Chapter 244: The Pride of Taichu

“Hah! How painful is that?” Qin Haoxuan, who had fallen to the ground, hadn’t even had a chance to get up when he was shocked to find that Xi Mufan’s Talisman Beast, the White-Headed Wolf, had already pounced in front of him. In one bite, it snapped his neck.

“Ah!”

As he died in the sea of consciousness, his real body also woke up. But before he could even open his eyes, he was clutching his head and rolling on the ground in pain, his face pale as he cried out ceaselessly. It felt as if a stick were being violently churned inside his head, a splitting pain that sent his whole body into convulsions. The pain was so intense he was even foaming at the mouth, his vision filled with stars.

This pain came from both his physical body and his soul. It lasted for a full incense stick’s worth of time before he finally recovered. The first thing he did upon opening his eyes was to glare fiercely at Lan Yan, his eyes blazing with anger as he demanded, “Why was it so painful?”

Lan Yan said with surprise, “That’s right. It’s that painful when you die in the sea of consciousness.”

“Why didn’t you say so earlier?” Her calm and casual reply nearly drove him mad. He roared again, “Why didn’t you explain it clearly?”

A smile was hidden in the corner of Lan Yan’s eye, clearly pleased by his suffering. She feigned surprise. “You only asked if you would be killed, and I told you that you wouldn’t. You never asked if it would be painful. Besides, I never said it wouldn’t hurt.”

“You… you’re twisting words and logic! You’re making excuses! You’re changing the subject!”

Faced with her shirking of responsibility, Qin Haoxuan complained repeatedly, but all he could do was condemn her. At this moment, the spiritual energy in his body was almost completely depleted. Besides the intense pain from his body and soul, all the spiritual energy in his body had been drained away after being killed.

Having suffered enough, he finally understood just how vast the gap was between himself and the Thirtieth-Leaf Xi Mufan. He secretly warned himself that in the future, when he saw him, he must take a wide berth. His two fierce ghosts and his Talisman Beast were completely ineffective against him. Xi Mufan wouldn’t give him a chance for close-quarters combat. Although he still had his strongest trump card, the Formless Sword, it was best not to use it if he didn’t have to. Every time he did, the immortal seedling in his dantian would nearly wither. The thought alone was terrifying.

When I run into Xi Mufan and Linghu Gang, I’ll stay as far away as possible, he warned himself in his heart.

After quickly summarizing, he sat up straight again. His spiritual energy nearly depleted, he activated the medicinal effect of the Qi-Circulating Pill in his dantian. Instantly, a large amount of spiritual energy gathered above his head, forming a bathtub-sized black hole, and the spiritual energy of heaven and earth frantically poured into his body. He also circulated the Sea-Gathering Art, madly absorbing the energy to nourish his dantian.

His use of the pill nearly emptied the surrounding area of its ambient spiritual energy, and the huge fluctuation it caused once again attracted Li Jing’s attention.

“Damn it! What a waste of a Qi-Circulating Pill!” Li Jing’s hands were clenched into fists, the knuckles white from the force. Thinking of how he had plotted against Qin Haoxuan several times this past year without a single success, he was so angry his body trembled slightly.

At this moment, only he was in his tent. He muttered to himself, “Qin Haoxuan, I am an Unsurpassed Purple Seed, a chosen son of heaven. You are the worst of weak seeds, a toad in the mud. Originally, there should have been no intersection between us! But the biggest problem between us is Xu Yu. Without you, with my methods, winning her over would have been a simple matter. After winning her over, I could have obtained a continuous supply of Qi-Circulating Pills from her, and my cultivation speed would have surpassed hers, and even suppressed Zhang Kuang’s! But because of your existence, none of this is possible!”

A cold sneer appeared on his face, a murderous intent emerging. “Since that is the case, then don’t blame me for being ruthless and killing you. After I’ve killed you, I will frame Zhang Kuang for your death and then help Xu Yu deal with him. That way, she will give me the Qi-Circulating Pills! Haha!”

“Qin Haoxuan, you must die! You must die! You must!” As he spoke to himself, he couldn’t help but grit his teeth.

Just as he was plotting how to kill Qin Haoxuan and frame Zhang Kuang, an ethereal voice suddenly came from behind him. “Your calculations are not bad, but you are looking down on others a bit too much.”

The voice reached his ears, and a cold sweat broke out on his back. He leaped up and looked behind him, but there was no one there. He scanned the small tent again. There weren’t many things inside; it was impossible to hide a person.

“You… who are you?” he panicked. He knew that the newcomer’s strength was far greater than his own; otherwise, it would have been impossible for him not to have been discovered.

The voice sounded again, sometimes from the left, sometimes from the right, drifting unpredictably. “You wish to see me?”

“Since you have come, Senior, please show yourself…” If not for the fear that the other party would suddenly attack and kill him, he would have desperately wanted to shout for help. But thankfully, the composure he had cultivated since childhood was quite good.

“Senior? Haha…” A meter in front of him, a cloud of smoke suddenly rose. After it dissipated, a man appeared in the tent. The man was slightly taller than him, with exquisite features, as handsome as a demon. Even Li Jing, upon seeing him, couldn’t help but praise him in his heart: What a handsome man!

Since the other party had shown himself and seemed to have no intention of harming him, Li Jing’s heart relaxed a little. But at the same time, he was extremely surprised. The area around the camp had a formation personally set up by Deputy Hall Master Ximen Sheng. Any outsider who entered would be immediately discovered. But this man was clearly an outsider, yet the formation hadn’t reacted at all. How had he gotten in?

At this thought, his attitude became even more respectful. He spoke with great politeness, “For Senior to suddenly visit, I wonder for what reason? Please state your identity and purpose.”

“Me? You need not know.”

Li Jing was slightly displeased. “There is a formation set up by an elder of my sect outside the main camp. Others simply cannot enter. How did you get in, Senior?”

The handsome man chuckled disdainfully. “The arrays of the Taichu Sect? Hehe… are they so difficult? They are but the arrays of the Taichu Sect. Of all the things in your sect, how many are there that I do not know? I’m afraid that even if Huanglong himself were here, he wouldn’t be able to think of much. As for me… I suppose you could call me an evil cultivator.”

“An evil cultivator?” Li Jing frowned, his heart uneasy. He unconsciously took several steps back. “Do you know that this is the territory of the Taichu Sect?”

The handsome man sneered. “The Taichu Sect? So what? It’s not like I haven’t been there before. The reason I spoke up is that I feel your disposition is vicious, and your aptitude is acceptable. You are worthy of being cultivated.”

The contempt in his expression made Li Jing, who had been constantly frustrated, feel extremely angry. But at the same time, he maintained an extreme clarity of mind—a recognition of danger.

“Senior is joking. I am but a full immortal seed, with barely a bit of aptitude…” Li Jing cupped his fists and bowed, at the same time looking around for an escape route, calculating how long it would take for the Hall Master to arrive if he were to call for help… and how long he himself could last.

“Hehe… you are too modest. If a Purple Seed is ‘barely,’ then… what would be a heaven-defying aptitude?” The handsome man stared at him with an effeminate smile, and Li Jing could feel the danger hidden within it.

A Purple Seed! This secret! No one outside the Taichu Sect knows of it! Li Jing felt as if he had been plunged into an ice cellar. He wanted to open his mouth and shout for help, but he saw the man place his index finger to his lips, making a gesture to be quiet, a gesture full of warning. He could feel that if he were to shout for help at this moment, then he… would die.

“Don’t be afraid, little brother…” The handsome man sat elegantly on the table in the room. He gestured for Li Jing to sit as well. “If I wanted to kill you and sever the lineage of the Taichu Sect, why would I need to chat with you for so long?”

Li Jing sat woodenly on the meditation cushion.

The handsome man looked up in the direction of the Taichu Sect, a hint of reminiscence in his eyes. “Taichu… I truly hate it. But, the matter of severing its lineage is something I still cannot do. Nor am I allowed to…” Li Jing could feel the extremely complex emotions in his eyes—love and hate, both.

“I have come here to offer you a fated encounter,” the handsome man said, leaning closer to him with a smile. “A dignified prince, you can’t always be at the bottom of the three Purple Seeds, can you?”

Three? Li Jing shivered. This person actually knew that the Taichu Sect had three Purple Seeds? This person could not be allowed to live! The sect’s secret absolutely could not be leaked.

“Oh? You’ve developed a killing intent towards me?” The handsome man clapped lightly, a great deal of appreciation in his eyes. “The other two are pressing down on you, and I have revealed a secret, yet your first thought is to kill me, not to use me to kill them? It seems you still have some heart for the Taichu Sect.”

Knowing he was in a desperate situation, for the first time, pride appeared on his face. “Speak. What do you want to use me for in exchange for keeping the sect’s secret?”

“A bit interesting…” the handsome man said with a click of his tongue. “You have the heart of a venomous snake, yet you are so devoted to the Taichu Sect. Do you not know that there is a wider world outside? With your aptitude, if you were to come with me, I could send you to a supreme great sect…”

“There is no need. I, Li Jing, can lead the Taichu Sect to become a supreme great sect,” he said, raising a hand to stop him from continuing. This was the first time since facing the handsome man that he had been able to raise his hand.

“Alright…” the handsome man said with an indifferent shrug. “I’ve come to offer you a fated encounter. In the future, you will do something for me, and we will be even. As for the matter of the Purple Seeds, no one outside will know… otherwise, your Taichu Sect would have been annihilated long ago.”

“What is the matter?” Li Jing asked warily.

“You can’t do it now. Knowing will only expose yourself,” the man shook his head. “When you have the ability, I will naturally tell you.”

“If it is a matter that is not beneficial to the Taichu Sect, you can forget it,” he said decisively.

“Rest assured, it will not cause the Taichu Sect to suffer a heavy blow, this matter of mine,” the handsome man said with another smile. “Little brother, you must learn to be tactful with me, you know? Don’t always refuse people so decisively. The disciples of the Taichu Sect are good at everything, except for this bad habit. It really… tsk tsk… really should be changed.”

A sharp glint flashed in his eyes. He looked at Li Jing and smiled. “I have a Reverse Blood Pill here. Its medicinal effect is in no way inferior to the Qi-Circulating Pill.”

“A Reverse Blood Pill?” Li Jing stared at the two blood-red pills in his hand. “Eating it will cause one’s qi and blood to flow in reverse?”

“That’s right. After eating it, your qi and blood will reverse.”

Li Jing shook his head without hesitation. He did not believe in such a good thing that came knocking on his door. And from his understanding, the reversal of qi and blood was certain death. “I don’t want it. The reversal of qi and blood will kill me.”

The handsome man sneered. “Who said so? The universe revolves with its own laws, but all laws are not immutable. After eating these two Reverse Blood Pills, not only will you not die, but you will become very strong.”

Li Jing became even more certain that this man was up to no good. If the pill were truly as formidable as he said, people would have been crying and begging him for it long ago. Why would he need to come and find him? But the man did not wait for his response. He stretched out his right hand, a hand as smooth as white jade, enough to make a woman feel inferior, and made a grasping motion at him. Li Jing felt as if he were being held by a giant hand, completely unable to move. Then, the Reverse Blood Pill transformed into a streak of light and shot directly into his mouth. The pill dissolved instantly and flowed into his dantian.

The handsome man smiled. “After eating the pill, immediately sit and meditate. Otherwise, you will die from the reversal of qi and blood.”

The moment his words fell, Li Jing felt the qi that had been locking him down loosen. After regaining his freedom, he immediately sat down cross-legged and began to regulate his breath with the Tyrannical True Dragon Art. At this moment, the blood and spiritual energy in his body were flowing in reverse, frightening him to the point of panic. But this reversal did not cause any terrible consequences. Instead, a surging, powerful spiritual energy poured into his body. A blood-red ball of light appeared in his chest, spinning rapidly, and the spiritual energy of heaven and earth from all directions madly surged towards it and then flowed into his body.

Wonderful! So wonderful!

This demonically handsome man had not lied to him. Although he had never eaten a Qi-Circulating Pill and did not know how terrifying its absorption speed was, he was certain that this Reverse Blood Pill’s speed was in no way slower than Qin Haoxuan’s. Adding in the Tyrannical True Dragon Art he was cultivating, and his own Unsurpassed Purple Seed’s inherently faster absorption speed, he even guessed that after eating the pill, his speed and efficiency would far surpass Qin Haoxuan’s.

With such a frenzied absorption of spiritual energy, Li Jing was completely immersed. He finally understood why Qin Haoxuan’s cultivation speed was so fast. If he had Qi-Circulating Pills, he would surely reach a terrifying speed.

An hour later, after he had finished absorbing the spiritual energy, he felt a sharp pain in every muscle and bone in his body, as if he had been beaten by a strong man. His blood also seemed to be boiling and burning. But he could clearly feel that his strength had made great progress. For a cultivator of average aptitude, to cultivate from the Eleventh-Leaf to the Twelfth-Leaf might take two or three years or even more. Even for him, an Unsurpassed Purple Seed, he had felt it would still take some time. But after eating this pill and madly absorbing spiritual energy for an hour, the effect was comparable to half a month of hard cultivation. If he had a large number of these pills, he could break through to the Twelfth-Leaf and even higher in a short time.

He was excited. Although his body would be in severe pain after absorbing the spiritual energy, compared to the great progress in his strength, this bit of pain was nothing.

After the pain had subsided, the handsome man said to him, “As long as you listen to my words, you will not be lacking in Reverse Blood Pills.”

“What exactly do you want from me?” The temptation of the pill was indeed great. Li Jing licked his lips. “Who are you?”

“Senior Sister, your spirit beast lover has abandoned you, leaving you to suffer here alone. Is it worth it?” the man’s voice was cold and devoid of emotion, but this familiar sentence made Li Jing tremble all over.

He was taken aback, then quickly remembered. Wasn’t this the sentence that all disciples had to say when they went to the back mountain to deliver food to the senior sister who had been locked in Jie Prison for falling in love with a spirit beast?

“You… you are her…” he said in great shock.

The handsome man sneered, a hint of melancholy flashing in his eyes, but it was gone in an instant. He tossed a pill to Li Jing. “You’ve eaten one; here’s another. If you listen to my words in the future, you will get many more. If you don’t, then you will only have these two. You can decide for yourself.” With that, his figure flashed and he vanished from the tent.

After he had left, Li Jing was lost in thought, considering the man’s intentions, the effect of the pill, and the scene of himself surpassing Xu Yu and Zhang Kuang, and crushing Qin Haoxuan with absolute strength… He had already made his decision. If it’s just to find a way to release that senior from Jie Prison… to trade a prisoner for the Taichu Sect becoming a supreme great sect… it’s worth it.

Li Jing, one of the three Purple Seeds, had always been the most stereotypical. But he felt that a person’s growth should not just be in strength; their heart should also grow. Having been born in the royal family, his bad habits were the most numerous, and his worldview had been formed earlier than others, making it the most difficult for him to grow. But after entering the immortal path and then being tempered in the mortal world, a person would always grow. It was just that this growth often could only be seen when one encountered a major event, and as for whether the direction of this growth was right… everyone’s choice was different. He was quite satisfied with his current growth.

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