Chapter 129 Wiping the Sword 3: Obsession
They repelled another wave of demonic beasts. Seeing that the demons made no further moves, the Immortal Alliance cultivators began exchanging resources such as pills and magical artifacts based on the spiritual cultivators' contributions.
Unbeknownst to the demons, it wasn't just the demons who had been plotting for a thousand years to retake the spiritual cultivation territory; the Immortal Alliance had also been working tirelessly during this time.
The Immortal Alliance has accumulated countless elixirs and magical artifacts, and regularly organizes cultivators to go to the Demon Sealing Battlefield, both to eliminate demons and for training. Over the years, they have achieved great results.
What's more, a genius master of both alchemy and weapon crafting has suddenly appeared. Not only has she become a fifth-level alchemist at a young age, but what's most impressive is that she seems to be able to refine pills and weapons at an incredibly fast speed, producing a large number of mid-level pills in a short period of time.
The Immortal Alliance has basically monopolized all the pills sold in Shuiyun Immortal Capital and Liuyun Sect. Every human cultivator who personally fights against demons can exchange their contribution points for pills, while the demon cultivators who are allies can also receive pills from the snake and deer clans.
For a time, the enthusiasm for exorcising demons reached an unprecedented high.
On the other side of the sea, countless cultivators were eager to show their skills in this battle.
Even reclusive masters were tempted when they heard that the pills refined by the alchemist surnamed Xu were free of poison. If it weren't for the fact that most pills circulating in the market are no more than the fifth rank and have limited effect on high-level cultivators, this battle could have ended much faster.
An unprecedented unity has firmly locked the battlefield in the Demon Realm. During this time of fighting against the demon beasts and demon soldiers in the Demon Realm, the day that all cultivators look forward to the most is the day to exchange resources.
"I want the ones Master Xu refined! Do you still have any fire-elemental spirit-enchanted ones? That spirit shield bead is also good! Give me two Myriad Spirit Pills too! And..."
The cultivator in charge of resource distribution from the Immortal Alliance looked helpless. "Master Xu's pills and magical artifacts can only be exchanged for one type."
"Why?! I killed eleven magical beasts this time! Why can't I exchange all those contribution points for them?"
The cultivator who had accumulated several batches of contribution points without exchanging them immediately quit. If it weren't for Master Xu's pills, would he have to work so hard?!
Before the Immortal Alliance cultivators could answer, the cultivators queuing behind them couldn't wait any longer. "If you're not going to exchange, then don't block the way! I'll exchange! Give me a bottle of Detoxification Pills!"
"Exactly! I want to trade too! I want the Chaos Water Spirit Sword Talisman!"
"And me..."
Seeing more and more cultivators pushing forward behind him, the cultivator at the front cursed under his breath and had no choice but to exchange for the Myriad Spirit Pill.
After the change, he didn't leave immediately, but stood aside and inquired about the news.
"Where exactly is the Qingyun Sect? Does it cooperate with any trading houses? After the demon-slaying war ends, where can I buy Master Xu's personally refined pills and magical artifacts?"
The busy Immortal Alliance cultivator casually pointed, "Master Xu is a guest elder of Shuiyun Immortal Capital, why don't you go and ask them!"
Upon hearing this, the cultivator indeed found a young cultivator dressed in the robes of a disciple of Shuiyun Immortal Capital.
Every disciple of Shuiyun Immortal Capital possesses pills refined by Xu Xing, so they don't need to queue to exchange them and have long been accustomed to the envious gazes of countless cultivators.
"Master Xu?"
An Xingyu's eyes lit up; he had asked the right person!
“That’s right! Master Xu is a guest of our Immortal Capital! The first trading firm she worked with was also under our Immortal Capital. Back when Master Xu participated in the alchemy competition, I personally selected the materials for her, and I even have her signature!”
When Xu Xing was mentioned, An Xingyu immediately began to talk non-stop. The cultivator who asked the question was dumbfounded and couldn't find a chance to interrupt. He was forced to listen to a lot of his praise for Xu Xing.
"Junior Brother An! A fellow disciple is injured, come and help!"
Fortunately, a cool and aloof female cultivator called out from afar, finally silencing An Xingyu.
"Understood, Senior Sister Fang Yi, I'm coming right now!"
An Xingyu reluctantly put away Xu Xing's autograph, but fortunately he hadn't forgotten the cultivator's question. "Most of Master Xu's pills in our Immortal Capital have been sold to the Immortal Alliance. The rest will not be sold to the public before the battle ends. If you want to buy some, you might as well ask the demons over there."
"..."
After trying several times without getting an answer, the already short-tempered cultivator's face darkened. However, thinking of the useful pills and magical artifacts, he held back and still found the demon race's temporary camp as instructed.
But he wasn't the only cultivator searching for news of Xu Xing.
Compared to Shuiyun Xiandu, cultivators from the Yuxiao Sect were asked the most questions, but the questions they encountered were...
"I heard that Master Xu was a disciple of the Jade Cloud Sect before. Have you met her?"
"I also heard that she used to run a shop in the Jade Cloud Sect and even gave discounts to the disciples! Is that true?"
"Master Xu is such a good person, why did he leave the Jade Cloud Sect? What happened?"
"..."
The disciples of Yuxiao, who were queuing up to exchange for pills, had mixed feelings. They used to be able to easily obtain the pills and magical artifacts refined by Xu Xing, but now they had to work as hard as other cultivators to kill demonic beasts in order to exchange for them.
Most of the disciples of the Jade Cloud Sect did not want to say much, after all, if they talked about how a genius who was skilled in both alchemy and weapon crafting was driven away by the Jade Cloud Sect, they would inevitably be subjected to a lot of gloating looks.
Unfortunately, some people failed to grasp the situation.
"She's just trying to gain fame! She's using this demon-slaying battle to steal the spotlight, don't be fooled by her!"
Upon hearing this untimely remark, the surroundings fell silent, and the Jade Cloud Sect's Punishment Hall cultivator who spoke instantly attracted the attention of countless people.
The cultivator's hair stood on end instantly, and he couldn't help but swallow hard.
But remembering that the hall master Kan Yuansi had always disliked Xu Xing, he still pretended to be calm and continued to mock him.
"Xu Xing is a cultivator with only five spiritual roots and extremely poor aptitude. Who in the Jade Cloud Sect doesn't know that she barely managed to reach the Golden Core stage by consuming countless rare and precious herbs?"
"And she's a demon! Who knows what kind of conspiracy she was plotting to infiltrate our Jade Cloud Sect back then! There are so many revered alchemy masters, is such a sneaky demon worthy of your adulation?"
The previously noisy scene suddenly fell silent. Seeing that everyone was listening to him, the cultivator, who thought he was the center of attention, became more and more enthusiastic as he spoke, his malice and jealousy in his eyes undisguised.
They're all disciples of the Jade Cloud Sect, so why does Xu Xing have so many fortuitous encounters? We don't even know where she got her alchemy and artifact-making skills from.
How did a demon clan member who was expelled from the Jade Cloud Sect become so famous in the Spirit Martial Continent?
The more famous she became, the more people secretly mocked the Jade Cloud Sect for not recognizing her true worth.
The disciples of the Punishment Hall, who were still talking non-stop, did not notice that the surroundings had become completely quiet, so quiet that you could hear a pin drop.
"What nonsense are you talking about..."
Zhao Linglan, who was with the other disciples of the Jade Cloud Sect, couldn't stand it anymore and was about to speak up in rebuttal when she saw the cultivator who was still talking incessantly "fly" up lightly.
A thick, black snake coiled around him with its tail, spinning wildly up and down, left and right.
Yunxi stepped forward and nodded gracefully to everyone. "You flatter me. We snake people just love playing games with humans."
The onlookers burst into laughter, and no one spoke up for the disciple who was already dizzy from being spun around; they were all just watching the show.
Has this disciple of Yuxiao gone mad? How dare he belittle Master Xu, who is from the demon race, in front of the demon race?
Don't forget, the Immortal Alliance is currently cooperating with the Demon Race!
It's lucky that this idiot didn't perish in the battle against demons.
Yunxi clapped his hands, and the brocade snake that had been entangled with the Yuxiao Sect disciple finally released him. By this time, he was already unconscious.
The other Punishment Hall cultivators couldn't help but shout angrily, "He only said a few words, and your snake clan attacked him? This is simply outrageous!"
The serpent transformed back into human form and innocently shrugged, "I was just playing around with this fellow Daoist because he looked kind; I didn't lay a hand on him."
You didn't actually move the tail; you moved the tail!
Seeing that more and more demons were surrounding them, the Punishment Hall cultivators knew they were in the wrong and dared not speak out in anger.
He first went forward to check on the disciple's condition and saw that the person had only fainted and was indeed unharmed, but the appearance of being covered in vomit was really disgusting.
He had already lost enough face today, so the several Punishment Hall monks had no choice but to reluctantly carry him away.
Although the demon race intervened to stop the disciple from continuing to smear Xu Xing, Zhao Linglan still raised her voice slightly and earnestly explained on Xu Xing's behalf.
"I am a disciple of the Jade Cloud Sect. Xu Xing did indeed run a pill and artifact shop in the Jade Cloud Sect. Not only were the prices low, but new disciples also received extra subsidies. Xu Xing is very good. In the future, the Azure Cloud Sect will definitely also sell pills to the public."
"Anything refined by Xu Xing, whether it's a pill or a magic weapon, is of undeniable quality. That disciple just now came from the Punishment Hall, and the Hall Master of Punishment Hall has a personal grudge against her, which is why she made those slanderous remarks. Such baseless lies are not worth wasting your time."
Fan Sutan, who had just finished clearing away the stray monsters from the battlefield, came down with her sword drawn and happened to hear these words. She didn't know exactly what had happened, but she subconsciously walked over and stood next to Zhao Linglan to speak up for Xu Xing.
"A few years ago, the Jade Cloud Sect also experienced the poison of demonic blood, and a large number of disciples of the Immortal Dao Academy were affected. They were able to recover because of Master Xu's detoxification pill."
“That’s right! Although Master Xu wasn’t well-known before, she actually did a lot of things quietly, she…”
Tong Yuanbai, Li Yuan, and others also broke their silence.
Soon, all the disciples of the Jade Cloud Sect stepped forward.
"And if Master Xu hadn't revealed the formula for the Detoxification Pill, how could things have gone so smoothly? I'm afraid everyone would have suffered greatly from the demonic blood!"
"Exactly! Master Xu has done everything she could! Her pills are of high quality and low price; there's no shop more ethical than hers!"
A group of martial artists rushed over upon hearing the commotion, filled with righteous indignation. Although they had also participated in this battle against the demons, due to their low cultivation levels, most of them were only responsible for cleaning up the battlefield and treating the wounded.
Normally they were extremely respectful to the cultivators and never dared to offend them, but now they couldn't help but start talking all at once.
Master Xu is their great benefactor; how could they allow such slander?!
"It was Master Xu who first discovered the problem with the Immortal Condensation Pill that the martial artist was taking!"
"..."
A tent somewhere in the Jade Cloud Sect camp.
The disciple from Wuchen Peak finished reporting on the commotion. He glanced at the expression on the face of the person at the head of the table, then spoke indignantly, "Are we just going to watch them betray us and side with a demon?!"
Jiang Feichen rubbed his temples wearily. "Forget it, focus on fighting the enemy. Don't report this kind of thing again."
The matter of Feng Zhun turning into a demon was widely discussed in the Jade Cloud Sect a while ago. He took a look at a disciple's spiritual secret and only then did he realize that there was a secret forum among the Jade Cloud disciples.
It's truly undignified that a core elder like him has become a topic of conversation among his disciples over a disagreement with two juniors.
The disciple, who had been feigning indignation, immediately dropped his act. Had his master finally come to his senses? Did he no longer need to pretend?
Overjoyed, he inadvertently revealed his true feelings, "That's wonderful!"
The disciple realized he was in trouble after accidentally letting something slip. Sure enough, the next moment, Jiang Feichen's face darkened, and he immediately pursed his lips and retreated step by step.
well!
That's really something, Master. If he hadn't targeted Xuanjian Peak back then, and hadn't colluded with Hall Master Kan to exaggerate things in front of the Sect Master, perhaps Master Xu would still be in the Jade Cloud Sect, and he wouldn't be having such a hard time buying a single pill now...
"Oh? So 'I' have a pretty good reputation among these spiritual practitioners?"
Kui Yin flipped through the intelligence sent by the demons, his eyes showing satisfaction.
Hearing this, even the demons, who had never known morality, were somewhat shocked and cautiously glanced at the Demon Lord.
Isn't it a bit too fast for Your Excellency to assume the identity of "Xu Xing"?
Kui Yin, who originally planned to lead the demons in a counterattack, changed his mind. Since Xu Xing was so prestigious, he didn't mind slightly changing these spiritual cultivators' opinions of her.
"How many magical beasts were prematurely matured?"
Feng Zhun lowered his head, "Around three thousand."
"Too slow! Quickly ripen all the demon eggs in the Abyss. I want the spiritual cultivators to know the price for disturbing my demon realm!"
Kui Yin felt the abundant spiritual power within his body, but it wasn't enough. He needed to obtain the last dragon scale, and then…
Where did Xu Xing go after escaping the blood pool?
"An isolated island in the sea is the territory of Xinghai Kun."
Starry Sea Kun?
Kui Yin became interested; only such a rare and precious beast was worthy of being his mount.
However, there's no rush now. Before obtaining the last dragon scale, Kui Yin will not leave the Demon Realm, a place that is absolutely safe.
Feng Zhun's work has always been to Kui Yin's liking. When the Demon Lords led tens of thousands of demon beasts back into the battlefield, Kui Yin was also searching for the whereabouts of the dragon scales in the space of Xu Xing.
Xu Xing has always been in a half-dragon form, which will attract dragon scales invisibly, so starting with her is the fastest way.
"By the way, I heard your sister has also come to the Demon Realm."
Kui Yin smiled. "I can spare her life."
Feng Zhun moved his lips but didn't speak, which was rare. Kui Yin didn't mind; humans were just too soft-hearted.
Although Feng Zhun has fallen into demonic possession, he still retains a trace of useless human emotions, which is a pity.
After Kui Yin left, Feng Zhun was left alone in the cave. It was completely silent except for the occasional sound of dripping water.
"Crack—"
Suddenly, several faint cracking sounds were heard, and then the dense spiritual energy in the entire cave seemed to have burst through a hole and rapidly leaked out.
Feng Zhun frowned. A sudden pang of fear gave him a bad feeling. He teleported and instantly arrived next to the Soul Gathering Array.
However, the Soul Gathering Array, which had been built using countless treasures to calm the mind and nourish the soul, had already lost its power.
Feng Zhun's face turned completely gloomy. Even if the entire Demon Realm were to use all its power, it would be difficult to build a second magic array. Yet it had suddenly broken?
Beneath the various shattered spirit stones and magical artifacts, several other runes were faintly visible. Just as he was about to examine them closely, he noticed a tiny golden sword light flash across them.
Feng Zhun's eyes narrowed. Something was wrong! The person who destroyed the formation was still here!
The next moment, a sharp sword light pierced from behind. Feng Zhun moved his right hand slightly, and a pure black demonic sword instantly appeared in his palm.
He quickly raised his sword to parry, and glanced sideways at the equally black Xuan Yue Sword.
It really was a sinking ferry!
With a smirk, Feng Zhun said, "Good disciple, are you going to use the sword I gave you against me?"
Seeing the person behind him attack again without a word, Feng Zhun's smile remained unchanged. He leaped forward two steps, using the momentum to turn around and call out, "Disciple—"
Upon seeing the "person" holding the Xuan Yue Sword, Feng Zhun's smile froze.
How come it's a puppet that's not even as tall as his waist?!
Holding a sword almost as long as its own body, the little puppet was expressionless, and its features, which Xu Xing had deliberately magnified, even looked somewhat cute.
But Feng Zhun's expression suddenly changed. "Are you courting death by fighting me with a puppet body?"
"No."
Chen Du's voice was crystal clear, "I just feel that this is enough."
Being in perfect harmony with Xu Xing, Shen Du realized what Xu Xing was trying to do as soon as she altered the ethereal space.
Since his junior sister had risked her life, he would help her eliminate any potential troubles.
Feng Zhun suddenly recalled the scene from many years ago when he and his father went to the Immortal Academy to watch the disciples' assessment.
"This disciple named Shen Du has excellent swordsmanship."
Feng Zhun had almost never heard praise from his strict father, so he was immediately taken aback.
For some reason, he smiled and said, "Indeed, although he is only at the Qi Refining stage, his swordsmanship is not much different from what I comprehended when I was at the Foundation Establishment stage."
Upon hearing his son's words, Feng Xinghuai simply shook his head. His expression was calm, and his tone was flat, as if he were merely stating an obvious fact.
You're wrong.
"Judging from his sword intent, even compared to you now, he is several times better than you."
"You are far inferior to him."
Feng Zhun had long forgotten the specific content of the assessment that day, but he remembered every word his father had said that day.
Why? Why?!
How can an orphan, a wild boy with no connections, compare to him?
A slight dizziness ran through Feng Zhun, who saw the shadow of Feng Xin Huai on the face of the little puppet in front of him.
In that instant, he felt a strange shiver, as if he had been waiting for such an opportunity.
This time, he will let his father know that Shen Du will never, ever be his match.
Feng Zhun slowly tightened his grip on the sword hilt and said coldly, "Very well, I will make you pay the price for your ignorance and arrogance."
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Author's Note: Thank you to 44201549, Rabbit Osmanthus Cake, Waiwaiwai, Mei, Zhouzhou, Sleep a Little Longer, Yanxi, Happy Meow, and 25656288 for the nutrient solution! [Hugs]
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