Chapter 10: Big Brother Ling Song
The Nascent Soul evil cultivator was momentarily stunned, then burst into wild laughter. “Hahaha, little girl, if you’re going to lie to save your life, at least make it a believable one!”
Xie Bailu’s face was sincere, filled with the conviction of an excellent actor. “Senior, I am not lying. I believe you should know that the Five-Star Cauldron is in Big Brother Ling Song’s hands, right? Please look at the cauldron on my waist.”
Xiao Xing was speechless. “…” Is it my turn to perform again?
Remembering the terror of being thrown into the Eye Demon’s gaping maw, it remained as quiet as a chicken, pretending to be an ordinary divine artifact.
The Nascent Soul evil cultivator raised his sword suspiciously and flicked the cloth-wrapped object hanging from Xie Bailu’s waist. It fell to the ground, revealing the divine artifact, the Five-Star Cauldron.
The Nascent Soul evil cultivator picked up the Five-Star Cauldron and examined it, confirming that the two elemental essence stones were unique in the world and impossible to forge. He was instantly surprised. “It really is the Five-Star Cauldron!”
Of course, Xie Bailu wouldn’t say something that could be immediately disproven without any evidence. At the scene of the Five-Star Cauldron’s snatching, everyone had died. Besides her and Ling Song, no one knew the Five-Star Cauldron was in her hands. Teng Anxiu and the others had already heard the news of Ling Song wiping out the Luo Xiao Sect, which meant the news had spread. Everyone probably thought the Five-Star Cauldron was in Ling Song’s hands.
Although Teng Anxiu and the few rogue cultivators in the Eye Demon’s domain might have known the Five-Star Cauldron was in her hands, it had only been a day. The well-informed might have already known, but this evil cultivator master and disciple had been setting up the array here before she escaped the Eye Demon’s domain. In the middle of nowhere, how could they have heard the news?
Therefore, in the evil cultivator’s eyes, the fact that the Five-Star Cauldron, which should have been in Ling Song’s hands, was in her possession was strong evidence.
Could a mere Foundation Establishment cultivator snatch the Five-Star Cauldron from Ling Song? Since it couldn’t have been snatched, it must have been given. But why would he give her a divine artifact like the Five-Star Cauldron for no reason? Of course, it was because they were having an affair!
See? The logic was sound. And her evidence wasn’t finished yet—
Xie Bailu said with a sweet expression, “Besides, Big Brother Ling Song was afraid I would get lost, so he left a spiritual sense imprint on me so he can find me at any time.”
The Nascent Soul evil cultivator thought of the red figure he had just seen, who seemed to be searching for something. His face instantly darkened. He placed a hand on Xie Bailu’s shoulder and carefully examined her, indeed finding a spiritual sense imprint left on her. It was from a mid-stage Golden Core cultivator, matching Ling Song’s cultivation.
No one could have imagined that the killing god Ling Song would chase a Foundation Establishment cultivator for a thousand li and fail to kill her multiple times. Therefore, with the evidence of the Five-Star Cauldron and the spiritual sense imprint, anyone who didn’t know the inside story could only come to one conclusion: he really loved her! Not only did he give her a divine artifact, but he also wanted to keep track of her whereabouts at all times to prevent her from getting lost!
Although the Nascent Soul evil cultivator still couldn’t believe that the madman Ling Song had a romantic side, the evidence was right in front of him, and he had no choice but to believe it.
Now, how to deal with the person in front of him was a problem.
If the madman was far away, he could just kill her. But the madman was nearby and could find the grand array at any time. If he found out his woman was dead, it would be a fight to the death. As for his disciple’s death, he didn’t care. He was just a servant. If he died, he died. It wouldn’t be hard to find another one.
Seeing that the Nascent Soul evil cultivator hadn’t killed her immediately, Xie Bailu continued sincerely, “Senior, now do you believe in my relationship with Big Brother Ling Song? Although it was a misunderstanding, I did accidentally kill your disciple. Please wait a moment. When Big Brother Ling Song arrives, he will compensate you!”
The Nascent Soul evil cultivator sneered inwardly. With that madman’s style, compensation? He’d be more likely to kill me. Only this naive little girl would think such words could move me. I don’t know what that madman sees in such a naive little girl.
The Nascent Soul evil cultivator knew he couldn’t stay here any longer, but he wasn’t going to kill the girl immediately. He would take her hostage. If Ling Song really came after him, he could use her to threaten him. If he didn’t, he could kill her later.
With that in mind, he erased the spiritual sense imprint on Xie Bailu.
Xiao Xing, who felt what the Nascent Soul evil cultivator had done, was confused. “…?”
The Nascent Soul evil cultivator saw that Xie Bailu didn’t seem to know what he had done and smiled coldly. “I’ve erased the madman’s spiritual sense imprint. Guess if he can still find you now?”
He said this deliberately to see Xie Bailu’s panicked expression.
Xie Bailu, who had just met a kind-hearted person, was speechless. “…?” The spiritual sense imprint I’ve been trying so hard to get rid of was just removed so easily?
She tried very hard to control the muscles in her face to keep from laughing and put on a panicked expression. “S-Senior, what do you mean by this?”
The Nascent Soul evil cultivator laughed loudly. “Naturally, to let that madman have a taste of pain!”
The joy of having the spiritual sense imprint removed was instantly replaced by another kind of panic, but Xie Bailu sensed that he wouldn’t kill her immediately, so she knew she still had a chance to escape.
If he had wanted to kill her right away, he wouldn’t have bothered to erase the spiritual sense imprint. He probably wanted to take her with him and was afraid the spiritual sense imprint would expose his whereabouts.
But… why did he have to run? This evil array clearly blocked spiritual sense—there was only one reason. He had probably seen Ling Song nearby and was afraid Ling Song could find this evil array!
Xie Bailu had never wished for Ling Song to find her so quickly. To buy time, she pleaded, “Senior, are you sure you don’t want to try and get some resources you can use from Big Brother Ling Song? I believe he will be very generous for my sake.”
The Nascent Soul evil cultivator’s gaze sharpened, and he looked past Xie Bailu to what was behind her.
Ling Song, who had just arrived and heard “Big Brother Ling Song,” was confused. “…?”
Seeing the Nascent Soul stage evil cultivator’s expression, Xie Bailiu instantly understood something. In a sweet, delicate, and pitiful voice, she quickly said, “Big Brother Ling Song, you’re finally here! Wuwuwu, I was so scared! Why didn’t you find me sooner and explain things to this senior!”
Ling Song was speechless. “…”
Xie Bailu couldn’t move and had her back to Ling Song, but he could almost imagine her expression from her tone.
He understood the situation at a glance, laughed, and clapped, his clear voice playful. “No wonder you were able to escape from me three or four times.” She certainly had a lot of tricks.
Xie Bailu was speechless. “…” Don’t you dare expose me!
She immediately put on a displeased expression. “Big Brother Ling Song, why are you bringing up old scores? That was in the past. I didn’t understand your good intentions and always wanted to escape from you. But… but didn’t we already talk things through?”
This is the script for the overbearing CEO and his runaway little wife! If this world wasn’t so unscientific that they could tell if she was pregnant, she would have definitely added a ‘running away with the baby’ plot.
Hearing this, Ling Song’s smile grew even more pleased. Even at a time like this, she could still keep making things up. Interesting.
But just as he was about to test her to see when she would run out of words, he noticed the Five-Star Cauldron in the evil cultivator’s hand.
The Five-Star Cauldron was a major reason he was chasing Xie Bailu. Seeing it, he lost the mood to tease her and struck out with his sword like lightning at the Nascent Soul evil cultivator.
The Nascent Soul evil cultivator had been nervous for a moment when Ling Song arrived. Even though he was a Nascent Soul cultivator, with a higher cultivation than Ling Song, this madman had killed countless Nascent Soul cultivators with his sword. He was naturally wary. But the conversation between the little girl and the madman made him suspicious. Was she really the madman’s lover? Why didn’t the madman seem worried that she was in his hands?
When Ling Song’s sword qi came straight at him, the Nascent Soul evil cultivator suddenly understood. So the two of them had been doing this on purpose to make him lower his guard!
The Nascent Soul evil cultivator wouldn’t fall for that. He immediately pulled Xie Bailu in front of him, but to his surprise, Ling Song’s sword didn’t hesitate in the slightest. The sword qi pierced Xie Bailu’s shoulder and went straight for the Nascent Soul evil cultivator’s face.
In his surprise, he quickly let go of Xie Bailu and retreated. Seeing that Ling Song completely ignored his injured lover and was coming at him with a chilling killing intent, he understood that his initial thought was correct.
How could a madman like Ling Song have a true lover? It was just for fun. With the spiritual sense imprint, the Five-Star Cauldron in the little girl’s hands was just to please her, and he could take it back at any time.
The Nascent Soul evil cultivator no longer paid any attention to the injured Xie Bailu on the ground. She was just a plaything and couldn’t be used to threaten Ling Song. But he had something else!
He held up the Five-Star Cauldron in his palm. “Ling Song, if you don’t want it destroyed, then back off!”
Xiao Xing, who had been very quiet, was speechless. “…” What does this have to do with me again, ahhhhhh!
Ling Song suddenly smiled. He was not one to be threatened. If the Five-Star Cauldron was destroyed, so be it. As long as the materials could still be used.
He reversed his life-bound sword and stabbed it into his own abdomen. In an instant, his cultivation rose to the early-stage Nascent Soul realm.
He grinned, and a striking red color overflowed from the corner of his mouth. “Go ahead and destroy it.”
Then he slashed out with his sword.
A seemingly slow slash instantly turned into a rain of thousands of swords, sealing every escape route of the Nascent Soul evil cultivator with the force of a thunderbolt.
The Nascent Soul evil cultivator had been a Nascent Soul for a long time and naturally had many tricks up his sleeve. He reached into his storage bag and pulled out a dark black umbrella, from which faint, shrill screams could be heard.
The rain of swords pattered against the black umbrella. A thick black mist on the surface of the umbrella seemed to wrap around and dissipate each sword qi. In a moment, the sword rain was completely worn down, and the black umbrella was riddled with holes.
The Nascent Soul cultivator’s face was a little grim. This madman’s madness had a basis. His strength was indeed higher than he had expected.
He had backed down earlier only because he didn’t want to provoke a madman. But with the other party being so aggressive, was he supposed to be afraid?
A divine artifact was not attractive to everyone. At least for the Nascent Soul evil cultivator, he had his own accustomed magical treasures. The Five-Star Cauldron needed to find three lost elemental essence stones to reach its peak. Instead of wasting time on a magical treasure that might not even be suitable in the end, it was better to refine more handy magical treasures. Finding a few remote villages was much easier than finding elemental essence stones.
Because he didn’t care about the Five-Star Cauldron, the Nascent Soul evil cultivator suddenly threw it out, just to distract Ling Song.
But a somewhat weak voice came from not far away. “Big Brother Ling Song, I’ll go get it! You just focus on fighting this evil cultivator! He just said you were nothing! You can’t let him off!”
Ling Song hadn’t planned on catching the Five-Star Cauldron at this moment. Hearing Xie Bailu’s words, he didn’t even spare it a glance, but he couldn’t help but raise the corners of his lips.
Even at a time like this, she didn’t forget to stir up trouble.
The Nascent Soul evil cultivator was surprised by Ling Song’s indifference, but the arrow was already on the bowstring. He charged at Ling Song. As for Xie Bailu’s slander, he couldn’t be bothered to defend himself.
Today, between him and Ling Song, one of them had to die here!
After stirring up trouble, Xie Bailu saw that the two were already engaged in close combat and quickly ran over with difficulty to pick up the Five-Star Cauldron.
Xiao Xing had wanted to complain about Xie Bailu throwing it out just now, but seeing her pale face from the sword qi injury, it couldn’t say anything.
Xie Bailu was in agony. Spiritual energy could seal the wound but couldn’t stop the pain. She wanted to curse Ling Song for three days and three nights and make him taste this pain too, but she didn’t dare to now, afraid that he would ignore the evil cultivator and come to kill her first. Besides, this madman often self-harmed and was probably used to this kind of pain.
The situation was better than she had expected. When she was pulled by the evil cultivator to block the sword, she had thought she was going to die. Fortunately, it was only her shoulder that was injured.
But thinking of the cold, dismissive glance Ling Song had given her as he passed by, Xie Bailu couldn’t help but shiver.
He had even smiled when she called him “Big Brother Ling Song.” She had thought he didn’t care, but it turned out he was planning to settle scores later.
But she was already in so much trouble, a little more wouldn’t hurt. Even if she hadn’t called him that today, he wouldn’t have let her go.
Xie Bailu was glad that the two fighting didn’t care much about the Five-Star Cauldron. She put it away properly, only to see the villagers watching from a distance, at a loss.
She ran towards them quickly, shouting, “What are you looking at! Don’t you know that when gods fight, mortals suffer? Get away from here, go to the village entrance, quick, quick, don’t leave anyone in the houses!”
After Xie Bailu killed the evil cultivator, she was already a very powerful immortal master in the eyes of the villagers. They had never expected her to be so panicked. After a brief moment of stunned silence, they understood how critical the situation was and quickly helped to inform the villagers who were farther away and unaware, to run to the other side.
In the sky, a sliver of Ling Song’s attention noticed Xie Bailu’s actions. She was worried about mortals when her own life was in danger. It was truly surprising to him.
Where did such a person, so out of place in the cultivation world, come from? Was she really a mortal who had gotten an opportunity and possessed a cultivator’s body on the verge of death?
For a moment, Ling Song felt it was a bit of a pity to kill her.
But the poison needle shot by the Nascent Soul evil cultivator as he approached during his distraction interrupted his thoughts. He blocked it with his sword, but it was a hasty move, and one needle pierced his arm. He pulled out the poison needle, flicked it back at the Nascent Soul evil cultivator, and no longer paid any attention to Xie Bailu.
Seeing that the villagers were obediently helping each other to escape, Xie Bailu was relieved. She took out the pure black token she had just confiscated from the evil cultivator’s disciple and asked Xiao Xing, “Can I use this to find the array eye?”
Xiao Xing said anxiously, “You’re not taking this opportunity to run? What are you doing?!”
Xie Bailu’s feelings were also complicated. She knew that now was the best time to run, but what about the innocent villagers who knew nothing? Was she just going to watch them die? She didn’t know who would win between the Nascent Soul evil cultivator and Ling Song. Neither of them seemed to care about these mortals. The Nascent Soul evil cultivator must have a token like this. The winner could just take the token and leave, without having to bother breaking the array. The best case for the villagers was to be trapped in this array, and the worst was to be slaughtered.
Xie Bailu thought of her own undeserved calamity and couldn’t help but feel sympathy for the villagers.
She said quickly, “When I first entered this body, I was scared and helpless. If it weren’t for your help, I would have died at Ling Song’s hands long ago. I don’t want these villagers to be worse off than me. What did they do wrong? They were just working hard as usual.”
Xiao Xing was just an artifact spirit and didn’t care about the life and death of cultivators or mortals. It said anxiously, “If we don’t run while Ling Song is tied up, it will be too late when they’re done fighting!”
Xie Bailu said, “Since we don’t have much time, help me break the array quickly. The sooner we break it, the sooner we can leave.”
As an artifact spirit, Xiao Xing had little autonomy. Seeing that Xie Bailu refused to leave, it had to accept it.
Xie Bailu listened to Xiao Xing and took out the token, infusing it with spiritual energy.
As the spiritual energy entered, the token glowed faintly. Xie Bailu didn’t feel anything, but Xiao Xing immediately said, “That direction!”
The white bun that was Xiao Xing immediately hopped in a certain direction.
Xie Bailu quickly followed, and the two of them stopped in front of a somewhat dilapidated house.
This was at the edge of the village, a place Xie Bailu had never been. As she got closer, she did feel an unusual dark aura.
There were no signs of anyone living inside. Xie Bailu was worried there were more evil cultivators and quietly entered the courtyard.
It was empty. Not even an insect.
Xie Bailu thought, As expected of the array eye. Even insects don’t dare to stay.
But when Xie Bailu was about to enter the house, she found that a layer of something was blocking her. She couldn’t get in. She tried adding spiritual energy and poking it with her dagger, but the invisible barrier didn’t move.
Xiao Xing said, “…I told you, don’t bother breaking the array! It’s not that easy!”
Xie Bailu’s brows furrowed. If she couldn’t even enter the array eye, how could she break the array?
She gritted her teeth, her mind racing. In the end, she could only come to one conclusion—this was not a problem she could solve. She had to go.
Perhaps, before she left, she could try to throw the token in from outside the array and let the villagers try to leave one by one with the token. Although they might lose their homes, at least they would be alive.
Xie Bailu was about to turn back and head to the village entrance when a red figure fell from the sky like a cannonball, crashing right onto the roof of the house in front of her. The entire house instantly collapsed by half. She reflexively covered her mouth and nose and retreated. When the dust settled, a blood-soaked Ling Song stood up from the ruins, casually wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand, looked up at his opponent in the sky, and gave an excited smile.
His features were exquisite. When he looked up, the line of his jaw and neck formed a heart-stopping curve. His disheveled appearance gave him a hint of broken beauty.
Xie Bailu was stunned for a moment, then she saw him glance at her indifferently as he went up to meet his enemy again.
She was so startled she took several steps back. Fortunately, he hadn’t killed her on the spot.
She asked in a low voice, “Is that evil cultivator that strong?”
Xiao Xing said, “He’s a mid-stage Nascent Soul! And this evil cultivator has many magical treasures. He’s a bit hard to fight.”
From Xiao Xing’s tone, Xie Bailu knew it was still convinced Ling Song would win. She was about to run when she saw a basin exuding a black aura in the collapsed ruins. Ling Song’s fall had also destroyed the invisible barrier.
Xiao Xing exclaimed in awe, “This is the child of fortune!”
Xie Bailu was speechless. “…” It was getting hard to explain. Even she was starting to believe her own nonsense was true…