Chapter 45: A Battle of Arts

The reason great sects could endure through the ages and remain standing was precisely because generation after generation of talented young disciples carried them forward.

Killing a few newly admitted greenhorns would not be enough to seriously wound Yonglu Mountain, but these three were all inner disciples. Evil cultivators had sharp eyes, and Madam Shen had already begun imagining how she would kill them and make her name known across the continent.

She was not afraid of offending Yonglu Mountain. Even if evil cultivators did nothing, righteous cultivators still believed they deserved death ten thousand times over. Since that was the case, she might as well commit the most vicious acts under heaven!

Perhaps she could imprison their souls and turn them into puppets, then dismember their bodies, make them into shadow dolls, and hang them outside the gates of Listening Crane Manor. It was not as though she would ever return to Langyuan City anyway.

With this half-demon daughter in her hands, how could her cultivation possibly fail to soar?

Xia Ying’s gaze darkened. She took out the protective artifact her distant uncle had given her and used it to shield Ah Qing. Then she drew the Zhaozhuo Sword and immediately unleashed her strongest attack.

That was right. Xia Ying was a sword cultivator—and one who specialized in fire attacks.

In other words, her cultivation method naturally countered evil cultivators. It was only slightly inferior to the legendary lightning spiritual root.

But inferior or not, a natural counter was still a natural counter!

Seeing Xia Ying charge in so fiercely, Bian Chunzhou knew his martial techniques were only average—but he had plenty of talismans. He immediately shouted, “Senior Sister, I’ll support you from the sidelines!”

In other words, he would seize every opening and barely manage to act as an opportunistic talisman-cultivator assassin.

The two had never fought together before, but with Xia Ying taking the lead, they still displayed a modest degree of coordination.

“Isn’t Ah Xu going to help? She’s only at the peak of the Foundation Establishment Realm, but with just the three of you little kittens, you truly don’t stand much of a chance.”

To Qi Refining Realm cultivators, someone at the peak of the Foundation Establishment Realm was as powerful as a mountain. But in Divine Venerable Chengwei’s eyes, even though only a wisp of his divine sense was present, he could still kill her in a single move.

“Well? Do you need your master’s help?”

The peak of the Foundation Establishment Realm.

She was even stronger than the evil cultivator who had ruled Jade Pavilion. No wonder Wen Xu had sensed such intense malice outside the manor earlier.

“Aren’t demons born cultivators? Why would one of them become an evil cultivator too?”

Divine Venerable Chengwei gave a soft snort. “You’ve asked the right dragon. We demons may be born cultivators, but our talents are divided into different grades just like those of human cultivators.

“Those with divine-beast bloodlines are strongest, followed by those with royal bloodlines. Phoenixes, dragons, qilins—beings like us naturally cultivate faster than others. Even if only the faintest trace of that bloodline remains, they are still stronger than ordinary demons.

“Below that, it all depends on comprehension and talent. There is no difference from human cultivators.”

Wen Xu understood at once. Humans and demons were fundamentally no different. Once ruled by desire, either could stray onto the wrong path.

So-called demonic evil cultivators had likely turned to shortcuts because their cultivation progressed too slowly.

Wen Xu’s gaze dimmed.

Fortunately, his talent was fairly good. Otherwise…

“Master, I want to try.”

Ever since he began cultivating, Wen Xu had never truly faced an enemy. The only time he had fought was during the mountain examination, when he clashed with Li Zishen’s group.

The incident at Jade Pavilion did not count. At most, he had thrown down a jade slip.

“Wow, then give it a try.”

The first word had sounded almost playful, but Divine Venerable Chengwei’s following words turned solemn.

“But Ah Xu, you must remember this. When cultivators fight another person, no matter who the enemy is, they must be prepared to stake their lives!”

This was not the peaceful shelter of Yonglu Mountain.

Chengwei’s disciple could be defeated, but he could never be cowardly or timid. Without even that much resolve, what was the point of cultivating immortality? Would it not be better to return to the Mortal Realm and become some little emperor?

“So unless you are on the verge of death, I will not interfere.”

What cultivator never suffered injuries?

Even Chengwei’s disciple could not remain forever inside Yonglu Mountain’s greenhouse. Since that was the case, it would be better to let these three youngsters suffer some hardship early.

They dared to confront someone at the peak of the Foundation Establishment Realm while still in the Qi Refining Realm.

Their courage was commendable, at least.

“Even knowing that, do you still want to try?”

In other words, if they were about to die, his master would act.

Then there was no problem.

Wen Xu was, in essence, a thoroughgoing gambler. He had gambled with his life ever since childhood. This time, with his master ready to protect him, he knew he would not die.

So he would stake everything!

“Yes. Thank you for granting my request, Master.”

Divine Venerable Chengwei smiled.

“Since that is your decision, Wen Xu, open your eyes and watch closely. See for yourself how cultivators truly battle!”

Perceiving things through spiritual power could never be as direct or objective as seeing them with one’s own eyes.

His disciple could pretend to be blind, but he could not truly be blind!

Though master and disciple had spoken at length within Wen Xu’s mind, only a few breaths had passed. In that short time, Xia Ying and Bian Chunzhou’s combined assault had already become increasingly strained.

It was not because they coordinated poorly.

Rather, Qi Refining Realm cultivators were trying to fight someone at the peak of the Foundation Establishment Realm. Even if the Heavenly King himself came down, their defeat would only be a matter of time.

“Junior Brother, how are you?”

Compared with Xia Ying, Bian Chunzhou was in worse shape. He had taken the evil cultivator’s palm wind head-on earlier, and now his chest hurt terribly.

Damn it, this poisonous evil cultivator hit hard!

It hurt even worse than the one at Jade Pavilion. He felt like he was dying.

But a true man could not cry out in pain in front of his senior sister.

“It doesn’t hurt. I’m fine.”

Xia Ying’s eyes nearly split with alarm.

“Junior Brother, look out!”

It was too late.

What could she do?

Junior Brother Bian had only come to Listening Crane Manor because of her. If he—

At the same moment, Bian Chunzhou sensed the evil cultivator’s attack.

The low-level talismans on his body were about as effective against her as scratching an itch. Did he have no choice but to use the life-saving talisman his master had given him?

Come to think of it, his master had specially drawn it for him after the danger they encountered at Jade Pavilion.

He had not wanted to use it so soon—

“Hey, Wen Xuxu, you…”

“Cut the nonsense!”

Wen Xu forcibly took the killing move head-on.

The evil cultivator had not used her full strength, and he had used the array power within his spirit fan to disperse part of the attack. Even so, the eerie, sinister force made all his internal organs feel as though they had been violently shaken.

So strong!

“My, what a handsome young gentleman. This humble woman could hardly bear to ruin such a fine thing.”

Bian Chunzhou was even angrier than Wen Xu.

“You old witch! I’ll fight you to the death!”

A man could be killed, but never humiliated.

Wen Xuxu’s chastity would be protected by him!

Bian Chunzhou followed the traditional path of a talisman cultivator. He practiced some body-tempering techniques to complement his talismans, allowing him to balance offense and defense and fight flexibly.

Combined with the special attacking method of the Fire Within Water Art, he could even contend with Chen Zui if he caught him by surprise.

But the evil cultivator was not Chen Zui.

Most of her arts were sinister and vicious. She was especially skilled at dissolving the spiritual power of righteous cultivators and killing with evil techniques.

Then there was the enormous gap in cultivation.

The Fire Within Water Art was powerful, but not powerful enough to gravely injure her.

Wen Xu steadied himself.

They could not meet her head-on.

His master would not interfere, and even the three of them combined were barely enough to fill one plate for their opponent. They needed to identify her weakness.

So where was it?

Wen Xu never stopped deploying arrays.

His storage ring held a considerable number of basic spirit fans. Arrays had been drawn across their surfaces. Some were stronger, while others were more ordinary. All of them were experimental products from his recent practice.

He had no time to inspect them carefully now.

He simply threw them out one after another as though they cost nothing, using them like talismans in the hope of forcing open a single gap!

Madam Shen had not expected these three brats to be so difficult.

If this dragged on, they might alarm the cultivators in the city.

No.

She had to end this battle quickly.

She needed to absorb the half-demon lying on the ground as soon as possible!

Xia Ying saw the look in the evil cultivator’s eyes and understood immediately.

She controlled the Zhaozhuo Sword and sent it stabbing toward her. Flames like the blazing sun surged directly at the evil cultivator’s back.

At the same time, Xia Ying rapidly formed a sword seal, trying to slow her steps.

Bian Chunzhou’s talismans flew around his hands.

He had once experimented and discovered that when fire was used to vaporize water, the force of the steam could multiply the power of an attack.

But at the same time, the balance between water and fire within his body would be instantly broken.

He could not afford to care about that now.

He only hoped Chen Zuizui would hurry and bring reinforcements!

Damn it, that hurt!

Bian Chunzhou swallowed the metallic sweetness rising in his throat. Talisman power surged from his hands.

At that precise moment, Wen Xu noticed it.

The evil cultivator’s stomach.

She had instinctively shifted slightly to protect it!

Whether he was right or not, there was only one way to find out.

Ordinary basic spirit fans certainly would not be enough.

Wen Xu immediately drew out the Folding Wind Fan.

Senior Brother Zheng Jin of Artifact Refining Peak had once told him that, if used properly, this folding fan could serve him all the way to the peak of the Golden Core Realm.

In theory, as long as the Folding Wind Fan accumulated enough wind energy, it could unleash offensive power far beyond Wen Xu’s cultivation!

In an instant, Wen Xu activated every overlapping array carved into it.

The Folding Wind Fan already possessed an innate attribute. It could absorb all wind energy within a radius of one li.

The moment the arrays opened, the fan was instantly filled to capacity with wind!

Ever since Wen Xu had bound the Folding Wind Fan to himself with a drop of blood, he had been able to control it entirely at will.

Just as Xia Ying was about to collapse from exhaustion, Wen Xu finally caught the opportunity.

“Chunzhou, move!”

Bian Chunzhou leaned backward without the slightest hesitation.

A powerful surge of array energy wrapped in fierce wind shot straight toward the evil cultivator’s abdomen!

“Bang—”

Had it hit?

All three of them had fallen to the ground, but they raised their heads at once, trying to see the evil cultivator’s condition through the violent, chaotic wind.

But they could not see clearly.

“Ah Xu, the idea was good, but… your aim was a little off.”

The moment his master’s voice sounded beside his ear, Wen Xu knew he had failed.

But there was no time to reflect on where his mistake had been.

Enduring the pain, Wen Xu retreated several meters and only narrowly avoided the evil cultivator’s counterattack.

“Wen Xuxu, how are you? Are you all right?”

The previous blow had indeed struck Madam Shen.

Unfortunately, it had landed off-center. Although it injured her, compared with the wounds suffered by the three of them, hers could only be described as the lightest of light injuries.

Besides, evil cultivators did not rely solely on their own strength to cultivate. They devoured the power of others.

Now that she was injured, she naturally needed to replenish herself.

Three Qi Refining Realm cultivators were not much, but their power would still barely make up for what she had just lost.

The fierce wind scattered.

Evil energy surged around Madam Shen.

“The young gentleman is certainly handsome, but his temper is far too fierce. This humble woman no longer likes you.”

Wen Xu spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva.

“I’m fine.”

The three of them barely managed to climb to their feet and promptly swallowed Qi-Replenishing Pills and Blood-Replenishing Pills.

But Ah Qing could no longer hold on much longer!

Xia Ying’s heart burned with anxiety.

For the first time, she realized time could pass so slowly. She realized that without the help of her elders, the talent and cultivation she had once taken pride in could be crushed so easily.

But today, here and now, she would not retreat even half a step!

“Taking turns attacking her like this won’t work.”

“What cultivation level is she at? How is she this fierce?”

Bian Chunzhou swallowed half a bottle of pills in one gulp, but his chest still hurt terribly.

“The peak of the Foundation Establishment Realm.”

Wen Xu’s mind raced madly.

He kept thinking about what had gone wrong with his earlier attack.

Was it the array? The Folding Wind Fan? Or was it his—

“Young gentleman, what sharp eyes you have. In that case, this humble woman will send you to the Yellow Springs first.”

Among the three disciples of Yonglu Mountain, the girl’s sword countered Madam Shen most strongly. The boy who used talismans was somewhat strange.

But the one Madam Shen was wariest of was the boy with his eyes covered.

Most evil cultivators were extremely vigilant.

After all, righteous cultivators killed them on sight, so their ability to hide often far surpassed their ability to fight.

Madam Shen had not detected any other cultivators approaching, but—

She had to end this quickly.

She could not remain here any longer.

It was time to bring out her true abilities.

She casually reached into the air, and a pellet drum appeared in her hand from nowhere.

The drum stood half the height of a person and was wrapped from top to bottom in an ominous aura. The instant it appeared, the three disciples simultaneously heard the wailing of ghosts beside their ears.

Looking more closely, they saw that the two pellets hanging from the drum were actually human heads.

Their features appeared lifelike. One was crying, while the other was smiling.

The sight sent chills down their spines.

“Junior Brothers, don’t look! That’s the Sorrow-and-Joy Evil Drum!”

“What?”

Xia Ying tightened her grip on her sword.

“This is the first time I’ve seen one too. I heard this drum specifically attacks a cultivator’s emotions. It can summon the most painful, sorrowful, and hateful memories buried in any cultivator’s heart.

“Once struck by its power, they will be completely unable to resist!”

“Dong—”

A muffled drumbeat suddenly rang out.

Even though they used spiritual power to cover their ears, they still heard it with perfect clarity.

Who could pass through life without setbacks?

Even Xia Ying had painful memories she never wished to recall.

Wen Xu had even more.

Before he reached adolescence, almost every day of his life had been a desperate struggle to survive.

“It’s that powerful?”

Bian Chunzhou could not help exclaiming in amazement.

Then he noticed—

“Senior Sister? Wen Xuxu? What’s wrong with you?”

Bian Chunzhou looked to either side in terror.

Then… his mind went blank.

No way.

Was this evil cultivator truly that sinister?

While Bian Chunzhou panicked, Madam Shen stared at him in shock.

“How are you unaffected?”

She was absolutely certain the sorrow face of her drum had taken effect.

How was this possible—

“But it doesn’t matter. You’re only at the seventh layer of the Qi Refining Realm. If you dare dodge, I’ll simply kill your two fellow disciples. What do you say?”

Bian Chunzhou felt as though a dog had trampled all over his mood.

Had he been strong enough, he would have—

“Come on, you old witch! Do you think I’m afraid of you?”

As he spoke, he directly took out the talisman his master had given him.

If he remained reluctant to use it even now, he would be carrying it into his grave.

The last time they faced danger, Wen Xuxu had used the protective talisman from the divine dragon to save him and Chen Zuizui.

This time—

Huh?

When he had secretly slipped the talisman into Wen Xu’s hand just now, it seemed someone had scratched his palm.

He was not certain.

He tried again.

Confirmed!

Wen Xuxu was faking it!

Bian Chunzhou understood immediately.

Brother, just wait right there. He would lure the old witch over!

Wasn’t he just serving as the tank and taking attacks to the face?

Whether he could do it or not, he had to!

He charged without thinking.

Though the fight had reached a life-or-death stage, Bian Chunzhou suddenly calmed down.

He could no longer even feel the pain in his body.

Only one thought remained in his mind—

Beat the hell out of her!

Madam Shen hated disciples from famous righteous sects most of all.

Not only were they talented, but every one of them was harder to kill than the last.

They were only in the Qi Refining Realm, yet they were already this troublesome.

She truly hated geniuses more than anything.

Why were there people in this world who were born able to shine?

Why did they deserve it?

It did not matter.

She only needed to kill them all.

“Die!”

Madam Shen was certain the boy would not dare run.

Yet after charging so fiercely, he suddenly dodged backward. He moved so quickly that alarm immediately flared in her heart.

But—

Impossible.

There could be nothing wrong with her Sorrow-and-Joy Evil Drum.

Madam Shen decided to kill the two people controlled by the sorrow drum first.

With a casual wave, she released a stream of evil energy.

This was one of her specialties.

The evil energy carried corpse poison. Even the smallest trace would be enough to kill a Qi Refining Realm cultivator.

The moment Bian Chunzhou saw her attack, his heart leaped into his throat.

Without thinking, he rushed back toward them.

The evil cultivator was indeed afraid he might attack from behind, so she was forced to free her other hand to deal with him.

At that moment, both her hands were raised.

Wen Xu thought, Now!

He had considered the problem over and over.

Apart from his own lack of ability, the reason the earlier attack had missed must have been the distance.

He had been too far away.

The evil cultivator was not a wooden stake. From that distance, he had no way to predict how she would move.

But that was fine.

As long as he got close enough—

Nothing ventured, nothing gained!

The reversal occurred in an instant.

Wen Xu barely had time to think.

Relying on his muscle memory, he drove his spiritual power to its limit and thrust the Folding Wind Fan directly into the evil cultivator’s dantian!

It was not her stomach.

It was her dantian!

Wen Xu moved so quickly that even he might not have imagined himself capable of such speed.

It struck—

Wen Xu’s heart pounded wildly.

But the evil cultivator was also extremely fast. She immediately pulled back.

The Folding Wind Fan penetrated only slightly more than three inches.

With that amount of force—

“Puchi—”

Still gripping the bloodied Folding Wind Fan, Wen Xu raised his head.

Xia Ying stood there with her sword extended.

She had stabbed directly through the evil cultivator’s heart.

“You—”

Bian Chunzhou inwardly exclaimed in admiration.

The attack had looked overwhelmingly powerful, yet in the end, it had not managed to control even one of them.

Evil cultivator, you’re no good at this!

“How is this possible?”

Xia Ying clutched her hand.

Although she had stabbed the evil cultivator, she had also taken a palm strike. The bones in her sword hand had likely shattered inch by inch.

Even so, she showed no pain.

“How could it be impossible? Since I knew about the Sorrow-and-Joy Evil Drum, how could I possibly allow it to control me?”

In truth, her distant uncle had placed a seal within her sea of consciousness specifically to defend against sinister methods used by evil cultivators.

As for why her two junior brothers were also unaffected, she had no idea.

Blood ran down from her fingertips and along the blade.

Xia Ying had almost entirely exhausted her strength. She stood in front of Ah Qing, while layer after layer of double images appeared before her eyes.

“Senior Sister, are you all right?”

Wen Xu and Bian Chunzhou reached Xia Ying’s side in time.

In reality, all three of them had reached the end of their strength.

Bian Chunzhou might have been doing slightly better, because while the old witch was being stabbed, he had taken the opportunity to swallow the remaining half bottle of Blood-Replenishing Pills.

Even so, he could no longer unleash another major attack.

What could they do?

Chen Zuizui, why are your legs so short?

Help!

Someone, hurry over!

Any Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator would do!

Bian Chunzhou could sense that Wen Xuxu and Senior Sister Xia Ying’s combined attack had taken away at least forty percent of the evil cultivator’s health.

The good news was that she was seriously injured.

The bad news was that she still had sixty percent left!

Why was her health so ridiculously high?

Did they truly have no choice but to wait for death?

They seemed to—

“She’s trying to run!”

Madam Shen was indeed trying to escape.

These three Qi Refining Realm cultivators were far too strange.

But it did not matter.

As long as she consumed the half-demon’s vital essence, not only would her old injuries heal, but the wounds from this battle would recover as well.

Then—

“We can’t let her take Ah Qing!”

Xia Ying turned and shielded her friend, who had nearly regressed into an infant.

Wen Xu and Bian Chunzhou gritted their teeth and decided to risk one more round.

Simply accepting their fate was not their way!

By this point in the battle, Wen Xu had completely forgotten his master’s presence.

Apart from the protective jade slip, he had used every ability and technique available to him.

His entire body was covered in injuries of varying severity. Even when he had been chased and fallen from a cliff, he had never been in such a miserable state.

Bian Chunzhou was no better.

He had always been optimistic, but now even he could no longer smile.

He was so tired.

It truly felt like they were done for.

Evil energy struck Bian Chunzhou and Wen Xu at the same time.

Just as an icy stream of evil energy was about to invade their bodies, an immensely powerful and righteous force descended.

It tyrannically swept away every trace of dispersed evil energy within the manor.

“Disciple, you truly look rather miserable.”

Wen Xu gasped heavily, unable to speak.

Bian Chunzhou, however, stared with his eyes wide open.

He-he-he-he-he-he—

He struggled to turn toward his friend.

Wen Xu silently mouthed three words.

Bian Chunzhou tried hard to make them out and finally understood.

I’m sorry.

Sorry for what?

Bian Chunzhou’s mind had become muddled.

Could it be that Dragon Daddy had been here the whole time?

And Wen Xuxu had known all along?

Bian Chunzhou felt as though his mind had turned into a bowl of paste.

Just before losing consciousness, he thought he heard Chen Zuizui’s voice.

Forget it.

Who cared?

The divine dragon was here. How could he possibly die?

Going to sleep.

Do not disturb.

Divine Venerable Chengwei looked at his unconscious disciple and his disciple’s equally unconscious friend, then casually sent a stream of spiritual power into each of them.

As for the evil cultivator Madam Shen, the moment she sensed a powerful cultivator descending, she immediately fled for her life.

What half-demon daughter?

How could she still dare dream of such a thing?

Before her own life, everything else was secondary.

“And where are you rushing off to? You struck this venerable one’s disciple and still think you can leave just like that. Do you not take me, Chengwei, seriously at all?”

Chengwei?

Divine Venerable Chengwei?

It was over!

Madam Shen had originally possessed Golden Core Realm cultivation.

But after being injured ten years ago, her cultivation had regressed. Since then, she had been hiding from place to place.

When she received the summons from Listening Crane Manor, she had believed her fortunes were finally changing.

She had never imagined—

This would instead be the end of the road.

Had she known, she should have been content to remain an ordinary little demon.

Perhaps she would have been happier that way.

“Divine Venerable… spare my life.”

“Spare your life? No, I don’t think so.”

Even though only a wisp of Divine Venerable Chengwei’s divine sense was present, a casual sweep of his hand instantly crushed Madam Shen to death.

Her soul, of course, remained intact.

He would send it to the Punishment Hall later for interrogation.

He had not forgotten that a half-demon on the ground was about to enter the late stage of differentiation.

Madam Shen might have been a demon, but she was a rabbit demon.

As for the one lying on the ground—

Next Chapter >