Immortal Ascension Pavilion.
Ouyang Hua, dressed in a black and gold uniform, was pacing back and forth on the steps in front of the pavilion’s main gate like an ant on a hot pan, growing increasingly anxious.
He had important matters to report, but Emperor Zhao Zong simply refused to see him.
“Junior Minister Ouyang, please return. His Majesty will not see anyone today,” the eunuch who delivered the message said with a sigh as he walked out.
“Eunuch, I implore you to inform His Majesty. Tell him—”
“Junior Minister Ouyang!”
Before Ouyang Hua could finish, the eunuch barked sharply.
Then, with a troubled expression, he advised, “Go back. You know that to His Majesty, nothing is more important than cultivation. Please don’t make things difficult for me.”
“Ah, very well.” Ouyang Hua closed his eyes and sighed, then shook his head and turned to descend the steps.
As the emperor, he spent his days neglecting state affairs and indulging in cultivation instead. If this continued, it would be better to just abdicate and pass the throne to another prince. In the long run, the Great Song Dynasty would face a crisis.
Ouyang Hua stopped, looked back at the magnificent Immortal Ascension Pavilion, and couldn’t help but mock himself. Here he was, merely a vice minister of Dali Temple, worrying more about the future of the Great Song than the emperor himself. How ridiculous.
“Junior Minister Ouyang?”
“Hm?” Ouyang Hua turned to look ahead. An old eunuch in a red court robe was studying him. “Elder Yu.” Ouyang Hua respectfully cupped his hands in greeting.
This old eunuch was Yu Shangneng. Shangjing City had two grandmaster martial artists: one was Mo Jiuchi, and the other was him. Compared to his title as grandmaster, the palace preferred to call him Elder Yu. Yu Shangneng was already sixty-eight years old, had served two emperors, and was the patriarch of all the eunuchs in the palace.
“Junior Minister Ouyang, what is the matter?” Yu Shangneng’s voice was a bit raspy, like a duck’s quack. Hearing it for the first time, one would find it odd and somewhat grating.
“Oh,” Ouyang Hua sighed again. “Elder Yu, the prime minister may be in trouble.”
“How so?”
Ouyang Hua recounted everything that had happened on Yong’an Street.
“Elder Yu, His Majesty is in seclusion cultivating. What should I do now?”
“Calm down.” Yu Shangneng showed a kind smile and pressed his palm down. “I will go to the prime minister’s residence. Junior Minister Ouyang, you may arrange your own schedule.”
Ouyang Hua breathed a sigh of relief and cupped his hands. “Junior Ouyang Hua thanks Elder Yu.” With Yu Shangneng backing him up, everything would be much better. Even if something went wrong, the blame wouldn’t fall on him.
Ouyang Hua hurriedly left.
Seeing that he was far away, Yu Shangneng’s calm demeanor instantly vanished, replaced by a look of urgency. First Shen Qingqing, then the Tianxiang disciple. There must be a connection.
He looked in the direction of the Mo Mansion and muttered gravely, “Mo, my boy, please don’t do anything foolish.” But even he knew that was just comforting himself. As stupid as Yu Shangneng might be, he knew that Mo Jiuchi must have laid hands on a Tianxiang disciple. Otherwise, Shen Qingqing wouldn’t have come.
That female star of calamity—no one could control her except her senior sister, Qifang Xianzi. Wasn’t the Tianxiang Sect said to have low combat power? But don’t forget there was also that person from Shushan. Anyone who provoked Shen Qingqing was essentially provoking him.
“Well, I suppose I’ll go collect that kid’s corpse.” Yu Shangneng shook his head helplessly and immediately walked out of the palace.
—
Mo Mansion Courtyard.
Shen Qingqing narrowed her beautiful eyes, a faint smile on her lips, as she approached Mo Jiuchi step by step.
To the onlookers, she was just walking over simply.
But in Mo Jiuchi’s eyes, every step she took was a tremendous torment.
The surging spiritual pressure, as vast as the sun, turned into mountain after mountain pressing down on his body and mind.
“A mere mortal grandmaster dares to lay hands on my sect’s disciple? Do you also think, like those evil path cultivators, that the Tianxiang Sect is everyone’s pushover?”
“I wouldn’t dare. It’s all a misunderstanding.” Mo Jiuchi gritted his teeth, using all his strength to pry open his mouth and explain.
The moment he spoke, a sudden crack sounded. The floor tiles beneath him shattered and broke.
Mo Jiuchi could no longer hold on. He spat out a mouthful of stagnant blood and fell to one knee. His face, already pale, now looked no different from a dead man’s.
“Whoa, who’s this fairy NPC? That’s insane! She scared the boss into spitting blood just by glaring?”
“Captain, don’t be so ignorant, okay? You don’t even know Shen Qingqing, Sister Shen? Are you new to the Xianjie? And that wasn’t just a glare—I think it was aura. Sister Shen is a sect leader after all; her strength is definitely no joke.”
“Shen Qingqing? Oh, I remember now. In the group, people always claim to be Shen Qingqing’s dog. So that’s her. Hehe, I think I kind of understand what those people are thinking.”
Seeing the Shence player’s lecherous expression, the other players all stepped aside, not wanting to stay near this pervert.
Shen Qingqing, Immortal Fairy Shen?
She was the famous Immortal Fairy Shen?
Wu Yaowen was so shocked his jaw nearly hit the floor.
“Brother, why are your mouth wide open? Judging by your outfit, are you an NPC?” A Tang Clan player walked over and put his left hand on Wu Yaowen’s shoulder.
Seeing the sect uniform on him, Wu Yaowen was so startled he immediately broke free and bowed with cupped hands. “Greetings, Immortal Master.”
The Tang Clan player hadn’t expected such a big reaction. He withdrew his hand awkwardly. “Tch, so you really are an NPC,” the Tang Clan player muttered, then lost interest in Wu Yaowen and turned back to join his team. The scholar was left bewildered.
Wu Yaowen blinked blankly, completely confused.
What is an “NPC”?
Judging by the Immortal Master’s reaction, he seemed to dislike this thing. But what exactly is an NPC?
Wu Yaowen racked his brain but couldn’t figure it out, so he finally gave up.
On the other side.
Hearing Mo Jiuchi’s explanation, Shen Qingqing snorted coldly, increasing the pressure even more.
The veins on Mo Jiuchi’s forehead bulged, his skin flushed and congested. He propped himself up with one hand on his knee and the other on the ground, struggling desperately.
“Whether it was unintentional or intentional, you know it in your heart. I don’t want to hear any explanations. Since you chose to make a move, then you must bear my wrath. No more nonsense.”
With that, a pink light flashed in Shen Qingqing’s eyes. The spiritual pressure instantly multiplied by over ten times, warping the very void.
The pressure increased more than tenfold. Mo Jiuchi’s face changed dramatically. With a bang, he collapsed heavily to the ground.
The floor tiles within several meters around him shattered, and an invisible force pressed the ground down by half a meter, forming a small pit.
“Spare… spare me…” Mo Jiuchi, barely alive, gasped from the pit.
“Uncle Mo!”
“Brother Jiuchi!”
At that moment, Mo Nichang and Mo Ruhui, father and daughter, saw Mo Jiuchi’s miserable state and rushed over in panic.
Shen Qingqing waved her hand, and an invisible wall of air blocked their path.
The two slammed into the invisible wall, seeing stars. Mo Nichang came to her senses and started pounding on the invisible air wall, wailing heartbreakingly.
When a woman starts crying, it’s absolutely ear-splitting noise.
“Shut up.” Shen Qingqing frowned and turned back with a glare.
Suddenly, a dull thud echoed in the void. The Mo father and daughter were sent flying as if hit by a speeding train.
But they were unharmed, caught by the Mo Mansion servants nearby.
Shen Qingqing ignored the two mortals and turned back to look at Mo Jiuchi in the pit. He was now breathing shallowly, almost at the end.
She had made up her mind to kill this mortal martial artist.
This precedent could not be set; it had to be severely punished.
If others found out that someone could lay hands on Shen Qingqing’s disciple and still walk away unscathed, things would go wrong in the future. Wouldn’t everyone try to follow suit?
Therefore, this man must die—and die horribly. Let all of Shangjing City and the Great Song know the consequences of harming this sect leader’s disciple.
“Sect Leader Shen, why such a fuss over a mere mortal martial artist?” A man’s voice suddenly came from afar, startling Shen Qingqing.
She didn’t even turn around. “Hmph, Fellow Daoist Xiao, it’s not your disciple, so of course you don’t care.”
“Haha, true enough. But this Mo Jiuchi kid, I plan to take him as my disciple. Could you go easy on him and let him off?”
A sturdy middle-aged man stepped over the courtyard threshold and strode in.
He wore simple gray cloth clothes, with a single ponytail tied back.
But even in ordinary cloth, his sharp edge and solid muscles were unmistakable.
Chen Xiaoyan’s eyes lit up suddenly.
Don’t misunderstand—she wasn’t lusting after this muscular man. She heard that this NPC wanted to take Mo Jiuchi as a disciple.
Her mind immediately started working.
Though she didn’t know who this guy was, the fact that Shen Qingqing addressed him as “Fellow Daoist” meant his status and strength were exceptional.
Chen Xiaoyan’s eyes darted cunningly. She already had an idea.
“No.” Shen Qingqing refused without any hesitation, turning back and raising her hand to finish off the unconscious Mo Jiuchi.
Seeing this, Xiao Jun didn’t bother with appearances anymore. He quickly used the supernatural power Ground-Shrinking Technique and teleported over.
“Hey, hey, hey, Sect Leader Shen, no, Sister Shen, Ancestor Shen! Even if you don’t consider my face, consider my senior brother’s face! This kid is a good seed for spear arts. It would be a pity if he died.”
Shen Qingqing’s hand stopped in midair. She hesitated.
Who was this fool’s senior brother?
After thinking for a while, our Immortal Fairy Shen finally thought of one person: Ye Poyun.
Recalling the past, the most profound memory she had of Ye Poyun was his back—that broad back holding a spear, holding the demonic creatures at the line of life and death, never retreating even when heavily wounded.
He was also a survivor of the Endless Demon Domain expedition back then.
Later, the core disciples of several major sects jointly cleared the anomalies caused by the Endless Demon Domain teleportation point.
Shen Qingqing met him for the first time then. Somehow, the two never met again after that.
Every alliance meeting, it was always this blockhead Xiao Jun who attended on his behalf. If not for the Shence disciples occasionally seeing Ye Poyun, rumors would have spread that the Shence Fu sect leader had passed away.
“Junior brother, do not interfere in this matter.”
Just as Xiao Jun spoke, he heard Ye Poyun’s Thousand Mile Voice Transmission in his ear.
“Come on, senior brother! This Mo Jiuchi has a special physique—extremely resistant to damage. He’s perfect for our Shence Fu.”
“You are determined to meddle?”
Ye Poyun’s tone now carried a hint of threat, but this Senior Xiao didn’t catch it at all. Instead, he patted his chest firmly. “Yes, this talent is a once-in-a-century find. I can’t let him go. Otherwise, I won’t be able to cultivate peacefully in the future.”
[VIP] Chapter 249: This Kid, I, Xiao the Fool, Will Protect
“Fine, suit yourself. But there’s one thing I need to tell you in advance.”
“What is it, senior brother? Just say it.” As long as he wasn’t forced to go back, anything was fine.
Xiao Jun had been on the path of cultivation for so many years and had never found a suitable disciple.
Unexpectedly, he met one in Shangjing City.
He had heard of Mo Jiuchi—just a mortal grandmaster, not enough to catch their attention.
Earlier, while cultivating on General’s Mountain, he suddenly sensed a familiar aura and came out of curiosity.
As soon as he arrived, he saw a mortal martial artist being brutally tortured by Shen Qingqing. Anyone with eyes could see that this Shen the Dark Lady was deliberately tormenting him.
In the cultivation world, hierarchy was strict.
Crossing levels to challenge was as hard as reaching the heavens.
Even if you were just one small rank higher, defeating someone was easy—unless the opponent had hidden cards.
Mo Jiuchi’s grandmaster martial artist rank, in cultivation terms, was only at the peak of the Spirit Enlightenment stage, at most the initial stage of Awakening Spirit.
So facing Shen Qingqing, who was at the Divine Ability Realm or above, he had no power to resist. He couldn’t even raise his head.
Just the spiritual pressure from her realm alone could crush him into mud.
What surprised Xiao Jun was that this kid, after such brutal torment from Shen Qingqing, still hadn’t died. If it were an ordinary grandmaster martial artist, they would have become one with the soil by now. A talent this resilient would be a waste not to recruit into Shence Fu.
“Junior brother, if you want to save him, that’s fine, but you cannot use my name.”
“Uh…” Xiao Jun’s square face immediately fell.
In the entire Shence Fu, only he and his senior brother had any relationship with her. If he didn’t use his senior brother as a shield, this Shen the Dark Lady probably wouldn’t agree.
“Senior brother, this junior brother—” Xiao Jun stammered, trying to persuade him again, but Ye Poyun directly shut down his little scheme.
“No. If you don’t have the ability to save him from her hands, then come back to the mountain as soon as possible. There are sect affairs that need your handling.”
Xiao Jun’s face was full of worry, and then he sighed.
Now this was a problem. His biggest backing was gone.
In the entire Xianjie Alliance, aside from the Tianxiang Sect’s own people, it was nearly impossible to get any advantage from Shen the Dark Lady.
Xiao Jun had a psychological shadow when it came to her. He had fallen into her hands countless times before.
Shen the Dark Lady—aptly named. Her heart was black.
This woman must have psychological issues for her personality to be so twisted.
“Sister Shen!”
Suddenly, a sweet voice broke his train of thought.
He looked up and saw a charming Tianxiang disciple. Xiao Jun didn’t pay much attention. In the cultivation world, he had seen many beautiful faces. This one was no different.
But what happened next left him utterly stunned.
Shen Qingqing, hearing the voice, slowly turned her head. A smile curled at the corners of her lips, and her gaze toward Chen Xiaoyan was extremely gentle.
Xiao Jun’s eyes widened. He stared blankly at Shen Qingqing’s incredibly tender look.
No way?
Was this the look Shen the Dark Lady should have?
He didn’t believe it. He rubbed his eyes and looked again.