Chapter 111: Sudden Change at the Elbow

Sudden Change at the Elbow

From the moment they fled the Flying Bear to the ambush and subsequent incident, less than the time it takes to burn a stick of incense had passed. Both Ruan Ci and Tian Lu had arrived in an instant. Ruan Ci, in particular, had sensed several auras in the vicinity; one was vast and unfathomable, likely that of a Core Formation cultivator. She surmised that it was he who had masked the auras of the Foundation Establishment attendants, which was why neither she nor Tian Lu had detected any clues within the pressure field.

When Ruan Ci arrived, she saw Tian Lu with a flushed face, guarding the black-and-white Flying Bear. The bear’s breathing was extremely faint; its left shoulder had been pierced by a dart-type magic treasure. It lay on the bamboo leaves, eyes tightly shut, blood dripping down the bamboo stalks and emitting a faint, refreshing fragrance. Several people were confronting Tian Lu not far away—a young scholar leading a group of boys and girls. By their appearance, they were righteous cultivators, not demonic or heterodox. One of them shouted, "Fellow Daoist, we saw this Flying Bear first. If you want it, go catch another one yourself!"

Tian Lu was so angry he nearly shed tears, stuttering, "Y-you—"

Seeing the little black-and-white ball of fur lying on the broad bamboo leaves, gasping for breath, a sudden surge of pity rose in Ruan Ci’s heart. She blocked Tian Lu and said coldly, "Why haven't you treated its wounds yet?"

As she spoke, she tossed over a Cosmos Sack. Tian Lu, who indeed had brought nothing with him, obtained the elixirs from Ruan Ci and hurriedly picked up the little bear, muttering, "Let me think, let me think how to treat this. The *Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon* says that for sharp-weapon wounds, one must first remove the chaotic spiritual energy at the wound site..."

Seeing this, who couldn't tell he was out on his first adventure? The young scholar smiled slightly and said to Ruan Ci, "Fellow Daoist, we are merely trying to capture a spirit pet. This black-and-white Flying Bear is full of wild spirit; it would never be tamed unless severely wounded. There is no need for the little Daoist to trouble himself. Hand it over to me, and I will naturally heal it."

For a Core Formation cultivator to be so polite to Ruan Ci was giving her plenty of face. After all, Tian Lu looked useless, and the others were all waiting on the boat. The scholar could have easily taken the bear, and his chances of success would have been high. But Ruan Ci did not return the courtesy. Seeing the bear's miserable state, she felt extremely displeased. Since entering the Dao, she had killed living beings, but mostly out of necessity, without any emotional fluctuation. Today, however, she was furious, and the intent to kill ignited in her heart. Glancing sideways at the scholar, she said, "You say you saw the Flying Bear first?"

Among the disciples the scholar brought, a red-clad youth held a particularly high status; he was the one who had spoken earlier. At Ruan Ci’s words, he shouted, "Do you mean to say you saw it first? Martial Uncle, this woman is so rude, why bother talking to her! Just take the bear and go. If she remains ignorant of the situation—"

*Clang!* He drew his sword, and a sharp, piercing aura erupted within the pressure field. "There is no need for Martial Uncle to bully the small; let me teach her a lesson!"

The people behind him echoed his words, looking at Ruan Ci with disdain, as if she were ignorant of the world and stubbornly seeking trouble, and as if, were it not for their mercy, Ruan Ci and her companion would not have gotten off easily today.

Ruan Ci swept her gaze over them and said dismissively, "What a joke. Your Martial Uncle is a Core Formation cultivator; how powerful is his spiritual sense? We sat not far away for the entire night and chased the bear for a distance; how could he not have sensed our auras? If we didn't see the bear first, could it be you did? Since I spared this bear, I naturally had my reasons. How do you know I wasn't waiting for it to flee home so I could catch them all in one net?"

Her tongue was sharp, and her words left the youth speechless. Ruan Ci couldn't be bothered to look at him again; she stared fixedly at the young scholar and said coldly, "You knew full well that we encountered the bear first, yet you attacked it, and so cruelly at that, without even masking your aura. Isn't it because you wanted to lure us both here? Which sect are you from? The Jin Bo Sect?"

The scholar smiled slightly, took a step forward, and reached out toward the two. A massive pressure rose within the field, suppressing the auras of all the Foundation Establishment cultivators until they couldn't breathe. Although Ruan Ci had the protection of the Dong Hua and her Dao foundation was extraordinary, she still felt a sense of stagnation and sluggishness.

Just as the cultivator was about to take the bear, Tian Lu let out a soft shout. A burst of clear Qi erupted from his body, suppressing that pressure, and the two sides reached a stalemate. Ruan Ci felt her body lighten, knowing she was being shielded by Tian Lu. She couldn't help but sneer, feeling even more contemptuous. Staring at the scholar, she said, "What? Feeling guilty? Afraid to speak? It seems you really are from the Jin Bo Sect. Very good, I've kept you waiting for a long time."

She had a heart with nine apertures, always clever, and often saw things more clearly than others, though sometimes she seemed a bit over-suspicious. The last sentence was inexplicable; not only Tian Lu but even the people opposite looked confused. The scholar frowned and said, "Little Daoist, what do you mean by this? And this Flying Bear was not seen by you first. It is true I sensed you two last night, but since we were strangers, I didn't come over to greet you. The bear has also been within my perception, but it is always cautious. I was waiting for a good opportunity to train my disciples, which is why it dragged on until now."

It would have been better if he hadn't spoken; in Ruan Ci's ears, his words were full of holes. She sneered, "The more you say, the more you err. We discovered the bear in the northwest direction while it was drinking dew; this is the southeast. If it wanted to sneak from the southeast to the northwest, it would inevitably pass under our feet. If your spiritual sense could cover several miles in the southeast direction from where we sat last night, my dear True Person, did you not notice the Shang Qing Dharma Boat we were riding?"

As soon as the words "Shang Qing" left her lips, everyone's expression changed. The young scholar said no more; his aura surged violently, pressing down on Tian Lu, and he shouted, "Bring it here!"

He reached out to snatch the bear again, completely disregarding that the bear's injuries had only just begun to improve under Tian Lu's care. But the disciples no longer had the heart to cheer; fear appeared on their faces. The four words "Shang Qing Dharma Boat" had drained the confidence of even the most arrogant red-clad youth, yet he couldn't stop his Martial Uncle. After all, they had the advantage in numbers; if they were scared away by these four words, wouldn't they lose all face?

Ruan Ci flicked her sleeve, forced herself to catch her breath, pushed aside the heavy pressure, and shouted, "Uncle Hu, take him down for me!"

A tiger's roar sounded from not far behind, and Tian Lu responded with a deer's cry. A swift aura darted out from the shadows, just like a tiger silently walking behind its prey before delivering a fatal blow. It locked onto the young scholar's aura and pinned him to the ground. The crowd was in an uproar; several people turned to flee, but after only a few steps, a sweet song echoed from somewhere in the air. The mermaid beauties had drifted over from the forest, laughing, and surrounded the area.

Uncle Hu and the young scholar were still fighting under the forest canopy, but with so many Core Formation cultivators present, their aura protection meant Ruan Ci was no longer affected. Seeing this formation, the disciples knew that cultivators from the Sheng Sect had arrived. They believed the words "Shang Qing Dharma Boat" completely. Several people's knees went weak, and they knelt, showing submission. But the red-clad youth, looking stubborn, still held his head high and shouted at Ruan Ci with arrogance, "Hey! Do you Sheng Sect disciples bully the small? Are you afraid to fight me? Let's bet on this Flying Bear. If you win, you can kill or skin me as you please. If you lose, you must let me—let me and my fellow disciples go, and give me the bear!"

He didn't dare include the young scholar in the bet, but he couldn't stop thinking about the bear.

Ruan Ci glanced at him and sneered, "You are truly as stupid as a pig. Tell me, are you a disciple of the Jin Bo Sect?"

The red-clad youth puffed out his chest and said, "That's right! We are a Mao Sect, but does that mean we must be bullied by you Sheng Sect disciples?"

Ruan Ci ignored him and asked, "Then what are you to Li Pingyan?"

The crowd was in an uproar, and the youth became nervous, swallowing hard. "That... that is my Senior Brother..."

Ruan Ci said, "Oh? Then did he ever tell you that he made a friend named Ruan from the Shang Qing Sect?"

She looked at him with a half-smile, unreadable. The youth's eyes darted around, and he took a few steps back, seemingly trying to fabricate an answer. But this couldn't stand up to questioning; it was an extremely stupid decision. So he shook his head and said, "He never mentioned it. Did you meet my Senior Brother in the Heng Ze Heaven, Fellow Daoist Ruan?"

Ruan Ci was too lazy to answer him. Bamboo leaves rustled in the forest, spiritual energy fluctuated, and waves could be faintly felt from the ground. The spiritual power of the two Core Formation cultivators clashing had shaken the area for hundreds of miles. Before long, Uncle Hu stepped onto the bamboo tips, threw the young scholar onto a leaf, and cupped his hands. "This old servant has not failed the mission!"

Ruan Ci did not put on airs with him; she bowed slightly and said, "Uncle Hu has worked hard. Please rest to the side."

Seeing her perfect etiquette, Uncle Hu nodded secretly and stood behind Ruan Ci, his presence fierce and intimidating. Several Jin Bo Sect disciples were already crying in fear. Ruan Ci looked at them with disdain and asked the red-clad youth, "Was it you who fired the dart that injured the Flying Bear?"

The youth's face turned red and white, but he still puffed out his chest and shouted, "So what if it was? It's just a demonic beast. Not to mention injuring it, I've killed plenty in my time."

Ruan Ci sneered, "It was your Martial Uncle who timed it and told you to attack, wasn't it?"

"...Y-yes."

Ruan Ci glanced at the little black-and-white ball of fur. "Usually, when capturing a black-and-white Flying Bear, even if you want to injure it, you wouldn't hurt it this badly, right?"

The youth, no matter how stupid, realized something was wrong. He blinked and didn't speak. Ruan Ci continued, "When you attacked, you didn't expect this result. You just didn't expect the dart not to obey you as usual, and it accidentally caused heavy damage, right?"

She didn't wait for the youth to answer; she knew the answer just by looking at his face. She walked to the scholar, kicked him over, and sneered, "I've waited a long time. You used the excuse of hunting the black-and-white Flying Bear to bring your disciples to play in this Green Jade Hall. Last night, you really waited for such an opportunity and temporarily arranged this trap, didn't you? You're lucky, Li Pingyan actually has a Junior Brother stupider than a pig, whom you used as a gun, and it was easier to make him take the bait than to feed a cat or dog."

"But how did you know I like cute spirit beasts? Let me think. Besides Li Pingyan, there is one other person in the Jin Bo Sect who knows this habit of mine, and that is Pan Tanruo. Did you hear it from him? Or from the True Person who ordered you from behind the scenes? Who instigated you to come and sow discord between the Purple Void Heaven and the Jin Bo Sect, to make me and Li Pingyan drift apart?"

In truth, her friendship with Li Pingyan was not worth mentioning to major sects like the Shang Qing Sect or the Jin Bo Sect. But the connection between the Jin Bo Sect and the Shang Qing Sect was intricate, yet had nothing to do with the Purple Void Heaven. Li Pingyan was a very good connection. As their cultivation bases improved and their status in their sects grew higher, the Purple Void Heaven and the Jin Bo Sect would gradually be able to speak to each other. Thus, although this connection was small now, it had great potential. Ruan Ci guessed that True Person Wang sending Uncle Hu and Tian Lu to be by her side was also with the intention of befriending Li Pingyan's teachers. Unexpectedly, the message of her visit had been noticed by someone with ulterior motives, who wanted to cause friction between the two factions before Ruan Ci even arrived at the Jin Bo Sect.

Today's matter, even if she exposed the conspiracy behind it, the resentment and hostility of Li Pingyan's Junior Brother toward her would still be hard to eliminate, not to mention the other disciples. The label of "Sheng Sect disciples bullying the weak and reversing right and wrong" could not be removed. But Ruan Ci didn't care about this. Seeing the scholar's face dim and him remaining silent, she said to Uncle Hu, "Uncle Hu, is there any way to pry his mouth open?"

Uncle Hu said, "Miss, please understand, the will of a Core Formation cultivator is very firm. If he is determined not to speak, even torture will be useless, unless..."

Ruan Ci asked, "Unless what? Can anyone among us search his soul and extract his thoughts?"

Uncle Hu shook his head. "That is a Heavenly Demon divine ability. However, if Miss does not care whether this person lives or dies, this old servant can try to use torture, or simply kill him directly and observe the images reflected in his inner world. Perhaps we can find a clue."

He said this so casually that the Jin Bo disciples trembled in fear. The red-clad Junior Brother's face turned gloomy, and he shouted, "Hey! Fellow Daoist Ruan... even if Martial Uncle really had evil intentions, there's no need for this, right? Take him back to the sect, and the elders will surely decide. Besides, from beginning to end, we only injured one black-and-white Flying Bear... There are at least ten thousand in this Green Jade Hall. You like Flying Bears, we... we can catch a few hundred for you as an apology, isn't that good?"

His words were not unreasonable, and the few remaining Jin Bo disciples showed expressions of injustice. This matter was indeed the Shang Qing Sect using their numbers and their status as a Sheng Sect to suppress the Jin Bo Sect until they couldn't breathe. A dispute caused by a single Flying Bear had led to a respectable Core Formation cultivator of the Jin Bo Sect being knocked down by a guardian demonic beast and thrown here like livestock. Even if they were lucky enough to escape unscathed, it was a huge loss of face. And this wasn't enough; they still wanted to kill. That was truly bullying people too much.

Ruan Ci sneered, "That's right, you naturally think in your heart that this is just a small misunderstanding. Since I know Li Pingyan and our friendship is so good that people in the sect have moved to sow discord, then at most today I would teach you a lesson. You, constrained by the situation, wouldn't dare do anything to me, and at most, after returning to the sect, you would practice hard and one day get your revenge on me, right?"

Her words hit the red-clad youth's thoughts exactly. After Ruan Ci exposed the scholar's scheme, although he was still anxious, he was no longer so afraid, and even dared to plead for his Martial Uncle. But hearing Ruan Ci say this, his heart sank, knowing that things would not develop that way. He couldn't help but take a few steps back and said, "Today, I fell into your hands, so I've lost. You can kill or skin me as you please. If you feel sorry for that Flying Bear, just stab a sword into my shoulder too!"

Ruan Ci laughed, "That's right, they are just mortals, just demonic beasts. How have they ever been in your eyes? If such things are injured or die, how can they make you pay with your life?"

She paced to Tian Lu's side, picked up the dart, and tossed it up and down a few times. Injecting spiritual power, she quietly refined it. Her aura invisibly locked onto the youth. The red-clad youth took a few steps back, his face showing a complex mix of disbelief, fear, and panic. He gritted his teeth several times, but in the end, he didn't summon the courage to fight, and suddenly broke through the air to flee into the distance.

The Core Formation attendants all watched coldly without moving. Tian Lu held the bear in his arms, kneeling on the leaf, his black-and-white eyes fixed on Ruan Ci. Ruan Ci smiled slightly at him, flicked her hand, and threw the dart violently. The dart pierced through bamboo and leaves, arriving first despite being thrown later, and pierced into the youth's dantian with extreme speed. Amidst a miserable cry, it pinned him to a large bamboo stalk in front of him. His aura had long been locked, and he couldn't escape at all.

The Jin Bo disciples all exclaimed, and some couldn't help but cover their mouths and sob, looking at Ruan Ci as if looking at a Heavenly Demon. Uncle Hu clapped his hands and shouted, "Miss has good aim! What a fast dart!"

Ruan Ci leaped lightly, arrived at the red-clad youth's side, stabbed her sword into his back, lifted him up, and threw him next to the young scholar. Although the red-clad youth's Dao foundation was hit, he was not yet dead. He gasped for breath, blood foam bubbling from his seven orifices. He made gurgling sounds, looking at Ruan Ci in disbelief, still unable to believe that she had killed a friend's Junior Brother just because of a spirit beast she had only glanced at a few times.

Ruan Ci looked down at him, her lips curling slightly. Although she looked delicate, her temperament was young and childish. This smile, for some reason, carried a bit of adult-like charm. "But have you ever thought..."

"This Flying Bear's life, when was it ever in your eyes? Your life, when was it ever in mine?"

As soon as she finished speaking, she spat out spiritual power from the tip of her sword. As she stirred it, the red-clad youth's Dao foundation shattered into pieces. The light in his eyes faded, and he lowered his head. His inner world appeared above his head, his five-void and two-solid Dao foundation shattered rapidly, and the scenes of his life scattered one by one. Ruan Ci was too lazy to look closely. She put away her Frost Sword, turned to the few Jin Bo disciples, smiled slightly, and said, "You didn't take action, you only watched—"

"So, I can let you run for a while first."

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Updated. Sorry for the wait, everyone. This chapter is an extra update for 40,000 comments.

Xiao Ci's personality is indeed relatively changeable and multifaceted; it cannot be summarized by a few simple keywords. However, the Sect Master has already made a comment about her.

Friends, did Xiao Ci do the right thing?

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