Chapter 325: Offering Herself!? Ye Hongyun’s Death! Spirit Eyes! Soul Snare! Transference Technique!

Strange noises kept echoing throughout the ancient city. The battle sounded extremely fierce!

This time, Li Yanchu didn’t rush over immediately. Judging from the clash of blows, it wouldn’t be decided anytime soon.

“You’re sick, you know that?” Li Yanchu said to Xu Ruoyun.

Xu Ruoyun froze. This Daoist priest was impossibly handsome, so how could he open his mouth and start cursing?

“I’ll say something that might sound presumptuous,” Li Yanchu sighed. “If you can avoid practicing Yansheng arts, then don’t.”

Perhaps it was because Xu Ruoyun had just cried so miserably, Li Yanchu actually felt a pang of compassion. He offered her a warning, though he didn’t expect her to actually listen.

People practiced such arts for their own reasons, as if she’d give it up just because of a single word from him?

Yet Xu Ruoyun nodded. “Alright! I’ll listen to you. I won’t practice it anymore.”

Hearing this, Li Yanchu thought,

So obedient?

He gave an awkward smile, nodded slightly at her, then turned to leave, ready to go watch the commotion. But Xu Ruoyun blocked his path, and her watery eyes shimmered with flowing light.

“Dear, where are you going?” Her voice was soft and sweet.

Hearing this, Li Yanchu froze in his tracks and turned back in astonishment. “Dear?”

“I once swore, whoever helped me avenge my mother’s death, I would give myself to them. My mother was wounded by sorcery back then, and Xu Ye cannot escape responsibility! Now that he’s fallen at your hands, Daoist, you have avenged me of my great enmity. So naturally, I am your wife!” Xu Ruoyun said firmly.

Hearing this, Li Yanchu fell silent, and he stared at her then suddenly let out a short laugh.

“That reason’s a bit far-fetched. You should’ve said Xu Ye was your enemy directly. Saying he merely had a hand in it makes it sound like he was only one of the culprits.”

Xu Ruoyun smiled sweetly. “I was afraid you’d run off. In my haste, that was all I could come up with.”

“I’m a Daoist priest. I cannot take a wife or have children.”

“Liar, you’re clearly dressed as a Zhengyi Daoist!”

“...Fine. I have a woman already. She runs an inn, and treats me very well.”

“Then I’ll make sure to serve her well in the future, and never compete with her for favor!”

Li Yanchu drew in a deep breath and flatly refused. “Your father is the Northern Marquis. In the future you’ll inevitably be entangled in political marriages, or maybe you’re already betrothed. I’ve no interest in being dragged into that mess.”

Hearing this, Xu Ruoyun gave a slight nod. “On that, you can rest assured. My father dotes on me, and I carry no marriage contract. In time I’ll secure more spirit pills and rare treasures from him for you, to aid in your cultivation!”

𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

Of the four northern prefectures, Beifeng Prefecture was the largest, and its land and population unmatched. The title of Northern Marquis was hereditary and unshakable, and it was a position of supreme honor.

The fact that the Marquis’s daughter, a princess of such exalted status with peerless beauty and a graceful figure, would insist on marrying him and was willing even to be a concubine, was nothing short of astonishing.

“I don’t have any feelings for you. You are very beautiful, yes, but more likely than not, what we’d have in the future would be nothing more than a battlefield tryst. Have you thought this through?” Li Yanchu said.

“It's only natural to have no feelings for me after just one meeting. I may have fallen for you at first sight, but I don’t expect you to feel the same. Feelings can be nurtured slowly, can’t they?” Xu Ruoyun said.

Countless noble sons and princes had admired her, yet she had never spared them so much as a glance. But today,she had truly fallen in love with this young Daoist at first sight!

She had a premonition that if she let this man slip away today, she might never again have the chance to draw close to him.

However, Li Yanchu gave her a look and said, “Do you realize, by saying things like that, there’s a good chance I’ll just toss you into ten or eight different positions, play with you for a while, then throw you aside?”

Xu Ruoyun’s face flushed red. “Then I’ll accept it!”

“You don’t go around saying this sort of thing to people often, do you?” Li Yanchu frowned.

He hadn’t expected this noble young lady to actually be such a love-struck fool!

Xu Ruoyun glared at him. “What kind of person do you take me for!?”

Li Yanchu hadn’t expected that this enchanting, pampered girl would be dead set on following him.

Looks like I need to study some fortune-telling, divination, and astrology. I’d better run some calculations for myself!

***

Elsewhere, the battle in the ancient city quickly reached a fever pitch. At this time, two streaks of flowing light shot into the air!

One was a scarlet carp seven or eight chi long, while the other was a savage beast with a white head and the body of a raccoon. It was a Henggong Fish and a Celestial Hound! Both were ferocious beasts recorded in the

Classic of Mountains and Seas.

This was cultivators clashing in a battle of primordial spirits!

The two primordial spirit manifestations fought relentlessly. Each unleashed divine powers of astonishing might, blazing with dazzling light in the skies.

Primordial spirits and ghostly souls were usually invisible to the naked eye. But primordial spirit manifestations were another matter entirely!

Li Yanchu brought Xu Ruoyun along, found a good spot, and settled in to watch the spectacle with great interest. In his hand he even had melon seeds, candied fruits, and fresh fruit. Seeing this, Xu Ruoyun’s big, bright eyes widened in surprise. This was the Blissful Land of Jade Altar, a place of great fortune for cultivators, and yet he was sitting here just watching the show!

At this time, a smile tugged at her lips. It was actually kind of fun! Throughout the day, these kinds of duels broke out in the city from time to time, and it was bustling and lively beyond measure,

Li Yanchu couldn’t be bothered to join the bustle, and instead stayed inside to cultivate. With spiritual energy this abundant between heaven and earth, if he didn’t sit and properly train and comprehend, it would really be letting this land go to waste.

Among all these battles, the one that drew the most attention was none other than the clash between Mount Mao’s Danyangzi and Fire Virtue Sect’s Ye Hongyun! Both were cultivators skilled in fire-based Daoist arts. Even the rain condensed from the dense spiritual energy here was baked away by their surging flames, turning into white steam. The blaze even painted half the sky red.

In the end, Ye Hongyun was no match for Danyangzi. The cultivator once deemed most likely to seize the Jade Altar’s immortal inheritance was beaten by Danyangzi until his very soul was scattered, That twist was something no one had expected.

Upon entering the Blissful Land, the body and soul of the most dazzling of the young prodigies was directly obliterated. Everyone now had a new understanding of Danyangzi’s domineering manner and terrifying strength. Within the Jade Altar Blissful Land, there was likely no one who could surpass him!

Even Murong Longcheng, the frontier imperial court’s proud genius, openly admitted that if Danyangzi unleashed his full mastery of fire arts, he himself was no match in terms of sheer killing power!

But Li Yanchu paid no mind to all this. In such a vast ancient city, there would always be fortunes emerging here and there to draw cultivators into strife. He would occasionally take Xu Ruoyun out to watch the spectacle, but most of his time was spent on cultivation.

The Jade Altar Blissful Land was formed from the essence, qi, and spirit of a Land Immortal. Thus, even the drizzling rain curtain carried a unique spiritual resonance, and was able to aid cultivators in their comprehension of heaven and earth.

In one breath, he cultivated three Daoist arts recorded in the

Yellow Court Classic

: Spirit Eyes, Transference Technique, and Soul Snare!

The Spirit Eyes made one immune to enemies’ concealments and transformations, able to pierce through illusions, perceive the essence of things, extend one’s range of vision and distance, and clearly see primordial spirits and souls.

The Transference Technique allowed one to transfer injuries suffered onto another object to bear in one’s stead and shift harm away. Its drawback was that it could not be entrusted onto a living being, only onto dead matter.

As the name implied, the Soul Snare was a spell targeting the soul; it could scatter an opponent’s spirit and soul, while also serving as protection for one’s own primordial spirit.

These three Daoist arts were all exceedingly profound divine abilities.

Li Yanchu’s mind was clear, and he successfully cultivated them all in one go.