The Violetstage Peak armory was filled with a dazzling array of spiritual pills, weapons, and cultivation techniques recorded on jade slips.
High-quality cultivation techniques were recorded on true-intent jade slips. A cultivator could place a slip against their forehead to comprehend the techniques and insights recorded within.
True-intent jade slips could only be used once and were thus extremely valuable. Without the peak master's permission, disciples were not allowed to touch them.
Pills were classified as supreme, superior, middle-grade and inferior. In recent years, as Violetstage Peak had failed to win any honors in the sect trials and grand competitions, the sect had allocated a limited number of pills, with superior and supreme-grade pills being especially rare.
Oh well, he thought indifferently. The new generation of disciples on Violetstage Peak were a mixed bag. They didn’t even have a single heavenly spiritual root among them. Giving them high-grade pills would be like feeding pearls to swine.
Li Lanxiu walked into the armory, followed by two beautiful maidservants. He casually strolled through the armory, occasionally taking a cultivation technique from the shelves and tossing it to his maidservants.
He stopped in front of a tightly closed iron door and said, "Open it."
The steward obediently took out a key and opened the treasure room. As the lights came on, the room was filled with a brilliant glow and overflowing spiritual energy. It housed true-intent jade slips and superior and supreme-grade pills.
Li Lanxiu selected two true-intent jade slips, one for a cultivation technique and the other for a sword technique. He casually grabbed three bottles of supreme-grade pills that ordinary disciples could only dream of and tossed them to his maidservants.
His gaze fell on the weapons rack. Most cultivators used swords, as swordsmanship was considered elegant and suitable for both cultivation and demon slaying.
But machetes were associated with killing, and their heavy killing intent was detrimental to cultivation, so few cultivators used them.
Li Lanxiu picked up a sword from the rack and weighed it in his hand. None of them felt quite right; they were either too light or too heavy. "Are you going to practice swordsmanship, young master?" Miaosu asked curiously.
Li Lanxiu shook his head with a smile and put the sword back on the rack. He took out a handkerchief to wipe his hands. "Take all of this back."
The steward took a pen and ink and began to record the pills and cultivation techniques that Li Lanxiu had taken. The higher he wrote, the more his eyebrows rose.
The high-grade cultivation techniques and pills that Li Lanxiu had taken were meant for cultivators at the peak of the Foundation Establishment stage. It was clear that he wasn't taking them for himself. Which disciple was so lucky to receive such favor at the peak of the Foundation Establishment stage?
Just as Li Lanxiu was about to leave the armory, a messenger disciple arrived in a hurry and whispered to him about the incident that had occurred in the outer sect, including the elder's "false accusation."
Upon hearing this, Li Lanxiu raised an eyebrow slightly. Chu Yue's cultivation speed had exceeded his expectations based on the original story. It seemed that it wouldn't take more than a month for him to reach the peak of the Foundation Establishment stage.
He could guess the reason. As a prince reduced to slavery, the pride of a son of destiny could not be so easily trampled upon. He had turned his humiliation into motivation.
But he was very satisfied with Chu Yue's reaction. He was smart and knew who the real master was. Good dogs never bite their masters.
In the original story, Chu Yue had forged his first sword himself. He had found a piece of soul-devouring crimson iron in the sect market and forged it into a precious sword. This sword had accompanied Chu Yue through most of his cultivation journey before eventually being destroyed.
Now Li Lanxiu planned to reward Chu Yue with this sword.
Elder Su of the Discipline Hall had been in closed-door cultivation, and all matters in the hall had been left to his deputy. When he finally emerged from seclusion, he was struck by a bolt from the blue.
A few days earlier, Master Li had sent someone to deliver a letter. Since Elder Su was in seclusion, the letter had not been delivered to him.
When he finally opened the letter, he was stunned to see the words, "Letter of Divorce."
This marriage was a deal that Elder Su had negotiated with great difficulty. Years ago, Master Li had saved his life, and feeling indebted, he had promised to marry his precious daughter to Li Lanxiu, forming an alliance with the Li family.
Elder Su immediately went to Violetstage Peak. Li Yanbi, being a polite man, offered him tea and the two old friends had a long conversation. But Li Yanbi remained firm in his stance. Marriage couldn't be forced, and Elder Su had to return home disappointed.
He returned to his cave dwelling and pushed open Su Shiyan's door. Su Shiyan was sitting in the room, a book in her hand. She stood up and nodded when she saw him, "Father."
Elder Su sighed, his brow furrowed as he looked at her. "Shiyan, how is your cultivation going?"
Su Shiyan put down her book. "Everything is going smoothly. Father, there’s no need to worry."
Elder Su nodded, hesitated for a moment, and finally asked, "I was in seclusion a few days ago. A letter came from Violetstage Peak. Do you know about it?"
Su Shiyan nodded, "I saw the letter. It was from Master Li."
Elder Su sighed and handed her a letter. "This is the letter from Master Li."
Su Shiyan took the letter and read it carefully. A joyful expression appeared on her face. "This is... a letter of divorce?"
"Yes," Elder Su replied with a bitter smile.
Su Shiyan's heart felt light. She finally showed a rare smile. "Thank you, Father."
"You should thank Lanxiu," Elder Su sighed. Even after hearing Li Yanbi say it himself, he still found it hard to believe. "It was Lanxiu who took the initiative to ask to break off the engagement with you."
Su Shiyan was startled. She suddenly turned her head and glanced at the copper mirror on her dressing table. She transmitted her voice with spiritual energy: "You really did scare him."
Elder Su seemed to have thought of something else. Looking at her, he asked, "You met that young man in Wei City a while ago, right? The one named Chu Yue? I heard he's becoming quite famous in the outer sect."
"Chu Yue? In the outer sect?" Su Shiyan, who had been in closed cultivation, was completely unaware of what was happening in the sect.
Elder Su said meaningfully, "Lanxiu recommended him to the outer sect. I heard he reached the ninth level of Qi Refinement in just ten days. He's truly a natural talent."
Su Shiyan snapped out of her shock and glanced at the copper mirror. She transmitted her voice through spiritual energy. "You said he was bold, but you must have scared him badly."
Otherwise, why would Li Lanxiu recommend Chu Yue to the sect?
Elder Su looked her up and down and smiled meaningfully. "If you like him, bring him to meet me. Now that you're free from your engagement, you can..."
"Father," Su Shiyan interrupted him, her expression serious. "While he is indeed a rare talent, now that I have regained my freedom, I only wish to focus on my cultivation."
Elder Su had nothing to say.
Su Shiyan saw Elder Su off and returned to her room, sitting in front of her dressing table. She gently touched the copper mirror, and ripples appeared on the surface. The reflection showed a watery landscape, with a white dragon resting in a river.
She waved the divorce letter at Bai Ying, "Thank you, Bai Zhenchuan. Li Lanxiu has annulled the engagement, and Chu Yue is safe."
Bai Ying's blood-red eyes flickered, and they nudged their nose into the water. "Let me see your divorce letter."
Su Shiyan held the divorce letter up to the mirror, her joy uncontainable. "If it weren't for you using an illusion to shock him, how could he have so easily agreed to the annulment?"
"He was so afraid of you, he not only released Chu Yue but also recommended him to the sect. You really scared him..."
Bai Ying stared at the divorce letter line by line, their gaze fixed on the date. They pursed their lips, and the soft tentacles at the corners of their mouth curled up. "You shouldn't thank me, you should thank Li Lanxiu."
Su Shiyan paused, looking at them, puzzled.
Bai Ying narrowed their eyes, and the expression on their face, obscured by their snow-white fur, was difficult to read. "Before I created the illusion, he had already decided to annul the engagement."
Su Shiyan looked at the date. She remembered receiving this letter early that morning from Violetstage Peak, but Elder Su had been in seclusion, so she had only seen it now.
"He... he initiated the annulment himself. It has nothing to do with you," she murmured.
Bai Ying was silent for a moment, then slowly said, "Not only that, but the matter of Chu Yue is also unrelated to me."
Su Shiyan understood. She bit her lip and asked in confusion, "But why...why did he do it then?"
Bai Ying's massive dragon tail swished in the water, and their vertical pupils narrowed into dark slits. "Because he isn’t repulsive, but on the contrary, rather appealing."
"Appealing?" Su Shiyan was stunned, staring at Bai Ying incredulously.
Bai Ying's blood-red eyes held a hint of amusement as they said happily, "It seems I did scare him. Otherwise, why didn't he explain anything in the illusion?"
Su Shiyan deeply agreed. She had known Bai Ying for many years, and even so, when she faced Bai Ying up close, the instinctive fear of a great demon deep within her soul persisted.
Even someone with a heavenly spiritual root felt this way, and Li Lanxiu's cultivation base...his fear would be even greater.
Bai Ying was silent for a moment, then suddenly chuckled lightly. "I should go see him again and apologize."
"Apologize?" Su Shiyan's expression cracked, unable to imagine Bai Ying apologizing to anyone.
Bai Ying's forked tongue, as red and thick as a snake's, flickered over their sharp teeth in a sinister and eerie way. "His skin is so soft and smooth, and he smells so good, from head to toe. He must be... delicious."
Su Shiyan knew that they would eat a few evil people as food, but hearing them say this still made her hair stand on end. Li Lanxiu certainly didn't deserve such a fate.
"Are you really going to eat him?" she asked seriously.
Bai Ying let out a deep, guttural sound, as if swallowing. "Hmm? I misunderstood him, so of course I have to apologize properly."
Su Shiyan suddenly felt a little sorry for Li Lanxiu.
Although Bai Ying was a great demon, they cultivated Daoism just like her and rarely showed their demonic nature. If not for their appearance, she could almost forget that Bai Ying was a deep and unfathomable demon.
But now, Bai Ying's demonic nature was fully on display.
BAI YING GONNA EAT LANXIU IN ANOTHER WAYYY
ReplyDeleteThanks for the new chapter 🥺❤️
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