Chapter 151: A Fight To The Death
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
The current situation was an even more desperate one than being surrounded by twelve sinister devils.
This was because there was a sinister devil with power comparable to a Soul Formation Stage cultivator.
No… to be more precise, there were two!
The sinister devil on the ground was also one that had assumed a humanoid form.
“What now… run?” Xu Xiaolan whispered lightly.
An Lin smiled bitterly.
“Haven’t you seen that the boss monster has already locked onto us?
It will probably attack instantly once we move.
We can’t outrun a Soul Formation Stage creature.
“You guys take care of the other four sinister devils, I’ll take on the humanoid one!” An Lin fanned out several talismans whilst instructing the others.
Xu Xiaolan stared at An Lin with a worried expression on her face, but she did not say anything because she knew this was the best way forward.
A warding seal from Heavenly Teacher Zhang, four attack seals from Daoist Youmu, and three defensive seals from Daoist Priest Xuyun was the extent of An Lin’s trump cards.
Before he exhausted all these trump cards, he had to kill the humanoid sinister devil!
The sinister devil turned its single red eye upon An Lin before shifting its gaze onto the talismans in his hands, seemingly deep in thought.
The other four twisted sinister devils all charged toward An Lin at once, as if they had all received some sort of instruction.
“Lightning Manipulation Technique of the Divine Sword!” Ji Yanling’s white robe flapped in the air as bolts of white lightning struck down toward the four sinister devils from her longsword.
The sinister devils seemed to have a natural fear of the lightning and they all involuntarily dispersed as the bolts of lightning fell from the sky.
Xu Xiaolan, Xiao Chou, and Da Bai all grabbed this opportunity to each engage a sinister devil.
The cyclops-like sinister devil stared at An Lin with its single red eye, exuding a vast aura.
Its eye was filled with violent bloodthirst combined with a special kind of demonic power which gave An Lin the illusion that he was positioned at the very center of a cesspool of bloody corpses, buried under boundless despair and blood.
The cyclops-like sinister devil used An Lin’s moment of distraction to take a step forward, breaking through the sound barrier and appearing right in front of An Lin.
Almost in the same moment, An Lin’s eyes turned white as snow and rings of wind appeared underfoot as his body flew back in retreat.
During this short interval, a talisman had already been activated, but An Lin and the sinister devil were already within reach of one another.
Soul-Vanquishing Lightning Technique!
A bolt of lightning imbued with the power of pure yang struck down like a bolt of lightning toward a chink in the cyclops-like sinister devil’s defense.
Boom!
Lightning flashed violently, and as the lightning technique struck the cyclops-like sinister devil square in the chest, the ground within a thirty feet radius around them was turned to dust with its terrifying power.
A deep roar erupted from the sinister devil as his pitch-black body rippled in retreat.
That attack definitely hurt it… but it wasn’t enough!
An Lin’s talismans continued to emit brilliant rays of light.
At that moment, a red bolt of light suddenly shot out from the sinister devil’s single red eye, bringing with it a boundless power of destruction.
The rocky ground under the path of the red bolt of light all began to rot under its corrosive power.
Mystical Ice Mirror!
Another talisman was activated and a white mirror of ice appeared in front of An Lin, encapsulating his body within.
The bolt of light struck the mirror of ice, instantly shattering the mirror but also exhausting all the power behind the sinister devil’s attack.
The sinister devil rushed toward An Lin again in the next instant and its pitch-black fist struck down toward An Lin with terrifying power.
Heavy Rock Armor!
Yet another talisman was activated and a golden layer of rock materialized in mid-air.
Boom!
The sinister devil’s fist crashed down, creating a frighteningly powerful shockwave which caused the ground within a hundred-foot radius to crumble and quake.
However, in the same instant, the sinister devil was forced back by a powerful backlash, forcing it into retreat.
The immortal spell within the defensive talisman not only had a defensive effect, but also a physical backlash effect.
This was the moment An Lin had been waiting for, having forced the sinister devil into retreat, it was time to determine the victor of this battle!
Four offensive talismans from Daoist Youmu all suspended themselves in mid-air, upon which a brilliant light burst forth.
Mountainous Wind Lotus Crush!
A huge lotus-shaped construct of air descended from the sky, crashing down with mountainous force toward the cyclops-like sinister devil.
A massive crater of over a hundred feet appeared in the ground from the mountainous wind pressure.
The cyclops-like sinister devil knelt with one knee on the ground as if it had been heavily wounded, unable to even raise its head under the pressure.
Heavenly Flames of Judgement!
A bolt of fire descended from the sky, increasing in power with the wind, sweeping down ferociously before enveloping the sinister devil, melting even the ground with its searing heat.
Flashing Sword of The Nine Suns!
Nine white swords with powerful killing intent formed nine flashes of white light, stabbing through the sinister devil which was being scorched by the heavenly flames.
Demon-Slaying Lightning Spear!
This was An Lin’s final attack.
The power of lightning was especially effective against sinister devils, so he reserved this attack for last in order to strike the sinister devil when it was at its most feeble!
Electricity tore through the ground, creating a sound much like the chirping of myriad birds.
Under An Lin’s Lightning Manipulation Technique, the Demon-Slaying Lightning Spear accurately punctured the sinister devil’s head.
Boom!
The lightning spear released all of its energy, forming a huge ball of electricity, engulfing the sinister devil within!
The wind ceased, the fire fizzled out, and the lightning began to vanish…
An Lin held the Evil-Slaying Sword in one hand and a yellow talisman in the other.
This was a defensive talisman which was also his last remaining Soul Formation talisman.
After the intense battle, a crater of several hundred feet in diameter appeared on the ground.
Xiao Chou was engaged in battle so his searchlight eyes were inconsistent in the areas upon which they shone.
This, combined with the fact that the dust was still settling in the air, made it impossible for An Lin to see into the crater in order to verify whether the sinister devil had, in fact, died.
He slowly strode toward the crater, with his talisman ready at a moments notice.
At this moment, he suddenly felt an aura of death sweeping toward him from all directions…
Golden Buddha Protection Technique!
He activated the defensive talisman without any hesitation.
A twisted black figure radiating hatred and violence leaped toward An Lin.
One of its arms had already disappeared and the single red eye on its head was broken.
Its previously solid body was now twisted and shaky.
It was clearly on the brink of death, but its aura was somehow even more terrifying than before.
A golden film of light formed a protective barrier in front of An Lin, imbued with countless scriptures, all of which exuded the vast power of Buddha.
The sinister devil suddenly shook violently before forming a black longsword which radiated a frosty aura.
It charged at An Lin, stabbing toward the golden barrier.
Crack…
A crack appeared on the barrier and the black sword pierced through An Lin’s body.
Almost at the exact same moment, extreme pain coupled with infinite mental corruption began to violently corrupt his body.
The pain he experienced was indescribable.
An Lin felt that in that split second, his mind was completely blank and the only things he could feel were pain and despair.
Boundless twisted emotions racked his body, threatening to drive him to implosion.
He began to roar in pain.
“An Lin!” A flash of panic appeared in Xu Xiaolan’s eyes and she charged toward An Lin without hesitation upon hearing his anguished roar.
But at that moment, a brilliant bolt of white lightning struck the sinister devil.
Boom!
The bolt of lightning forced the sinister devil to retreat a few steps and the black longsword formed by the sinister devil’s body was also retracted as a result.
An Lin knelt onto the ground, his body shaking uncontrollably.
A corrosive power filled with despair was attempting to pull him into depravity, forcing him to transform into a sinister devil.
But at the same time, a pure golden light emanated from his pocket as the power of pure yang flowed into his body, combating against the sinister devil’s power.
Ji Yanling charged to An Lin’s side, gritting her teeth in determination.
The sinister devil who she was in battle with also attempted to follow her, but Xiao Chou managed to keep him it at bay.
An extremely terrifying power erupted from the cyclops-like sinister devil and its black longsword slashed through the air with lethal power.
If things continued like this, everyone would probably die here…
“Nine Part Lightning!”
Ji Yanling remained calm as she made a few hand signs, summoning lightning to fall from the skies.
However, the movement technique of the cyclops-like sinister devil was too fast for her to catch.
Bolts of lightning struck the ground, creating smoldering craters, but could not catch up to the fast-moving figure.
Suddenly, the cyclops-like sinister devil appeared in front of her, its longsword stabbing directly toward her heart.
The speed of the attack was far too terrifying for Ji Yanling to be able to dodge.
Ji Yanling’s eyes were filled with unwillingness to accept her fate.
She didn’t want it to be all over like this, as she still hadn’t found the person she was looking for…
Whoosh!
A black figure appeared in front of Ji Yanling.
The longsword pierced through its body, but it caught the longsword tightly in its hand, holding on tightly.
It was facing Ji Yanling and its body shook uncontrollably as anguished moans escaped its mouth.
Ji Yanling’s pupils contracted as she stared blankly at the scene before her.
Not only her, but even An Lin, Xu Xiaolan, and the others were all staring at the events unfolding in front of them with incredulity in their eyes.
That was because the figure that had blocked the sword strike for Ji Yanling was the sinister devil that had previously feebly fallen to the ground!
Chapter 152: Searching For Him Countless Times
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
The Cyclops-like sinister devil’s head gradually became twisted as it exuded an air of violence and chaos.
Its black longsword suddenly emitted a shockwave, blasting a huge hole into the chest of the sinister devil blocking its way.
The sinister devil let out another harsh screech and its body fell forwards, pinning Ji Yanling under it.
“Who… who are you?” Ji Yanling stared at the sinister devil in front of her, her voice beginning to shake.
The sinister devil raised its inky black hand toward Ji Yanling’s neck before lightly grasping the necklace around her neck.
The light blue jewel on the necklace was still as beautiful as ever, emitting a light radiance.
The sinister devil held the jewel within its hand.
The Cyclops-like sinister devil’s longsword stabbed through the air toward the sinister devil’s head.
Boom!
A dazzling film of blue light suddenly appeared in the air, encapsulating Ji Yanling and the others within its radiance.
The longsword stabbed into the film of light, but the extremely powerful force behind the attack was completely halted.
“This is the enchantment of the Blue Dream Jewel…” Ji Yanling stared at the sinister devil in front of her, tears flowing uncontrollably from her eyes, “Wang Lu, is that you…”
The Blue Dream Jewel was the treasure passed down for generations in Wang Lu’s family, and only his power could activate its enchantment.
Yes, only he could activate it…
A hissing sound came from the sinister devil’s mouth as it stared at the two rows of tears flowing down her cheeks.
It was no longer capable of human speech, only able to emit this sharp hissing sound.
It lowered its head.
A series of images surfaced in its mind.
… A grey-robed man and a white-robed woman appeared at the edge of the Abyss of Evil.
The man was extremely handsome and the woman was as beautiful as a lotus fairy;
From an outside perspective, they looked like a match made in heaven.
“Little Yan, this mission is going to be very perilous, so be on your guard.” the man spoke.
“I’ve got a Soul Formation Stage mighty figure like you protecting me, what have I to fear?” Ji Yanling clung onto Wang Lu’s arm, her face still plastered with a bright smile.
Wang Lu blushed slightly.
“Then make sure to stay close to me and don’t leave…”
… Mishap struck when obtaining the Holy Black Flame Lotus.
There was a mass outbreak of Abyss Demons and several powerful mutant beasts appeared, forcing the two of them into a dire situation.
Wang Lu brought out his Blue Dream Jewel Necklace before thrusting it at Ji Yanling.
“Take this and run!”
“The enchantment of the Blue Dream Jewel can only be activated by you, I can’t use it anyway.” Ji Yanling pushed the necklace back.
The necklace could only ensure Wang Lu’s safety if it was in his possession.
But Wang Lu insisted and placed the necklace around Ji Yanling’s neck.
“Don’t be stupid, I can only detect your location after we separate if you have this Blue Dream Jewel on you.
“If… if the glow from the Blue Dream Jewel vanishes, then don’t wait for me.”
A gust of strong wind pushed Ji Yanling into the distance.
Wang Lu turned and an imposing power burst forth from his body, diverting the mutant beasts which were all of the Soul Formation Stage cultivation base into the distance.
… Within an abyss of boundless darkness.
Wang Lu’s whole body was stained with blood as he trudged forward, leaving a long trail of blood in his wake.
One of his arms had already been destroyed, but he still managed to escape from his mutant beast assailants in the end.
Next, he had to locate Little Yan from the Blue Dream Jewel.
His was in very bad shape so he needed to leave this Abyss of Evil, which was fraught with peril, as soon as possible.
Just as he was about to rise into the air through Sword Kinesis Flight, a black sword suddenly pierced through the darkness, stabbing through his chest.
“Ah…!”
Wang Lu knelt onto ground, extreme pain accompanied with boundless mental corruption invaded his body.
A strange power was forcing his body to slowly dissipate as a vast expanse of negative emotions roared in his head, forcing him into madness, depravity, and finally transforming his body into that of a sinister devil…
No, I can’t go down like this.
Little Yan is still waiting for me, I can’t just die like this!
A powerful conviction resisted the endless mental corruption.
But in the end, he still completely descended into darkness.
… Wang Lu regained his senses after an indeterminate period of time.
“What… what’s happened to my body?”
He stared blankly at his black, twisted body, screeching in shock and disgust.
But only a sharp hissing sound came out of his mouth.
On that day, he completely fell apart.
He discovered that he had become a sinister devil.
Despair, depravity, violence, slaughter…
He stalked around the Abyss of Evil, gradually losing his mind and doing what sinister devils should do.
“Wang Lu, Wang Lu, are you there?”
A familiar voice reverberated throughout the endless expanse of darkness.
He heard that voice, the voice that would often appear in his dreams.
Something that had been sealed away was slowly recovered.
His consciousness had been awakened by that voice and the chaos, distortion, and despair began to slowly disappear…
She was so frail, but she still sought him out tirelessly in the darkness.
He had already become a depraved sinister devil, but he still hid in the darkness, protecting the figure that would not disappear from his heart.
At least… he had to protect her until the day she decided to give up in her search.
Powerful and terrifying mutant beasts, I’ll kill them all for you.
Sinister devils that hid in the darkness waiting for an opportunity to strike out at you, I’ll exterminate them all.
“Wang Lu, Wang Lu, are you there…?”
Her calls never ceased in this perpetually dark place.
How many days had it been?
Wang Lu truly did not know how many days had passed, but he knew how many times Ji Yanling had called his name.
In the darkness, whenever Ji Yanling was on the brink of collapse, she would pull out the Blue Dream Jewel and stare at its faint glow.
“Wang Lu, I know you’re not dead, you must be waiting for me somewhere.”
You persistent idiot, I’ve always been by your side…
Within the darkness, Wang Lu silently looked at her lonely figure.
He actually had another choice.
But he didn’t dare make that choice in fear that Ji Yanling would make the same choice he did.
Finally, Ji Yanling met a bunch of people one day who were here to kill sinister devils
They definitely would not have thought that there’d be a sinister devil named Wang Lu that was lurking by their side.
Ji Yanling informed them like an experienced veteran that there were very few sinister devils here and that she’d been here for over a year without encountering one.
Wang Lu stood by silently.
You adorable idiot, that’s because all the sinister devils that were a threat to you had been killed by me…
After that, they were pursued by two huge dragons.
Should he help them?
No… they could still handle it.
However, the direction in which they escaped began to make him worry.
Yet another sinister devil attempted to attack them.
He appeared behind the sinister devil, forming a blade with his hand before slicing its head off.
The killing intent of the sinister devil reached you.
But you spoke up yet again like a seasoned veteran, proclaiming that these were the Dark Abyssal Winds.
You adorable idiot, that’s killing intent!
But he had to admit, she was very good at inventing explanations…
Just as Wang Lu was sighing to himself in resignation, an extremely powerful creature appeared.
“I’ve waited for you for a long time, traitor…” the voice swept toward him like the sinister winds of hell.
“You can speak to me!?” Wang Lu exclaimed in surprise.
“Hehe, why not, we’re of the same species.
“You killed so many of us sinister devils, all for that woman, how should I punish you for this?”
A single red eye appeared in the dark as a Cyclops-like sinister devil slowly emerged from the darkness, exuding an extremely powerful aura.
Wang Lu was no match for it and he was soon beaten to the brink of death.
The Cyclops-like sinister devil made its way to the battlefield with Wang Lu in tow, intending for him to see what was to befall the woman who he so desperately protected.
He lay on the ground, looking on at Ji Yanling’s resilient figure and also her fall into dire straits as the battle raged on.
At least let me protect you one last time!
Wang Lu roared in anger, his body flashing toward Ji Yanling like a black shadow, before appearing in front of her body like a shield.
A gaping wound was punctured into his chest, but fortunately, he managed to activate the Blue Dream Jewel enchantment at the last second.
“Wang Lu, is that you…”
Although this was still a question, tears were already flowing uncontrollably out of her rippling eyes.
“It’s me, Little Yan.” a coarse hissing came out of the sinister devil’s mouth.
It was impossible to decipher what it was saying.
Ji Yanling cradled his formless face in her hands.
“Wang Lu, I knew it was you!
Let’s go home together…”
Go home?
If I were to go home looking like this, your family definitely wouldn’t accept a son-in-law like me.
But, at least you recognized me… to be recognized is such a great feeling…
The inky black figure began to dissipate and its presence grew ever more feeble.
“Wang Lu, wake up, I’m begging you!
“Wang Lu, don’t leave me, no matter what you become, don’t leave me…
“Wang Lu…
Wang Lu…
Her voice began to sound more and more distant.
899125…
899126..
. During his time acting as her guardian, Wang Lu had a small habit, which was to quietly keep a tally of the number of times Ji Yanling called his name in the Abyss of Evil to see how long she would persevere for.
She was still persisting.
Even if he was to tell her this number, she probably wouldn’t even believe it.
It’s a pity I’m about to leave so I won’t be able to tell you about this…
The inky black figure completely dissipated amidst Ji Yanling’s calls, forming spots of black light, disappearing with the wind amidst the cries of ‘Wang Lu’.
Chapter 153: Origin Energy of the Netherworld
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Wang Lu is gone.
Ji Yanling wept heart-wrenching tears.
She was always so resilient and would not shed a tear no matter how much danger she was in or how lonely she felt, but she cried with all her might now.
After Wang Lu’s body dissipated, a remnant wisp of black aura flowed into An Lin’s body.
An Lin had a feeling that he should not reject the black aura.
After accepting the wisp of black aura, his mind was not corrupted by any negative emotions.
Instead, all the cells in his body began to become more active and the world around him seemed to slow down and become clearer.
“Ding dong!
Successfully absorbed the essence of the sinister devil.
Commence the inheritance of the Origin Energy of the Netherworld.”
Boom!
An alarming amount of information began to gush into An Lin’s mind.
Techniques, cultivation methods, the enlightenment of both cultivation base and the Dao of the Netherworld…
Once again, he experienced that head-splitting feeling.
However, unlike before, his thought processes were extremely clear and active this time.
So that’s what happened…
An Lin stood up, and as he made his way over to Ji Yanling, a light black aura exuded from his body.
[Intermediate Rank God of War Immortal Spell — Origin Energy of the Netherworld, you can unlock your body’s full potential for a short time using this technique!]
However, there was an after-effect to this technique and the longer the technique was used for, the more severe the after-effects would be.
After using the Origin Energy of the Netherworld, one would at least be bedridden for the next few days.
A more severe after-effect would include incurring damage to the cultivation base or even death.
The Blue Dream Jewel enchantment began to shatter with Wang Lu’s death.
However, in the split second, before it completely shattered, a remaining shred of power transformed the shattered blue shards into sharp blades which all shot out towards the cyclops-like sinister devil.
This was the last remnant of Wang Lu’s power in the world, and each blue shard was imbued with extremely frightening power.
The cyclops-like sinister devil was caught off guard and roared in pain as the blade shards punctured its body.
At that moment, the Origin Energy of the Netherworld began to swirl around An Lin’s body as the aura around him began to elevate dramatically.
[Spirit Nurturing Intermediate Stage, Spirit Nurturing Final Stage…]
A vast and powerful aura shot up towards the sky as the translucent figure of a black tiger appeared from the Evil-Slaying Sword.
A powerful regal pressure radiated outwards and a dark shadow materialized in the air at the same time.
Second technique, Shadow Tiger!
An Lin began to move, and his body elongated like a shadow.
Within the shadow, his physical body appeared without warning in front of the cyclops-like sinister devil, the longsword slashing down with terrifying pressure!
The cyclops-like sinister devil had just been heavily wounded, and in the face of such a powerful attack, it had no way of dodging and could only raise its arms up in defense.
The sword fell silently, but the sword projection extended for thousands of feet.
He ripped apart the cyclops-like sinister devil’s arms, shattered its single red eye, and split its body cleanly in half before finally slashing a deep dark rift into the ground.
The cyclops-like sinister devil fell and its shattered body began to dissipate slowly as the black aura around An Lin’s body began to also vanish.
Having used the Origin Energy of the Netherworld for several seconds as well as the second technique of the Six God of War Techniques, his body was racked with unbearable pain, causing him to collapse to the ground, panting heavily.
However, the battle had still not ended.
There were still four sinister devils left, two of which were engaged in battle with Xiao Chou, while the other two were engaged in one-on-one battles with Xu Xiaolan and Da Bai.
All four of them were struggling against the sinister devils, and they barely managed to avoid defeat.
“Master, master, let Xiao Hong fight too.” An Lin’s pocket rustled.
An Lin could barely stand at the moment and was slightly taken aback upon hearing Xiao Hong’s request.
“Didn’t you say that your power couldn’t be activated in such a dark place?
And you spent so much effort helping me withstand the corruption of the sinister devil.
Are you sure you’ll really be OK?”
“I’ll be fine.
Xiao Hong suddenly remember that she can release all the power she stored through photosynthesis in fell swoop!” Xiao Hong’s sweet voice replied from his pocket.
An Lin, “…”
Even though he did not know what Xiao Hong meant by releasing the power from photosynthesis, but if it could help Xu Xiaolan and the others, he definitely would not refuse.
Thus, Xiao Hong leaped out of his pocket before transforming into a curvy young woman.
She was still dressed all in red, her perfect features were filled with solemnity.
“In the name of the sun, I vanquish thee!” Xiao Hong leaped into the air, yelling loudly in her cute voice.
Suddenly, countless rays of light erupted from her body!
The golden light transformed into waves, crashing into the four sinister devils with the power of pure Yang.
Boom Boom Boom!
This type of attack had no blind spots and was completely unavoidable.
The four sinister devils all began to screech in anguish as the light struck them.
Xiao Chou grabbed this opportunity, and a string of all-engulfing black flames revolved around his silver staff as he swung down toward the two sinister devils in front of him.
Xu Xiaolan spread her flame wings wide, slashing down towards her sinister devil assailant with her longsword.
Da Bai’s method of attack was much simpler; it simply extended its claws to rip the sinister devil in half.
All four of the sinister devils fell in the face of everyone’s ferocious attacks and their twisted bodies began to slowly dissipate.
Xiao Hong’s “vanquish in the name of the sun” technique was an absolute masterstroke as it had instantly flipped the direction of the battle to their advantage.
“Awesome!
Other plants can only photosynthesize to help them grow, but you can use photosynthesis to unleash light wave attacks!” An Lin’s eyes widened as words of praise flew unadulterated from his mouth.
Xiao Hong rubbed her eyes tiredly and yawned.
She then reverted back into a cute little red flower amidst a flash of light and jumped back into An Lin’s pocket.
“Master, Xiao Hong has used up all the power she stored from photosynthesis.
“Xiao Hong has to hibernate for a while now.
Don’t forget to place Xiao Hong under the sun every day!”
An Lin nodded solemnly.
So, just give her sun exposure like what one would do with a normal flower?
Easy.
The battle was finally over.
Xiao Chou, Da Bai, and Xu Xiaolan all had injuries of varying degrees of severity.
An Lin also had a severe wound on his stomach, and as a result, his aura was becoming extremely feeble.
He probably could not even use the most basic immortal spell, let alone Sword Kinesis Flight.
But the person that was hurt the deepest was Ji Yanling.
She sat on the ground, shattered and soulless.
Her previously bright and vivid eyes had lost all their former luster.
Her smooth flowing hair pooled down in a messy bunch, and she still cradled the Blue Dream Jewel in her hands, but the jewel had also lost all its luster and became an ordinary rock.
Xu Xiaolan and the others all stood rooted to the spot as they were unsure of how to console her.
There was something very clearly wrong with Ji Yanling’s mental condition.
The woman who had previously earned everyone’s respect through her strength and resilience now seemed to have lost all resolve; only a deathly emptiness remained in her soulless eyes.
An Lin made his way over to her.
He had already seen the sequence of events leading up to this point.
“Ji Yanling, these are some of the memories Wang Lu entrusted me with.
I’ll now pass these memories on to you.”
Ji Yanling’s body trembled as she raised her head, two rows of tears still lingered on her pale, colorless face.
An Lin sighed lightly as a ray of white light appeared on his fingertip, which he then pointed toward the center of her forehead.
A flash of images suddenly appeared in Ji Yanling’s mind — Within the Abyss of Evil, Wang Lu’s descent into a sinister devil; his protection of Ji Yanling in the shadows; and the soft whispers he spoke to himself from time to time…
Finally, the memories concluded, and a familiar and gentle voice sounded in her mind.
“Little Yan, live on and be happy.”
It was a very simple sentence, but Ji Yanling burst into tears once again.
She suddenly understood.
During all those times when she was stumbling around in the darkness, she was not actually alone.
Wang Lu was always by her side…
“Wang Lu, I’ll live on and be happy.”
“I won’t let your efforts in protecting me go in vain.”
Ji Yanling wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes as she held the dull jewel tightly in her hand.
A thought suddenly seemed to occur to her and a sweet smile appeared on her face.
“It’s already the 899127th time.”
Chapter 154: Who Knows The Pains of The Male Dragon
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Ji Yanling’s mental state seemed to have recovered somewhat and everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
An Lin’s Origin Energy of the Netherworld had already been successfully cultivated so, and Ji Yanling was also planning to return to the Wen Valley Immortal Sect.
It was time to leave this weird place, but they did not know whether the two dragons were still waiting near the crack in the ground.
After much discussion, everyone decided to look for another passageway to get out of the abyss.
Meanwhile, in another corner of the Abyss of Evil.
A roaring fire raged, upon which a huge green spider was suspended from.
Green juices seeped out of its body and dripped down into the flames, emitting an unsavory scent.
Two huge black dragons surrounded the green spider in silence.
Suddenly, the female dragon let loose yet another kick at the male dragon!
Boom!
The male dragon was kicked into the air before crashing into a rock face, leaving a huge indentation in his wake.
“The mother of my child, what the hell are you doing now!?” The male dragon roared with anguish.
“I get pissed just looking at you!
We could be eating some tasty human cultivators right now…
“It’s all your fault, you can’t even catch a few human cultivators!
What kind of male dragon are you?!”
The female dragon glared at the male dragon in rage.
She could not help but grit her teeth in anger when she considered that she had to resort to eating trash like spiders.
The male dragon did not even dare to retaliate.
After all, the female dragon was a creature at the Soul Formation Stage!
If it was not for the fact that the female dragon was too busy stabbing his a*s to chase after the cultivators herself, she would be able to catch them easily.
But for some reason, she insisted on getting him to chase them in her stead, so who was to blame here?
The male dragon thought this in his heart, but he did not dare to say it.
Her Highness was far too powerful.
It was not that he had not resisted in the past, but the myriad of scars on his a*s constantly reminded him that the strongest one in the family was always right, and that was not him.
The male dragon trudged heavily to the fire before grabbing a spider leg and tossing into his mouth.
The taste was sour and had a bit of a fishy odor.
This fishy odor was unavoidable and could not be removed even in the fire.
The only benefit to eating spiders was perhaps the high protein content.
At this moment, the female dragon stiffened and a frightening power erupted from her body.
In fear that she was going to hit him again, the male dragon jumped to the side quickly.
But the female dragon turned her sights on somewhere in the distance instead.
“I can detect through my dragon sense that there are a group of five human cultivators taking flight around two and a half kilometers away.”
The female dragon looked upon the male dragon with a cold gaze.
“If you can’t catch them, then don’t bother coming back for dinner!”
A shiver ran down the male dragon’s spine.
“Yes, Your Highness!”
The male dragon flew reluctantly in the direction that the female dragon pointed.
She was clearly more powerful than him but refused to go after the prey herself.
What a weird temper!
The female dragon gently stroked the slight bump in her stomach.
“The father of my child, it’s not that I don’t want to hunt with my own hands, but at the moment, my condition really is not suitable for vigorous exercise, so when the time comes…
I’ll be sure to give you a surprise!”
Elsewhere in the Abyss of Evil, An Lin and the others were taking flight.
An Lin laid feebly on Da Bai’s body like a dead fish, unable to muster up even a trace of strength.
Right at this moment, Xiao Chou suddenly looked behind them.
“There’s a powerful presence approaching us!”
“Then let’s hurry up and run, woof!” Da Bai flew even faster.
Boom!
A purple flame rose into the air, rearing towards An Lin.
Everyone was slightly alarmed at the sight of these familiar flames.
They had just been through a tough battle and everyone was still injured.
If a Half-step Soul Formation Stage male dragon and a Soul Formation Stage female dragon were to attack them now, they had very little chance of survival.
“I can’t detect the female dragon’s presence, it appears to be the male dragon alone!” Ji Yanling suddenly spoke.
Everyone let out a collective sigh of relief.
Although the situation was still perilous, it was not as dire as they had first thought.
“Lightning Manipulation Technique of The Divine Sword!” Ji Yanling summoned bolts of white lightning to strike into the purple flames.
“White Blaze Slash!” Xu Xiaolan slashed a powerful sword projection through the air.
“Heavy Mist Cannon!” Da Bai turned and spat out a powerful blast of air from its mouth.
“Let’s go!” An Lin whooped with both hands in the air.
Xiao Chou specialized more so in close combat and could only stare daggers at the huge dragon in the distance, figuratively attacking it with his rage.
The purple flames were once again vanquished through everyone’s combined efforts.
“Hahaha, do you think you’ve managed to thwart me just by extinguishing my flame attack?
My goal is to provoke you into attacking then catch up to all of you.” The huge black dragon cackled as it burst through the purple flames, quickly closing in on everyone.
His domain of black spikes enveloped an area of a few hundred feet in radius around the dragon, exuding an aura of death.
“You guys go first!”
Xiao Chou roared as he launched himself toward the black dragon with black flames erupting from his body.
Da Bai flew upward along the rock face with An Lin on its back, quickly approaching the upper limit of the abyss.
All the spikes exuding their deathly aura could not impede Xiao Chou’s advance.
He was like a ball of black heavenly flames descending from the sky, piercing through all the sharp spikes.
The sharp spikes scratched countless wounds into his body as he gripped the silver staff in his hands.
The aura he exuded seemed to only grow stronger with rage despite his injuries as he swung his club towards the black dragon’s head!
The male dragon was taken by surprise by Xiao Chou’s counterattack and received a heavy blow to the head.
Boom!
A devastating shockwave radiated outwards, the heavy impact sending sharp pain shooting through the black dragon’s head and it almost fell into unconsciousness.
The black flame which could engulf everything was also burning wildly on its head.
“Roar!” The black dragon roared in pain and was stopped cold in its tracks.
Xiao Chou did not engage in further battle and immediately rose into the air instead.
He was still no match for the black dragon in a prolonged fight, he was only able to gain a slight upper hand by catching the black dragon off guard through the use of a kamikaze attack.
The black dragon endured the pain and continued in its pursuit as Xiao Chou began to make his escape.
However, just as it was about to move, countless bolts of divine thunder suddenly struck its body in a series of resounding booms.
Ji Yanling was a Spirit Nurturing Final Stage, and a full-force attack from her could not be ignored even by a creature that was at the Half-Step Soul Formation Stage like the male dragon.
The black dragon did not have time to dodge and was immediately treated to a full course meal of lightning, leaving it charred and trembling uncontrollably in the aftermath.
At this moment, Xu Xiaolan also summoned a rain of fire using her immortal spell…
The male dragon was about to cry.
Why are these Spirit Nurturing Stage cultivators so strong!
Was it here to hunt for prey or cop abuse?
He was unaware of the fact that if it was not for the female dragon’s presence, An Lin’s group would have initiated a battle with it the first time they met.
The male dragon maintained its pursuit with its bruised and battered body, but its speed and power were already drastically handicapped.
Soon, Xiao Chou and the others had reached the peak of the abyssal rock face.
The black dragon ceased its pursuit upon witnessing everyone exiting the abyss.
It seemed to be very fearful of the outside world and could only stare at An Lin and the others, no longer in pursuit of them, but not willing to leave either.
An Lin had also realized that and turned to look toward the black dragon.
He then saw that tears had begun to well up in the black dragon’s eyes.
An Lin: “…”
Was it beaten to the extent of shedding tears?
No… that was clearly impossible!
Then what could the reason be?
Under what circumstances would it be reduced to such miserable tears?
An Lin halted his Dog Kinesis Flight and looked at the black dragon in silence.
The black dragon immediately begged pitifully upon seeing a cultivator on a white dog turned around to look back at it.
“Do you have any food?”
An Lin: “…”
Da Bai: “…, should we throw it a bone?”
An Lin shook his head.
He saw a black dragon that worked tirelessly for its family and did not back down in the face of countless adversities.
He saw the courage it took for the dragon to shoulder such a heavy load and lower its proud head to beg for food from an enemy, all for the sake of its family.
He did not know why, but he had been thoroughly moved.
The black dragon’s emotions were very complicated.
Why was it asking for food from these cultivators?
Perhaps it was because the cultivator riding on the dog turned to look back around at it one last time during his escape.
This gave him a feeling that this cultivator was someone special; someone that could perhaps help it.
If it went back empty-handed, not only would it not be able to have any dinner, it would most likely be tied up and beaten by the female dragon.
Such a terrifying experience could not be described unless one experienced it firsthand!
An Lin sighed before bringing out a huge unicorn from his storage ring.
“This is a unicorn I got from the Myriad Mountain Domain.
It’s quite large in size and its flesh is quite delicious, you can have it.”
As he spoke, he tossed the unicorn towards the black dragon.
The black dragon was frozen with shock.
Never would it have thought that the human cultivator would really give it food!
It clutched the unicorn in its mouth as tears began to overflow from its eyes.
“I was trying to kill you just before, but you’ve been so kind as to save me from the clutches of peril…
I…
I’m such a piece of sh*t!”
A gratified smile appeared on An Lin’s face at the black dragon’s words of remorse.
“May I please ask the Dao title of my savior?” The black dragon enquired gratefully.
An Lin: “My name is An Lin.”
The black dragon continued gratefully, “An Lin is the name of my savior!
I don’t have anything with me so I’m unable to repay you for your kindness…
But I’ll definitely name my next child An Lin!
In order to commemorate the kindness you have bestowed upon me!”
The naming of a newborn was an extremely important event in the Dragon Clan, so it was clear to see that the black dragon was indeed very grateful to An Lin.
“Pffft.” Da Bai burst into laughter at the black dragon’s words.
“Hahahaha…
Big Brother An, the baby dragon, hahaha.”
Xu Xiaolan and the others all laughed quietly at the black dragon’s proposal.
An Lin grimaced and immediately flew away from the Abyss of Evil on Da Bai’s back despite the black dragon’s efforts to converse with him.
Chapter 155: Extortion?
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Ji Yanling bade farewell to An Lin and the others to return to the Wen Valley Immortal Sect.
An Lin laid feebly on Da Bai’s back whilst Xu Xiaolan flew to An Lin’s side with a look of curiosity on her face as she enquired about what memories An Lin had shown Ji Yanling to spark such a speedy recovery.
She was too embarrassed to ask when Ji Yanling was still around, but now that she had left, nothing could stop her from satisfying her curiosity.
An Lin sighed lightly before summarizing the events during which Wang Lu transformed into a sinister devil but still stayed by Ji Yanling’s side to protect her.
Xu Xiaolan’s porcelain-like face was filled with sorrow upon hearing An Lin’s summary as she sighed lightly.
“So this is love…”
An Lin: “…”
At that moment, the image of Qing Hua’s face appeared in Da Bai’s mind and an image of a certain white fox surfaced in Xiao Chou’s mind while the image of Wang Lu’s face appeared in An Lin’s mind.
“An Lin, where do you want to go next?” Xu Xiaolan asked after a while.
“I’m gonna go to the Ten-Thousand Spirits Immortal Sect first and pay a visit to Big Brother Cheng,” An Lin replied after a moment of consideration.
Xu Xiaolan nodded.
“I’ll pass on the Ten-Thousand Spirits Immortal Sect for now and head back to my Immortal Sect as well.”
The Ten-Thousand Spirits Immortal Sect and the Vermilion Bird Sect were both part of the four super Immortal Sects within the Kingdom of the Nine States, but aside from when they discussed Dao and held competitions against one another, there was not much association between the two sects.
Hence, she was not very interested in the Ten-Thousand Spirits Immortal Sect.
Although going there would grant her a chance to see the handsome idol, Xuanyuan Cheng, she would be able to see him once the new school term started anyway.
Everyone arrived at the capital city of the Heavenly River State.
Xu Xiaolan used a teleportation spell formation to return to the Bai Hua State while An Lin and the others teleported to the Wind Plain State.
The Wind Plain State was situated at the northernmost tip of the Kingdom of the Nine States, neighboring the Holy Glacial Lands of the Tai Chu Continent.
There were wars taking place there year round, so soldiers of the Heavenly Court were stationed there to defend the borders.
The other sects of the Kingdom of the Nine States would participate in the defense of the border as well.
Amongst the Immortal Sects, the Ten-Thousand Spirits Immortal Sect were at the forefront of and made up the majority of the forces defending against the invasion of the Snow Maidens.
Within the teleportation square of the Wind Plain State’s prefectural city, An Lin’s figure began to appear.
“Whew… it’s a little cold.”
A frosty gale blew toward him, causing him to involuntarily withdraw from the cold.
“Woof!
The prefectural city is located in the north of the Wind Plain State.
It’s very close in location to the Holy Glacial Lands, so it’s very normal for this place to have low temperatures.” Da Bai explained while shaking its furry body.
An Lin had already recovered some mobility after a period of rest, but he still preferred to lay on Da Bai’s back; it was simply far too comfortable and warm there!
He looked around him and found that although the environment was quite cold, the citizens of the Wind Plain State did not seem to be dressed for cold weather.
Most of the people around them only wore very ordinary robes.
Some of the girls even wore sleeveless dresses, exposing their slim white arms, perhaps that was the fashion in this region.
An Lin looked around from Da Bai’s back with interest.
Traveling to different places and experiencing the culture in those places were actually one of the things he found most enjoyable during his holiday travels.
Xiao Chou had already transformed into a small monkey and was now recuperating on An Lin’s shoulder.
He had suffered some pretty severe injuries during his fight with the black dragon.
Having now taken a Vitality Regeneration Pill offered to him by An Lin, he did not want to move an inch.
The eye-catching huge dog mount and the adorably ugly monkey formed a combination that always attracted a lot of attention.
Just as he was unhurriedly making his way forward, an elderly lady with a crown of white hair walked by slowly, before suddenly collapsing on the ground near Da Bai.
“Ow!”
The old lady began to yell loudly, “Oh, that hurts so much, help!”
Her pained cries instantly attracted a lot of onlookers.
An Lin: “…”
At this moment, a little girl ran toward them, crying loudly the whole time.
“Grandma… what happened to you, please don’t die!”
She turned an angry gaze on An Lin.
“Why did you run over my grandma, she’s already 165 years old, she might die from something like this!
Sob, sob, sob.”
The girl began to cry loudly and the number of surrounding onlookers began to increase, all of them pointing at An Lin disapprovingly.
There were even people that had begun to discuss under their breath, saying things along the lines of “How could you run over others on your giant dog just because you’re rich?”
Da Bai was completely dumbfounded.
This was the first time it had encountered such a situation; it did not even touch the old lady!
An Lin’s expression also changed.
The last thing he expected was to encounter extorting con artists like this even in the cultivating world!
Was this supposed to be a popular trend?
However, he very quickly discovered that the old lady did not seem to be completely acting.
A pained expression could be feigned easily, but her body was trembling from pain and she was breathing heavily as well as exhibiting some other symptoms that were not easy to imitate.
Divine Inspection Technique!
His eyes turned white and he assessed the condition of the old lady.
The little girl continued to scream and shout, her eyes now red and swollen.
“You ran over my grandma, you have to pay for her treatment, you have to pay me two hundred spirit stones!”
The onlookers were also swept up in the situation.
The old lady on the ground moaning in pain, the little girl crying and yelling next to her; what a heart-wrenching scene, the offender had to pay!
“Pay up, pay up…”
The crowd began to exert peer pressure through an enraged chorus of yells.
An Lin blinked before asking in a soft voice, “Are two hundred spirit stones enough, do you want a bit more?”
The little girl seemed to have predicted An Lin’s answer.
“No, it has to be no less than exactly two hundred spirit stones, non-negotiable!
Er…?”
Her words came to a sudden halt once she realized what An Lin had said.
A blank expression appeared on her face and she rubbed her ears in confusion as if she was afraid she had heard wrong.
“Are you sure you don’t want a bit more?
Her condition could be quite serious.” An Lin enquired with a compassionate expression.
He leaped down from Da Bai and made his way toward the old lady before helping her up from the ground.
The old lady stared at the gentle, unflappable young man in front of her, and she was completely dumbfounded as well.
An Lin knelt down and rubbed the little girl’s head before retrieving a bag of spirit stones from his storage ring.
“There are five hundred spirit stones here, use if for your grandma’s treatment!”
The warm and gentle smile on his face as he said this seemed like it was going to melt through the frosty winter.
The little girl held the large bag of spirit stones with a blank expression, completely at a loss for what to say as guilt welled up in her heart.
She only came to her senses after a long, and she opened her mouth to speak again, “Thank you, big brother, I…
I’ll definitely repay you, what I said before was actually a lie…”
She did not have time to finish her sentence before her voice was cut off by An Lin’s.
“Da Bai!
Look where you’re walking next time, don’t walk into other people!”
Da Bai was still completely dumbfounded and it was beginning to feel a little upset too.
All the surrounding onlookers were also all silenced.
What more could they ask for from An Lin?
The victims asked for two hundred spirit stones to seek treatment, but he gave five hundred!
And he was so warm and gentle throughout the whole process too…
“Nice!” Shouts of praise began to erupt from the crowd.
There was even a girl who was completely won over by his dashing grace and had begun to scream in a high-pitched voice.
An Lin leaped onto Da Bai’s back and waved his hand to the petite little girl.
“Look after your grandma, little girl.”
Tears spilled out of the little girl’s eyes as she nodded earnestly.
Amongst everyone here, only she knew of the painstaking efforts this kind-hearted big brother had made here.
Just like that, the man and the dog stalked off into the distance, disappearing into the setting sun.
The little girl stared at the receding figure in a trance.
To her, that person had already become her hero and his face was deeply engraved into her heart.
Chapter 156: An Abrupt Mission
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
On the road, Da Bai was still in a gloomy mood.
“I didn’t bump into that old lady.” He argued with an upset expression.
“I know.” An Lin nodded.
Da Bai was taken aback upon hearing An Lin’s admission.
“Then why did you still give them the five hundred spirit stones?”
An Lin smiled.
“Because they genuinely need the money.
The old lady’s condition is already quite dire.
If she doesn’t receive any treatment soon, she probably wouldn’t even be able to last a year.
“Think about it, why would such an elderly lady and such a young child go to the extent of extorting money like this?
If it wasn’t for the fact that they were desperate, they definitely wouldn’t do something like this that throws their dignity out the window.
“I’m guessing that they no longer have anyone they can rely on at home.
If I don’t give them the five hundred spirit stones for the old lady to seek treatment, what would happen to the little girl once her grandmother dies in a year’s time?
She’s only a child, how would you expect her to survive in the world alone?”
Da Bai nodded thoughtfully at An Lin’s explanation.
“So, Big Brother An decided to be their savior?”
An Lin nodded.
“My evaluation of the situation might be wrong, but if I’m correct, then I’ve really helped them out here.
Don’t forget that I’m filthy stinking rich now, so a few hundred spirit stones aren’t really a lot for me.”
Da Bai was completely won over by this argument and Xiao Chou also patted An Lin’s shoulder in respect.
“Big Brother An, well done!”
Thus, everyone continued on the journey to the Ten Thousand Spirits Immortal Sect.
The Ten Thousand Spirits Immortal Sect was located in the south of the Wind Plain State so everyone made their way south, encountering a lot of cute snow beasts on the way and also eating a lot of delicious snow beasts too.
The cuisine in the Wind Plain State was quite spicy and this suited An Lin just fine, so he had been quite happy in the past few days tasting the cuisines from various restaurants.
If he could, he would stay here for a dozen years, no, he would eat here for a dozen years!
Without them realizing it, they had already arrived at the gate of the Ten Thousand Spirits Immortal Sect after a long period of traveling and eating.
This was the third super Immortal Sect that An Lin had visited.
It had to be said, this Immortal Sect gave him the best impression!
Peering in from the gate, An Lin could see a series of tall mountains reaching into the sky as white clouds revolved around their tips.
The houses built along the sides of the mountains shone brightly under the light of the sun and there were even Immortal Cave Abodes where Immortals flew out using Sword Kinesis Flight from time to time.
“Greetings, may I ask what is your business here, fellow cultivator?”
A guard at the gate cupped his fists in inquiry upon seeing An Lin and the others.
Hmm… the customer service experience at the Ten-Thousand Spirits Immortal Sect was also the best he had seen so far!
“Hi there, my name is An Lin, I’m a friend of Xuanyuan Cheng and have come to visit him.
Please inform him of my arrival,” An Lin replied politely.
The guard’s expression changed upon hearing this and he became even more respectful.
“So you are a friend of Young Master Xuanyuan, I’ll inform him immediately!”
Soon, Xuanyuan Cheng, who was flying atop his sword, made his way over to where An Lin was.
He was still dressed in white flowing robes, his brows sharp as swords, and his face like warm jade, absolutely handsome to a fault.
“Student An Lin, I didn’t think you’d really come here to visit me.” Xuanyuan Cheng smiled warmly with delight.
“Haha, holidays are pretty boring anyway, so I thought I’d travel around,” An Lin replied with a smile.
Xuanyuan Cheng nodded.
“That’s great, let me take you on a tour of the Ten Thousand Spirits Immortal Sect.”
Just like that, An Lin rode on Da Bai and flew into the sect together with Xuanyuan Cheng.
The Ten Thousand Spirits Immortal Sect covered a vast expanse of land and the sect itself was built along the side of the mountain.
There were five main peaks and 96 subsidiary peaks.
The inner sect disciples cultivated in the main peaks, whilst the outer sect disciples cultivated in the subsidiary peaks.
An Lin was at one of the main peaks, Heavenly Dawn Peak, and from there, he could see a waterfall of over ten thousand feet in length.
It fell like rumbling thunder, roaring as if it were a galaxy flowing into the world, causing countless waves and ripples to appear in the water as well as a layer of mist to rise into the air.
Under the light of the sun, the mist transformed into a rainbow spectrum of water beads.
There was even a vibrant rainbow peering out from the mountain.
It was like a colorful sash tied around the Heavenly Dawn Peak, both vibrant and imposing at the same time.
An Lin naturally would not forget to take a photo of such exquisite scenery in order to commemorate his trip here.
After that, they descended on the Earth Spirit Peak.
“We’re going to hold an Inter-Sect Games between the younger generation cultivators of all the sects here today.
The competition is held once every four years.
Are you interested in spectating?” Xuanyuan Cheng asked as he led the way forward.
An Lin’s eyes lit up upon hearing this.
Inter-Sect Games?
What a familiar term.
“Of course!” He replied in next to no time.
Watching other people fight was quite a thrilling experience.
It was like watching a brilliant action film…
No!
It was like watching an Immortal action film with special effects!
The venue for the Inter-Sect Games was a very grandiose location.
It was like a huge sports arena, able to hold a capacity of several tens-of-thousands of spectating cultivators.
There were a few large elevated stages below the spectator stands on which competitors would fight against one another.
“What a bustling scene!” An Lin exclaimed after arriving at the venue and witnessing the several tens-of-thousands of spectating disciples yelling and cheering.
Xuanyuan Cheng chuckled lightly.
“We’ve already progressed to the finals, all the disciples of the five main peaks and the 96 subsidiary peaks have come to cheer on their idols.”
An Lin looked toward Xuanyuan Cheng.
“Big Brother Cheng, why didn’t a genius like you enter this competition?”
Big Brother Cheng was already at the Spirit Nurturing Intermediate Stage after a year of cultivating.
If he was to compete, he would definitely be able to flex his way to the championship title.
Xuanyuan Cheng shook his head.
“I’m a part of the Heavenly Court now so I won’t participate in these games.”
The Heavenly Court itself was considered to be a superpower and all students of The United University of Cultivation belonged to the forces of the Heavenly Court.
Students could choose to stay in the Heavenly Court after graduation, in which case they would become true Heavenly Court citizens.
Of course, students could also choose to return to their respective sects.
However, if they were to do that, then all that would remain from their time in the Heavenly Court would be a graduation certificate.
For Xuanyuan Cheng, who was the young master of the Ten Thousand Spirits Immortal Sect, An Lin felt like he would definitely return to the sect to become the sect leader after graduation.
Sigh.
If that was the case… then Su Qianyun and Xu Xiaolan would probably leave the Heavenly Court after graduation too, right?
An Lin experienced a spell of sadness at the thought.
At this moment, the “Ding Dong” sound from the system suddenly sounded, startling him into a fright.
What was going on?!
He opened the system with confusion written on his face to find that the Special Missions tab was flashing.
[Detected that host is present at the Inter-Sect Games, now assigning the mission below:
Guess which cultivator would become the champion of these Games.
1) Tang Shiyuan.
2) Zhang Yan.
3) Lu Ren.
4) Kuang Re.
Mission Success: Reward of thirty vital stones.
Mission Failure: Deduct ten vital stones from the host’s storage ring.
This mission is a timed mission.
Once the time passes, the mission will automatically cancel.
Now commencing countdown of sixty seconds.]
Just as An Lin was in a bit of a stupor, the timer began to tick down — 59, 58…
The reward for completion was thirty vital stones…
That was thirty vital stone!
How could he pass up such an opportunity?
However, he had no data at all on the four cultivators mentioned by the system, so there was only one way to complete this mission…
An Lin latched onto Xuanyuan Cheng’s arm and asked quickly, “Big Brother Cheng, who do you think has the best chance of becoming champion amongst Tang Shiyuan, Zhang Yan, Lu Ren, and Kuang Re?”
“Hm?
How do you know the name of the disciples of our sect?” Xuanyuan Cheng asked curiously.
“Forget that for now Big Brother Cheng, just tell me which cultivators is strongest amongst them!
We don’t have much time!” An Lin prompted anxiously.
There were only about a dozen seconds left!
“They’re all young prodigies of the Ten Thousand Spirits Immortal Sect and all of them are at Spirit Nurturing Initial Stage.
I think Tang Shiyuan has the best chance at winning, her White Cloud Sword Techniques…” Xuanyuan Cheng analyzed with a serious expression.
Tang Shiyuan?
An Lin locked in Tang Shiyuan in the system with only three seconds to spare!
[Ding Dong, the mission is successfully accepted.
The host has guessed that Tang Shiyuan will become the champion of the Inter-Sect Games.]
An Lin breathed a sigh of relief.
Xuanyuan Cheng was still analyzing in the meantime.
“… her offensive power could be said to be the strongest amongst the four.
Although there’s a very good chance of her taking out the title, I think that Kuang Re has the best chance out of all of them.
Why is that?
Well, that’s because…”
An Lin: “…”
Chapter 157: The Battle of The Prodigies
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
“… from the above, I nominate Kuang Re as my choice for today’s champion!” Xuanyuan Cheng concluded.
The rims of An Lin’s eyes had already turned red as he turned to the side in anguish.
My hundred thousand spirit stones, all down the drain!
Could he blame Big Brother Cheng?
He really did do his best to analyze the situation, An Lin could not find it in himself to blame him.
At this moment, the semi-finals kicked off.
First match: Zhang Yan vs Tang Shiyuan.
Second match: Lu Ren vs Kuang Re.
Tang Shiyuan’s white robe complemented her beautiful features perfectly, making her appear as if she was an angel descending from the heavens.
In her slim hand was a cloud sword seemingly constructed from wispy cloud and mist, giving it an insubstantial, dream-like quality.
She was most likely the idol for many of the male disciples of the Ten Thousand Spirits Immortal Sect as her appearance evoked thunderous cheers from countless male disciples in the spectator stands.
In comparison, the burly Zhang Yan was far too mundane.
They were both young prodigies of the Ten Thousand Spirits Immortal Sect, so why was there such a huge disparity between them?
An Lin stroked his chin thoughtfully before quickly reaching an answer.
Even the cultivating world… was actually a world where looks mattered greatly!
If you were to swap Zhang Yan’s face for Xuanyuan Cheng’s, then the cheers he would receive would definitely rival those of Tang Shiyuan.
“Let’s go, Tang Shiyuan!” An Lin joined on the raucous cheers.
Xuanyuan Cheng was slightly startled by An Lin’s loud cry and turned to look at him with a peculiar gaze.
An Lin himself was in complete despair.
It seemed like all he could do for Tang Shiyuan now was to cheer her on.
One hundred thousand spirit stones… this was not a small amount.
As a matter of fact, it was enough to purchase a low-grade immortal pill.
As rich as he was, even he would be quite upset if he was to lose such a large sum for nothing.
The battle between Tang Shiyuan and Zhang Yan finally commenced.
The battle immediately reached a climax after commencing.
Tang Shiyuan’s mastery of the White Cloud Sword Technique was extremely intricate, her constantly shape-shifting longsword made it extremely difficult for her opponent to defend against.
Zhang Yan’s body was enveloped in bright red flames, giving him the appearance of an ancient demonic deity and also imbuing each of his attacks with overwhelming power.
The clash between the two of them caused extremely powerful shockwaves to ripple throughout the venue.
Tang Shiyuan’s cloud sword could only make minute scratches on Zhang Yan’s fists, but each of Zhang Yan’s blows contained immense power with which he knocked Tang Shiyuan back again and again.
An Lin was very anxious and continued to yell words of encouragement.
Xuanyuan Cheng had obviously noticed An Lin’s fascination with Tang Shiyuan.
“Do you want me to introduce her to you after the match?”
An Lin was slightly taken aback after hearing him.
He then realized that Big Brother Cheng seemed to have misunderstood something.
“No need, Da Bai is enough for me.”
Da Bai’s body trembled at his words and it silently moved a few paces away from An Lin.
Xuanyuan Cheng was also staring at An Lin with shock in his eyes as if he was getting to know him for the first time.
An Lin: “…”
That was a joke, for God’s sake!
As they were speaking, the battle between Tang Shiyuan and Zhang Yan was also coming to a conclusion.
“Red Lotus Flame Dog!” Zhang Yan roared as a dozen huge red blazing dogs erupted from his fists, charging towards Tang Shiyuan.
“Exquisite Cloud Dance.” Tang Shiyuan opened her cherry lips and a cloud of mist began to rise from her shape-shifting cloud sword, enveloping herself in a patch of mist too.
Whoosh!
She began to move at extremely high speed!
Boom Boom Boom!
The huge flame dogs leaped toward her, but she managed to dodge all of them with her flexible movement techniques, leaving them to explode violently in her wake.
“The battle is decided.” Xuanyuan Cheng smiled lightly.
A misty figure dodged through all of Zhang Yan’s attacks, before instantly arriving by his side, her white cloud sword slashing a huge wound into his body.
Splash!
A fountain of blood burst forth and Zhang Yan retreated a few steps.
But the white mist flashed again, and Tang Shiyuan rested her longsword on Zhang Yan’s neck.
“Nice technique!” Even An Lin could not help but exclaim in admiration.
The Ten Thousand Spirits Immortal Sect was certainly deserving of its title as one of the four super Immortal Sects; the prodigies of its younger generation had just put up a fantastic performance.
“Winner, Tang Shiyuan!” The elder responsible for refereeing the match announced.
His words instantly brought about an eruption of cheers.
An Lin also joined in on the cheers from the crowd; Tang Shiyuan’s victory gave him a little bit of hope!
The second match was Lu Ren vs Kuang Re.
Lu Ren was a graceful young man, with the gentle, refined air of a scholar and handsome looks on par with An Lin’s.
Kuang Re, on the other hand, wore a lazy expression, but his eyes glared wide upon seeing Lu Ren as a strong battle intent erupted from his body.
Hence, Lu Ren undoubtedly received the cheers of all the female disciples present.
As for Kuang Re… there were still a lot of disciples from the same main peak that cheered him on.
Lu Ren wielded a sword as his weapon.
The sword itself seemed to be imbued with the power of Taichi.
It was able to materialize the same kind of white Qi barriers Xuanyuan Cheng was able to.
It was only a pity that his Cultivation Base was insufficient and as such, he had not yet attained enlightenment in the Dao of Taichi.
Thus, the barriers that he constructed only had limited uses.
In contrast, Kuang Re wielded a saber as his weapon and his attacks were peerlessly powerful.
Each of his saber projections was extremely terrifying and he seemed to build as he attacked, with each attack growing stronger than the next…
Thus, the battle quickly transformed into a one-sided beating where Lu Ren was at a decided disadvantage.
In the end, Lu Ren was slashed a few time before laying on the ground and raising his hands in surrender.
Kuang Re stowed away his saber with a disdainful expression as if he did not even get a chance to warm up from that one-sided battle.
As a result, the venue was once again filled with a raucous commotion and the female disciples, in particular, were especially riled up.
“Ah…!
Kuang Re, how could you be so cruel!”
“Sob… poor Big Brother Lu Ren, Kuang Re, you’re a bastard!”
“Humph, so what if Kuang Re won, Lu Ren is still my second male idol!”
“Qing, you’re so kind today, looks like my efforts in pursuing you for all these years weren’t in vain.
Am I your first male idol?!”
“No, my first male idol is Xuanyuan Cheng.”
“…” A certain male disciple’s heart shattered into a million pieces.
… Kuang Re picked at his ears lazily in the face of all the commotion before exiting the stage.
An Lin began to ponder after witnessing the match.
Kuang Re won this match very easily, so he most likely had trump cards that he did not even use.
In comparison, the Exquisite Cloud Dance was clearly her finishing technique, but could a trump card like this really beat Kuang Re?
He had to admit, the chances of victory were quite slim.
This, combined with Xuanyuan Cheng’s prior analysis made An Lin anxious again.
He could not just wait for fate to take its course; he had to do something!
There was still a bit of time before the match commenced, what could he do during this time…
I got it!
An Lin’s eyes lit up.
He turned to Xuanyuan Cheng.
“Big Brother Cheng, what’s the prize for winning the Inter-Sect Games?”
Xuanyuan Cheng did not think he had any ulterior motives and answered honestly, “The top sixteen all receive spirit stone prizes while the top four will receive an elementary rank spirit tool awarded by the sect.”
An Lin smiled.
“So that means the winner of the Inter-Sect Games will receive an elementary rank spirit tool and some spirit stones as their prize?
How many spirit stones will they receive?”
Xuanyuan Cheng: “Amongst the top four, first will receive thirty thousand spirit stones, second will receive twenty thousand, and third and fourth will receive ten thousand each.”
“Haha, if that’s the case then I’m gonna go cheer Kuang Re on a bit!” An Lin waved his hand at Xuanyuan Cheng before departing.
Xuanyuan Cheng stared at An Lin’s receding figure in a bit of a daze.
“Student An Lin, you certainly have unique taste…”
Chapter 158: There Aren’t Any Problems That Can’t Be Resolved With Spirit Stones
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
In the rest area, Kuang Re swallowed an Energy Restoring Pill while sitting with one leg crossed over the other, slowly recuperating.
He was surrounded by a bunch of disciples, all of which were offering words of praise.
“Brother Kuang Re, your saber technique is so powerful!” A male disciple spoke first.
“Yeah, you beat Lu Ren from the Earth Spirit Peak until he ran like a turtle cowering back into its shell.” Another disciple continued.
“Tch…” A female disciple immediately left after hearing the slander against her male idol.
“Brother Kuang Re, from your performance it seems like you’re well on track for the title.
The Heavenly Dawn Peak can really have something to gloat about now!” A disciple stared at Kuang Re with scorching admiration.
Kuang Re sat on his chair with an indifferent expression as he craned his neck and picked at his earwax from time to time.
At this moment, a handsome young man with delicate features walked over.
“Hello, Mr. Kuang Re, my name is An Lin.”
Kuang Re cackled lightly with his bloodshot eyes wide open.
“I’ve already noticed you, you’re Young Master Xuanyuan’s friend, the dog-riding warrior!”
An Lin grimaced at his words, what kind of f*cking title was this!?
Forget it, this was not the time to argue over stuff like this, and he had business to attend to…
He forced a smile onto his face.
“I have something that I want to speak to you about in private.”
Kuang Re maintained his lazy expression but transmitted his voice to An Lin alone.
“What’s up?”
An Lin also used voice transmission to reply to him, “Could you go easy on the next match and hand Tang Shiyuan the victory?
I’ll give you forty thousand spirit stones!”
An Lin had already made some calculations; even if Kuang Re only came in second place, he would still be able to receive an elementary rank spirit tool as well as twenty thousand spirit stones as a reward.
Add the forty thousand spirit stones he offered into the mix and that would make a total of sixty thousand spirit stones.
That would be twice the amount received by the champion!
Kuang Re’s body shook and he opened his eyes even wider.
“What kind of bullsh*t is this!
I’m not the kind of person that can be bought with money, forget it!”
An Lin: “Eighty thousand spirit stones!”
Kuang Re’s body began to quiver with rage.
“What I want is the glory of becoming champion in the Inter-Sect Games, I’m fighting for glory, not for your filthy cash!”
An Lin: “One hundred thousand spirit stones, that’s my final offer!”
Kuang Re’s body stopped quivering and he resumed his lazy expression.
“Deal!”
Thus, An Lin and Kuang Re came to a private location before carrying out a PY exchange in secret.
Kuang Re’s expression changed upon seeing the ten vital stones before nodding and giving An Lin a knowing smile.
“Make it convincing, don’t let people figure it out.”
“No worries, my acting skills are flawless!”
… An Lin returned to where Xuanyuan Cheng was, breathing a sigh of relief in his heart as a smile surfaced on his face.
That’s right, there was no problem in the world that spirit stones could not resolve.
If there was… then it’s definitely because not enough spirit stones were offered!
After a while, the much anticipated final finally began.
Tang Shiyuan stood on stage calmly in her flowing white robe.
Kuang Re drew out his saber, a devastating aura erupted from his body.
Boom!
The clash of the cloud sword and the saber caused a resounding boom to erupt throughout the venue, signaling the beginning of the match!
“Towering Cloud Sword!” Tang Shiyuan yelled lightly as her body became wispy and untraceable like a cloud, before charging towards Kuang Re.
Kuang Re’s saber cut out slash after slash of powerful red saber aura.
This was his signature saber technique, the Berserk Saber of Eighteen Waves, and each wave rose higher than the previous one!
The power of each of his blows began to accumulate as the saber projections he created became even more powerful.
Even Tang Shiyuan did not dare to face his attacks head on and could only continue to dodge with her movement techniques.
“Use your Exquisite Cloud Dance, otherwise you won’t be able to beat me!” Kuang Re’s eyes widened in a frightening glare, appearing both freakish and imposing at the same time.
He had already planned everything out in his head.
As soon as Tang Shiyuan used her Exquisite Cloud Dance, he would pretend to be defeated.
Tang Shiyuan’s Exquisite Cloud Dance was very powerful that even he could not completely counter it.
Thus, not only would it make his loss appear more realistic, but it would also ensure that he would not lose face; it was truly killing two birds with one stone.
Kuang Re’s Berserk Saber of Eighteen Waves reached its final wave and an extremely brilliant red sword projection appeared, tearing the ground apart and sweeping up gale-force winds with its awesome might.
In the face of this extremely powerful slash, Tang Shiyuan did not dodge, but instead raised her sword and slashed a white sword projection towards it in response.
Boom!
The saber projection and the sword projection collided, creating an interwoven energy wave of red and white, completely tearing the battlefield apart.
A white figure flew into the air with blood spilling from her mouth, her delicate features suddenly became very pale.
Her cloud sword also slipped from her grasp before falling to the ground with a clang.
Tang Shiyuan laid on the ground with a hand on her chest and a painful expression.
“I concede!”
Her clear, crisp voice reverberated throughout the venue into everyone’s ears.
Kuang Re was completely dumbfounded as his eyes looked even more bloodshot.
Wait… what just happened, did he just win?
Tang Shiyuan was not that weak, surely?
How was she unable to even handle the Berserk Saber of Eighteen Waves, this could not be real!
“The Inter-Sect Games final winner…
Kuang Re!” The elder acting as the referee announced the final victor.
Loud cheers erupted within the venue, in particular from the Heavenly Dawn Peak disciples; all of whom were shouting Kuang Re’s name with excitement.
Some of the male disciples who were fans of Tang Shiyuan were dissatisfied with Kuang Re’s handling of her, but the power gap between the two was apparent so they could not really say anything either.
Within the whole venue, An Lin was the only that wore an expression similar to Kuang Re.
He stared blankly at Tang Shiyuan, his mouth completely agape, unable to recover from his shock.
[Ding Dong…
The host has failed to complete the special mission, now deducting ten vital stones.]
The system notification sounded.
Within the storage ring were ninety vital stones, ten of which instantly began to vanish…
An Lin only managed to face reality now, and that was that he had failed!!!
Tang Shiyuan wiped away the blood from the corner of her mouth before rising from the ground and turning her gaze to meet with Elder Sun of the Heavenly Dawn Peak.
Both of them then averted their gazes at the same time.
Elder Sun from the Heavenly Dawn Peak had given her twenty thousand spirit stones so she would lay off a bit during the final.
Everyone knew what that entailed.
Tang Shiyuan’s chance of beating Kuang Re was less than 20% anyway.
Now that Elder Sun had given her twenty thousand spirit stones, in addition to the twenty thousand spirit stones in prizes, it made a total of forty thousand spirit stones.
That was ten thousand spirit stones more than even what the champion would receive.
Only an idiot would refuse such a lucrative offer!
To fight for the glory of becoming the champion?
F*ck that!
They were all personal disciples of the Sect Leader anyway, what use would they have for glory?
Tang Shiyuan smiled brightly.
The forty thousand spirit stones in addition to the thirty thousand spirit stones she had were enough to buy an elementary rank protective spirit tool, and this was also coupled with the elementary rank offensive type spirit tool that she would receive as a reward.
This combination… it was simply far too perfect!
Elder Sun of the Heavenly Dawn Peak was also smiling widely.
There was no problem in this world that could not be resolved by spirit stones.
If there was… then it’s definitely because not enough spirit stones were offered!
If An Lin knew what Elder Sun was thinking, he would probably vomit blood with rage.
After all… he was the one that had offered the most spirit stones!!
Chapter 159: A Twisted Strand of Fate
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Tang Shiyuan lost and the honor of coming first belonged to Kuang Re.
An Lin’s crestfallen expression was captured by Xuanyuan Cheng and he patted An Lin’s shoulder in consolation.
“And you still deny that you’re interested in Tang Shiyuan, look at your expression…
Don’t worry, I’ll introduce her to you in a bit!”
An Lin winced at his words.
I don’t give a sh*t about her!
I’m only lamenting my hundred thousand spirit stones!!
Hmm… wait, I gave Kuang Re ten vital stones too.
Holy f*ck, what a massive loss!
No, he had to get those ten vital stones back at least.
Thus, An Lin appeared before Kuang Re again.
An Lin: “Give the vital stones back!”
Kuang Re: “I refuse.”
An Lin was shocked.
“You failed the mission, what makes you think you still deserve the vital stones!?”
Kuang Re resumed his lazy expression.
“I’ve already been very diligent in my acting.
Also, Tang Shiyuan isn’t weak enough to be defeated so easily.
There’s definitely something amiss here!”
An Lin: “I don’t give a sh*t if there’s something amiss or not, the reality is that you won the match and the result can’t be reversed!”
Kuang Re: “But I’ve tried my best, and you didn’t say that I’ve to give the vital stones back if I failed the mission.
On top of that, I was originally going to win 120,000 spirit stones in total.
If I return the vital stones to you, it’d equate to a loss of ninety thousand spirit stones.
I’d be so distraught that I’d want to commit suicide!”
It would have been fine if he did not mention this, but An Lin immediately flared up with rage at his words.
“What kind of bulsh*t logic is this?
Going by your line of thinking, do you know how many spirit stones I’ve lost!?”
Kuang Re glared at him menacingly.
“How many?”
An Lin’s breathing began to accelerate.
“If you lost the match, I would’ve won three hundred thousand spirit stones!
Even if I gave you the ten vital stones, it’d still be a profit of two hundred thousand spirit stones.
But now that you’ve won the match, I’ve lost a hundred thousand spirit stones, and now you’re f*cking refusing to return my other hundred thousand spirit stones.
Going by your logic…
I’ve lost four hundred thousand f*cking spirit stones!!!”
Kuang Re could not help but cover his face in shock as his eyes became even more bloodshot.
Even his body began to tremble as he said, “Holy sh*t, buddy.
You’re gambling way too hard there.
If I were you, I’d have committed suicide already after making such big losses!”
An Lin gripped his chest with rage.
F*ck, now that Kuang Re mentioned it, he really was starting to have suicidal thoughts…
Kuang Re: “Seeing as you’ve been through such misfortune, I’ll return five vital stones to you.”
An Lin: “Return all of it!”
Kuang Re: “No problem, but I’ll have to inform Young Master Xuanyuan of your bribery.”
An Lin almost blacked out.
“F*ck!”
And so.
An Lin returned to where Xuanyuan Cheng was with tears streaming down his face as he stroked his storage ring with a crestfallen expression.
That was 150,000 spirit stones…
No, wait… it was 350,000!
In contrast to An Lin’s misery, Xuanyuan Cheng had a warm smile on his face.
“Student An Lin, guess what surprise I’ve prepared for you?”
An Lin inhaled deeply before asking in confusion.
“What surprise?”
At this moment, a lithe and graceful woman walked out from behind Xuanyuan Cheng.
Her face was still a little pale but that only contributed to her frail and delicate beauty, provoking an urge from onlookers to protect and cherish her.
“Mr. An, I heard… that you wanted to meet me?” The white-robed woman had a hint of a smile on her face as she waved a hand at An Lin.
She was the silver medallist of the Inter-Sect Games, Tang Shiyuan…
Meet you?
Meet you, the woman who lost under baffling circumstances and made me lose 350,000 spirit stones!!!?
An Lin felt as if he had received a heavy blow which caused his chest to tighten and his breathing to accelerate.
He had not completely recovered from the effects of using the Origin Energy of the Netherworld yet, so the residual effects coupled with the heavy blows he received here finally pushed him over the edge, and he fell over backward and fainted on the spot…
Xuanyuan Cheng: “…”
Tang Shiyuan: “…”
Da Bai and a certain monkey: “…”
“Mr. An’s Dao Heart is still not strong enough, it seems.
Isn’t this just a meeting with a woman he idolizes?
Does it really warrant such a strong reaction?” Xuanyuan Cheng shook his head and sighed in resignation.
Tang Shiyuan’s cherry lips were slightly agape and a light blush had crept onto her delicate features.
She did not expect An Lin to be so infatuated with her.
Through this episode… she could feel An Lin’s love and admiration!
… Amidst the darkness, an unknown amount of time passed.
An Lin slowly awakened, the first thing that entered his vision was Da Bai’s cute yet imposing face.
“How long was I out for?” He rubbed his eyes drearily.
“Only two hours, woof!” Da Bai scratched his huge head.
“Big Brother An, this isn’t like you, isn’t it just a meeting with a pretty female cultivator?
How were you thrilled to the point of fainting, could this be true love?”
True love?
True love my ass!
An Lin’s heart began to throb with pain again at the mention of Tang Shiyuan.
“Da Bai, don’t ever bring this up again and we can still be good friends.”
However, Da Bai continued despite An Lin’s words.
“I can’t do that, I’m afraid.
Xuanyuan Cheng told me before he left to take you to meet her once you woke up.”
An Lin’s eyes widened.
“Why would I want to meet her?”
Da Bai responded with a sly smile.
“Aren’t you interested in her?
At least that’s what Xuanyuan Cheng and Tang Shiyuan both think…”
An Lin clutched his chest; he could not handle it… his heart was beginning to throb with pain again.
… … On the Iridescent Cloud Peak, within a bamboo forest.
Tang Shiyuan was brewing some tea, her slim hands were nimble and clever, her movements smooth and unhurried, the whole process was a calming spectacle to behold.
An Lin sat opposite her in a chair, seemingly a little perturbed.
Tang Shiyuan smiled lightly at An Lin’s discomfort.
Who would have thought… that Mr. An was such a shy and pure little boy.
In reality, An Lin’s distress arose from his inability to think of a good way to inform Tang Shiyuan that he was not interested in her.
He could not be too blunt as that would hurt her feelings.
But then the question arose again, how could he put this delicately?
Tang Shiyuan: “Mr. An, do you like tea?”
An Lin shook his head solemnly.
“No.”
He finally figured it out.
He would use a lack of common interests as a way out!
If they had no common interests, the whole situation would become awkward very soon.
That way, Tang Shiyuan would become disinterested in him and he could happily make his retreat.
Genius!
Just as An Lin was praising himself for his quick thinking,
Tang Shiyuan’s eyes suddenly flashed upon hearing his words.
Mr. An… is such an honest person!
He did not flatter her just because the tea was personally brewed by her.
Instead, he stayed true to himself…
Such honesty and straightforwardness…
Tang Shiyuan did not get mad at all.
Instead, her interest was further piqued by An Lin’s attitude.
“Then, Mr. An, what are your interests and hobbies?”
An Lin continued with a serious expression.
“Dog-riding!”
Hehe, she would definitely be startled by such a weird hobby and then lose all interest in me.
Tang Shiyuan was indeed taken aback by this.
But she recovered very quickly.
“Are you referring to that cute white dog?
Mr. An must really like animals.”
Apparently, men who love animals are all very gentle and kind, Mr. An must be no exception to this.
An Lin winced as Tang Shiyuan became more and more absorbed into the conversation.
How had she not stormed off in rage yet?
Where was the awkwardness?
Could it be the execution of his plan was lacking?
Chapter 160: Flirting in The Bamboo Forest
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
“That’s right, I love animals, I’ve even got a cute pet monkey!” An Lin looked up towards the top of the bamboo shoots and shouted, “Xiao Chou, come here!”
There was a burst of rustling amongst the bamboo, immediately after which a little monkey fell from the sky and perched onto An Lin’s shoulder.
Its bulbous eyes, flat nose, imbalanced mouth, and various freckles combined in an adorably ugly package.
Xiao Chou displayed an ugly smile towards Tang Shiyuan before picking its nose in a vulgar display…
“Well done, Xiao Chou!” An Lin transmitted his voice to Xiao Chou in encouragement.
My unique hobbies and weird beauty standards would surely scare her away?
Looking at Tang Shiyuan’s widened eyes, An Lin felt like his plan was nearing success!
“For Mr. An to be able to coexist so happily with such an ugly monkey in this cultivating world, where looks are so important, this is truly a refreshing change.” Tang Shiyuan came to her senses as her eyes rippled with excitement.
She stared at An Lin with a light blush and whispered softly, “I had originally thought… that you were only attracted to my looks.
But it seems that you aren’t a shallow person that would judge a book by its cover.
So… just what about me has attracted you?”
An Lin was completely dumbfounded.
What the f*ck was going on with this romantic atmosphere!
How could his weird fetishes be interpreted like this?
What about you am I attracted to?
Can I say nothing?
No… she’d probably beat him to death!
An Lin shook his head and smiled.
“I’m not sure of it myself.
Perhaps it was only a split second of emotion, maybe these emotions will dull very quickly.”
That’s right, what a masterstroke!
I’ve made it abundantly clear that my interest was only piqued for some unknown reason during that split second, it’s not really any genuine interest!
Tang Shiyuan lowered her head at his words and her eyelashes trembled lightly.
She took a sip from her cup of tea but did not respond, seemingly deep in thought.
Just as An Lin thought he was about to succeed, Tang Shiyuan spoke again.
“A split second of emotion?
What an apt description…
“Love is exactly like this sometimes, you’re not sure when these feelings began and you don’t know when they will end.
Who would have thought Mr. An’s thoughts on this would be so congruent with mine.”
An Lin was dumbfounded once again.
What is even going on here…
Were they really on the same wavelength?
What the hell was that expression of approval on her face?!
“Mr. An, my master and his wife were Dao partners for six hundred long years, but they still split up in the end, do you know why?” Tang Shiyuan continued.
“Why, did one of them have an affair?” An Lin’s interest was piqued.
Tang Shiyuan shook her head.
“No, it was because my master’s wife fell sick one day and used a voice transmission talisman to inform my master, who was quite far away at the time, of her condition.
To this, my master replied and suggested that she drink some hot water.
And then they split up.”
“Pfff…” An Lin spat out a mouthful of tea.
“My master’s wife said that my master’s heart had already changed.
If it was in the past, he’d definitely come to her side at all costs and stay with her until she recovered.
But now, he was simply dismissing her by telling her to drink water, there was no love left in in the relationship.
“That’s the power of time.
“Mortals often dream of a happy relationship spanning a hundred years, but for cultivators like us, Dao partners can remain together for far longer than a hundred years.
“Their love may have been genuine in the beginning, but that love would slowly change with the passage of time.”
Tang Shiyuan raised her head wistfully into the sky.
“Just like the clouds in the sky, they once existed, but they would inevitably dissipate with time.
Just like what you said, no one can guarantee how long these emotions will last, perhaps they’ll slowly fade away at some point…”
An Lin could not help but wince at her words.
How did the conversation revert back to him, could it be the bullsh*t he spewed forth was actually unintentionally philosophical?
Tang Shiyuan’s thoughts seemed to be quite scattered and she was able to completely entertain herself with her thoughts alone.
On top of that, she also did not seem to know how to shut up…
“Mr. An, I feel like you’re different from all the men I’ve met before.
You’re straightforward, honest and you have love in your heart.
You also have some very similar opinions to myself on relationships…” Tang Shiyuan grew brighter and brighter as she spoke.
Even An Lin with his thick skin could not help but blush slightly at her compliments.
So it turned out… that he had so many merits worthy of praise?
“So…
Mr. An, I’ll allow it…” Tang Shiyuan tucked a few strands of wind-swept hair behind her ears before averting her gaze, seemingly a little anxious; even her voice had lowered to a soft whisper.
“Huh?” An Lin blinked in confusion.
Tang Shiyuan glared at him delicately.
“What I’m saying is…
I’ll allow you to pursue me!”
An Lin’s was dumbstruck yet again!
Holy f*ck, the situation was spiraling out of control, what could he do!?
“Ahem…
Tang Shiyuan, the path of cultivation is a long one, how about we start off as friends and if we really do like one another, I’ll pursue you then.” An Lin could only back down as he laid out the truth for her.
To his surprise, not only did Tang Shiyuan not get angry, a bright smile as moving and vibrant as a rainbow appeared on her face instead.
“Your shyness and introversion are actually traits that drew me in in the first place, so we’ll do as what you said.”
An Lin finally breathed a sigh of relief, it appeared that he dodged this bullet.
Thus, both of them made some conversation as friends and the atmosphere was still quite pleasant.
“Hmm, I have to receive my reward for the Inter-Sect Games from the Myriad Soldier Forest.” A thought suddenly occurred to Tang Shiyuan and she spoke excitedly, “I’m going to get an elementary rank spirit tool as well as an elementary rank protective spirit tool.”
“Huh, are you not only getting an elementary rank spirit tool and some spirit stones as prizes?” An Lin asked curiously.
Tang Shiyuan nodded.
“That’s correct, but I currently have over thirty thousand spirit stones, combined with the forty thousand I received from the Inter-Sect Games, I can trade for an elementary rank protective spirit tool.”
An Lin blinked blankly.
“Forty thousand spirit stone?
Wasn’t it… supposed to be twenty thousand?”
“Oh, crap…” Tang Shiyuan covered her mouth with her hand and a light blush appeared on her cheeks.
She knew she had slipped up.
An Lin stared at Tang Shiyuan in bewilderment.
Tang Shiyuan hesitated for a moment before finally confessing.
“You look like a reliable person, so I’ll tell you a little secret.
I’m not actually as weak as I appeared to be in the battle with Kuang Re…
It’s only that someone offered me twenty thousand spirit stones and I had very little chance of winning anyway, so, you know…”
Twenty thousand spirit stones…
Did An Lin know these tricks?
Of course, he was far too familiar with them!
He understood them so well that he wanted to cry!!!
An Lin was instantly shocked silent as his lips trembled, unsure of what to say.
Was he supposed to ask why she would be bought over by a mere twenty thousand spirit stones?
Or was he supposed to lament at how his hundred thousand spirit stones… was beaten by twenty thousand spirit stones!!?
He did not know why but he suddenly recalled something Earth Immortal Ming Yuan had said to him once.
“This… is all a part of fate!”
… An Lin and Tang Shiyuan bade farewell to one another.
He returned to his living quarters and began to ponder about life.
Tang Shiyuan earned twenty thousand spirit stones, Kuang Re earned fifty thousand, he lost 350,000…
He suddenly really wanted to cry!!!
