Ten-Day Limit

Chapter 31: Ten-Day Limit (Seeking Collection + Recommendation Tickets + Investment)

Pei Ling was only slightly distracted when he felt the hem of his robe suddenly grow heavy, as if something invisible like a child had grabbed it.

He slashed back with his saber, but instead of hearing a scream, his thigh throbbed with pain. That ghostly thing had bitten him, even if it meant dissipating into smoke!

With that one ghostly thing leading the charge, the sounds of footsteps around him grew more dense. It was as if they harbored a deep hatred for Pei Ling, rushing at him hysterically, disregarding everything, using any means necessary... The more Pei Ling fought, the more astonished he became. His blood churned, and the blood mist on the Aversion to Life Saber was as vibrant as ripe fruit. Each strike was accompanied by a chorus of screams and the disappearance of at least a dozen ghostly beings.

Even though they were no match for him individually, a swarm of ants could still kill an elephant. With each swing of his saber, sweat dripped from Pei Ling's forehead, and his stamina began to wane. Yet, the enemy's numbers seemed to be endless!

After some time, Pei Ling's body began to sustain injuries.

He panted heavily, trying to retreat towards the outside of the courtyard. As he fought and retreated to the courtyard gate, he gave it a forceful kick... only to find that after the gate shattered, the outside was not the familiar bluestone path, but an endless expanse of darkness.

The darkness exuded a chilling aura, filled with an ominous feeling.

Pei Ling originally intended to grit his teeth and step into it, to see if it was an illusion. But as he approached the darkness, he felt a jolt of fear, as if his entire being instinctively resisted entering it.

"What is this...?" Pei Ling wiped the cold sweat from his brow. In just this short while, he felt another bite mark appear on the back of his hand. But at this moment, inspiration struck him, and he shouted, "I have already mastered the Blood Fiend Saber Technique. Miss Wu Liu, why don't you show yourself?"

With the hefty fine hanging over his head these past few days, he had almost forgotten Fairy Li's ten-day deadline!

As expected, the moment his voice fell, a soft hum came from the darkness outside the courtyard gate.

The dense footprints around him seemed to be startled, letting out a series of shrill cries as if they were about to scatter. Just then, a dark light shot out from the mass of darkness, transforming into countless tiny fish that pursued in all directions.

For a time, the only sounds were the rustling within and outside the courtyard, like silkworms eating leaves, a continuous, fragmented noise that made even Pei Ling's expression change slightly.

At the same time, Pei Ling felt the surrounding temperature plummet. A chill ran down his spine, and a soft, cold body pressed against his back. Two pale arms reached over his shoulders, slowly encircling his neck. Wu Liu's breath was like frost, her lips almost brushing his earlobe as she whispered intimately, "Young Master Pei Ling... Since you've mastered the Blood Fiend Saber Technique, why are you still trying to escape?"

"Don't you know, I've been searching for you so hard on Huaiyin Peak..."

"I've been pursuing you all this way, and it's been so hard..."

As she spoke, she caressed Pei Ling's throat.

Pei Ling didn't dare to move at all, only gripping the hilt of the Aversion to Life Saber tightly. After circulating his blood energy for a moment, he managed to speak with difficulty, "Miss Wu Liu... please don't misunderstand. I'm not escaping; I'm just very short on Spirit Stones lately, which is why I'm undertaking missions outside the sect."

"Oh?" Wu Liu suddenly appeared before him, her pale face less than an inch from his nose, making her even more eerie. Her blood-red lips curved slightly, revealing a smile devoid of any mirth. "Young Master, you've only just joined the sect, and you're already this short on Spirit Stones?"

Pei Ling truthfully replied, "I killed Li Siguan, Zhou Yi, and Miao Chengan. According to sect rules, I have to pay a huge fine."

"..." Wu Liu tapped his throat with her fingertip, paused, and then burst into laughter, a very happy laugh. "You used them to practice External Fiend? No wonder you mastered the Blood Fiend Saber Technique so quickly."

"External Fiend?" Pei Ling had mastered the Blood Fiend Saber Technique purely through the System. As for himself, he had too few Yun Zhuan characters that he recognized, and he hadn't understood what the saber technique was saying at all...

He was startled at this moment.

Wu Liu withdrew her finger from his throat, raised her sleeve to cover her mouth, and giggled, "The Blood Fiend Saber Technique is divided into Internal Fiend and External Fiend. Internal Fiend, besides strengthening the body, is used to suppress External Fiend and prevent backlash... You killed three people right off the bat, and you can still control it for now. However, if you kill more people in the future, the condensed External Fiend will increase. At that time, the Internal Fiend won't be able to suppress it, and you might go mad, becoming a lunatic who only knows how to kill!"

"However..."

Wu Liu suddenly grabbed Pei Ling's throat and said coldly, "Even if you kill people to practice your technique, the Blood Fiend Saber Technique is definitely not something that can be mastered in a mere ten days!"

Pei Ling felt as if he had fallen into an ice cellar, his eyeballs frozen by the biting cold, unable to move. He could only watch as her black fingernails extended and pierced his brow. She seemed to mutter to herself, "Young Master Pei Ling, what secret do you truly have... Let me peel you open and take a look... Just a little look... alright?"

As she spoke, her fingernails slowly descended. Pei Ling felt a sharp pain in his brow, and warm liquid flowed down. His heart was filled with terror.

This female ghost was actually trying to flay him alive on the spot!?

"No... no... Master..." Just as Pei Ling was filled with terror and helplessness, Wu Liu's movements suddenly stopped. Her sweet and beautiful face contorted, and she yelled incoherently, "No... Master... No... Master didn't say I could touch him... I... urk..."

After struggling for a moment, Wu Liu's face contorted with rage. She suddenly flung Pei Ling away and screamed, "You'd better do something to anger Master immediately! So that Master, in his rage, will hand you over to me!!!"

Pei Ling stumbled back a few steps, but his heart was greatly relieved. He let out a dry laugh, not daring to speak.

"..." Intimidated by Fairy Li, Wu Liu dared not do anything further to Pei Ling. All her rage was directed towards the invisible children who had been attacking Pei Ling moments before. She beckoned and caught the dark light in her hand, revealing it to be a small lampstand. Wu Liu's pale hand brushed across the lampstand, and a small flame ignited.

This flame, in stark contrast to the dark lampstand, shone with an extremely bright radiance.

As soon as it appeared, it even brought some life to the dilapidated courtyard.

However, a child's face seemed to flicker within the flame, accompanied by shrill cries, as if undergoing unimaginable torment!

Wu Liu listened and watched this scene, a look of blissful intoxication on her face. Finally, she glanced at Pei Ling and, in a casual tone, said softly, "Young Master Pei Ling, do you know? Once you start killing people to practice the Blood Fiend Saber Technique, from then on, you can only continue killing! Even if one day, the Internal Fiend can no longer suppress the External Fiend, you won't be able to stop..."

She deliberately left her words half-said, looking at Pei Ling with a half-smile. Seeing his pale face and furrowed brows, his expression full of worry, she finally covered her sleeve and chuckled contentedly, "Young Master Pei Ling, you seem to want to ask me something?"