“Who are you?” Jiang Huai asked curiously.
“Ji Qingluo. My incompetent younger brother encountered the spirit beast beside you before and mentioned it to me. He said that this snake demon was holding your Yening Sword. He thought the snake demon had mistakenly snatched your Yening Sword and wanted to get it back for you.”
“So that’s how it is,” Jiang Huai said with a look of sudden realization.
“As a cultivator from the Eastern Region, I’ve long heard of your great name, Brother Jiang. Seeing you today, you indeed have an extraordinary aura. I wonder if your cultivation has truly been crippled as rumored?”
“You guess?” Jiang Huai winked at him.
Ji Qingluo was rendered speechless.
These pleasantries were merely for show. The Qin Uncle standing beside him was a guardian, similar to the gray-clothed cultivator beside Ji Qingchen, who had suppressed his cultivation to protect him. Uncle Qin’s cultivation was even higher. At the eighth level of Nascent Soul, he could practically walk sideways within Dragon Burial Valley. This allowed him to enter the First Area with a Foundation Establishment cultivation and compete for spirit treasures with these late Nascent Soul rogue cultivators.
He was so covetous of the three high-grade Heaven-tier spirit medicines Jiang Huai had taken and Bai Li beside Jiang Huai that he was almost driven mad. However, seeing Jiang Huai’s calm and indifferent demeanor, he was filled with apprehension, unsure whether to make a move and test him.
After all… Jiang Huai was too calm.
It was impossible that he didn’t know everyone was watching him closely, that he was already a prey at the center of the hunt. Yet, the expression on his face remained so calm and indifferent.
“Is there anything else? If not, I’ll be going,” Jiang Huai said with a smile.
“Brother Jiang, wait a moment,” Ji Qingluo called out to Jiang Huai again. “I’ve long heard that your sword techniques are unmatched in the Eastern Region. I was absent from the Eastern Region Grand Competition a few years ago and have heard your name for a long time. Seeing you today, I feel a surge of eagerness to spar with you. Would you grant me this opportunity?”
“You want to steal my spirit medicines?” Jiang Huai tilted his head, looking innocently at Ji Qingluo.
“Brother Jiang, you jest again.”
“You want to steal my spirit medicines, but you’re also wary of what other means I might have, so you’re hesitating and trying to probe, but you’re also afraid of me. Yet, the thought of those three spirit medicines makes you unwilling to give up, right?”
Jiang Huai had seen through Ji Qingluo’s intentions clearly. Ji Qingluo still tried to maintain a pretense of righteousness, “How could that be? If Brother Jiang is worried about these things, then after we leave, we can have a match with our elders as witnesses.”
“Alright, we’ll talk about it then. Is that all?” Jiang Huai turned to leave again. Ji Qingluo’s eyes shifted, constantly weighing the pros and cons. His cultivation journey had always been stable, rarely requiring him to take risks. Now, an opportunity for a huge gamble was before him, yet he hesitated, afraid to plunge in.
Fortunately, a moment later, someone beside him stepped onto the gambling table for him.
Jiang Huai had only taken five steps when a flying sword suddenly shot from behind him, aiming straight for his neck. Jiang Huai seemed unaware and didn’t even turn his head. In everyone’s eyes, the flying sword directly severed Jiang Huai’s head, and blood splattered everywhere.
That’s it?
Ji Qingluo was stunned and turned to look at the late Nascent Soul rogue cultivator not far from him.
It was him who had made the move. After all, those three spirit medicines Jiang Huai had earlier made it difficult for him to suppress his greed. Thus, he had quietly unleashed his flying sword to test the waters. But he seemed surprised too. He had been ready to flee immediately if this sneak attack failed, but who would have thought Jiang Huai’s head would just fall off like that?
“It’s fake,” Uncle Qin whispered into Ji Qingluo’s ear, signaling him not to act rashly.
The rogue cultivator rushed forward almost instantly, wanting to snatch Jiang Huai’s Storage Ring. But the moment he got close, Jiang Huai’s corpse, as seen by the crowd, suddenly vanished, and the splattered blood disappeared without a trace. When he reappeared, the Yening Sword in his hand pierced the rogue cultivator’s chest from behind. The rogue cultivator’s eyes widened in disbelief. As he looked down, he saw the tip of the sword being pulled out, and his body slumped powerlessly to the ground before quickly falling silent.
When everyone saw Jiang Huai’s head severed, it was naturally an illusion created by Jing Hua. Ji Shi Zhenren had given him many pills to nourish his soul, and his soul power had recovered by forty to fifty percent, which was enough to deceive Nascent Soul cultivators.
Jiang Huai lightly shook the blood off the sword tip and looked at the rogue cultivator’s corpse. He turned back and smiled, “Is there anyone else who wants to steal my spirit medicines? You can try now, but I’ll warn you, I won’t hold back. Whoever comes, dies.”
At this moment, a cold glint flashed in his eyes.
The blood flowing from the rogue cultivator’s chest quickly stained the ground red. Jiang Huai waited for about five breaths. No one stepped forward. So, he gently took Bai Li’s hand and left.
Ji Qingluo looked up at Uncle Qin. Uncle Qin hesitated for a moment and said, “His soul is very strong, but he truly has almost no spiritual qi. The strike that killed that rogue cultivator relied on physical strength and the sharpness of the Yening Sword.”
Ji Qingluo looked up at Uncle Qin, “Uncle Qin, what do you think? Should I gamble?”
He was different from his incompetent younger brother. Ji Qingchen treated Uncle Li beside him like a lowly slave, but Ji Qingluo had always treated Uncle Qin with respect and admiration. Uncle Li was old and could at most reach the tenth level of Void Refinement. He had little hope for achieving the Dao in cultivation and enjoyed young boys. Ji Qingchen had found many young boys for him as playthings.
Uncle Qin had also explored many secret realms with his father and was knowledgeable. He naturally had more experience than Ji Qingluo. He had always had a very good relationship with Uncle Qin. Uncle Qin knew that he would never be free in this life, and since Ji Qingluo treated him well, he had wholeheartedly assisted him.
Ji Qingchen trusted Uncle Qin immensely. Even the slave imprint between them had been modified to be particularly weak. Even if Ji Qingchen died, Uncle Qin would not suffer the backlash of the slave imprint too severely.
“That is ultimately your decision, Young Master. I am merely your sword. If you order me to act, I will try to lock onto his aura and launch a surprise attack with one strike. The path of cultivation is full of countless opportunities. If he only had those three spirit medicines, I don’t think you need to take this gamble, Young Master. But the snake clan with dragon qi beside him is a truly priceless treasure. A snake clan with dragon qi might only need a hundred years to cultivate to the Eighth Realm, but due to the slave imprint, she can only serve you, her body will be the best dual cultivation medicine.”
Jiang Huai had not gone far. Ji Qingchen gazed at Jiang Huai’s retreating figure for a long time and finally sighed.
“Forget it. I always feel… he is so fearless because he has his reasons. I won’t take this gamble this time. After we leave Dragon Burial Valley, Uncle Qin will immediately use a secret technique to have my father come to the outskirts of Dragon Burial Valley.”
“Alright,” Uncle Qin nodded gently.
He also breathed a sigh of relief. For some reason, looking at Jiang Huai’s fearless demeanor earlier, he, like Ji Qingluo, felt a sense of inexplicable unease.
***
Jiang Huai and Bai Li began to wander around the First Area.
Not all precious spirit medicines in the First Area were guarded by ferocious beasts. There were also some special spirit medicines that ferocious beasts disliked the smell of. Since the medicinal materials were useful, Jiang Huai and Bai Li picked up some bargains.
This was by far the easiest time they had exploring a secret realm. The ferocious beasts in the First Area ignored them completely, as if they were strolling through their own vegetable gardens. Jiang Huai picked several special medicinal materials, saving them for future research and refining.
The harvest from this trip was substantial. Not only did they find the Dragon Blood Spirit Flower, but they also acquired two more Heaven-tier spirit medicines and the magnificent Hongmeng Life and Death Sword technique. Bai Li had also transformed from a snake clan member into a Dragon Lady. By all accounts, it was a fruitful trip, leaving them full and satisfied.
The only regret was that only that rogue cultivator dared to draw his sword against him earlier. Otherwise, Jiang Huai had been ready to test the power of the Hongmeng Life and Death Sword. The Hongmeng Life and Death Sword was the culmination of Ji Shi Zhenren’s lifelong understanding of the Sword Dao, and Jiang Huai had already grasped some of its intricacies.
When drawing his sword, he could expend his lifespan to gain power. The sword’s intent could even damage the opponent’s soul.
He could also augment his lifespan by killing his opponents and absorbing their lifespan through the sword’s intent. After cultivating the Hongmeng Life and Death Sword, Jiang Huai could vaguely sense that his maximum lifespan was one hundred and twenty years. However, after killing the rogue cultivator earlier and absorbing his lifespan, his lifespan had increased to one hundred and eighty years.
The maximum lifespan of a Nascent Soul cultivator was around five hundred years. He had killed a Nascent Soul cultivator and gained sixty years of lifespan. Although the consumption was significant, it was still incredibly heaven-defying.
Thinking of this, Jiang Huai suddenly slapped his own head hard.
Damn it. He had subconsciously thought, “What if those rogue cultivators had all attacked me?” Then he could have tested how much lifespan he could gain from four Nascent Soul cultivators. According to the inheritance memory from Ji Shi Zhenren, the lifespan gained decreased progressively. He estimated that killing four late Nascent Soul cultivators would give him about two hundred years of lifespan in total.
Wicked. He shouldn’t think like this. The more he thought about it, the more wicked it became. “Jiang Xiaohu, if you become an evil cultivator, Chu Xianning will be the first to kill you in the name of justice.”
Wait, the thought of the setting is actually quite compelling. Instead of the master-disciple angst originally planned for A Mumu, let’s write it as the Master being a righteous immortal fairy who loved her direct disciple as her own. After raising him, the Master was gravely injured and dying. So, the disciple secretly embarked on the path of an evil cultivator to seek a method to extend the Master’s life. He had been secretly sacrificing the blood essence of millions of mortals to refine a spirit medicine for the Master until she finally recovered. The Master, unaware of his methods for refining medicine, finally let go of her reservations about a forbidden relationship between master and disciple after the near-death experience and prepared to grow old with him.
But the fact that the disciple was an evil cultivator was eventually exposed, and he was not tolerated by the world. The disciple had not told the Master that the pill that extended her life was refined with mortal blood essence. The Master, unaware of this, hunted down her rebellious disciple. After finally killing him in the name of justice, she discovered that the disciple had intended to merge his fragmented soul to prevent her from accessing his memories. She forcefully kept a part of his fragmented soul, and from his memories, she discovered that the rebellious disciple had planned to die by her hand all along, wanting to bury this secret forever so that the Master would not feel guilty and distressed. He only wished for the Master to live a good life, and for that, he was willing to kill everyone in the world, even if it meant becoming a ghost and being reviled by the world.
Thinking about it makes it so angsty! Let’s write it like this! It’ll be a success!
No, Chu Xianning would probably be unhappy if she saw this. Let’s think of something else… Evil cultivators are too wicked, and perhaps some readers won’t like it. It might lead their cultivation path astray.
Jiang Huai could only regretfully cast aside the little wicked thoughts in his mind.
