her lips trembled, and her hand reached out with a slight tremor, wanting to touch her, yet afraid it was just an illusion.
"Dog...Dog Egg...?" The woman's voice trembled.
The girl glanced awkwardly at the soldier beside her and whispered, "Mother... please don't call me that in front of outsiders..."
This sound completely convinced the woman that this was not a dream.
She lunged forward and grabbed the girl's hand tightly, her tears, which had almost dried up, burst forth again.
"My dear Gou Dan, my dear Gou Dan! You're really back! You're really alive!"
The woman held her daughter and wailed loudly, disregarding her image.
The process of losing something and then regaining it is generally the same.
The soldier explained, "Ma'am, this young lady went to the mountains outside the city to gather herbs a few days ago, but she got lost and fainted."
"Fortunately, our army, which was passing by during our bandit suppression operation, found her, treated her, and was able to send her back."
The woman was extremely grateful, holding the soldier's hand and repeatedly thanking him: "Thank you, sir! Thank you, sir! I... I couldn't find my child, I had no other choice, I went to several temples in a day to pray to the gods and Buddhas, I even prayed to the local earth god under the old locust tree on the mountain outside the city countless times..."
"She was just a little girl, unconscious on the mountain for a whole day and night, and she wasn't eaten by bears, but instead she ran into you all... This, this is truly a miracle! A miracle!"
The woman clasped her hands together, looked up at the sky, and kept praying.
Behind a corner of the wall not far away, several heads were hiding furtively.
Listening to the woman's words, Chi Yang chuckled and muttered, "Isn't that just a divine intervention?"
She nudged Shi Liuying beside her with her elbow and said with a mischievous smile, "Right, little fairy?"
Shi Liuying felt a little embarrassed by what she said, her cheeks flushed slightly, and she quickly waved her hand: "It was all thanks to Senior Sister Rong Yan's ghost cultivation technique and Senior Sister Chi Yang's Forget-Me-Not Fox that those girls' memories were erased. I, I didn't actually do anything."
A gentle breeze blew by, and the leaves of the big tree in the yard rustled, as if welcoming the little master home.
Shi Liuying looked up and suddenly remembered the giant tree on the mountain covered with red ribbons, and the wooden sign on it that read "May my son Gou Dan return home soon".
Looking at the mother and daughter embracing and weeping before her, a slight smile unconsciously crept onto her lips as she softly said, "It's so good that they can both go home."
Rong Yan looked at Shi Liuying with affection, gently patted her head, and said in a rare tenderness, "Let's go, things are settled here, we should go home now."
Shen Hanzhou nodded vigorously, striking a Superman pose in an attempt to alleviate Shi Liuying's sadness with exaggerated behavior: "Go go go, let's go!"
Shi Liuying looked at Shen Hanzhou with disbelief, then burst out laughing: "We're not puppies."
Shen Hanzhou scratched his head and chuckled, "I am, I am a puppy."
...
On their way back to the sect, the group traveled at a leisurely pace on their swords, enjoying a rare moment of relaxation.
Looking at Shi Liuying's steady sword-wielding figure ahead, Shen Hanzhou couldn't help but sigh, "Liuying has really grown a lot this time! She remained completely calm even in the face of that situation."
Chi Yang nodded in agreement, her eyes thoughtful: "And did you notice? When that half-demon was dying, the system power on its body seemed unusually strong, but Little Firefly was able to interfere with it, and even... that last burst of power..." She recalled the Nascent Soul power that erupted in that instant and still found it incredible.
Chong Cang, standing to the side with his sword, his silver hair fluttering in the wind, spoke up, his voice carrying a hint of confusion that he himself was unaware of: "Not just this time. Normally, unless the system's power inexplicably surges, I can hardly feel the system's presence, and I am even less affected by missions."
Upon hearing this, Jun Lintian looked at Shi Liuying's back in front of him with a deep gaze and slowly said, "When Junior Sister went to find Tai Sui, none of us in the sect received any system missions."
Shen Hanzhou immediately chimed in, feeling proud: "That must be the result of Liu Ying's diligent daily practice! You wouldn't believe it, every time I go to the training hall, I see Shi Liu Ying there early in the morning, she's much more diligent than me!"
Rong Yan looked at Shi Liuying with a nostalgic look in her eyes and smiled, "I still remember when she first entered the sect, her eyes sparkled when she saw me flying on my sword, saying that she wanted to become a powerful cultivator like me."
"It hasn't been long, and now she can protect her senior sister."
She called out, "Junior sister, let everyone see how well you've mastered your sword control technique!"
However, Shi Liuying did not respond.
The group looked closely and saw only a vast sea of clouds behind them; there was no sign of Shi Liuying anywhere.
Also disappearing was Jun Lintian, who had been following closely behind.
Chi Yang was taken aback at first, then seemed to understand something, covered her mouth and giggled, her eyes full of ambiguity: "Oh my, tsk tsk tsk, it seems someone has kidnapped our little firefly to go on a date?"
Upon hearing this, Chong Cang's aura instantly turned several degrees colder, and his silver-gray fox eyes narrowed, transforming into a world-weary, dead fish-like gaze.
He didn't say anything, but the flying sword beneath his feet suddenly accelerated and flew away with a "whoosh," disappearing into the sea of clouds.
Chi Yang laughed heartily: "Hahaha, look, one of them ran away in anger!"
Rong Yan was stunned for a moment, then realized what was happening. Although she was on her sword, she still stomped her foot angrily: "Jun Lintian, give me back my obedient and adorable junior sister!"
-
Shi Liuying felt the scenery before her eyes flicker, and when she regained her footing, she had left the sea of clouds and found herself in a completely unfamiliar place.
"Senior brother," she looked up at Jun Lintian, who was always protecting her, her eyes filled with a mixture of confusion and curiosity, "Where are we going?"
Jun Lintian looked down at her, his moon-white robes fluttering slightly in the dry wind.
Instead of answering, he asked in a gentle voice, "Where do you want to go?"
Shi Liuying thought about it carefully and realized that she had not been to many places and there was no place she really wanted to go.
She thought of her senior brother's amazing shot outside the half-demon cave and suddenly wondered what kind of life he lived when he wasn't controlled by the system.
Shi Liuying looked at Jun Lintian with pure and straightforward eyes: "I want to see the place where you lived before you became a cultivator."
Jun Lintian felt as if he had been burned by her bluntness.
He abruptly looked away, his wide sleeves fluttering slightly, without saying a word.
Shi Liuying felt the scenery around her change again, and the sound of the wind passed by her ears.
When she looked again, she couldn't help but hold her breath slightly. She saw the vast Gobi Desert stretching to the horizon, with sand dunes undulating in the distance, a sea of pale yellow stretching between heaven and earth.
The winding golden river, like a ribbon, lies quietly on the vast land.
In the sky, eagles spread their wings, soaring and circling, uttering clear and free cries.
Further away, herds of horses gallop at the boundary between sand dunes and meadows, their manes flying, kicking up clouds of dust, full of vigor and high spirits.
"This is the place."
Jun Lintian stood beside her, his voice carried on the wind from beyond the Great Wall, tinged with nostalgia, "This is where I grew up in my childhood."
Shi Liuying was slightly taken aback and turned to look at him.
The setting sun cast a warm glow on his handsome profile.
He stood there quietly, his posture upright, his gaze calmly fixed on this boundless world, as if he were one with this vast and majestic landscape.
In a daze, Shi Liuying seemed to pierce through the dust of time and see another figure—a young general dressed in a moon-white battle robe, holding a silver spear, riding a fine horse with his ponytail tied high, just like in the stories. He galloped freely across this land, his brilliance fully revealed, as free as the wind.
That fleeting glimpse of dazzling figure slowly overlapped with the image of the senior brother before him, who always exuded a gentle and frail air.
She seemed to have inadvertently glimpsed another, completely different, yet equally dazzling, past in his long life, a past undisturbed by the system.
His unrestrained and carefree demeanor seemed to be the kind of person his senior brother should be.
-----------------------
Author's Note: Random red envelopes will be dropping! [pat on the head]
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