“Do you see the cultivator city outside the woods? There is a transportation array to Blackheaven Sect inside the city.” Qi Chengyu pointed to the road ahead.
After taking the beast pills and elixirs from Bi Hao, her injury had almost recovered. She had then immediately left the dangerous forest. Although she had originally intended to return to Ming Yin Mountain, the news brought by Bi Hao changed her mind. It was obviously not wise to bring Shen Ying along; however, she could not find it in her heart to leave Shen Ying to her own devices as she knew full well of the girl’s bizarre sense of road direction. She had thus changed her route at the last minute and came to this place close to an immortal city.
“All right, you can proceed from here. Go straight and you will enter the city. After that, walk down the main road to the end and turn right. You will see the transportation array.”
“Alright.”
“You be care-… Wait, where are you going? I said go straight, is that straight? No… why are you going to the right, the gate is over there. Come back!” Looking at the girl who got her directions mixed up immediately after going past a tree, Qi Chengyu had no choice but to go fetch her. “Are you blind? Look at the road! Hey, do you really want to go back or not?”
“I think… so?” Shen Ying cocked her head to one side, still wearing that nonchalant expression of hers.
Qi Chengyu was at a loss for words. What the heck does ‘I think so’ mean? Don’t all disciples of immortal sects regard their sects highly?
“Stay alert and keep your eyes on the road,” Qi Chengyu reminded her again. After some thought, she took out a small bag of spirit stones and handed it to Shen Ying. “Take this. Be careful on the road and don’t let other people cheat you.”
Shen Ying glanced at the heavy bag in her hand. Was she using this money to… buy her off?
“I have something to deal with, so having you come along will be a burden to me. Farewell and take care of yourself.”
“Hey…” Why did she get the feeling that this was a break-up fee? Raising her head, Shen Ying looked at the person in front of her. “You’re going to kill that man called Gan?”
“Yes, I am going to…” Qi Chengyu stopped mid-sentence, her eyes widening in surprise. “How did you… know?”
“It was obvious!” Ever since that lecher had given Qi Chengyu that news, her mind had not been on the task of roasting chicken the past few days which had resulted in a great drop in cooking standard.
“You’re right. I really am going to Sword Comprehension Peak!” Her eyes grew dark and she clenched her hands into fists. It was only after much effort that she managed to suppress the raging emotions inside her that were on the brink of erupting. Giving Shen Ying a smile, she said, “Since you have guessed this, you should know that I might not be able to return. So you will have to… look after yourself.”
“Do you need help?” Shen Ying suddenly asked.
Qi Chengyu laughed. “Help me? Are you saying that you, a Blackheaven Sect disciple, want to help a Fiendish Cultivator deal with a cultivator from an orthodox sect?”
“That’s right!” After all, I took your money.
At first, Qi Chengyu thought she was joking. But then she realised that Shen Ying was being serious. Her eyes immediately darkened. “Why? You have only known me for just a few days, and you also don’t know what kind of grievances I have with that person. Why do you want to help me?”
Well, we have been eating roast chicken together for so many days. “As to what grievances you have, I think I can guess it.” She suddenly sat down on the withered tree trunk next to her. “You being a Fiendish Cultivator has something to do with him?” Using her brains really was a chore!
Qi Chengyu expression grew darker and she clenched her hands tightly several times as if desperately suppressing something. Taking a deep breath, she looked at Shen Ying. She tried hard to smile but her trembling lips could not hide her bitterness. “It seems that during these past few days, your attention was not all spent on eating chicken. You have been listening to what I was saying.”
She sat down next to Shen Ying, the memories of the past misting her eyes, her eyes gazing ahead without focus. “Yes, my Golden Core was destroyed on that day, and I was imprisoned in a secret chamber by Yu Ding who used me as a cultivation sex slave. Later, I was even passed on to others like a plaything. It was all because of this person. The ridiculous thing is…” She paused, then her voice deepened as if she was talking through clenched teeth. “He was the one who led me onto the path of immortality, who guided my cultivation practice—he was my master and benefactor.”
She deliberately emphasized the last few words, her eyes instantly turning red. She smiled mockingly as she spat out the words, “A pure Yin body… just because he found out that I had the so-called pure Yin body, my benefactor and master felt he had the right to destroy my century-long worth of cultivation and personally send me to someone else’s bed, witnessing my humiliation for decades.” If she had not forced herself to become a Fiendish Cultivator, maybe she would still have been languishing in that hell!
“I have been looking for him for hundreds of years, just to repay this debt of ‘gratitude’.” Her expression turned grimmer and she seemed to be immersed in her thoughts, her eyes slowly taking on a frenzied look. “In these past several years, I have killed all those who tormented me, but he was the only one I couldn’t track down. I had been thinking day and night for a hundred years. If one day… if one day…”
“Let’s go.” Shen Ying suddenly spoke up, immediately interrupting Qi Chengyu in her madness. Patting her backside, she stood up and, still in that lazy tone, volunteered, “I’ll help you kill him!”
Surprised by Shen Ying’s offer of help, Qi Chengyu’s expression softened for a moment, then she laughed out, “You? Forget it! Save your little life to eat a few more roast chickens!” What could she do? She was just a mortal. “What kind of place do you think Sword Comprehension Peak is? It is the holy land of the Grand Vacuity Sect, the place where Soul Formation cultivators retreat to in order to gain enlightenment. Putting aside the fact that you are just a mortal, even if you were a Soul Formation cultivator, you wouldn’t meet their criteria for entry.”
It was rumored that Sword Comprehension Peak was built by a top sect of the Azure World and was the only place through which one could enter the Upper Azure World from the Middle Azure World.
“This is why Soul Formation Supremacies from the Three Sects Six Schools are the only ones who have the passage jade token, and only they can gain entry,” she explained earnestly. “Unless one has a passage jade token, otherwise…”
“Do you mean this?” Shen Ying suddenly pulled out a white passage jade token with the word ‘Enlightened’ written on it.
“…”
Huh! Huh? Huh?!!
Σ(°△°|||)
“You… how did you get this?” Qi Chengyu’s eyes widened in astonishment.
“Oh, it was given to me by, erh… a fellow from my hometown.” The temporary chef had forgotten to take the token back after showing it off to her.
With a look of disbelief, Qi Chengyu took the token from her and gave it a good look-over. It was a passage jade token, it was really a passage jade token of Sword Comprehension Peak! Upon probing it with her Spirit Qi, she could faintly see the word “Lonemoon” written on it.
However…
“This passage jade token is able to recognize its owner. If the token holder does not have the Spirit Artifact with them, they will still not be able to activate it…”
“Do you mean this?” Shen Ying suddenly pulled out a white jade flute.
Qi Chengyu: “…”
“The authenticity detector stone at Sword Comprehension Peak can recognize the Supremacy’s intrinsic Dharmic artifact.”
“Will this do?” She pulled out a fan.
Qi Chengyu: “…”
For a long while…
(╯‵□′)╯(┻━┻
I’m about to flip! How many items have you taken from this person!
“Can I ask a question?”
“What?”
“What grudges do you hold against this Lonemoon person?” How did that person’s intrinsic Dharmic artifact end up in your hands!
“…”
“Since you have all these items, you might as well ask the owner to come over as well!”
“As you wish.” Nodding, Shen Ying turned and looked behind her.
“What are you doing? Wait!” The next moment, Shen Ying had vanished from sight. All of a sudden, she had an ominous feeling…
Three minutes later…
“The person you want!”
A man clad in a blue gown over a white outfit was pushed over to her.