Chapter 167: Chapter 163: Go Easy, a Damaged Corpse Won’t Be Worth Much
Feng Xiaoyi closed her eyes comfortably. "Since you’re giving up this ore vein for the Red Blood Seven Transitions Technique, you can’t continue as the Qi Kingdom Guardian Envoy. You missed the chance to become Vice Hall Master of the External Affairs Hall last time, and the timing isn’t right now—there are no openings. You’ll just have to find another place to serve as a Guardian Envoy for a few more years. Where do you want to go?"
Du Youqian thought for a moment. "The Han Kingdom, I suppose. I hear the Lingxiao Sword Pavilion there is quite impressive. I’ve always been fond of swordsmanship and plan to see what they have to offer."
He said Lingxiao Sword Pavilion, but Du Youqian was actually thinking of the Zhongxuan Sect.
The favors he had yet to repay, the karmic ties he had yet to sever—it was time to settle them all.
Thinking of the Zhongxuan Sect, his thoughts uncontrollably drifted elsewhere.
An image appeared in his mind: a slender, barefoot figure with black hair that cascaded to her waist.
’No,’ Du Youqian suddenly recalled, ’all of her black hair had already turned completely white.’
The image in his mind automatically updated to one with white hair.
"Don’t go looking for trouble. Those Sword Madmen from the Lingxiao Sword Pavilion don’t care if you’re a Direct Inheritance of a Major Sect or a Direct Disciple of an ancestor," Feng Xiaoyi warned, still worried.
"I know my limits."
After they finished with official business, Feng Xiaoyi added, "Your Martial Uncle Xi has a very high chance of achieving Pill Formation. You should visit him more often so you don’t become estranged. Even if you don’t like him, you must hide your feelings."
Du Youqian said helplessly, "I understand."
’That madman...’ Du Youqian really didn’t want to deal with him.
’But if he succeeds in his Core Formation, I really won’t be able to avoid him in the future.’
~~~~~~~~~
Du Youqian stayed in the Sect for several days. He paid another visit to the Collection Room. Although his Contribution Points were all spent, nothing stopped him from browsing the shelves and adding items to his "shopping cart."
He would wait until he had enough Contribution Points again, then check out and clear his cart.
He naturally paid a visit to Xi Zhiheng as well, taking advantage of his current wealth to procure some expensive gifts.
Then he sent a small gift to Yan Jiao. He planned to recruit her in the future, so he couldn’t afford to neglect her.
Within the Sect, the competition for this generation’s True Inheritor had reached a fever pitch.
More than half of the True Successor Candidates had already been killed or injured.
Others had their Dao Foundations damaged or were so terrified by the high death rate that they voluntarily withdrew.
Unwilling to stir up trouble at such a time, Du Youqian left quickly.
After he returned to the North Shore Market in Qi Kingdom, Feng Xiaoyi began to make her move, secretly searching for a suitable buyer.
Whether the buyer wanted to take a huge risk and mine it secretly, or they were short on contribution and wanted to turn it over to the Sect for a windfall—the price was the same: the Red Blood Seven Transitions Technique.
From the buyer’s perspective, the Red Blood Seven Transitions Technique wasn’t actually that expensive. The difficult part was transferring the authorization to cultivate it, an operation that was very hard to achieve.
An ore vein of this size, if reported to the Sect, would yield enough Contribution Points in rewards to exchange for the Red Blood Seven Transitions Technique several times over.
The buyer would definitely profit.
And Du Youqian wouldn’t lose out either.
Since he was unwilling to compete to be a True Inheritor, he wasn’t qualified to cultivate the Red Blood Seven Transitions Technique, yet it was an absolute necessity for him.
It was the most powerful Secret Technique in all the Nine Countries of Momenan Desert for burning Essence Blood and life essence to boost one’s power.
He had finally managed to join the Holy Blood Sect in this life and had a chance to get his hands on it. How could he miss it?
He was willing to trade for it even if it cost him several times its value.
If the deal went through, it would be a win-win.
At the North Shore Market, Du Youqian cultivated while patiently waiting for news.
「On this day.」
He was meditating in his room when he suddenly sensed intense fluctuations from Magical Combat nearby.
Du Youqian was rather surprised. This was the Guardian Envoy’s Mansion, property of the Holy Blood Sect. Who had the audacity to cause trouble here!
He rushed out, following the fluctuations. In just a few breaths’ time, he arrived at the reception hall of the Guardian Envoy’s Mansion.
He saw that the great hall, which had been doubly reinforced with Magic and Arrays, was already half-destroyed. Two figures were locked in fierce combat, using the most dangerous form of close-quarters fighting.
Magic spells rained down, and Flying Swords shot back and forth, all arriving in an instant, leaving almost no room to dodge.
Of the two fighting, one was Fang Hua; the other was a stranger.
Meanwhile, Luo Jinyu lay beneath a collapsed wall, their aura faint, clearly having suffered serious injuries.
Another young Cultivator—with a high nose, deep-set eyes, thin lips, and a somewhat harsh smile—stood watching with great interest from the hall’s entrance, his hands clasped behind his back.
"Stop, or die." Du Youqian took in the situation and spoke softly, showing no anger.
Fang Hua immediately retracted her sword and fell back. Even when her opponent casually launched another spell, she neither dodged nor evaded.
A thin, round shield flew out and blocked the spell for her, intercepting it perfectly.
The person who had been fighting her let out a stifled grunt, took two steps back, staggered, and then retreated several more.
The expression of the man watching the show from the doorway changed slightly. "Junior Yu, wait!"
But a streak of white light, as nimble as a Wandering Dragon and as fast as a thunderbolt, flashed by, impossible to track with the naked eye. It seemed to strike its target the very instant it was launched, with no intermediate process.
The look of terror in the eyes of Fang Hua’s opponent seemed to freeze in place before gradually fading.
His body remained standing, without a single wound.
But everyone present could feel that his aura had completely vanished.
The man watching from the doorway looked displeased. "Junior Yu, what fine Swordsmanship! And what a calculating mind!"
Fang Hua stood where she was, her heart surging with emotion, unable to calm down for a long time.
She had always known and admitted that Du Youqian’s Swordsmanship was superior to hers.
But in truth, the most terrifying thing about Du Youqian was his grasp of opportunity.
This enemy, who had fought her for dozens of exchanges, was by no means an easy opponent to defeat.
Even with Du Youqian’s Swordsmanship and Cultivation, it would have taken him at least several dozen moves to win in a fair fight.
But just now, when Du Youqian had called out, "Stop, or die," she had stopped and retreated out of sheer habit and obedience.
This move had completely caught the opponent by surprise. He had clearly hesitated for a moment, and instead of stopping, had instinctively attacked to press his advantage.
But after launching the spell, the man likely had second thoughts, and his will was no longer pure.
It was just such a fleeting opportunity, yet Du Youqian had seized it.
He had struck decisively with his sword.
He had infused his Sword Intent into his Flying Sword, and exploiting that split second of hesitation and doubt, he had broken through the opponent’s defenses like splitting bamboo, finishing the powerful enemy in a single move.
And he showed no mercy, striking a fatal blow.
’Such decisiveness.’ Fang Hua sighed to herself, admitting her inferiority.
She had a vague feeling that this was the greatest gap between her and Du Youqian—his understanding of combat, his control of the situation, and even his ability to drive the development of the conflict.
It wasn’t his Cultivation or his Swordsmanship.
’If one day my understanding of combat can reach this level,’ she thought, ’perhaps my Sword Intent can also rise to a new level.’
’A Female Sword Immortal in the Core Formation Realm?’
’That would be a wonderful future indeed.’
~~~~~~~~~
Anger flashed in the eyes of the young man with the harsh smile. Though his lips were still curved, anyone could see the killing intent brewing in his heart. "Junior Yu, I came to discuss a trade with you. I merely had my servant extend a greeting, yet you acted so viciously."
Du Youqian had already put away his Jinhuan sword. He looked at the man with emotionless eyes, watching him silently for several breaths before speaking. "Please, come in and we can talk."
"Talk?" The other man sneered. "We certainly do need to talk. You killed my servant. You owe me an explanation."
Du Youqian had been about to turn away, but at these words, he stopped. "And your name is, Brother?"
The man sneered, "I don’t believe you don’t recognize me."
Du Youqian said coolly, "I know you must be a True Successor Candidate, and likely a famous one with a high chance of securing the True Inheritor position. But I truly do not know you. I only know one True Successor Candidate: Brother Bai Shaofeng. As for the rest, unless they can survive until the very end of this competition, I won’t waste my time getting to know them."
The fury in the man’s eyes could have burned the eight corners of the world to ash.
The light of reason in his eyes was squeezed into a tiny corner.
He spoke just as coldly, "I was originally going to offer you a great opportunity, but you don’t know what’s good for you. You’re courting death. If you’re lucky enough to awaken some memories of this life after you reincarnate, make sure you stay far, far away from me. I am the sixth-ranked True Successor Candidate, Liu Chixin!"
Du Youqian smiled faintly and turned his head. "Did you record that?"
Fang Hua produced a Memory Stone. "It’s recorded."
"Excellent," Du Youqian nodded. "After I kill him, remember to sell his corpse for a good price. A regular Foundation Establishment Late Stage corpse can fetch 80 Spiritual Jade. As the sixth-ranked True Successor Candidate, his should be worth a bit more."
Having followed Du Youqian for so long, Fang Hua had learned a thing or two, and even knew how to play the straight man now. "Then you’d better go easy on him. Don’t damage the corpse too badly."
Du Youqian laughed. "Don’t worry, I know what I’m doing."
Although he and Fang Hua were bantering back and forth as if they paid the man no mind...
...in reality, Du Youqian’s vigilance was at its peak. He was just deliberately using this method to enrage Liu Chixin.
As the sixth-ranked True Successor Candidate, Liu Chixin’s strength was naturally not to be underestimated.
Although this "sixth rank" was a bit inflated.
Many of those who had been ranked ahead of him had already been killed or had withdrawn from the competition due to their Dao Foundations being damaged.
It was a case of the monkey proclaiming himself king when the tiger is away from the mountain.
But his strength was still not to be taken lightly.
A Foundation Establishment Late Stage Cultivation, with who knows what hidden tricks up his sleeve—he would absolutely not be an easy opponent.
Liu Chixin was so enraged he threw his head back and laughed, a chilling sound.
As he laughed maniacally, he took out a sinister, ghost-wreathed Soul-Devouring Banner.
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