Chapter 259: Welcome back, my disciple [I]
Xie Qing shook his head. He had forgotten that there could be a significant difference in power even among those at the same level. This was an oversight on his part. Even if his Master could inflict serious harm on Hao Shen, she still couldn't kill him.
It was understandable, as cultivators at their level could regenerate from a drop of blood, which was quite annoying.
"How much time has passed in the real world?" the young man finally asked the question that concerned him the most.
Lian Qingyi had already explained the peculiarities of this space to him, so there was no need to worry.
"A year," the girl replied, twirling her hair around her fingers. She glanced at the young man and smirked. "And someone from the Righteous Dao has already infiltrated this barrier's territory. They say this cultivator even fought Hao Shen in an equal battle and managed to inflict serious injuries on him."
"Oh… who could that be?" Xie Qing asked with a faint smile.
"Xu Mei. The Sword Princess," Lian Qingyi replied, her eyes narrowing as she looked at the young man. "You know her, right? You have a very… strong Karma with this woman."
"It's not very polite to pry into someone's personal life, fox."
Xie Qing pursed his lips, and Lian Qingyi simply shrugged.
They fell silent for a while until Lian Qingyi suddenly turned towards the south and narrowed her eyes. Around her space, a ripple appeared and then disappeared almost immediately.
"Ho-o-o… is this the Master of that brat? Impressive power. However, no one can bypass my formations. This is the legacy of the ancients, not some toy," Lian Qingyi thought, rubbing her lips. "And… what a terrifying aura. I've heard of the Sword Princess, but I never thought she would be this powerful.
Well, a reputation isn't born out of nothing."
And while Lian Qingyi was lost in her thoughts, an intense struggle was taking place on the other side.
***
Hao Shen gritted his teeth as he looked at the woman in front of him. Despite her beautiful appearance, she filled him with more terror than admiration. This was Xu Mei, the Sword Princess.
"H-how?! How did you manage to break through?" Hao Shen asked in shock, almost going mad. "Eighth stage… eighth stage…"
Xu Mei looked at him indifferently. The Qi around her was overwhelming. Even the Heavens trembled under her power.
This was because, after so many years, she had finally broken through to the eighth stage of Transcendence, which was truly remarkable. Even the Empress was impressed by her progress.
And her breakthrough did not please Hao Shen, who was already weakened after the destruction of the altar. He scowled angrily at Xu Mei.
"Vile creature! First, you destroyed my wealth, my progress, and now you're trying to kill me? You bitch, you're asking for it!"
Hao Shen's aura exploded in the literal sense of the word. An overwhelming amount of his Qi burst out, sweeping away all the flora and fauna, turning the surrounding area into a wasteland.
Xu Mei merely looked at this scene indifferently. In fact, her task was to delay Hao Shen and Ma Lu, but since this guy was alone, it was much easier for her.
Uninterestedly turning her gaze away, the woman squinted. Her eyes pierced through hundreds of thousands of miles, and when she tried to calculate something, the Heavenly Secrets collapsed, and her Divine Sense was cut off.
"Tsk. I can't find this guy. Where is he hiding?" the woman muttered, scratching the back of her head. "Is he hiding? Hm. How skillful.
Even I can't read the Heavenly Secrets. Foolish disciple, your Master is worried about you."
The woman pouted, looking like a sulking girl who hadn't received enough attention from her beloved. Well, it was somewhat true.
"Y-you…"
Hao Shen, who hadn't received enough screen time, was enraged to the point that his aura began to distort. The surrounding environment started to melt.
"Bitch!"
His loud cry of insult at Xu Mei did not leave the woman indifferent. Her blue eyes flashed brightly, and then the entire sky trembled.
The Heavens cracked, and from these cracks fell a huge sword that almost instantly descended right onto Hao Shen.
BOOM…
The sound was so loud that even Xu Mei's hearing was temporarily lost. She squeezed her eyes shut, preventing dust from getting into them. Her attentive gaze examined the place where the sword had struck.
"Aaahhh!"
When her hearing returned, the first sound was a bitter cry of pain. Xu Mei drew her sword and swung it, sending a wave that instantly swept away all the dust. Soon, the sight of Hao Shen impaled by the sword was revealed.
"Aaaghhh!"
The pain was unbearable—this could be seen from Hao Shen's expression as he helplessly twitched.
"Useless attempts to free yourself from my technique. You'll have to wait a bit. I promise, I'll make you die in the most brutal way!" Xu Mei said, landing next to the man. Then, she raised her foot, and her heel plunged into Hao Shen's chest, piercing him through.
"Aaaaaghhh!"
"Scream, suffer, pig. You've been the cause of my annoyance for many years. Back then, the Heavenly Dao of this mortal world saved you because there was a need for evil. But you know what? I'm ready to destroy this Heavenly Dao that stands in my way!"
Xu Mei's eyes took on an imposing glow, and her aura only intensified. The Heavens rumbled, seemingly displeased with her words, but even so, no lightning struck.
Xu Mei smirked. For the first time in a long while, she had found satisfaction in her revenge. In the past, many of her subordinates had been killed by Hao Shen. So this could be considered a good revenge.
"A pity, a real pity. Completely killing you is unlikely. We're just too resilient at this level," Xu Mei said with a hint of bitterness—she truly looked disappointed. But then a cunning smirk appeared on her face. "But you know… this is even better. You won't be able to die, even if you want to.
How about the idea of warming yourself over the Sacred Yang Flame for a hundred thousand years? I'm sure you'll enjoy it very much. Hahaha!"
Hao Shen gritted his teeth so hard that there was an audible crunch. Despite his anger, he couldn't say anything. Xu Mei's heel had pierced his heart, thereby also hitting his middle dantian, which slowed the flow of his Qi.
Then Xu Mei looked around. Behind her was the barrier that separated the devils and the righteous. And on this barrier, ripples appeared, and then people entered.
Zhang Mei, Liu Yang, the Sect Master of the Resting Eagle, and Her Majesty Yu Longfeng.
Their first reaction was to glance at Hao Shen, and then they looked at Xu Mei with expressionless faces.
"Seriously?"
"Sadist."
"Crazy. One hundred percent this time."
"Indeed…"
Xu Mei pursed her lips and removed her heel. Zhang Mei shook her head and looked at Hao Shen. Her eyes narrowed.
Then, raising her right hand, she snapped her fingers. Around Hao Shen appeared a huge cube, on which there were ten to twenty thousand symbols of varying complexity.
"Restriction, teleportation barrier, Qi gathering barrier, weakening, Qi absorption, Curse of Luck, Heavenly Secrets Seal, Divine Sense block…"
Various words came from Zhang Mei's mouth, which were understood by her or those who knew about formations. In the end, there were a thousand restrictions.
Zhang Mei's forehead was covered in sweat. This perfectly showed how difficult it was for her.
Yu Longfeng looked around. In the cold eyes of the Empress, curiosity was visible, although such a reaction was shared by everyone. Only the Sect Master of the Resting Eagle looked grim—understandably, as these had once been his territories.
"Interesting place they chose for themselves," Liu Yang said in a neutral voice, then looked at Xu Mei. "Where is your little husband?"
"L-little husband?" Xu Mei blushed but still answered, "I don't know. I can't find him, even using the Heavenly Secrets."
"What?" Liu Yang frowned and tried to calculate his karma, but her face immediately soured—she couldn't do it. "Indeed. Where is that brat hiding? I can't find him either."
"Probably in the arms of some beautiful woman," Yu Longfeng added venomously, and Zhang Mei nodded.
Xu Mei was speechless.
"What do you all take my disciple for?" she asked, clearly annoyed.
"Hm? A charmer, a heart-stealer. Girl Fucker 3000."
"Annoying, clingy, handsome, but annoying."
"Strange… sociable, talented… lustful."
"Cute young man."
"…"
Xu Mei fell silent, then looked at Zhang Mei, who averted her gaze.
"Hey, what's this 'Girl Fucker 3000' about?!" Xu Mei shouted at Zhang Mei, who pretended to be deaf. Xu Mei snorted in annoyance.