Chapter 209: Chapter 207: Profound Island’s Forbidden Land
Bing Mengyun entered the secret chamber. This was a place only she could enter. With a wave of her hand, a violent ripple spread through the space. Powerful energy slammed into the walls of the chamber in all directions.
Then, within the distorted space, a figure slowly materialized. With a THUD, they fell to the ground. It was none other than the Grand Elder of the Four Seasons Sect, the old woman in gray!
At this moment, however, the Grand Elder’s face was ashen. Her spirit was crushed, and she stared in utter terror at the placid Bing Mengyun. When she had tried to escape, she felt an irresistible force pull her into a bizarre space. In that space, there was no air, no sky or earth, no water, no flowers or trees... Nothing that existed in reality was there!
It was like a dream, yet incredibly real. If not for her Celestial Embracing Realm Power and strong state of mind, she would have either suffocated or gone mad!
"Why didn’t you kill me?" the Grand Elder asked, her triangular eyes staring at Bing Mengyun’s in terror. If she were forced to enter that space one more time, she would rather die. Inside, not only was there nothing, but she couldn’t speak or move!
That kind of torment far surpassed any physical pain.
"Why must I kill you? I’ve already killed Luan Yu! Just like you, she was a scoundrel!" Bing Mengyun said softly, her expression placid as she faced the Grand Elder.
"You hate me deeply. You want to torture me, don’t you?" An incredibly venomous light shot from the Grand Elder’s triangular eyes.
"That’s right. That was my original plan. I do hate you! And not just me; I’m sure Ye Qianyu hates you deeply as well. I was going to hand you over to her and let her torture you slowly. However, Ye Qianyu’s temperament is too proud. I doubt she would actually torture you much," Bing Mengyun said with a cold smile.
"Based on what you’ve done, dying a hundred times wouldn’t be enough! However, I will now give you a chance to atone for your crimes. If you seize it, you will remain the Grand Elder of the Four Seasons Sect, and you will still possess... supreme authority. How about it?"
The Grand Elder narrowed her eyes at Bing Mengyun and suddenly let out a few cackles. "Go on, then. What dirty work do you need me to do?"
Bing Mengyun smiled faintly. "You underestimate me. Do you think I’m that petty? Hmph. I acted on a whim after a sudden insight and wish to go train in the mortal world for a while. Originally, I planned to leave the Four Seasons Sect in Ye Qianyu’s care. But that brat Qin Li escaped, and Ye Qianyu would surely be biased toward her student. She might not get into a serious conflict with him. You, on the other hand... are different. In fact, you should blame him for Luan Yu’s death. He cut off four of your fingers. You must hate him to the bone, right?"
"That’s right, I hate him to the bone. So what? Didn’t you recruit that brat to be the next Sect Leader of the Four Seasons Sect?" The Grand Elder pursed her lips, clueless as to what trick Bing Mengyun was playing.
"Him? The Sect Leader? *Giggle...* You must have misheard. That’s impossible!" Bing Mengyun smiled faintly. "I only ever wanted to use him to extract his secrets. Unfortunately, he escaped. That brat is as slippery as an eel. If he comes back for revenge, only you can stop him."
A glint flashed in the Grand Elder’s eyes. She hesitated for a moment before slowly nodding. "You trust me that much?"
"Of course I don’t. Swallow this Elixir. You’ll be safe for three years. After three years, before the Venerable Competition, I will return. If there are no other issues, I’ll give you the antidote. Otherwise... you know what will happen." As she spoke, Bing Mengyun took an Elixir from her robes and tossed it to the Grand Elder.
The Grand Elder wore an ’I knew it’ expression as she resentfully swallowed the Elixir. Before Bing Mengyun’s breakthrough, she might have been able to resist. But ever since the breakthrough, Bing Mengyun’s Power had increased severalfold, and she was no longer a match for her. And before entering seclusion to cultivate, Bing Mengyun had never shown the slightest dissatisfaction with her, which was how she had managed to deceive the Grand Elder.
But it was useless to dwell on these things now. The Grand Elder was ruthless and malicious, so she naturally adopted a subservient attitude toward Bing Mengyun, whose Power was far greater than her own. Then she asked, "What about that little bitch Shangguan Shiyu? Did she run off with that brat too?"
SLAP!
Bing Mengyun raised her hand and slapped the Grand Elder. Though she used no Inner Strength, the Grand Elder was currently powerless to resist. Having spent so much time in that void, she was lucky to be alive, a testament to her profound Power.
A bright red handprint immediately appeared on the Grand Elder’s wrinkled old face.
Bing Mengyun said indifferently, "Grand Elder, I’m warning you. Shangguan Shiyu is not like Qin Li. She is the future hope of our Four Seasons Valley and the successor I personally chose to be the next Sect Leader. If you dare disrespect her again, watch out, or I’ll kill you right now!"
The corner of the Grand Elder’s mouth twitched violently. A flash of venom flickered in her eyes, but she didn’t dare resist. "Yes! I understand," she said softly.
"However..." Bing Mengyun paused in thought. "If that brat Qin Li returns within these three years and you can’t handle him, you might as well use Shangguan Shiyu to threaten him. But I’m warning you, you are not to harm a single hair on Shangguan Shiyu’s head! Otherwise, you know the consequences!"
The Grand Elder nodded in assent once more.
After this series of upheavals, the Four Seasons Sect soon returned to peace. Shangguan Shiyu was furious at Bing Mengyun for going back on her word when the Grand Elder reappeared, but she was smart enough not to make a move. Instead, she focused on cultivating diligently every day.
Bing Mengyun then left Four Seasons Valley, her whereabouts unknown.
...
Qin Li sensed a powerful force rushing toward him. His figure moved like a Ghost, leaving an afterimage in the air as he WHOOSHED away, drifting to land in another spot.
A surging energy poured out from the purple crystal in his Dantian, instantly filling the meridians throughout his body. He then saw an agile yellow figure flash past and disappear.
’Judging from the power of that attack, this creature isn’t weak. Why did it turn and run after just one missed strike?’
Immediately after, Qin Li sensed more than ten powerful surges of energy frantically rushing toward his position. He froze for a second, then cursed inwardly. He used his Lightweight Skill and vanished like the wind.
A moment later, more than ten yellow figures, each over a meter long, appeared where Qin Li had been standing. They let out a few collective roars in the direction he had disappeared before resentfully turning back.
They looked like weasels, but their jewel-like eyes, shimmering fur, and the surging energy they emanated all pointed to how extraordinary they were.
Qin Li ran for more than ten li in one breath. He released his Divine Sense and, sensing no danger nearby, finally let out a sigh of relief. His brow furrowed. He didn’t even know if this was still Profound Island.
It was quiet all around. The Spiritual Qi here was abundant, and he couldn’t sense any danger.
But based on the attack from those Spirit Beasts he had just encountered, this was definitely no safe haven!
’Bing Mengyun, you damn woman!’ Qin Li cursed viciously in his heart before he began to ponder. ’Could it be that Bing Mengyun didn’t dare kill me because she’s really afraid of Prince Wu? But at her age, how could she have had any chance to know Prince Wu?’
Qin Li couldn’t make sense of it. He could only assume that an ancestor of the Four Seasons Sect must have had some dealings with Prince Wu, which was why Bing Mengyun was so wary of him.
Regardless, Qin Li was seething with pent-up anger. That woman teleporting him to this place was by no means an act of goodwill. Worse, she had actually tried to forcibly read his memories. But before he could even counterattack, she had been frightened away on her own, and he had no idea what she saw.
Qin Li felt a bit disgruntled. He had originally planned to use the moment Bing Mengyun probed his Sea of Consciousness to hit her with a severe blow. Even if he couldn’t kill her, it would have been easy to at least inflict heavy spiritual damage on her.
’You got off easy!’
Just as Qin Li thought this, the Divine Sense he constantly maintained within a one-li radius detected a slight fluctuation. It was very faint, but his expression immediately turned solemn.
’That thing almost managed to evade my Divine Sense!’
Qin Li was confident that not even an expert at the Human Venerable realm like Bing Mengyun could evade his Divine Sense. ’So this newcomer... just how powerful is it?’
Qin Li went on full alert. To his surprise, however, the other party made no attempt to conceal itself and headed straight for him.
’It’s coming for me?’
While Qin Li was still wondering, a young, ink-black Black Panther appeared in his line of sight. It was a full three meters long, with a lustrous coat and a nimble gait, its entire body brimming with powerful energy fluctuations.
Upon seeing Qin Li, the Black Panther was stunned for a moment. It probably hadn’t expected to find a human here, especially one whose scent and aura it hadn’t detected at all.
The Black Panther immediately let out a low growl from its throat. A fierce glint appeared in its eyes as it roared at Qin Li.
From the Black Panther’s fierce yet innocent eyes, Qin Li could tell that this creature had probably never encountered a human before. So, he smiled slightly and said to the Black Panther, "Hey, little guy, I don’t have any malicious intent. Look..."
As he spoke, Qin Li held out his hands to show he had no weapons, then grinned, baring his teeth. "You can go about your business."
The Black Panther stared at Qin Li with suspicious eyes. It remained vigilant, and a powerful aura began to radiate from its body, pressing down on Qin Li.
’What a beast!’
Qin Li shook his head inwardly. His expression unchanging, he withstood the pressure from the young Black Panther. At the same time, he couldn’t help but be shocked. ’This creature is definitely a Spirit Beast at the Transformation Stage! Judging by the aura it’s emitting, it has at least the Power of a human Martial Artist at the Celestial Embracing Realm!’
’What in the world is this damn place?’
