Chapter 40: Blood-Stained Jasmine (Part 2)

The shops along the streets of Qinglin Town were not many, yet they stood as complete as any should. Yun Che had his brow tightly furrowed, his steps quickening, until he soon turned into a drugstore on the right-hand side.

"Boss, do you have purple lantern flowers and iron-sow reed?" Upon entering the shop, Yun Che spoke directly, his gaze sweeping the store in a quick glance.

The shopkeeper was a middle-aged man who looked listless and weary. Yun Che's two required herbs were no more than commonplace, easily found herbs—purple lantern flowers could dispel wind and cold, iron-sow reed could be used to forge the lowest grade of revival spiritual pills—both were everywhere, their prices quite cheap. He responded weakly, "Yes, how much do you want?"

"Half a jin of each!" Yun Che spoke quickly.

The boss took the herbs and tied them up, tossing them to him, "Total twenty yellow spiritual coins."

[Note: The three forms of currency circulating across the Tianxuan Realm are yellow spiritual coins, blue spiritual coins, and purple spiritual coins. 1 purple spiritual coin equals 100 blue spiritual coins equals 10,000 yellow spiritual coins. The value of spiritual coins is referenced by the fact that the average yearly income of an ordinary family across the Tianxuan Realm is approximately 30,000 yellow spiritual coins, which is three purple coins.]

Yun Che placed the spiritual coins on the counter and hurried away, walking steadily toward the southern exit of the town.

Meanwhile, Xiao Ba had already spotted his figure, but he did not rush to attack. He followed silently behind, his expression unreadable.

The exit of Qinglin Town soon came into view. To the south of Qinglin Town lay an endless range of mountains known as the Chi Long Mountain Range. Within dwelled all manner of spiritual beasts, quite dangerous. Even the spiritual practitioners and mercenary teams of Qinglin Town, though strong, could only venture into the outer reaches of the mountain range. To venture too far inland would bring encounters with higher-grade spiritual beasts, often resulting in death. This mountain range had been named the Chi Long Mountain Range on the assumption that at its very center dwelled a great flame-breathing dragon, from which it had derived its name.

Yet this was merely a legend, for no one had ever truly seen it. And the dragon, as the supreme among spiritual beasts, even the lowest grade of dragon possessed fearsome strength. Should it truly exist, those who might behold it would never return alive.

Upon stepping into the Chi Long Mountain Range, Yun Che slowly inhaled, placing the two bundles of herbs he had just purchased from the drugstore against his chest with his right hand, covering them with his left, the spiritual poison bead gleaming with light...

At once, a shower of flaked powder fell from his hands. When Yun Che removed his left hand, his palm held only a small heap of purple-black powder.

Purple lantern flowers possessed no toxicity, nor did iron-sow reed. Taken together, they would not trigger any toxic reaction. Even should they be poisonous, for those who had reached the spiritual refinement realm, the effects of ordinary poisons would be negligible, even nonexistent.

Yet the powder formed by extracting and fusing certain components from the purple lantern flowers and iron-sow reed had an extremely powerful stimulating effect upon the eyes. Should it come into contact with the eyeballs, even the strongest spiritual power would suffer temporary blindness for a period of time.

Holding this small amount of powder in his hand, Yun Che slowly turned his head, gazing toward Xiao Ba, who had appeared like a ghostly presence no more than ten paces behind him, silent and unseen.

When Yun Che had noticed him, Xiao Ba did indeed feel a measure of surprise. He sneered at Yun Che, coldly declaring, "You must be Xiao Che, that waste who was driven out of the Xiao sect!"

"No, Yun Che!" Yun Che met his gaze with complete composure, his face bearing no trace of fear.

"Hmph!" Xiao Ba seemed uninterested in the name he had just been called, showing no reaction at all, for a spiritual practitioner whose meridians were crippled and who was nothing more than a useless waste did not warrant his consideration: "On behalf of the Young Master's command, I have been sent to deliver you to Yan Wang. In your next life, do not foolishly incur trouble from those you cannot overcome!"

His voice fading, Xiao Ba's hand already held a brightly gleaming short blade. With a swift flick of his right wrist, the short blade shot toward Yun Che with a sharp crack of breaking air... Xiao Chongyun had maimed Yun Che's face and tongue, yet he clearly had no patience to waste time on a thoroughly useless waste. Not even bothering to touch his body, he sent the blade flying directly for his throat.

At the moment Xiao Ba suddenly produced the short blade, Yun Che's brow suddenly moved. In that instant, his heart suddenly realized—he had already prepared himself for the possibility that Xiao Ba would charge forward with a powerful strike, yet he had never at all conceived that someone of the Xiao sect, possessing at least the strength of a low-level spiritual refinement realm, would actually resort to using a weapon! And furthermore, to employ a flying blade for assassination!

With his body's spiritual power at such a meager level, how could he possibly evade an assassin blade from a spiritual refinement realm master?

Had Xiao Ba's nature been twisted? How unorthodox, how contrary to normal human logic! Killing a man without spiritual power, yet still employing weapons—wouldn't that make him ashamed to be seen!... Yun Che cursed inwardly with helpless frustration, his pupils' cold light rapidly approaching. His consciousness prompted him to make a dodge at the very first moment, yet his sluggish body was entirely incapable of evading it...

In the very instant when Yun Che's throat was about to be pierced by that flying blade, a flash of red light suddenly shot out from Yun Che's body, rushing toward Xiao Ba...

A sharp hiss—

The short blade failed to strike Yun Che's throat. Even more, Yun Che's pupils showed no sign of that short blade at all. Yet behind Xiao Ba, a small, delicate figure appeared. She faced away from Yun Che, clad in a white robe, her legs bare and as white as jade, her scarlet hair flowing down to her waist, extraordinarily beguiling.

And upon her right hand, she clearly held that short blade that Xiao Ba had just thrust forward!

This girl... her clothes, and that red hair... could it be... Xiao Ba still maintained the posture of having thrown the blade, his entire body frozen in place. In that profound silence, he did not turn his head, not even a single muscle in his body moved, as though time itself had been halted. The only change was that his pupils shrank to pinpoints, as though in that instant he had glimpsed the most terrifying scene in the world...

A cool breeze then gently brushed past. Xiao Ba's upright form suddenly sagged in the light wind... yes, it collapsed, block by block, like a pile of building materials, turning into a pool of blood and countless tiny fragments of bodies.

The wind brushed Yun Che's face, carrying a sharp stench of blood. He remained frozen in place, gazing at the girl's scarlet back, his pupils shivering violently, his breath completely held, even his heartbeat nearly completely stopped.

Her attire and red hair told him this was the very girl he had encountered in the mountains that night, the one he had brought into the spiritual poison bead. She had remained in a sleep within the spiritual poison bead until now... and at this moment, she had awakened, and stepped out herself to show him the most terrifying scene across the Tianxuan Realm thus far.

In that very instant, that girl had clearly grasped the short blade that was about to pierce his throat, then charged toward Xiao Ba, killing him. The entire process could only be seen as a flash of red light, a fleeting moment beyond measure... Xiao Ba's body was completely crushed, and to crush it to such an extent as was before him, it required at least several hundred slashes across his body...

That is to say, in that brief instant, this girl not only seized the short blade that had nearly taken his life, but also used that very blade to slash Xiao Ba's body at least several hundred times!!

Could this... be a girl's capability?

No! Could this be a mere human's level of achievement?

When!

"Hmm..."

In Yun Che's extreme shock, the girl's short blade suddenly fell to the ground, emitting a sound like a small animal's whimper. Thereupon, she slowly crouched down, her small frame trembling slightly, as though bathed in icy cold wind...

"This cursed divine-slaying divine-seduction poison... Your Highness only used such a small amount of strength... yet... yet it rebounded to this extent... Hmm..."

The girl's voice was quite faint and painful, as though she were enduring tremendous torment. Yun Che cautiously took two steps forward, his gaze freezing with each contact with that pool of blood, his heart growing cold... What kind of person was this red-haired girl! Xiao Ba came from the Xiao sect, his strength at least in the low-level spiritual refinement realm! Across the entire Lingchiu City, almost no one could defeat him, yet this girl had killed him in a single instant!

This girl appeared to be only twelve or thirteen years old! For a girl of this age to reach the initial spiritual refinement third level was quite remarkable. Chang Qingyue, at sixteen, reached the initial spiritual refinement tenth level, was universally acknowledged as the city's first prodigy. This girl... this girl...

In returning to the Tianxuan Realm, Yun Che felt for the first time a true sense of awe. For the scene before his eyes had completely exceeded his comprehension... his entire two lifetimes of understanding!

Yun Che took a deep breath, forcing himself to compose his thoughts, biting his lip, and finally spoke, "Little sister, you... have awakened?"

Upon hearing Yun Che's voice, the girl's slight trembling ceased. She slowly rose to her feet, turned around, revealing a delicate, doll-like complexion, though youthful and beautiful to the point of disbelief, now bearing obvious pain, gazing at Yun Che, her voice chilling and youthful, "How extraordinary, the spiritual poison bead, it truly recognizes you as a completely useless mortal like you as its master! Has the spiritual nature of this divine treasure been twisted?"

Strictly speaking, this was Yun Che's first true encounter with her. Though each day he had to visit the spiritual poison bead to see her many times, yet upon seeing her again now, Yun Che's gaze still held a feeling he could not look away from. For this girl was extraordinarily beautiful, stunningly gorgeous, her every feature perfect beyond measure, each part of her fair countenance a masterpiece of perfection, reaching the pinnacle, inexpressible in words.

Her eyes were like black gems, clear and deep as the night sky. From her eyes, Yun Che saw an aristocratic pride and arrogance, yet this pride was not like Xiao Chongyun's arrogance born of arrogance and pride, but rather a pride and dignity emanating from her soul, as though all beings in the world were but insects before her eyes, all things in the world seeming minuscule like dust beneath her gaze.

………………………………

Qinglin Town, inside the tavern.

The dishes and drinks were all laid out, yet Xiao Ba had not yet returned.

Xiao Chongyun began to grow impatient, coldly snorting, "Dealing with a useless waste like this, why waste so much time? Hmph, perhaps he got lost at this unfamiliar place, Xiao Jiu? Go check!"

"Yes, Young Master!" Xiao Jiu obeyed the command, immediately standing up, exiting the tavern, heading in the direction Xiao Ba had previously pursued.