Ye Qingxian's body stiffened for a moment. Then he slowly turned around and, sure enough, saw Zhu Ping'an's infuriating grin.
"Zhu Ping'an!"
Ye Qingxian gritted his teeth. He'd just made sure he was well away from Zhu Ping'an, and he'd taken a winding, erratic route, going wherever the mood took him. How had Zhu Ping'an managed to catch up?
"Good to see you, Brother Ye. Good to see you."
Zhu Ping'an acted as if they were old friends. Then he looked at the shimmering, multicolored pool beside the dead monster and gaped in surprise.
"Huh? What's this? Could it be Yijin Lingquan?"
Yijin Lingquan could purge every impurity from a martial artist's meridians, washing and refining their body. Zhu Ping'an couldn't help marveling at what a lucky bastard Ye Qingxian was—first Rainbow Surprise Tai Sui, and now Yijin Lingquan.
Ye Qingxian hurriedly raised the Breaking Dragon Spear and planted himself in front of Zhu Ping'an.
"This isn't a spirit spring! Get lost!"
"Brother Ye, that's not very sporting! Treasures of heaven and earth belong to the virtuous. Surely you're not planning to keep Yijin Lingquan all to yourself?" Zhu Ping'an said with an easy smile.
"Hmph. You know it belongs to the virtuous, yet what virtue do you have, Zhu Ping'an?" Ye Qingxian sneered.
With a crisp ring of steel, the Chuyi Sword flashed from its sheath. A faint Killing Intent emanated from its gleaming blade.
Zhu Ping'an said, "Martial virtue is virtue too!"
Ye Qingxian nearly bent his nose out of shape with rage. Zhu Ping'an's words were shameless to the extreme. He was clearly saying that if Ye Qingxian didn't hand it over, he'd simply take it by force.
If he weren't wary of the eight Leng Family martial artists behind Zhu Ping'an, Ye Qingxian would have attacked already.
Eight First Rank Peak martial artists, plus Leng Tianjiao and Zhu Ping'an—however highly Ye Qingxian thought of himself, he didn't believe he could take on ten opponents.
"What exactly do you want?" Ye Qingxian gritted his teeth, forcing himself to swallow his anger.
"Ah, that's more like it. Harmony brings prosperity. Why make things so tense?" Zhu Ping'an said with satisfaction, putting away his sword. "How about we soak in Yijin Lingquan together?"
"...Fine!"
Ye Qingxian forced the word out through gritted teeth. Though he desperately wanted to flay Zhu Ping'an alive, Zhu Ping'an had the upper hand now, and Ye Qingxian could do nothing to him.
At that moment, Yan Shubing couldn't take it any longer. She stepped forward with a wronged look on her face.
"Ping'an Ge, how can you bully Qingxian Ge like this? You have the Leng Family backing you, so you never have to worry about cultivation resources. You can have food and clothes brought right to you, but Qingxian Ge is different—he has to work hard with his own two hands. Can't you put yourself in his shoes and understand him?"
"Bingbing, how can you say I'm bullying him? Soaking in Yijin Lingquan together won't affect anything. It's not as if I'm trying to snatch it by hook or by crook." Zhu Ping'an blinked at her innocently.
"This..." Yan Shubing didn't know how to respond.
"Don't worry, Bingbing. Once we're done, it'll be your turn. We definitely won't stop you from soaking in it," Zhu Ping'an assured her.
"What?" Ye Qingxian immediately flew into a rage. "I found Yijin Lingquan first, and I killed the monster beside it. Why should you go first?"
"Obviously! Your feet stink!" Zhu Ping'an said, entirely unapologetic. "If you go first, what if you pass that foot odor on to us?"
"You son of a—!" Ye Qingxian was panting like a bull, his eyes bloodshot. He nearly lost control and stabbed Zhu Ping'an to death.
"Ping'an Ge... Do you find Bingbing disgusting?" Yan Shubing spoke up from the side, clearly unwilling to give up the spring first either.
"Bingbing... Let me tell you something from the bottom of my heart. I don't mind, honestly, but the people of the Leng Family definitely do. You know I'm the Leng Family's live-in son-in-law. What standing could I possibly have?" Zhu Ping'an gave a bitter laugh. His face was full of helplessness as he lowered his voice to comfort her.
"Bingbing, for the sake of our wonderful future, you'll have to put up with this just a little longer."
Yan Shubing bit her lip, then could only nod as if resigned to her fate.
"Come on, brothers! Let's soak in Yijin Lingquan!"
Zhu Ping'an turned and called out to the eight Leng Family martial artists, but they didn't move. Their leader cupped his hands toward Zhu Ping'an.
"Groom, you and the young lady go first. We'll wait until you're done."
"That works too."
Zhu Ping'an didn't refuse. He stepped into Yijin Lingquan. The spring water seemed to contain some strange power that streamed through the pores all over his body. When that power flowed back out, it carried the impurities from within him along with it.
"Ah, that feels great..."
The sensation of having all those impurities flushed out was so refreshing that Zhu Ping'an couldn't help exclaiming.
Ye Qingxian's face on the bank turned even greener, as if someone had force-fed him three pounds of shit. To make matters worse, his face started itching again, and he couldn't help scratching at it.
Leng Tianjiao also entered Yijin Lingquan, but she didn't sit too close to Zhu Ping'an. Instead, she chose a spot in the opposite direction.
Gray-black impurities from their meridians steadily seeped out of their bodies. The once-clear pool, its surface shimmering with rainbow hues, grew murky.
After quite a while, Zhu Ping'an finally climbed out of Yijin Lingquan. His whole body felt clear and comfortable, like he'd slept a full ten hours and then splashed his face with water.
Although Yijin Lingquan couldn't give him any tangible boost, this one session of washing and refining his body would undoubtedly help him immensely on the martial path ahead.
Once Leng Tianjiao had also left the spring, the eight Leng Family martial artists could no longer hold back. They hurriedly stripped off their shirts and plunged into Yijin Lingquan.
They were all First Rank Peak martial artists. Having their bodies washed and refined once would greatly improve their chances of breaking through to Second Rank.
By the time all eight of them had finished soaking, Yijin Lingquan had turned into a pool of black water, filled with the impurities Zhu Ping'an and the others had flushed from their bodies. A faint stench drifted from it.
Though the spring still worked just as well, it was certainly hard to approach in that state.
"Brother Ye! Your turn. Hurry and get in. Washing and refining your body is a huge help to martial artists!" Zhu Ping'an said with a chuckle.
Ye Qingxian clenched his fists. His whole body trembled as he panted like a bull, his eyes bloodshot. He was clearly furious beyond measure.
But after his anger, Ye Qingxian said and did nothing. He merely slowly unclenched his fists, walked past Zhu Ping'an, and headed toward Yijin Lingquan.
Ignoring the black water and faint stench, Ye Qingxian sat cross-legged in the spring and began washing and refining his body.
Zhu Ping'an narrowed his eyes slightly. A murderous glint, intense beyond measure, flashed in their depths.
If Ye Qingxian had done nothing but rage impotently—or even stormed off—it would have proved he was a fool, and Zhu Ping'an wouldn't have feared him. But Ye Qingxian had endured it, and that sent Zhu Ping'an's killing intent soaring.
To bear humiliation and endure what ordinary people could not—he was undoubtedly someone capable of great things.
This man could not be allowed to live!
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