Chapter 13: Li Zining’s Death
This was the first time Luo Xue had witnessed a formation laid down by an immortal.
Faintly glowing runes floated around Li Zining, some of them branded onto her body, looking like chains binding her.
Luo Xue, who hadn’t even formally started cultivating, naturally couldn’t understand the function of this formation, or whether it was beneficial or harmful to Li Zining.
But… since it involved Daoist Ziyang, it couldn’t be anything good.
“Should I disrupt the formation?”
Luo Xue touched the short sword at her waist. Could she destroy the formation by just hacking at it with her sword?
As she hesitated, she inadvertently noticed Li Zining’s arm twitch.
“Hm?”
Luo Xue immediately focused her gaze and quickly confirmed that it wasn’t an illusion.
Li Zining… was struggling!
A pained expression appeared on her face, and the surrounding runes trembled violently, as if about to collapse.
“Ugh…”
A muffled groan escaped Li Zining’s lips as she seemed to be trying her best to open her eyes.
Her face was pale, beads of sweat trickling down her forehead. She was visibly weakening, like a flower that had just bloomed and was already beginning to wither.
“Forget it… I’ll do it!”
Luo Xue couldn’t hesitate any longer. Gripping her short sword, she prepared to act.
This girl might be annoying, but Luo Xue couldn’t just watch a life fade away before her eyes.
Whether in the apocalypse or in this Immortal Martial World, Luo Xue had seen enough death and separation, but it didn’t mean that life had lost its precious meaning.
But just as she was about to step out, a purple light suddenly appeared beside Li Zining, startling Luo Xue back into hiding.
Saving someone’s life didn’t mean she had to gamble with her own.
In other words, sometimes, it was okay to be a coward…
As expected, after the purple light faded, Daoist Ziyang, whom Luo Xue hadn’t been able to find, appeared.
Realizing this, Luo Xue immediately turned around and continued hiding in the corner outside the courtyard.
The books she had read mentioned that cultivators who reached the Spirit Condensation Realm possessed extremely powerful sensory abilities, known as “Divine Sense.”
Even a hidden gaze could be detected instantly.
Daoist Ziyang was a Foundation Establishment cultivator; his Divine Sense would be even more acute.
“Such poor compatibility with the Yin Breath Poison… This seed is probably useless…”
Daoist Ziyang’s voice rang out, no longer gentle and kind, but cold and indifferent.
Just like when he had killed the two traffickers…
Perhaps this was Daoist Ziyang’s true face.
His usual gentle demeanor was merely a facade to coax the girls into cultivating diligently.
At the same time, Li Zining’s weak, childish voice came,
“Master… it hurts… Master…”
“Master… is this… also… cultivation…”
Her voice was filled with confusion and fear. Li Zining didn’t understand why Master had suddenly changed…
Was she not working hard enough?
Had she failed to meet Master’s expectations?
How Li Zining wished Master would encourage her gently, like he usually did.
“Trash.”
Daoist Ziyang said coldly.
“Mas…”
Before she could finish, Li Zining’s voice was completely cut off.
Luo Xue, hiding nearby and hearing all this, felt her heart leap into her throat.
Could Li Zining have been… killed?
“The quality of this batch of seeds is truly terrible. Not even at the Innate Realm can they withstand the ‘Xuanyin Gu Seed.’ It seems the remaining few must at least reach Body Forging before they can be used…”
Daoist Ziyang muttered to himself, his impatience evident, even bordering on madness.
“No, I can’t… There’s no time, there’s no time left… In another month, it will be the deadline… Only one month left!”
“A bunch of trash! All trash! I’ve already used all my Dao Insights to nurture them, for these seeds, I’ve paid so much… yet so few can even reach the Innate Realm!”
Dao Insights?
Was it something that aided cultivation?
Luo Xue was stunned. She suddenly remembered that Su Yiyao had mentioned some strange things to her.
Because of Luo Xue’s instructions, Su Yiyao basically slept through her daily cultivation and meditation.
But even so, her cultivation was still increasing at a visible rate, about one-third the speed of the others.
But the problem was, the other girls were cultivating day and night to achieve such results.
“Could it be… the effect of Dao Insights?”
Unless Su Yiyao had the talent to increase her cultivation while sleeping.
“Right, and Ah Chou… That strange, ugly freak…”
After venting, Daoist Ziyang suddenly calmed down. He muttered to himself, even mentioning Luo Xue.
“A mere ordinary person can actually withstand the Yin Breath Poison that even Innate Realm Xuanyin Bodies wouldn’t dare to absorb all at once…”
Hearing this, Luo Xue’s heart skipped a beat. Was that pill really that potent?
Even those with the Xuanyin Body couldn’t withstand it before reaching the Innate Realm?
Damn!
This old bastard was even more sinister than she had imagined!
“No, no… That’s not right. Is she really an ordinary person? Could it be some kind of special constitution beyond my understanding?”
No, no, no… I really am just an ordinary person… An ordinary person with maxed-out poison resistance…
Luo Xue had a premonition that once Daoist Ziyang set his sights on her, her fate would likely be similar to Li Zining’s.
“But she can’t even cultivate…”
Yes, yes, I can’t cultivate!
Luo Xue almost wanted to applaud Daoist Ziyang’s current thoughts. The useless trash who couldn’t cultivate was her!
“Perhaps it’s just the wrong cultivation method… There was once a disciple accepted by the Buddhist Holy Land who could only cultivate through Buddhist methods, unable to comprehend any other Dao techniques.”
Daoist Ziyang pondered for a moment and continued in a low voice, “If that’s the case… Could she be a peerless genius beyond even my comprehension?”
These words almost made Luo Xue believe him, if she didn’t know that her panel clearly stated “Almost None.”
“…And Su Yiyao.”
Xiao Yao?
Hearing this, Luo Xue’s pupils constricted, her heart skipping a beat.
Why would Daoist Ziyang mention Xiao Yao at this time?
Could it be… that he had already noticed Xiao Yao’s peculiarity?
Or had he discovered that Xiao Yao hadn’t been cultivating seriously this whole time…
Or even, was it possible that he already knew Xiao Yao had woken up in the carriage?
When it came to Xiao Yao, Luo Xue suddenly felt panicked.
Su Yiyao was very dependent on Luo Xue, and Luo Xue was constantly worried about her.
After spending several months together in this strange and dangerous environment, a subtle bond had formed between them.
Just then, Daoist Ziyang, who had been pacing back and forth, seemed to sense something and abruptly looked up.
At the same time, sharp, snake-like pupils instantly appeared in Luo Xue’s vision, and a low shout exploded in her ears,
“Who’s there?!”
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