Chapter 324: Green-Clad Maiden! The Art of Curses! Hidden Thoughts! A Giant Battle Royale!?

In no time at all, the scholar’s corpse was completely eaten clean. With that, the girl in the green dress straightened, waved her hand, and all traces of blood vanished. With that, she resumed a look of innocent sweetness and stepped out of the house.

***

In an ancient alley...

Li Yanchu gently placed his palm upon the pitch-black wound on Xu Ruoyun’s arm, and a divine radiance lit up. He used the Plague-Dispelling Talisman!

The deadly poison coursing through Xu Ruoyun’s body reacted as if it had met its nemesis and was immediately purged. Blackened blood oozed out slowly before gradually turning red again. The dizziness clouding Xu Ruoyun’s mind and the suffocating pressure in her chest all vanished in an instant.

Sss, sss, sss!

Wisps of white smoke began rising from her body. Soon, every trace of toxin that had seeped into her blood was drawn out completely! Xu Ruoyun’s complexion then returned to normal. Just a moment ago, black miasma had been coiling around her, and it looked as if the poison was about to reach her heart.

“Thank you, Daoist Master!” Xu Ruoyun said.

But for a long while, there was no reply. After she lifted her head slightly, she froze. Before her, there was no one left. That handsome young Daoist had already vanished without a trace, leaving Xu Ruoyun standing alone in the alley.

Li Yanchu, moving like the wind, quickly slipped into a house. The room was sparsely furnished, and just like in the Blissful Land of Jinting Mountain, there were no traces of anyone ever living here. It was as if all who once dwelled within had disappeared into thin air.

As for the secrets of these Grotto-Heavens and Blissful Lands, Li Yanchu did not pry into them for the time being. According to the old Celestial Master’s words, it was likely that more Grotto-Heavens and Blissful Lands would continue to open one after another. In time, he might gradually uncover more hidden truths.

He inspected the items he had taken from Xu Ye and the other two: ten Spirit-Concentrating Pills, which were a secret pill to strengthen the soul; fifteen Breakthrough Pills, which were rare treasures for second-realm Yin Spirit cultivators; a vial of Jade Marrow, a rare heavenly treasure that tempered spiritual energy; ten Exorcising Talismans; an ancient sword, carved with the archaic characters for

Wu Gou

[1]; an Eight Trigrams Compass; a stash of potent aphrodisiacs, poisons, and intoxicants; a jade talisman; and lastly silver notes worth eighty thousand taels.

All of it, Li Yanchu swept into his Universe Pouch. He had a bountiful harvest indeed.

His eyes brightened slightly as he thought,

It seems I’ve found the right way to open up this secret realm.

No wonder so many people loved to kill and seize treasures, it really was exhilarating. Other than being high-risk, there was nothing wrong with it at all! Just these few bottles of pills alone were spirit pills an ordinary cultivator wouldn’t even dare dream of. After all, many of the pill formulas, the refining methods, and the ingredients had already been lost to time. Only great Daoist sects like Mount Qingcheng or Mount Mao could still produce such pills.

At this time, Li Yanchu sat down cross-legged, ready to attune himself to the spiritual energy of this Blissful Land. To waste such dense spiritual energy without cultivating would be far too great a pity.

Suddenly, the door was pushed open, and a figure appeared. The figure had a face of stunning beauty, a curvaceous form, and looked to be about seventeen or eighteen years of age.

“Finally, I’ve found you!” Xu Ruoyun exclaimed in delight.

At the sight of her, Li Yanchu fell silent. Without the slightest hesitation, Xu Ruoyun sat down beside him, thereafter her beautiful eyes fixed on the sharply defined lines of his profile.

Seeing this, Li Yanchu frowned. “You need something?”

A faint flush spread across Xu Ruoyun’s face, making her look all the more alluring. Then, she suddenly fainted.

At this time, Li Yanchu was speechless.

Is she faking it!?

He was a little surprised. But he didn’t reach out to steady her slim waist, instead letting this peerlessly beautiful girl fall straight to the ground.

Thud!

Xu Ruoyun hit the floor heavily, and the air went still.

After a while, Li Yanchu went over to check. He found that this young girl’s flow of qi was extremely weak, and she was shrouded in a gloomy curse power, which was corroding her internal organs and devouring her life force.

“Huh?” Li Yanchu was a little surprised.

By rights, curses and gu arts should fall within the scope of his Plague-Dispelling Talisman’s removal. However, this girl’s condition was a bit unusual.

He sighed softly, then lifted Xu Ruoyun onto the bed. After that, he sat down at her bedside, lightly taking her fair hand into his, thereafter a stream of vigorous Daoist spiritual energy flowed into her.

Xu Ruoyun let out a faint whimper, and her delicate brows knitted together, as though she were enduring unbearable pain.

Seeing this, Li Yanchu increased the output. This was no time for pitying delicate beauty, and the spiritual energy in his body surged faster and fiercer into Xu Ruoyun. Wisp after wisp of black qi surfaced, seeping out from every part of her body.

𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

Her face flushed crimson, and her breathing grew rapid!

“This is... backlash from

Yansheng

arts?” Li Yanchu frowned.

Yansheng

sorcery was a kind of witchcraft; those who practiced it were born flawed, crippled in body and spirit, and never met a good end. Their deaths were usually extremely painful and utterly tragic!

How could the daughter of the Northern Marquis have cultivated something like this?

The thought crossed Li Yanchu’s mind.

She had already been gravely injured by Murong Longcheng, then ambushed and stabbed in the back by Xu Ye and his men. Thus, her vitality was already critically weak. Had he not removed the poison from her body earlier, all these forces erupting at once would have made this young girl die in unspeakable agony, and she would be beyond the help of medicine.

“Is your fate blessed... or cursed?” Li Yanchu sighed softly.

He pressed harder, even channeling his own pure yang inner qi into her!

Xu Ruoyun bit her lips tightly, and her whole body suddenly felt as though she had been plunged into a hot spring, so much so that fine sweat dripped down like rain.

Before long, she slowly stirred awake.

Puh!

She spat out a mouthful of black blood, and her breath grew much clearer.

“Thank you, Daoist Master...” Xu Ruoyun said weakly.

“You really are bold. How did you know I would save you? Or that I even

could

save you?” Li Yanchu said.

“I was gambling on it, really. I didn’t expect you to truly be such a man of great ability!” Xu Ruoyun murmured faintly.

Then, struggling to her feet, she dropped to her knees in a deep bow.

Seeing this, Li Yanchu frowned. “I don’t like people kneeling to me.” He lifted a hand in a light gesture, a gentle current of qi surging from his palm.

Xu Ruoyun’s body was instantly supported back up. Her delicate face was streaked with tears, and her eyes were red and swollen.

“What’s the matter with you?” Li Yanchu frowned again.

Unable to hold back, Xu Ruoyun suddenly flung herself into his arms. However, Li Yanchu instinctively almost used an Iron Mountain Slam to send her flying, but forcibly stopped himself.

Xu Ruoyun wept so hard her whole body shook, and her back was rising and falling, like some ill-fated woman abandoned after false promises. Only after a long time did she finally stop crying.

Good thing I had a Water-Repelling Talisman on me, otherwise this robe would be soaked in tears and snot.

The thought suddenly crossed Li Yanchu’s mind.

But then, he reconsidered. She was weeping her heart out here, clearly mourning her fate. Would it be a bit heartless of him to care about something so trivial right now?

Still... he felt there wasn’t really anything he could do anyway.

Even the innkeeper would cry sometimes, though the expression on her face was nothing like this. Hers was always laced with pleasure. And at times like that... no comforting was needed.

Xu Ruoyun seemed to be crying out all the grief she had bottled up for years. Once she calmed down, she suddenly realized that she was lying in the arms of a young man she had only just met. She shot upright at once, and her face flushed red.

The atmosphere between the two grew somewhat ambiguous. “You’re not going to ask me why I was crying so sadly?” Xu Ruoyun asked softly.

Li Yanchu raised an eyebrow. “Are we that close?”

Hearing this, Xu Ruoyun tilted her head slightly, then froze in spite of herself. The more she looked, the more she liked his sharp brows, starry eyes, and well-defined features of his face. She even found herself staring at him intently.

Li Yanchu thought,

Is this girl’s brain broken?

Boom!

A thunderous explosion erupted from within the ancient city. The flow of qi between heaven and earth turned chaotic, and clearly, experts were clashing in battle.

At this time, Li Yanchu’s eyes lit up. He brushed right past Xu Ruoyun to the doorway.

“Good grief, how long have we even been in here? And they’re already fighting again!”

“Don’t tell me this Jade Altar is just one big battle royale game?”

He muttered under his breath, while Xu Ruoyun looked utterly baffled.

Battle royale game? What on earth is that?

1. The Wu Gou is a bronze curved blade forged by the State of Wu during the Spring and Autumn period. Resembling a sword but with a pronounced curve, it has a single-edged blade in a sweeping arc, ideal for chopping and slashing. It later became a classic example of cold weaponry. The blade is roughly one meter long, with a reinforced spine of tough metal, and the most common style resembles a willow-leaf shape. Here is a reference

image

. ☜