Free Web NovelChapter 352: Chapter 231: Eliminated Early
’This is fine too. My body is full of Demonic Techniques, and using them would expose me. It’s actually convenient to use this Daoist identity to stir things up a bit.’
Qin Xuan secretly activated his Positional Divine Technique, [Yu Fu Yao].
A formless, intangible aura, one that transcended the life hierarchy of this world’s Demon Beasts, silently enveloped the Poisonous Flood Dragon.
The Poisonous Flood Dragon’s ferocious momentum instantly faltered. Its movements slowed by a fraction, and a flicker of instinctual, bloodline-deep fear flashed in its eyes.
To outsiders, however, it looked as if Lin Feng was fighting a fierce battle against the Poisonous Flood Dragon, holding it firmly in check.
Finally, Lin Feng executed an exceptionally exquisite "Wind and Thunder Strike." The sword light, wreathed in the power of wind and thunder, accurately pierced the Poisonous Flood Dragon’s Reverse Scale.
"ROAR—!"
The Poisonous Flood Dragon let out a mournful, piercing cry and crashed to the ground.
Lin Feng deftly carved out the Poisonous Flood Dragon’s Inner Core, which shimmered with a faint blue, watery light. Without a second glance, he turned and presented it to Qin Xuan’Er, his polite demeanor tinged with a hint of apology, as if to make amends.
"Miss Qin, this item is of no use to me. You cultivate a Water Element Technique, so perhaps you can comprehend the Water Rhyme within it."
Qin Xuan was slightly taken aback, but then accepted it gracefully. He offered a charming smile, "Thank you, Fellow Daoist Lin."
But this scene held a completely different meaning in the eyes of the others.
Zhao Yan’s face turned ashen. The flames in his hand flickered erratically as he snorted, "Hmph, what a suck-up!"
He felt that Lin Feng’s action was a clear attempt to curry favor with the powerful, deliberately trying to ingratiate himself with "Qin Xuan’Er" because of her status as a Daoist.
The other Female Cultivators, like Liu Yiyi, had complex expressions in their eyes.
Leng Ningshuang showed open contempt, while Muuu Yu seemed lost in thought, though both were likely cursing him internally.
’This Lin Feng looks so clean-cut and righteous, but to think he’s just another social climber. Fawning over a Daoist the moment he sees one... how shameless!’
After that, Qin Xuan’s life in the Water Mirror Palace became much easier.
Vice Palace Master Zhong Ling began to guide him more frequently, and resources were also skewed in his favor.
A crowd of male cultivators also came around often, trying to win his favor.
However, Qin Xuan remained stern and unapproachable toward the advances of Zhao Yan and the other male cultivators. He accepted all their Magical Treasures and Spirit Stones but always maintained a physical distance.
In contrast, his attitude toward some of the Female Cultivators was gentle, and he would even occasionally offer them a few pointers on Water Magic.
This starkly different behavior inevitably led to new misunderstandings.
’Miss Qin accepted my one hundred mid-grade spirit stones! She must be interested in me!’
Some male cultivators were ecstatic. Sometimes, the more distance Qin Xuan kept from them, the more they believed he was just trying to avoid gossip.
Even some of the more quick-witted Female Cultivators seemed to have an "epiphany."
They began trying all sorts of ways to curry favor with this newly popular, suspected Daoist.
That night, as Qin Xuan was meditating in the Sacrificial Garden Quiet Chamber, a gentle knock came from the door.
He opened the door to find Liu Yiyi.
Liu Yiyi’s pretty face was slightly flushed, her eyes darting away shyly. In her hands, she held a peculiar Jade Pestle-shaped Spiritual Artifact, about a foot long and a lustrous white.
A spiritual glow swirled around it, and faint ripples of water seemed to flow across its surface.
"Sis... Sister Xuan’Er."
Liu Yiyi’s voice was as soft as a mosquito’s buzz, tinged with shyness. "I recently obtained a treasure, an excellent Magical Artifact that helps channel one’s Water Spirit Vein... I thought you must be working hard on your cultivation, so... maybe... maybe you could use it..."
Her voice grew quieter as she spoke, her cheeks blushing so red they looked as if they might start bleeding.
Qin Xuan froze for a moment, but seeing Liu Yiyi’s demeanor, he understood instantly!
Qin Xuan smiled faintly and pulled Liu Yiyi into the room. "Junior Sister Liu... you’re too kind. This item... I’m not particularly fond of it. I prefer a different method..."
As he spoke, Qin Xuan leaned in and whispered in her ear, his warm breath brushing against Liu Yiyi’s cheek.
Hearing his words, a flicker of surprise and bashfulness crossed Liu Yiyi’s eyes. She shot a quick glance at Qin Xuan, then turned her head away and murmured, "Sister, you’re too... too naughty. I shouldn’t disturb your meditation."
But despite her words, Liu Yiyi showed no sign of leaving.
Qin Xuan roared with laughter. With a single shake, he transformed into a dashing, romantic-looking male cultivator and pulled her into his arms.
Liu Yiyi cried out in surprise. Like a startled fawn, her eyes shimmered as she went limp in Qin Xuan’s embrace.
「...」
「Meanwhile...」
While Qin Xuan was in the Water Mirror Palace, happily dealing with his "Peach Blossom Tribulation" and forgetting all about returning home, Wei Qingyi, far away in the Cyan Wood Valley, was in for a world of hurt.
To ensure the smooth progress of the Cyan Cloud Sect’s Daoist’s mortal trial...
...in addition to the Cyan Cloud Sect’s Nascent Soul Peak Cultivator, Beidou Shichen True Monarch, Daqian had also dispatched two Nascent Soul Daoist Monarchs as reinforcements.
One was a newly promoted Daoist Monarch, an Early-stage Nascent Soul Cultivator, King Zhenyue, Li Chongshan.
The other was the Vice Director of the Imperial Observatory, a Mid-stage Nascent Soul Daoist Monarch whom Qin Xuan had met several times, Su Xiaotai.
The three Nascent Soul Daoist Monarchs were currently sitting together, discussing how to protect Ye Qingxuan.
"According to Elder Lin’s wishes, I am to patrol the Cyan Wood Valley?"
Li Chongshan, dressed in a Qilin Martial Robe, said with a frown, "Is this not a gross misuse of talent, just to deal with three minor Purple Mansion cultivators from the Blood Demon Sword Sect?"
Li Chongshan was tall and imposing with a resolute face. The murderous aura emanating from him made it seem as if he had just walked out of a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood, yet he appeared exceptionally righteous and incorruptible.
He thoroughly disliked such rule-breaking matters.
"Fellow Daoist Li, though you are only at the Early-stage Nascent Soul, your defensive Earth Element Divine Techniques are astonishing. Xuan’Er is the last direct disciple of my lineage. Only with you standing guard can we deter the petty demons of the Demon Sect and put my mind at ease."
"After this is done, I will owe you a favor."
Beidou Shichen True Monarch spoke softly, his face veiled in a hazy starlight, his aura as deep as an abyss and as vast as the sea.
Merely standing there, he seemed to have merged with the very laws of heaven and earth.
"This... Elder Lin, you are too kind. I shall naturally do my utmost." Li Chongshan rose, bowed, and saluted solemnly.
[Beidou Shichen Daoist Monarch]’s real name was Lin Ruyuan. He was the "Elder Lin" Li Chongshan spoke of, and besides the current Sect Leader of the Cyan Cloud Sect, he was the Great Nascent Soul Cultivator most likely to break through to the level of a Venerable Divinity Transformation.
A favor from him, even if not quite equal to an imperial edict from His Majesty, was not far off!
"Then, according to Elder Lin’s wishes, I am to go to the Water Mirror Palace?"
Su Xiaotai, dressed in the crimson official robes of a golden pheasant, asked politely while holding his Celestial Star Instrument.
"Correct!" Lin Ruyuan nodded slightly.
"Very well." Su Xiaotai agreed solemnly. Awkwardly, however, he waited and waited, but Lin Ruyuan never mentioned owing him a favor as well.
Just a moment before the three were about to depart...
...Lin Ruyuan was suddenly struck by a whim. He pinched his fingers together in a quick divination, and his brow furrowed slightly.
"Something is wrong... There’s something strange about the Cyan Wood Valley!"
Lin Ruyuan immediately changed his mind. "Fellow Daoist Li, you go patrol Hundred Refinement Mountain. I will go to the Cyan Wood Valley myself."
Although Li Chongshan and Su Xiaotai were surprised, they did not dare to question him. They bowed and accepted the new orders.
"We obey the Daoist Monarch’s decree."
「...」
「Cyan Wood Valley, Outer Marketplace.」
Wei Qingyi was walking cautiously along the edge of a medicinal field, secretly circulating his Poison Skill to absorb the Poisonous Fiend from a hundred-year-old "Bone-rotting Spirit Flower" to aid his cultivation.
He believed his disguise was flawless, undetected even by the Cyan Wood Valley’s Foundation Establishment Steward.
Suddenly, an indescribably terrifying pressure, as if the entire sky were collapsing, descended upon the whole of Cyan Wood Valley without any warning.
The sky instantly darkened, not by clouds, but by an endless expanse of astral projections.
The Big Dipper hung high above, casting down a cold and majestic radiance.
Wei Qingyi’s entire body went rigid. He felt his blood freeze, his Magical Power stagnate, and even his thoughts grew sluggish.
He struggled to raise his head, only to see a Nascent Soul Dharma Aspect, wreathed in the light of a billion stars, standing with its hands clasped behind its back high in the sky.
It was none other than Beidou Shichen Daoist Monarch, Lin Ruyuan!
Lin Ruyuan’s gaze, like two tangible beams of starlight, swept over every inch of the Cyan Wood Valley before finally locking onto the medicinal field where Wei Qingyi was hiding.
"Such dense Demonic Qi... To think a remnant of the Blood Demon Sword Sect is hiding here!"
Lin Ruyuan’s voice was flat, yet it carried the thunderous fury of the heavens.
His vast Divine Sense spread out like mercury flowing across the ground. In front of such a being, Wei Qingyi’s carefully crafted disguise was as fragile as rice paper.
PFFT—!
As if struck by a heavy blow, Wei Qingyi violently spat out a mouthful of blood. His disguise instantly shattered, revealing his true appearance.
He felt as if his very soul was about to be crushed by this pressure, and his heart was filled with utter terror.
’How can this be? Didn’t the Ancestor use a Secret Technique to perform a divination before I left? He said the journey would be thrilling but not dangerous!’
’What on earth went wrong... Why would a Nascent Soul Peak Daoist Monarch show up in person?!’
Scared out of his wits, Wei Qingyi almost instinctively burned his Essence Blood, transforming into a foul-smelling streak of bloody light to flee!
"The light of an ant, and you dare act so presumptuously?"
Lin Ruyuan didn’t even use a Magical Treasure; he merely flicked a finger.
A speck of starlight shot from his fingertip. Faint at first, it instantly transformed into a beam of Star Sword Qi that streaked across the sky.
It ignored the distance, appearing directly in front of Wei Qingyi’s Escape Light!
"NO—!"
Wei Qingyi roared in despair, feeling the lethal aura of death.
At that critical moment, an inconspicuous cyan Jade Pendant on his waist suddenly exploded.
A solid illusion of a Cyan Snake roared into existence, blocking the Star Sword Qi.
BOOM!
The Cyan Snake illusion was instantly shredded by the Sword Qi, but it neutralized most of its power. The residual Sword Qi still struck Wei Qingyi viciously.
CRACK!
His Protective Demon Treasure shattered. Wei Qingyi’s chest caved in, countless meridians throughout his body snapping, and he fell from the sky like a broken sack of cloth.
His aura instantly weakened to an extreme, and he was left hanging on by a thread.
"Hm? A Life-Substitute Soul Jade? Wei Jieyue’s handiwork?"
Lin Ruyuan raised an eyebrow, about to deliver another finger strike to finish off this fiend for good.
"Beidou... do not harm my disciple!"
In the distant sky, a monstrous wave of Demonic Qi erupted, tearing through the starlit pressure.
A massive, green-scaled Giant Python Dharma Aspect appeared, stretching across the sky.
Wei Jieyue stood barefoot atop the Cyan Snake Dharma Aspect’s head, high in the Nine Heavens, the Soul-Catching Golden Bell tied to her ankle jingling.
"If it’s just you, you won’t be able to take this little one away," Lin Ruyuan said, shaking his head.
High in the firmament, the head of the Big Dipper suddenly flared with brilliant light.
Tian Shu, Yangming, the Greedy Wolf!
BOOM!
A dazzling beam of starlight descended, surging with killing intent. Wei Qingyi felt as though he were being crushed by a million murderous wills.
Even Wei Jieyue didn’t dare to face it head-on.
She summoned a Blood Banner and barely managed to block a fraction of the starlight’s aftershock, but blood still trickled from the corner of her mouth.
Lin Ruyuan was rather surprised. He chuckled softly, "Little girl, you’re quite impressive."
The next moment, the second star lit up!
It resembled a broad greatsword, overflowing with Sword Qi.
Wei Jieyue’s expression was one of absolute terror. At the critical juncture, a blood-red Flood Dragon illusion tore through the void, transforming into a Blood Robe Elder with an ancient, austere face.
Wei Jieyue shouted, "Elder Ao, save me!"
"Mm."
Ao Lie nodded slightly. With a light point of his finger, the blood-red Flood Dragon Dharma Aspect surged, and all the starlight in the sky dissipated into nothing.
"Beidou, this boy’s fate is not to die today. Give me some face and let him go."
Lin Ruyuan was stunned, instantly recognizing Ao Lie’s identity, his expression one of astonishment.
"Elder Ao, you’re no longer bound by the curse? You can walk freely now?"
Ao Lie laughed heartily. "You needn’t worry yourself with this matter. We will meet again."
Before his voice had even faded, Ao Lie tore open space, grabbed the dying Wei Qingyi, and vanished over the horizon.
Wei Jieyue let out a long sigh of relief and quickly followed, making her escape.
Lin Ruyuan did not give chase, only shaking his head.
"What a stubborn old coot."
His gaze once again swept over the now-clear Cyan Wood Valley, his tone indifferent.
"Clean this up. If any more traces of demons are found, everyone in the Sect, from top to bottom, will be killed on sight."
Below, the Cultivators of the Cyan Wood Valley who had narrowly escaped death were already pale with fright. They all fell to their knees, kowtowing and agreeing profusely.
"We obey the Daoist Monarch’s decree!"
Poor Wei Qingyi, the biggest victim of this whole affair.
Although he was lucky to have kept his life, his Dao Foundation was severely damaged, and not even a tenth of his Cultivation remained.
He had been eliminated from the Demon Child trial before it had even truly begun.
