The villain frowned, staring at the storybook in his hand without saying anything.
Tian Luo blinked and figured he must have been trapped in that cave for too long and had never seen something as novel as this before, so she explained, “My Senior Brother Su said these two storybooks are rare editions. Don’t let the words on the cover fool you—they were written by famous elders in the cultivation world today. They’re all out of print! These two cost me two hundred spirit stones!”
The villain said, “Oh. Then read it to me.”
Tian Luo froze for a second. “You can’t read?”
Lu Qizhi looked up at her. His disguised pupils were dark and heavy as he nodded and said after a pause, “My family was poor when I was little. Never got an education.”
So he was illiterate!
No culture—how pitiful. He couldn’t even read storybooks and experience the colorful lives of others.
Because of what had happened that morning, Tian Luo still felt a strange sense of guilt toward him. It was subtle, and she didn’t really understand why.
Maybe it was because the sense of disappointment he’d shown earlier had been too strong.
Tian Luo thought that female cultivators in the cultivation world were probably reserved. Their romances should be full of flowers and moonlight, and the storybooks they wrote should be poetic and sentimental, or painfully tragic confessions of love.
Fine. Reading a storybook wasn’t a big deal.
She could just treat it as cheering up a moody villain.
But just as Tian Luo was about to open the book, a sudden commotion erupted up front.
She looked up and saw that Nan Rong and Tian Yue, who had been leading the junior disciples in sword practice, had stopped. Master had appeared at some point, along with several elders she vaguely recognized from outside the Bixi Secret Realm.
The elders all looked serious.
Even these ridiculously hardworking sword cultivators had stopped practicing and were now glancing at each other.
But beside her, the villain urged, “Why aren’t you reading?”
Tian Luo: ? Do you have zero awareness of the situation?! Is this the time for storybooks?!
She turned her head and saw him staring at her with knitted brows, looking like if she didn’t read to him, he might kill her.
It was just a storybook. Entertainment. Not some martial arts manual…
“Wait a bit. When it’s just the two of us, I’ll read it to you. Look, isn’t it inconvenient right now?” Tian Luo glanced around and made an you know what I mean expression.
Lu Qizhi swept his gaze around too. His face was still gloomy, but he nodded.
“Fine.”
He reached out and took the storybook in Tian Luo’s hands too. With a flick of his wrist, it disappeared somewhere on him.
Tian Luo: …
Got it.
This cave-dweller might be illiterate, but he was deeply curious about the melodramatic love stories of the wider world.
After all, caves were really boring.
At this moment, Wuyinzi’s serious voice came from the front.
“No more nonsense. In short, our Zixu Sword Sect will answer the cultivation world’s call and head out to search for spirit sources. Whether we find them or not doesn’t matter. Participation is what counts. The important thing is that both the people and the swords come back without missing arms or legs.”
Tian Luo: ? This was so sudden. When Tianyan Sect came knocking before, Master had been so tough about it. Was this because of the forum post?
Lu Qizhi suddenly lifted his head and looked toward Wuyinzi.
His expression didn’t change, but his deep eyes darkened slightly.
He watched Wuyinzi for a while, then looked away.
“So from today onward, groups of four will split up and search different places for spirit sources and spirit veins. Zhang San, Li Si, Wang Dazhu, Li Cuihua—you head south toward the Southern Desert. Huangfu Tieniu, Ouyang Liangchen, Ye Aotian, Su Mali—you head west toward the Western Coast…”
Tian Luo thought, Our Zixu Sword Sect really is full of talents.
“…Last group: Nan Rong, Tian Yue, Su Miantang, Tian Luo. Head north toward Beimo City. Any objections?”
Wuyinzi finished assigning everyone in one breath, still looking kind and approachable.
Tian Luo glanced at Senior Brother Su up front, who had upgraded from localized rain to localized snow, and felt a little resistant to traveling with him.
The disciples below all had the same reaction:
?????
It was way too sudden.
Wuyinzi clearly had no intention of explaining.
“Alright! Prepare to depart! Without my transmission, none of you are allowed to come back!”
Tian Luo: Wait, we’re leaving now?
She looked at Master’s serious face.
It had to be because of her—the post about the ten-thousand-year ginseng spirit.
Even though she had only practiced swordsmanship for two hours and barely learned three moves of the Zixu Sword Art, her heart felt full and warm.
She remembered what Master had said before.
Zixu Sword Sect protects its own.
She was so touched.
In the future, she absolutely had to take good care of Master in his old age!
“Oh, and one more thing. Once you’re out there, don’t wear Zixu Sword Sect disciple robes. And under no circumstances tell anyone you’re disciples of Zixu Sword Sect. If anyone asks, say you’re from Tianyan Sect. Got it?”
Wuyinzi added sternly.
Tian Luo: Master looked so serious, but the things he said were so unserious.
In less than the time it took to drink a cup of tea, the entire Zixu Sword Sect was empty.
No one even had time to properly say goodbye to Master. Even the outer sect disciples scattered into the mortal world in groups—some becoming hired muscle, some telling fortunes.
Wuyinzi looked at the completely empty Zixu Sword Sect, then glanced at the increasingly heated discussions on Bishui Immortal Forum through his communication jade slip and finally let out a sigh of relief.
The mountain-protecting formation had been breached the night before.
Someone who could ignore the grand formation he personally set up…
Other than certain spirits nurtured by heaven and earth’s spiritual energy, the only one capable of that would be Patriarch Xuwang, who was only one step away from Tribulation Crossing and ascension.
After the elders from the other peaks finished packing up their valuables, they all rushed toward Tenth Peak.
Without even turning his head, Wuyinzi flew off on his sword.
“Let’s go find a place with wine and meat and play mahjong.”
The Ninth Peak Elder chased after him, grumbling, “We agreed you can’t dodge your debts! You still owe me twenty low-grade spirit stones!”
The Eighth Peak Elder snorted coldly. “Wuyinzi, Wuyinzi—No Silver. Where would he even get money to dodge? I’m not playing with him! I’d rather play with Old Qian.”
Elder Qian of First Peak replied coolly, “Not playing.”
…
An hour later, people arrived outside Zixu Sword Sect.
But the mountain-protecting formation contained the sword array of Zixu Sword Sect, forged jointly by Wuyinzi and the ten peak elders. It was extremely sturdy.
Even a Great Ascension cultivator would need effort to break it.
But there were very few Great Ascension cultivators in the cultivation world. Void Refinement cultivators couldn’t break it at all.
A crowd of cultivators outside could only stare helplessly.
It took five full hours before they finally joined forces and shattered the mountain-protecting formation.
But when they rushed inside…
They found the entire sect completely empty.
Everyone was baffled.
Where were all those sword maniacs who cared about nothing but practicing?
Hidden in the crowd, Guo Lin frowned tightly as he stared at the empty Zixu Sword Sect, cursing Wuyinzi eight hundred times in his heart.
That old bastard ran faster than anyone.
Where had he hidden the ten-thousand-year ginseng spirit?
When this news reached the divine hall of Tianyan Sect—
Patriarch Xuwang, who was already in an ugly mood because his bloodline had been heavily damaged and he was still trying to save those useless descendants, had his face darken completely.
But Tian Luo knew none of this.
Everything had happened too suddenly.
Right now, she and the others were sitting in a battered carriage, heading toward a mortal town called Huadiao Town.
Night had fallen, and the roads were hard to travel.
Fortunately, they were almost there.
There were four of them on this trip.
Plus one villain who insisted on tagging along.
Five in total.
They had already entered the mortal world.
Of course, Su Miantang—the man generating localized snowfall—was wearing a bamboo hat and driving the carriage outside.
To head north toward Beimo City, they had to pass through the mortal world.
And the mortal world had no spiritual energy at all.
Not even a trace.
Flying on swords here would consume spirit stones.
And since they were sword cultivators, naturally they wouldn’t waste spirit stones on something like that.
After all, Master had said it himself:
Whether they found spirit sources didn’t matter.
Participation was what counted.
Of course, Tian Luo had asked the bigshot villain if he could carry them all and fly.
But at the time, the villain had only given her a look.
And from that look, she clearly understood four words:
Do you want to die?
He had even wanted to take her directly to Beimo City.
But she had bribed him with foot-soak water and canceled out the eight thousand spirit stones he owed her, successfully buying his agreement to travel with them.
The villain really loved drinking her foot-soak water…
No, no.
Spirit brew. Spirit brew!
“Junior Sister, are you tired? Flying for nearly six hours straight really is hard on you. Lean on Senior Sister and get some sleep.”
Nan Rong held Tian Luo’s arm, her gaze affectionate and warm.
Tian Luo said, “Actually, I’m not that tired.”
She’d spent the whole trip sitting on the villain’s shoulder sightseeing.
But no matter who it was, staring at scenery for twelve straight hours would get boring enough to make them sleepy.
“Read.”
Lu Qizhi suddenly pulled out the storybook and tossed it to Tian Luo, concise as ever.
Nan Rong turned to look at him. She wanted to say that it was already late, and since Junior Sister hadn’t reached Foundation Establishment yet, she should rest early.
But when her eyes met Senior Lu’s terrifying gaze, she silently cheered for her Junior Sister in her heart.
Still being exploited this late at night.
Tian Luo had just been about to resist when she saw that sideways glance from the villain.
That look was full of naked threat.
No matter what kind of threat it was, she still wanted to stay alive long enough to eat the braised pork knuckle from Wanganlou again.
It was just reading a storybook.
She could indulge the curiosity of this illiterate villain.
Tian Luo opened the book he had tossed her.
Mm.
It was The Hundred Nights of Entanglement Between Me and the Tan Gu Demon Ancestor.
To make sure her reading would be passionate and smooth, she skimmed the opening lines first.
And then her entire ginseng self froze.
What the hell?! This is porn!!
Which sect’s female elder wrote this?!
Tianyan Sect?!
You’re telling her this was Tianyan Sect?!
Was this actually an undercover agent from Hehuan Sect?!
She loved reading this kind of stuff.
But reading it out loud in public?
Absolutely not.
And it was written in first person!
Do you understand?!
First person!!
Tian Luo’s heart was in chaos, but her expression changed only slightly, her smile still intact as she gave the villain one last desperate look.
Before she could speak, he sneered.
Tian Luo’s face went blank as she began reading:
“On a rainy night, I entered the cave of the Tan Gu Demon Ancestor alone, having already cast life and death aside. But the moment I stepped inside, I saw him leaning against a stone pillar ahead. His appearance was handsome, his clothes translucent, his skin flushed pink. Yes—the instant he saw me, he could no longer suppress the lust burning inside him. I saw his unbelievable, non-human…”
She paused.
In the calmest, most ordinary tone possible, she continued:
“Jinjiang. His Jinjiang had forced his clothes into an unbelievable shape. My face turned red as I met his smile—thirty percent wicked, thirty percent cruel, forty percent seductive. Damn it! I forgot that he himself was like a medicine that would leave one bedridden for seven days and nights. My lips said no, but my body was already lured by him. He pounced toward me, his Jinjiang smashing—”
“Junior Sister!”
Nan Rong clutched her sword with both hands. Her elegant face was completely red.
“I’m going outside to see if we’ve reached Huadiao Town yet!”
Watching her Senior Sister flee in panic made Tian Luo incredibly envious.
Tian Luo silently looked toward Tian Yue, the emotionless sword cultivator.
But the usually cold and aloof Tian Yue only glanced at her once.
Even the tips of his ears were bright red.
Still, at least in front of Nan Rong, he managed to preserve some dignity.
In his usual icy tone, he said, “I’ll go check if Su shidi is still snowing.”
Everyone had left.
Tian Luo looked at the villain.
He had his eyes closed, leaning lazily against the window frame.
Completely unaffected.
Utterly shameless.
Extremely eager for gossip.
In an icy voice, he said:
“Continue.”
Tian Luo thought for two seconds and said, “How about this—I teach you to read?”
The villain opened his eyes.
A threat.
“Read.”
Tian Luo resumed in a voice full of heroic passion:
“My river of spring water flowed eastward as I bit my lip, not daring to make a sound. In my heart, I had already fallen in love with this indescribable sensation—but my heart would never be conquered!”
She turned to the second page.
Then silently closed the book again.
The second page contained things she absolutely could not read aloud.
At this moment, Tian Luo had already seen through life and death.
To hell with illiteracy!
But the villain laughed.
He stared at Tian Luo’s expression of complete resignation and laughed so hard his body trembled slightly.
Then he propped his chin up and asked, “What kind of person do you think the Tan Gu Demon Ancestor is?”
Tian Luo gave an objective evaluation:
“A handsome man outstanding in every possible aspect.”
Hearing that, Lu Qizhi’s smile widened.
He leaned in a little closer and asked, “Compared to me?”
Tian Luo gave him a what kind of question is that, obviously you’re the best in my heart look.
“How could he possibly compare to you!”
Lu Qizhi leaned against Tian Luo’s shoulder and burst into laughter, looking genuinely delighted.
The villain’s moods were truly impossible to understand.
His usually irritable face was now full of beautiful smiles as he continued asking:
“If you met the Tan Gu Demon Ancestor, what would you do?”
Tian Luo thought for a moment.
To cater to the villain, she answered loudly and confidently, piling on the flattery—
“I’d use a beauty trap, confuse his mind, toy with his body, and then strike below when he least expects it! I’d make his Jinjiang have nowhere to run and snap it on the spot—for revenge on behalf of all women! And then I’d grandly introduce the new number one handsome man in the cultivation world—you.”