This Woman Is a Bit Twisted

Xiang Tian was locked in a room. His vision was dim; no sunlight filtered in. The room's single lamp gave off only a faint candlelight, casting long shadows on the walls that swayed without cease.

His hands and feet were already shackled. Xiang Tian sat against the corner of the wall. Unlike the shoddy spirit artifacts the Silver Mountain Four Freaks had produced, all the spiritual power throughout his body was now sealed. Xiang Tian had been thinking all along about where the problem lay.

He had also tried many times to communicate with the Companion Bracelet. Occasionally, it responded, but only for an instant.

With a sigh, Xiang Tian more or less understood.

His sister had infused some mana into the Companion Bracelet, intending for Xiang Tian to protect himself in critical moments. But he had squandered far too much of it lately, and when he had faced Shi Mu earlier, he had activated it at full force without holding anything back, directly exhausting the last bit of stored mana.

In other words, at present, he was merely a Spirit Transformation cultivator who was just a little stronger than an ordinary Spirit Transformation cultivator.

Below True Immortal, cultivators cultivated spiritual power; above True Immortal, they cultivated mana. But Xiang Tian now, shackled as he was, was no different from a mortal.

"Creak..."

The door was pushed open. Several female disciples from the Jade Pool entered.

The room was dim, and one of them took out a Night-Luminescent Pearl. At once, the entire room became brightly and clearly illuminated.

The women glanced at Xiang Tian, their expressions cold and stern.

"You're Xiang Tian, right? The young miss knows you're here and wishes to invite you over."

The woman who spoke looked arrogant. Xiang Tian found it strange—were all people from the Jade Pool so high and mighty?

Xiang Tian shook his head and flatly denied it. "I'm not."

The women sneered, hauled Xiang Tian to his feet, and shoved him out of the room.

Outside stood a spirit beast shaped like a moose, pulling a carriage behind it. Xiang Tian was thrown into the carriage, and the women drove the spirit beast into a mad dash.

The guards along the way did not dare stop them, allowing them to rampage through the Jade Pool unchecked.

More than once, Xiang Tian voiced his opinion and told these madwomen to slow down, but each time, he was kicked straight back by one of them.

The palace Ning Rong lived in was extravagantly luxurious. All kinds of rare treasures were fashioned into ornaments, and the relief carvings were grand and majestic. The interior was impeccably clean, carrying a faint, pleasant fragrance.

Xiang Tian was roughly thrown to the floor. Seeing that Ning Rong's eyes were still slightly red around the rims, Xiang Tian immediately felt a headache coming on.

If this girl wanted to gouge out his eyes again, he truly would be unable to resist now!

Sure enough, upon seeing Xiang Tian, Ning Rong directly drew her sword and ordered those maidservants out of the room.

Inside, Xiang Tian sat on the floor, utterly helpless. He truly was crying to Heaven with no answer, calling to Earth with no response.

"Hehe, didn't expect this, did you? You still ended up in my hands."

Ning Rong gritted her silver teeth. Though the hand gripping her sword was delicate and fair, veins had risen across it, showing just how furious she was inside.

She wished she could tear Xiang Tian to pieces right then and there, but that would not vent her anger at all. She wanted to humiliate Xiang Tian, to pin this man to the ground and grind him into the dirt.

Though Xiang Tian sighed inwardly, he had no intention of yielding before Ning Rong. His tone remained cold.

"A tiger fallen onto the plains is bullied by dogs, that's all."

Ning Rong kicked Xiang Tian so hard that he rolled several times. She walked up to him, crouched down, and said word by word, "You're still as stubborn as ever. Don't worry. This time, it won't be something as easily settled as gouging out your eyeballs."

"I'll slice open your flesh bit by bit with my sword, then make you watch with your own eyes as wild dogs swallow your flesh and blood into their bellies. Don't worry, I won't let you die too soon. The immortal pills and wondrous medicines of the Jade Pool will all be yours."

As soon as she finished speaking, Ning Rong twisted her Sword Qi, directly shredding Xiang Tian's clothes. There was nothing on his upper body, while below, there were only strips of tattered cloth. Xiang Tian was truly dumbfounded this time. Did Ning Rong have to come out swinging this fiercely from the very start?

Ning Rong's cheeks were somewhat flushed. Whether from embarrassment or rage, Xiang Tian could not tell. His head felt as big as two.

The sword tip traced across Xiang Tian's chest, leaving behind a slightly icy sensation. Xiang Tian was starting to lose his composure. This... was genuinely a little frightening.

Xiang Tian's unease was written all over his face. Ning Rong was exceedingly satisfied when she saw it. This was exactly the effect she wanted—to make this man feel frightened and restless.

"I'm saying, if you really have to, just give me a quick death. What's the point of waving a sword around on my body? Are you scratching an itch for me?"

In the end, Xiang Tian truly could not hold back any longer and spoke to Ning Rong.

A quick death?

Ning Rong laughed. Give you a quick death? If I give you a quick death, how am I supposed to enjoy myself?

"I have to say, that terrified, uneasy expression of yours is truly delightful."

Hearing this, Xiang Tian genuinely felt that he had never been so speechless in his entire life. So after all that, this woman probably had some psychological issues.

How twisted did one have to be to derive pleasure from something like this?

Ning Rong still wanted to say something, but she was interrupted by the sound of the door being shoved open with tremendous force.

It was Qu Ying. Shi Mu and the others were also there.

When Qu Ying received word that Ning Rong's people had taken Xiang Tian away, she knew her granddaughter would surely make some move. But before they had figured out Xiang Tian's background, acting too rashly would certainly be unwise.

When Shi Mu and the others saw Xiang Tian in his current state, they were all stunned. Then they turned their heads away, sighing inwardly.

Being young really was nice—so many tricks to play. Why hadn't they had so many ideas when they were young?

"Grandma!"

Seeing Qu Ying's dark expression, Ning Rong pouted unhappily.

Qu Ying stroked her head and said gently, "I've already sent word to Changning. He will definitely come. Just bear with it for now. When the time comes, Grandma absolutely will not let this brat off."

With that, she flicked her sleeve, and a prison of spiritual power trapped Xiang Tian within. Because of Guang Hao's earlier words, Qu Ying was more or less unconvinced. Since she did not know what background this brat had, she would let Changning tell her.

Changning Immortal King remained in seclusion year-round, and few knew of his hidden realm. Qiu Changfeng was one of them.

At this moment, Qiu Changfeng stood atop an unnamed mountain peak. A stone stele stood there, but it bore no inscription, its surface polished smooth and flat.

Just moments ago, he had received a voice transmission from the Jade Pool. They said Xiang Tian had been captured and taken there, and demanded that Changning Immortal King personally make a trip to the Jade Pool.

This had terrified Qiu Changfeng, and he had rushed over in person to seek the Immortal King's instructions.

As ripples passed over the stone stele, Changning Immortal King appeared. He accepted the letter Qiu Changfeng handed him, and after reading it, his brow furrowed tightly.

The letter made it very clear: Xiang Tian was in the Jade Pool's hands. If Changning Immortal King wanted Xiang Tian to remain safe and sound, he had to go there himself. Otherwise, what fate awaited Xiang Tian was anyone's guess.

Qu Ying should not have been lying, yet he could not understand how, with all of Xiang Tian's methods, he could possibly have been captured by the people of the Jade Pool.

Changning Immortal King did not dare take matters concerning Xiang Tian lightly either. After giving Qiu Changfeng a few instructions, he immediately set off for the Jade Pool.

If the Jade Pool went too far this time, then throughout the entire Nine Heavens, the unrest would likely be far more than the petty disturbances seen so far.