As if having long foreseen this, Xiao Qingxuan’s originally exhausted eyes instantly blazed with sharp, brilliant light.
She spat out a pale sword Qi from her mouth, shooting it directly into the forehead of the “Ye Luqing” in her arms.
In the end, the sword Qi was a step faster. The moment the pale, small sword entered “Ye Luqing’s” Spirit Palace, the sharp blade in the blue-haired girl’s hand clattered to the ground.
“Ugh…”
“Ye Luqing” immediately pushed away from Xiao Qingxuan, stumbling backward before tripping and falling to the floor.
“Really, what a troublesome brat…”
The blue-haired girl’s body instantly collapsed, transforming into a wisp of blue smoke. Between the dispersing and gathering mist, the smoke churned and roiled before re-condensing into a human form.
It was a petite girl with short white hair. A pair of red eyes stared at Xiao Qingxuan, a hint of annoyance in their gaze.
Beyond that, the most striking feature was on her taut, firm, fair lower abdomen: a pink sword mark flickered faintly, radiating a familiar aura that Xiao Qingxuan recognized.
Xiao Qingxuan was silent for a moment, then cupped her hands and bowed.
“Xiao Qingxuan pays respects to Sect Master Ming of the Illusion God Sect.”
An illusion of this caliber couldn’t possibly have been constructed by Huang Ran, a Nascent Soul cultivator.
Her Sword Heart was clear and her cultivation was at the Half-Step Spirit Transformation Stage. To pull her into such a realistic illusion, her opponent had to be at least a Great Cultivator of the Void Comprehension Stage.
Moreover, she knew that the Illusion God Sect’s Sect Master, Ming Mengmeng, had a grudge against her own Shizun. She had long expected the other party might give her such a show of force.
“Interesting brat.”
“You’re quite the actor. I almost thought you’d truly lost your mind in the slaughter and only knew how to avenge your little lover there.”
Ming Mengmeng raised an eyebrow and waved her small hand. The surrounding scene shifted once more.
The bloody battlefield instantly transformed back into a palace brimming with spiritual energy.
She climbed the palace steps, lazily falling backwards. The next moment, she landed in the center of a huge, dark purple, fluffy flower.
Even Xiao Qingxuan herself hadn’t noticed when she had been guided into the core of the Phantom God Palace.
“As expected, illusions of the Nascent Soul Stage couldn’t do anything to you.” Ming Mengmeng suddenly spoke.
“Sect Master Ming’s illusion arts are superb. If you had gone all out, Qingxuan would certainly not be your match.” Xiao Qingxuan replied.
“Hmph, if I, the Sect Master, used my full strength against a junior, how could I show my face outside?” Ming Mengmeng snorted lightly.
Against Xiao Qingxuan at Half-Step Spirit Transformation, she had already suppressed her own power to the Nascent Soul Stage.
This way, if she won, she could vent her anger and settle the score with Feng Linyi. If she lost, she naturally had an excuse.
A Nascent Soul stage cultivator losing to a Half-Step Spirit Transformation? Wasn’t that perfectly normal?
“Sect Master Ming, my sect’s Junior Sister Ye was injured by a Devil Cultivator from the Soul-Slaughtering Sect. This time, I’ve come to seek a method to restore her soul.” Xiao Qingxuan stated her purpose.
“Heh, what Junior Sister Ye? I think she’s your little lover.”
Ming Mengmeng raised an eyebrow, her body bouncing up from the giant, dark purple petal.
As a Dao Integration Realm Dao Venerable who primarily cultivated the path of the soul, she had already understood seventy to eighty percent of Xiao Qingxuan’s situation the moment Xiao Qingxuan stepped into the Illusion God Sect.
Soul restoration methods weren’t rare in the Illusion God Sect. Illusion God Sect cultivators at the Void Comprehension or even Spirit Transformation stages possessed such methods.
She originally didn’t want to bother with the affairs of Feng Linyi’s disciple, but the way the other party charged right in through the sect’s protective array had indeed surprised her.
As a Dao Venerable of the soul lineage, she had seen countless souls, but genuinely interesting souls were truly few and far between.
“This is Shishu Bai’s Dharma Edict. Please grant us this grace.”
Xiao Qingxuan presented Bai Yuhan’s Dharma Edict. A rich Dao Rhythm of Formation Arts instantly filled the entire room.
Ming Mengmeng crooked her finger, and the glowing golden scroll slowly flew into her hand.
“Mm, it’s indeed that girl Bai’s aura.”
Both Bai Yuhan and Feng Linyi had become Dao Integration Realm Dao Venerables several decades after her. In terms of both age and cultivation, she was the senior of those two.
“I was just planning to ask that girl Bai to help me upgrade my sect-protecting array in a while. Helping you this time means she’ll owe me a favor.”
Array Cultivators of the Dao Integration Stage were exceptionally rare. Excluding old monsters in seclusion trying to break through, the only active Dao Venerable-level Array Cultivator was Bai Yuhan.
And with this Dharma Edict, Bai Yuhan would definitely come to help.
Xiao Qingxuan secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Shishu Bai acting as guarantor was indeed very effective.
An Array Cultivator of Shishu Bai’s level was a welcomed guest at any Transcendent-Rank Power, even the Five Great Immortal Sects.
From small-scale Spirit-Gathering Arrays to large-scale Sect-Protecting Arrays, Formation Arts experts were an essential part of maintaining a sect, let alone high-level Array Cultivators.
Unlike her own Shizun, who caused trouble everywhere and only had raw combat power, with absolutely no face to speak of.
Her Shizun’s combat power ranked among the very best in the Dao Integration Realm; she could even be called unbeatable in one-on-one combat.
However, once Feng Linyi showed her face, there would be far more than just one Dao Venerable wanting to beat her up…
“But…”
Ming Mengmeng grinned mischievously and tossed the Dharma Edict back.
“If it were someone else bringing that girl Bai’s edict, I would have definitely transmitted the soul restoration method to them.”
“But since you’re Feng Linyi’s disciple, I simply won’t pass it to you!”
Xiao Qingxuan watched Ming Mengmeng, who was swinging her legs on the petal, her fair, delicate feet bobbing up and down, her expression provocative, looking exactly like a bratty little girl. Yet, Xiao Qingxuan felt no excessive anxiety in her heart.
Before coming, she had known this path of seeking the technique would inevitably be met with difficulties.
Feng Linyi’s disciple was only one aspect of her identity; more so, her high-profile way of doing things naturally attracted unnecessary trouble.
But for the sake of quickly healing A-Qing, all of this was worth it.
“Senior, as long as you are willing to pass on the technique, I can agree to anything.”
“Oh?”
Ming Mengmeng raised her eyes, looking Xiao Qingxuan over, a sudden interest sparked in her.
“That bastard Feng Linyi’s disciple is actually more responsible than her.”
Xiao Qingxuan silently listened to Ming Mengmeng curse her Shizun. Compared to her bastard of a Shizun, A-Qing was clearly far more important.
Although she didn’t know exactly what her Shizun had done to Ming Mengmeng back then, it was surely excessive. Letting the other party curse a bit to vent was only right.
Let the Shizun suffer, so that A-Qing could reap the benefits.
Ming Mengmeng pointed at the pink sword mark on her lower abdomen, grinding her teeth as she said:
“This is something your Shizun left on my body back then. As long as this thing exists, it’s very difficult for me to make a move against disciples of your Emotionless Sword Lineage.”
Xiao Qingxuan’s cultivation was only at Half-Step Spirit Transformation. If it were an Emotionless Sword Dao sword cultivator at the Void Comprehension Stage, even Ming Mengmeng, at the Dao Integration Stage, would be affected by their sword Qi.
Hearing this, Xiao Qingxuan looked over. Indeed, within that pink sword mark, there was a trace of a familiar aura.
It seemed her Shizun hadn’t just made Ming Mengmeng faint for three months back then; she had even left behind a safeguard against retaliation.
“If you can help me resolve this thing, I can give you the Illusion God Sect’s treasured artifact for restoring the soul.”
Ming Mengmeng floated in mid-air, instantly appearing before Xiao Qingxuan.
Xiao Qingxuan leaned closer to examine the sword mark. Suddenly, a memory from years ago surged into her mind.
When she first joined and visited the Scripture Pavilion of Heavenly Sword Peak, she had seen a sword mark similar to the one on Ming Mengmeng’s lower abdomen in an ancient tome.
This was the Sword Slave Crest of the Emotionless Sword Dao lineage, typically branded on defeated Sword Slaves of the Lower Four Realms. She never expected to see it on a Dao Integration Realm Great Cultivator.
The Sword Slave Mark in the ancient text was much simpler than the crest before her eyes; it must have been improved by Feng Linyi.
However, to brand such a mark on a Dao Venerable of the Dao Integration Realm level, an ordinary Sword Slave Mark certainly wouldn’t work.
Xiao Qingxuan injected a strand of True Qi into the Sword Slave Mark on Ming Mengmeng’s lower abdomen. As she expected, the sword mark indeed reacted to the sword Qi of the Emotionless Sword Dao.
The sword Qi was absorbed by the mark, then transformed into a pink vortex, dazzling to the eyes.
“I can attempt to crack it. I should be able to resolve this thing…”
But in the next moment, Xiao Qingxuan felt an extreme sense of danger for no apparent reason.
She subconsciously looked up. At some unknown point, Ming Mengmeng’s little face had become flushed. Her clouded eyes revealed an infinite, thirsty desire.
Her whole body radiated the heat of lust and emotion, her rationality seemingly on the verge of collapse, a body full of desires ready to detonate at any moment.
“Gu…”
“Give it to me…”
“I want… more Emotionless Sword Qi!”
Ming Mengmeng’s hands uncontrollably seized Xiao Qingxuan’s head, fiercely pressing it against her own lower abdomen.
