The Struggle

Then Hongyu spoke coldly to the kneeling manservant:

"You know the consequences of refusing me."

The manservant flinched, his heart filling with unease.

Then he stood up, madness filling his eyes.

He drew a dagger from his waist and walked up to Young Master Bai.

"No, don't kill me!"

Young Master Bai screamed in despair.

The next moment, the dagger plunged straight into his right eye.

Crack!

Beneath the dome, the runic formation suddenly grew violent.

A drop of red lightning hung above the manservant's head, so vivid it seemed ready to drip.

The terrified manservant fell flat on the ground, covering his face with both hands.

He began praying inwardly.

Rumble!

The thunder gradually faded.

Though the red lightning was poised to leap forth, it made no further move.

"Phew!"

As though relieved of a great burden, the manservant slowly exhaled.

The next moment.

Crack!

A drop of red lightning fell, instantly striking like a blood-red snake.

"Are you certain he's been advancing all this time?"

Inside the room, Hongyu spoke as she sipped tea, her red lips luscious and vivid.

"When he first arrived, I scanned his cultivation. He was only at the peak of the Body Opening Realm. But you heard it just now too-a single sword could instantly kill someone in the Mystic Core realm."

North Saber spoke with a cold laugh.

Within Blood Town, anyone who had taken a Moon God Pill would cultivate extremely slowly.

As time passed, the pill poison corroded their bodies.

Their strength would also diminish greatly.

North Saber, for example, had originally been a martial artist at the eighth level of Void Insight.

Now, however, his strength had fallen to around the fifth level of Void Insight.

But Lin Tian was an exception.

Blood Town only had so many people.

Lin Tian stood out too much, so naturally, he would draw others' attention.

"What do you want to do?"

Hongyu glanced indifferently at North Saber.

North Saber sat in his chair, his eyes narrowing.

"There are only two possible reasons for Lin Tian advancing so quickly. The first is that he never took the Moon God Pill to begin with. As for how he fooled Li Musheng, I don't know."

As he spoke, he snatched the teacup straight from Hongyu's hand, ignoring the disgust in her eyes.

He gulped it down.

"The second possibility!"

Hongyu's eyes narrowed, and her breathing quickened.

"Is that Lin Tian has a way to eradicate the Moon God Pill's poison!"

As Hongyu spoke, a drunken flush rose on her cheeks, yet she continued with a cold laugh:

"But how are we supposed to go about this? What if Lin Tian is one of Li Musheng's people to begin with? Even if we really obtain a method to eradicate the Moon God Pill's poison from Lin Tian, then eradicate it, there's no way Li Musheng won't notice."

North Saber fell silent, then spoke icily:

"If we never try, we'll certainly never succeed. If we keep staying in Blood Town, death is our only road."

"In a few days, Li Musheng will come here to distribute Sub-Pills. We'll see how he treats Lin Tian then before deciding whether to act."

"If nothing seems amiss, we'll force Lin Tian to hand over his cultivation technique!"

Hongyu chuckled softly, but an unreadable meaning entered her beautiful eyes.

Her red lips parted slightly as she said:

"When the time comes, if Lin Tian refuses to tell us, don't leave him in a miserable state. I've been waiting for my darling Lin all this time."

North Saber glanced at Hongyu, his eyes full of disdain.

"You people from the Joyous Immortal Sect are all perverts."

Then he left the room.

Time flowed like water.

In a flash, five days had passed.

Your cultivation has reached the ninth level of Mystic Core. Unwilling to fall behind, your sword tempered itself with Sword Qi, increasing its sharpness by ten percent.

The familiar voice resounded in Lin Tian's mind.

Before him, the Heavenly Sword floated in the air.

Its blade resembled an azure dragon, strands of Sword Qi winding around it like myriad azure forces.

Hum!

Wherever its edge passed, it seemed capable of cutting through everything.

Cold light spilled in all directions.

Over these past few days, whether it was Lin Tian or the Heavenly Sword,

both had improved at an astonishing speed.

Throughout the ages,

sword cultivators pursued the way of the sword, and the way of the sword was inherently solitary.

Everyone wanted a sword of their own.

Perhaps this was what countless sword cultivators longed for.

But Lin Tian was different.

From the very beginning, he had possessed the Heavenly Sword.

A sword that truly belonged to him.

Was this not one of life's great blessings?

At that moment, outside the house,

Ling Qiuzi had already eaten with Qingcheng.

Her brow had remained furrowed all day.

Whenever she looked toward Lin Tian's room, she appeared gloomy and unhappy.

"Big Sister, did I do something wrong and upset you?"

Beside her, Qingcheng asked cautiously.

In truth, Ling Qiuzi had been like this since several days ago.

Qingcheng did not know why.

Ever since she arrived here, Ling Qiuzi had warned her not to go outside.

Still, Qingcheng could clearly sense how different this place was from where she had lived before.

"It's nothing."

Ling Qiuzi gave a bitter smile and pinched Qingcheng's cheek.

Then she stood and looked toward the horizon.

Today was the day Li Musheng would arrive.

If the people living in Blood Town failed to obtain a Sub-Pill,

their pill poison would flare up that night.

When that happened, there was no telling how many would fail to withstand it.

Originally, Lin Tian had promised her that he would fight for Sub-Pills for her and Qingcheng today.

But ever since Lin Tian entered seclusion half a month ago,

he had not come out.

As for abruptly interrupting Lin Tian's seclusion,

Ling Qiuzi did not have the courage.

But this puzzled Ling Qiuzi even more.

Was Lin Tian truly not worried about the Moon God Pill's poison flaring up?

After pondering for a long time, Ling Qiuzi rose.

She bowed toward Lin Tian's room and said:

"Young Master Lin, Li Musheng will be coming today."

Her voice was very soft and somewhat cautious.

Inside the room,

Lin Tian, whose eyes had been closed, frowned slightly.

Only then did his brow slowly relax.

Indeed, Li Musheng would be coming to distribute Sub-Pills today.

Had Ling Qiuzi not mentioned it, he really would have forgotten.

If he did not compete for Sub-Pills,

it would certainly arouse suspicion.

That day, he had crippled Young Master Bai and the others with a single sword strike.

Someone must have noticed already.

With his strength, he qualified to compete for Sub-Pills.

Not going would only be more suspicious.

Lin Tian fell silent for a moment before saying softly:

"Wait a little longer. There's only one final two-hour period left before my seclusion ends."

After Lin Tian finished, Ling Qiuzi's expression grew somewhat bitter.

After all, no one could be certain when Li Musheng would arrive.

If, within these two hours,

Li Musheng arrived,

those cultivators would surely scramble madly for them.

Sub-Pills were a chance to prolong their lives. They would certainly swallow them immediately.

Two hours was somewhat dangerous.

If they missed the opportunity,

since she was already at the peak of the Qi Refining Realm,

she would most likely withstand it tonight, but the next time would mean certain death.

Qingcheng, however, would definitely die.

Slowly, worry crept over Ling Qiuzi's face.

She bent down and glanced at the innocent Qingcheng beside her.

A feeling of desolation lingered in her heart.

Whoosh!

A crack opened in the door.

A sword appeared before Ling Qiuzi, floating slowly in the air.

Ling Qiuzi's beautiful eyes flickered with surprise.

"Young Master, what are you...?"

Lin Tian's voice came from inside the house.

"I promised you I would fight for two Sub-Pills for you both. Since I've given my word, I won't go back on it. This is my sword. When you go to compete for Sub-Pills, it can act."

"Thank you, Young Master."

Her bright eyes shone as she gazed at the floating sword before her, her red lips slightly parted.

She had seen this sword many times.

It was practically inseparable from Lin Tian.

Before, she had only watched it out of the corner of her eye.

Today was the first time she looked at it directly.

It made Ling Qiuzi's heart tremble despite herself.

The sword's scabbard was very rough, casually carved from wood.

Blood stained the scabbard, seeping deep into the wood.

A bloody, baleful presence instantly rushed into her face.

How many living beings must it have killed to give her such a feeling?

Yet, though the blade had not been drawn, it gave Ling Qiuzi an even greater sense of danger.

It was as though its piercing sharpness inspired fear even without a slash.

Ling Qiuzi extended her slender hand and reached to grasp the Heavenly Sword.

Smack!

Ling Qiuzi hurriedly withdrew her hand. The Heavenly Sword had just struck it with its scabbard.

This sword had a spirit!

Ling Qiuzi's beautiful eyes widened. Naturally, she knew what that meant.

Meanwhile, the Heavenly Sword floated gently.

It seemed to be looking down its nose at Ling Qiuzi.

As though saying, You think you're worthy of wielding me?

Ling Qiuzi stared at it for a while, then went into the house and took out a piece of plain white cloth.

"Senior Sword, this humble girl won't touch you again. This cloth is clean. Would you please let me wrap you in it?"

The Heavenly Sword hesitated for a moment, then slowly floated onto the cloth.

A hint of delight appeared in Ling Qiuzi's eyes, and she gently wrapped the Heavenly Sword in the cloth.

Then she fetched a carrying basket.

She naturally dared not touch the Heavenly Sword lightly.

She could only place the Heavenly Sword inside the basket.

Then she took her own sword from her room.

Now she had Lin Tian's sword.

Though she did not know whether it would help, at least she had some chance of success.

"Qingcheng, I'm going out for a bit. Wait in the courtyard, and don't wander off."

Ling Qiuzi smiled as she spoke to Qingcheng beside her.

"Big Sister, you'll come back, right?"

Qingcheng asked in her childish voice.

A pair of slender, long, willow-leaf eyebrows graced her plump little face.

Beneath them were large, limpid eyes, delicate and lovely.

If one looked closely,

Qingcheng possessed a spiritual grace that Blood Town had never known.

That was also why Ling Qiuzi had saved her back then.

"I'll come back."

Ling Qiuzi smiled, unable to resist pinching Qingcheng's little cheek again.

Then she cast a long look at the room where Lin Tian was.

Young Master Lin, I don't know whether I'll ever see you again.

Her willow-leaf brows lowered slightly, and a trace of reluctance and resolve seemed hidden in her eyes.

Then she walked out of the courtyard.

She had only just entered the alley.

"Ling Qiuzi."

A woman's cold, sinister voice rang out behind Ling Qiuzi.

Ling Qiuzi furrowed her delicate brows, then looked behind her.

It was an ordinary-looking woman.

"Liu Xiu, what do you want?"

Her eyes were full of wariness.

"Heh, you're certainly putting on an innocent act now."

Liu Xiu's face was filled with disdain as her eyes roamed over Ling Qiuzi.

"Back when Li Jue pursued you, you were so pure and innocent, always turning him down. Now that a handsome man has come along, you haven't turned him down at all."

Liu Xiu's words dripped with mockery.

Ling Qiuzi's expression grew cold.

"Nothing has happened between the young master and me."

"Heh, do you take me for a fool?" Liu Xiu sneered.

"A man and a woman living together alone, and nothing happened? I used to hear how virtuous you were. Now it seems you're just someone who judges by looks."

Ling Qiuzi frowned, wanting very much to say something.

But she held back.

In her view, arguing with someone like Liu Xiu was simply not worth it.

This woman had once made advances toward Senior Brother Li, but because her looks were far too ordinary, Senior Brother Li had mocked her as a pig.

Afterward, Senior Brother Li had begun pursuing Ling Qiuzi.

This had made Liu Xiu harbor jealousy toward Ling Qiuzi for a long time.

"Oh, are you angry? Why isn't that lover of yours around today?"

"He doesn't seem to have shown himself in ages. Have you been sucking him dry too hard?"

Liu Xiu kept taunting her.

"Shut up!"

Ling Qiuzi stopped and snapped coldly.

"Oh, you're angry..."

Liu Xiu was about to continue, but suddenly fell silent.

Just then, an utterly terrifying surge of Sword Qi had spilled from Ling Qiuzi.

No, it should have been from the carrying basket on Ling Qiuzi's back.

Liu Xiu's instinct for survival told her.

If she dared say one more word,

she would absolutely be killed!

When had Ling Qiuzi gained such strength?