Up the Mountain (2)

Yan Jue returned to her dorm and sat on the bed, thinking for a long time. When she finally understood what Qi Xianqing meant, she was so angry she nearly ground her teeth to dust.

Because she had bitten Qi Xianqing that night, and Qi Xianqing had ended up caught in scandal, Qi Xianqing held a grudge.

So today Qi Xianqing had taken a picture of her ugly face?!

That woman was too vicious!

Petty and cold-hearted!

The next time she saw Qi Xianqing, if she didn’t take the long way around, then she would…!

Yan Jue was still seething when she suddenly heard a sound by the window.

It sounded like wings flapping.

She looked over, and what came into view was a snow-white Immortal Crane with long, elegant legs; at some point, it had landed on her windowsill.

A flower basket hung from the crane’s neck, with something inside.

Yan Jue froze.

This should be the messenger crane described in the novel.

The main peak of Five Dragons Mountain only had five mountains, but beyond it were many, many smaller peaks.

The peaks were far apart, so sending messages by Immortal Crane was very common.

Yan Jue took the item out of the flower basket hanging from the crane’s neck.

The crane flapped its wings and flew off again.

Yan Jue looked at what she was holding.

The first item was a piece of golden black iron.

The moment Yan Jue held it in her hand, her Divine Sense sank into it, and the golden black iron slowly stretched, closed up from above, and turned into a golden collar.

A lock hung beneath it, with three golden bells dangling from it.

Yan Jue was surprised. This morning, she had gone to the Refining Hall to have it fused with the ice crystal; she hadn’t expected them to work so fast and finish by nightfall already.

Yan Jue flipped the demon-binding collar over and noticed that there was now an extra ice-blue talisman pattern at the top.

This must be the ice crystal’s enhancement.

Yan Jue activated her Divine Sense and silently recited the Spirit-Communion Art.

The golden collar instantly transformed into a slender little snake and shot out.

There was a potted flower on the windowsill; wherever the golden thread passed, a thin layer of frost formed instantly on the petals.

Mm… although it was a little different from what she had imagined, and the power seemed a bit weaker.

But for a beginner like Yan Jue, it was already very good.

She was quite satisfied.

Yan Jue put the collar back around her neck. The three golden bells chimed softly in the evening breeze, their sound clear and pleasant.

Then she took out the second item to look at it.

It was a very gorgeous peony, immaculate white with a touch of deep red at the center, looking just like rouge.

Yan Jue looked at the sender: Chu Fu.

“…”

Yan Jue knew that she was the necessary stepping stone on the male lead’s path to genius.

It was only because he had absorbed her yin essence that he had gotten the chance to shine at the Five-Dragon Summit and win the female lead’s favor.

If the male lead did not achieve his goal of consummating with her, he would never stop.

Thinking of this, Yan Jue felt a wave of revulsion. Just as she was about to toss the thing in her hand away, she suddenly stopped.

She pulled open a drawer and took out a sheet of correspondence paper commonly used by Five Dragons Mountain disciples. Dipping a brush in ink, she wrote on it.

Senior Sister… thank you very much for what happened in Qingye Town last time.

Though she had cursed Qi Xianqing in her heart ten million times, she was not an impolite person. No matter what, Qi Xianqing had helped her at Drunken Spring Pavilion, so she still had to say thank you.

Then she took out a small bamboo whistle and blew it.

The Immortal Crane arrived not long after. Yan Jue turned the peony into a flower hairpin, placed it back in the basket, and sent it to Qi Xianqing.

After that, Yan Jue steadied her emotions and untied her inner robe.

Under the moonlight, the girl’s skin was as white as snow; however, there was a hideous, horrifying wound on her shoulder.

This had been caused today when she was fleeing down the mountain, injured by the silver sword magic weapon summoned by the man named Li Hao.

Yan Jue gritted her teeth, quickly finished applying medicine to herself, and got dressed again.

Although the original owner had repeatedly provoked the female lead Qi Xianqing before, the one controlling this body now was her.

Qi Xianqing was a disciple of Thunderflame Sect, while she was in Watercloud Sect. The two sects were separated by a mountain peak; as long as she avoided going near Thunderflame Sect as much as possible and stayed out of Qi Xianqing’s sight, that would be enough.

Thinking this, Yan Jue took out the copy of The Proper Five Dragons: Fundamentals of Divine Abilities that she had borrowed earlier from the Library Pavilion and began memorizing a Foundation Establishment Realm ice technique: Ice Summoning Art.

The moonlight was like water; slowly, the whole night passed like that.

-

When Yan Jue woke up, the sky had just begun to lighten.

She sat up, closed her eyes, and circulated her energy on the bed for a while. Once she felt about right, she washed up and went out.

She still had morning training.

A thousand spear points arrayed in ranks; ten thousand blades opened like a screen.

Yan Jue left the room and, winding through the quiet mountain paths, soon climbed onto another peak.

Qiwu Peak.

Yan Jue came to a huge Cold Pool.

It was early morning, and mist drifted over the surface of the water.

This was a place specially set aside in the novel for the male lead to practice.

Qiwu Peak lay at the border between Thunderflame Sect and Watercloud Sect, and there were usually very few people around.

No one knew that in this relatively unvisited place, there was actually a thousand-year-old Cold Pool hidden away.

This pool was an excellent place for cultivation that had not yet been discovered by others; hidden within it was a giant spirit stone left behind by Nüwa when she patched the heavens, and as a result it overflowed with boundless spiritual energy.

Yan Jue intended to take advantage of it. She came to the water’s edge and plunged in with a splash.

The icy water stabbed through her from head to toe, and in an instant spiritual power flooded her body.

Yan Jue drew deep, steady breaths, harmonizing the chaotic qi within her body.

The original owner had water and earth dual spiritual roots. As a fox demon, her body was also exceptionally heavy in yin qi; it was a very rare constitution.

This spiritual pool happened to be just the thing to help her cultivate.

Yan Jue began repeating the Ice Summoning Art she had learned the night before, trying to create a trace of resonance with the cold pool water.

“… ”

Ever since Li Hao had stumbled and lost face a few days earlier at the foot of the mountain, he had been in a foul mood.

He was the son of Elder Li of Jingang Sect and had grown up in luxury.

Now that he had cultivated to the late Foundation Establishment Realm, everything had gone smoothly for him; he had never suffered any hardship.

During this descent from the mountain for training, he had carefully sifted through a pile of basic missions before finally picking the easiest one.

Li Hao never expected that this simple, easy task would actually be snatched away by a woman!

He had even lost a fine sword because of it.

A fine sword might as well have been within his reach given his status, but just thinking about the immortal sword Bojue, forged from thousand-year ice crystal materials, being ruined in someone else’s hands filled him with humiliation.

Later, after returning to the mountain, he had asked around about that person’s background and learned that she was nothing more than a waste who had remained at the early Foundation Establishment Realm for three years after entering the mountain. The anger in his chest only burned hotter.

That morning, Li Hao came to the mountain for a walk, his face dark and his mouth shut tight.

A lackey beside him flattered him, saying, “Brother Hao, I’ve always heard of your Hellhound. Seeing it today, it really is imposing!”

Li Hao had not only come for a walk today; he had also brought along his prized Hellhound.

A black-furred Hellhound was tethered with a thin rope. Its huge mouth gaped open, a long red tongue hanging out, and it walked beside Li Hao with a vicious look on its face.

Its fangs were dark and terrifying; if anyone were bitten by those sharp teeth, they’d probably be stuck in bed for half a year.

It was a second-realm demon beast at the middle Foundation Establishment stage, not very old, a birthday gift from his father.

Li Hao chuckled. “Of course. This is a top-grade demon beast you almost never get the chance to see…”

Then he saw something and suddenly stopped in his tracks, his eyes widening.

Not far away, a girl in a white inner robe was sitting cross-legged in the lake.

Her pale cyan dao robe was neatly folded by the water’s edge.

It was early morning, and the temperature was cold.

The lake water was even icier, biting straight to the bone.

The girl sat there with her eyes closed in meditation, frost condensing on her brows and the tip of her nose.

Yan Jue was sitting in the spiritual pool, reciting the Ice Summoning Art. Although the water was still freezing, she gradually began to ignore it.

A faint warmth surged through her chest and spread to every limb and bone.

The morning breeze lifted her jet-black hair. The plain white inner robe clung tightly to her body, making her look especially slender.

Sunlight fell across her face. The girl had rosy lips and white teeth; that face… looked especially familiar!

Li Hao recognized her at once. This girl was the waste he had met at the brothel that day!

He stopped and looked at Yan Jue, his gaze turning dark.

-

Yan Jue was cultivating alone in the spiritual pool. After finally getting the chaotic spiritual energy in her body under control, she opened her eyes and found that the sky had somehow gone very dark. Heavy black clouds were pressing down.

A cold wind stirred all around; for some reason, the air was filled with an ominous scent.

“Awooo—”

At some point, a dog had appeared in the shrubs on the opposite hillside, and it was charging straight toward her like a mad thing.

The big dog’s fur was glossy black, and faint red markings could be seen on its forehead.

It had a gaping bloody mouth, saliva dripping from the corners of its lips, and its fangs reflected a sinister light.

Yan Jue was stunned. Her first reaction was: a demon beast!

Five Dragons Mountain was the foremost immortal mountain under heaven, and there were many powerful demon beasts in the forests there.

Judging by this demon hound’s cultivation, it shouldn’t be very high; at least it shouldn’t exceed the late Foundation Establishment Realm. But running into it right now was still incredibly unlucky.

Yan Jue had always been timid. Even though she had already advanced to the middle Foundation Establishment stage, she still felt nervous facing a demon beast of the same level.

She immediately stood up from the water and pressed a hand to the golden collar on her chest.

The demon hound leaped into the air and pounced on Yan Jue like lightning.

Yan Jue knew that running from this kind of swift demon beast would be pointless. She pressed a hand to the golden collar around her neck and said, “Go.” Then she retreated backward.

This was Yan Jue’s third time controlling the demon-binding collar.

The collar slipped free from her neck, transforming in midair into a slender golden thread that shot straight into the dog’s shoulder blade, blood gushing out madly.

The dog yelped in pain and, lunging forward, opened its mouth to bite her arm. A cultivator at the middle Foundation Establishment stage had not yet reached the point where the body was light and agile, so Yan Jue naturally couldn’t dodge and was bitten at once.

A demon hound’s teeth were among the sharpest things in this world. As the dog bit down harder and harder, a piercing pain swept through her entire body.

Yan Jue could not break free. She raised her head and stared into the demon dog’s pitch-black eyes; whether it was her imagination or not, when her gaze met the dog’s, she felt it suddenly freeze for an instant.

The strength pressing down on her grew weaker and weaker…

In that instant, a sharp whistling sound tore through the air. The golden thread that had just flown out came rushing back like a little snake, whipping through the air like a lash and striking the dog hard on the head.

With a loud smack, the dog froze in place, as if stunned.

Yan Jue immediately stood up and ran.

At the same time, a burst of laughter exploded behind her. “Did you see that? Did you see that!”

Li Hao gave a whistle and sneered disdainfully. “That waste only had one thing to do when facing my Hellhound: run for her damn life!”

“Hmm?? Wait a second.”

“Boss, your Hellhound looks like it’s lost too much blood; it can’t stand up anymore…”

The demon-binding collar drifted apart into several strands before reforming into a ring and hanging back around Yan Jue’s neck.

Leaves whirled beneath Yan Jue’s feet, and the wind howled in her ears. She ran along the mountain road for a long time before slowly stopping.

Yan Jue braced herself against a large tree, panting so hard she could barely catch her breath.

Suddenly, her whole body shuddered with a piercing chill.

Her hair was soaked through; droplets slid down her fair skin, sending shivers through her.

Yan Jue jumped in place a few times, hoping to shake off the cold.

She was furious enough to explode. Just because she was cannon fodder, did all the bad luck have to land on her head?

Yan Jue turned her back to the path and began shaking herself like crazy to fling off the water. Before long, her hair was a mess and countless droplets splashed onto the ground; at last, her body felt a little better.

“… ”

Yan Jue suddenly realized something was wrong.

Wasn’t that a posture unique to canines, shaking off water?

Then footsteps sounded behind her, and someone passed by.

Yan Jue jerked her head around, and when she saw who it was, fear surged through her.

The girl wore a plain white dress, a jet-black long sword hanging from her waist; her dark hair was simply tied back behind her, and her brows and eyes were cold. Under the sunlight, her fair skin seemed to glow softly.

Yan Jue’s gaze drifted, unable to help settling on that slender neck.

The mark seemed to have faded quite a bit, but if one looked carefully, the row of teeth marks was still visible.

If it wasn’t Qi Xianqing, then who else could it be.

Yan Jue: “…”

The air fell into a deathly silence. Yan Jue stared at Qi Xianqing and suddenly felt a shiver of terror.

She had just been shaking water off, and Qi Xianqing had happened to pass by.

She couldn’t have noticed something… she absolutely shouldn’t have noticed, could she!

Thinking of this, Yan Jue looked at Qi Xianqing with caution and a trace of fear.

Her hand clenched unconsciously behind her back, and she took a step back without showing it on her face. “What are you doing here?”

Qi Xianqing’s expression was a little strange. “This is Thunderflame Peak.”

Meeting her gaze, Qi Xianqing’s eyes almost immediately darted away. Her thin lips pressed into a line, and she turned and left expressionlessly.

Yan Jue looked at her cold back. “…”

This female lead really was an iceberg beauty.

If she were a normal person and saw her in this state, shouldn’t she at least ask, Are you all right?

Yan Jue kicked at a tree and suddenly realized something; she fell silent at once.

Her belt had somehow come undone, and the hem of her clothes was slightly open, revealing a patch of gleaming white lower abdomen and her navel.