A black shadow appeared by Wen Li’s side.
To enter the territory of the demon race, Xie Tinglan dropped the disguise over his dark eyes. His red vertical pupils reappeared, appearing cold, sharp, and eerily arrogant.
“As an Ancient Soaring Serpent, your bloodline status should have given you a place among the Three Ancient Demon Clans. Why did you end up imprisoned by the Beast Taming Sect?” Wen Li turned her head to ask.
“I do not know.” Xie Tinglan narrowed his cold eyes. “From my earliest memories, I was wandering across the Southern Province. At the age of fifty, I was captured by the Beast Taming Sect and imprisoned for over a hundred years. I have no memories of the Qisu Kingdom, nor any kin.”
He was an Ancient Soaring Serpent, a bloodline born once every thousand years from heaven and earth. Born of the world without parents, he enjoyed the favor of the heavens; his cultivation rose naturally with age, even increasing while simply drinking water. He was different from the Three Ancient Demon Clans of the Qisu Kingdom, whose legacies were passed down through generations.
To put it bluntly, his bloodline was more powerful, and those three clans could not compare to him.
Wen Li nodded. “It doesn’t matter. We’ll go in and have a look this time.”
Zongzheng Huangyue walked to the bow of the vessel. “Master, Yuepo has something to say to you.” She took out the Moon Soul Arrow, and a flickering pale blue light manifested as a spectral figure of a woman in the air.
“Senior, ahead is the Qisu Kingdom, the home of the Ancient Phoenix clan!” she said, her expression full of excitement.
“I’ve arrived at the Phoenix clan’s territory. You can come out when I need you, but if you are disobedient, I can make you vanish into ash at any time. Do not attempt to contact anyone behind my back,” Wen Li said coldly.
Yuepo’s expression turned respectful. “Rest assured, Senior, I wouldn’t dare act recklessly. Once Senior reaches the Phoenix clan, please release me so I can explain things to them. That way, they won’t be rude or xenophobic toward you.”
“We’ll see.”
Hearing this, Yuepo frowned slightly but didn’t dare say more. She could only nod.
“Very well, I will follow Senior’s arrangements.”
She returned into the Moon Soul Arrow.
BOOM!
The next second, a massive noise erupted from the cabin of the flying vessel, nearly shattering it. It was fortunate that she had reinforced it.
Wen Li knew at a glance that they were fighting inside again. Ignoring it, she turned to question Zongzheng Huangyue.
“How is your Soul Refining Technique progressing?”
Zongzheng Huangyue nodded. “At present, I can clear a soul’s consciousness and control it for ten seconds. After that, it becomes uncontrollable and attacks people randomly.”
“Ten seconds is progress. Try merging the soul into the Moon Soul Arrow next and attempt to manipulate it with your Divine Sense,” Wen Li instructed.
“My Divine Sense is still insufficient to independently fire a second shot from the Moon Soul Arrow.” The Moon Soul Arrow was meant to be wielded by Nascent Soul cultivators. The only reason she, a Foundation Establishment cultivator, could fire the first shot was her status as its master, and even then, she had relied on Yuepo assisting her back in the tomb.
“Do you know how to increase the power of your Divine Sense?”
“Isn’t it by using Divine Sense to manipulate objects over a long period without using spiritual energy as a supplement?” Zongzheng Huangyue answered thoughtfully. For instance, manipulating chopsticks or needles—these things required specialized training.
However, training Divine Sense was different from training spiritual energy; it was extremely taxing on one’s vitality and mental energy. Most cultivators focused solely on raising their spiritual energy, letting their Divine Sense grow naturally with their rank. Very few dedicated time specifically to training it.
“Come on, let’s go inside and I’ll give you a lesson.” Wen Li snapped her fingers and strolled lazily toward the cabin.
Understanding flashed in Zongzheng Huangyue’s eyes. She glanced at the cold, red vertical pupils of the eerie Xie Tinglan nearby and followed without a word.
Xie Tinglan’s eyes turned icy. He let out a light huff and walked inside with his hands behind his back.
BOOM!
THUD! CRASH—
As soon as Wen Li entered, a black ball-like figure was flying around the cabin like a spring. Colorful flashes of spiritual energy danced everywhere, making for quite the lively scene.
Every chair, screen, and object in the cabin had been reduced to splinters.
“Old Six, you’re a music cultivator who’s actually tone-deaf! The last time you played the zither for Jiang Nianyao, she only refrained from throwing your zither out because she’s kind-hearted. All you can do is use your zither to club people! Stop trying to be a music cultivator—just fall into the demonic path and follow me!” Hua Cishu’s arrogant voice rang out, accompanied by the chiming of silver bells.
At those words, everyone, including Wen Li, looked at Xin Jiuxian. Was she tone-deaf? No wonder they had never seen her actually play; she was always smashing people with the zither.
CRASH!
The moment he landed on the floor, a cold-faced Xin Jiuxian smashed her zither toward him. However, his speed was immense, and he dodged instantly. “Follow you? And be a street rat everyone hunts down like you?”
SWISH! Yao Dai’s Blood Vine Whip immediately followed, nearly striking the black fur ball the moment he moved.
SNAP!
Hua Cishu had apparently learned his lesson. His movements were even swifter than before as he dashed behind Gu Linshu.
The Blood Vine Whip flew straight toward Gu Linshu. He sighed helplessly and immediately pulled out his rusted Blade of Tetanus to block. The whip instantly coiled around the tip of the sword, then immediately let go and retracted to avoid being caught.
“Senior Sister, for-for-forget it. It—it’s not easy for any of us.”
Yao Dai’s brows knitted together. It had been like this last time too; the Blood Vine Whip seemed to react differently toward his sword.
“Xiao San, move! I’m going to whip him to death.” Right now, she wanted nothing more than to kill that show-off Hua Cishu. How dare he use them to practice his movement techniques!
Gu Linshu didn't say anything, only continuing to dodge. Who knew that Hua Cishu would realize he was the only normal person among the six with a bit of a conscience? He kept dodging behind his back with nimble steps, refusing to come out while continuously provoking them with his foul mouth.
Whenever Yao Dai and Xin Jiuxian attacked, Gu Linshu had to use his sword to block to avoid getting hurt himself. If that didn't work, he would throw talismans. It was a perfect case of one thing being held in check by another.
“Senior Sister, you—you see how it is.” Gu Linshu felt a massive headache coming on.
Yao Dai and Xin Jiuxian stood together, one with her whip and the other hauling her zither. The fury on their faces was difficult to suppress.
“Hua Cishu, if you have the guts, come out! Hiding behind Xiao San like a useless coward—you should get lost sooner rather than later instead of embarrassing the five of us,” Yao Dai said coldly.
The black fur ball hiding behind Gu Linshu reverted to human form. His red curls were adorned with bells, and his eyes were filled with malicious triumph. “I can’t get lost. Master dotes on me far too much. If you want me to leave, your word doesn’t count.”
Seeing that they were about to start yet another round, Wen Li finally spoke.
“Enough. Combat is suspended. I’m starting the lesson.”
At these words, Yao Dai gave Hua Cishu a cold, murderous glare and snorted, putting away her Blood Vine Whip and sitting on the floor.
The others looked around and realized the chairs were all smashed, leaving only half a table.
Xie Tinglan plopped down onto it. Zongzheng Huangyue sat on the other side, while Hua Cishu squeezed into the middle.
Xin Jiuxian took out her zither and placed it on the floor, using it as a cushion to sit on.
“Master, please sit.”
As for Gu Linshu, he let out a soft sigh and took out a high-quality silver-threaded cushioned spirit stone chair. He offered it to Wen Li, while he himself sat on the floor, appearing upright and refined.
Wen Li’s eyes lit up. “Oh, good, good, good.”
She sat in the chair, and the spiritual energy from the seat immediately seeped into her, making her dantian feel clear and smooth.
Yao Dai curled her lip. “It’s great being rich, isn’t it?”
They had all taken his storage bag before, so how did he still have one? He was truly wealthy. They had initially thought he’d gotten his riches through robbery, but maybe they should find a day to trick him out of some spending money.
Hua Cishu had also realized it—Xiao San was very rich.
Originally, Wen Li had told Gu Linshu to play poor. Who knew that on their first day at Tingyin Pavilion, he would be robbed by Xie Tinglan’s group? She had no choice but to return one of the storage bags she had confiscated from him previously. However, this one was even wealthier than the last. There was no way to play poor; even the things he produced casually were items that Xie Tinglan and Yao Dai would usually have to fight and steal for.
Rate on N.U.
