"Monster Alliance, hmph! It was nothing more than a gimmick cooked up by a pack of little demons. I've seen that Tianxuan Blood Demon too. It was merely a demon formed from millennia-old foul blood absorbing the deathly Baleful Intent beneath the earth. Our Kunlun immortal arts specialize in restraining such yin, evil, and filthy energies. But the one behind it... is not someone to be trifled with! How could truly great demons be noticed by humans? Only those insignificant little demons don't know better. There are some demons whom even I may not be able to defeat!" As though he had sunk into deep memories, Old Daoist Ganji narrowed his eyes, his gaze hazy as drifting clouds and smoke.
Ling Ruoshui was greatly shocked. There had already been enough surprises today, yet Old Daoist Ganji had given her another fierce blow. How could this be? Old Daoist Ganji's cultivation was heaven-defying; he was publicly acknowledged as the greatest expert under heaven, yet he had actually admitted that he was no match for demons. How could there be such powerful demons in the world? How could there be demons this fierce? Ling Ruoshui also knew that her master was not someone who lied. It seemed it was true. But she could not understand it. Why didn't such powerful demons come out? If they did, wouldn't the world fall into chaos?
Seeing Ling Ruoshui looking as though her mind had short-circuited, Old Daoist Ganji woke from his recollections and smiled dashingingly. Ling Ruoshui stared blankly. Master must have been quite handsome when he was young!
As though something weighed on his mind, Old Daoist Ganji no longer mentioned demons. With a grasp of his hand, something resembling a brocade pouch appeared in it. He handed it to Ling Ruoshui. "These are some magical treasures Master used in his youth. Master has no use for them now, so they're all yours. The methods for controlling the artifacts are also inside the pouch; study them yourself. This Cosmos Brocade Pouch is also an extraordinary treasure. No matter how many things you put inside, it can hold them all. When you need to take something out, simply use your divine sense. Go down the mountain now, and remember to diligently cultivate the Supreme Clarity Purple Mansion Immortal Manual!" Old Daoist Ganji seemed listless as he sat upright upon a red cushion.
Ling Ruoshui looked at the Cosmos Brocade Pouch embroidered all over with flowers and muttered to herself, This is clearly something a woman would use! How could Master have one?
Her divine sense entered the Cosmos Brocade Pouch. Good heavens—inside were dozens of magical treasures in a dazzling array of colors: swords, mirrors, whisk brooms, jade plaques, command banners, and more. With a thought, a Flying Sword about a foot long, warm throughout and seemingly made of transparent crystal, appeared in Ling Ruoshui's hand.
Hiss! Dense spiritual qi rushed toward her face. Like a whirlpool, the incomparably rich spiritual qi within Jade Void Palace swept over, pouring endlessly into the Flying Sword. The sword hummed, releasing ten thousand rays of rosy light and a thousand streams of auspicious qi. It shook violently as if it were about to tear through the air and fly away, frightening Ling Ruoshui into hurriedly storing it back inside the Cosmos Brocade Pouch.
Judging by this, not one of these magical treasures was ordinary! They were all the sort that cultivators would fight until their heads bled to obtain. Yet Master had simply given them all to her? Why had Master been acting so strangely today? Had he refined some pill and taken the wrong medicine? Ling Ruoshui found everything that had happened today far too strange. Just as she was about to speak, she saw Old Daoist Ganji sitting upright on the red cushion, seemingly lost in thought. She had caused such a commotion, yet he had not moved at all.
Unable to make sense of it, Ling Ruoshui flashed away from the secret chamber and walked step by step down the staircase formed from white clouds. Suddenly, Old Daoist Ganji's desolate singing drifted from behind her: "The gale rolls on, driving the forest trees; the heart is bitter, yet Zhaoxi does not come. A hundred years flow like water; wealth and glory are cold ashes. The Great Dao passes day by day, and gifted men suffer in vain. A strong man strokes his sword, vast righteousness steeped in sorrow; rustling fallen leaves, dew and rain upon gray moss." The song was so bleak that it carried something of the feeling of "The wind sighed bleakly, the Yi River ran cold," leaving Ling Ruoshui with a familiar yet indescribable sensation in her heart.
As she muttered to herself, a young man approached from ahead. He looked exceptionally honest and simple, yet every movement he made seemed perfectly natural, faintly conforming to the laws between Heaven and Earth, giving him an incomparably profound and mysterious air. When Ling Ruoshui saw him walking up the staircase made of white clouds, her eyes lit up and she sweetly called, "Senior Brother!"
The honest-looking young man saw Ling Ruoshui as well, and a flush suddenly crossed his face. He stammered, "Oh! Heh... heh! It's... it's Junior Sister Ruo Shui! How... you've come out of seclusion? You came out so quickly! Heh... heh..." After speaking, he scratched his head.
Ling Ruoshui knew, however, that this honest young man was an orphan her master had taken in when he was young. Her master had named him Yi Yunzi. He was also the only disciple of Kunlun's third generation to reach the Transformation Stage, and his cultivation was unfathomably profound. This Senior Brother had been especially good to her. Ever since she was little, she had enjoyed bullying him, but he had never once gotten angry. Several times, when her mischief had caused trouble, it had been Senior Brother Yi Yunzi who cleaned up after her. Thus, Ling Ruoshui was also very fond of this straightforward and honest Senior Brother of hers.
Seeing Yi Yunzi like this, Ling Ruoshui smiled. "Senior Brother, don't you usually cultivate at Jade Pearl Peak? Why have you come to Jade Void Palace today? Do you have something to discuss with Master?"
"Hehe! I have a few cultivation matters to ask Master about!" Yi Yunzi chuckled foolishly.
"Senior Brother! Thank you so much for what happened in Japan last time. If you hadn't arrived in time, I... I would have been captured by those Japanese devils." Ling Ruoshui thanked Yi Yunzi.
"This... it was nothing!" Yi Yunzi became flustered. His face, which had only just returned to normal, began to redden again. He hurriedly said, "Hehe! We're fellow disciples, brother and sister of the same sect. It was nothing! I'm going to see Master." With a flash, Yi Yunzi ran swiftly toward Jade Void Palace.
Was Senior Brother like this because he only knew how to cultivate and lacked contact with people? No, next time I definitely have to take Senior Brother to my home so he can broaden his horizons properly, lest he stammer even when talking to someone. Ling Ruoshui thought. After descending the steps, she flashed, vanishing from sight. The next second, she appeared atop an enormous mountain peak covered in ten-thousand-year profound ice. Seeing Kunlun's mountain gate shrouded in a vast expanse of white mist, Ling Ruoshui said delightedly, "The immortal arts of the Supreme Clarity Purple Mansion Immortal Manual truly are marvelous. This ground-shrinking art from <Phoenix Soars a Thousand Miles, Master Hu Shrinks the Earth> can already match the speed of a Flying Sword, and it's even more convenient than flying on a sword. Hmph! Heavenly Dao Sect! Zhou Qing! Just you wait!"
Achoo! Zhou Qing sneezed for no reason at home and muttered, "My cultivation has improved greatly recently, so why am I still sneezing? Strange! Could something be about to happen?"
Liao Xiaojin laughed. "Master, aren't you being too sensitive? You make such a fuss over a sneeze! When I practiced with my Flying Sword today, it even cut my clothes. Does that mean I'm about to suffer a bloody calamity?"
Zhou Qing rolled his eyes at Liao Xiaojin and asked, "How has your junior sister been progressing lately? I've been in closed-door cultivation for nearly a month, so I don't know how you've all been doing."
"Her? Ever since you taught her the Soaring Sword Qi Art, she's cultivated like she's gone mad. She doesn't even cook every day anymore. That Little Fox is the same. Master, this can't go on. At the rate Junior Sister is going, I fear she'll suffer qi deviation and die before she even gets her revenge." Liao Xiaojin said worriedly.
Before you continue