Chapter 30: The Improper Way To Learn Romance
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Xiao Jianshen was the closest to the portal so he stood on it before anyone else. He flicked his sleeves and five black needles shot toward the other disciples. When the needles appeared, an army of vicious phantoms appeared behind each of them and quickly connected into a giant hand. Those needles were like the fingers of a death god reaching out to steal souls. Moreover, it was backed by power that could even leave a Golden Core cultivator devastated. 

 

"Hand of the Plague Devil!" 

 

One of the needles reached Yan Xiaolong, but it was easily blocked by the defensive talismans. However, it managed to corrode ten of his talismans. Upon closer examination, the black needles turned out to be extremely concentrated poison. It was so toxic that it was still eating away at his talismans. "Taking a direct hit would've killed me! This bastard..."

 

Prince Jiang Wei and Daoist King-Slayer attacked with their weapons, sending sturdy boulders and savage winds toward the needles, and destroyed them. Su Meimeng retaliated by summoning a purple moon to defend herself, while Tai Shan brought back the black-yellow mountain to do the same. They pushed their cultivation bases to the extreme in response to the almighty Hand of the Plague Devil. 

 

However, unlike Yan Xiaolong, they could not fully protect themselves. Once the needles were destroyed, they burst into a dense, black miasma. This caused the four of them to retreat backward with the miasma lingering around their body and attaching to their skins. Tai Shan managed to keep the miasma to his left hand, but the other three were covered from head to toe. It was as if they soaked in black ink. They were so severely injured that they resorted to using their most precious medicinal pills to heal themselves. 

 

"Xiao Jianshen, you prick! I can't believe you used a nasty technique like that on us!" 

 

"Are you trying to kill us, Xiao Jianshen!? You're only suppose to use something like that as a last resort!" 

 

"Although you play dirty, you always fight with your sword first! Why are you using your ultimate technique so early for!?" 

 

Only Tai Shan remained silent and focused on healing himself. Xiao Jianshen did not answer them. He took a look at Yan Xiaolong and clasped his hand to bow. "Young Master Yan, how about we get straight to the point?" 

 

He took out a leather bag and threw it at Yan Xiaolong. "There are fifty thousand spirit stones in that bag of holding." 

 

Yan Xiaolong caught the bag and confirmed the number of spirit stones inside it. "Thanks, but do you think you're capable of forcing me to leave?" 

 

"I wouldn't dare, Young Master Yan!" Xiao Jianshen raised his hands and shook them dramatically. "However, we both have the same cultivation base and there is not enough time for us to fight it out. I suggest you attack the other four and secure your chances of entering next time." 

 

"You're right. There isn't enough time to fight." Yan Xiaolong turned around and casually entered the miasma. The sound of chains followed him along. "Why did you use your trump card just now?" 

 

"Ah, that." Xiao Jianshen caressed his chin. "Well... why hold back? There's only so much time left so I acted quickly. I admit that I was a little careless with my power, but I was sure that everyone would survive. Everybody here was prepared for something like my attack. It's the world of immortal cultivation after all. Moreover, I really need to find the remaining legacy of the Plague Devil to secure my path to the Ascendant level. The less competition, the better. You know, it's quite difficult to forge one's Dao as an inheritor so it's important to-" 

 

"And if someone did not?" Yan Xiaolong interrupted. 

 

"It's the will of the heavens." 

 

The sound of the chains grew distant. Xiao Jianshen widen his smile and sat down on the portal. His mood was slightly soured by Yan Xiaolong's interruption, but he won the battle against the other disciples so he did not let it bother him. Although a lot happened, only a few seconds had actually past. In the world of immortal cultivation, events either stretched across hundreds of years or squeezed into a few seconds. Even a nanosecond of carelessness could result in dramatic transformations of a situation. 

 

Chomp! 

 

Xiao Jianshen felt a biting pain on his leg. To his horror, a metallic dragon head appeared from the ground and stuck its teeth onto his flesh. "This is..." 

 

"Dragon Soul Chain: Blood Displacement!" Yan Xiaolong's voice rang in his ears like thunder. 

 

A moment later, the portal under him was replaced by a blood diagram. It glowed with power and red brilliance, drawn with Yan Xiaolong’s blood. He looked back and saw the black miasma, not the wall. 

 

"NOOOOOOO!!!!!" 

 

Xiao Jianshen zoomed toward the portal, but he was too late. The last scene he saw was Yan Xiaolong's pale, taunting face who left to the third district. 

 

“Let the heavens decide your fate then...” 

 

......

 

“Where did he go!? If I find him, I’ll castrate him and turned him into an actual woman!” A violet moon circled around the second district with radiance and violence. 

 

“Xiao Jianshen, you psychopath, get the fuck out here for this daddy!” Buildings after buildings collapsed as a bone club smashed it away across the second district like a comet. 

 

“Hide all you want, Xiao Jianshen, but my imperial family and sect will come knocking at your doorstep when we all leave!” Dozens of tornadoes gathered up all the rubble and became walking weapons of disaster. 

 

The tripartite of Su Meimeng, Daoist King-Slayer, and Prince Jiang Wei destroyed their way across the second district to hunt down Xiao Jianshen. However, there was one person missing who should’ve joined them. 

 

Prince Jiang Wei was the calmest of the angry trio and looked around in curiosity. “Where is that Tai Shan?” 

 

“Far away like the cockroach that he is.” Daoist King-Slayer spat. “I would settle the score with him if I wasn’t so angry at that little snake. He’s irrelevant in this hunt.” 

 

“His dao technique is excellent for trapping opponents.” Su Meimeng chimed in. Her attacks became more brutal as she recounted Tai Shan sealing her under the black-yellow mountain. 

 

“That little snake is too slippery to be trapped under a mountain. We might as well just kill him.” A vicious light flickered in Daoist King-Slayer’s eyes. “Better yet, we get as many people involved as possible so the punishment is abated. I refuse to believe they would kill us all in both and soul like they say they would for homicide. Moreover, it would be justified.” 

 

“In that case, we might as throw Tai Shan into there as well.” Su Meimeng said. 

 

“Agreed.” Daoist King-Slayer stomped his foot, creating webs of cracks on the stone pavement.  

 

“Enough, you two.” Prince Jiang Wei reasoned, “It’s one thing to kill Xiao Jianshen since he’s from the Verdant Mountain Sect, but Tai Shan is from the Immortal Sage Sect. Under the current sect leader, the Immortal Sage Sect is far more prominent and powerful than they had ever been. They are no longer the Red Lotus Sect they used to be. Back then, we all saw that battle and the brutality at which they fought.” 

 

“So what? Cripple him?” The thought of cultivation crippling sounded more pleasing to Daoist King-Slayer than killing.  

 

“You are courting death, fool. He also seems to be connected to the Han Clan, not just Ice Jade Peak.” Prince Jiang Wei shook his head with a wry smile. “Killing or crippling is off limit since he’s never been that offensive. If you really want to settle the score, just fight him under proper, cultivator etiquette.” 

 

“That doesn’t seem very fun.” 

 

“The fun stops when you die, meathead. Just focus on finding Xiao Jianshen for now.” 

 

...... 

 

From the opposite direction of the trio was Tai Shan. He hopped across buildings and spread his spiritual sense to search for something. At some point, he saw a white figure on the ground and jumped down toward it. 

 

“Junior Sister Han, wake up! Wake up!” He grabbed her slim body and shook her violently like a man shaking a rice plant to collect rice. 

 

Crack! A thin, icy slit appeared on her body. 

 

“Eh?” 

 

Crack! The slit grew into a web of cracks. 

 

“Eh??” 

 

Crack! The cracks grew from the top of her head to the top of her toes. 

 

“Eh???” 

 

Crack! A second later, Han Xiaoling’s body collapsed into a pile of icicle shards. Each shard was like a grain of rice. So small, so delicate, so fragile. 

 

“AHHHHH!!! She’s dead!” 

 

Smack! A palm struck Tai Shan on the back of the head. 

 

“What are you doing, you fool?” Han Xiaoling appeared behind him, completely whole. 

 

“You-You’re alive?” Tai Shan asked incredulously. 

 

“Neat, huh? It’s the new skill I learned. Unfortunately, while it’s strong, it kinda screw with your head. Even forming spiritual connection is hard.” Han Xiaoling sighed. “However, in combination with the Icy-Heart Chilling-Soul Technique, I can completely hide my existence from other people. This include my other clones too.” 

 

“Oh, a cloning skill! Nicely done.” Tai Shan slowly clapped. “Unfortunately, it would’ve been a lot better if you encounter him yourself.” 

 

“What do you mean?” Tai Shan passed her a jade-slip. She took it and watched one recorded scene after another. Her face went from pale white to icy blue to shockingly green and to other colors. By the end, her face was a violent red. 

 

“T-T-T-This bitch!” Han Xiaoling walked over and trampled the pile of ice. “Why did she leave such a crazy impression!? I told her to carefully study that book Big Brother Zhong Yun gave to me and she ruined everything!” 

 

While trying to her back, Tai Shan asked, “Book? What book?” 

 

“It’s that top-seller doujin he published a few months ago, the Ara-Ara Dao Art: Path to Conquering the Male Heart!” Tears welled up in her eyes. “H-H-He told me that Xiaolong wrote that story a few years ago, but Big Brother Zhong Yun only drew it recently. I-I thought that by getting a glimpse into Xiaolong’s desires, I would be able smoothly make my way into his heart so I had a clone learn it. B-But now...” 

 

“You idiot! Nobody learns romance from pornography!” 

 

“How was I suppose to know that!?” 

 

After a few minutes of struggling, they both fell down from exhaustion. 

 

“I’m screwed.”

 

“That’s tough, buddy.” 

 

“What am I going to do now...” 

 

“Get up! I played my part so I need you to help me.” 

 

Tai Shan jumped back up and stretched his back before heading toward an alleyway. Han Xiaoling also got up and followed him with a grumpy expression. The pile of ice on the ground floated toward her and circled around her like planets to a sun. 

 

“Where are we going now?” 

 

“We’re looking for another missing shard of that immortal sword. I have three of the seven pieces and I’m sure that two pieces are located in this Necropolis Trial.” 

 

“If I recall, those sword shards does nothing.” 

 

“You’re right, but it contains the legacy to the real sword.” 

 

“Oh? Did you come to that conclusion from some research?” 

 

“Yes. If I find all seven pieces, I’ll be able to enter the legacy dimension and obtain that immortal sword.” 

 

“Oh yeah? Do know what it’s called?” 

 

“Excalibur, the Sword of Kings.” 

 

“Peh! Sounds posh.” 

 

As they turn to the left corner, the icicle shards gathered around Han Xiaoling’s left wrist in a messy storm. However, it soon became clear as they formed into a single icy, jade hoop.  

 

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