IVYSCP - Chapter 61
Chapter 61
"Lu Yao! Focus!" Ye Luming frowned and called out a warning.
Lu Yao shook her head to clear her mind, forced herself not to glance into the distance, and tightened her grip on her sword. Before them stood a Black-Striped Tiger three times the height of a person. Its tiger eyes were wide with fury, enraged to the extreme.
According to the Ancient Yao Records, the Black-Striped Tiger was covered in black markings, with a distinctive black-gold pattern on its forehead. Three stripes marked the yao core stage, which counted as a minor yao beast, equivalent to a cultivator's Core Formation stage. The Black-Striped Tiger before them was at the yao core stage, its yao core already formed.
Lu Yao and Ye Luming had both just broken through into Core Formation. Taking on this Black-Striped Tiger together was not without hope, it all depended on how well they worked together.
Ling Qingyue and Pei Yin watched from a distance.
"Sect Leader Nie certainly has nerve, daring to send children who just broke through into this place. She knew we'd never stand by and let them die."
"Those two have the best aptitude among the recent disciples. Nie Wenxiao means to train them," Pei Yin said quietly.
Though Ling Qingyue had no fondness for their scheming, Nie Wenxiao had helped them many times. She was entangled with Piaomiao Sect now, and helping escort a couple of disciples was no trouble.
Ling Qingyue watched the pair leap and spring across the Black-Striped Tiger's body, sword blow after sword blow failing to wound the beast in the slightest, and clicked her tongue softly.
She did not intend to intervene, nor did she plan to tell them the Black-Striped Tiger's weak points. Only in true danger could a person's potential be drawn out to its fullest.
While keeping an eye on the distant battle, Ling Qingyue spoke quietly to Pei Yin beside her. "What did you talk about?"
On the other side, Pei Yin herself had already boarded the skyship bound for Shangtianqiong and was seated with Lou Wudu and Yue Shouming.
The attendants poured tea for the three of them. Lou Wudu looked at Pei Yin and asked, "I heard the Immortal Venerable visited the Yue Family a few months ago. Could it have been to check on a marriage prospect?"
Pei Yin had been deliberately watching Yue Shouming's reaction, and she did indeed catch something amiss. Yue Shouming looked utterly bewildered at their words, as if she had no memory at all of Pei Yin ever visiting the Yue Family.
Pei Yin tossed the question over with an even tone. "If Sword Venerable is so curious, why not ask the Hidden Moon Lord directly?"
Yue Shouming tapped her fingertip against the teacup wall and pulled her lips into a smile, a little helpless. "Senior Sister Lou has asked me before, but my body isn't all that reliable. I've forgotten many things. I honestly cannot recall when the Immortal Venerable ever came to the Yue Family."
Pei Yin raised an eyebrow slightly.
She didn't remember?
While keeping up appearances with Lou Wudu, Pei Yin relayed everything to Ling Qingyue.
Ling Qingyue clenched her teeth upon hearing it, a little angry. "Xiao Yue was used too."
Pei Yin lifted a hand and stroked her brow, saying softly, "At least she was only used to draw me in."
Ling Qingyue gave a cold huff, but inwardly she agreed.
The two figures in the distance were still locked in struggle with the Black-Striped Tiger. Ling Qingyue's mind began to turn over the real matter at hand.
She had come into the Ancient Yao Forest Realm for a bonding ceremony gift.
She had heard that within the Ancient Yao Forest Realm there was an ancient greater yao, a dream-eating tapir.
The Dream-Eating Tapir devoured dreams and wove dreams, mysterious and unfathomable.
If she was fortunate enough to encounter one this time, she wanted to use something from the Dream-Eating Tapir to craft a sleep-aid for Pei Yin. She had noticed that Pei Yin never slept deeply at night, even deliberately avoiding falling into deep slumber. Even after their spiritual communion, she always maintained a thread of light awareness.
Ling Qingyue had not asked why. She only secretly wanted to prepare something to help her sleep a little better.
But the Dream-Eating Tapir was an ancient greater yao. She had only heard rumors of its traces in the Ancient Yao Forest. She had no idea whether it still existed.
Just as she was thinking this, the sounds of battle in the distance suddenly stopped.
She lifted her gaze. Lu Yao and Ye Luming had been forced back several meters by a blast of sword qi. The Black-Striped Tiger, already utterly exhausted, collapsed with a thunderous crash. On top of its head stood a woman in blue-green robes, with her fellow sect members behind her, no more and no less than exactly ten.
Lu Yao was panting heavily, most of her spiritual energy spent, furious beyond measure. "That's ours!"
"Oh? We clearly killed this Black-Striped Tiger together. The killing blow to the forehead was my sword wound. Does Piaomiao Sect think that having an Immortal Venerable gives them the right to be this domineering and unreasonable?"
As the woman's words fell, the crowd behind her chimed in. "Exactly! Why should you say it's yours? We're the ones who killed it!"
Ye Luming's face had flushed red with fury. She clenched her sword and shouted back, "You! You're the ones turning things upside down!"
The woman looked down at them from above, her expression mocking. Just as she opened her mouth to speak again, a bolt of sword qi sliced across. Startled, she had to twist sideways to evade it. In the next instant, a fierce kick landed on her lower back, sending her body flying straight down.
The spiritual energy throughout her body seized up. Panicked, she lifted her eyes toward her sect members, hoping they would catch her. But the whole group stood there like wood, utterly motionless, watching her crash face-first into the ground.
Her forehead struck a rock dead-on. Warm blood streamed down her face. The pain made her dizzy, her vision swimming. She hastily fed herself a few medicinal pills. The pills melted the instant they entered her mouth, and her sight slowly cleared. She looked up. Standing atop the tiger's head was someone smiling cheerfully.
The person held her sword, leaning forward slightly to look down at her. She reached out and tapped the Black-Striped Tiger beneath her feet. "This one is mine."
"You!" Han Yan scrambled to her feet and raised her sword at her. "I'm the one who killed it!"
Ling Qingyue let out a soft "oh." Then she drew her sword and carved a small cut into the tiger's head. Pointing at the cut, she said, "Now I'm the one who killed it. See, this is my sword mark."
That was the exact line the woman had used moments ago.
Han Yan's face shifted between blue-white and red.
"Also..." Ling Qingyue stretched out a finger and pointed at the Qiankun Pouch at her waist. "Those three yao cores are mine too. You stole my things."
Han Yan: "..."
"Utter nonsense!"
Han Yan was livid. She tapped the ground with the tip of her foot, launched herself into the air, and flew at her with her sword.
"Lu Yao. Ye Luming." Ling Qingyue raised a hand and pulled both of them over through the air. "Here's a better training partner."
Fighting a cultivator of the same level was far better than fighting a yao beast.
Lu Yao and Ye Luming were already simmering with anger. Now facing Han Yan, both struck with ferocity and viciousness, far more committed than they had been during their tangle with the Black-Striped Tiger.
Ling Qingyue withdrew back to Pei Yin's side and asked, "What sect are they from?"
Given the current situation, no one should have dared to provoke Piaomiao Sect.
Pei Yin studied the ritual robes the group wore and said quietly, "Not among the Seventy-Two Sects."
If they weren't among the Seventy-Two Sects, then all the more reason not to offend Piaomiao Sect.
Unless...
Cui Heng was behind it.
Ling Qingyue's gaze darkened. Suddenly, the Piaomiao Sect's emblem blazed to life in the distant sky.
One, two, three... a full six of them!
Aside from the group here, every other Piaomiao Sect disciple was in danger!
Ling Qingyue was about to move when a hand pressed down on her shoulder. A formation sprang up beneath her feet.
"Don't move. I'll go."
Ling Qingyue grabbed hold of her, displeased. "One person won't make it in time."
Pei Yin met her eyes, then gave a slight nod.
The two of them split up, heading in opposite directions.
Ling Qingyue followed the direction of the lit emblems and found the one closest to her. She discovered the disciple surrounded by a group of people. Blood was already visible on her body, but her gaze remained unyielding. If she had not been driven to the breaking point, she likely would not have crushed her jade token.
Seeing that the group was still trying to break through the barrier to strike, fury rose in Ling Qingyue's heart. Her sword left its sheath. Her figure swept through the crowd like a ghost.
In the blink of an eye, swords and blades clattered to the ground, and wails filled the air.
Those people had not even seen how she attacked. By the time they registered what happened, their hands had already been crippled.
The young disciple inside the barrier was no longer afraid. Her mouth hung open in shock. She had not seen clearly what just happened either.
Ling Qingyue flicked her wrist lightly to shake the blood from her blade. A streak of blood instantly appeared on the ground, this was a habitual gesture of hers.
She walked up to one of them and asked with a blank expression, "Cui Heng told you to do this?"
The person was so terrified her whole body trembled. She stammered out, "N-no, she didn't."
Ling Qingyue smiled a little. The tip of her sword lifted the person's crippled hand. She leaned close to her ear and whispered, "If you don't tell the truth, I'll kill you."
The body before her went limp instantly and dropped straight to its knees. Words tumbled out in a jumbled rush. "Yes, yes, it was Cui Heng who told us to do this. She told us to work together and kill the Piaomiao Sect disciples. One dead disciple for ten thousand spirit stones."
"Spirit stones. Hand them over." Ling Qingyue extended a hand.
The group hastily surrendered their Qiankun Pouches. After exchanging glances, they scrambled and crawled away in flight.
Ling Qingyue gathered all the spirit stones in one place and tossed them to the disciple behind her. "These are all yours now."
At their current cultivation level, entering the secret realm for a trial run would never yield anything particularly good. Now she had gained ten thousand spirit stones. This was a profit.
Worried those people might return to seek revenge, Ling Qingyue did not send her ahead to find Lu Yao. Instead, she took her along to find the remaining disciples.
In the direction Ling Qingyue had gone, there were three disciples. The situation was the same for all of them, each surrounded by a crowd. Fortunately, before they set out, Nie Wenxiao had feared something might go wrong inside the secret realm and had added barriers to the disciples' jade tokens. Otherwise, this secret realm would have become these disciples' burial ground today.
By the time Ling Qingyue returned with the others, Lu Yao and Ye Luming had already subdued their opponent, bound her up tight, and given her a vicious beating. As for the woman's sect members, Pei Yin had long since restrained them with a formation. They could not even move.
Seeing only Lu Yao and the others, Ling Qingyue was a bit surprised. She was the first one back?
"Lu Yao, search her Qiankun Pouch. There should be ten thousand spirit stones in there. You and Ye Luming split them." After Ling Qingyue finished speaking, she saw Han Yan's eyes go wide and amended herself. "See what's in there. Split all of it."
Didn't they say Piaomiao Sect was domineering and unreasonable? Then she would let them see what domineering and unreasonable truly looked like.
Lu Yao stared at her blankly. After a moment's hesitation, she nodded hard. "Alright!"
"There's a formation barrier here. Do not leave it." After saying this, Ling Qingyue left three more sword qi traces behind, then rode her sword and flew off toward the direction Pei Yin had taken.
Fortunately, she had instructed the disciples earlier not to wander too far. She followed the emblems to find them. Three disciples were trapped inside a formation, one that Pei Yin had set up.
The disciples grew agitated the moment they saw Ling Qingyue and scrambled to their feet.
"Elder!"
"Elder Ah Xi!"
Ling Qingyue sensed something was wrong. If there had not been an emergency, Pei Yin would not have trapped them in a formation.
"Where is... Ah Si?" Ling Qingyue asked urgently.
A disciple pointed in a direction, her tone frantic. "It's Cui Heng! She wants to kill Senior Sister Ah Si!"
Ling Qingyue's expression changed drastically. She could spare no time for further words. Her figure transformed into a streak of light and shot off in pursuit.
Outside the secret realm, aboard the Shangtianqiong skyship.
Pei Yin gripped her teacup tightly, silent for a long while.
Lou Wudu wore a faint smile at the corner of her lips and asked, "Why has the Immortal Venerable's breathing suddenly become so erratic?"
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