The man clearly hadn't done anything, yet Zhang Xiu still felt chills creeping up his back.
No! I have to escape!
He suddenly lunged toward the wall beside him.
With his level of cultivation, once he got out of here, he could be far from this residential complex in two seconds.
But the next moment, he was stunned to discover that no matter how hard he tried, the distance didn't change in the slightest.
"You went to so much trouble to come all the way here. Why are you in such a hurry to leave?"
His vision blurred. Zhang Xiu finally came to his senses and saw that he was still standing where he'd started. His face grew grim.
An illusion array!
And an extremely sophisticated one, at that. He didn't even know when he'd fallen for it.
"Who exactly are you?"
There was no doubt this man's cultivation was far beyond his own. But how had Little Lu gotten involved with a cultivator of this caliber?
"Me? In a sense, you're the first person to discover that I've emerged from seclusion." Xu Xing made no attempt to hide it.
Buzz!
It was as if lightning flashed through his mind. Even his soul trembled.
He'd thought Xu Xing was a cultivator drawn here by the emergence of some great cultivator from seclusion. He'd never imagined that Xu Xing was the great cultivator himself!
But how could that be?!
Why was Little Lu involved with an ancient cultivator who'd just emerged from seclusion?
"Don't overthink it. I simply felt that you and your sister were fated to meet me, so I taught her a little and helped smooth her path of cultivation."
Zhang Xiu didn't believe what Xu Xing said, but he still cupped his hands. "Thank you, senior, but Little Lu's path of cultivation will be smoother than most people's, so—"
He stopped halfway through, staring at Xu Xing in disbelief—or, more accurately, at the teardrop-shaped red jade in his hand.
It wasn't in his storage ring!
He quickly searched himself. It wasn't there either!
"I see. So that's why she managed to master the first stance of the Flowing Cloud Sword Technique." Xu Xing clicked his tongue in amazement. "Interesting. Someone actually thought of using this method to make use of those fellows' blood."
Blood?
Could this ancient cultivator who'd emerged from seclusion know what the red jade really was?
"The method used to make this thing is quite ingenious, but you shouldn't be using it the way you are."
Xu Xing looked at him and asked, "Want me to give you a hand? But after I'm done, the thing's 'form' might disappear."
"I wouldn't dare trouble you, senior."
This was the only thing his parents had left behind. Of course he couldn't let it disappear—especially not at the hands of an ancient cultivator he knew nothing about.
"Very well. At your current level, this thing's usefulness is indeed limited." The red jade vanished from Xu Xing's hand. "I've put it back."
Zhang Xiu hurriedly checked. The red jade was lying quietly inside his storage ring, as if it had never left.
A chill crept over him.
Just what level of big shot was this?!
"Sit down first. Ask whatever you want, and I'll answer as best I can."
Zhang Xiu wanted to say that he had nothing to ask. But the chance to learn something about his parents' deaths was right in front of him. If he gave it up now...
After a brief hesitation, he stepped forward and sat properly on the sofa.
"May I ask, senior: you just said the red jade was 'blood.' What kind of creature did it come from?"
"The answer would be too dangerous for you at your current level. I suggest you join the Dragon-Elephant Heaven-Supporting Sect. You'll find out once you reach Dao Integration."
Huh?
Not only did he have to join an Immortal Sect, he also had to become a cultivator at the Dao Integration stage?!
It was only an answer. Was the bar really that high?
His parents hadn't even been close to reaching Dao Integration back then.
"Is that the only way?"
"You don't necessarily have to join an Immortal Sect, but reaching Dao Integration is essential. You're a body cultivator, after all. You'll have an easier time if you join the Dragon-Elephant Heaven-Supporting Sect."
"..." After a moment of silence, he asked, "As for Little Lu, what does senior have planned for her?"
"She has a good talent for combat. I'll help her establish a Heaven-Forged Dao Foundation. After that, she'll naturally join my Sword Sect."
If she had a talent for combat, she had to become a sword cultivator?
Then why not train her body? Body cultivators needed combat talent too!
"Because sword cultivators are cooler than body cultivators."
Huh?!
Mind reading?
"It's not mind reading. But when you body cultivators hear 'sword cultivator,' don't you all think that?"
He couldn't argue with that.
Both were known as hotheads in the Great Profound Realm, but sword cultivators were elegant and dashing, riding the wind on their swords. They were definitely more popular than hulking body cultivators who ripped their clothes off at the drop of a hat.
"And besides, do you really want your sister to throw punches at people?"
Zhang Xiu: "..."
All right, he couldn't quite accept that image either.
"Anything else you want to ask?"
"...Senior, your cultivation is profound beyond measure. Why would someone at your level pay attention to little cultivators like us?" Zhang Xiu asked earnestly.
Was he bored and looking for some fun?
"Don't assume everything has some dark motive."
And you say you're not reading my mind.
"I was a trailblazer. Compared with you, I've simply lived a little longer."
"When I first embarked on the path of cultivation, many seniors protected me, and that's how I made it this far. Naturally, I should protect the younger generation just as they protected me."
The answer was truly unexpected.
"But I'm not a member of the Sword Sect," Zhang Xiu said, puzzled.
At that, Xu Xing looked at him. "The billions of humans in the Great Profound Realm are all our juniors."
In a hazy gray space, Zhang Yunlu sat cross-legged. Wisps of gray mist streamed into the gaping hole in her abdomen.
The injuries elsewhere on her body had also healed completely.
[Enemy slain: Qi Refining ninth-layer sword cultivator, Flowing Cloud Sword Technique mastered] [Time taken: three minutes, ten seconds]
Golden text appeared, followed by a smooth, round pill.
Zhang Yunlu opened her eyes, snatched the pill, and put it into her mouth.
The medicinal power took effect quickly. The depleted spiritual energy in her dantian recovered rapidly and grew much stronger.
Hadn't she been asleep?
Why could she still feel the spiritual energy in her dantian?
Why had she felt pain when she was injured?
Was that really what it felt like when life slipped away?
Countless questions weighed on her mind, but she no longer had the energy to pursue them.
After nearly a hundred life-and-death battles with nothing held back, her Flowing Cloud Sword Technique had improved by leaps and bounds. She had mastered all the later moves, and now even a sword cultivator who had perfected the Flowing Cloud Sword Technique couldn't defeat her.
[Enemy: Qi Refining ninth-layer sword cultivator, Flowing Cloud Sword Technique perfected] [Defeat the enemy to end this trial]
At the sight of those words, Zhang Yunlu's eyes finally lit up.
It was finally over!
Now she understood why Xu Xing had been so confident she could master the Flowing Cloud Sword Technique.
So he'd been piling it up with her life!
Her spirits lifted. Zhang Yunlu stood and gazed into the depths of the gray mist.
Tap, tap!
The familiar shadow of a sword cultivator appeared again, its face indistinct and its spiritual energy on par with hers.
Beat him, and she could get out!
This time, Zhang Yunlu decided to seize the initiative!
She tapped the ground with her toes and charged at the sword cultivator's shadow, slashing out five streaks of sword light in succession. And this still wasn't her limit!
A flurry of metal clanging rang out.
Pfft!
The blood she spat out turned to gray mist and vanished.
Pierced through by several streaks of sword light, Zhang Yunlu flew backward like a broken doll. The sword cultivator's shadow showed no mercy; he stepped forward and thrust his sword through her forehead.
[Enemy: Qi Refining ninth-layer sword cultivator, Flowing Cloud Sword Technique perfected] [Challenge failed]
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