Chapter 13

Li Ruoshui remained silent.

She could find no trace of “revenge” in Yao Changliu’s clear eyes.

She rubbed her forehead and took the medicine Yao Changliu handed her, dispersing the foul odor lingering around her body. Glancing at the four people lying on the ground, Li Ruoshui asked, “How should we deal with them?” No sooner had she spoken than she viciously stomped on the daoist who had tried to cripple her arm earlier, grinding her foot until she had crushed his bones, finally venting her anger.

Yao Changliu had no deep grudge against the Empire. Li Ruoshui turned her head to look at Feng Qing, who hated the Empire’s daoists the most, as if silently asking for her opinion.

Feng Qing’s brows furrowed tightly. The Wind Moon Heartless Sect had a blood feud with the Empire, and the daoists despised each other, but on the surface, they had never truly clashed with swords. If they really killed Rong Ji and his group here, it would cause no small trouble later. She turned to Yao Changliu and asked, “Do you have any medicine that can make them demented?”

Yao Changliu hesitated. “That pill is too vicious…”

Feng Qing: “Do you have it or not?”

Seeing Feng Qing’s determination, Yao Changliu no longer made excuses. She nodded and said, “I do.” She took a pill bottle from her medicine pouch and tossed it to Feng Qing. Feng Qing caught the medicine and unhesitatingly stuffed the pills into the four daoists’ mouths. Whether they survived would depend on their own luck.

Li Ruoshui raised an eyebrow. “There’s still one left. With all this commotion, he hasn’t come out. Could he be at a critical point in his cultivation?”

Feng Qing: “We’ll know once we go and see.”

Leaving the four daoists behind, the three of them flew toward the Cinnabar Ore Vein. This vein had been discovered long ago, but it was still surrounded by vigorous wood qi on all sides, brimming with vitality and endless. As soon as they reached the inner perimeter of the vein, their qi channels expanded throughout their bodies, as if they were bathing in a spiritual spring.

“My cinnabar!” Li Ruoshui’s spirits soared, and she nearly rushed straight into the excavated cave.

Just as they arrived at the outskirts of the Cinnabar Ore Vein cave, a figure finally flew out—wearing a tall hat and wide belt. It was the Empire’s Dong Wang, Rong Ji. He had thought his guards could easily deal with the intruders, but they hadn’t returned or made a sound. His gaze swept over Li Ruoshui, Yao Changliu, and the others before settling on Feng Qing, and he grew wary.

Daoists from other sects could be tempted with treasures, but a sword cultivator from the Wind Moon Heartless Sect—that was extremely troublesome.

“Fellow Daoist, you—”

“Beat him!” Li Ruoshui didn’t stand on ceremony and shouted to Feng Qing. In truth, she didn’t need to urge her. Upon seeing the enemy, Feng Qing’s eyes turned cold, her killing intent barely suppressed. How could she miss such a rare opportunity?

Rong Ji was at the Heart Fixing Second Layer, and so was Feng Qing. As soon as their hands clashed, thunder snakes danced, and thunderclaps boomed. But Rong Ji was, after all, a noble scion of the Empire, carrying a magic treasure with him. Sensing something amiss, he sacrificed his magic treasure.

If he were alone, he couldn’t have guarded this Cinnabar Ore Vein in Azure Wood Canyon at all! The sword cultivator opposite him showed no mercy. If he suffered a heavy injury here, his two younger sisters wouldn’t avenge him—they might even take the chance to put him to death. With that thought, Rong Ji decisively abandoned the Wood Element Cinnabar and fled.

Though she had talked about beating a drowning dog, Feng Qing did not pursue the victory.

This was, after all, the Path of No Return, a training ground where they might encounter daoists from other sects who would meddle. Without absolute certainty of victory, chasing was just a waste of time. Her primary goal in coming to the Path of No Return was training; encountering Empire daoists was mere coincidence.

Li Ruoshui glanced at Feng Qing and said, “That Golden Core Cultivator will surely return to Azure Wood Canyon once he realizes he’s been tricked. We can’t stay at the Cinnabar Ore Vein.” Though she claimed the cinnabar was hers, Li Ruoshui wouldn’t occupy an entire vein like Rong Ji. She only needed enough to cultivate the Universe One Qi Palm. As for profiting from the cinnabar, she set that aside for now.

Feng Qing hugged her sword and followed Li Ruoshui’s footsteps, her interest waning. “Dig away.” The Empire’s daoists reminded her of the previous Sect Master. When she had first entered the Wind Moon Heartless Sect, she had actually had senior sisters. Her master, Bieli Yue, was the Sect Master’s junior sister and served as an Auxiliary Teacher in the sect. Their generation’s chief disciples were under the Sect Master, but after that upheaval, her senior sisters never returned. Even their faces and smiles had gradually blurred with the passage of time. The Empire had suffered heavy losses, and the two sides had formed a grudge, yet due to various constraints, they couldn’t simply fight it out.

“Fellow Daoist Feng Qing?” Li Ruoshui called out to her, her eyes showing a bit more concern.

“It’s nothing.” Feng Qing suppressed her melancholy, raised her brow, and smiled freely.

Li Ruoshui: “Then, we share what we find?”

Feng Qing: “I don’t need Wood Element Cinnabar.”

Li Ruoshui shot her a sideways glance. “I meant sharing in the digging of the cinnabar.” She and Yao Changliu were working hard, while Feng Qing stood by with her hands in her pockets—was that appropriate?

Feng Qing: “…You, the Shangshan—where exactly is the ‘good’ in you?”

Li Ruoshui pretended not to hear.

The cinnabar in the cave didn’t require much effort to mine. Rong Ji had already dug it out ahead of time to advance his cultivation, arranging it into a formation where he planned to sit and absorb the wood qi from the cinnabar. If there were no danger, Li Ruoshui would have liked to cultivate here directly, but to avoid the Empire daoists returning, she could only sweep the cinnabar into her Universe Pouch.

Li Ruoshui’s guess was correct.

The next day, the disheveled Rong Ji returned to Azure Wood Canyon.

By then, Li Ruoshui and her group had finished harvesting the cinnabar and found a valley blooming with exotic flowers and plants for cultivation.

“What do you plan to do next, Fellow Daoist?” Li Ruoshui asked. The three of them had teamed up by force; they didn’t share a common goal.

“Kill Ruin Spirits for training,” Feng Qing replied with a raised brow, then asked, “What about you?”

“The same.” Li Ruoshui nodded. “But now’s not the time.”

Yao Changliu murmured in agreement with Li Ruoshui.

Feng Qing looked enlightened. “Then you two cultivate in the valley first. I’ll hunt Ruin Spirits nearby.” Her sword needed to be honed through countless killings, different from Li Ruoshui and Yao Changliu’s dao arts.

Li Ruoshui said, “Good.”

Yao Changliu had no objections either. As a frail medical cultivator with little combat ability, and now having offended the Empire’s daoists, it was better for her to stick with Li Ruoshui and the others.

Having fought enemies together, they quickly settled on traveling together with a few words.

Feng Qing turned into a streak of escaping light and flew away. Li Ruoshui and Yao Changliu each found a suitable cave for secluded cultivation.

Vines hung down, and the valley overflowed with the fragrance of exotic flowers.

Feng Qing’s slaying of nearby Ruin Spirits was equivalent to protecting their cultivation.

In the cave, Li Ruoshui repeatedly studied the Universe One Qi Palm manual. The five elements originated from the primordial water of heaven’s one, cycling endlessly, transforming and giving birth through mutual promotion. But she had first obtained Wood Element Cinnabar. She had wanted to start with Water Element Cinnabar, but in this place full of dangers, she needed a dao art stronger than the Spring Breeze Rain Transformation Art. Fortunately, the manual didn’t require starting from the primordial water; the Universe One Qi Palm first cultivated the isolated five elements before unifying them.

Days passed with the sun rising and moon setting.

Before Li Ruoshui, the cinnabar harvested from the vein had now turned into a pile of waste slag. Strands of wood qi surged toward her body, wrapping her entirely in a pale green cocoon. After the last measure of cinnabar disintegrated into powder, the atmosphere in the cave changed again.

Seated within the green qi, Li Ruoshui seemed to transform into a vortex, drawing all the wood qi into her Law Aperture and refining it repeatedly. Slowly, a green palm materialized above her head, gathering like a cloud canopy. It pressed down, and with a boom, the stone wall crumbled like tofu, instantly shattered into rubble by a single palm.

Amid a series of crackling sounds, the dusty Li Ruoshui swiftly darted out from the cave mouth buried in falling rocks.

Feng Qing happened to return from outside and stared at Li Ruoshui, as if asking: What are you doing?

Li Ruoshui’s qi was at its peak, her mood exhilarated. She flashed Feng Qing a carefree smile, channeled the Universe One Qi Palm with full force, avoided Yao Changliu’s cultivation cave, and grabbed toward the snowy mountains in the west! Instantly, a massive white clump let out a thunderous roar, sliding down amid lightning and thunder, kicking up billowing snow dust everywhere it went.

Feng Qing rolled her eyes at Li Ruoshui, as if looking at a monkey.

Li Ruoshui ignored Feng Qing. She took out the Tianyan Mirror and messaged Chen Buyan: “Dear friend! I’ve entered the Universe One Qi Palm!”