Meng Li watched Ye Qinglian approach step by step, shaking her head frantically. Just a single glance at the small bottle in the other’s hand was enough to give anyone a bad feeling. Facing Meng Li’s pitifully insignificant resistance, Ye Qinglian’s eyes were filled with nothing but fascination.
“Why does Junior Sister refuse so vehemently? Drink this, lie in the arms of a beauty, forget the troubles of the world — isn’t that wonderful~?”
“I won’t drink it! I won’t! I won’t!!!”
“Junior Sister, why struggle so? We’re in the middle of nowhere. Even if you screamed your lungs out, do you think anyone would come to save you~?”
Hearing this, Meng Li abruptly looked around. The surrounding forest was dense and sprawling. Only the mountain stronghold behind her blazed with towering flames. Let alone people, she couldn’t even spot a single rare beast or bird. Meng Li instantly felt utter despair.
She had thought that upon arriving in this world, she was a protagonist with a template — magical treasures in hand, fortuitous encounters every day, beauties in her arms. But this hell-mode start would have killed anyone else at the first hurdle. Yet now, she was treated like a domestic pet — played with when the mood struck, and ignored when it didn’t.
“Senior Sister is so tyrannical! Is brute force all you use to oppress people?!”
“Oh? So I’m being looked down upon? How about I suppress my cultivation level? Then you might be able to put up a bit of a fight~?”
“Ah, really?”
“Haha, Junior Sister is so naive. Of course it’s a lie~”
“Senior Sister, how can you go back on your word!”
“I’m truly sorry, Junior Sister. Sometimes, strength is the foundation of everything. You really can do whatever you want~”
Watching the other reveal such an innocent expression, Ye Qinglian felt utterly delighted inside. With a light flick of her finger, the stopper of the bottle was pulled out. Meng Li watched Ye Qinglian slowly draw closer. There was nowhere left to retreat.
“Don’t worry. After all, we had your Senior Sister Situ as a test subject. With a little improvement, it should at least be more comfortable~”
Ye Qinglian slowly crouched down. Her fingers gently tilted Meng Li’s chin upward. Then, slowly, she opened those sky-blue eyes. In an instant, a heart-captivating spiritual power radiated in all directions. The moment Meng Li glimpsed those breathtakingly beautiful eyes, her resistance instantly ceased.
Meng Li felt that pair of eyes were so beautiful, so mesmerizing that she wanted to lose herself in them. Staring into those eyes, she felt her very soul grow tranquil. Even the light in her own eyes gradually faded.
“Drink it~”
“Okay…”
Meng Li stared blankly at the jade bottle offered to her, her eyes vacant as she looked up at Ye Qinglian gazing down at her from above. She slowly opened her small mouth, sticking her tongue out gradually, sitting there completely defenseless.
“Now that’s obedient. Things are about to get interesting. Whose room should I toss you into~?”
Ye Qinglian slowly closed her eyes, but the expression on her face had long since ceased to be as gentle as usual. As the pink liquid slid out of the bottle, about to drip onto the other’s tongue—
At that moment, a sharp sword flew in from the distance. A powerful sword aura instantly swept across the entire forest. The bottle in Ye Qinglian’s hand shattered into pieces instantly. Even the liquid inside was vaporized into nothing but gas in a single instant.
“Who goes there!”
Ye Qinglian had been about to enjoy something interesting, but never imagined that someone in this desolate wilderness would actually stop her. She quickly scanned her surroundings vigilantly. Instantly opening her eyes, a powerful force swept over everything around her. Wherever her gaze fell, no bird, beast, or spirit energy could escape detection.
“I had thought, my lady, that since you were dealing with bandits, you must be a righteous person. Yet your actions now hardly merit the word ‘righteous.'”
“Since when do passersby enjoy meddling this much in other people’s business? Speaking from behind a tree — that shows a lack of courage, don’t you think~?”
Ye Qinglian’s azure eyes swept past a nearby tree and spotted the figure hiding behind it. The other’s internal energy was steady and calm. Just from her outward appearance, one could tell she was an expert.
“One must be cautious when traveling abroad. Your actions, my lady, merely made me slightly uncomfortable. A gentle word of advice…”
“Advice? Then why not come out and speak~!”
With a wave of Ye Qinglian’s hand, the Jade Spiral Zither stored within her spatial storage instantly appeared before her. Immediately after, the jade zither, carrying the force of a thousand jun, was hurled like a weapon. Everything in its path was snapped in half at the waist.
“Using a zither as a weapon — that could be considered elegant. But your method, my lady, is truly crude beyond measure…”
“If you survive, then you can judge~”
A tremendous explosion rang out. A deep crater instantly appeared where the voice had come from. The Jade Spiral Zither lay within the pit, and the speaker was nowhere to be found. Ye Qinglian’s icy gaze swept around, but she detected no other figure.
“Could it really have just been a passerby? Or did I smash her into paste~?”
Ye Qinglian propped her cheek on her hand, languidly looking around. Her mood had been so perfectly set, but then this person suddenly appeared and completely spoiled her fun. She glanced down at Meng Li, sitting on the ground with vacant eyes, and let out a helpless sigh.
“The medicine is gone. The fun is gone. How vexing. Sigh~”
Before Ye Qinglian’s sigh could even fully fade, another sword flew out from the forest, aimed directly at her vitals. Facing such a clumsy sneak attack, Ye Qinglian made no move to dodge. The longsword merely grazed past her body.
“This way of injuring with a sword… it’s exactly like my Shizun’s. But her old self’s sword is much faster than yours.”
As Ye Qinglian spoke these words, yet another longsword flew out from the distance. Facing such provocation, Ye Qinglian slowly drew in a deep breath. A melodious sound echoed through the air. Everywhere the sound reached, birds and beasts dropped from the sky. The forest fell utterly silent.
“Dead~?”
“I’m afraid I must disappoint you.”
A young woman dressed in black burst from the forest, her longsword aimed straight at Ye Qinglian’s vital point. Ye Qinglian glanced at her, noting the mask on her face that concealed her features.
“Pretending to save someone, yet hiding your face behind a mask. Are you afraid I’ll recognize you, or are you simply too ugly to show yourself~?”
“Hmph! Being all talk means nothing!”
The masked woman reversed her grip on the longsword, spinning around to thrust at the other’s heart. Ye Qinglian’s expression remained indifferent. With just a light tap of her finger, she stopped the killing blow. After several exchanges, Ye Qinglian had gauged the other’s strength.
“You’ve got skill, brave heroine. But I’m not just good with my mouth — I’m quite skilled in other areas too~”
With a flick of her wrist, Ye Qinglian caught the other’s longsword. With just a gentle application of force, the once-fierce sword instantly shattered into pieces. She pushed out with a palm strike. Although she held back some of her power, it still landed solidly on the other’s body.
“Ah, all these uncultured acts…”
Body Spirit Art: Upright Palm
The black-clad young woman instantly felt as if a horse-drawn carriage had trampled over her abdomen. Immediately after, she was sent flying uncontrollably backward, only stopping when she slammed into a large tree.
“Considering your good intentions, I’ll spare your life. I was merely playing with my Junior Sister here. If you know what’s good for you, leave on your own…”
Ye Qinglian adjusted her breathing. Using a body cultivator’s technique still felt unnatural no matter how she tried. She glanced back at Meng Li to confirm she hadn’t been caught in the battle, then turned back to look at the masked woman lying motionless under the tree in the distance.
“Why so silent? You were so fierce just moments ago. Don’t tell me you shattered at a single touch~?”
“Hahaha! Wonderful! You truly are powerful!”
The black-clad woman slowly propped herself up against the tree, rising to her feet. The sound of bones snapping back into place echoed from her body. Within seconds, she had completely recovered. Despite the mask, the excitement in her eyes was impossible to conceal.
“I could tell from the start that you were terrifyingly strong. So let’s begin round two!”
“…”
Ye Qinglian stared expressionlessly at the masked woman before her, inwardly wondering how her perfectly good fun had been ruined by this person charging in out of nowhere. And now this person suddenly declared she wanted to fight. The more Ye Qinglian thought about it, the more tiresome it felt.
“So in the end, she’s just an idiot…”
“Rogue Cultivator of the Body Path, Zui Huayu! I request your esteemed guidance!”
“Tch…”
…
…
