VHSTS CH12

Barely had those words fallen when a surge of immense spiritual power came crashing toward Luo Jianqing.

The moment he heard the words “You are a demon,” Luo Jianqing’s eyes had already contracted, reflexively retrieving the Green Bamboo Umbrella from his storage ring. That turbulent, boundless spiritual force slammed against the Green Bamboo Umbrella, actually snapping one of its bamboo ribs right off!

Seeing this, alarm bells blared loudly in Luo Jianqing’s mind, and he immediately drew his sword to meet the assault.

Amidst the hazy, pitch-black chaos, Luo Jianqing closed his eyes, listening intently as he raised his sword to fend off attacks coming from all directions. Every single strike from his unseen opponent crashed against the Green Bamboo Umbrella, whereas Luo Jianqing’s counterattacks cleaved only through empty air, failing to hit anything at all.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Although the subsequent attacks were not quite as overwhelming as the first strike that had cleanly snapped a rib off the Green Bamboo Umbrella, they were still strong enough to break another rib within every ten moves. Even though Luo Jianqing no longer felt heartbroken over using this umbrella, he knew full well that if things continued like this, he would be driven into a dead end sooner or later.

Attacks of this caliber could only be unleashed by an expert at the late stage of Nascent Soul—or even the Great Perfection of the late stage!

His mind racing rapidly, Luo Jianqing struggled to parry while trying to figure out what had gone wrong. He refused to believe he could possibly be a demon. Since ancient times, humans and demons had been irreconcilable; if even Xuanlingzi Zunzhe at the Deity Transformation stage hadn’t detected any demonic nature in him and had taken him as a disciple, there was no way anyone inside these ruins could claim he was a demon.

Then where could the problem lie…

“That demon core?!”

Luo Jianqing halted with his umbrella raised, ignoring the incoming blows as he shouted loudly, “Senior! This junior is not a demon!”

Laced with a thread of spiritual power, his voice carried far into the void, finally causing the barrage of attacks to stop. That same hoarse, grating voice murmured raspily in the dark: “A demon, a demon, a demon…”

Flipping his hand, Luo Jianqing took out the purple demon core from his storage ring and said respectfully, “Senior, this is the neidan of a sixth-grade demonic beast this junior just obtained in the Ten-Thousand-Zhang Wasteland. In fact, this junior also slew hundreds of other demonic beasts earlier and collected all their inner cores—could Senior have misunderstood?”

Silence fell over the chaos for a moment, and Luo Jianqing gradually began to relax. Unexpectedly, right at that instant, the voice turned shrill once more, screeching piercingly: “You are a demon! You are a demon! You are a demon!”

Another overwhelming deluge of attacks swept toward Luo Jianqing. Even with the Green Bamboo Umbrella shielding him from the blows, he had no idea where his enemy was hidden and had no way to counterattack. Luo Jianqing felt this voice was utterly unreasonable—on what grounds did it insist he was a demon? If he were a demon, wouldn’t all the Zunzhe and elders of Taihua Mountain become a complete joke?

Seeing yet another rib snap off the Green Bamboo Umbrella, Luo Jianqing gritted his teeth and hurled the umbrella into mid-air. Gentle golden radiance rained down from its canopy, enveloping Luo Jianqing safely within.

Luo Jianqing tapped his fingers several times against the Shuangfu Sword. The longsword slowly rose from his palm, its blade pointing outward as it hovered in mid-air. Luo Jianqing’s hands rapidly formed hand seals; specks of blue-green light flickered between his fingers, making the glow radiating from the Shuangfu Sword even more dazzling.

Above this expanse of chaos, faint rumbles of thunder seemed to echo.

Luo Jianqing shifted his hand seals even faster, the Shuangfu Sword spinning rapidly in anticipation of striking the enemy. Yet at this moment, the blue-green light in his hands dimmed noticeably. Without a second’s hesitation, Luo Jianqing stomped his right foot against the ground and spat a mouthful of boiling essence blood directly onto the Shuangfu Sword.

Instantly, brilliant blue-green light flared!

Holding his hand seal steady, a thin trail of blood trickled from the corner of Luo Jianqing’s lips.

“One Sword Transforms into Nine Lotuses!”

One sword multiplied into nine, shooting forward at blinding speed. The Shuangfu Sword blurred into afterimages as nine-heavens lightning came crashing down from above with a deafening roar. Only because Shuangfu had been forged from Ten-Thousand-Year Profound Iron and Thousand-Year Thunder Crystal was Luo Jianqing able to unleash One Sword Transforms into Nine Lotuses twice within a single day—yet by now, his spiritual power was completely exhausted, leaving him reliant solely on the Green Bamboo Umbrella for protection.

Purple lightning flooded the entire space, slithering wildly like fine silver snakes. Finding no concrete target to strike, the nine blades formed a sword array, sweeping relentlessly across every single inch of the void.

Luo Jianqing had no other recourse left. If he truly couldn’t clear this trial, his only option would be to crush his jade token and teleport out of the ruins. However, doing so would mean losing his chance to assassinate Li Xiuchen, rendering this entire trip a complete waste.

Pressing his right hand over his chest, Luo Jianqing felt the total emptiness of his depleted spiritual power. Unfortunately, he had used up all his Spirit-Gathering Pills during his battle against the Phantom Demon Fox. Watching Shuangfu‘s blind assault, Luo Jianqing could only let out a bitter laugh. “Could it be… that my journey truly ends right here?”

In the very next instant, white light flared across Luo Jianqing’s body. When he opened his eyes again, he suddenly found himself inside a stone chamber!

Luo Jianqing stood frozen in dazed astonishment, his first instinct to check on the Shuangfu Sword. Feeling the sword dancing joyfully inside his sea of consciousness, Luo Jianqing finally breathed a sigh of relief—only to lift his eyes and freeze on the spot.

Staring back at the disheveled, battered Luo Jianqing, Li Xiuchen was equally stunned into a stupor.

The two stared wide-eyed at each other for a moment before Luo Jianqing pressed two fingers together, condensing a wisp of blue-green sword qi at his fingertips.

Kneeling on a meditation cushion, Li Xiuchen scrambled to his feet in panic, speaking hurriedly, “Y-you really want to kill me?! We’re from the same place—we’re fellow countrymen! I swear, even if I’m supposed to kill you in the future, I won’t kill you! Just spare my life!”

Luo Jianqing narrowed his eyes, advancing steadily with the sword qi poised at his fingertips.

Li Xiuchen cried out again, “I won’t compete with you anymore—I’ll give the protagonist role to you, alright?! You know as well as I do that the seventh trial is the reward stage. I don’t want this inheritance, and I don’t want any treasures—I’ll give them all to you! From now on I’ll be your lackey, and everything of mine will be yours!”

By now, Luo Jianqing had walked right up in front of Li Xiuchen. Curling his lips into a cold sneer, he looked at the man’s pathetic state and suddenly recalled a time long ago—up on Broken Affection Cliff, this exact same face had looked down upon him with utter disdain.

Back then, Li Xiuchen had said: “Luo-shixiong, today I will call you shixiong one last time. You have fallen into the demonic path and murdered Second Shixiong and Sixth Shixiong—crimes intolerable to the Heavenly Dao and utterly treasonous. If you are willing to end your own life here on Broken Affection Cliff today, then out of consideration for our past brotherhood, I will plead with our fellow daoyou to leave your corpse intact.”

However arrogant and unrestrained Li Xiuchen had been back then, that was how servile and pathetic he was right now.

Tears and snot smeared across Li Xiuchen’s face, his fawning expression filling Luo Jianqing with sheer disgust—yet he had no desire to waste another second. Raising his icy sword qi slowly, he aimed straight at Li Xiuchen, who had already turned deathly pale with terror.

This time, Luo Jianqing had set the Green Bamboo Umbrella beside him to block any external interference.

Looking indifferently at Li Xiuchen before him, he slowly lifted his finger—only to suddenly hear a silver-bell laugh ring out directly inside his sea of consciousness: “Heeheeheehee, you humans even slaughter your own kind? Young gentleman, you’re truly wicked, yet nujia likes it. Why don’t you… simply offer yourself to nujia instead, how about it?”

Luo Jianqing’s eyes snapped wide open as sharp, bone-piercing agony tore through his sea of consciousness.

“Aaargh!!!”

Clutching his head in excruciating pain, he collapsed to the floor, giving Li Xiuchen the chance to scramble away into the corner of the chamber.

A purple demon core flew straight out of Luo Jianqing’s storage ring. Thick purple demon mist billowed outward, rapidly engulfing the blue-green-clad cultivator’s body. Li Xiuchen stared open-mouthed at the scene, utterly bewildered by what was happening.

Naturally, he had no idea what kind of torment Luo Jianqing was enduring at this very moment.

Inside his sea of consciousness, the Shuangfu Sword let out frightened, anxious hums as a cluster of white light clashed fiercely against the invading purple demon mist. Luo Jianqing writhed on the floor in agony, dust staining his blue-green robes and his black hair scattering wildly. One of his eyes remained clear, while the other had already been swallowed by a deep violet hue.

“Young gentleman, stop struggling. Your oil lamp is already running dry—why not yield to nujia?”

“In your dreams!”

“Young gentleman, why force yourself so hard?”

“You…”

Sweat drenched his peerlessly handsome face. Luo Jianqing clutched his head in torment, fresh blood trickling from the corner of his violet-tinted eye.

No one knew how much time passed. Li Xiuchen stayed huddled in the corner watching, listening to Luo Jianqing’s agonized groans echoing from within the purple mist—he even heard Luo Jianqing sobbing softly from the pain. After a long, long while, Li Xiuchen suddenly saw the purple mist disperse considerably, yet he remained frozen in the corner, not daring to move a muscle.

Until he heard a low, ambiguous moan.

That sound was far too alluring. Li Xiuchen stiffened, then crept forward out of curiosity.

Through the hazy remnants of purple mist, a strikingly gorgeous youth leaned weakly against the stone wall, panting heavily. His phoenix eyes were bright and shimmering with moisture, his lips so red they looked ready to drip blood—radiant and breathtaking beyond compare.

Li Xiuchen drew in a sharp breath.

All the pride and aloofness of Taihua Mountain’s Eldest Shixiong and a Golden Core cultivator had vanished completely, allowing Luo Jianqing’s innate beauty to bloom unchecked. Li Xiuchen had always known that Luo Jianqing was hands-down the best-looking character in Seeking Immortality—not even the mermaid princess he was destined to marry later on could rival this villain in appearance.

Previously, Li Xiuchen hadn’t paid much attention to Luo Jianqing’s looks because the man’s aura was far too oppressive and Li Xiuchen lacked the strength to oppose him. Yet right now, Luo Jianqing slumped helplessly amidst the purple mist, black hair draped over his blue-green robes, watery eyes shimmering with hazy light and cheeks flushed pink as he gazed blankly ahead.

At this very moment, Li Xiuchen finally understood what people meant by a beauty that transcended gender!

Li Xiuchen’s fingers began to tremble. Subconsciously, he started to step forward to get a clearer look—yet before he could move, the purple mist darted abruptly toward him as if possessing a will of its own. Li Xiuchen felt the purple mist looked strangely familiar, though for a split second he couldn’t recall where he had seen it.

Luo Jianqing roared hoarsely at the top of his lungs: “NO!!!”

Confused, Li Xiuchen looked over at Luo Jianqing, seeing the latter’s eyes wide open to the point of splitting at the corners, bloodshot and filled with sheer agony as he stared at Li Xiuchen and the swirling purple mist. Just as confusion gripped him, Li Xiuchen suddenly felt a wave of scorching heat surge through his entire body, rushing straight downward.

With a silent roar, every shred of his rationality burned away to ashes.

Panting heavily, Li Xiuchen trembled as he stared at the gorgeous cultivator slumped helplessly against the corner wall.

Luo Jianqing’s eyes couldn’t possibly open any wider, yet not even the fiercest fury could diminish the peerless beauty of his face. A bead of sweat rolled down Luo Jianqing’s smooth, fair forehead, gliding along the exquisite contour of his jaw before disappearing beneath his loosely parted collar.

Li Xiuchen swallowed hard involuntarily, murmuring in a raspy voice, “So gorgeous…”

Flipping his hand, Luo Jianqing condensed a wisp of sword qi and shot it straight at Li Xiuchen. Unexpectedly, the streak of sword qi veered slightly off course, grazing a shallow bloody cut across Li Xiuchen’s cheek before vanishing harmlessly into the stone wall.

“HEAVENLY DAO!!!”

Trembling all over, Luo Jianqing fought desperately to suppress the overwhelming desire raging through his body, wishing nothing more than to pull out his jade token immediately and flee this place.

Moments ago, taking advantage of his depleted spiritual power, that demon fox’s remnant soul had actually attempted to possess his body! In that grueling tug-of-war, Luo Jianqing had nearly risked his life to obliterate the demon fox’s consciousness, yet he had simultaneously been infected by the potent aphrodisiac poison sealed within the demon core. What Luo Jianqing had never anticipated was that in its dying throes, the demon fox had spitefully directed the remaining demon mist straight at Li Xiuchen inside the same stone chamber.

The demon fox’s dying curse seemed to echo right beside his ears: “Detestable, filthy human! You too shall taste what it feels like to submit beneath a man!”

That single wisp of sword qi had been Luo Jianqing’s absolute last resort. His spiritual power was completely exhausted; without at least half a shichen, recovery was impossible. Right now, even the strength keeping his eyes open was fueled solely by the stimulation of the aphrodisiac poison, let alone doing anything else.

If the aphrodisiac in the demon mist had been enough to render his Golden Core little shimei helpless, then the concentrated poison from the demon core itself was potent enough to make even a Body Integration cultivator lose all control.

At this moment, Luo Jianqing was being swallowed whole by maddening desire. Every inch of his body screamed for someone’s touch, yet his last shred of sanity forced him to watch helplessly as Li Xiuchen walked toward him step by step, untied his sash, let his greedy eyes roam over Luo Jianqing’s face and body, and then slowly lowered his head.

“Li Xiuchen… I swear I will kill you. In this lifetime… I will kill you!”

Blood seeped from the corners of his lips as Luo Jianqing forced out every word with all his strength, fresh blood bubbling up from his mouth with each syllable.

Li Xiuchen could no longer hear a word he said. His greedy gaze lingered over that breathtakingly alluring face before finally coming to rest on the vivid cinnabar mark between Luo Jianqing’s brows. That crimson dot glowed so brightly it looked as if it were burning, holding Li Xiuchen transfixed for several seconds. Moments later, unable to hold back any longer, he lowered his head, aiming to press his lips against Luo Jianqing’s full red lips.

Humiliation and rage flashed across Luo Jianqing’s face one after another. He could already feel the foul breath of this scoundrel Li Xiuchen against his skin. Keeping his eyes stretched wide open, he refused to shut them—he would etch every second of this into his memory forever, remember the humiliation this man inflicted upon him, and repay it tenfold in the future!

Less than a cun remained between their lips, Li Xiuchen’s hot breath brushing against Luo Jianqing’s flushed, stunning face.

When suddenly, in a split second, blinding golden light erupted.

BANG!

Li Xiuchen’s body was kicked violently across the room, slamming hard into the stone wall. A cool, aloof voice—laced with unmistakable fury, tension, and fear—thundered through the narrow stone chamber like a celestial decree: “If you dare take another half-step forward, I will hack your corpse into ten thousand pieces, no matter the cost!”