Chapter 6 - Provocation
Three days have passed since Su Tang "settled down" in Guixu Sect.
During these three days, she used the photo stone given by Xie Zhao and diligently performed her duties as the "chief paparazzi of the sect" and "chief stove ash cleaner."
- Chu Linyuan practices swordplay in the evil rain every day. The sword light freezes the evil rain and the cold air is pressing. In the background is Xie Zhao's harassment of "Senior brother is so handsome!" "Senior brother, look at the warming talisman I just drew!" and the screams of being frozen into an ice sculpture by the evil energy.
- When Luo Hongyi used new seasonings to create a new poisonous soup "Ten-fold Nourishing Soul-breaking Soup", Tie Niu was forced to taste the dish. The mushrooms on his head suddenly grew in a circle, and colorful poisonous smoke came out of his body. He said honestly, "It's a bit spicy for my throat." This was a terrifying scene.
Bai Xiaolu, holding her little white rabbit, sat on the threshold, gently combing its fur with her tiny hands while humming a tuneless nursery rhyme. The little white rabbit, on the other hand, squinted contentedly, occasionally licking Bai Xiaolu's fingers with its tender pink tongue. The scene was eerily heartwarming—for Su Tang's psychic eyes could clearly "see" that deep within Bai Xiaolu's tiny body lurked a massive, ferocious, beast-like phantom, emanating a primordial, murderous aura! Enshrouded in a soft yet resilient golden light, the phantom resembled a sleeping demon. Several golden soul chains extended from the phantom, firmly connecting to the seemingly harmless little white rabbit in her arms! Within the little white rabbit lay a deep, devouring void! No! Are all the rabbits in your sect powerful? Hey! Are rabbits also children of destiny?
- And herself, every day using the low-level fire talismans "sponsored by Xie Zhao" to gradually bake and chisel the stove ash that Chu Linyuan had frozen into black ice, her hands red with cold, her miserable life progressing as slowly as a turtle. Tired, let's destroy it...
The days passed with a thrilling, yet strangely fulfilling quality. On the morning of the fourth day, Su Tang was crouching at the temple entrance, cradling a palm-sized piece of black ice stove ash she had finally chiseled off, facing the rising sun (which was actually just a haze of blood), contemplating life, when a clamorous sound of breaking air approached from afar, shattering the stagnant "tranquility" of Guixu Sect.
"You poor bastard from Guixu Sect! Get out here!"
A roar like thunder exploded in front of the dilapidated mountain gate! Accompanied by a sharp, piercing sound, three streams of crimson light descended from the sky, slamming heavily onto the muddy ground, splashing large amounts of mud!
The leader was none other than the burial god market terrified by Luo Hongyi, the same burial god who had vomited venom and trembled with fear at the hands of Luo Hongyi a few days earlier. His face was still a pale green, his eye bags puffy, and he clearly hadn't fully recovered. But his eyes were filled with malice and a kind of bravado. Behind him followed two cultivators, also wearing scarlet flame robes. Their auras were noticeably more powerful, their spiritual energy surging throughout them. They were clearly at the early stages of the Golden Core stage! Their eyes were haughty, as if they were looking at garbage on the side of the road, as they scanned the dilapidated ruins before them.
The young master Chihuo's gaze was like a poisonous snake. He immediately locked onto Su Tang, who was squatting at the door of the hall, holding pieces of ice stove ash, and... Luo Hongyi, who was leaning on the kitchen door frame, stirring a pool of dark green sticky substance in the pot with a small spoon, and was too lazy to even lift his eyelids!
When he saw Luo Hongyi's gorgeous yet lazy profile, the Red Fire Young Master's pupils shrank sharply, and he subconsciously took a half step back. The blood instantly drained from his face. The horrific memory of being strangled by the invisible venomous snake and vomiting dark green venom that day flooded back like a tide! His stomach twitched reflexively!
"Young...Young Master?" A Jindan guard behind him noticed his momentary loss of composure and asked in a low voice.
Young Master Chihuo forced himself to suppress the churning gastric juice and fear, stared at Luo Hongyi with resentment, and growled with gritted teeth: "It's her! And that little witch holding a rabbit! They were at the market..." He didn't finish his words, but the fear and hatred in his eyes said it all.
The two Jindan guards' gazes fixed on Luo Hongyi and Bai Xiaolu. Luo Hongyi showed no trace of spiritual energy, and Bai Xiaolu looked like an ordinary little girl, holding a pet rabbit. But the young master's deep-seated fear was undeniable. They exchanged glances, each seeing a solemnity and a hint of fear in the other's eyes. This woman and little girl were strange!
Young Master Chihuo took a deep breath and forced himself to look away. No, he couldn't provoke this vicious woman and that strange little girl! He swept his gaze across the dilapidated sect and instantly found his new target—the "Qi Refining Rookie" who was just emerging from the ruined hall, looking half asleep, rubbing his eyes, his spiritual energy fluctuating pitifully weak. And the cold-faced young man who followed him out, expressionless and with a cold, hard aura, but only at the peak of the "Foundation Establishment" stage!
Pick on the weak! Pick on them! This way, I can redeem myself without having to face those two terrifying women!
Young Master Chihuo suddenly gained courage and pointed at Xie Zhao and Chu Linyuan. His voice rose high, filled with deliberately constructed arrogance: "You two! Yes! You! Foundation Establishment scum and Qi Refining rookie! Get over here!"
Xie Zhao yawned, his peach blossom eyes half open and half closed, as if he had just been woken up, with a confused look on his face: "Ah? Calling me?" He even looked around to confirm that the other party was referring to him.
Chu Linyuan completely ignored the noise and his eyes fell on the piece of black ice stove ash in Su Tang's arms. He frowned slightly, as if he thought her progress was too slow.
(“Hey, hey, hey, is this young master trying to kill himself? And what does that look from the eldest senior brother mean? I’m already good at beating these guys every day, don’t I have to save face? And why are you two inseparable every day? Hello, Master, I haven’t met you yet. Although I don’t know where you are...but! Master, your disciple is gay!”) Poor Su Tang could only complain silently in her heart...
Seeing the two of them being so "slow", the young master of Chihuo was even more furious, especially that cold-faced foundation-building scum who dared to ignore him! He suddenly stepped forward, the pressure of the late Jindan stage.
In fact, the protective magic weapon his father gave him simulated...
It exploded with mixed anger, trying to crush these two ignorant "soft persimmons"!
"Are you deaf?! This young master has come to your shitty Guixu Sect today because I think highly of you! If you have any sense, kneel down and kowtow and admit your mistake immediately! Compensate my Chihuo Sect for mental damage, medical expenses, and lost wages, a total of 10,000 low-grade spirit stones! And hand over the deed to this broken sect! Otherwise..." He grinned, his hand on the red long sword at his waist. The blade hummed, and the scorching air wave forced towards Xie Zhao and Chu Linyuan, "Otherwise, I will flatten this poor den of yours today! For the men, I will extract their souls and refine their spirits, and for the women..." His lustful eyes swept over Luo Hongyi and Bai Xiaolu, but when he touched Luo Hongyi and Bai Xiaolu, he quickly retracted them as if he was scalded, and only dared to fall on Su Tang, "...sell them to brothels to pay off the debt!"
"Ten thousand spirit stones?!" Su Tang's hands trembled with fear, and the fragments of ice stove ash in her arms almost fell to the ground. This was an astronomical figure! Even if she were sold, it wouldn't be worth a fraction of it!
Xie Zhao seemed to finally understand. He rubbed his ears, with an expression that said "you seem to be making me laugh" on his face, and slowly took out a wrinkled yellow paper talisman with weak spiritual power and twisted and distorted talismans from his sleeve.
"Ten thousand spirit stones? And a land deed? And you want to sell me my new junior sister?" Xie Zhao shook the talisman in his hand, his tone filled with exaggerated surprise, "This... Young Master Chihuo, right? You have a beautiful dream, right? Otherwise, senior brother, I will give you a 'Wake-up Talisman'? It's specially used to treat hysteria, with outstanding effects, and it's fair to everyone. It's only nine dollars and nine... Oh no, nine low-grade spirit stones!" He smiled as if he was making a sales pitch.
"Looking for death!" Young Master Chihuo was completely enraged! A Qi Refining rookie dared to tease him like this! He suddenly drew out his crimson sword, the blade flashing like fire, stirring up a scorching wave of air, and slashed down at Xie Zhao's head! This furious strike was so powerful that it could split an ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivator in half!
"Young Master, be careful!" A Jindan guard behind him, his expression slightly changed, and he shouted a warning. His eyes still swept warily over Luo Hongyi and Bai Xiaolu. The woman was still stirring the soup, while the girl, holding the rabbit, looked over curiously, as if attracted by the noise.
However, Young Master Chihuo's sword had already been swung out!
Just when the scorching blade was about to touch Xie Zhao's head!
The playful smile on Xie Zhao's face instantly vanished, replaced by an almost cold calm. He pinched the wrinkled yellow talisman with his fingers, and with lightning speed, he slashed it through the air!
There was no earth-shattering momentum.
There was only an extremely subtle, yet sharp sound that seemed to pierce the soul!
An invisible, twisted ripple, centered on the yellow talisman, instantly spread out! Like a stone dropped into a calm lake, what spread out was not ripples, but... **The Law of Silence!**
"Silence! Everyone, be silent!"
The furious roar of the Young Master Chihuo, the whistling of his long sword cutting through the air, the exclamations of the guards behind him… all these sounds, as if strangled by an invisible hand, vanished in an instant as the ripples swept past.
The world fell into a strange silence!
The Young Master Chihuo maintained his ferocious stance, swinging his sword downwards, his mouth wide open, yet no sound emanated! His eyes were filled with utter terror and bewilderment! He felt as if his throat were sealed tightly shut by the toughest glue, unable to utter even the slightest whimper! The flow of spiritual energy within his body was also invisibly disturbed, becoming incredibly sluggish! The blade's light, losing its subsequent spiritual support, instantly dimmed, leaving only inertia to carry the blade downwards!
This bizarre scene caused the other Jindan guard's pupils to shrink suddenly! He finally realized the seriousness of the situation! This was definitely not a Qi Refining Stage cultivator! This was... a master of the Way of Talismans! And his methods were extremely strange!
"Protect the young master!" He shouted loudly, although his voice was suppressed to an extremely weak level. His body was as fast as lightning, and he instantly blocked in front of the young master Chihuo. At the same time, he formed seals with his hands, and a red shield burning with blazing flames instantly condensed in front of him, emitting a scorching high temperature, trying to resist Xie Zhao's strange silence area and the impending attack!
However, as fast as he is, there are people who are even faster!
A cold figure appeared beside Xie Zhao as if teleporting!
He didn't even look at the scorching flame shield, nor at the crimson longsword still slashing down by inertia. His gaze seemed to casually sweep over the Golden Core Guardian standing in front of the Young Master of Red Fire, and the Young Master of Red Fire behind him, whose expression was frozen in horror.
Then, he moved.
He just casually raised his right hand and pointed it like a sword.
Above the fingertips, a wisp of extremely condensed dark evil energy coiled around, emitting a chill that could freeze the soul!
He lightly tapped the burning flame shield and the two people behind it.
There was no gorgeous sword light, no deafening explosion.
There was only a teeth-grinding "hissing" sound, as if the space itself was rapidly frozen!
With Chu Linyuan's fingertips as the center, a dark cold current that was visible to the naked eye and condensed as solid as a substance gushed out in an instant like a poisonous snake coming out of a cave!
The crimson shield, blazing with flames, capable of withstanding a full-strength attack from a mid-stage Jindan cultivator, was plunged into a flame of absolute zero the moment it came into contact with the pitch-black cold current. Without even a struggle, the flames on its surface instantly solidified, extinguished, and covered with a thick layer of inky black ice! Then, as if possessed of life, the ice crazily spread across the shield's surface, freezing it in the blink of an eye, along with the hands of the Jindan guards behind it, who were forming seals!
The terrifying chill didn't stop! It penetrated the frozen shield and instantly wrapped around the body of the Golden Core Guard like a maggot attached to the bone!
"Ugh...!" The Jindan Guard's eyes bulged, a frozen hoarse sound emanating from his throat. His face instantly coated in a layer of black frost, his body stiffening and freezing at a visible speed! The spiritual energy surging within him froze like a frozen river, instantly stagnating! He remained in a defensive posture, transformed into a lifelike black ice sculpture!
The remaining cold force was like an icy tide, gently brushing over the Young Master Chihuo.
The expression of horror on Young Master Chihuo's face froze instantly, a thin layer of black frost covering his skin, eyebrows, and hair... His sword-swinging movements were completely frozen, as if he were under a spell, unable to even move his eyes. All that remained was an indescribable, soul-freezing fear deep within his pupils! He felt as if he had been instantly plunged into the depths of ten thousand years of profound ice, even his thoughts frozen!
Absolute dead silence!
The scorching blade light completely dissipated, and the red long sword fell into the mud with a clang.
A black ice sculpture stood in a defensive posture, emitting a chilling chill.
Young Master Chihuo stood there like a frozen statue, motionless. Only the remaining fear in his eyes proved that he was still alive.
The other Jindan guard froze in place, his face as pale as paper, his body rigid, not daring to move a finger! He watched helplessly as his companions were instantly frozen, the young master frozen by the evil spirit. The icy aura of death that penetrated his bones made his soul tremble! He finally understood why the young master was so terrified! These weren't just Foundation Establishment scum and Qi Refining rookies! They were two ferocious beasts in sheep's clothing!
Su Tang secretly took out the photo stone in the corner and faithfully recorded this silent and terrifying scene:
A yellow talisman glowed at Xie Zhao's fingertips, the forbidden area opened, and the world fell silent.
Chu Linyuan pointed his fingers together, and a black cold current swept across, freezing the golden elixir and freezing the young master.
Luo Hongyi stood by the door, stirring the dark green poisonous soup lightly with a spoon, without even lifting her eyelids, as if there was only a fight between flies in front of her.
Little White Deer, holding her little white rabbit, stood a little further away, seemingly finding the ice sculpture quite amusing. The Moon-Eating Rabbit in her arms also stared at the ice sculpture with its ruby-red eyes, its three-petaled mouth moving slightly. (I don't think it's going to eat the ice sculpture like a popsicle, ahhh!)
Tie Niu had come over at some point, carrying his giant basket of "wild vegetables," and asked in a simple, honest voice, "Huh? This ice sculpture... is blocking my view of the vegetables? Can it be moved?" (Brother Tie Niu was still as clueless as ever...)
Su Tang's palms were sweaty as she gripped the photo stone, her heart pounding, but an indescribable excitement and the paparazzi's sense of mission to "witness history" overwhelmed her fear. (Although she was complaining in her heart.)
She quietly adjusted the angle, capturing a close-up of Chu Linyuan's stern profile and the murderous aura lingering on his fingertips, and a high-definition close-up shot of the lifelike golden elixir ice sculpture on the ground. As the camera panned over Bai Xiaolu and the rabbit in her arms, Su Tang's psychic eyes, as if through the image stone, could see the faint flickering of the soul chain between the little girl's body, the golden-shrouded ferocious beast's phantom, and the rabbit.
Xie Zhao slowly walked up to the frozen Jindan guard, extended his fingers, and tapped twice on the dark ice, as if checking the ripeness of a watermelon. He turned back to the other Jindan guard, who was still standing there, and gave him a brilliant smile that looked devilish to him. He silently mouthed the following words:
"Go back and call someone who can fight."
"By the way," he pointed at the frozen Young Master Chihuo and the ice sculpture on the ground, "bring these two pieces of 'trash', as well as compensation for our sect's mental damage, shock compensation, and site cleanup fees... well, let's round it up to 50,000 low-grade spirit stones. Send them all here."
"If you don't wait until the deadline, the consequences will be at your own risk."
The other Jindan guard shuddered, like a pardoned prisoner. Without a second's hesitation, he tumbled and crawled, raising his flying sword. Transforming into a streak of panicked crimson light, he fled desperately towards the outskirts of the God Burial Abyss without even turning back. His speed was so fast that he left a trail of shambling afterimages in the air.
"Calm" was restored in front of the Guixu Sect's mountain gate.
Only a long red sword dropped into the mud was left.
And...the priceless high-definition images of "Silent Crushing" freshly taken from the Su Tang Photo Stone.
When the guard left, he also carried the two ice sculptures away. Su Tang couldn't help but think, "How powerful! He's worthy of being a Jindan..."
Xie Zhao stretched himself, walked to Chu Linyuan, and wanted to pat him on the shoulder with a smile: "Senior brother is so awesome! One Sword Frost Fourteen...eh?" Before his hand touched the corner of Chu Linyuan's clothes, he was bounced away by a cold murderous aura.
Chu Linyuan didn't even look at him, his cold gaze fell on the piece of black ice stove ash in Su Tang's arms, only half of which had been chiseled off.
Those two cold words were like a verdict.
Su Tang: "..." She looked at the cold "homework" in her arms, then at the even colder "artwork" on the ground, sniffing in grief and indignation. Paparazzi life is not easy, and the collection of dirt must continue!
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