Around half a day back, in a private meeting room of the White Jade Inn.
Song Yuntao, the actual spy, had been agonising over the new mission he’d received when an opportunity was delivered right to his doorstep.
“Oh~? So you’re saying these two women are spies from the enemies of my Flowing Cloud Sect?” His imposing form leaned back on the chair. He casually smiled, playing around with a thin plate of Spirit Jade, his fingers manipulating the plate with finesse a pianist would kill to have.
“Yes, Your Excellency!” A young woman nodded vehemently. “This slut used lowly methods to charm my Senior Brothers into revealing information…”
He zoned out the rest of the nonsense. As an Outer Disciple of the Flowing Cloud Sect who had mastered the Heart-Shrouding Cloud Sea Art to near perfection, he was able to even deceive some of the weaker Elders of his Sect. And this made him very sensitive to bullshit.
So, the moment she started wasting the precious air in his room, he knew - this bitch was just jealous that her Senior Brothers had taken more of an interest in someone other than her. Her fragile ego could not take it and, as expected of a bitch with a mind as wide as needlepoint, she resorted to underhanded means.
Rolling his eyes inwardly, Song Yuntao casually sent her away without even bothering to listen to the rest of her obviously useless blather.
It wasn’t that he was nice. He didn’t give a shit about her conniving nature. He even approved of it! ‘Sure, you want to get rid of that bitch who has drawn your Senior Brother’s attention away from you? You go, girl! I’ll be rootin’ for ya!’
What truly grated on his nerves was how she went about accomplishing it.
‘Like, the first thing that came to your mind was to snitch to your superiors without any preparation? Really?! At least convince your Senior Brothers that the woman you so hate is a spy. Their testimony may serve at least some purpose!’ He rolled his eyes so hard he could almost see his brain! He was having a truly hard time comprehending such… simplicity of thought.
‘Forget it,’ he shook his head. It was better that he didn’t understand. What if his own IQ was affected? He shivered and quickly threw it out of his mind. He still liked his normally functioning brain, thank you very much!
He leaned forward, his eyes glinting with a calculated gleam. ‘More importantly, how do I use you two to my favour…?’ He pushed a tiny strand of his Blood Qi into the plate. A blurry image showing a pair of women - one with a pair of vibrant red eyes that made themselves known despite the rather blurry image.
‘Aah, I know! Senior Brother Yi!’ He dropped his fist on his palm with an expression of realisation appearing on his face, ‘He does like himself a beauty, doesn’t he? There is no way that lecher would miss out on this!’
‘Moreover, this red-eyed chick seems to have killed the son of some Elder belonging to the Flower-Picking Yin Demon Sect?
‘I suppose I should also let them know before informing Senior Brother Yi,’ he snickered.
He could have the Flower-Picking Yin Demon Sect owe him a favour. These disgusting fellows were like sharks smelling blood when it came to going after beautiful women. Add on to that the murder of an Elder’s only son? Well, he could only say these two had some really, really shitty luck.
‘Or maybe not? If Senior Brother Yi is around, they would likely be saved and added to his harem…
‘It is after the perfect stage for him to show off! The gallant Senior Brother Yi saves the damsels in distress and wins their hearts in one fell swoop!’ Song Yuntao rolled his eyes again, his disdain evident. ‘What more could the damned lecher even want?’
For Martial Arts at the level of Life Transformation and above, their practice involves their Willpower - it requires their own mindset to align with the Martial Arts they practise. And the higher the Stage, the more this holds true. In other words, as long as one practises Martial Arts, their original personality will shift and adjust to ‘accommodate’ the mindset most suitable to practise their Martial Arts.
At this point, were they still the same person? One could argue that a person changes as they muddle through life. The study of Martial Arts merely accelerated and directed this process. Looking at it this way, it could even be considered favourable - one could strive towards their ideal self through their chosen Martial Arts.
Yet, the higher-ups seemed to favour those who could maintain a greater part of their original selves while training in Martial Arts. No one knows why. And Song Yuntao certainly did not care to find out - he accepted it as a fact.
There were a few ways it was possible to maintain one’s self despite the deepening practice of Martial Arts. One, a mindset that was naturally aligned with the Martial Arts they practised - like Song Yuntao himself. Or, two, a powerful mental anchor - or, perhaps a vice.
Anyway, Yi Yun, this mighty Senior Brother of his, managed to do this through his… lust. Senior Brother Yi said it was his ‘love’ but looking at the size of his harem, Song Yuntao’s mind auto-corrected it to ‘lust’.
Song Yuntao had a hard time comprehending this shit but, whatever, it didn’t really matter to him. His mission was to eliminate Yi Yun without getting himself caught in the process - no one cared about what was involved in actually making it happen. And this was a good opportunity to get close to his target.
He casually tossed the plate of Spirit Jade into his Storage Bag, pulled out a Communication Jade and sent a few messages.
As for the two women? Eh. Song Yuntai didn’t give a damn. It was simply their misfortune to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.
***
“Now, surrender or die!” The blue-robed Elder of the Thunder Saint Sect roared; thick arcs of lightning coiled around his arm like electric-blue serpents.
He casually thrust his arm down towards the red-eyed girl, thinking that it would be enough.
Honestly, using his Myriad Transformation-level Thunder Dragon’s Pearl he had trained for centuries against a mere mid-stage Divine Sea brat was a bit overkill. Even if held back a bit, it was still a blow that would drive the ordinary late-stage Divine Sea Cultivator to the verge of death. He knew that very well. But he did it anyway. The orders from the disciple of the Flowing Cloud Sect was to cooperate with the Elder of the Flower-Picking Yin Demon Sect. And that Elder had wanted their two opponents captured alive.
‘To punish them for their sins,’ he had said.
‘What a joke.’ He rolled his eyes, immediately understanding what that disgusting pile of Taotie refuse wanted.
So, he wanted exactly the opposite.
‘It is a small mercy for you, girl.’ The Elder of the Thunder Saint Sect thought, face devoid of any expression, ‘The only other option is a hell worse than death.’
What happened next, though, was completely beyond his imagination.
With a burst of starlight, the girl disappeared, leaving only a lingering shimmer of an afterimage in the air.
“What?!” The blue-robed Elder’s eyes widened in pure shock. What kind of Movement Art was that?!
Then.
“Agh!” A pained grunt escaped his mouth as a sharp pain shot through his chest. He looked down to see the tip of a glowing purple blade poking out of his chest. It was almost as if it were saying, Hi, there. Nice to meet you. I’m Blade Tip. Teehee~!
Then, his Qi erupted. Like a raging tsunami crashing onto the shore, it attacked the blade, shattering it and dissolving it into a strange, utterly foreign Essence. However, he had no time to ponder on what that strange Essence was or how the attack had come from behind him despite both his opponents being in front of him. For the very next moment, a massive pillar of pure black flames was upon him!
“Fucking-!” his curse was interrupted by the pillar of black flames completely enveloping him.
Boom!
The explosion sent a shockwave rippling through the air, followed by a wave of scorching heat so intense that even Xiao Hong, the caster, felt a little shocked. ‘Wow! Am I so strong now?’ Xiao Hong’s eyebrows jumped in shock. It seemed that the effect of her Perfection-level Dark Flame Serpent along with the increased Zhenqi quality was over-the-top!
But Xiao Hong did not dare to marvel at her own capabilities any longer and immediately refocused her attention on the battle. She hurriedly sent Rialda a private qi transmission.
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“{The Thunder Saint Sect’s Elder should be incapacitated for a few moments.}” As much as she wanted to finish the old fogie off, she understood it was not possible. An 8th Disaster Immortal Cultivator, especially one that had lived as long as this one had, would never be defeated by merely two attacks from them. “{We have to deal with the other old fellow before he can recover enough to interfere.}”
“{Alright}” And received another in acknowledgement.
Xiao Hong, too preoccupied with the battle, did not even notice the peculiarity of a non-cultivator somehow replying to her qi transmission with another.
With a quick sweep of her Divine Sense and gaze, she took note of her opponents. The other Immortal Cultivators surrounding them had already started to react - the stronger 6th Disaster and 7th Disaster Cultivators moved towards them, quickly weaving hand seals. The remaining, weaker Immortal Cultivators fell back, evidently aware that this battle didn’t allow their direct participation.
She took a deep breath and focused.
‘Heavenly Convergence!’
Woom!
An enormous sense of power filled her body as her Qi, Spirit and Body melded together, and coursed through her limbs and bones like a raging torrent. The world around her seemed to slow, as if time itself had bent to her will. She felt invincible - as if she could toy with mountains like they were pebbles and skip them across the vast oceans with a casual flick of her wrist!
Xiao Hong clenched her jaw, forcibly suppressing the intoxicating surge of power that threatened to overwhelm her. She knew that this newfound strength while exhilarating, was a double-edged sword.
Zhenqi rushed through her meridians, following the circulation route of Star Shifting Steps. Illusory stars only visible to her appeared in her vision, overlapping with the environment. A miniature, illusory galaxy unfolded with her as the centre.
With a flex of her Will, Qi weaved through her flesh and bones like a net and wrapped around it like a secondary skin. With a single step forward, her surroundings blurred.
Whoosh!
Xiao Hong disappeared in a blinding burst of starlight.
The other old bastard, the Demonic Cultivator, defending against what seemed like a hailstorm of exploding purple orbs, suddenly felt a piercing chill shoot up from his feet. A terrible sense of danger filled his mind, a primal instinct warning him of impending danger.
Without missing a single beat, his Qi formed into six translucent grey shields protecting him from all sides.
Six Directions Divine Shield!
This was the most potent Defensive Cultivation Technique he had. He was extremely confident in this high-tier Black Grade Cultivation Technique he had practised since he was a young man - it had hardly ever failed him in the long centuries. And never had it been breached by a weaker Cultivator.
Unfortunately, today was meant to be a day full of surprises. Especially nasty surprises.
The old Demonic Cultivator’s eyes bulged in utter shock as a seemingly delicate fist punched straight through the Qi Shield formed by his Defensive Technique. It was no different from a weed under a lawnmower - utterly obliterated by overwhelming force!
The fist continued on its path, slowed down, but still carrying a force enough to threaten his life!
‘Shit!’ Terror overtook his heart as his Qi erupted, instinctively snapping into the rhythm of his Movement Art. His body blurred into motion, barely escaping from Xiao Hong’s sucker punch. He reappeared several dozen metres away, his face twisted into a mask of horror. What the hell was with this bitch? Why the hell was her punch so goddamn strong?!
“Ugh!” He suddenly clutched his side, letting out a heavy grunt of pain. It turned out that he hadn't escaped unscathed.
The girl had managed to hit him despite his quick reaction in forming a defence and escaping with his Movement Art. Although it was merely a graze, his ribs had been crushed by the sheer force of that glancing blow! Now he sported a small crater on his chest that could hold two palmfuls of water in it.
“It's one of those fucking Body Cultivator maniacs!” he spat, his voice laced with venom. He frantically reinforced his defences, and unceasingly cast several layers of his Defensive Cultivation Technique, stacking upon the previous layer.
He had little time to wonder how this seemingly delicate-looking girl had cultivated her physique, however - Xiao Hong would not allow her enemy even a moment's reprieve! The moment her opponent had escaped, she had begun making hand seals.
As she completed the final hand seal, her Qi burst through the acupoints in her palms, coalescing into a ball of black, otherworldly flames so hot that her sleeves started to burn up despite being coated in her aura. The ball of fire stretched and twisted, morphing into a colossal, serpentine creature. It coiled around her protectively, its malevolent crimson eyes locking onto the Elder of the Flower-Picking Yin Demon Sect.
The Elder’s eyes bulged, his old heart nearly failing from shock. He cursed inwardly, ‘You’re telling me that is a mere mid-stage Divine Sea Cultivator’s Spell Art? Who the fuck are you kidding?! This bitch must be hiding her Cultivation somehow!’ he cursed, stacking even more layers of his Defensive Technique.
Xiao Hong’s eyes narrowed. She waved her now halfway burnt-up sleeve. With a silent roar, the massive black serpent lunged towards him with the ferocity of a starved lion, black flames dancing. It opened its cavernous and spat out a torrent of fireballs, spears and walls, spreading all around, targeting the remaining Cultivators that had just flown into the range of her Spell Art.
None of the Secondary Spells were powerful enough to actually harm the stronger Cultivators, but it was more than enough to delay them.
The serpent made of black flames that had visibly declined in size, continued in its ferocious assault towards the Elder.
BOOM!
A powerful explosion, followed by a wave of scorching heat swept outwards.
Without waiting for a single breath, Xiao Hong’s Qi circulated through her body once again. She disappeared in a burst of starlight only to reappear in front of the female 6th Disaster Stage Immortal Cultivator, her fist cocked back. The blurry phantom of a golden-furred ape appeared, mimicking her actions like a shadow.
Golden Ape King Kong Fist!
The mature-looking lady barely had the time to throw up a hasty Qi shield as a defence, when the fist pierced simply right through it and landed on her body.
“ARGH!” A scream of pure agony accompanied the sickening crunch of her bones giving way from the titanic force that was Xiao Hong’s punch.
Crash!
The lady’s body was blasted away, punching straight through a building and smashing onto the streets with such force that the ground cratered.
Without even bothering to look at the now probably dead or close-to-dead Cultivator, Xiao Hong employed her Movement Art, shooting towards the Flower-Picking Yin Demon Sect’s Elder, who had just flown out of the range of the blast caused by her attack, looking somewhat dishevelled but otherwise unharmed by her Spell Art. In fact, three layers of his Defensive Technique remained, almost completely intact.
Xiao Hong reappeared to the old fogie’s right, and slashed down her arm like a sabre!
Curved Hand Blade!
This was one of the Physical Cultivation Techniques she had received from Gu Ran and had even raised it to the Stage of Perfection-level Mastery. As a Black Rank Technique, its destructive power did not even come close to matching up with Golden Ape King Kong Fist. But when it came to pure penetrating power, it outstripped the Golden Ape King Kong Fist by far.
With two consecutive loud cracks, her hand sliced through the first two layers of the Defensive Technique.
Xiao Hong frowned and attempted to gather her strength once again and slashed down once again!
But this time, the old fogie only smirked as the opponent's hand sliced through his Qi Shield, shattering it and dispersing it into Qi. His hand formed a seal.
Instantly, blood-red chains burst out of his sleeves and shot out from between the gaps of the individual Qi shields, and wrapped around her extended forearm!
‘SHIT!’ Xiao Hong instantly realised her mistake and reflexively jerked her arm back and employed her Movement Art at full power. Unfortunately for her, the chains were incredibly sturdy, barely allowing her to move a few dozen metres before she was forced to stop. No matter how hard she tugged, she could not distance herself from the old fogie - she only dragged him along.
‘Dammit, I don’t believe I can’t break this damn thing!’ Xiao Hong clenched her teeth. Titanic amounts of Qi poured into her left arm as she slashed it at the chains with all her might. A loud clang resounded through the air, yet the chains only gained a small dent, nowhere near enough to actually break her bindings.
The old fogie’s smirk only became more triumphant as he watched Xiao Hong struggle. He had purposely spaced out the layers of his Defensive Technique so that he could take advantage of her limited reach as a Body Cultivator. Then, she would be forced to make a second attack, which would pierce through the last layer to get to him. It did not make a difference if she used a Physical attack or a Qi attack, she would need time to execute her move - and that would be the opportunity for him to make his move.
“Haha! Forget about trying to even escape the Mara’s Hell Binding Chains!” The old fogie laughed out loud, his sparse beard shaking along with the rhythm of his laugh. Inwardly though, his heart thudded against his chest. What kind of monster was this girl?! These chains, even he found difficult to damage. Now, a mere Physical Cultivator had left a dent on it! It was simply unbelievable!
‘But, at the same time,’ his eyes swept over Xiao Hong’s helplessly struggling form, greed quickly replacing the fear, ‘with such incredible physical quality, if I were to harvest her Primordial Yin, wouldn’t that propel me directly to Nirvana? Even the doors to the Soul Palace might open up for me!
‘Haha! The Heavens have truly blessed-!’
Just as he was rejoicing, a terrible sense of danger enveloped him. It was far, far more powerful than before when the red-eyed girl had attacked him. It was as if an Ancient Great Tiger was staring straight at him, its jaws poised to devour him, its sharp teeth ready to turn him into minced meat in its cavernous mouth!
His head snapped to his right.
Floating a hundred or so metres away, a young woman hovered in the air, a deep purple aura blazing around her.
Rialda looked down at the Elder of the Flower-picking Yin Demon Sect imperiously, eyes burning a brilliant purple - like miniature suns were housed inside them. Her arm stretched out in front of her, palm splayed out casually. A colossal ring of royal purple energy materialised in front of her, swirling and pulsating.
Dozens of lines, intricate and precise, extended from the circle, tracing out patterns, geometric shapes and strange runes, converging at the centre, forming a ball of immense energy. The surrounding Spiritual Energy rippled and roiled, surging and sinking like a tsunami under the might of the gathered Energy. It was as if a storm was brewing, a tempest of energy that threatened to engulf everything in its path.
Rialda pointed at the old man.
“Obliterate, Starpiercer.” An almost seductive whisper resonated within the hearts of all practitioners, Martial Artists or Immortal Cultivators.
A pillar of pure, destructive energy erupted from the sky, a violet spear that seemed to blot out the sun. The Heavens fell silent and the Earth shook under the immeasurable might.
The Elder, his face contorted in fear, stood frozen in place. He could not even dodge - the attack was simply too fast for him to even react. One moment, it did not even exist, the next, it had already pierced through his body, obliterating half his chest.
‘No… I don’t…’ His thoughts into darkness faded as his body fell out of the sky.