Ch5 - I Want to Eat Him

Jiang Yinghe felt a trace of frost from the other’s words, which was unusual considering the normally even temper of his first disciple.

His gaze swept over the dark red traces on Li Huanhan’s body. Concerned, he sent out his consciousness only to find that the man’s cultivation was unharmed. He then said, “This is your shidi, Qin Jun.”

Li Huanhan strode to where the gray-haired youth was standing, an unspoken challenge in his eyes. He paused, and commented, “This Qin-shidi seems to be injured.”

He didn’t know why he said that. Before he got back, he thought that his injuries were unsightly. Even though they didn’t hurt, he wanted to hide them from Jiang Yinghe. But now, facing such a situation, he wanted Shizun to take a look at him.

The inner layer of the secret realm was a place few dared to tread. The news of him retrieving the mirror keystone has probably already spread like wildfire to the various major sects. But Li Huanhan didn’t care in the slightest about the opinion of outsiders, whether good or bad.

Yet at this moment, Li Huanhan could not control the desire to have Shizun’s focus on him alone.

Jiang Yinghe made a noise of agreement and began to explain Qin Jun’s origin while also performing a cleansing hand seal to clear the impurities on him. Then Li Huanhan turned to him and grasped his wrist.

Jiang Yinghe was startled. He felt an object being placed in his palm.

“There wasn’t anything too good in the Tai Xu secret realm.” Li Huanhan said casually, “I have tarnished it.”

In his palm was a mirror stone shaped like a piece of cold jade that had been woven into a sword pendant. It was stained with fresh blood. The ancient artifact radiated a freezing aura that suited his cultivation.

Jiang Yinghe was overwhelmed once he recognized what he had received, “Why did you enter the inner layer of the secret realm? You, you seem so down to earth usually. So why do something so reckless?”

He and Li Huanhan had been master and disciple for more than 60 years, so of course there was a strong bond between them. His first reaction was simple concern. “Do not be so hasty again Huanhan……”

Before Jiang Yinghe could finish his reprimand, Zhangmen-shixiong’s message talisman arrived and Zhou Zhengping’s voice rang out in the residence. “Jiang-shidi, come to Zheng Hua Palace. I have a matter to discuss with you.”

Jiagn Yinghe did not continue to admonish him afterwards, instead tightly clenching the stone in his hand. Glancing at Li Huanhan one last time, he said, “Your shidi has been corrupted by countless ghosts so his body is weak. I know that you are a kind person, so you should take care of him.”

Only after receiving a nod from his first disciple did he step out and transform into a light headed for Zheng Hua Palace.

After Jiang Yinghe left, there were only two people remaining on Qing Jing peak.

Li Huanhan’s blood-red eyes dimmed. He sat beside Qin Jun and glared at him, “Corrupted by countless spirits?”

Qin Jun licked his teeth and held his chin with one hand, showing off an arrogant smile, “Heavenly demon physique?”

The two people surprisingly had the same thought run through their minds: What a faker.

Li Huanhan extended his hand and summoned a crimson longsword. His friendly facade completely disappeared as he plunged the sword deep into the ground. He was radiating a killing intent filled with wrath from his entire body.

“You seem closer to the dead than the living, wraith. I’ll expedite your journey to the afterlife.”

The sword light was like a miniature sun made manifest. Qin Jun glanced at it and teased, “If I’m a wraith, then what are you? A demon that reincarnated into a human?”

With a bang, Li Huanhan’s sword split through the air and pierced Qin Jun’s body. The edge was positioned a hair away from his foundational core.

Yet Qin Jun did not move. He was a malicious spirit, so he could return no matter how many times his mortal form was destroyed. Even this core was just a replaceable part of his disguise.

The blood sword had opened a wound above his heart and was greedily consuming blood from the area. Li Huanhan stopped to gaze at him with suspicion, saying, “What are your intentions for approaching him?”

“I was just about to ask you the same thing.” Qin Jun raised a brow, acting as if they were just discussing the weather, “What’s a demon like you doing fooling around in a famously righteous sect like Peng Lai?”

The frost in Li Huanhan’s gaze remained impenetrable. He pulled out his sword, leaving behind a gaping opening that healed at a visible rate.

“……Wraith.” he warned with a glare, “If you dare to harm him, I will butcher you.”

It has been a long time since Qin Jun had been threatened like this. He even felt a long forgotten sense of malice from Li Huanhan.

This person was probably not just a reincarnated demon. His body has the familiar scent of heavenly lightning.

Qin Jun wiggled his eyebrows and smiled mischievously. “Well that’s too bad ‘cause I’m going to eat him.”

He watched as those blood-red eyes became even more sinister. A phrase came to mind, every treasure trove is guarded by vicious beasts.

To a ghost cultivator of his level, Jiang Yinghe was like a decadent pastry waiting for someone to bite into him and savour every last morsel.

And Li Huanhan, the vicious beast whose territory had been invaded, could no longer hold back his bloodlust.

—-

Zheng Hua Palace.

“Very few reside in the Frozen Plains, so it’s an ideal place to wait out the second heavenly tribulation of the Weakened Cave stage. You’ve prepared many years for this, so I trust that you have thought this matter through. The path of immortality is not always straight……”

Zhou Zhengping kept prattling on. For many talented individuals, the Weakened Cave stage was already the zenith of their accomplishments in this lifetime. Only Jiang-shidi could go even further beyond.

The purpose of this meeting was precisely to discuss where to draw out his second heavenly tribulation.

It was well known in Peng Lai that Xuan Wei Xianjun’s tribulation has been a long time coming. However, they also knew that it would probably proceed smoothly with how meticulous;y Jiang Yinghe was preparing ahead of time.

Jiang Yinghe, “Zhangmen-shixiong, I entrust my disciples to you while I enter seclusion.”

Zhou Zhengping grew silent, which was a rare occurrence. He thought about those two youths and his heart shook with a foreboding feeling. “……They are unusual talents. I doubt they need my guidance.”

Jiang Yinghe shook his head, “Although Huanhan did what was required of him on the expedition, he also showed the limitations of his maturity by entering the inner layer.”

Zhou Zhengping: “With his current level of skill he should be able to hold his own there.”

Jiang Yinghe sighed, “He took the ancient artifact that maintained the Tai Xu secret realm.”

“Oh…” Zhou Zhengping thought that he couldn’t be surprised by what that young man got up to anymore. Just after his absentminded agreement, the words ‘ancient artifact’ hit him. “Ah?!”

Secret realms were usually created with a precious keystone at their epicenter. People tended to leave them alone for two reasons:

“He actually got it?” Zhou Zhengping’s voice rose several octaves, “That child was sent to watch over his martial siblings, why did he destroy the secret realm?!”

Jiang Yinghe coughed, somewhat embarrassed, “En…He got it.”

“Li Huanhan has a fire attribute root, what was he thinking risking his life in that frozen place to get a bauble?” The location in question was not owned by Peng Lai but rather shared among many sects. Zhou Zhengping placed a hand on his chest and tried to regain control of his breathing. He felt his heart pressure rise. “Was it supposed to be a gift to his girlfriend so they could become cultivation partners?!”

Jiang Yinghe felt indignant on behalf of his disciple. How could he stand for Zhangmen-shixiong misinterpreting his respectful gesture as a frivolous fling? He said with some discontent, “Must it be for a woman?”

Zhou Zhengping’s eyes widened. He stroked his beard with a trembling hand, “What, your disciple gave it to a man?!”

Jiang Yinghe: “……”

Zhou Zhengping took his silence as agreement and slapped his own leg harshly. He muttered, “This will make us the laughing stock of the cultivation world. An entire secret realm gone, and all for a man……ain’t that a real hoot.”

Before he became a cultivator, Zhou Zhengping was a person from Zhong province. This was the first time in a very long while that his accent bled into his voice.

Seeing him getting further offtrack, Jiang Yinghe hurriedly interrupted, “Huanhan naturally gave it to me.”

Zhou Zhengping was shocked and his blood pressure went down too. “Why didn’t you say something earlier? Isn’t this a classic example of piety towards elders then?”

He took a sip of tea to calm himself and continued, “Alright. It’s just a case of your disciple being too overbearing without breaking any rules then. On the contrary, the other sects would probably be envious instead. In the coming days Yun Buxiu is exiting seclusion, so you can take the opportunity to go to the Thousand Miles Frozen Plains to overcome your tribulation.”

Yun Buxiu, entitled Qing Yan, was one of the three Zhenrens of Peng Lai sect. He went into seclusion 200 years ago to analyze a martial technique. He is the youngest of Jiang Yinghe’s generation and his shidi.

Jiang Yinghe slightly inclined his head. He was interrupted by a rumble that shook the entire Peng Lai sect. Zheng Hua Palace swayed, and their tea set fell to the floor and shattered.

Both of the elders present were stunned. They quickly went outside as streaks of light and stopped in midair to survey the origin of the impact. The first thing they saw was an entire section of the mountain peak falling from midair only to be severed by a sword strike.

Zhou Zhengping waved his whisk  and summoned a plane of green light to support half of the debris and gently lower it to the ground. There were already many disciples watching nearby having loud and vivid discussions.

He then turned to look at the stiff form of his Jiang-shidi, “Xuan Wei, I think part of your Qing Jing Peak just flew over.”

Jiang Yinghe watched expressionlessly as his home collapsed. Several possibilities flew through his head until he noticed the pair standing on the broken mountain peak.

At the same time, Zhangmen-shixiong’s wavering voice sounded from beside him.

“Xuan Wei, your disciples seem to be…” he thought for a minute and choked back his desire to say they were fighting to the death, “……exchanging pointers?”

Jiang Yinghe: “……”

Author’s Corner

All martial brothers should be like them. Getting! Along! Like! Friends!