All Heavens: A Role-Playing System Starting from Tianlong

Chapter 62 Substituting One Thing for Another

Li Qiushui had already made up her mind, but her smile remained unchanged: "Then let's follow the Imperial Advisor's wishes and spare these lowly servants for now."

She paused, her gaze sweeping over the women lying on the ground: "However, Lingjiu Palace has already changed hands. They are unwilling to acknowledge me as their master. If they stay here any longer, they will be nothing more than a bunch of usurpers."

I'll go after my senior sister first. If they're still here when I return, the Grand Preceptor shouldn't stop me from dealing with them, right?

"That's natural." Kumārajīva nodded slightly.

He paused, then continued, "However, Senior Wu was just struck by Senior Li's palm, his internal organs ruptured, and I'm afraid he won't last long. Even if he miraculously survives, he'll be practically a cripple. Why would Senior Li need to—"

"Shut up!" Li Qiushui turned around abruptly and interrupted him sharply.

That face, which had always been smiling, was now filled with a ferocious expression.

"What do you know? How could I let that bitch die so easily? I'm going to catch her, heal her, and make her wish she were dead!"

After saying that, she vanished from the spot in a flash.

"In that case, this humble monk will wait here for your good news, senior."

After Kumārajīva finished speaking, he looked down and glanced at the Lingjiu Palace disciples lying on the ground.

Although the women were too weak to get up, their eyes were fixed on him, the hatred in their gazes almost tangible.

"Gentlemen, instead of staring at me like this, you'd better call your companions and descend the mountain. Otherwise, once Senior Li has dealt with Senior Wu and returns, you'll have no way to survive."

An older woman on the ground struggled to her feet and gritted her teeth, saying, "Don't just stand there! Master is seriously injured and needs us. Quickly contact the other sisters from the Nine Heavens and Nine Departments to come and help!"

Then, the women on the ground helped each other to their feet and staggered out.

Kumārajīva watched their departing figures and gently shook his head.

That senior shaman was seriously injured and had no strength to run far. He might have already been caught up by senior shaman Li.

Besides, even if they could find Senior Wu before Senior Li, so what? It would only add a few more lives to the list.

He knew perfectly well what was going on, but there was nothing he could do to help.

Firstly, he was not confident of defeating Li Qiushui; secondly, he was still waiting for her to go to Dali with him again and was unwilling to turn against her at this time.

He withdrew his gaze, turned around, and returned to the tunnel. He would take this time to study the martial arts techniques of the Free and Unfettered Sect inscribed on the stone wall.

On the other side, the old woman's internal organs were injured, and she was bleeding profusely.

Li Qiushui followed the trail of blood, her steps unhurried, her eyes fixed on the crimson spots on the ground.

The intervals between the bloodstains are getting shorter and shorter.

She smiled slightly: "Senior sister, you've slowed down."

After chasing for a while longer, the bloodstains became even denser.

The injury has flared up again, hasn't it? Soon, I won't be able to run anymore.

A large pool of blood was clearly visible beside a stone step ahead. Li Qiushui stopped and glanced at it, her mind racing:

With this amount of bleeding, Senior Sister should have reached her limit. The next bloodstain should be within ten feet.

She casually stepped over the wall of Lingjiu Palace and walked towards the location where she estimated that the Child Granny was exhausted.

She occasionally encountered a few Lingjiu Palace disciples on the road, who rushed at her with their swords drawn. She casually struck them with a palm, stunning them but not killing them.

Since she had promised to kill them after Kumārajīva and the others returned, she was not inclined to break her promise.

But when she reached the predicted location, there was nothing beneath her feet.

No blood. No body. Nothing at all.

Li Qiushui paused. ————Where is he?

She was both shocked and frightened. She immediately used the last pool of blood as the center and carefully searched the area.

They hadn't gone far when they discovered new bloodstains about thirty feet away.

Li Qiushui frowned slightly. A final burst of energy before death? Or does Senior Sister have some other trick up her sleeve?

She continued following the trail of blood. The next spot was still over thirty feet away.

Li Qiushui's doubts deepened. The injury had stabilized? Impossible.

She quickened her pace, her brow furrowing more and more deeply.

Although the bloodstains were still spreading, the intervals between them gradually stabilized. It seemed that the old woman's injuries had indeed been suppressed by some method.

However, it didn't go far in the end.

Before long, Li Qiushui saw a room in the front hall of Lingjiu Palace.

The door was ajar, and a figure stumbled in before finally closing it.

Li Qiushui curled her lips into a cold smile and flicked her finger.

"Swoosh—" A burst of energy shot out and pierced through the door. A muffled thud came from inside the room as something heavy fell to the ground.

Li Qiushui walked over unhurriedly, a smile playing on her lips: "Senior sister, you have such refined tastes! Even at a time like this, you still have the mind to play hide-and-seek with your junior sister."

She pushed the door open and entered. Then, the smile on her face froze.

"Who are you, you lowly servant?!" Li Qiushui's gaze sharpened. "Where is my senior sister?"

Inside the room lay a tall woman, who appeared to be in her twenties or thirties. However, Li Qiushui could tell that she possessed the internal energy of the Xiaoyao Sect, and estimated that her true age was probably in her forties or fifties.

The woman's legs and chest were covered in blood.

The wound on his leg was a round hole, caused by Li Qiushui's finger pointing at him from outside the door.

The wound on his chest was caused by someone using internal force to severely injure his internal organs.

Li Qiushui instantly understood. She raised her hand and made a grasping motion, her surging true energy drawing the woman into her hand.

"I see." Her voice turned cold. "Your master encountered you when she was exhausted, and took the opportunity to strike you, so that you would distract me in her place, is that right?"

The woman didn't speak, she just stared at her coldly.

Li Qiushui continued, "Let me guess—you weren't the only one there, were you? Someone took her away, while you stayed behind to cover their retreat. Otherwise, with her severely injured body, even with you as bait, she wouldn't have been able to hide her tracks."

She paused, her tone softening, with a hint of persuasion: "If you were to heal this blow to your chest on your own, decades of hard work would be wasted. I see how much effort you've put into your cultivation, and I can't bear to see you cripple like this."

"Just speak up and guide me to your heartless master. I can guarantee you'll be restored to your former state, completely unharmed."

Seeing that she had been exposed, the woman simply raised her head and said frankly, "That's right, I am Xiao Yu, the commander of the Haotian Division of the Spirit Palace. I struck this blow myself to distract you and give my master a chance to survive."

The blood on her chest was still wet, and speaking aggravated her wounds, yet she gritted her teeth and straightened her back: "Everyone in Lingjiu Palace is willing to die for their master. You want me to betray my master? Don't even think about it."

Upon hearing this, Li Qiushui snorted coldly.

"Stubborn to the end," she said softly. "I hope you can be just as resolute in a moment."

She raised her hand and placed it on the maid's chest, continuously channeling her inner energy into her body.

Although she doesn't know the Life and Death Talisman, her control over true energy is extraordinary. Injecting true energy into others, even if it's not as miraculous as the Life and Death Talisman, is not far off.

The Lesser Formless Skill's true energy roamed unchecked within the woman's body, constantly simulating different changes in true energy:

Sudden shifts in temperature, like being plunged into an ice cave or burned by raging fire. At times, the pain is unbearable, as if thousands of steel needles are piercing through the veins. At other times, the itching is unbearable, as if countless insects are crawling in the bone marrow.

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