I'm Going to Accelerate

In truth, Jiang Chen had not been sleeping very deeply.

He had sensed something several breaths in advance, but the intruder had moved too quickly and smashed straight through the window.

Just as he was about to get up, he was yanked out from beneath the covers.

Looking up, he saw sword-like brows and starry eyes, jade-pale cheeks flushed with red, slicked-back hair swept high like moonlight. Her rippling eyes faintly blended the muddled air of alcohol with sword intent, and her beauty hit him square in the face.

It was Li Lingzhou, Xihe Town's prison envoy, who had gotten drunk at the Spirit Spring Inn yesterday, fallen into the pool, and drunk his bathwater.

Fortunately, she was an official of the Daqian Dynasty. No matter how foul Li Lingzhou's personality was, she would not casually hurt someone.

Jiang Chen relaxed slightly.

Where am I from?

He paused faintly.

Come to think of it, this was the first time Jiang Chen had been asked where he was from since arriving in the cultivation world.

He still remembered that during the third simulated scenario of the first main storyline, he had claimed to be from beyond this realm. Only after revealing the truth that spacetime was about to run out had he moved Thousand-Faced Fox.

He did not answer directly. Instead, he calmly put on his gray rogue cultivator robe and asked without betraying anything:

"How did Envoy Li find this place?"

"Your scent is different from ordinary people's."

"How is it different?"

Li Lingzhou carried an exquisite little wine jar, lifted her pert nose, and rubbed it over Jiang Chen like a dog sniffing him.

"So it was not an illusion in the pool yesterday.

"Your spiritual power appears chaotic, as though the five elements are mixed together, yet its purity is higher than that of ordinary cultivators. Perhaps it possesses half the aura of an immortal.

"Even certain powerhouses whom I cannot defeat possess spiritual power as towering as mountains and as vast as rivers and seas, reaching heaven and earth, yet none are as lucid as yours.

"It would not be wrong to call you half-immortal."

She could learn all that just by drinking bathwater?

Jiang Chen was inwardly startled.

Last time, Tian Mingye's keen powers of observation had frightened him.

This time, Li Lingzhou's ability was no longer observation at all. It was simply innate instinct.

He hurriedly defended himself with feigned indignation:

"I had heard that Envoy Li favored women. I never expected you to be interested in men as well, saying such nonsense."

Unexpectedly, Li Lingzhou did not care at all about relations between men and women. She felt no embarrassment and had no intention of explaining herself.

She merely continued on her own:

"I have a friend who is not human... well, let us call her a friend. She was injured and suffers from extreme cold in her womb, so she has remained in seclusion for a thousand years without emerging.

"My pure yang spiritual power would harm her, while your half-immortal constitution should be of some help. Unfortunately...

"Your cultivation is far too low, and your talent is absurdly poor. Just how do you cultivate Qi?"

At the words "pure yang," Jiang Chen, who had experienced the great plague in his previous life, instinctively backed away several steps.

"Your pure yang spiritual power... what exactly does that mean?"

Li Lingzhou froze for a moment, then hastily glossed over it.

"That is not important... Right, did I not just ask where you were from? I nearly forgot!"

"The world is vast, and the four seas are my home. When I awoke, I was already a wandering vagabond... Of course, that is not important."

Jiang Chen returned the favor and instead asked why Li Lingzhou had come.

"Speaking of which, what does Envoy Li want with me?"

Li Lingzhou took a sip of wine and no longer pressed him about his origins.

"I heard that old Zhang Kai say that you were at the Azure Mist Sect on the day the Demon Sect attacked the mountain?"

Jiang Chen nodded.

"I was indeed at the Azure Mist Sect, but my cultivation is shallow and my divine sense weak. I only know the general outline."

Li Lingzhou pondered it. There was no one else to ask at the moment.

"The general outline will do.

"I am planning to go to the Azure Mist Sect to collect a debt. Luo Qingzhou promised me ten thousand spirit stones to resolve the Azure Mist Sect's crisis.

"Although the Heavenly Demon Sect fled too quickly upon hearing my name that day, causing me to miss them, they cannot pay me any less than promised.

"My bottom line is at least five thousand...

"This time, come to the Azure Mist Sect with me to collect the debt. One of us will play the good cop and the other the bad cop. Once it is done, I will give you one hundred spirit stones as thanks. How about it?"

Five thousand spirit stones, and she would only give him one hundred?

Jiang Chen said coldly:

"The Azure Mist Sect was the first stop on my path of cultivation, my beloved mother sect. In the two years since I joined, the stewards of every peak and my fellow disciples have treated me very well..."

Li Lingzhou understood at once and quickly cut off Jiang Chen's song of demanding more money.

"How about two hundred spirit stones?"

Jiang Chen was not so easily fooled.

"No matter how much you collect, I only want ten percent. That way, I will have motivation to work hard, would you not agree?"

Li Lingzhou glanced sideways at him.

All of a sudden, she felt that this kid looked decent and carried himself with elegance. With his half-immortal body, he might be quite skilled at wooing women. Keeping him around might help her swing the divine dragon's tail.

"Fine. Consider it team training. You are not bad, kid. Follow me from now on, and I guarantee you will rise to greatness."

Jiang Chen thought, I can rise to greatness without you.

Still, if this woman truly was that strong, following her might guarantee his personal safety.

After all, he was only at the Qi Refining Sixth Layer, a tiny tadpole among cultivators. He needed the care and protection of some big-shot frog.

Since the main storyline had yet to arrive after he had waited so long, he might as well accompany Li Lingzhou back to his mother sect. Perhaps he could even make a small profit.

As for whether he should follow her in the future, he would have to judge her strength and character first. If she refused to pay what she promised, then what the hell would be the point of following her?

With that in mind, Jiang Chen cupped his fists and said:

"I shall accompany Envoy Li back to the Azure Mist Sect."

"Let's go."

The two immediately set off, their swords flying side by side.

"By the way, what is your name?"

"Cao Mengde."

"That name does not sound good, nor does it suit your temperament. Do you have another name?"

Jiang Chen froze, unable to help admiring this woman's intuition.

"Jiang Chen."

Li Lingzhou tipped back her head and gulped down wine. Suddenly, a ripple passed through her expression.

"Dust falls into a river and vanishes in an instant. Lucid... not bad. Whether your name is really Jiang Chen or not, before me, you are Jiang Chen."

You get to decide what I am called?

Oh, I am Jiang Chen anyway. Then never mind.

"If that can put Envoy Li's mind at ease, then this junior shall be called Jiang Chen from now on."

Hearing this, Li Lingzhou had not expected that this kid was not only handsome, but also so considerate.

"Get on my sword."

"Alright."

Jiang Chen put away his hole-riddled disciple sword and leaped onto the tail of Li Lingzhou's sword.

Though her sword was narrow and cramped, Jiang Chen stood straight as a pine, never moving closer to Li Lingzhou, who disliked men.

Li Lingzhou felt that Jiang Chen was too confident.

"I'm going to accelerate!"

With only that simple warning, giving Jiang Chen no time to prepare, she suddenly accelerated her flying sword.

Fortunately, Jiang Chen had prepared for this.

He had cast Metal Element Spirit Control beneath his feet beforehand, firmly nailing both feet to the blade.

He cast a blend of Wind Element Spirit Control around his body, steadying himself against the wind and maintaining his posture.

Li Lingzhou took a sip of wine, about to make a joke at Jiang Chen's expense before casting a binding strand of spiritual power to hang him behind her.

When she turned around, she was surprised to see that Jiang Chen had stabilized himself.

It was neither a immobilization spell nor spiritual pressure solidifying his form, but pure Spirit Control?

The wine jar hung in the air. Her handsome face froze for quite a while before Li Lingzhou bluntly asked:

"Who taught you your Five-Element Spirit Control?"

Jiang Chen's Five-Element Spirit Control had benefited from Chen Gongxing's jade slip and Gui Qi's Demi-Immortal's Book.

Unfortunately, those two were currently in Liyue.

He could not say that directly, so he spread his hands and replied:

"Doesn't Spirit Control come naturally if you have hands? Does it need to be taught?"

Li Lingzhou's expression stiffened. Never had she expected that, after roaming the cultivation world for so many years, she could be shown up by a minor Qi Refining cultivator.

Pretending not to care, she also spread her hands.

"Does spiritual power need controlling? My spiritual power understands my intentions. It has always flown automatically."

Jiang Chen glanced at her flying sword.

--It really was flying automatically!

This woman's spiritual power was unusual too. Perhaps it had something to do with her Liquid Golden Core.

Jiang Chen stood respectfully behind Li Lingzhou.

The murky scent of wine mixed with an inexplicable body fragrance, faint and ethereal, like a high-hanging moon. She did not seem like an ordinary female cultivator.

Subconsciously, he lowered his gaze toward her thighs...

To his surprise, although her frame was slender, her thighs were quite thick.

They looked perfect to hold.