Chapter 40: Bloodstained Jasmine (Part 2)
The shops on Qinglin Town's streets were not many, but they could be considered to have everything one might need. Yun Che's brows were tightly furrowed as he quickened his pace, soon turning into a pharmacy on the right side.
"Boss, do you have Purple Cup Flower and Iron Sand Vine?" After entering the pharmacy, Yun Che asked directly, while quickly scanning the shop with his gaze.
The pharmacy owner was a middle-aged man who looked listless. The two herbs Yun Che wanted were both common, ordinary herbs. Purple Cup Flower could dispel wind-cold, and Iron Sand Vine could be used to refine the lowest grade Hui Xuan Pill. They were everywhere to be found and very cheap. He responded lazily, "Yes, how much do you want?"
"Half a jin of each!" Yun Che said rapidly.
The owner casually wrapped up the herbs and threw them to him: "That'll be twenty Yellow Mysterious Coins in total."
[Note: There are three types of currency in circulation on the Tian Xuan Continent: Yellow Mysterious Coins, Cyan Mysterious Coins, and Purple Mysterious Coins. 1 Purple Mysterious Coin = 100 Cyan Mysterious Coins = 10,000 Yellow Mysterious Coins. Reference value for Mysterious Coins: An ordinary family on the Tian Xuan Continent earns about 30,000 Yellow Mysterious Coins a year, which is 3 Purple Mysterious Coins.]
Placing the Mysterious Coins on the counter, Yun Che quickly left. Then, without stopping, he headed straight for the southern exit of the town.
Xiao Ba had also spotted his figure, but he wasn't in a hurry to act, following behind him with a blank expression.
The exit of Qinglin Town soon appeared ahead. Heading south from Qinglin Town led to a continuous stretch of mountains called the Red Dragon Mountain Range. It was home to all kinds of profound beasts and very dangerous. Even experienced profound practitioners or mercenary groups with decent strength in Qinglin Town only dared to operate at the very edge of the mountain range. Going deeper meant encountering higher-level profound beasts, often leading to near-certain death. This mountain range was named the Red Dragon Mountain Range because legend had it that at its center lived a giant flame dragon that could spew scorching fire.
But it was just a legend; no one had ever actually seen it. And since dragons were the sovereigns of profound beasts, even the lowest level dragon possessed terrifying power. Even if it really existed, anyone who saw it could not possibly return alive.
When he stepped into the territory of the Red Dragon Mountain Range, Yun Che slowly took a deep breath. He held the two packs of medicine he had just bought from the pharmacy against his chest with his right hand, covered them with his left hand, and the Heavenly Poison Pearl glowed... Instantly, a large amount of debris fell from between his hands. When Yun Che moved his left hand away, all that remained in his palm was a small pile of purple-black powder.
Purple Cup Flower was not toxic, and Iron Sand Vine was not toxic either. Taking them together would not cause any toxic reaction either. Even if they were poisonous, ordinary poisons would have little to no effect on a powerhouse at the Spirit Profound Realm.
However, the powder formed by extracting and fusing certain components from Purple Cup Flower and Iron Sand Vine had an extremely strong irritating effect on the eyes. If it got into the eyeballs, it would cause temporary blindness for a certain period, regardless of how strong one's profound strength was.
Clutching this small pinch of powder in his hand, Yun Che slowly turned around and looked at Xiao Ba, who had appeared silently like a ghost less than ten steps behind him.
Xiao Ba was slightly surprised that Yun Che had noticed him. He looked down at Yun Che with contempt and said coldly, "You're called Xiao Che, right? The waste who was kicked out of the Xiao Sect!"
"No, Yun Che!" Yun Che looked back at him calmly, not a trace of fear on his face.
"Hmph!" Xiao Ba obviously wasn't interested in what he called himself, and showed no reaction to his overly composed demeanor, because a super waste with a crippled profound vein didn't merit much thought from him: "On the orders of the young master, I'm sending you to meet the King of Hell. In your next life, remember not to be ignorant and provoke people you can't afford to!"
As his voice fell, a gleaming short blade appeared in Xiao Ba's hand. He flicked his right wrist, and the dagger shot straight towards Yun Che with a piercing sound of breaking air... Xiao Kuangyun had told him to ruin Yun Che's face and tongue, but he obviously didn't have the patience to waste so many moves and so much time on a complete waste. He didn't even bother touching his body, just threw the blade straight for his throat.
When Xiao Ba suddenly produced the short blade, Yun Che's brows twitched sharply. As Xiao Ba's right hand flicked out, his heart finally jolted in alarm... He had been prepared for Xiao Ba to charge at him with a heavy blow, but he had never expected this member of the Xiao Sect, at least at the Spirit Profound Realm, to actually use a weapon against a nobody like him! And use a flying dagger to kill him!
With his extremely low profound strength, how could he possibly dodge a flying dagger from a Spirit Profound Realm expert?
Is this Xiao Ba's nature twisted? He doesn't follow normal human behavior! Killing someone like me with no profound strength using a weapon—aren't you afraid of losing face if word gets out? Yun Che cursed helplessly in his heart. The cold gleam in his pupil was closing in rapidly. His consciousness told him to react to dodge immediately, but his sluggish body simply couldn't evade...
Just as the dagger was about to pierce Yun Che's throat, a lightning-fast red shadow suddenly shot out from Yun Che's body and blasted straight towards Xiao Ba...
Ssssssssssss~~~~~~
The short blade did not hit Yun Che's throat. In fact, in his pupils, the blade had completely vanished. Instead, behind Xiao Ba, a petite, delicate figure had appeared. She was facing away from Yun Che, wearing a white dress, her bare calves and feet like white jade exposed, and her crimson red hair cascading all the way down to her waist, stunningly beautiful.
And in her right hand, she clearly held the short blade that Xiao Ba had just thrown!
This girl... her clothes, and her red hair... could it be that...
Xiao Ba remained in the posture of having just thrown the dagger, frozen in place. In deathly silence, he didn't turn his head. Even his expression and body movements didn't change at all, as if frozen in time. The only change was his pupils, which had contracted to the size of a pinhole, as if he had seen the most terrifying scene in this world in that instant...
A cool breeze gently swept by at that moment. Xiao Ba's upright body suddenly collapsed in the breeze... Yes, collapsed, crumbling piece by piece like a stack of building blocks, turning into a pool of blood and countless tiny pieces of minced flesh.
The wind blew onto Yun Che's face, carrying a pungent smell of blood. His whole body was frozen, staring at the back of the red-haired girl in front of him. His pupils violently constricted, his breath completely held, and even his heartbeat nearly stopped.
Her clothes and red hair told him that this was clearly the girl he had encountered at the back mountain that night and brought into the Heavenly Poison Pearl. After entering the Heavenly Poison Pearl, she had been sleeping all the while... And now, she had woken up, walked out of the Heavenly Poison Pearl on her own, and shown him the most terrifying scene he had witnessed on the Tian Xuan Continent so far...
In that instant just now, this girl had clearly grabbed the short blade that was about to pierce his throat, then charged at Xiao Ba and killed him... The whole process was just a flash of red light, an extremely brief moment... Xiao Ba's body was completely reduced to pieces. To reach the degree of disintegration before him, at least several hundred slashes must have been made on his body!
In other words, this girl had not only grabbed the dagger that nearly took his life, but had also used that same dagger to slash Xiao Ba at least several hundred times in that split second!!
Is this... is this an ability a little girl could have?
No! Is this a realm that a 'human' could attain?!
Clang!
"Ugh..."
In Yun Che's extreme shock, the short blade in the girl's hand suddenly fell to the ground, accompanied by a pained moan like that of a small animal. Then, she slowly crouched down, her tiny body trembling slightly, as if bathed in a bone-chilling wind...
"This accursed Godslayer Desolation Poison... this princess only used... such a small amount of power... and it backlashes... to this extent... ugh..."
The girl's voice was very weak and pained, as if she was enduring immense torment. Yun Che tentatively took two steps forward. Every time his eyes touched the pool of blood, a chill ran through his heart... Who exactly was this red-haired girl! Xiao Ba was from the Xiao Sect, with a cultivation at least at the lower Spirit Profound Realm! Almost no one in the entire Liuyun City could match him, yet this girl had killed him in an instant!
This girl looked to be only twelve or thirteen years old! A girl of this age being at the third level of the Initial Profound Realm would already be quite impressive. Xia Qingyue reaching the tenth level of the Initial Profound Realm at sixteen was already recognized as the number one genius in the entire city. This girl... this girl...
After returning to the Tian Xuan Continent, this was the first time Yun Che felt true shock in his heart. Because the scene before him had completely exceeded his understanding... an understanding spanning two entire lifetimes!
Yun Che took a deep breath, struggling to calm his mind. Gritting his teeth, he finally spoke: "Little sister, you... you're awake?"
Hearing Yun Che's voice, the slight trembling of the girl's body stopped. She slowly stood up, turned around, revealing a delicate, doll-like young face. But although this face was young, it was so beautiful it was hard to believe. Right now, it bore obvious pain. She looked at Yun Che, her voice young and chilly: "How unbelievable. The Heavenly Poison Pearl actually acknowledges a useless mortal like you as its master! Has the spirit of this Mystic Heaven Supreme Treasure become twisted?"
Strictly speaking, this was Yun Che's first time truly facing her. Although he had gone into the Heavenly Poison Pearl to see her many times every day over the past few days, looking at her again now, he still felt an irresistible urge to stare. Because this girl was too beautiful—beautiful enough to steal one's soul. Every part of her snow-white face was exquisitely perfect to an incredible degree, a perfection that was extreme and beyond description.
Her eyes were crystalline like black gems, yet as deep as the night sky. From her eyes, Yun Che saw a kind of pride... But this pride was absolutely not the arrogant, overbearing insolence of someone like Xiao Kuangyun, who relied on his status. It was a kind of nobility and pride that came from the soul itself, as if all living beings in this world were beneath her notice, as if everything in the world was as insignificant as dust in her eyes.
………………………………
Qinglin Town. Inside the tavern.
The food and wine were served, but Xiao Ba still hadn't returned.
Xiao Kuangyun began to grow impatient, snorting coldly: "Dealing with a waste actually took this much time. Hmph, could it be that he got lost in this unfamiliar place? Xiao Jiu, go take a look!"
"Yes, Young Master!" Xiao Jiu acknowledged the order, immediately stood up, walked out of the tavern, and headed in the direction Xiao Ba had been pursuing.