Chapter 241 – The Shopkeeper Of Sheng De Hall
Feng Lian Ying sneered, "You're a young dragon that's not much better than a snake! Even the low level disciples of my Liu Li sect might be able to catch you as a pet, and yet here you are, daring to be so arrogant in front of me. Don't overestimate your capabilities and attempt something impossible. As far as a useless spirit pet goes, you're the most useless! Since you were so devoted in protecting him, then I'll help you all die together!"
Upon saying that, her Long Sword suddenly lit up with a blinding red light and was surrounded by leaping flames; as if it was about to burn all of Zijin Palace down.
Fear and sadness clearly showed on Dandan's face. But, in the next moment, he resolutely clenched his jaw and leaped into the air, firmly wrapping himself around He Xi.
He had experienced thousands of years of waiting in loneliness, before he had finally managed to met Mother! Mother was so gentle; so kind, she made so many delicious types of food for him, and she would even hug him to appease him…if he lost Mother, then would he have to return to that boundless darkness; where there was no longer any food, no light, and no more of Mother's hugs to warm him?
No! He didn't want that to happen!
As long as he could be together with Mother, even if he had to pay any price, he would do it without any hesitation!
Dandan's body grew bigger and bigger, and the spiritual power in his body started surging violently, forming into a faint spiritual power vortex.
Next, the Long Sword enveloped in blazing flames issued an ear piercing buzzing as it was aimed straight at the two spirit pets.
Dandan's eyes filled with determination, and he recklessly launched the spiritual vortex.
But suddenly, a refreshing screen of water appeared before their eyes. During a moment of life or death, it had unexpectedly blocked that whizzing Long Sword and its blazing flames.
Feng Lian Ying's complexion became extremely unsightly, and she asked in a dark voice, "Who is it?! Come out here now!"
Her words had barely fallen when the door of Zijin Palace was slowly pushed open, and a man dressed in a black robe entered the palace holding a wooden protection tablet in his outstretched hands.
The man's looks were scholarly and ordinary, while his voice when speaking carried a refined and amiable tone. "Ice Lotus Fairy, your reputation is well known, and your Liu Li sect is a dignified and large sect; by taking advantage of such a precarious position and mounting an attack on a member of the younger generation, it wouldn't be good if it were to spread outside right?"
When she clearly saw the man's face, Feng Lian Ying's expression showed a hint of disgust in a flash. "I was wondering who was it, and as it turns out, it's actually shopkeeper Zhou of Sheng De hall. You're merely trash who depended on medicinal pills to forcefully accumulate enough spiritual power to reach Gold Core Stage, and yet you dare to meddle in this Fairy's business. Just who do you think you are?!"
The person who had come was Zhou Yan'an, a second ranked doctor and shopkeeper of Sheng De hall that He Xi became acquainted with when she was rescuing Xiao Li's brother.
Zhou Yan'an quickly walked over to stand before He Xi, and Zijin Palace's doors slowly shut behind him.
Inhaling a deep breath, he said, "The people in this world have a duty to meddle in affairs that have nothing to do with them if someone is about to be hurt. Furthermore, this is Young Master Xi, who this humble one happens to be acquainted with. Hence, no matter what, this humble one can't just sit back and watch him die by your hands."
Feng Lian Ying's words were laced with contempt as she sneered, "If those words were said to me by your Master, Gu Liu Feng, I might have shown some fear, but since it was you…you have no qualifications to talk to me like that."
Finished speaking, Feng Lian Ying brandished the Long Sword in her hand once more, and ruthlessly shot towards Zhou Yan'an.
With a bang, a water mist rose into the air and blocked Feng Lian Ying's strike. However, this time the water barrier vibrated extremely hard; like it was only just managing to withstand the attack and resist shattering into pieces.
Feng Lian Ying retrieved the Long Sword, and seeing the wooden protection tablet still in Zhou Yan'an's hands emitting a faint silvery light, she sneered, "You think that such a lousy protection tablet could block my attack? Dream on!"
Chapter 242 – Unable To Contend
Like she had thought of something, Feng Lian Ying's jealous-filled gaze swept over towards He Xi and she gloomily said, "Since shopkeeper Zhou came here, it was presumably to also receive the Inheritance of Zijin Palace, right? However, this palace has now been taken away by that stinky boy using his despicable methods. Shopkeeper Zhou, didn't you want to get the Inheritance?"
Upon hearing this, Shopkeeper Zhou stared blankly, before then glancing in disbelief at the boy meditating with his eyes closed.
Young Master once said that if one wants to receive Zijin Palace's Inheritance, that they must at least be a martial artist of Gold Core Stage or higher, and moreover, they need to have a certain level of medical expertise. Young Master Xi's cultivation base was clearly just Qi Refining Stage, but unexpectedly he was able to get the Inheritance! Could it be that his medical expertise is really so high that its reached perfection?
When Dandan heard Feng Lian Ying slandering He Xi, he angrily shouted, "Evil woman who won't ever be able to be married off, it was obviously because your skills weren't as good as Mother's that you lost, and Zijin's Master even said that you were inferior to Mother. With your venomous heart you were jealous of Mother, and thus you wanted to take advantage and kill her when she's in the process of receiving the Inheritance! Such a vile person! Shameful and malicious people like you will absolutely not have a good ending!"
Zhou Yan'an was baffled. Young Master Xi was a man, yet his spirit pet called him Mother.
At the same time, Feng Lian Ying on the opposite side was angered so much that she trembled all over. As she glared at Dandan and He Xi, it was clear that she wanted to mince them up into meat patties.
"Zhou Yan'an, you better get out of here if you know what's good for you, or else I will kill you together with them!!"
As her words fell, a formidable and imposing spiritual pressure burst out from Feng Lian Ying's body, tightly wrapping itself around Zhou Yan'an and Dandan.
Zhou Yan'an instantly turned deathly pale, causing him to fall back a step. The light of the wooden protection tablet in his hand seemed to dim slightly.
His eyes expressed his dread and panic. It's precisely as the Ice Lotus Fairy had said; he had depended on medicinal pills given to him by his Young Master to help him forcibly accumulate enough spiritual power to raise his cultivation base to Gold Core Stage. And it was all done for the purpose of entering the secret territory and obtaining Zijin Palace's Inheritance.
His strength simply wouldn't be able to contend with the woman's before his eyes, so the wisest choice was to leave…
However, Zhou Yan'an turned his head back and caught a glimpse of He Xi. The youngster's long eyelashes were resting gently on soft, round cheeks, while his exquisite skin was sparkling and translucent. It was like this person was carved out of white jade; exceptionally beautiful and delicate.
An image of this youth rescuing that boy emerged before his eyes. He was radiant and glorious; as if any incurable disease in this world could easily be solved by his hands.
If it was him, perhaps he could really cure…it wasn't certain but maybe! If it was him, perhaps he would have more confidence than himself, and be more successful in accomplishing a miracle!
With these thoughts, Zhou Yan'an clenched his jaw, his face showing obvious determination. "Ice Lotus Fairy, I'm a person who learned medicine, and we medical practitioners have benevolent hearts and are charitable in our deeds as a fundamental rule. With your conduct of wilfully killing a teenager because of hate and jealousy, you don't deserve the title of doctor. Today, this humble one finally knows that the Ice Lotus Fairy who was originally rumoured to be as spotless as jade, with the heart of a Bodhisattva, was nowhere near as good as she was made out to be!"
"Good, very good! Since you yourself want to court death, then don't blame me for being merciless!"
Zhou Yan'an's remark was more refined than Dandan's, but the meaning still caused Feng Lian Ying to become furiously angry.
With bloodshot eyes, the muscles on her face slightly trembled because of jealousy and hatred, turning her previously beautiful face into something sinister and distorted. This appearance completely replaced her usually irreproachable image.
If it was the normal Feng Lian Ying, then no matter how much she hated a person, she would've perfectly controlled her temperament and maintained her graceful appearance.
Chapter 243 – Advancing To Meridians Stage
But today, with her fail in competing over Zijin Palace's Inheritance, the hatred she had for He Xi made her extremely irritated. All this, coupled with Dandan, the Little Golden Dragon, and Zhou Yan'an's words on top of that, it made her completely lose all rational and she was unable to maintain her fairy-like image.
Zhou Yan'an's strength could in no way contend with Feng Lian Ying's power, and as a result, after just a few short fights, he fell into a disadvantageous position; his body sustaining a few wounds.
Watching from the side, Dandan suddenly jumped over in an attempt to distracted Feng Lian Ying and assist Zhou Yan'an, but Feng Lian Ying ruthlessly kicked him away with a burst of spare spiritual power. This caused him to smash into Hexi's body so hard, that he ended up spitting out a mouthful of blood.
Feng Lian Ying pointed the edge of her blazing sword at Zhou Yan'an, severely striking him. With a bam, the wooden protection tablet in Zhou Yan'an's hand shattered into pieces. After which, he staggered before tumbling to the ground; his complexion deathly pale.
This wooden protection tablet was a spiritual item given to him by his Young Master, and it was able to resist the full strength of an attack from a martial artist at the peak of Gold Core Stage. Zhou Yan'an had been able to avoid so many of Feng Lian Ying's attacks so far because of this protection tablet.
Now that the protection tablet was broken, and the spiritual power in his body had been used up to the last drop, he could no longer withstand another blow from Feng Lian Ying.
A cold and malicious expression was clearly visible on Feng Lian Ying's face. Whether it was Zhou Yan'an, the two little beasts, or He Xi; she absolutely wouldn't allow them to live. In this world, any person who dared to humiliate her would pay the price a thousand times over, and they wouldn't be allowed to die a natural death.
However, since Feng Lian Ying was immersed in her hatred, while Zhou Yan'an was focused on her and his despair, neither of them noticed what was currently happening with He Xi. As she sat silent and cross-legged to the side, her body began to emit a faint silver light.
Dandan raised his small head, and his big eyes welled with tears as he looked at He Xi with a surprised expression. "Mother!"
Along with the light slowly getting brighter, at a rate faster than the eye could see, He Xi's spiritual power started to franticly increase. A tiny whirlpool formed in her dantian, and little by little, it started absorbing the spiritual energy from Zijin Palace into her body.
Next, He Xi's cultivation base rose from the peak of Foundation Establishment Stage; to the completion of Foundation Establishment Stage; all the way up to Meridians stage. Finally, she stopped advancing once she reached the second rank of Meridians Stage.
It must be known that in Mi Luo Continent, a martial artist's rank was categorized and divided into Qi Refining Stage, Foundation Establishment stage, Meridians Stage, Gold Core Stage, Nascent Soul Stage, Divine Stage, Void And Darkness Stage, Overcoming Tribulation Stage, and lastly; Completeness Stage.
The higher the rank a martial artist reached, the harder advancing would become; it would be as if one was ascending to heaven. For a martial artist with ordinary innate talents, advancing from Foundation Establishment Stage to Meridians Stage would take at least several decades. Even a genius martial artist with outstanding innate talents would need at least five to six years. But He Xi had unexpectedly, in just one short month, managed to jump to the second rank of Meridians Stage without a cultivation base.
If such an advancement speed were to spread out, it would absolutely shake the entire Mi Luo Continent to its core.
With the silver light slowly dissipating, it ultimately seemed that everything had completely entered
He Xi's body. Next, the eyelashes of the youngster slowly trembled as he sat cross-legged, and he slowly opened his eyes.
This scene was stunning, yet it all happened within the blink of an eye. So except for Dandan, Feng Lian Ying and Zhou Yan'an didn't discover what had been going on!
Seeing the sword about to reach him once more, Zhou Yan'an closed his eyes in despair and he muttered two words, "Young Master…"
However, the pain he expected didn't come and instead, he suddenly felt something wrap around his waist. Zhou Yan'an's body flew into the air, brushing past the tip of Feng Lian Ying's sword in the nick of time.
Almost at the same time, the entirety of Zijin Palace erupted in a burst of dazzling silver and purple lights; as if millions of shooting stars streaked across a night sky, making it difficult for people to open their eyes.
Chapter 244 – Disappearance Of Zijin Palace
Feeling pain in her head due to the blinding light, Feng Lian Ying quickly covered her eyes. And through the gaps between her fingers, she could vaguely see the blinding white light converging in one direction.
A gentle breeze blew past after the light had completely dissipated, and she was shocked to discover that she was no longer in Zijin Palace, but was now standing in a vast field.
No, it should be said, that Zijin Palace had completely disappeared.
And standing opposite her was Zhou Yan'an, who was still in a panicked state. Tied around his waist was a White Bone Whip, while his clothes were tattered and soaked with blood. His breath was released in pants, as if his spiritual power would dry up at any moment.
But Feng Lian Ying was already too busy to worry about Zhou Yan'an; her crazed, unwavering gaze falling on the teenager beside him.
"Xi Yue, you're such a shameless person! Actually daring to receive the Inheritance!!"
Not only had he received the Inheritance, his cultivation base had also advanced extremely fast. When he was still in the Inheritance void he was obviously only at Qi Refining Stage, but now he had reached Foundation Establishment Stage! This must be because Zijin's Master had passed down some sort of secret technique for him, to enhance his cultivation base in such a short amount of time!
If…if the one who received the Inheritance had been her, then perhaps she would've been able to break through to the peak of Gold Core Stage. It was because this stinky brat! This bastard had caused her to lose her Inheritance!
As soon as Dandan saw that He Xi had awoken, he was no longer able to bear it and immediately pounced into her arms as he loudly cried, "Mother, you finally woke up…whaa…Dandan was scared he wouldn't see you again…"
Once He Xi hugged Dandan, she felt that something was wrong. The little pink pig's skin was previously soft and smooth, yet now it had become all wrinkled. Furthermore, the colour of his skin was all dull and lifeless, while in the corner of his mouth there was a distinct trail of blood.
"Dandan, are you injured?"
"Whaa…Mother, it was that evil woman who bullied us! She beat Longlong to death, and she even wanted to kill Mother and Uncle, whaa…"
Dandan wept with grief. Even though he was still immature, he had never in his life encountered anyone so repulsive and bloodthirsty. It was the first time he had known that people could be so awful, so cruel.
He Xi shifted her gaze towards the Little Golden Dragon beside her foot, and saw that he was indeed covered all over with cuts and bruises. And as she examined his dying form, she noticed that even both of his horns were broken, exposing bloody wounds.
And laying at her side, with his spiritual power completely used up, was a man struggling to breathe. She instantly recognized him as shopkeeper Zhou of Sheng De hall.
This person and these spirit pets…had they ended up in such a miserable state in order to protect her?
A strange warm feeling surged in He Xi's heart. It was sour and painful, making her feel touched and distressed at the same time.
But when her gaze moved towards Feng Lian Ying, the look on her face became cold and furious in a flash.
This is the so called Ice Lotus Fairy, whose skill in the Inheritance void had been inferior. She had actually wanted to kill her in the real world, even injuring Dandan so severely!
Thinking until here, the glint of a cold murderous aura flashed within He Xi's eyes.
"Young Master Xi, you…hurry up and run away! We aren't strong enough to be her opponents…" Zhou Yan'an said weakly. "I've informed my Young Master of the situation, so as long as my Young Master comes, he can save you…don't mind me, quickly escape!"
A trace of surprise showed on He Xi's face. She hadn't expected that a stranger she would meet by chance would help her, but he had recklessly risked his life just for her.
Only, no matter what the purpose of Zhou Yan'an helping her was, was she, He Xi, the type of person who would abandon her benefactor and run away in order to protect her own safety?
Chapter 245 – Kowtow To Apologize
When Zhou Yan'an didn't see him moving, he became anxious. "Young Master Xi, my…my spiritual power is used up, and my meridians are damaged. It's certain that I won't be able to escape, so you should quickly go…otherwise, it'll be too late…"
He Xi didn't pay attention to his words. Rather, she rapidly took out her Silver Needles and in a flash sealed several of his major acupuncture points.
As his acupuncture points were sealed, the spiritual energy and power that leaked from Zhou Yan'an's damaged meridians slowly stopped, and his pale complexion began to return to normal.
Not waiting for Zhou Yan'an to say anything further, He Xi quickly fished out a few spiritual supplement pills and stuffed it into his mouth, before indifferently saying, "It's only a small injury, why should you make out as if you were half dead? Rest assured, you and I won't die!"
Slowly he felt spiritual energy gathering in his dantian, and even his meridians which had previously been burning gradually started to cool down.
Zhou Yan'an was astonished, and as he looked at He Xi, his gaze steadily became more respectful. Yet when he saw Feng Lian Ying's dark expression as she walked towards them carrying her sword, he couldn't help but become anxious. "Young Master Xi, even if you were able to save this humble one's life, with just our strength alone, we're simply not able to be a match with Ice Lotus Fairy. I'll only drag you down…"
Zhou Yan'an's words hadn't yet finished, when he suddenly felt his throat clog and he could no longer utter any sound.
He Xi coldly withdrew her finger that had been pressing on his voice acupuncture point, and indifferently said, "You're too noisy, go to the side and obediently watch. Who said that we weren't a match with that damned woman and could only die? Even if I really have to die, I must shed a layer of that vicious white lotus's skin! In this world, no one can injure my, Xi Yue's people, without paying the price!"
Feng Lian Ying's eyes were still dark; as if they contained venom. Yet hearing this just as she was starting to calm down caused her to burst into a fit of loud laughter, "Who do you think you are? You're merely Foundation Establishment Stage trash! You think that since you received Zijin Palace's Inheritance that you'll be able to go against me? In your dreams!"
Once that was said, Feng Lian Ying's expression became extremely dark and sinister. "If you hand over the Golden Bodhi Tree and Zijin Palace now, this Fairy will kindly leave your corpse intact. Otherwise, don't blame me for being merciless. My Liu Li sect has so many methods to torture people, and at that time, I'll let you have a taste of what it means to live in agony yet be unable to die! By then, even if you beg for forgiveness, it will certainly be too late!"
He Xi sneered, then took a confident step forward before indifferently saying, "If you want me to hand over the Golden Bodhi Tree and Zijin Palace, I can! That's as long as you, Feng Lian Ying, kneel on the ground and kowtow towards me, shopkeeper Zhou, and my spirit pets to apologize. Furthermore, admit to the people in this world that you, Ice Lotus Fairy, are nothing but a reputation with no substance; a woman with a venomous heart. Then, I'll give the Inheritance to you, how is it?"
"You!! You bastard, you court death!!"
Once she heard that, Feng Lian Ying flew into a rage. With a blazing flame springing up around her entire body, the Long Sword in her hand formed out countless Sword-lights[1] that shot straight towards He Xi.
He Xi immediately threw Dandan and the little Golden Dragon into her space, and seeing the Sword-lights flying towards her, she abruptly brandished the White Bone Whip in her hand.
The White Bone Whip transformed into a whip with layer upon layer of shadow, and mixing with a murderous aura that was as cold as ice, it then enveloped the Sword-lights into a ball.
With the movement of He Xi's feet blurring into shadow, she disappeared from where she was currently standing in the blink of an eye.
He Xi's ice spiritual power was of course unable to resist a fire attack by a Gold Core Stage martial artist. So the icy cold energy was rapidly engulfed by the flames, turning it into steam before it disappeared without a trace.
But within this split second gap, He Xi had also disappeared. This resulted in the Long Sword hurtling past and returning to Feng Lian Ying's hand without success once again.
[1]Sword-light - also translated as a Sword Ray. A dazzling, powerful energy attack released from the edge of a blade. Forming Sword-light generally requires a profound cultivation base and a deep mastery of swordsmanship.