Chapter 27 Coca-Cola & Sprite Chen Zhou said, "I won't leave anything for anyone..."
Shen Zhou conjured a sword and hung the tassel on it, but soon he seemed to feel that it was not right and changed to another sword.
Hua Deng couldn't tell the difference between these swords, but he could sense that the one in Shen Zhou's hand was exceptionally well-behaved, simple, and restrained, completely different from his unstoppable sword aura.
"Why this one?" she asked curiously.
Shen Zhou stroked the sword and replied, "It's clean, it's never been stained with blood."
Hua Deng thought carefully for a moment: "What was its number again?"
Number five.
Shen Zhou hung the sword tassel on, examined it for a moment, and said, "I should change its name."
Hua Deng thought to herself, "You finally figured it out," and asked, "What do you want to change it to?"
The names of many ancient and famous swords flashed through her mind, such as Baihong, Qingshuang, and Xuanyuan...
Then she heard Shen Zhou say, "Cola."
"Um?"
Hua Deng didn't react for a moment.
Shen Zhou pointed to Baby Number Five and said, "Its name is Cola."
"???"
"You can call it Sprite."
That's right, Hua Deng even gave him his own homemade Sprite.
Her lips twitched uncontrollably: "You're a fake sword cultivator, aren't you!"
If you're fighting someone and they call out Gan Jiang and Mo Xie, and you call out Coke and Sprite, is that reasonable?
But looking at Shen Zhou's expression, she couldn't help but feel a little smug: "You said he looked like a mouse or a donkey, but you clearly really liked the gift I gave you."
Shen Zhou tapped the rabbit's head with his finger and said, "I've been having a connection with rabbits lately."
Hua Deng laughed: "I should give you a few more, after all, you have twelve... no, one hundred and nineteen swords."
Shen Zhou put down his sword and said, "This one is enough."
Hua Deng readily agreed, "Then I'll send you something else later."
Shen Zhou gave a low "hmm," tucked his sword to his waist, set up several layers of barriers around the nearby caves, and then left using the array to teleport away.
This time he didn't go to Ziyang Palace, but instead landed on Fengxiao Mountain, a few miles away.
The mountains and fields were silent. A tall, thin young man squatted beside the lush green bushes, recklessly tearing leaves apart. He turned his head at the sound and said, "You've finally arrived. Why did it take you so long this time?"
After saying that, he tossed a jade bottle out.
"The Heavenly Origin Pills you requested are enough for a year!"
Shen Zhou caught them steadily and checked the condition of each pill with a sweep of his divine sense.
The message Jinze sent him consisted of only one line: "The Heavenly Origin Pill is complete. Retrieve it quickly. I am at Fengxiao Mountain."
But after receiving it, he didn't leave immediately. Instead, he said, "You must have something else to do."
Jinze grinned: "Of course."
He handed over the list he had prepared beforehand: "These are the spies from the Immortal Alliance that I've identified. Take a look."
Shen Zhou picked up the list and looked at each name, trying to recall what they looked like.
Jinze squatted there listlessly, his gaze drawn to the unfamiliar sword at Shen Zhou's waist.
He had seen many swords from Shen Zhou, but none of them were this one.
But that's not the strangest thing. The strangest thing is that there's a sword tassel hanging from the hilt of his sword, an expensive tassel that clearly doesn't fit his style! He even flaunts it by hanging it outside!
He glanced at it; Shen Zhou was still deep in thought, so he mustered his courage and quietly reached out his hand.
Bang!
Before his fingertips could even touch it, an invisible force blasted him away. Clutching his numb hand, he protested, "Are you crazy? I can't even touch it! What's so precious about a stinky rat!"
"A rat?" Shen Zhou put down the list, and the moment his eyes looked over, Jin Ze felt a sharp pain in his temple. "Do I need to remind you, is this a rabbit? Are your eyes just there to get in the way?"
"Alright, alright! A rabbit is a rabbit... Hey, what do you have to do with rabbits? Last time a rabbit sneaked into Ziyang Palace, you called it ugly!"
Shen Zhou said, "You don't even want your tongue anymore?"
Now, not only his temples were stinging, but Jinze's tongue was also starting to sting. He finally dared not make a sound and silently closed his mouth.
Two years ago, he disobeyed Shen Zhou's orders and ran away to seek revenge. He was almost killed by someone with a hidden weapon. Although Shen Zhou came to save him in time, he also broke both of his legs and crushed his broken bones.
He lay on the ground, convulsing in pain, while Shen Zhou watched silently, finally saying, "Let it not happen again."
Fearing a repeat of the past, Jinze casually changed the subject: "You've finished reading that list? Is everything alright?"
Shen Zhou said, "Let's do it your way."
Jinze then smiled again, pointing to the foot of the mountain: "They planned to ambush me here. What a bunch of idiots. I'll deal with this group first, and then go back to Ziyang Palace to take care of the rest."
Shen Zhou said, "Okay."
Jinze was stunned for a moment: "That's it?"
Shen Zhou said expressionlessly, "I need to get back before dawn, so you'd better hurry."
Jinze glanced at the sky with a troubled expression: "Have you recently gone into a qi deviation while practicing your martial arts? Is it really necessary to be in such a hurry?"
Wait a minute. He suddenly asked, "Who gave you this sword tassel?"
He was met with a cold, warning gaze from Shen Zhou.
Jinze's heart skipped a beat, and he finally realized that something was getting out of control.
Four years ago, this man suddenly appeared, killed his damned father, and freed him from his cage.
He once asked, "Why did you save me?"
The person never answered him.
For four years, he witnessed Shen Zhou's power, and also his cold-blooded indifference to everything. He did not belong to Ziyang Palace, nor to any other place in this world.
This time, he looked at Shen Zhou and inexplicably asked the same question: "Why did you come here, and why did you save me?"
After a brief silence, Shen Zhou replied calmly, "For a promise."
Jinze held his breath and tentatively asked, "And is it the same for her?"
Shen Zhou should have answered "yes," but his casual gaze swept over the sword tassel at his waist and suddenly stopped.
Despite the lush trees in the mountains and the almost imperceptible wind, the tassels under the sword tassel swayed gently, one after another, never quite settling down.
He gripped the sword tassel in frustration, squeezing it completely into his palm.
The sword tassel finally stopped moving, lying quietly in his hand, as if it had just been an illusion.
He finally spoke, saying, "Yes."
Jinze breathed a sigh of relief and asked, "What is your promise? It's not that you're staying for her and then living like an ordinary person for a while, is it?"
The second half of the sentence was said in a joking tone.
Shen Zhou released his grip, and the immortal sword and its tassel were teleported to the mustard seed space. He said indifferently, "You're overthinking it. I won't leave it for anyone."
Jinze nodded and casually asked, "That's good, so you're not going back tomorrow, right?"
Shen Zhou said, "Go back."
Jinze: "..."
Then what the hell are you talking about!
This topic couldn't be continued, so he dusted off his clothes, got up, and started stretching.
What should be done with the people down the mountain?
"what ever."
Jinze licked his lips, a cruel excitement surfacing in his eyes.
"The Immortal Alliance has treated you this way, hunting you down for four or five years. Don't you want to trample them all under your feet and crush them into dust?"
Shen Zhou: "I don't want to."
Imazawa choked immediately.
He was unwilling to accept this and wanted to see even the slightest change in the man's expression, but unfortunately, he didn't.
All he heard Shen Zhou say was, "Don't contact me again this month. I'll come find you once I've resolved things."
"?" Jinze almost couldn't breathe. "I'm only at the Nascent Soul stage. Are you trying to kill me by leaving me alone in Ziyang Palace?"
“This is an order,” Shen Zhou said. “Obey.”
Jinze gritted his teeth in frustration. Shen Zhou glanced at him, and Jinze's expression immediately hardened. He looked straight ahead.
Then he saw Shen Zhou raise his hand, and the pain from his memory returned, causing him to close his eyes tightly.
However, the hand did not land on her face; something flowed down her forehead and into her consciousness, causing a slight pain.
"What the hell? Are you trying to frame me?" He covered his head in panic.
"Sword intent," Shen Zhou said succinctly, "Under the tribulation, no one can harm you."
Jinze blurted out, "What about above the tribulation?"
The moment the words left his mouth, he saw Shen Zhou's disdainful gaze, clearly doubting his intelligence. Jin Ze also realized he had said something pointless, so he could only curse inwardly and pretend nothing had happened.
Currently, there are three people in the Tribulation Transcending stage in Kyushu, but in reality, there are only two left because his unlucky father was killed by Shen Zhou with a single sword strike.
The remaining two will not leave the mountain unless there is something important. If they dare to come to Ziyang Palace, Shen Zhou will definitely find out.
"Is there only one sword intent?" Jinze touched his forehead, secretly hoping for the best.
Shen Zhou said, "How much more sword intent do you want, which condenses only once every three days?"
Jinze grinned: "At least eight or nine, I guess."
Shen Zhou's response was: "I'd rather watch you die than waste so much energy on you."
Before Jinze could express his dissatisfaction, he suddenly felt a pain in his lower back and was kicked off the cliff by Shen Zhou.
Amidst the whistling wind, a man's voice echoed in my ear: "Go and take care of them. Let me see what you're capable of."
"I'll expose you sooner or later, Shen Zhou!"
Jinze's curses and his figure disappeared together at the foot of the mountain.
Shen Zhou calmly looked down.
Four years later, Jinze has grown into the person he had predicted.
That's enough.
As for the scum of the Immortal Alliance, he never paid them any attention.
Everyone thought he harbored hatred, but in fact, the opposite was true.
He certainly wouldn't hate these ignorant and weak ants; he didn't hate anyone, nor did he care about anyone.
The only thing he ever wanted to tear apart, kill, and create and destroy was himself.
This is his way.
*
After Shen Zhou left, since it was still early, Hua Deng did not immediately enter the Immortal Spirit Pearl. Instead, she and Su Yiqing caught a pheasant, roasted it, and shared it.
While they were eating chicken, they encountered a little incident: a woman in white was chasing a ferocious beast and accidentally wandered into the nearby woods.
Su Yiqing, with a chicken leg in her mouth, looked up in surprise and asked, "Senior Sister Yu, what are you doing here?"
Hua Deng looked over and suddenly remembered that this was Yu Heng, the champion of the previous Immortal Sect Competition, whom she had met once at the banquet.
Yu Heng ended the ferocious beast's life with a white silk ribbon, put away her magical artifact, and walked towards them with a smile, saying, "What a coincidence, Junior Sister Su, you're here too."
"Senior sister, aren't you in charge of guarding the Heavenly-level magic treasure?" Su Yiqing pulled a chicken wing for her.
Yu Heng shook her head, not accepting the offer, and replied gently, "There are still people guarding over there, but this ferocious beast seems to be acting strangely, so I came to check it out as soon as I received the news."
Hua Deng didn't want to interact with strangers, but the words "heavenly-level magic weapon" piqued her interest.
This was her crucial mission, which would take her a full fifty years of her life.
So she stood up and said to Yu Heng, "Senior Sister Yu, it's a pleasure to meet you. I am Hua Deng, a disciple of the Yaoqing Sect."
Yu Heng stood beside the flowering tree and turned around. The hibiscus flowers here were in full bloom, and their delicate fragrance surrounded her, just like her.
She smiled sweetly at the city lights, her eyes, like spring water, rippled with emotion.
"Hello, Junior Sister Hua."
She took out a bottle of pills from her sleeve and handed it over: "These are Spirit Replenishing Pills. You must be tired these past two days. They can help replenish your spiritual energy."
Hua Deng had no concept of not accepting gifts; she figured she could always return something better, so she took the medicine bottle and said with a smile, "Thank you very much, Senior Sister."
Despite this, it was of no use; he simply put it into his Qiankun Ring.
She has a special constitution and the added advantage of being a female lead, making her habitually wary of everyone, regardless of gender. Besides, she has plenty of better medicines available, so she really doesn't need this one.
Yu Heng's eyes flickered twice, but she didn't say anything.
She had done a thorough investigation and found that Hua Deng came from an extraordinary family and was exceptionally talented. She had been pampered since childhood, so naturally she wouldn't give special consideration to someone who was not related to her.
It's a pity that the Immortal-Slaying Powder she incorporated into the pills was wasted after decades of refining only a small amount.
"Come on, Senior Sister Yu, sit here and try my cooking." Su Yiqing made room for her, and Hua Deng didn't object.
Yu Heng sat down with a normal expression and chatted with the two. Su Yiqing, tired of roast chicken, started making chicken soup, while Hua Deng continued to ask random questions, trying to extract information about the Heavenly-level magic weapon.
After a while, Su Yiqing peeked out from the white mist on the other side: "Senior sister, are you sensitive to smells?"
Yu Heng, not understanding her meaning, replied, "I do not have that ability."
"That's good."
Su Yiqing started cooking snail rice noodles.
Yu Heng: "?"
The strong smell filled her nostrils, and Yu Heng almost vomited.
Su Yiqing looked up with a simple smile: "Senior sister, don't worry, we'll each have one."
Yu Heng couldn't laugh.
The aroma grew stronger as it cooked, making her feel extremely uncomfortable. Hua Deng and Su Yiqing each filled a bowl and turned to her in unison, saying, "Senior Sister, come and eat with us!"
“…” Yu Heng closed her eyes and said softly, “I have been fasting for many years, you can eat.”
She reminded herself silently that she must not forget her purpose for today.
She was going to administer the medicine, administer it...
I can't bring myself to do it!
Yu Heng abruptly withdrew her hand, unable to resist covering her nose any longer. She darted away two feet as swiftly as a rabbit, hiding under a tree to take a deep breath.
Suddenly, she realized something was wrong; the tree behind her seemed to be moving.
Then came the lazy, laughing voice of Hua Deng: "Ah, they've taken the bait."
The tree transformed into ropes, binding her completely, leaving her no room to react.
The third-grade magic artifact, the Spirit-Binding Rope, was something Yu Heng tried to break free of. She forced herself to remain calm and asked, "Junior Sister, what do you mean by this?"
Hua Deng tilted her head and said softly, "I don't like the way you look at me."
Like those people, no matter how they disguised themselves, they could not hide their selfish desires, like watching prey.
So she sent a telepathic message to Su Yiqing, asking her to help her act. Fortunately, Su Yiqing chose to believe her and cooperated fully.
She took out the pills Yu Heng had given her, twirling the porcelain bottle between her fingers: "System, check this bottle of pills."
"Host, this is a Grade 5 Spirit Replenishing Pill. It contains a small amount of an unknown substance, which preliminary testing indicates is Immortal Slaughtering Powder. This medicine is extremely toxic and only exists in ancient texts from over a thousand years ago. Its effect is to block the cultivator's spiritual palace, wither the spiritual veins, and prevent normal cultivation. Grade: Grade 3."
Even a Nascent Soul stage cultivator cannot withstand a third-grade elixir.
"You really think highly of me." Hua Deng raised her eyes and smiled. "Do I really need such a precious poison as Immortal Slaughtering Powder to deal with you?"
Seeing that Yu Heng didn't deny it with a cold face, Su Yiqing asked in shock, "Senior Sister, what are you doing?"
Hua Deng wasn't surprised that Yu Heng had this, since medical practitioners like to look through ancient books and then develop drugs or even poisons that are said to have been lost.
Yu Heng was exceptionally talented, and with the help of her sect, it wasn't surprising that she could develop the Immortal-Slaying Powder. She just didn't understand—
"I don't know you, yet you poisoned me. Why?" Hua Deng approached and squatted down in front of her to ask.
Yu Heng said slowly, "You do not know me, but you have met someone you shouldn't have."
Hua Deng subconsciously looked at Su Yiqing, who also seemed to realize something and said with a look of horror, "No way, Senior Sister Yu, I haven't offended you!"
"You?" To everyone's surprise, Yu Heng chuckled and shook her head. "You don't have that honor."
"Is that Chenye?" Hua Deng suddenly asked.
“Yes, it was him,” Yu Heng said with a smile. “I knew it was him the moment he made his move at the banquet that day.”
Hua Deng certainly remembered the scene that day, but she never expected it was because of this.
“He only used that sword move a few times, and those who knew about it are all dead, so he probably didn’t expect that anyone would be able to recognize him by that.”
She stared at the streetlights: "You are his Daoist partner, aren't you?"
Hua Deng didn't answer; she stood up. But suddenly, she smelled that fragrance again, even stronger than before.
As if realizing something, a chill ran down my spine.
This is not the scent of hibiscus at all.
It is Yu Heng.
It was her scent.
*
At the foot of Fengxiao Mountain, the ground was covered with rivers of blood.
Shen Zhou walked down the steps one by one. When he reached the foot of the mountain, Jin Ze had just finished dealing with everything and was wiping the sword.
"I did a good job, didn't I?" Jinze asked, lifting his chin.
Shen Zhou said, "It's slower than I expected."
Jinze scoffed in dissatisfaction and reported on his recent work: "The Right Protector died, and I also dragged out and killed several of his accomplices. And then..."
As Chen Zhou descended the last step, the mountain path was lined with fragrant camellias, their aroma filling the air.
He subconsciously reached for the sword tassel at his waist, only to find it icy cold to the touch, and then remembered that he had just switched to a different sword.
Jinze continued, "Oh right, and there's also Youzhou. One of our branch headquarters was wiped out. We currently suspect it was the Black Tiger Gang, and then..."
"Um."
Shen Zhou answered in a low voice, gradually becoming absent-minded.
He has a photographic memory and can clearly remember the appearance of the sword tassel. He also has excellent observation skills, so he naturally wouldn't miss the camellia symbol on it.
The gifts Hua Deng gave him, whether clothes or accessories, always subtly featured camellia patterns. Some were embroidered as hidden designs, while others were meticulously carved into corners.
Cuffs, hem, leather belt, jade pendant, sword tassel... It's like a squirrel that likes to mark things, making camellias everywhere and integrating them into its life because it likes them.
She naively thought he didn't know, and secretly rejoiced about it.
Chen Zhou gazed at the rising moon.
What will she be doing? Catching fish, chickens, and rabbits with Su Yiqing, or running around disobeying him to collect her favorite magical artifacts?
"As for the rest of the list, tonight you and I will..." Jinze paused, looking at him, "Are you listening to me?"
Shen Zhou turned his gaze, but it passed over him and went further into the distance. However, there was only desolate night in the distance, and Jin Ze followed his gaze but found nothing.
He heard Shen Zhou say, "I'll give you one hour to get things sorted out, and then I'll leave."
"Leave? Didn't you say you'd handle this personally and forbade me to interfere?" Jinze suddenly turned around, his brows furrowed. "What's so important? Is it that woman—"
"You can handle the rest yourself; you don't need to inform me," Shen Zhou said.
"It really is her?!" Jinze roared.
He knew Shen Zhou to some extent; this man hated trouble, so if he did something, he would do it thoroughly.
As always, if he didn't want to get involved in the affairs of Ziyang Palace, he would never come back; but once he returned, it meant that he wanted absolute control, and no one could question or disobey him.
And now, he actually said, "You figure it out!"
Jinze's pupils constricted in disbelief; he almost suspected that Shen Zhou had been possessed!
"Go do it," Shen Zhou said casually, ignoring the shocked look in his eyes. "Or are you not confident you can do it well?"
"How is that possible!"
Jinze immediately spoke, summoned his immortal sword, and flew away on it.
Shen Zhou smiled faintly, took two steps, and then stopped.
He glanced at it for a moment, then reached into the bushes and picked a camellia.
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