Chapter 56
Li Shiwen's words heavily knocked at Qin Ran's heart. He understood very clearly what Li Shiwen was asking, but he couldn't think of how to respond to Li Shiwen's direct question, so he was stunned and felt nervous and afraid...
"Shiyin is very cute and I quite like her..." he ambiguously replied, "She's my only disciple after all!"
"Humph!" Li Shiwen let out a cold laugh.
As a man, as a brother, he had long felt that this master-disciple relationship was not quite that of a normal master and disciple. And now, seeing Qin Ran's manner, it further confirmed his suspicion.
He rode over to pull out the steel spear that Li Shiyin had thrown out, the spear still hanging with the Wolf King impaled on it. Holding up the Wolf King, he pointed it at Qin Ran and said word for word, "You better be careful!"
The threatening implication was undoubtedly revealed!
For other matters, other people, at other times, with Qin Ran's cowardly personality, he wouldn't even think of reasoning and would just look for an opportunity to secretly fix the person. But facing Li Shiwen's warning, he had no way to retaliate.
Because he had a guilty conscience.
At Dao Questioning Grand Hall, when he first saw Li Shiyin, what he thought of was the matter of dao companions instead of disciples. Afterwards, when he brought Li Shiyin back to Dan Peak, he had been repressing his own emotions every day.
Often, he wasn't even clear what he was thinking - whether he had brought a dao companion home or taken a disciple home.
But it was precisely because he was unclear, so it could be determined that his heart had never been clean.
He liked Li Shiyin, no matter what kind of like it was, he liked this simple, silly girl, otherwise he wouldn't have paid so much for her...
"What are you talking about?" But facing Li Shiwen, he could only pretend to be stupid, "I don't really understand..."
"What are you guys talking about?" At this moment, Li Shiyin flew over on her sword.
"Nothing!" The two men turned to Li Shiyin with a smile.
Li Shiyin looked at them suspiciously for a moment, knowing they were hiding something from her. But she was too lazy to care. She snatched the steel spear from Li Shiwen's hand, held up the Wolf King and flew back, circling around in the air to show off her battle achievements to the cavalry.
After a while, they went to clean up the battlefield.
They recovered all the arrows, and the wolf corpses that were intact were also collected up. This cavalry was well-trained, and they were very skilled in this kind of thing which they did often, so it didn't take them long to clean up the battlefield spotless.
Li Shiwen regrouped the troops and continued patrolling.
"Which direction are you guys going?" Qin Ran asked Li Shiwen.
"We have to patrol the entire outskirts of Hengduan Mountains," Li Shiwen said.
"We're going to Xuanqin..." Qin Ran said.
Li Shiwen recalled Li Shiyin saying they were going to Xuanqin to forge swords, so he asked Qin Ran, "What are you guys going to Xuanqin for?"
"To find Xu Zhiye to forge swords..." Qin Ran said, "Shiyin practices the dao of the sword, she needs a sword destined for her."
Oh, it was to forge swords for Shiyin. Li Shiwen then turned his horse around, leading his soldiers to take the master and disciple to the border.
Over a thousand cavalry marched towards the Xuanqin border. On the way, they drove away some scattered demonic beasts. By the time the sky was getting bright, they arrived at the border.
Qin Ran held Long Qiqi and walked at the very front with Li Shiwen. When they arrived at the border and looked over, they discovered a cavalry stationed not far away silently on the other side.
Over a thousand cavalry on this side, and over a thousand cavalry on the other side too. Morning light shot over from the horizon, the orange-red light caused the battle armors over there to vaguely glint.
"What's this?" Qin Ran asked Li Shiwen in puzzlement.
"I'm sending you guys over, the idiot over there was worried I would make trouble, so he's guarding against me!" Li Shiwen laughed and said, "A small problem, no bother."
Qin Ran nodded and called Li Shiyin over.
"General!" The Xuanqin soldiers asked their general, "What is Li Shiwen trying to do again this time?"
This general saw from afar that Li Shiwen was talking with Li Shiyin from a distance. He had interacted with Li Shiyin before so he recognized her. Seeing this situation, he vaguely guessed, "Don't tell me Li Shiwen is mobilizing the army to send his sister off!?"
"Truly extravagant!" He spat out a mouthful of saliva and scolded again, "At such a critical moment, why do these dainty young masters and ladies still come to Hengduan Mountains?"
After the siblings talked for a bit and bade farewell reluctantly, Qin Ran finally said to Li Shiwen, "The demonic beast riot this time is no small matter, it involves high-order demonic beasts, not something ordinary people can interfere with. You need to prepare to evacuate early."
"High-order demonic beasts? What exactly caused it?" Li Shiwen directly ignored Qin Ran's advice.
Qin Ran looked at him, shook his head, but considering Li Shiyin, he stretched out his hand to pull over the Wolf King from his horse.
"The ninth-order great demonic beast in the depths of Hengduan Mountains..." he said as he found a willowy catkin stabbed into the Wolf King's flesh and blood on top of its head. The catkin was no longer white, but blood red. He pulled it out and wrapped it in an air bubble to show Li Shiwen, "Do you see this willowy catkin? This is the root cause that led to the demonic beasts rioting."
"Willowy catkin? Ninth order demonic beast?" Li Shiwen found it hard to understand.
"This is a Demonic Weeping Willow that exists in the depths of the Hengduan Mountains. It erupts once every thousand years. If you look through the literature from previous dynasties, you may find some related information."
Qin Ran continued explaining, "And this time's Demonic Weeping Willow eruption is just the prelude now. The real large-scale bursting of the catkins hasn't started yet."
Li Shiwen received the catkin with an uncertain expression. He replied, "I'll look into it and verify."
"Verification is one thing, evacuating early is the key point. There are quite a lot of people near Hengduan Mountains." In Qin Ran's perspective, fleeing, safety, evacuation had always been the most important plan. He advised Li Shiwen,
"You haven't seen the effects of the catkins on humans yet, but it can almost be determined that there will be effects. After all, humans don't have anything special about them. Of course, even if the catkins have no effects on humans, the true demonic beast riot is still not something an ordinary human army can stop.
"So...evacuate the common people near Hengduan Mountains as soon as possible."
Qin Ran had advised so much, but in the end, Li Shiwen still only said, "I have my own considerations about this matter."
"Alright, however you want to deal with it specifically, I can't control that. I'm just making the situation clear to you," Qin Ran shook his head and turned his horse around to walk towards the border with Li Shiyin. He left Li Shiwen with one final piece of advice, "When you see the catkins, stay far away from them. The current catkins are still only at the initial stage. There will definitely be changes afterwards."
Li Shiwen held the air bubble containing the blood-colored catkin in his hand, watching the disappearing backs of Qin Ran and Li Shiyin. He suddenly shouted loudly, "Treat my sister well!"
Qin Ran felt complicated inside but waved his hand back with his back facing Li Shiwen.
"What were you guys talking about?" Li Shiyin asked Qin Ran with wide eyes, "Catkins, riot, demonic beasts and stuff."
There's a fool, Qin Ran didn't want to say who.
He looked at Li Shiyin helplessly. Her mother, Chase Wind, had hunted prey to the gates of Daosword Sect. When Li Shiwen came to Dan Peak he mentioned the demonic beast riot. Huang Feiyu had warned them. They as master and disciple had seen it with their own eyes when they took shelter in the depths of the rainforest. The riot of the wolf pack last night. All these were things they as master and disciple experienced together. But...
"Sigh!" He shook his head.
Long Qiqi looked at Li Shiyin. Her eyeballs rolled around. A human who was so silly and naive was just waiting for Long Qiqi to trick her right?
"Did you say you came out from Hengduan Mountains?" Qin Ran suddenly asked Long Qiqi.
"Hmm?" Long Qiqi came back to her senses, "Oh, yes!"
"Then do you know about the Devouring Demonic Willow?"
"No, I don't know!" Long Qiqi shook her head again and again.
Qin Ran frowned and looked down to ask her, "Really?"
"I also don't recognize the terms you humans use..." Long Qiqi said, "How would I know anything about some kind of Devouring Demonic Willow?"
Qin Ran's eyes narrowed. This snake was lying to him...
Chapter 57
After crossing the border of Xuanqin Country, the closer they got to where Xu Zhiye was located, the higher the temperature rose. By the time the two riders and one person arrived at the planned inn, the air temperature had already soared to over fifty degrees.
The inn was called Sword Coming Inn, located in a small town called Sword Forging Town, less than ten li from the volcano outside of the Hengduan Mountains. The volcano was called Li Ben Mountain, an active volcano. Living on Li Ben Mountain was a master swordsmith named Xu Zhiye.
Why was the temperature getting higher and higher? Because Qin Ran and the others were heading towards the volcano.
Master and disciple dismounted in front of Sword Coming Inn. Qin Ran held the snake demon Long Qiqi while Li Shiyin followed him into the inn.
They went to the front desk where there was a sixty-something-year-old innkeeper. Qin Ran said, "Two upper rooms."
Li Shiyin looked at Long Qiqi in Qin Ran's arms and quickly objected: "Three rooms."
Qin Ran glared at her but said nothing.
The old innkeeper took out the ledger and flipped through it, replying, "Whether it's three rooms or two, there are no more upper rooms left. There are only two lower grade rooms, do you want them?"
Were there really that many guests staying at the inn? Qin Ran looked back at the lobby and indeed saw quite a few people, most of whom were cultivators with not low cultivation bases. He pondered for a moment before saying to the innkeeper, "That's fine, two lower rooms."
"How long will you be staying?" asked the old innkeeper.
Qin Ran handed over two spirit stones.
The old innkeeper understood.
"Master..." Li Shiyin expressed her dissatisfaction in a low voice.
Qin Ran glared at her again, too lazy to even respond to her.
The innkeeper took the spirit stones, recorded it in the ledger, and called a handyman to lead their horses away.
"The horses are celestial horses, so take good care of them," Qin Ran reminded.
The old innkeeper took out keys from under the counter and laughed. "What's so great about celestial horses? Everyone who comes here wants Master Xu to forge them swords. Which one of them doesn't have immortal beasts as their mounts? Celestial horses?"
He shook his head and led the way.
Qin Ran explained, "Celestial horses have a gentle temperament, be careful not to let other spirit beasts bully them."
The innkeeper led the way, making several twists and turns before arriving at a door which he unlocked. He motioned for Qin Ran to go in and inspect, saying,
"As I said earlier, everyone who comes here is a cultivator looking to have Master Xu forge them swords. So I want to emphasize one thing - fighting is strictly prohibited in this inn. If you violate this rule, you will bear the consequences!"
Qin Ran inspected the room. It was small and simple, but it was clean. He nodded and said, "We are proper cultivators and do not like fighting. Please rest assured, innkeeper."
"I certainly hope so," the innkeeper replied.
He then opened the door to the next room and let Qin Ran inspect it as well. After he was done, the innkeeper said, "Friends who have travelled far must be tired. I have shown you the rooms, if you find them satisfactory, then please rest here. I will not disturb you further. If you need anything, you can find me at the front desk."
"Please go about your business, innkeeper!" Qin Ran responded.
As the innkeeper's figure disappeared from sight, Qin Ran looked at him with complex emotions.
"What's wrong, Master?" Li Shiyin asked.
"The innkeeper called us 'dao friends' ..." said Qin Ran.
"So what?" Li Shiyin did not understand.
"The innkeeper is also a cultivator with profound cultivation base that I cannot see through," Qin Ran replied.
"Oh!" Li Shiyin nodded. "So that old man is also a cultivator."
Since there was still plenty of time in the day, after inspecting both rooms, Qin Ran left Long Qiqi in the room and took Li Shiyin out the door, heading straight for Li Ben Mountain to meet the swordsmith master Xu Zhiye.
Xu Zhiye lived on the volcano in order to extract the earth's core fire from Li Ben Mountain to forge swords. But one could well imagine the environment on the volcano. Those who came here seeking swords were either in possession of treasures that could dispel heat or were themselves powerful cultivators who did not fear the scorching heat of the volcano.
With his low cultivation base, Qin Ran naturally belonged to the former category. As for treasures and the like, Qin Ran had made preparations well in advance. What he was worried about was another matter...
He had a water spirit root!
In this kind of environment, he would be lucky if he could exert half of his usual strength.
After handing a Fire Dispelling Bead to Li Shiyin, he emphasized to her, "Shiyin, this trip is extremely dangerous and unpredictable, and my strength has been greatly suppressed by the volcano...so...you have to be extremely vigilant and prepare yourself to fight or escape at any time."
Seeing her master's solemn expression, Li Shiyin also became serious. She nodded and said, "Don't worry, Master. I will definitely protect you well."
Although Li Shiyin had become serious, Qin Ran still felt it was not enough.
Apart from him being more of a coward, there was another reason - the last time he came to see Xu Zhiye, it was his master Wang Yuan who had brought him here to forge his Natal Magic Weapon. He was the one being protected then, but this time, it was his responsibility to protect his disciple.
He felt that Li Shiyin still did not understand the gravity of the situation, so he went on to say, "Shiyin, when bad people in the mortal world commit crimes, there are laws, institutions, morality and so on to punish them. But in the world of cultivation...
"Cultivators possess tremendous power and long lifespans. No one will abide by laws, institutions or moral principles. The world of cultivation is a world where one can act in whatever way one desires. It is an extremely chaotic world, a world of survival of the fittest! Therefore, evil people in the cultivation world...no, when people in the cultivation world commit crimes, no one will punish them.
"If a powerful Nascent Soul or Unity stage cultivator were to kill us now, they would not suffer any consequences at all, and we would just die. That is the kind of world the cultivation world is. Do you truly understand?"
"Huh? Is that so?" When she first became a disciple, Li Shiyin had wondered if she would face the kind of world Qin Ran described. But her master was Qin Ran, and he had treated her so well. After a month of cultivating, she thought the world of cultivation was beautiful and full of spiritual energy.
Now that Qin Ran had explained it to her in detail, her perceptions changed along with it. She nodded heavily and replied, "I understand now, Master."
Seeing that Li Shiyin finally had this awareness, Qin Ran felt slightly more at ease.
As for whether the cultivation world was actually as dangerous as Qin Ran claimed?
It was true to some extent, Qin Ran had just exaggerated a little. What he exaggerated was not the viciousness of cultivators themselves, but the level of danger, because higher level cultivators were too few in number. Without sufficient benefits, they were too lazy to kill people.
After leaving the small town and about eight kilometers from the volcano, Qin Ran spotted an area with loose rocks by the roadside with no one around. He took out his array disk and swiftly set up an array.
"Master, what are you doing?" Li Shiyin asked curiously as she followed along.
"Setting up an array," Qin Ran replied.
"What kind of array is it?"
Qin Ran thought for a moment before answering, "If we really get chased here by enemies, it means we are helpless against them and can only escape. So this is a teleportation array that will randomly teleport us 100 kilometers away after activation."
"It teleports in a random direction?"
"A random direction..." said Qin Ran. "If we are being chased by enemies, of course we have to take a path that even we don't know."
As they continued towards the volcano, Qin Ran would set up an array every two kilometers. Each time he set one up, he would explain to Li Shiyin - "This is a Slaughtering Array, this is a Shapeshifting Array, this is an Illusory Array, this is a Poison Killing Array..."
After setting up the Poison Killing Array at the foot of the mountain, it was time to prepare for ascending. Looking at Li Shiyin's flushed red face, Qin Ran said, "We're about to climb the mountain. Take one last check of the pills, talismans, etc in your Cosmos Pouch to make sure they are intact. Also check the state of your body, magic power and the Heavenly Star Sword... "
Once Li Shiyin was done with her checks, Qin Ran gave her another pill and asked her to consume it. "This is a Hundred Poisons Pill I developed based on various poisons' mechanisms of action. It can resolve most poisons."
Only then did they begin climbing the volcano, with Li Shiyin behind Qin Ran. As she gazed at her master's back, she clicked her tongue in admiration -
"Master is too exaggerated!"
Chapter 58
Xu Zhiye, an artifact refiner in the Immortal Cultivation world, was skilled at forging swords. Some were good at forging knives, some at refining spatial magical artifacts, some at making flying props, in short, every master had his own expertise.
Xu Zhiye was skilled at forging swords. His swords were very famous. Not to mention the entire Lingnan Region, even in the surrounding countries, if he said his swords were just average, hardly anyone would dare say their swords were very good.
From the fact that he lived on a volcano but still had many people coming to seek swords from him every year, one could see just how good his sword forging skills were.
And recently there was an anomaly deep within the Hengduan Mountains range. The cultivators nearby sensed an impending storm, so even more people came to Xu Zhiye for swords, even filling up Joyous Guest Inn.
When Qin Ran arrived at Xu Zhiye's residence to pay his respects, Xu Zhiye was receiving another person who had come to seek a sword.
Xu Zhiye's daoist attendant, a burly man wearing only pants, received Qin Ran and his apprentice Li Shiyin. This so-called attendant was at least two meters tall. When Qin Ran looked up at his face, he had to crane his neck back.
"Master has no time. May I ask if you two have any tokens?" The attendant asked from inside the door.
Of course one couldn't be a cat or a dog to come looking for Xu Zhiye to forge swords. One had to have a token, have an identity.
So Qin Ran took out a sword-shaped token from his Cosmic Bag and handed it to the attendant. The attendant took it and checked it, nodding his head. He pulled open the wicker gate and motioned for Qin Ran and apprentice to enter the side yard to wait.
The token was left by Qin Ran's master, Wang Yuanyi. Wang Yuanyi was a Gold Core stage alchemist, a formitable figure whose status was no less than Xu Zhiye's.
Wang Yuanyi had once concocted pills for Xu Zhiye. To show his gratitude, Xu Zhiye gifted him this sword-shaped token, saying that as long as one brought this token to seek him, he would never decline.
The side yard was an extremely ordinary small courtyard. The courtyard wall was made of wicker fence. The house walls were plastered with mud and the roof was thatched grass, with only three or four rooms, extremely simple. It was like an extreme ascetic's residence.
Qin Ran sat down with Li Shiyin on a stone bench in the side yard. The attendant came over and poured tea, but Qin Ran held it without drinking it, despite his unbearable thirst.
He smiled and asked the attendant, "May I ask who is inside?"
The attendant glanced at him but did not reply.
How could client information be revealed so casually... In such a broken-down yard, with high level cultivators inside, everything outside could be heard clear as day. Who would dare speak carelessly?
"Master, it's so hot!" Li Shiyin drank the tea and fanned herself with her hand, complaining of discomfort.
Despite wearing a Fire Repelling Pearl, this was still a volcano. Further up would be a proper volcanic crater, although it was sealed by Xu Zhiye.
Li Shiyin's mouth and nose were full of the smell of sulfur. Her body and cheeks felt like flames were constantly scorching them.
However, although Li Shiyin felt uncomfortable, she did not know Qin Ran felt even more so. As he had a water spirit root, he was constantly being suppressed by the environment. This was not just about the heat.
Under such an environment, every second was torment. But master and apprentice waited quite a while before the room door finally opened.
Two women and one man walked out from inside. The two women were in front, one matronly, the other maidenly. The matron was charming and alluring while the maiden was nobly elegant. Both had unsightly complexions. Behind them was a man with a wide open, short-sleeved shirt, of rough appearance and irritable temperament, with a head of flaming red, short and stiff hair.
As the matron and maiden walked out, the matron hesitated and turned back to speak to the man, "Master Xu, why not reconsider a little? We can negotiate the compensation again."
"Go, go, go..." That red-haired rough man was obviously Xu Zhiye. Hearing the matron's words, he was extremely impatient, waving his hand to drive them away.
Clearly, the matron and maiden had failed to get him to forge swords for them.
"Alas..." The matron gave a helpless sigh.
Yet the maiden consoled her, "Let's go find someone else then..."
"Someone else?" The matron shook her head. It was not easy to find an artifact refiner who specialized in forging swords.
"Who's that over there?" Xu Zhiye paid them no more heed. He stood at the doorway and shouted towards where Qin Ran and apprentice were.
So Qin Ran brought Li Shiyin over and gave his greetings, "Junior Qin Ran of the Daoyuan Sword Sect, my master Wang Yuanyi, apprentice Li Shiyin, pays respect to Master Xu."
"Li Shiyin?" It was the maiden seeking swords earlier. Upon hearing this name, she had stopped and turned back to size up Li Shiyin carefully.
"Wang Yuanyi, was it?" Xu Zhiye nodded, also appraising Li Shiyin. Smiling, he seemed quite amiable as he praised, "Not bad foundation. Is this sword for her?"
"Yes." Qin Ran nodded. "I ask that Master help us out."
"I refuse!" Xu Zhiye's smiling expression instantly vanished as he turned irritable again, bluntly rejecting them.
"?" Li Shiyin was shocked. This old man's change of expression was so fast!
"Master..." Qin Ran had anticipated this temperamental and eccentric artifact refiner's rejection. He quickly took out his master's sword token and showed it to Xu Zhiye, saying, "My master said that with this token, one may seek one matter from Master that you will surely not decline."
"Token?" Xu Zhiye gave a cold laugh. "I hand out hundreds of those every year. If everyone came seeking favors, wouldn't I be worked to death?"
"Furthermore..." He disdained, "Wang Yuanyi died a few years ago. This token is useless now! Scram... Get the hell out of here!"
Qin Ran took back the token, his expression fluctuating but quickly suppressed by him.
In fact, this situation was still within Qin Ran's expectations. He had not controlled his change in expression well, one because Xu Zhiye's attitude change was too irritable, two because he was a shut-in who was not good at interacting with others.
Qin Ran silently adjusted his state of mind, appraising Xu Zhiye. Then he smiled and said, "In that case, we shall not disturb the Master's rest."
As he spoke, he took out a porcelain bottle from his Cosmic Bag and handed it to Xu Zhiye, "Having met Master Xu is junior's honor already. A small token, inadequate as a sign of respect, but I believe Master Xu will have need of it."
"Whoa... Master's change of expression is so fast too!" Li Shiyin exclaimed in admiration.
Seeing the bottle in Qin Ran's hand, Xu Zhiye suddenly recalled that Qin Ran had mentioned his master was an alchemist Wang Yuanyi. Since Wang Yuanyi was an alchemist, then... He looked at Qin Ran again. Could this solidly cultivated junior also be an alchemist?
Suppressing the fiery energy churning inside him, he glared at Qin Ran as he took over the pill medicine. Opening the jade seal, a burst of cold air floated out. Peering inside, it was a top grade Ice Condensation Pill!
"What cultivation method?" Xu Zhiye poured out an Ice Condensation Pill and directly swallowed it. Then he asked Qin Ran.
Xu Zhiye's attitude changed again, but Qin Ran was no longer surprised. He calmly took out a stack of design drawings from his Cosmic Bag and handed them to Xu Zhiye, saying, "Starry Sky Sword, Palm Sword, body technique."
Casually glancing at the design drawings in Qin Ran's hands, Xu Zhiye's gaze suddenly condensed. A look of astonishment appeared in his eyes. He looked at Qin Ran, then took the drawings for closer examination.
The first drawing was an illustration of the sword's attributes, with data on the sword's dimensions, appearance. The sword was 3.4 chi long, 3 fingers wide, black base with purple starry glow on the blade. Flipping down, the second drawing showed the internal structure of the sword. Further down were arrays...
Xu Zhiye quickly skimmed through the drawings and looked up at Qin Ran, eyes now holding some earnestness. He asked, "You designed this yourself?"
"Mm." Qin Ran nodded.
"The arrays too?"
"Yes."
"Interesting..." Xu Zhiye's interest was piqued. He flipped through the drawings again, especially the arrays. The conceptualization and construction were very interesting. He suddenly asked Qin Ran, "Have any interest in becoming my disciple?"
"I have a water spirit root." Qin Ran tactfully declined.
"What a pity." Xu Zhiye sighed.
"However, I can concoct pills..." Qin Ran said. "I see that master has been afflicted by fire poison from long years of sword forging. Perhaps I may be of help."
Hearing this, Xu Zhiye's eyes instantly lit up. He grabbed Qin Ran's scrawny shoulder and barked, "Are your words genuine?!"
Qin Ran remained composed as he took out another sheet of paper from his Cosmic Bag and handed it to Xu Zhiye, saying, "This is the pill formula I envisioned. Please take a look, Sir."
Xu Zhiye snatched over the pill formula and scrutinized it closely. The more he read, the more delighted he became. By the end, he laughed wildly.
"Good, good lad! I'll forge this sword!"
Chapter 59
Xu Zhiye's mercurial and eccentric temperament was closely related to his long-term dwelling inside a volcano. The fire-poison accumulated inside his body, lingering in every corner, tormenting him ceaselessly. Yet to cultivate and forge swords, he couldn't leave the volcano.
Now, Qin Ran had offered a solution to eliminate the fire-poison for him and free him from the agony. So not only would Xu Zhiye be willing to help forge the sword, given his personality, he would even call Qin Ran his godfather.
Seeing Xu Zhiye agree, Qin Ran took out the Star Brilliance Stone he had auctioned and handed it to Xu Zhiye, saying, "This is the main material. As for the other ingredients, I'll have to trouble you to prepare them."
"Star Brilliance Stone..." Xu Zhiye weighed the stone and looked at Li Shiyin, "You really cherish your disciple and are willing to spend money to use such a precious material."
"Humph, fine. Since you have shown sincerity, I shall forge an unparalleled excellent sword for you!" Xu Zhiye laughed.
"Many thanks, Master Xu..." Qin Ran expressed his gratitude and asked further, "Please gather all the medicinal ingredients listed in the pill recipe. I can concoct the pill at the same time while you forge the sword so as not to waste any time."
"Sure!" Xu Zhiye replied and called over his tall, burly attendant, handing over the recipe, "Go to the cellar and gather the medicinal ingredients listed here for this young man."
"Yes!" The attendant acknowledged the order and left.
With the deal settled, Xu Zhiye would forge a sword for Li Shiyin while Qin Ran would concoct a detox pill for Xu Zhiye.
"How long will it take to forge the sword?" Qin Ran asked. "We'll come to collect it when it's done and deliver the pill at the same time."
This implied a simultaneous exchange - the sword for the pill. After all, Xu Zhiye's reputation was hard to trust.
And Xu Zhiye was well aware of his own notoriety. He gazed deeply at Qin Ran - this young man was adapting so quickly despite his mercurial changes in mood.
Xu Zhiye answered, "This Star Brilliance Stone isn't easy to melt. It will take two days just to heat up the furnace, not to mention inscribing the spell arrays...at least five days..."
"Five days?" Qin Ran nodded. "That's about how long it will take me to concoct the pill too."
"Hahaha..." Xu Zhiye laughed loudly for a while before his expression turned serious. He flew straight up the mountain, leaving behind a message, "In that case, I shall start firing up the furnace now. Please make yourself at home."
The evolving relationship between Qin Ran and Xu Zhiye had transformed from an initial junior and senior one to Xu Zhiye directly addressing him as "Sir" within a short span of less than ten minutes.
This change stemmed from Qin Ran's capabilities.
Li Shiyin still hadn't adapted to the elder's mercurial temper swings. They were chatting harmoniously just a second ago. How could he have vanished the next second?
But Qin Ran was used to it, mainly because he was constantly thinking ahead while keeping his external emotions in check.
Seeing Xu Zhiye disappear into the distance, Qin Ran turned around to face the two women still standing in the courtyard and asked, "Why have both of you been staring at us since just now? May I ask what's the reason?"
These two women weren't the shy type. Even when caught blatantly ogling, they showed no hint of awkwardness. The young lady smiled politely at Qin Ran and curtsied in greeting, "Greetings, Senior."
Qin Ran nodded back politely but didn't speak, waiting for her to explain herself.
"This junior is Zhao Yaqing from the Xuanqin Zhao Family. I'm acquainted with Senior's female disciple, Li Shiyin. We are old friends." The young lady continued smiling profoundly.
The Xuanqin Zhao Family? Qin Ran didn't recognize that name but could tell from this lady's composure and astuteness that she was no ordinary figure.
As for knowing Li Shiyin...
He tilted his head to glance at Li Shiyin, only to see her blinking confusedly at Miss Zhao Yaqing, clearly not recognizing her or rather, not recalling who this person was.
He turned back towards Zhao Yaqing.
"Miss Li has met too many people to remember clearly..." Zhao Yaqing still kept smiling as she explained, "Three years ago, during General Li Konghe's eightieth birthday celebration, I had accompanied my father there and had a delightful chat with Miss Li."
Li Shiyin stared hard at Zhao Yaqing, gradually recalling bits and pieces.
"Oh, I remember now! You were that snobbish young lady. You had a crush on my brother, and I beat you up because I didn't permit it."
"?" A question mark popped up in Qin Ran's mind. Something felt off but also vaguely fine at the same time.
"I'm sorry, I was young and foolish then..." Li Shiyin swiftly apologized to Zhao Yaqing.
"It's nothing. It was many years ago already. I've long forgotten about fighting with Miss Li. I only remember us chatting merrily." Zhao Yaqing was still smiling, but profoundly so.
This woman seemed a little terrifying. As Qin Ran observed Zhao Yaqing, she definitely hadn't forgotten. Otherwise, she wouldn't have remembered Li Shiyin or the birthday celebration visit. Yet she acted so nonchalant about it...
"Miss Zhao..." Still unable to recall her full name, Li Shiyin nevertheless deftly changed topics. "Why have you come here? Are you also forging your Natal Sword? Oh, so you've embarked on the path of cultivation too? Which sect have you joined? What's your current cultivation level...?"
Li Shiyin unleashed a barrage of questions. Zhao Yaqing patiently waited for her to finish before answering each query: "I joined the Cloud Heaven Sect last year to walk the path of the sword. My current cultivation base is at the Foundation Establishment middle stage. Indeed, I came here in search of Master Xu Zhiye, hoping to forge a suitable Natal Sword. Unfortunately, Master Xu turned down my request..."
She paused here and congratulated Li Shiyin, "Congratulations on getting Master Xu Zhiye to agree to forge a sword for you!"
"Oh, it's nothing much, just a sword!" Li Shiyin consoled, "If Master Xu refuses, you can always find someone else to do the job..."
Zhao Yaqing hid her emotions masterfully. She continued chatting idly with Li Shiyin for quite a while until the attendant brought over the ingredients and passed Qin Ran the Cosmic Bag. Qin Ran and his disciple then bade farewell and descended the mountain.
As Zhao Yaqing and her Guardian walked out of the side chamber, watching Qin Ran and Li Shiyin's retreating figures along the path, she felt the old wounds from three years ago throbbing once more. Her eyes narrowed malevolently.
"Star Brilliance Stone..." Her smile seemed rather creepy. "It will make an excellent sword!"
"My lady, do you mean..."
"This will be at least a top-grade Natal Sword. Although not exactly compatible with my attributes, I can make do..." said Zhao Yaqing. As she recalled the refined-looking youth taking out item after item from his Cosmic Bag, successfully persuading Xu Zhiye to forge a sword for Li Shiyin, the jealousy she forcefully suppressed still seeped out eventually. She asked, "What's that dummy's Master's cultivation level?"
"Looks to be at the Foundation Establishment Stage. However, his vital energy seems abundant, so he likely knows some methods to conceal his actual cultivation. Probably at the Golden Core Stage."
"Golden Core..." Zhao Yaqing murmured in contemplation briefly before continuing, "No matter. As long as he isn't at the Primordial Infant Stage, there's no issue. If the two of us join hands, it will be an even one-versus-one match. I can easily capture Li Shiyin while you can certainly gain an advantage over her Master. With some cunning schemes, victory will be ours."
"Understood." Her Guardian acknowledged with a nod.
When the road ends and waters run dry, another village comes into view.
"Hmph!" Zhao Yaqing sneered coldly. "What fools to deliver a sword right to us!"
Chapter 60
Qin Ran brought Li Shiyin down the mountain. Halfway down, he asked Li Shiyin, "Who is Zhao Yaqing?"
"She is the legitimate daughter of the Zhao family in Xuanqin," Li Shiyin replied.
"And what is the Zhao family in Xuanqin?"
"Zhao Yaqing's grandfather..." Li Shiyin thought carefully. She wasn't very sure about this. "I think her grandfather was the Prime Minister of Xuanqin... or was it the Imperial Tutor? I can't remember clearly."
"The Imperial Tutor..." Qin Ran understood. He fell silent in thought for a moment. Zhao Yaqing was the legitimate daughter of an official family, an inner disciple of the Cloud Heaven Sect, with a guardian by her side. On top of that, she was very scheming. No matter how you looked at it, she did not seem like the kind of person who would reminisce with the silly Li Shiyin for no reason.
Well, actually, if you look at Li Shiyin's background, she's not worse off than Zhao Yaqing.
The daughter of a prestigious family, personal disciple of the Dao Sword Sect, master an alchemist... Her resume wasn't any worse than Zhao Yaqing's.
Without saying anything more, Qin Ran felt wary and vigilant in his heart about Zhao Yaqing's ulterior motives.
Having finalized the sword forging arrangements, the main purpose of this trip was already half accomplished. As long as he could exchange the medicinal pills for the treasured sword in five days, the trip would be perfectly successful.
So Qin Ran relaxed a little and took Li Shiyin to appreciate some of the unique natural scenery around the volcano and experience the peculiar culture of the sword forging town for a bit.
The sky here was red, the land was black-brown lava, and the air was scorching hot currents.
Yet the flora here was as lush as a primeval forest, mostly shrubs, with the occasional coniferous or leafless tree...though none grew very tall. The fauna was mostly insects, with the occasional small mammals like foxes and rats.
Master and disciple walked slowly, chatting about random things. Li Shiyin picked flowers, chased snakes, and picked up one oddly shaped piece of lava rock after another.
After they returned to the sword forging town, they wandered around taking in the sights.
The unique natural landscape here existed because of the volcano, while the strange culture of the town relied on Xu Zhiye.
It was because many people came looking for Xu Zhiye to forge swords that this town appeared at all.
The "sword forging" in the name referred to the sword forging of master Xu Zhiye.
The sword and forging cultures were very prosperous in the town, with sword emblems and weapon shops everywhere, whether or not they had anything to do with Xu Zhiye. But they all used Xu Zhiye's name. There were also shops selling sword techniques and forging methods. In short, it was a lively place.
In particular, there were no locals here. Everyone had come from all over, each speaking in their own accent, which was quite amusing.
As master and disciple walked along eating, when it was evening and time to return to the inn, they didn't need to eat at the inn anymore and went straight back to their rooms.
Qin Ran went to check Li Shiyin's room again to make sure there were no strange magic arrays, tools, or medicines that had mysteriously appeared. Confirming there was nothing suspicious, he returned to his room to fetch Long Qiqi and brought her to Li Shiyin, telling her, "Starting tonight, I will be refining pills, so the less time spent on that, the more preparation I can make. It will probably take me three days. During this time, keep an eye on Long Qiqi... No, keep an eye on your own safety. Don't get into any trouble!"
Li Shiyin looked at Long Qiqi. She didn't like Long Qiqi, so she was very reluctant, but still replied, "Yes, Master!"
"Remember what I said. The immortal cultivation world is dangerous and unpredictable. No one can be trusted. When you're outside, always be extremely cautious!" Qin Ran gave Li Shiyin a final meaningful look and exhorted, "Protect yourself!!"
"I will," Li Shiyin nodded.
Qin Ran took a deep breath, seeming to want to say more, but in the end said nothing. He turned and walked straight out the door. He lingered for a moment outside before leaving without going back in.
These three days would be a test for Li Shiyin. In fact, the purpose of this trip to forge a sword was to forge Li Shiyin's personal sword, and at the same time, forge her heart sword!
The immortal cultivation world was never short of geniuses, even top talents like Li Shiyin. But there were few geniuses who could survive and reach the peak.
As Li Shiyin watched Qin Ran walk out the door, she could sense the deeper meaning behind her master's words, but...
"Master is too cautious. He lives too prudently. That's not good," she thought, shaking her head slightly. "He's overly cautious."
Qin Ran had left Long Qiqi sitting limply in a chair, still unable to move her whole body, only her facial features.
This snake demon was no ordinary snake demon. Putting everything else aside, just her depth of mind already set her apart. At least she was on a completely different level from Li Shiyin.
Seeing the casual look on Li Shiyin's face, her long, thin snake eyes immediately lit up. She knew this was a chance for revenge...for escape!
Well, it wasn't that she didn't want revenge, just that this silly girl...
She would probably never forget in her whole life the experience of being held by the tail and spun around wildly by Li Shiyin in a frenzy.
But why not try other methods, since she clearly couldn't win in a test of strength?
After all, raw power was never what her snake clan prided themselves on!
"People often talk about snakes and scorpions, speaking of their extreme venom..." she opened her mouth to speak. "But from my understanding, neither snakes nor scorpions are poisonous. Only the human heart is the true poison."
Li Shiyin was sitting on the bed fiddling with the clothes she had bought today when she heard Long Qiqi's words. She gave a mocking laugh. "You, a mere snake spirit, commenting on humans?"
"You humans, precisely because you are human, do not understand humans. That is called not seeing the forest for the trees. It is exactly because I am a snake that I understand humans more clearly," Long Qiqi retorted.
"Humans don't understand humans, but snakes understand humans?" Li Shiyin curled her lip disdainfully. "What kind of nonsense logic is that?"
"I am a snake, but now I am a demon—demons take human form. So although I was once a snake, now I am human. Having been both snake and human, I understand humans well enough," Long Qiqi explained smoothly.
"What? What are you talking about?" Long Qiqi's rhetorical twist left Li Shiyin confused. She suddenly felt Long Qiqi's words made some sense.
"Humans are the most poisonous creatures in the world!" Long Qiqi stated her thesis again. "Even more poisonous than I am!"
"Hmm..." Li Shiyin frowned in thought. She didn't know where she had lost the thread, but they had ended up here somehow.
She put the clothes down and stood up, wanting to refute Long Qiqi but not knowing how. She looked at Long Qiqi, then realized—this was just the defeated captive talking!
"So what if humans are the most poisonous?" she asked coldly with a mocking smile.
"Oh, nothing much..." Long Qiqi also smiled. "I just hope you bear in mind what your master said—to be careful and stay safe!"
Chapter 61
Li Shiyin furrowed her brows as she looked at Long Qiqi, suddenly feeling something amiss.
If Long Qiqi hadn't advised her about the cruel nature of people and the dangers of the world, she might have thought that Qin Ran was being overly cautious. But now, with Long Qiqi's persuasion, she felt that not defying her master meant she was agreeing with both her master and Long Qiqi.
Li Shiyin was no fool. Her original plan was to stay in seclusion while her master focused on alchemy for a few days. Regardless of whether the outside world was dangerous or not, she would simply stay indoors. But now...
She had the sense that Long Qiqi was mocking her and implying that she was cowardly, which made her uncomfortable.
Furthermore, Li Shiyin had an impulsive nature and couldn't sit still. Forcing her to stay in the room was like imprisoning her.
So, she endured for a day or two, but on the third day, she couldn't take it anymore.
Since her master had said it would take three days to refine the elixir, she reasoned that going out to have some fun wouldn't have a significant impact. With that thought in mind, she got up and pushed open the door.
"Are you going out to play?" Long Qiqi asked excitedly, having waited for three days for this moment.
Li Shiyin turned around and saw Long Qiqi curled up on a makeshift bed made of two chairs, poking her head out from under a blanket. Li Shiyin had obtained the chairs from the innkeeper and the blanket was a gift from him.
"Play?" Li Shiyin's big eyes rolled and she smiled, saying, "I'm not playing. I'm going out to investigate the local customs and gather information."
Gather information? Long Qiqi couldn't help but want to laugh, but she held it back because she made a request instead. "Can I come with you? I can help you gather information."
"Help me gather information?" Li Shiyin hesitated because she had no intention of gathering information. She just wanted to go out and have fun. "No need, I can handle it on my own." She smiled and refused.
As she said that, she stepped out of the door.
Seeing Li Shiyin about to leave, Long Qiqi panicked. This was her last chance to escape, so she quickly threatened, "Then I'll tell your master that you sneaked out to play!"
Li Shiyin retracted her foot as she stepped out of the door. She turned back to Long Qiqi and said, "You... Don't falsely accuse a good person. I'm not going out to play. I'm going out to do something serious!"
But even as she said those words, she didn't believe them herself. She retracted her foot again and looked at the vast, free sky outside and the repulsive figure of Long Qiqi inside, feeling conflicted.
"If you take me with you, then we'll be in the same boat. I definitely won't report you," Long Qiqi said, delighted that Li Shiyin had stepped back, seizing the opportunity to continue coaxing her.
Unfortunately, Li Shiyin was no fool. It didn't take her long to catch on.
She smiled, snorted at Long Qiqi, and said, "My master never said I couldn't go out and have fun." There was a hint of smugness in her tone.
With that, she ignored Long Qiqi and happily bounced out of the door.
"Ah! No~" Long Qiqi stared at the closed door and felt that the brightness outside that door was the brightness of her life. From then on, her life became dark.
Escaping from the cunning and treacherous hands of Qin Ran was even harder than reaching the heavens.
"Oh Heavens! Oh Earth! What sins have I, Long Qiqi, committed? I wandered in ignorance for thousands of years, and when I finally awakened, I resolutely changed my form in pursuit of the righteous path of immortality. I have lived my life without doing evil, so why is this happening to me?"
Long Qiqi gazed at the faint light seeping through the crack in the door as tears streamed down her face, pouring out her grievances.
Suddenly, the door was opened from the outside, and the figure in the light was clearly Li Shiyin. She walked straight over, lifted Long Qiqi in her arms, and said with a pretended sigh, "Let's go together, poor thing."
"Huh?" Long Qiqi, halfway through her tears, stopped and pondered.
Li Shiyin carried Long Qiqi through the bustling streets, her steps filled with joy.
"Why did you come back again?" Long Qiqi still couldn't understand.
Seeing someone selling sword models nearby, Li Shiyin ran over, picked up a large sword and played with it in her hand, smiling. "I've come out to have fun. How can I leave you alone in the house? It's terrifying to be in that room all by yourself. Just thinking about it gives me chills."
She swung the big sword playfully a couple of times and continued, "That room is small and dark, so uncomfortable."
Long Qiqi's heart was filled with complexity. She had intended to deceive this naive girl, but this naive girl was now thinking from her perspective...
"She's truly too gentle. It makes me want to cry."
So she said, "It's inconvenient for you to carry me while playing. It's better to put me down."
Li Shiyin looked at Long Qiqi, furrowed her brows, and said, "But your meridians are sealed by your master. You can't stand."
Long Qiqi blinked her eyes, pretending to be cute and shy, and said, "You can help me unseal the meridians on my legs... just the legs will do. I can walk, I won't run away."
But Li Shiyin didn't take her for a fool. She immediately saw through Long Qiqi's scheme. The snake demon was trying to deceive her into unsealing the meridians so she could escape.
"Heh!" Li Shiyin sneered, "Don't play those tricks with me. I won't help you remove the seals."
"Ah!" Long Qiqi sighed. This girl seemed to be not so easily fooled.
After playing for a while in the marketplace, Li Shiyin still wasn't satisfied. Upon careful thought, she realized it was because she was carrying a child. So she brought Long Qiqi to the side of the road and put her down, saying, "I'll only help you unseal the meridians on your legs! I won't unseal the rest."
"Alright!" Long Qiqi nodded repeatedly, thinking to herself, "What a naive girl. Once one seal is broken, the whole seal will be destroyed, and then I can handle the rest."
Li Shiyin reached out and channeled her energy, placing her hand on Long Qiqi's leg, then paused...
She looked up at Long Qiqi, innocently blinked her big eyes, and said, "I... I don't know how to remove them."
"Ah?!!!" Long Qiqi was dumbfounded. She had planned and schemed for several days, expended countless efforts, and success was within her grasp. Who would have thought that this girl would actually not know how to remove the seals?
"Didn't your master teach you?" she couldn't help but ask.
"Cough... My master did teach me... I vaguely remember receiving some instruction, but I can't recall it clearly," Li Shiyin said apologetically. "The main issue is that I can't distinguish the meridians in my legs. I'm not very familiar with them."
"What about the meridians in other parts of the body?" Long Qiqi struggled to speak, his life slipping away.
"I'm not familiar with those either," Li Shiyin whispered.
"Ah..." Long Qiqi despaired. "I've truly lost to you!"
"I... I..." Li Shiyin stammered, apologizing. "I'm sorry, I really am!"
Long Qiqi shook his head, looking at Li Shiyin with disdain, too exhausted to utter a word.
Li Shiyin lifted Long Qiqi and continued walking forward, but after a while, she stopped. Determination flickered in her eyes as she placed Long Qiqi by the roadside.
"I... I, Li Shiyin, am not a fool. What's with that disdainful look in your eyes?" she gritted her teeth. "Humph, my master is an alchemist. How could I not understand meridians?"
With these thoughts in mind, she said to Long Qiqi, "Don't worry, I am actually familiar with the acupoints of the meridians. I just can't distinguish them clearly. I still have my divine sense, which is enough to unseal you!"
Long Qiqi, with his slender serpent-like pupils, stared at Li Shiyin. The adorable face of the little girl was filled with disbelief.
"I... I'll prove it to you!"
As Li Shiyin spoke, her divine sense detached from her body and reached out towards Long Qiqi, while her hand pressed against his body.
Chapter 62
"Spiritual Consciousness!!"
Zhang Shan was just randomly strolling down the street when he suddenly caught these words. He hurriedly looked around, and then saw those two beauties, one big and one small, at the side of the street.
The bigger beauty was squatting in front of the little beauty with her eyes closed, seeming to be groping for something on the little beauty's body.
"Being able to see external objects with eyes closed, isn't that spiritual consciousness! Having spiritual consciousness at such a low level of cultivation!" He sensed the bigger beauty's level of cultivation, which was only at the Foundation Establishment stage.
"Hey!" He pulled his friend Wang Wu over and gestured towards the two beauties on the side of the street.
Wang Wu looked over and saw the bigger beauty. He almost started drooling as he nodded repeatedly: "Not bad with your taste this time, great choice of target!"
"All you think about is nasty stuff..." Zhang Shan scolded him, then explained to Wang Wu in detail.
"She must have a secret manual..."
Li Shiyin sent her spiritual consciousness into Long Qiqi's thigh, then controlled it to enter the muscles and find the meridian structure inside. Then...
She was confused by the crisscrossing mesh of meridians in the thigh.
Seeing Li Shiyin's dazed expression, Long Qiqi didn't have much hope. She could only beg heaven that Li Shiyin wouldn't ruin the physical body she had finally sculpted.
Li Shiyin went from the thigh to the arm, from the lower dantian to the upper dantian. She realized she could understand the overall meridian structure of the whole body, which was similar to the circulation path of cultivation techniques. But when it came to a specific part, she didn't understand how the meridians were distributed.
She withdrew her spiritual consciousness from Long Qiqi's body and fell into contemplation.
This silly girl obviously wasn't reliable. Don't let her get herself killed. Long Qiqi was very worried and suggested, "If it really doesn't work then just forget it. If it affects your sightseeing, you can just send me back."
"It's not entirely hopeless..." Li Shiyin said thoughtfully, "I don't understand the specifics, but I do have some ideas on unblocking the whole body's meridians."
When Li Shiyin said she could unblock the whole body's meridians, Long Qiqi didn't feel happy at all. Because the way Li Shiyin phrased it sounded unreliable - not understanding the details but understanding the whole, this could probably kill someone.
She became scared instead and hurriedly said, "No...no need. Just send me back! I don't want to play anymore!"
In fact, with Qin Ran's constant influence, Li Shiyin wasn't completely ignorant about meridians. Looking at the whole body, she was about 30-40% confident. But she was more concerned about another issue - that after unsealing Long Qiqi, would she run away or attack her?
Then she heard Long Qiqi say that, seemingly looking down on her...
Hey! With Li Shiyin's explosive temper, who was a hand-down to look down on her!?
Her big eyes glared at Long Qiqi as she said, "What's the big deal, it's just unsealing the whole body's meridians! Watch me!"
As she said that, not giving Long Qiqi a chance to resist...though Long Qiqi had no ability to resist anyway, she could only watch in horror as Li Shiyin pressed her hand on her dantian, channeled her spiritual consciousness and power over, then violently surged along the cultivation path, from inside out...
"Boom!" It was as if Long Qiqi heard this sound. She felt like she had exploded.
"Ah...I'm dying, I'm dying..." She cried, rather pitiful and heartbroken.
"Stop crying, success!"
Long Qiqi was crying, her face covered in snot and tears. She was wiping her tears with her hand when she heard this voice...it was Li Shiyin's voice.
"Hmm?" Hearing Li Shiyin's voice, she wasn't dead? Long Qiqi's crying paused as she opened her tear-blurred eyes to see Li Shiyin's proud smile, "Success?"
She clenched her fist!
"Eh?" Long Qiqi realized she could move her hand. She wiped her tears and stood up, jumping around. Other than her qi and blood being somewhat stagnant from stiffness, all the acupoints on her body were indeed unsealed.
"Yay!" She jumped up happily, truly like a little girl.
"What do you think? Aren't I awesome?" Li Shiyin looked at her with a proud grin, waiting for her praise.
"Pfft..." Long Qiqi snorted disdainfully, "Awesome my ass!"
As she said that, she walked towards the front.
"Hey! Don't even think about running away!!" Li Shiyin hurriedly chased after her.
The big and little girls wandered the streets, eating, shopping, and playing all along the way. It really felt like they were out sightseeing.
After going halfway through the street, they stopped to rest under a roadside tree, entering halftime.
Long Qiqi hugged a pretty bowl of shaved ice, happily eating it. She used to be a snake so she didn't have a sense of taste and didn't have so many delicious things to eat. Moreover, it was scorching hot here, so nothing was more suitable than a bowl of ice-cold sweet shaved ice.
While she ate shaved ice, Li Shiyin fiddled with the little trinkets they had bought on the side. She picked up a jade flute and showed it to Long Qiqi, asking, "Doesn't it look nice?"
"What is this?" Long Qiqi asked. Can it be eaten?
"This is a flute..." Li Shiyin said. "It's a musical instrument."
"Boring!" Long Qiqi shook her head and scooped another spoonful of shaved ice into her mouth.
Wait a minute!
Long Qiqi suddenly froze. She bit the spoon as she seemed to forget something extremely important...
Wasn't she trying to think of a way to escape?
So what was she doing now?
Long Qiqi secretly glanced at the giggling silly Li Shiyin, then looked at the bowl of shaved ice in her hands.
"Fine..." She came up with an excuse for herself, "It's alright to eat well before leaving. After all, it was them who captured me, so punishing them by making them treat me to nice food is reasonable!"
"Hmph!" She nodded, affirming her own excuse.
"Alright!" Li Shiyin finished organizing everything and put them into her cosmic bag as she asked Long Qiqi, "Have you rested? Let's continue...once master exits seclusion, we won't be able to play anymore."
"Hmm...okay!" Long Qiqi nodded.
So the two set off again, walking towards the second half of the street.
"What's the plan for escape?" Long Qiqi started thinking, "Any ideas?"
"Your ice is melting, hurry and eat it!" Li Shiyin urged.
Long Qiqi looked down and scooped up a spoonful of shaved ice. Suddenly she saw two people following quite close behind them. Her eyes glanced around as she abruptly had an idea.
"When are you guys going to retrieve the sword?" She raised her volume so her voice could be heard by the two people behind them amidst the noisy street market.
"The day after tomorrow probably! Tomorrow or the day after...Li Shiyin calculated the time,"Master Xu said it would take five days."
"Master Xu Zhiye's sword. Long Qiqi sighed in admiration, "How amazing."
"You know about it too?" Li Shiyin asked curiously. Xu Zhiye has that kind of renown even among monsters?
"Yup yup!" Long Qiqi nodded. She didn't actually know shit. She had heard it from conversations between Qin Ran and Li Shiyin.
So, Long Qiqi thought, this should get the attention of the two people behind them right?
"I want that..."
She then started bringing Li Shiyin towards more secluded places.
"That's delicious..."
As expected, the two men followed them.
"Let's go look at that..."
When it was just about right, Long Qiqi looked at the location and pointed at an extremely secluded alley, saying "My stomach hurts, I want to go pee there."
Li Shiyin indulged her and brought her over like bringing a kid.
"I'll go in alone, wait for me out here..." Long Qiqi said.
"Still shy." Li Shiyin shook her head. "Fine, be quick."
So Long Qiqi went into the alley and didn't come out for a long time. Li Shiyin felt something was off and rushed in to check, but how could she still find Long Qiqi's shadow?
"Ah! Got tricked!" Li Shiyin was furious and punched the wall, leaving a deep hole.
She turned back, intending to go out and look around for Long Qiqi. But just then, two vicious-looking men walked into the alley entrance...
At certain corner of the street, Long Qiqi watched those two men enter the alley as expected. She was a little worried inside: "She's so powerful, there shouldn't be any danger right?" Li Shiyin was a bit silly but still treated her very well.
"Sigh..." But humans and demons walk different paths, they'll always be strangers to each other. She sighed and left.
But as soon as she turned around, she bumped right into a man.
Chapter 63
Unwelcome guests!
Li Shiyin's face turned cold. Her naturally heroic face instantly took on the air of a lone woman warrior as she asked in a low voice, "Who are you?"
The visitors were none other than Zhang Shan and Wang Wu. They had followed Li Shiyin and Long Qiqi all the way here, overhearing along the way that Li Shiyin had commissioned a sword from Xu Zhiye. Now they were being led to this remote place.
That meant there was not only a beauty and mystic martial arts techniques here, but also a sword forged by Xu Zhiye and the assistance of fate itself. Their luck had arrived in full force, preventing any obstacles.
Today, they would attack two of the Five Immortals, robbing them of valuables while sparing their lives. They still wanted that sword, and they wanted... to rob some beauty!
Seeing the cold, aloof face of the fairy maiden before him, Zhang Shan's lecherous desires rose to his face. As a professional, how could he bother to answer? Drawing the sword off his back, he strode towards the fairy maiden.
In the narrow alley, faced with these vicious ruffians, the fairy maiden retreated...
"What are you trying to do?"
Li Shiyin could not help but retreat.
"Stop!"
She shouted again.
As they drew closer to the fairy maiden, seemingly able to smell her fragrance, Zhang Shan and Wang Wu grew even more excited. They picked up speed, one in front and one behind, sword and blade flying swiftly towards Li Shiyin.
Seeing the two men refusing to listen, Li Shiyin no longer retreated. Her left hand stroked the embroidered silk pouch at her waist, and an ebony sword scabbard and sword appeared in her left hand. Grasping the hilt with her right hand, her apricot eyes hardened as she looked ahead, and a flash of cold light swept across Zhang Shan and Wang Wu.
She, Li Shiyin...
Was no weak woman!
It was always her bullying others, so who dared bully her?
"Shing!"
The Starfall Sword left its scabbard!
Since there were those courting death, why not send them on their way?
She did not wait for Zhang Shan to cross the final distance and attack. Instead, she took the initiative and rushed at them with her sword.
In her dictionary, in the conduct of her Li family, there had never been such a thing as passively taking a beating. There was only...
Attack!
Frenzied attack!
Becoming the sharpest spear, attacking relentlessly without stopping, until the last enemy was hacked to pieces!
Li Shiyin attacked, her sword swinging wide and free, not gently or ambiguously like a traditional young lady, but explosively and tempestuously, like a typhoon bursting a riverbank!
The master had spent endless spirit stones and elixirs, exhausting his heart and mind to forge her physique - far stronger than an ordinary cultivator's. This granted her endless strength and speed.
"Clang!"
Her sword met Zhang Shan's parrying blade, stopping his charge in its tracks and forcing him back several steps.
"What?" Zhang Shan was shocked, his sword-wielding hand trembling uncontrollably.
Li Shiyin would not give him an answer. No, she had already given him a chance to flee, but sadly he had not grasped it. That clanging sound was the first gunshot triggering an avalanche, followed closely by...
"Clang clang clang!"
It was as if a grand musical performance was unfolding in this little alley, with countless frantic sounds ringing out rhythmically.
Under Li Shiyin's frenzied swordplay, Zhang Shan could only desperately defend. He was like a small wooden boat in the storm, ready to capsize at any moment.
"How is this possible?" Wang Wu watched Zhang Shan's battle from not far behind, unwilling to believe it.
Zhang Shan was a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator. This woman was just in the Foundation Establishment stage! How could she dominate him like this? Zhang Shan couldn't even get an opportunity to utilize any abilities.
Since the alley was too narrow for them to surround her, Wang Wu had stopped in his tracks earlier on, letting only Zhang Shan charge forward to secure space for their battle.
It didn't seem like the woman was using any special arts either. She was just using mundane human sword techniques, so how could she have such power?
It felt as if... a powerful cultivator was being hammered by a mighty warrior.
"No no no..." Wang Wu shook his head repeatedly. How could he have such an impression? She just had a better foundation and slightly stronger physique than them... probably...?
Wait a moment!
A better foundation?
Wang Wu suddenly understood. She must be from an orthodox sect, and quite a major one at that, holding a position of some status, otherwise she wouldn't be so powerful.
No wonder she had mystic martial arts techniques and could get Xu the Weirdo to forge a sword for her...
"What should we do now?" Wang Wu felt uneasy. Offending disciples from major sects was bad news... No, the main issue was still that they couldn't beat her...
"No no no..." He quickly reacted. "Since we've offended her already, whether we can beat her or not, we still have to go all out..."
As Wang Wu looked ahead, although Li Shiyin was using ordinary sword techniques, her moves were precise and skilled. Clearly she practiced extensively – she was a sword cultivator.
"A sword cultivator, is it?" He had an idea. Reaching into his cosmos pouch, he took out a shuttle-shaped object and gripped it in his hand. Bit by bit, he channeled spiritual power into the shuttle.
"Chua..."
Li Shiyin thrusted out her sword, flicking it back up Zhang Shan's chest. Zhang Shan hastily parried with his own sword across his chest, but his arm was numb and he missed by a bit – Li Shiyin's sword still left a bloody gash. Zhang Shan grimaced in pain and retreated further. Sensing an opening, Li Shiyin immediately pressed forward, waiting for the right moment to utilize Rabit Kicks Eagle – her legs shot out horizontally, kicking Zhang Shan squarely in the chest.
Now that blades were drawn, Li Shiyin did not know how to hold back. Using her full strength, the kick sent Zhang Shan flying like a burst sack, crashing horizontally out of the alley.
Wang Wu hurriedly dodged aside, not even trying to catch Zhang Shan. Gripping the shuttle-shaped artifact, he turned back to see Li Shiyin nimbly landing after kicking Zhang Shan away...
Now was his chance!
"Whoosh!"
He opened his palm. The shuttle-shaped artifact instantly disappeared, transforming into a silver shadow shooting towards Li Shiyin.
Li Shiyin never underestimated her foes or relaxed her guard on the battlefield, which would give the enemy opportunities. Although she had just landed and not yet steadied herself, she still reacted quickly enough when the shuttle came at her.
In a lightning-quick reflex, she exerted force in her rear arm, making the Starfall Sword shudder like electricity...
"Clang!"
She steadily deflected the shuttle.
"Sneak attack?" She smiled coldly at Wang Wu, taking a step towards him while drawing her sword back...
"Hmm? What's going on?" Li Shiyin suddenly felt the Starfall Sword grow heavier. Hurriedly glancing at the blade, she discovered that the shuttle had not been batted away. Instead, it was stuck fast to the sword!
It seemed to weigh at least several hundred pounds, and was still increasing in weight...
"What is this thing?" She stared icily at Wang Wu.
Wang Wu grinned obsequiously, gloating, "It's a little toy, specially targeting sword cultivators like you..."
"Without your swords, you sword cultivators are just toothless tigers." He slashed his blade horizontally. Faint flames flickered along its edge. "You're... lambs to the slaughter!"
"Toothless tiger?" The thought of Chasefeng inexplicably popped into Li Shiyin's mind. Even without his claws, he didn't seem much weaker, remaining just as fierce every day.
As the shuttle continued gaining weight, she thrust the Starfall Sword into the wall beside her, empty-handed now. Clenching her fists, she asked:
"Are you sure about that?"
Chapter 64
"I'm very sure!"
Wang Wu slashed with his sword. There was a faint roar of a fierce lion, and a flame burst out from the sword, hacking directly at Li Shiyin.
Li Shiyin flashed sideways to avoid the flames. She looked up to see Wang Wu rushing at her. She squeezed both her fists hard and shouted lightly:
"Stars, flash bang them!"
Then tiny specks of starlight lit up on her fists, and a faint, flickering starry thread connected behind her.
Wang Wu came up and slashed straight down with his sword. Li Shiyin dodged again, even more effortlessly than before.
"What's going on?" Wang Wu realized something was wrong. "She seems to be a bit more powerful than before?"
A sword cultivator lost her sword, and then became stronger?
Hmm?
But before he could question any further, the now much stronger Li Shiyin, who had increased her power exponentially, was already engaged in close combat. She punched him squarely in the face, knocking his center of gravity askew. As he staggered to the side, she nimbly blocked his sword with her elbow, moved in close, and drove her elbow into his ribs. Without pausing, she followed up with two or three punches to his abdomen and another two or three at his dantian. She finished him off with a knee to the inside of his thigh.
After taking this vicious beating, Wang Wu still had ample magic power to cast all kinds of spells, but...
his body could no longer allow it.
Li Shiyin didn't need to lift another finger before he lost control of his body and collapsed.
"Is this what a sword cultivator is like?" He couldn't figure out what had gone wrong. "This is clearly a body refinement cultivator!"
In the alley entrance, Zhang Shan was covered in sword wounds and bleeding profusely, also losing his fighting capability. Li Shiyin went to drag him over next to Wang Wu.
"Put away your shuttle," she said to Wang Wu.
"Hmm?" Wang Wu was startled. Did she mean she wasn't planning on killing them?
Because if he died, he would lose control of the shuttle and it would deactivate itself.
But while he was distracted by his thoughts, Li Shiyin suddenly kicked at his face. "I told you to put away the shuttle, didn't you hear me?!"
Wang Wu's heart shook with fear. He hastily withdrew the shuttle, having keenly perceived after spending many years in the loose cultivator world that this girl cultivator with her explosive combat power was likely a newcomer. Having slipped up today, they would probably just get beaten up instead of killed, and still had a chance to live.
"Blind fools..." Li Shiyin pulled the Qingxing Sword from the wall and carefully inspected it. Not finding any nicks, she sheathed it again. Then she gave Wang Wu and Zhang Shan another kick each. "Trying to make trouble for me?!"
Having said that, she turned and left, sword in hand.
"She's just going to leave like that?" Wang Wu wondered to himself. Not only did she not kill them, she didn't even disable them or torture them a little?
He had just thought this when Li Shiyin, who had walked to the alley entrance, paused and turned to come back.
"I knew it wouldn't be so simple..." Seeing Li Shiyin return, Wang Wu was actually relieved instead. If she had left just like that, he would have seriously doubted there was some horrifying plot.
"Uh..." Li Shiyin returned to stand in front of Wang Wu and Zhang Shan. She took out a porcelain bottle from her Universe Bag, poured out two large Redemption Pills and handed one to each of them. "My master refined these Great Redemption Pills. The quality is very good. Your injuries will heal shortly."
"Although I beat you up, it was because you deserved it..." She hesitated, feeling a little embarrassed. "Don't take it to heart."
Wang Wu was stunned. This wasn't a newcomer at all. She was practically an angel, a saint, the Virgin Mary... Hmm? Who was the Virgin Mary?
Li Shiyin scratched her head, wanting to say something more to comfort them, but was too embarrassed. She simply left.
The Li family creed was to annihilate enemies ruthlessly, but to treat prisoners well, because prisoners belonged to the weak...
Hmm, Li Shiyin seemed to somehow have a wrong understanding of their family creed... If you annihilated all enemies, where did the prisoners come from?
Clutching her sword, Li Shiyin walked out of the alley and headed in the direction of Yuelai Inn, but after two steps she stopped. She reacted that she seemed to have glimpsed a familiar figure just now?
She quickly turned to look. On the other side of the alley entrance was a thin, dark figure.
That figure was gazing into the distance, not knowing what he was looking at.
But Li Shiyin clearly recognized it was her master, Qin Ran!
"Master?" she tried calling out.
"Hmm?" The figure responded.
It really was Master!
Flustered, she asked, "Master, what are you doing here?"
Qin Ran turned to face her, looking at Li Shiyin's nervous appearance, and asked back, "Why can't I be here?"
"Aren't you refining pills?"
"The pills are done!"
"Then..." Li Shiyin lowered her head. "Did you see?"
"I saw everything."
"Master..." Li Shiyin drew out the word pleadingly, trying to curry favor. "They provoked me first. I didn't actively attack anyone."
Qin Ran's expression instantly darkened.
Li Shiyin panicked even more and hastily explained, "Really, they attacked first. Long Qiqi and I came here to rest, then Long Qiqi ran inside and didn't come out. So I went in to look for her..."
As she spoke, she recalled again that she had lost Long Qiqi, and couldn't continue.
"Sigh..." Qin Ran let out a sigh. He looked towards the alley at the two people whose injuries were rapidly healing thanks to the pills. He shook his head. "You don't know where you went wrong."
His hand stirred the Rise and Fall of the Water Realm, but ultimately he did not make a move.
"...You should have killed them as quickly as possible, then destroyed the corpses and evidence, left the scene, without leaving a single trace." Gazing as Zhang Shan and Wang Wu fled swiftly from the other end of the alley, he said softly.
"I should have killed them?" Li Shiyin was surprised. Was her master criticizing this?
"There's no need..."
"They haven't gone far..." Qin Ran closed his eyes, sensing Zhang Shan and Wang Wu's location. "You still have a chance."
Li Shiyin didn't object to killing people, but she felt one shouldn't indiscriminately slaughter the innocent. She shook her head. "No need, Master."
Qin Ran opened his eyes and looked deeply at Li Shiyin. After a long while, he said, "Let's go back then."
"But..." Li Shiyin said. "Long Qiqi ran away."
"If she ran, then she ran." Qin Ran walked on ahead. "Just a snake demon."
To comfort his silly disciple after her dangerous battle, Qin Ran brought her out to play and eat for a while before returning to Yuelai Inn when it was about time.
And the instant they pushed open the door to Yuelai Inn, Qin Ran halted in his tracks. He looked towards a certain spot in the lobby.
Following right behind Qin Ran, Li Shiyin hadn't expected him to suddenly stop. Engrossed in eating her skewers, she bumped straight into his back. Then she looked curiously along her master's line of sight into the inn. At that spot, five people were heatedly discussing something.
Zhang Shan and Wang Wu were conspicuously among them!
"Master?" she whispered.
Qin Ran didn't reply. His expression was tranquil as he walked forward.
Uneasy, Li Shiyin followed alongside Qin Ran.
She was worried Zhang Shan's group would make a move, but they didn't do anything even as she and Qin Ran walked past the lobby, only greedily sizing them up with their eyes.
"Divine Consciousness Secret Book ... Life Treasure Sword ..."