Chapter 28 - 28: The Assassin in the Night
Having successfully broken through to the Venerable Plane, Li Qingshan now saw a completely different world.
Spiritual Qi surged into his body like the tide. As he trained with Little Fox, his body cultivation grew frantically, like bamboo shoots after the rain. Already, small saplings have begun to appear.
The beginnings of a forest were manifesting itself.
After his breakthrough, he practiced all the techniques he had comprehended so far, completely integrating them into his repertoire.
After which, he simply washed up and proceeded to clean the steles to continue comprehending techniques.
“Now that my root bones have already grown, I need more techniques to hang on them to become fruit.
“The more techniques I comprehend now, the easier it will be for me to break through the Venerable Plane into the Great Venerable Plane, ” Li Qingshan mumbled to himself.
He had found his own way to break through to the Great Venerable Plane.
Once his bone cultivation grows, they would blossom and bear fruit, bringing with it new opportunities.
While Li Qingshan had achieved a breakthrough, on the other hand, Little Nine had also ended her days as a teacher.
For the past three months, she had been guiding the Elder of Inheritance on how to cultivate the Immortality Method.
The Elder of Inheritance was very powerful and was already at the peak of the Great Venerable Plane. If not for the shackles of the world, he would surely have already broken through to the Saint Plane.
However, even a cultivator as powerful as him faced a lot of struggles while cultivating the Immortality Method at the beginning. He was just like a toddler who was trying to learn a new skill.
He smiled wryly as he told Little Nine, “The shape of my bone cultivation has long been fixed. But cultivating the Immortality Method would mean I have to transform my bone cultivation from scratch. This will surely be an arduous process. However, there is no other alternative. I’m taking up your time here. How about you teach me the Immortality Method, and in return, I will guide you in your cultivation? Let’s improve together, shall we?”
Little Nine looked at the Elder of Inheritance in astonishment. He was a main pillar of the Yuhua Sect, yet he was willing to give her pointers. This offer was too sudden. She asked in surprise, “Really?”
“Of course. Let us improve together,” said the Elder of Inheritance with a smile.
Little Nine nodded her head profusely. Why would she reject such a sweet deal?
As such, the Elder of Inheritance and Little Nine guided each other in their cultivation. As a result, they had both achieved significant improvements over the past three months.
The Elder of Inheritance mastered the Immortality Method and managed to transform his root bones.
Little Nine progressed to the peak of the Ascension Plane. She could break through the Ascension Plane and enter the Distant Shore Plane once she had comprehended the Path.
One day, an elder and a young maiden reluctantly went their separate ways.
After three months, the Elder of Inheritance finally learned the Immortality Method and was preparing to practice in seclusion. Little Nine also missed her brother.
The Elder of Inheritance instructed, “Little Nine, you need to be more careful in the sect. Recently, I have sensed experts of the Heavenly Path Sect spying on us from the shadows. They have been relentless. You are now the treasure of the sect. Nothing should happen to you.”
“I will be careful. I will stay within the sect and not go outside,” said Little Nine as she nodded her head.
“Stay safe. I will be in seclusion for some time and will be unable to protect you,” the Elder of Inheritance said uneasily.
“Master and Grandfather-master will protect me,” she replied with a smile.
“Those two idiots only have mediocre characters, and their brains are not too bright,” the Elder of Inheritance said in disdain. He did not think highly of them.
Little Nine smiled awkwardly. She did not know how to respond to this.
“Go and see your brother. You have been going on and on about him for the past three months. I have calluses in my ears just from listening to you,” said the Elder of Inheritance as he waved her off in disgust.
Little Nine smiled shyly. She waved goodbye at the elder and left happily, skipping each step she took. Her ponytail swung from left to right along with her movements. It was apparent that she was in an excellent mood.
“This kid is the hope of the Yuhua Sect!
“This time around, even if I am not able to break through the shackles of the world while in seclusion, I still need to overcome my age problem,” muttered the Elder of Inheritance, with a look of determination.
Little Nine went to Repentance Cliff right after she bid farewell to the Elder of Inheritance.
It had been three months since she last saw her brother. She missed him.
She glided across the metal rope and arrived at the cliff. She couldn’t wait to see Li Qingshan.
In the meantime, Li Qingshan was comprehending a technique on one of the steles. Suddenly, he sensed Little Nine approaching the cliff. In an instant, he returned to his bamboo hut and awaited her arrival.
It was the cold winter season, and the cliff was covered in snow.
Little Nine traversed the snow and arrived at the bamboo hut.
She saw her brother sitting inside the hut, wrapped in cotton clothes. He was warming himself up by the fire.
“Brother!” greeted Little Nine cheerfully. They had not met for a few months. She really missed him.
Li Qingshan opened the door and welcomed her into the hut, shielding her from the raging snow. He asked, “You have not come to visit me for a few months. Where have you been?”
Little Nine sat in front of the brazier and warmed her hands. Her cheeks were red. She replied, “I was teaching the Elder of Inheritance of the Yuhua Sect the Immortality Method.”
“The Elder of Inheritance?”
Li Qingshan searched through the memory of the original host of this body and asked, “Is he the pillar of the Yuhua Sect, the man who is 2,000 years old and is at the peak of the Great Venerable Plane?”
The original host of his body had not met the Elder of Inheritance before. However, he had heard rumors about him since he was the most powerful figure in the sect.
Little Nine nodded and said, “Yes, that’s the guy. I taught him the Immortality Method, and he taught me how to cultivate. After training for the past three months, I am now at the peak of the Ascension Plane.”
“That’s terrific! Well done,” Li Qingshan congratulated her while clapping his hands.
“Unfortunately, for some unknown reason, I am very slow in comprehending the Path. Otherwise, I would have long broken through to the Distant Shore Plane,” Little Nine dejectedly.
He had a strange look since he thought her speed of breakthrough was incredible enough.
Did she want to progress even faster?
He comforted her by saying, “You can’t rush things when it comes to comprehending the Path. You will be able to comprehend the Path as long as you maintain the innocence of a child.”
“I know. I am not in a hurry. I will take things slowly,” Little Nine agreed while nodding. She was also aware that her speed of breakthrough was astonishing enough.
“Brother, I will stay here tonight. It was very tiring to have been cultivating continuously for the past three months. I want to spend a night resting here at your place.” Little Nine felt a sudden urge to stay while enjoying the snowy scenery outside the hut.
“All right. I will prepare some dinner for you.” Li Qingshan readily agreed to her request. He left the hut to collect some vegetables and fish and cooked a few simple dishes.
The two siblings enjoyed their dinner and had a good time. At night, he prepared a separate room for her to rest in.
At that moment, on the other side of Repentance Cliff, someone had infiltrated the area. The shadow was waiting silently by a tree.
The shadow belonged to a man. He was hanging upside down on the large tree. A pair of wings on his back enveloped his body. He observed everything on the cliff with his green eyes.
“The Ninth Princess of the Great Yan Dynasty has entered the bamboo hut, and she has yet to come out. Is she not planning to leave tonight?” said the bat-like man as he frowned.
He was the Bat King, one of the Monster Clan assassins raised by the Heavenly Path Sect.
He was ordered to kill the Ninth Princess of the Great Yan Dynasty.
The Bat King’s gaze was as cold as ice as he said, “I originally thought that by forcing the Yuhua Sect to cripple Li Qingshan, they would have lost an absolute genius. However, who would have imagined that his sister would rise up so quickly and become the new hope of the sect? For her to have reached the Ascension Plane in her teens is too frightening. She must be eliminated!”
Before, no one paid Little Nine any heed because she was too young.
Who would have thought she would progress so rapidly after joining the Yuhua Sect? In a year, she had reached the Ascension Plane.
When the Heavenly Path Sect received this intel, they were shocked. Little Nine seemed even more terrifying than Li Qingshan.
If they just let her be, she would become another Wu Shaobai!
The Heavenly Path Sect would not allow another Wu Shaobai to emerge from the Yuhua Sect. Therefore, they sent the Bat King, whom they had raised, to assassinate Little Nine. Therefore, they should be rid of this potential threat.
After the Bat King entered the Yuhua Sect, he saw Little Nine heading toward Repentance Cliff.
He hid his aura completely and pretended to be a log. His plan was to strike once night came. Then, once he had eliminated her, he would leave immediately, and no one would notice.
He waited and waited.
Yet Little Nine did not come out.
The Bat King had been waiting until now. The weather was cold, and it was still snowing heavily. He was already covered in snow and had turned into a snowman.
He was full of anger and hatred.
After all, he is a dignified eighth-level Venerable Plane cultivator. He is not far from reaching the Great Venerable Plane already.
Yet, he had been hanging here for an entire day.
“D*mn it, I won’t wait any longer. I will just charge in and kill Little Nine. Then
I will leave this place as fast as I can before anyone can notice me,” said the Bat King furiously. The weather was just too cold. He didn’t bother to hide his aura anymore as he descended the tree.
He was going to kill his target!
And once he finished, he would leave right away.
Little Nine, who was just at the Ascension Plane, would not be able to withstand him at all.
Unfortunately…
Earlier, when he had hidden his aura and pretended to be a log, Li Qingshan did not notice him.
After all, he would not bother to scan a tree situated beyond Repentance Cliff for no reason.
However, the Bat King had now exposed his own aura. Once he entered Repentance Cliff, Li Qingshan immediately detected his presence.
He raised an eyebrow and said, “Someone at the Venerable Plane has come to Repentance Cliff at this hour. It is impossible that they are coming for me. That means they are targeting Little Nine!”
When Li Qingshan thought of this, his eyes narrowed and showed a murderous intent.
He got up, pushed open the door, and walked out into the heavy snow.
“Squeak. Squeak.”
As he stepped out, Li Qingshan looked up at the moon. He recalled his cultivation journey and unleashed the Heaven’s Will of the Four Signs. In the next second, he pressed a single palm down on the ground.
Silently, the Four Sacred Beasts appeared around Li Qingshan.
The Azure Dragon circled around him. The White Tiger roared silently. The Vermillion Bird spread its wings. The Black Tortoise stood majestically.
Li Qingshan waved his hand, and the Four Sacred Beasts immediately dashed out. They traversed the bridge, the creek, the Stele Forest, and the heavy snow.
All of this happened without a sound.
The next moment, with a loud dong, the Four Sacred Beasts suppressed the Bat King, crashing into his figure and exploding immediately.
In an instant, the Bat King’s heart was turned to dust.
He was perplexed as he felt his heart turn cold.
It was now the twelfth lunar month. So why was his body colder than the winter?
He tried to touch his heart.
However, he felt nothing there.
The Bat King slowly lowered his head and saw a large hole where his heart should be. Everything in its place had been vaporized.
He muttered, “This… What frightening attack is this?”
“There are only two people on Repentance Cliff. Surely Little Nine does not have such powerful abilities.”
“It can only be… the crippled genius.
“Li Qingshan!”
The Bat King plummeted to the ground as his consciousness collapsed. His blood splattered all over the ground.
The white snow covering the ground was tainted red by the blood oozing out from his body.
He was like a withered rose, and his fresh blood was rosy against the snow.
Once the Bat King had figured out who it was that injured him, his eyes glistened with incredulity.
The genius youth, who was prosecuted by the Heavenly Path Sect, and whose body and soul cultivation had been crippled, had risen to the top again?
In front of the bamboo hut, Li Qingshan remained expressionless as he calmly ordered, “Five ghosts, go and clean up the place.”
This sudden intrusion of the Bat King did not faze him at all.
The five ghosts went to clean up the place begrudgingly. They smacked their lips in regret as they stared at the corpse of the Bat King. If they had discovered this person earlier, they would have gained a new toy.
Then, they would be playing with their new toy instead of cleaning up.
The five ghosts cleaned up everything very quickly. It continued to snow throughout the night, covering everything. No one even knew that a Monster Clan assassin raised by the Heavenly Path Sect had died there..