Mortal: Fifteenth Realm Sword Cultivator

Yanli gripped the "Exploding Flame Talisman" tightly in her hand, her eyes fixed on the young master of Qingyang Sect.

At this moment, the two were like players locked in a stalemate.

The young man was filled with resentment.

He regretted letting his entourage return to Qingyang Gate ahead of schedule.

If he hadn't been so confident in the Azure Fire Thunder crafted by his father, the Venerable Sanyang, he wouldn't have been so arrogant.

But now, it was the Azure Fire Thunder that brought it success, and it is also the Azure Fire Thunder that brought it down.

This weapon, whose power was comparable to a casual strike from a Nascent Soul cultivator, had now become a shackle binding his hands and feet.

When the young master of Qingyang Sect travels, he should not be without attendants and protectors.

The Three Yang Old Demon doted on his only son to the extreme, sparing no expense in using his true essence and secret techniques to personally craft dozens of Azure Fire Thunders as a gift.

With this item by his side, he was almost unbeatable among cultivators below the Nascent Soul stage.

In addition, he carried several protective magical artifacts with him, so he should have been completely safe.

But unfortunately, he stumbled in this ditch.

These two women had poisoned him.

At this moment, his spiritual energy was in disarray, and he could only rely on pills to forcibly sustain his life and suppress the poison. He had no strength left to activate the magical artifact.

Forget about fighting back, even escaping by using a magical artifact has become a pipe dream.

Now, he was tightly gripping the Azure Fire Thunder in his hand, but his opponent had already seen through his bluff.

But if this stalemate continues... it will actually be advantageous for him.

If we can hold out until the effects of the medicine dissipate and we regain a little bit of our ability to mobilize spiritual energy, the situation will be reversed.

Yanli held the several Explosive Flame Talismans tightly, her knuckles turning white from the force, and hesitated to throw them, precisely because she was worried about affecting Yuan Yao who was not far away.

Seeing that the young master of Qingyang Sect was still hesitant while holding the Azure Fire Thunder, she knew that he was also waiting for the right time to recover, and they could not delay any longer.

She suddenly turned her head and looked at Yuan Yao not far away, her face blooming with an extremely bright smile, like sunlight piercing through the gloom.

Yuan Yao wanted to rush over immediately, but Yan Li stopped her from afar by raising her hand.

She simply shook her head forcefully and clearly, her voice barely audible.

"Live well."

Before she finished speaking, the last trace of lingering affection in Yanli's eyes turned into determination. She unleashed her spiritual power without reservation, fiercely igniting all the Explosive Flame Talismans in her hand.

A blazing red light suddenly rose from her palm, illuminating her face.

Just like when they were very young, they watched their master, who had no hope of even reaching the Foundation Establishment stage, fiddling with that broken chessboard under the shade of a tree.

The master took down one black and one white chess piece, pointed to the chessboard, and said, "This is called exchanging pieces, Li'er."

In her innocent ignorance, she asked, "What is a 'dui zi'?"

The master smiled gently and pinched her little face: "Exchanging one person for another is called exchanging pieces, and exchanging one piece for another is also called exchanging pieces. The game of chess is like the world. Sometimes it seems like a dead end. Some people will admit defeat, but some people will choose to exchange pieces, just for that faint glimmer of hope to revitalize the whole situation."

At the time, she didn't understand; she just felt that exchanging one for one was too unfair.

How could anyone in the world be so stupid?

Why choose to die with someone when you're perfectly healthy?

Now, she finally understands.

The master is right.

In this desperate situation, she was exchanging her life for a way to save her junior sister Yuan Yao's life.

As a rogue cultivator with no one to rely on, struggling to survive in this dog-eat-dog world of the Star Sea, every step is fraught with thorns. How difficult it is to find a stable backer to establish a foundation and form a core.

Many have ventured out to sea to hunt monsters, facing a near-certain death.

This whole mess started because of me alone.

It's her turn to settle things.

Yanli only hoped that her useless senior sister could fight for her junior sister's chance to live.

Thinking of this, Yanli looked at Yuan Yao in the distance and used her last bit of strength to speak in a strangely gentle and relieved tone.

"There are so many beautiful sights in this world, go and see them for your senior sister..."

Just as the Explosive Flame Talisman was about to completely detonate, she unleashed it.

A fair, jade-like hand with distinct knuckles appeared out of thin air without warning and gently rested on Yanli's shoulder.

"There's no need for that."

A calm voice rang out.

Yanli was startled by the sudden sound and trembled all over.

Several talismans, already lit and glowing with intense red light, transformed into five tiny sparks, which then rapidly expanded. In the instant they swelled to the size of a longan, they were forcibly restrained and compressed by an invisible force.

Then a hand reached out, fingers slightly closed, and they were completely annihilated, turning into a wisp of green smoke and disappearing without a trace.

Only then did Yanli come to her senses.

She looked up in surprise at the source of the voice.

A beautiful and elegant female cultivator.

She was filled with doubt and uncertainty. Could it be a Core Formation expert?

He neutralized this mid-level talisman so easily?!

Yanli collapsed to the ground.

Yuan Yao, with tears in her eyes, was overjoyed and surprised by this turn of events.

She rushed to Yanli's side. The two sisters, who had survived the ordeal, knelt on the ground, embraced each other tightly, and wept uncontrollably.

When the young master of Qingyang Sect saw Zhuang Huayi's face, his pupils suddenly contracted, and then an expression of almost ecstatic joy appeared on his face.

As if grasping at a last straw, he struggled to his feet, staggering as he clung desperately to the edge of the palanquin, like a drowning man grasping at driftwood. His voice trembled violently with agitation and weakness, and he cried out in a hoarse voice:

"Greetings, Master of White Cliff Mountain. My father is the Venerable Sanyang. I have been murdered by these two treacherous and vicious demonesses and am now on the verge of death. I implore you, senior, to take pity on us and capture these two demonesses, for the sake of our shared ties between Qingyang Sect and White Cliff Mountain, who are both from the Chaotic Star Sea. Once I return to Qingyang Sect, my father, Venerable Sanyang, will surely reward me handsomely."

Upon hearing the words of the young master of Qingyang Sect, Yanli and Yuanyao's faces fell into despair, and their hearts turned cold.

I never imagined that I would escape one wolf's den only to fall into another.

Judging from the way this bastard addressed her, the aloof woman in front of him was actually a Nascent Soul cultivator!

They naturally knew that the founder of Qingyang Sect, Master Sanyang, was a great cultivator in the Nascent Soul stage. It was for this reason that when Yanli met the young master of Qingyang Sect, she had the idea of ​​finding a backer to protect her, even if it meant becoming a concubine. She even specially sought out her junior sister, Yuan Yao.

But to everyone's surprise, during a private conversation among his attendants, this scoundrel revealed his true intentions, stating that he wanted to use them as vessels for sexual intercourse.

The path of becoming a furnace or cauldron is treacherous and vicious. Once one becomes a furnace or cauldron, at best one's cultivation will be completely ruined and one's foundation destroyed; at worst one's essence will be exhausted, and one will die and one's cultivation will be destroyed. Compared to the status of a concubine, it is as different as heaven and earth.

This is by no means what they want.

Upon hearing that this suddenly appearing woman had a past connection with the Qingyang Sect, and that the villain had even asked her for help based on "fellowship," Yuan Yao felt a chill run from the soles of her feet straight to the top of her head.

She had just escaped death by taking the villain down with her thanks to her senior sister's selfless sacrifice. Was she about to fall into the hands of the Nascent Soul Demon again and be sent back to the Qingyang Sect?

The two women trembled uncontrollably, losing all their strength, and collapsed to the ground.

The young master of Qingyang Sect looked even more hopeful and continued, "These two women are as venomous as snakes. They sought a powerful backer and asked me to take them as concubines, but now, for the sake of some cultivation materials bestowed upon me by my father, they have secretly poisoned me and plotted to kill me. I hope you, senior, will uphold justice!"

Upon hearing these distorted facts, Yuan Yao trembled even more violently with anger. She pointed at the other person, her lips moving, but she couldn't utter a single word.

Tears welled up in her eyes, but she stubbornly held them back.

Seeing this, Senior Sister Yanli gently patted her shoulder. Although her eyes showed the same grief and despair, they also revealed a sense of calm.

"Don't be afraid, don't be afraid. Your senior sister is with you, we're not afraid."

Now, life and death hang in the balance, resting on the shoulders of this Nascent Soul female cultivator before them.

As long as the other party believes what the young master of Qingyang Sect says, no matter how they try to explain, it will be in vain.

If you can live, then live.

Cannot live...

Then let's keep watching.

Zhuang Huayi's cold gaze swept over the two tearful women who depended on each other for survival, and then glanced at the young master of Qingyang Sect who was struggling to hold up the palanquin, his face pale and ashen but unable to hide his resentment.

"Noisy."

The joy on the young man's face froze instantly.

Zhuang Huayi looked at him, her voice as cold as frost: "You junior, don't make things difficult for these two girls anymore. I'm too lazy to deal with your sordid deeds of deception, abduction, and treating people as human vessels. Considering that you are the only son of the Three Yang Old Demon, go back to your Qingyang Sect."

Upon hearing this, the young master of Qingyang Sect was slightly taken aback, a sinister glint flashing in his eyes. He then lowered his head and said weakly, "Yes...yes, I understand. However, I am currently suffering from severe poisoning, and my spiritual energy is scattered. I'm afraid...I'm afraid I will need to stay here and recuperate for a while..."

Zhuang Huayi frowned slightly, feeling impatient.

She didn't want to waste time on such trivial matters.

She stepped forward, walked up to the young man, and extended her fair, jade-like index finger, pointing it at his heart from a distance.

A surge of pure spiritual energy instantly flowed into the young man's body, like a spring breeze melting snow, quickly cleansing his body and forcibly straightening out his disordered blood and qi.

"Leave immediately."

Zhuang Huayi withdrew her finger and turned to leave.

Right at that very moment.

The young master of Qingyang Sect, his eyes flashing with ferocity, hurled the Azure Fire Thunder he had been clutching in his palm at Yanli and Yuanyao.

His mind was filled with malice. With a Nascent Soul cultivator present, she would surely protect herself immediately in the face of such a close-range explosion.

As long as she takes action to block or defend, the power of the explosion will naturally be weakened or redirected.

At most, I will be injured by the aftershocks; my life is not in danger.

Those two lowly maids are doomed!

Afterwards, out of respect for her father, the Three Yang Master, the Nascent Soul female cultivator at most scolded her for being reckless. Did she really dare to kill the young master of the Qingyang Sect?

This anger must be vented!

"You lowly servant! Die!"

The young man's face was contorted.

The Azure Fire Lightning Bolt in his hand transformed into a dazzling azure-purple arc of light, within which countless tiny azure-white arcs of electricity surged wildly.

"Junior sister—!"

Yanli reacted extremely quickly.

She didn't have time to think, and completely disregarded her own safety. Almost instinctively, she used all her strength to lunge forward, spreading her arms wide, trying to use her body to block the incoming lightning bolt.

However, the distance between her and Yuan Yao, as well as the speed of the Azure Fire Thunder, destined her rescue to be futile.

Once this secret treasure, whose power is comparable to a casual strike from a Nascent Soul cultivator, is unleashed, at such close range, she and Yuan Yao, along with everything within a hundred feet, will instantly be reduced to dust.

Zhuang Huayi was both shocked and furious.

She never expected that after she had just cured him of his poison, this young man would dare to do such a despicable thing right under her nose!

"court death!"

(P.S.: This is the 600th post! Thank you, dear readers!)