Chapter 382 Li Longling, Sky-Splitting!
“Longling, the Hehuan Sect’s Bewitching Technique will transform the caster into the person they trust the most. If it’s a father, they will transform into their child. If it’s you, you’ll likely see your father.”
Li Longling leaned into his embrace, pursing her lips as she pondered for a moment before saying, “Then, as long as I constantly remind myself that he’s fake, I won’t fall for it, right?”
“That’s the principle, but like many principles, it sounds simple and easy to understand, but it’s very difficult to do in practice. When you meet her, don’t hesitate for even a moment. I’m not asking you to defeat her; I just need you to hold her off…”
“Mm…”
“Also, Lu Meimei’s Natal Spirit Weapon is a long whip, fifteen feet in length. You are neither a sword cultivator nor a body cultivator, so do not engage in close combat with her.”
… …
That night, in the private room of Youzi Residence, as she leaned against Ye Anping’s chest, the words he spoke instantly replayed in Li Longling’s mind.
Through the eyes of the Fire Phoenix, she looked at Ye Anping before her. Li Longling pursed her lips slightly. She hadn’t realized before that Ye Anping had long surpassed her father in her heart. So much so that even the Bewitching Cultivator would transform into Ye Anping’s appearance, voice, and scent…
She stuck two Fire Element Talismans from her sleeve onto “Ye Anping’s” face, and Li Longling leaped back quickly, her small hands in her wide sleeves forming a Sword Finger, held before her chest: “Summon!”
With a command, on the yellow talismans stuck to the sides of “Ye Anping’s” cheeks, the totem instantly manifested a vibrant fiery spiritual light.
Boom—
The blaze ignited by the two talismans instantly filled the semi-enclosed cave, spewing out from the entrance like an erupting volcano, spitting out a fire dragon.
However, the next moment, an icy blue spiritual light flashed, clearing all the smoke and dust from the cave. Ye Anping, standing at the cave entrance, now had the skin of half his face turned into a skeletal visage with flesh and blood clinging on, his teeth exposed. He clutched his face with his left hand in apparent pain, while his right hand held a Mysterious Ice Spirit Sword. He looked at Li Longling, who was rapidly distancing herself, with a hint of innocence in his eyes.
“Longling, it’s really me… It hurts so much… Lu Meimei hasn’t arrived yet. Longling, you’ve fallen for the Bewitching Technique!! Wake up quickly!! It’s me… your Anping!” The pained shouts echoed through the cavern.
However, Li Longling showed no mercy, mumbling, “Cannot hesitate.”
Then, she waved her sleeve and flung out several more talismans towards the man she trusted most, shooting towards him and carving fiery red streams of light in the air.
Seeing that Li Longling had not yet fallen for the trick, Lu Meimei could no longer wait. Every talisman in the girl’s hand was an upper-grade talisman, almost all of them near the level of Spirit Treasures. Each strike was equivalent to the full power of a False Core stage cultivator. While they might not pose a significant threat to Law Cultivators, Sword Cultivators, or Body Cultivators of the same realm as her, she was a Bewitching Cultivator of the Hehuan Sect! Bewitching Cultivators were skilled in seduction, sowing discord, gathering intelligence, and causing enemies to fall into mental confusion and fight amongst themselves during chaotic battles. They were not meant for one-on-one duels. If she had reacted a breath slower and not protected herself with spiritual energy, the two talismans stuck to her face by that brat would have been enough to burn off her delicate skin.
Lu Meimei was well aware that in terms of physique and the amount of spiritual energy in her Golden Core, she was completely inferior to Sword Cultivators, Body Cultivators, and Law Cultivators of the same realm. But that was only limited to the same realm. The brat before her was merely a junior cultivator in the Mid Foundation Establishment stage!
Lu Meimei’s bewitching fox-like eyes widened sharply. Gritting her teeth, she drew a silver long whip with countless barbs from her Storage Bag: “You brat!! You refuse a toast only to be forced to drink a forfeit!!”
She bent down and flicked her wrist. The tip of the whip, a long cone, instantly transformed into a whistling projectile, shooting towards Li Longling’s throat as she leaped backward into the air.
However, Li Longling, having calculated the distance, suddenly pushed off the ground with her toes, stopping her movement. Her hand formed a Sword Finger before her chest. “Summon!”
The talismans she had thrown earlier erupted in flames, engulfing Lu Meimei, who stood in place, while the long whip she had swung stopped precisely five inches from Li Longling’s neck.
“Exactly fifteen feet… Anping was right.” Murmuring, Li Longling once again summoned several talismans from her sleeve, condensing the spiritual energy within her body onto the talismans’ diagrams.
However, the next moment.
Lu Meimei protected herself with her own spiritual energy. With her Core Formation Stage cultivation, she directly withstood the fire wall formed by the talismans and stepped forward, forcefully swinging her wrist. The long whip, which had stopped before Li Longling’s throat, continued to thrust forward.
Li Longling had no choice but to temporarily set aside the talismans in her hand and dodge to the side.
Swish—
The silver whip tip grazed the hair behind Li Longling’s ear. Seeing this, Lu Meimei smirked slightly and twisted her wrist. The silver whip, which had just passed by Li Longling’s ear, bent into a “U” shape in mid-air, wrapping around from behind her and landing on her right shoulder, aimed at the Fire Phoenix’s… well, intending to give its digestive system a good workout.
The Fire Phoenix reacted quickly, twisting its head to see the whip head attacking from behind. Li Longling calmly took a Thunder Talisman she had prepared and stuck it to the side of the whip near her cheek, crouching down simultaneously.
Zzzt—
The Thunder Talisman exploded in a flash of white light, transforming into a lightning snake that swiftly spread along the path of Lu Meimei’s long whip towards her right hand, which was holding it. Lu Meimei reacted extremely quickly, immediately smashing the silver long whip towards the ground. Upon contact with the cave floor, the lightning snake coiled around the whip was instantly drawn into the ground, causing countless molten rocks to splash upwards.
Boom—
At the same time, Li Longling seized the opportunity to leap another ten feet in another direction. Lu Meimei did not pursue. Instead, she quickly reeled the thrown long whip back to her side, looking at Li Longling, who was now almost leaning against the cave wall, with her alluring fox eyes.
“Heh…” After a cold laugh.
Swish—
The sound of tearing fabric rang out. A large hole was torn in the sleeve of Li Longling’s left shoulder, and a horrifying, bleeding wound appeared on her exposed smooth left shoulder. In contrast, although Lu Meimei had directly endured so many talismans from Li Longling, only her robes were slightly damaged, and her cheeks had a minor burn. It was not easy for a Foundation Establishment cultivator, even with so many high-grade talismans, to break through the protective spiritual energy of a Mid Core Formation cultivator. Conversely, a Mid Core Formation cultivator could inflict bone-deep lacerations on a Foundation Establishment cultivator with just a casual whip strike.
Lu Meimei looked at Li Longling, who was leaning against the cave wall, and laughed, “This is the first time I’ve seen a cultivator like you, who is clearly blind, yet possesses such perception and reaction speed. If you had dodged any later just now, your left hand would have fallen off.”
“… …”
Lu Meimei’s gaze shifted to the Fire Phoenix on Li Longling’s right shoulder. “I was right, you’re using this damn bird to see, aren’t you?”
Li Longling hid her hand behind her back, frowning as she replied, “No comment.”
“Such an unlikable girl.” Lu Meimei spread her hands and said with a smile, “You called me Anping just now; is he your Cultivation Partner?”
“…”
“I promise you, after I cripple both your arms, I will find your Cultivation Partner and enjoy your… tender flesh with him!!!” With a roar, Lu Meimei’s right hand wielding the long whip began to dance wildly.
Birds have the strongest visual acuity among all living beings. In their eyes, even arrows appear as slow as caterpillars. Li Longling relied on the Fire Phoenix’s excellent vision to track Lu Meimei’s hand movements and predict the trajectory of her long whip. She bit her lip slightly, watching the long whip swing towards her shoulder. Her left hand formed a Sword Finger, sticking a talisman onto the whip’s path.
Clang—
The collision of paper and iron whip actually produced a sharp sound of blacksmithing. Lu Meimei was instantly surprised upon seeing this. This brat had actually used a Vajra Talisman to block her whip. Such reaction speed and control over talismans far surpassed ordinary Mid Foundation Establishment Law Cultivators. At least in her memory, hardly any Law Cultivators could do this. To stick a Vajra Talisman onto her whip at the moment it was about to land on her, and simultaneously mobilize spiritual energy to activate the talisman, required precise timing. If the timing was off, even by a little, both the talisman and her fingers would be sliced in two by her whip.
“… …”
Lu Meimei was astonished by Li Longling’s actions, but in the end, it was merely a flashy, superficial cleverness. So what if she blocked her whip with a talisman? A mere Mid Foundation Establishment Law Cultivator, even if she stood still and let the brat hit her, the brat might not even be able to harm her core.
Clang—
The instant the whip was deflected by the talisman, Lu Meimei twisted her body and continued to swing the long whip.
Clang—
Clang, clang—
Each time, Li Longling blocked it with a talisman held by her fingers. The gale force created by the whip whistled within the cave. With each blacksmithing sound, sparks and indentations appeared on the cave walls beside and behind Li Longling. Lu Meimei calmly watched Li Longling leaning against the wall and asked, “Quite impressive, but…”
Whoosh—
As Lu Meimei spoke, her eyes, which had been fixed on Li Longling’s face, suddenly shifted to the Fire Phoenix on her right shoulder. Simultaneously, the movement of her right hand, which was swinging the long whip, suddenly paused. Seeing this through the Fire Phoenix’s eyes, Li Longling couldn’t help but bite her lip. She quickly raised a Vajra Talisman, but perhaps due to the sudden change in rhythm…
Swish— Clang—
“Ying—!” Fiery red feathers fluttered. With a sharp cry, the pointed tip of Lu Meimei’s long whip pierced directly through the Fire Phoenix’s chest, pinning it to the rock wall behind from Li Longling’s shoulder. Li Longling’s vision showed her own back, then slowly darkened, finally becoming pitch black.
Whoosh—
The sound of air being cut through came from her ear. She bit her lip slightly, sticking a Vajra Talisman onto her left arm before her, but the next moment, she felt a sharp pain in her shoulder and her feet left the ground.
Boom—
Her right shoulder seemed to have collided with the rock wall… She must have been flung out. Relying on her hearing to determine direction, Li Longling confirmed that Lu Meimei’s position had shifted approximately thirty degrees. In other words, she had been flung about twelve feet by that whip.
“Can’t see now, can you?” A teasing voice came from afar. Li Longling bit her lip, roughly calculating an imprecise map of the location in her mind. Lu Meimei was to her right, about fifteen feet away.
“Anping…”
“Mm? Thinking of your Cultivation Partner to save you now?” Hearing her muttering, Lu Meimei retracted the long whip that was pinning the Fire Phoenix and said with a smile, “By the way, can you still cry even though you’re blind? Go on, cry~ Sister loves comforting people. Tell me, how many of you came? What is your Cultivation Partner doing?”
Li Longling calmly replied, “He’s gone to kill a Demonic Cultivator named Wu Tianci.”
“Oh? Junior Brother Wu? He’s quite difficult to deal with~ Junior Brother Wu is, after all, one of the top Core Formation Body Cultivators of the Tian Mo Sect. It seems your Cultivation Partner won’t live to eat your flesh with me.”
“You won’t be able to eat it either…”
Leaning by feel towards Lu Meimei, who was walking towards her, Li Longling subtly flicked a Sword Finger hidden behind her back. The Fire Phoenix, which had only a breath left, struggled and spread its wings.
Ying—!!
The Fire Phoenix’s sharp cry, imbued with spiritual power, reflected multiple times in the already semi-enclosed cave, causing the rock surface of the ceiling to directly form cracks. Lu Meimei immediately covered her ears, turning her head in astonishment towards the Fire Phoenix, while bloody stains seeped from Li Longling’s ears as she sat on the ground.
Rumble—
The two Fire Element Talismans Li Longling had previously placed at the cave entrance instantly detonated, blasting countless gravel that directly blocked the entrance, while simultaneously raising a large amount of smoke, turning the interior of the entire cave into a lightless secret chamber. Hearing the commotion, Li Longling quickly got up and fled in another direction.
Lu Meimei, having lost her vision, heard the sound and immediately lashed out with her whip.
Bang—
The sound of rock walls shattering. The long whip missed. Lu Meimei frowned slightly, dismissing Li Longling’s tactic with disdain. She could guess that the girl intended to seal off her vision and hearing. But, even so, what could she do? A Law Cultivator who only had talismans could not break through her protective spiritual energy. Moreover, she could use her Spiritual Sense to locate Li Longling.
“Brat… what other tricks do you have?” Lu Meimei lightly furrowed her brows, releasing her Spiritual Sense to probe Li Longling’s location. To her surprise, she found that Li Longling was standing only three feet behind her.
She no longer wanted to play with Li Longling and immediately twisted her body, swinging her whip with all her might, intending to split the blind girl in half from her forehead.
Whoosh—
The iron whip shot vertically towards where she sensed Li Longling. But…
Clang—
Sparks from the collision of metal illuminated the dark cave for a brief moment. Lu Meimei initially thought the girl had gotten lucky again and blocked her iron whip with a Vajra Talisman, but this brief flash of light revealed a serene blue sword blade that looked like clear water. Li Longling, relying on her senses, blocked the long whip falling from above with her spirit sword, then crouched down, stepping forward, and grasped the sword hilt with both hands.
Swish—
A serene blue glow flashed. Lu Meimei felt a sharp pain in her chest, as if she had eaten something bad, and something was rising into her mouth from her stomach. She gritted her teeth and immediately swung her long whip.
Whoosh—
Swish—
Li Longling felt her left shoulder being pierced halfway by something, but she gritted her teeth and, without hesitation, slashed with the sword hilt in her hand. Then, holding the sword with her right hand, she wielded it backward according to the Sword Art her father had taught her. She couldn’t see Lu Meimei’s position, nor could she hear her at this moment, but the spirit sword in her hand conveyed the sensation of cutting flesh.
Swish—
“You!!! Ah—”
Swish—
“Where did you get that sword?! This sword… ah…”
Swish—
“You blind girl ahhh!!! What is this sword?”
The sounds of flesh being cut echoed, accompanied by indistinct shouts. She knew Lu Meimei seemed to be saying something, but she couldn’t hear it. With the final move of the Sword Art, Li Longling’s spirit sword grazed Lu Meimei’s neck. Only then did she finally reply: “This sword is called Sky-Splitting. It’s the spirit sword my father, Li Feng, left for the future Mansion Lord of Chi Long Mansion!!” As her words fell, the blade also sliced across Lu Meimei’s neck, and Li Longling lost the strength to hold the sword hilt. The Sky-Splitting Sword was tossed away by her, embedding itself into the rock wall.
The next moment—
Plop—
Li Longling fell forward, feeling herself land on something soft and squishy. Sensing that this soft, squishy thing was growing cold, she felt a sense of relief and relaxed her body: “Anping… I told you, I’m not a vase, hehe…”
… …
