Chapter 117: Sudden Change at the Elbow

Sudden Change at the Elbow

From the moment that Flying Bear fled to the time the ambush occurred, less than the time it takes for a stick of incense to burn had passed. Whether it was Ruan Ci or Seeing Tianlu, both arrived in an instant. Ruan Ci, in particular, sensed several strands of Qi within her perception. One strand was vast and unfathomable, likely belonging to a Golden Core cultivator. She surmised that it was he who had shielded the other Foundation Establishment attendants just now, which was why neither Ruan Ci nor Seeing Tianlu had detected any clues within the field of pressure.

When Ruan Ci arrived, she saw Seeing Tianlu with a face flushed red, guarding in front of that black and white Flying Bear. The Flying Bear's aura was already extremely weak. Its left shoulder had been pierced by a flying dart magic treasure. It was currently lying on the bamboo leaves, eyes tightly shut, blood dripping down the bamboo stalk and emitting waves of faint fragrance. There were several others not far away confronting Seeing Tianlu; it was a young scholar leading several young men and women. By their appearance, they were all righteous cultivators, not demonic or heterodox. One of them had just shouted, "Fellow Daoist, we saw this Flying Bear first. If you want it, go catch another one yourself!"

Seeing Tianlu was so angry he almost shed tears, stuttering, "Y-you—"

Ruan Ci saw the black and white little ball of fur, its aura fading as it lay on the broad bamboo leaf, and a sudden feeling of pity arose in her heart. She blocked Seeing Tianlu and said coldly, "Why haven't you treated its wounds yet?"

As she spoke, she tossed a Universe Bag over. Seeing Tianlu truly had nothing on him. Having obtained the elixir Ruan Ci gave, he 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..."

Seeing this, who among the crowd didn't know he was out adventuring for the first time? The young scholar smiled slightly and said to Ruan Ci, "Fellow Daoist, actually, we were only trying to capture a spirit pet. This black and white Flying Bear is full of wild nature; if it weren't severely wounded, it would never submit. There is no need for you to trouble yourself, little fellow Daoist. Hand it over to me, and I will naturally heal it."

With his status as a Golden Core, he was still so polite to Ruan Ci, which was giving her plenty of face. After all, Seeing Tianlu looked like he didn't know what he was doing, and the others were all waiting on the boat. This scholar could also have taken the Flying Bear himself, and the odds of success would likely have been quite high. But Ruan Ci did not reciprocate the courtesy. Seeing the miserable state of the Flying Bear, she felt extremely unhappy. Since entering the Dao, although she had killed a few living creatures, most were forced by circumstances, and she had no emotional fluctuations. Today, however, she was furious, and the killing intent in her heart was already ignited. Glancing sideways at the scholar, she said, "You say you saw the Flying Bear first?"

Among the disciples brought by the scholar, one young man in red had a particularly high status, and it was he who had been speaking just now. When Ruan Ci said this, he shouted, "Could it be that you saw it first? Martial Uncle, this woman is so rude, why talk to her! Just take the Flying Bear away. If she still doesn't know what's good for her—"

With a 'clang', he drew his sword, and a sharp aura suddenly erupted within the field of pressure. "There's no need for Martial Uncle to bully the small; let me teach her a lesson!"

The people behind him also spoke up in agreement, looking at Ruan Ci with great disdain, as if she were ignorant of worldly affairs and insisted on sticking her neck out. It was as if, were it not for their mercy, Ruan Ci and her companion would not have been able to end the day well.

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

She was eloquent, and her words left the young man somewhat speechless. Ruan Ci couldn't be bothered to look at him again. She stared fixedly at the young scholar and said coldly, "You knew clearly that we encountered this Flying Bear first, yet you insisted on attacking it, and so cruelly at that, without even masking your Qi. Isn't it just to lure us two over? Which sect are you from? Jin Bo Sect?"

The scholar smiled slightly, took a step forward, and reached out toward the two. A vast aura suddenly rose within the field of pressure, suppressing the Qi of all the Foundation Establishment cultivators until they couldn't breathe. Although Ruan Ci had the protection of the Donghua Sword and her Dao foundation was not ordinary, she still felt a sense of stagnation and sluggishness.

Seeing that the cultivator was about to take the Flying Bear, Seeing Tianlu gave a soft shout, and a clear Qi erupted from his body, suppressing that aura. The two sides were actually evenly matched. Ruan Ci felt a release on her body, knowing she had been shielded by Seeing Tianlu. 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 and was always clever, often seeing things more thoroughly than others, though sometimes she seemed a bit overthinking. The last sentence was inexplicable; not only Seeing Tianlu but even the people opposite had looks of confusion. The scholar frowned and said, "Little fellow Daoist, what do you mean by this? And this Flying Bear was not seen by you first. It is true that I sensed you two last night, but since we were strangers, I did not come over to greet you. The Flying Bear has also been within my perception, but it has always been alert. I was also training my disciples and waiting for a good opportunity, which is why it was delayed until now."

It would have been fine if he hadn't spoken, but once he did, it was full of flaws in Ruan Ci's ears. She sneered, "The more you say, the more mistakes you make. We discovered that Flying Bear sucking clear dew in the northwest direction. This is the southeast direction. 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, this True Person, did you not notice the Shangqing Dharma Boat we were riding?"

As soon as the two words 'Shangqing' were spoken, everyone's expression changed. The young scholar said no more, his aura surging violently, pressing Seeing Tianlu downward, and he shouted, "Bring it here!"

He reached out to snatch the Flying Bear again, completely disregarding that the Flying Bear's injuries had only just improved slightly under Seeing Tianlu's care. But the disciples no longer had the intention to cheer; fear appeared on everyone's faces. The four words 'Shangqing Dharma Boat' made even the most arrogant young man in red lose his confidence, but he couldn't stop his Martial Uncle. After all, they were numerous; if they were scared away by these four words, wouldn't they lose a great deal of face?

Ruan Ci flicked her sleeve, managed to catch her breath, pushed aside the aura pressure that had become heavy again, and shouted, "Uncle Hu, take him down for me!"

A tiger's roar sounded not far behind her, and Seeing Tianlu also let out a deer's cry in response. A nimble aura suddenly darted out from the shadows, just like a fierce tiger quietly walking behind an enemy before delivering a fatal blow. It went straight for the weakest point in the young scholar's aura, instantly locking onto the scholar's Qi and pouncing him to the ground. The crowd couldn't help but stir, and several people quietly turned and fled, but after only a few steps, a sweet song came from somewhere in the air. Those mermaid beauties had also drifted over from the forest, laughing, and surrounded the area tightly.

Uncle Hu and the young scholar were still fighting under the forest, but now that so many Golden Core cultivators had arrived, under the cover of their aura, it could no longer affect Ruan Ci's movements. Seeing such a formation, how could the disciples not know that cultivators from a Sheng Sect had arrived? They believed the four words 'Shangqing Dharma Boat' even more firmly. Several people's knees went soft, and they knelt down, showing submission. But the young man in red showed a stubborn look, still tilting his chin, and shouted at Ruan Ci with a face full of arrogance, "Hey! Do you Sheng Sect disciples bully the small? Don't dare to fight me? Today, you and I will use this Flying Bear as a wager. 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 that Flying Bear should also be given to me!"

He didn't dare to include the young scholar in the bet, but he still couldn't forget that Flying Bear.

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

The young man in red puffed out his chest and said, "That's right! Although we are a Mao Sect, does that mean we can be bullied by you Sheng Sects?"

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

The crowd was suddenly in a stir, and the young man also became nervous, swallowing his saliva, "That... that is my Martial Brother..."

Ruan Ci said, "Oh? Then has he ever told you that he made a friend surnamed Ruan from the Shangqing Sect?"

She looked half-smiling, hard to tell if she was happy or angry. The young man's eyes rolled, and he took a few steps back, seemingly wanting to fabricate an answer, but this couldn't withstand questioning and was an extremely stupid decision. Therefore, he still shook his head and said, "He never said. Fellow Daoist Ruan, did you meet my Martial Brother in the Hengze Heaven?"

Ruan Ci was already too lazy to answer him. Bamboo leaves swayed in the forest, spiritual energy fluctuated in waves, and waves were faintly transmitted from the ground. A radius of several hundred miles was shaken by the spiritual power of the two Golden Core cultivators. After a while, the Tiger Servant flashed onto the bamboo tip and threw the young scholar onto the leaves, cupping his hands, "Old servant has not failed the mission!"

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

Seeing her etiquette was perfect, the Tiger Servant nodded secretly, standing behind Ruan Ci with his hands crossed, his fierce prestige evident in his gaze. Several of the Jin Bo Sect disciples were already scared to tears. Ruan Ci looked at them with disdain and asked the young man in red again, "The dart that wounded the Flying Bear, did you fire it?"

The young man's face turned red and white, but in the end, he puffed out his chest and said loudly, "So what if I did? It's just a demonic beast. Not to mention wounding it, I usually kill plenty of them."

Ruan Ci sneered, "It was your Martial Uncle who timed it and let you make the move, right?"

"... Y-yes."

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

The young man, no matter how stupid, should have realized something was wrong. He blinked without speaking. Ruan Ci added, "When you made the move, you didn't expect this result either. You just didn't expect the flying dart not to be as obedient as usual, accidentally wounding it severely, right?"

She didn't wait for the young man to answer; she knew the answer just by looking at his face. She walked to the scholar's side, kicked him over, and sneered, "I've really been waiting a long time. You used the name of capturing the black and white Flying Bear to take your disciples to play in this Green Jade Hall. Last night, you really waited for such an opportunity and arranged such a game on the spot, right? You are also lucky; Li Pingyan actually has such a disciple who is stupider than a pig, being used by you like a gun, making him eat bait even easier than feeding cats and dogs."

"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 did you learn it from the True Person behind the scenes who ordered you? Who instigated you to come and sow discord between the Purple Void Heaven and the Jin Bo Sect, making me and Li Pingyan drift apart?"

In fact, her friendship with Li Pingyan was not worth mentioning to large sects like the Shangqing Sect and the Jin Bo Sect. However, the connection between the Jin Bo Sect and the Shangqing Sect was intertwined, but there was nothing related to the Purple Void Heaven. Li Pingyan was just a very good connection. As their cultivation levels continued to improve and their status in the sect became higher, the Purple Void Heaven and the Jin Bo Sect gradually became able to talk to each other. Therefore, although this connection was small at the moment, it had a future. Ruan Ci observed that True Person Wang sent Uncle Hu and Seeing Tianlu to follow her, also intending to interact with Li Pingyan's teachers. Unexpectedly, the message of the visit had already been noticed by someone with ulterior motives, wanting to create discord between the two lineages before Ruan Ci arrived at the Jin Bo Sect.

Today's matter was her breaking the conspiracy behind it. The young man's resentment and hostility toward her were still difficult 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 these things. Seeing the scholar's face was dim and he didn't speak, she said to the Tiger Servant, "Uncle Hu, is there any way to pry his mouth open?"

The Tiger Servant said, "Young Lady, please observe. The minds of Golden Core cultivators are very firm. If he is determined not to speak, even torture will be useless, unless..."

Ruan Ci asked, "Unless what? Is there anyone among us who can search souls and take thoughts?"

The Tiger Servant shook his head and said, "That is the Heavenly Demon's divine ability. However, if Young Lady doesn't care about this person's life or death, this old servant can try to use torture, or simply kill him directly and watch the images reflected in his inner landscape. Perhaps we can find a clue."

He said this so casually that the Jin Bo disciples were all trembling with fear. The young man in red had a gloomy face and shouted, "Hey! Ruan, Fellow Daoist Ruan... even if Martial Uncle really has evil intentions, there's no need for this, right? Take him back to the sect, and there will definitely be elders to decide. Besides, from beginning to end, we only wounded one black and white Flying Bear... There are at least ten thousand of them in this Green Jade Hall. You like Flying Bears, we—we will catch a few hundred for you to apologize, wouldn't that be good?"

His words were not unreasonable, and the few remaining Jin Bo disciples showed looks of injustice. This matter was indeed the Shangqing Sect relying on their numbers and their status as a Sheng Sect to suppress the Jin Bo Sect until they couldn't breathe. It was just a dispute caused by a Flying Bear that led to a Golden Core cultivator with status in the Jin Bo Sect being pointed down by a Dharma-protecting demonic beast and thrown here like livestock. Even if he survived, it would be a great loss of status. This was not enough, and they still wanted to kill; that was truly bullying people too much.

Ruan Ci sneered, "That's right. In your heart, you naturally think this is just a small misunderstanding. Since I know Li Pingyan and our friendship is so good that someone in the sect has moved to sow discord, then today at most I will teach you a lesson. Due to the situation, you dare not do anything to me, and at most, after returning to the sect, you will practice hard and find a way to get back at me one day, right?"

Her words hit the young man in red's heart. After Ruan Ci broke the scholar's plan, although he was still anxious, he was no longer so afraid, and even dared to plead for his Martial Uncle. But at this moment, seeing Ruan Ci say this, his heart sank, knowing that the situation would not develop like this. He couldn't help but take a few steps back and said with a stiff scalp, "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!"

Ruan Ci smiled, "That's right. They are just mortals and demonic beasts, so how could they ever be in your eyes? If such things are wounded or killed, how can it make you pay with your life?"

She paced to Seeing Tianlu's side, took the flying dart, tossed it up and down a few times, and poured spiritual power into it. She had quietly refined it, and her aura had invisibly locked onto the young man. The young man in red took a few steps back, a complex look of disbelief, fear, panic, and other emotions mixed together on his face. He gritted his teeth several times, but in the end, he didn't summon the courage and suddenly fled into the distance.

The Golden Core attendants were all watching coldly, not moving. Seeing Tianlu held the Flying Bear in his arms, kneeling on the leaves, his black and white eyes fixed on Ruan Ci. Ruan Ci smiled slightly at him, flicked her hand, and threw the flying dart violently. The dart pierced through the bamboo and leaves, arriving first despite being thrown later, and pierced into the young man's Dantian at an extremely fast speed. Amidst his screams, it nailed him to a large bamboo stalk in front of him. His aura had already 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's eyes was like looking at a Heavenly Demon. The Tiger Servant clapped his hands and shouted, "Young Lady has good accuracy! What a fast dart!"

Ruan Ci leaped lightly, arrived at the side of the young man in red, drew her sword and stabbed it into his back, picked him up and brought him back, throwing him beside the young scholar. Although the young man in red had his Dao foundation hit, he was not dead yet. He was gasping for breath, and blood foam kept bubbling from his seven orifices. He kept making hoarse sounds in his mouth, looking at Ruan Ci in disbelief. Even now, he still couldn't believe that she had killed her friend's Martial Brother just because of a spirit beast she had only looked at a few times.

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

"This Flying Bear's life, how could it ever be in your eyes? Your life, how could it ever be in mine?"

As soon as the words fell, she spat out spiritual power from the tip of her sword. As she stirred, the young man in red's Dao foundation shattered into pieces. The light in his eyes gradually faded, and he lowered his head. His inner landscape appeared above his head, and his five-void, two-real Dao foundation shattered rapidly. The scenes he remembered in his life flew away one by one. Ruan Ci was too lazy to look closely, put away the Frost Sword, turned her head to smile slightly at the few Jin Bo disciples, and said, "You didn't make a move, you were just watching—"

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

※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※

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

Xiao Ci's personality is indeed quite changeable and multifaceted, not something that can be summarized by a few simple keywords. However, the Sect Master has already commented on her.

Old friends, did Xiao Ci do the right thing?

. Thanks to the little angels who cast overlord votes or irrigated nutrient solution for me between 2020-10-09 11:05:57 and 2020-10-09 18:00:16~

Thanks to the little angels who cast landmines: Yu Yu Wan Yao, Long Qian, Wu Mingya (1 each);

Thanks to the little angels who irrigated nutrient solution: Lazy to change name (130 bottles); Qingqian (40 bottles); Why are there so many intelligence-lowering debuffs (28 bottles); Ci Yue, csxupu, Meat Bun Eating Vegetarian (10 bottles); Ailu (5 bottles); Girl Sheep, Yisheng's Bacteria, Dao Dao, xiaoxiao (1 bottle);

Thank you all very much for your support, I will continue to work hard! ===== CHAPTER 118 =====