VHSTS CH24

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The Blue-Green Lotus Nine-Sword Grand Array collided head-on with countless torrents of spiritual power!

To Luo Jianqing, the attacks unleashed by the Foundation Establishment and Qi Refining cultivators standing below were no more than scratching an itch through a boot, and even those from ordinary Golden Core cultivators had little effect. Only the assaults of the five late-stage Golden Core powerhouses crashed toward him like toppling mountains and overturning seas; combined together, they shattered the Blue-Green Lotus Grand Array, forcing a muffled groan from Luo Jianqing as a thin trail of blood seeped from the corner of his lips.

Standing at the forefront of the five was Yan Su, the head disciple of the Soul-Severing Sect.

Taking a step forward, Yan Su stared coldly at Luo Jianqing and demanded in a chilling tone, “Luo-daoyou, what is the meaning of this?!”

Standing squarely in front of Mo Qiu, despite the blood trickling from his lips, Luo Jianqing remained calm and unhurried, yielding not an inch in momentum. He replied evenly, “Mo-daoyou just saved my life moments ago—I will never stand idly by and watch him be killed!”

Beside Yan Su, the Seventh Young Master of the Bai Clan’s main line let out a light chuckle, snapping his folding fan shut as he smiled: “So, Luo-daoyou intends to oppose all of us single-handedly?”

Barely had those words fallen when Mo Qiu’s soft, velvety voice rang out: “Who said Luo Jianqing is alone? There’s still me!”

Luo Jianqing’s body trembled faintly, a wave of quiet relief warming his chest.

At least this man wasn’t the type to abandon a benefactor—he hadn’t taken advantage of Luo Jianqing blocking everyone’s attacks moments ago to slip away on his own.

Clad in a white robe, Bai Qi had looked handsome and extraordinarily distinguished back at the entrance of Flowing Flame Valley, though by now his white garments were dusted with sand and his face looked somewhat yellow and disheveled. Hearing Mo Qiu’s words, a sharp glint flashed in his eyes as he asked, “You’re that Mo Qiu from the Mo Clan, aren’t you?! I’ve heard of you—the genius disciple from the Mo Clan’s exiled sinner branch. My Bai Clan has maintained close ties with the Mo Clan for generations, and my aunt is the direct eldest miss of the Mo main line. Cultivating to such a realm out in the Cold Desert Wasteland couldn’t have been easy. Hand over the Blood Fruit right now, and I guarantee I’ll get you admitted into the main Mo Clan immediately!”

As his words fell, a gust of wind swept across the sand dunes, leaving dead silence in response to Bai Qi.

Bai Qi’s expression darkened. “Did you hear what I just said?! What kind of look is that on your face?!”

Curiously, Luo Jianqing turned his head to glance back—only to see Mo Qiu sneering coldly and rolling his eyes: “The look of someone listening to you fart.”

Flushing red with humiliation and rage, Bai Qi snarled, “You—!”

Battle erupted in an instant!

Bai Qi struck first, raising a white longspear in his hand and pointing it straight at Mo Qiu. Carved as though from pure jade, the spearhead reflected dazzling brilliance beneath the blazing sun. Gathering immense spiritual power onto its tip, Bai Qi soared into mid-air and thrust forward with a piercing strike aimed directly at Mo Qiu!

A terrifying blizzard coalesced behind Bai Qi; the sudden manifestation of ice and snow dropped the temperature across the entire sand dune by several degrees, its suffocating spiritual pressure making cultivators below Foundation Establishment tremble uncontrollably.

This was the second thrust of the Bai Clan’s Seven Spears of White Snow—Stainless White Snow Spear!

Standing beside Bai Qi, Fairy Minghua seized the opening to pluck an unassuming-looking ancient zither. Her snow-white, slender fingers brushed lightly across the strings; the antique strings vibrated subtly as wave after wave of energy slowly built up. Each ripple grew stronger than the last, and the moment Fairy Minghua plucked the ninth note, she lifted her lovely eyes and flicked her fingers.

“When a hundred flowers bloom, I do not open; once this blossom blooms, all hundred flowers perish!”

“Melody of a Hundred Flowers!”

When these people had attacked Mo Qiu moments ago, they had unleashed their signature moves in haste without using even half their strength, allowing Luo Jianqing to intercept them temporarily. Now that these two had launched a concerted offensive, the surging, roiling spiritual power silently proclaimed just how terrifying their true trump cards were!

Seeing this, Yan Su and the remaining two moved to join the fray, only for a cyan figure to drop abruptly right in front of them.

Smiling faintly, the peerlessly handsome cultivator in blue-green held the Shuangfu Sword, which let out an eager hum for battle. Luo Jianqing spoke calmly: “You three—your opponent is me.”

Yan Su narrowed his eyes and summoned his Ghost Axe without a moment’s hesitation.

The other two clan scions—one drawing a bow, the other unsheathing a sword—pushed off the ground with their toes and shot straight toward Luo Jianqing.

Both battlefields ignited simultaneously!

Initially, watching Luo Jianqing block the combined signature strikes of Yan Su’s five-man group had seemed somewhat believable to the spectators, given that he was Taihua Mountain’s head disciple. Yet when Mo Qiu swung his blood-red long whip and cleanly parried the combined onslaught of Bai Qi and Fairy Minghua, everyone widened their eyes in sheer shock.

“Where on earth did a dark horse like this in the Thirty-Six Prefectures come from?!”

Wielding his longsword without holding anything back, Luo Jianqing immediately unleashed the Second Plunder of the Nine Plundering Heavens Record right from the start.

Surging spiritual power from the surroundings converged rapidly toward his body—Plundering the Dharma-Meaning of All Living Beings, rendering all creation equal!

Luo Jianqing’s Blue-Green Lotus Nine-Sword Grand Array crashed thunderously down upon each attacker, while Mo Qiu—for reasons unknown—refused to store the Blood Fruit inside his storage ring, shielding the fruit with one hand while lashing out with his whip to fend off the pincer assault of Bai Qi and Fairy Minghua.

Sky-soaring torrents of spiritual power rained down incessantly, blasting crater after crater across the sand dunes. Numerous cultivators had initially lurked nearby hoping to snatch the treasure in the chaos, yet after several bystanders were obliterated indiscriminately by Yan Su’s Ghost Axe, the rest scrambled frantically further away.

Spear techniques as pure as stainless snow, zither notes hiding needles within silk, a Ghost Axe howling with wailing spirits, an arrow dimming sun and moon…

Alongside blood-red whip shadows and a blue-green lotus sword array threatening to pierce the heavens!

The finest young prodigies of the entire Xuantian Continent clashed here in full-scale battle!

This fierce struggle raged on for a full day and night. Because both sides carried spiritual-power-replenishing pills inside their storage rings, the battle dragged on endlessly. Spectators dared not let down their guard for a second, watching intently for any opening.

Nobody would have believed that across the two battlefields, it was actually Luo Jianqing’s side that fell onto the back foot, forced continuously onto the defensive—whereas the previously unknown Mo Qiu seized the upper hand, pressing Bai Qi back relentlessly and leaving even Fairy Minghua looking increasingly disheveled.

When Bai Qi spat out a mouthful of blood and was blasted flying backward, Fairy Minghua coughed up a mouthful of hot blood as well, one of her zither strings snapping cleanly.

Mo Qiu flicked his long whip straight toward Luo Jianqing, shattering Yan Su’s ghostly axe shadows.

Mo Qiu said solemnly, “Luo Jianqing, I’m late.”

Pale-faced, Luo Jianqing smiled faintly: “Not late at all!”

As his words fell, the two joined forces against their foes!

One was Taihua Mountain’s head disciple at merely the mid-stage of Golden Core; the other was a banished sinner scion of the Mo Clan unknown until Flowing Flame Valley!

Once the two teamed up, Yan Su’s trio truly met their match. After exchanging hundreds of bouts, the Geng Clan scion’s bowstring snapped first, followed by the Yun Clan maiden coughing up blood. Covered in bleeding gashes themselves, Luo Jianqing and Mo Qiu hovered exhausted in mid-air, staring across at the equally battered Yan Su.

Seeing the situation, Yan Su’s mouth twitched. Furrowing his brows in brief calculation, he barked harshly, “Retreat!”

He actually turned and fled outright!

Gasps of astonishment erupted from the watching crowd.

This battle was destined to resound across all of Flowing Flame Valley, all of Chang Prefecture, and all Thirty-Six Prefectures of the Xuantian Continent!

At Yan Su’s command, Bai Qi and Fairy Minghua decided to withdraw as well, while the Yun Clan maiden and Geng Clan young master hesitated for a split second before quietly turning away.

Breathing a slight sigh of relief, Luo Jianqing turned his gaze toward Mo Qiu beside him—yet the moment his eyes shifted, every hair on his body stood straight on end. Reflected inside Mo Qiu’s alluring peach-blossom eyes, Luo Jianqing suddenly saw an overwhelming deluge of spiritual attacks hurtling straight toward them!

Conceding defeat was a feint; launching a sneak attack while their guard was down was their true intent!

“One Sword Transforms into Nine Lotuses!”

“Formless Blood-Shadow Whip!”

Luo Jianqing and Mo Qiu unleashed their counterattacks simultaneously, yet neither could dodge in time as both were blasted backward through the air. Sent flying onto a patch of warm yellow sand, Luo Jianqing gripped the Shuangfu Sword and summoned crackling lightning, preparing to fight—only to suddenly feel his body sinking downward!

“Luo Jianqing! Get out of there, quick!”

Mo Qiu’s heart-wrenching shout rang out from nearby.

Luo Jianqing’s eyes widened in shock.

“Heavens! It’s Ghost Quicksand!”

“Such a massive expanse of Ghost Quicksand! Right beside that sand dune lay hidden such a terrifying patch of Ghost Quicksand?!”

Ghost Quicksand was one of Flowing Flame Valley’s deadliest natural hazards. On the surface, it looked identical to ordinary yellow sand, yet the moment anyone stepped into it, the sand liquefied into swirling currents; not even a late-stage Golden Core cultivator stood any chance of flying free. It did not drain one’s spiritual power—instead, it swallowed the physical body whole, leaving victims utterly helpless to escape!

Hovering safely in mid-air, Yan Su and the others watched cautiously as Luo Jianqing struggled at the center of the Ghost Quicksand. Knowing they too would be swallowed with zero chance of escape if they touched the sand, they stayed back to watch, waiting for Luo Jianqing to be completely engulfed before killing Mo Qiu to claim the treasure.

Seeing Luo Jianqing’s lower body already submerged beneath the yellow sand, Fairy Minghua knitted her delicate brows and sighed softly, “He is the head disciple of Taihua Mountain. If we watch him die without lifting a finger and Taihua Mountain holds us accountable later, how will we ever escape blame?”

Bai Qi replied, “Fairy, life and death inside Flowing Flame Valley have always been left to fate. We didn’t kill him—the Ghost Quicksand swallowed him.”

Still unable to bear watching, Fairy Minghua averted her eyes and murmured quietly, “Yet Luo-daoyou’s master is the legendary Xuanlingzi Zunzhe.”

Everyone shuddered collectively. After a long silence, Yan Su spoke: “Nevertheless, the rules of Flowing Flame Valley were established jointly by all sects—presumably not even Xuanlingzi Zunzhe would dare defy them.”

At this moment, Luo Jianqing naturally heard none of their words. He unleashed every magic treasure and sword technique at his disposal, yet remained unable to break free. Everyone knew that once caught in Ghost Quicksand, being swallowed whole was inevitable!

Deeply anxious inside yet maintaining an utterly serene expression on his face, Luo Jianqing’s unruffled composure made onlookers sigh involuntarily in regret—that such a dazzling, peerlessly talented young cultivator was about to perish right here.

What Transcendent-grade spiritual roots!

What invincible beneath Nascent Soul!

What head disciple of Taihua Mountain and heir of Yuxiao Peak!

Before any genius truly matured, encountering lethal peril and falling prematurely remained an ever-present reality.

Talent was ultimately just talent; sheer strength was the sole foundation for survival in the cultivation world.

Fine beads of sweat gradually seeped across Luo Jianqing’s fair forehead. Unbeknownst to him, the crimson cinnabar dot between his brows grew brighter and brighter, blazing so vividly it looked ready to burst into flames in the very next second. Just as the Ghost Quicksand reached Luo Jianqing’s shoulders, the cinnabar dot erupted like roaring fire—when in the next instant…

“Luo Jianqing!”

A hand suddenly caught hold of Luo Jianqing’s arm still remaining above the Ghost Quicksand.

Luo Jianqing looked up in shock—only to see the radiant, striking cultivator in red hovering in mid-air, gripping his hand tightly with a faint smile: “Does this mere Ghost Quicksand really think it can claim your life, Luo Jianqing? Xuanlingzi’s disciple could never die so easily—Luo Jianqing, get up here!”

Mo Qiu’s open, unguarded smile was the final sight witnessed by every cultivator present.

Within a few short breaths, both earth-shattering prodigies were swallowed completely by the colossal expanse of Ghost Quicksand. Once both figures vanished, the Ghost Quicksand settled back into calm stillness, looking no different from ordinary desert sand—yet everyone knew all too well what a terrifying death trap lay beneath.

Fairy Minghua sighed softly, “The Blood Fruit was dragged into the Ghost Quicksand by Mo Qiu as well. Forget it, forget it—consider it a burial gift accompanying them to the grave.”

As her words fell, Fairy Minghua turned and flew away.

The Yun Clan maiden hesitated briefly before departing resolutely as well.

Bai Qi searched the area furiously for a long time before flying off in anger.

The Geng Clan young master let out a sigh and turned to leave.

Last to depart was Yan Su. Shrouded in ghostly aura, he probed the Ghost Quicksand continuously with his spiritual sense. To his disappointment, the sand remained completely motionless while blocking every trace of his spiritual sense, as though forming an isolated space of its own.

Swinging his axe furiously into the sand in frustration, Yan Su finally turned and departed.

Silence returned to the dunes. Hundreds of cultivators kept watch nearby for three full days and nights before finally dispersing in regret after confirming zero movement. Little did anyone know that once the Ghost Quicksand closed above Luo Jianqing and Mo Qiu’s heads, the spiritual power inside their bodies began draining rapidly!

Carving a path downward with their spiritual power, the two plummeted continuously into the depths!

It was a pitch-black subterranean passage whose end no one knew, forcing them to burn spiritual power relentlessly just to keep moving forward.

Yet the passage seemed endless. Being at the mid-stage of Golden Core after all, Luo Jianqing soon exhausted every drop of spiritual power and passed out cold. Hurriedly catching hold of his hand, Mo Qiu burned his blood-red spiritual power non-stop until, the exact instant his spiritual energy ran completely dry, Mo Qiu let out a cold sneer: “Thinking you can swallow Benzun with just this?!”

In the very next second, sky-soaring demonic qi erupted thunderously!

Their descent accelerated noticeably. The crimson cinnabar dot between Luo Jianqing’s brows, which had shown signs of awakening moments earlier, gradually dimmed back down.

Black demonic qi burned furiously, carrying the two hurtling downward at blinding speed.

Whether a single day or an entire month passed, neither knew…

When the two finally emerged from the pitch-black passage, Luo Jianqing dropped abruptly onto the ground, landing beside a river blazing like liquid fire. Completely drained of spiritual power and deathly pale, Mo Qiu coughed up a mouthful of blood laced with black spiritual light before collapsing unconscious as well. The crimson fruit tucked inside his robes rolled slowly out beside Luo Jianqing, coming to rest right next to his left hand.

Three days passed…

Seven days, ten days, a hundred days…

Both lay deeply unconscious. Black demonic qi surged continuously around Mo Qiu, repairing the shattered meridians inside his body. Luo Jianqing’s condition, however, was far graver—already pushed to his absolute limit by the grueling battle against Yan Su’s five-man group, swallowed by Ghost Quicksand for so long, and stripped of every ounce of spiritual power, his dantian had begun steadily withering away.

Inside Taihua Mountain’s Lingyun Hall, the natal life lamp resting on the second tier slowly grew dimmer and dimmer.

Right at the exact moment its flame was on the verge of extinguishing—!

Beside the River of Flames, the cinnabar imprint between Luo Jianqing’s brows suddenly burst into flame, and a white-robed figure materialized inside the vast cavern.

Seeing his disciple in such a dire state, the cool, handsome white-clad Zunzhe’s expression changed drastically. He was just about to channel his primordial spirit power directly to mend Luo Jianqing’s damaged meridians and dantian when his eyes caught sight of the crimson fruit resting beside Luo Jianqing’s left hand.

Xuanlingzi’s eyes contracted: “What potent spiritual power!”

With a pull of his right hand, Xuanlingzi drew the crimson fruit into his palm and formed hand seals without a second’s hesitation. Slowly spinning in mid-air, the fruit soon began releasing wisps of crimson energy that flowed bit by bit into Luo Jianqing’s body.

After rotating for ten full shichen, the fruit had shrunk by two sizes, leaving only a core the size of a fist. By now, color had returned to Luo Jianqing’s face, his breathing had steadied, his once-withered dantian pulsed vibrantly once more, and all his severed meridians were seamlessly reconnected.

Lowering his eyes to examine the fruit with tightly furrowed brows, Xuanlingzi probed it with his spiritual power; only after confirming it was purely a condensed mass of harmless spiritual energy did he press it directly into Luo Jianqing’s dantian, using a Deity Transformation cultivator’s overwhelming pressure to compel the fruit into forming a contract with Luo Jianqing—rotating gently inside his core and continuously radiating pure spiritual qi.

Only then did Xuanlingzi turn around to look at the unfamiliar red-clad male cultivator lying unconscious nearby.

Separating one’s primordial spirit from the body drained immense mental energy—and being only half a primordial spirit, even Xuanlingzi felt considerable fatigue and strain. Thus, after sealing half his primordial spirit inside that cinnabar dot using the Tortoise-Breathing Method, unless Luo Jianqing faced mortal peril or extreme emotional upheaval, he could never emerge.

Because every single manifestation inflicted heavy damage upon Xuanlingzi’s true body.

With Flowing Flame Valley situated a million li away from Taihua Mountain, not even Xuanlingzi knew how many times his split primordial spirit could save Luo Jianqing.

While dormant, Xuanlingzi could only vaguely sense what Luo Jianqing encountered—such as this unfamiliar male cultivator, of whom Xuanlingzi had little clear impression, though he knew this man had seemingly saved his disciple’s life several times just now.

Gazing at the pitch-black demonic qi swirling around the stranger, Xuanlingzi sighed softly: “Condensing demonic qi before even reaching Nascent Soul—what a pity. Possessing such cultivation talent, yet saddled with lower-tier first-grade spiritual roots and walking the demonic path. Had his spiritual roots been slightly better, his future would surely have been boundless.”

After confirming that the unfamiliar demon cultivator’s body was also being mended by his own demonic qi, Xuanlingzi turned and walked away without sparing him another glance.

Sitting beside Luo Jianqing, he gazed warmly and gently at his own disciple.

——

Three days and three nights later, Luo Jianqing let out a soft groan and slowly woke up. Simultaneously, Xuanlingzi’s figure dissolved into a streak of flowing light, darting back between Luo Jianqing’s brows to reform into the vivid crimson cinnabar dot.

Upon waking, Luo Jianqing felt as though he had died and come back to life—every bone in his body felt crushed, and lifting an arm sent spasms of agony shooting through every meridian. It took half a shichen before the excruciating pain subsided enough for Luo Jianqing to realize in astonishment: all of his injuries had completely healed!

“How is this possible? Wasn’t I severely injured with all my spiritual power exhausted?”

Luo Jianqing immediately inspected his body internally, guiding his spiritual sense down every meridian until he discovered the crimson fruit spinning steadily inside his dantian!

Luo Jianqing widened his eyes in shock.

For reasons completely unknown to him, this fruit had formed a soul-deep bond with him—much like a spirit beast acknowledging its master.

No matter how hard he racked his brains, Luo Jianqing couldn’t fathom what had happened. Before he could think further, however, he quickly spotted Mo Qiu lying not far away.

“Mo Qiu!”

Eyes still tightly shut, Mo Qiu remained deeply unconscious. Pitch-black demonic qi continuously mended his body like a semi-transparent black cocoon wrapping around him—a sight that left Luo Jianqing thoroughly stunned.

“…To think you’re actually a demon cultivator!”

Suddenly, everything made complete sense.

Why Mo Qiu had already reached the late stage of Golden Core before turning fifty; why he possessed such terrifying cultivation despite growing up in a barren wasteland like the Cold Desert Wasteland. It was all because he was a demon cultivator!

Complex emotions churned inside Luo Jianqing’s chest, leaving him unsure how to face this person.

Since antiquity, except during great wars between humans and demon beasts, demon cultivators and orthodox cultivators had always been sworn enemies.

Demon cultivators practiced domineering, formidable arts capable of plundering spiritual power from any living being. Just as Luo Jianqing had absorbed the residual spiritual energy from that Mo Clan senior’s skeleton in his past life, given sufficient strength, demon cultivators could even drain the spiritual power from living cultivators.

By nature, demon cultivators were unruly, unrestrained, and domineering.

Luo Jianqing had no idea how much blood stained Mo Qiu’s hands, yet he knew one thing beyond doubt: this was the man who had reached out without a second’s hesitation to grab his hand when he was sinking into Ghost Quicksand. He was a friend, not an enemy! Even if Mo Qiu was a demon cultivator, if they ever had to clash, it would be openly on a battlefield in the future—never here.

At this thought, Luo Jianqing sat down beside him to meditate and restore his spiritual power.

Ten days later, the cocoon of black demonic qi enveloping Mo Qiu gradually dissipated, though he still hadn’t woken up. Luo Jianqing carried him into a cavern he had prepared beforehand and brought out the remaining spiritual herbs and medicinal pills from his storage ring to tend to his wounds.

During these days, Luo Jianqing spent most of his time cultivating relentlessly, striving to use the crimson fruit inside his dantian to break through to the late stage of Golden Core. Alongside that, he surveyed the surrounding terrain.

This was an extraordinarily bizarre valley—not particularly large, spanning barely two or three li across. Unscalable cliffs enclosed them on all sides, the rock walls polished as smooth as mirrors and curving overhead into a natural stone dome, turning the entire canyon into a colossal stone chamber.

Running straight through the center of the valley was a slowly flowing River of Flames.

Nobody knew what kind of fire formed this river; not even Luo Jianqing dared draw near, forced back immediately by ferocious golden flames the moment he stepped within ten zhang of its banks.

Plainly, relying solely on his mid-stage Golden Core cultivation, escaping this place alive was utterly impossible.

Another month passed. Just as Luo Jianqing took out his very last Earth-grade third-tier Heaven-Reaching Pill and channeled half of its medicinal potency into Mo Qiu’s body, Mo Qiu let out a muffled groan and suddenly coughed up a mouthful of black blood.

Luo Jianqing called out, “Mo Qiu? Mo Qiu?”

Clad in crimson robes, Mo Qiu slowly opened his eyes, staring unfocused at Luo Jianqing.

Having lived all alone in this eerie canyon for several months, seeing Mo Qiu finally wake up naturally filled Luo Jianqing with joy. He said, “Mo-daoyou, don’t move just yet. After we were swallowed by the Ghost Quicksand, we somehow ended up in this place. I’ve searched for months without finding an exit; once you recover, we’ll search together and perhaps find a way out.”

Breathing softly, Mo Qiu seemed to be circulating the spiritual power inside his body.

After a brief moment, he lifted his gaze to look at Luo Jianqing and said, “Alright, Luo Jianqing. I’ll probably need about a hundred days to recover to my peak condition. When the time comes, I’ll—” His voice cut off abruptly. Mo Qiu’s peach-blossom eyes suddenly snapped wide open; staring at Luo Jianqing in sheer shock, his voice shot up in disbelief: “You stole my Blood Spirit Fruit!”

Luo Jianqing blinked in surprise: “What?”

“Luo Jianqing! You actually stole my Blood Spirit Fruit! You actually stole my Blood Spirit Fruit!”

As he shouted, Mo Qiu seized Luo Jianqing’s arm with one hand, gripping it with a vise-like hold.

Furrowing his brows, Luo Jianqing instantly grasped what had happened: “Mo-daoyou, to tell the truth, I don’t quite understand what happened either. When I woke up, that crimson fruit was already—”

“Luo Jianqing! You stole my Blood Spirit Fruit and even bound a contract with it—I swear I will take this Blood Spirit Fruit back!”

Barely had his words fallen when Mo Qiu—disregarding his injured body—summoned a blood-red long whip into his hand and lashed straight toward Luo Jianqing. Crisp, decisive, and devoid of any hesitation, his whip carried sky-soaring demonic qi alongside Mo Qiu’s remaining spiritual power—a desperate, mutual-destruction lethal blow aimed straight at killing Luo Jianqing in a single strike!