- Pronouns
- They/Them
I'm so excited for the next chapter!
Be The Icy Beauty! A Xianxia/Cultivation Tale
- Thread starter ninjastar
- Start date
- Original Fantasy
- Location
- USA
You know, she's probably gonna make great money from this assuming they can actually pay out in the end. Face culture means that it'd take a lot for someone that's actually strong enough to beat her to do so, and she's probably smart enough to cut and run before then.
Probably.
Probably.
RazorSmile
ROB Used To Be A Knife Missile
Xi Fu's Spear Intent is truly without peer.
samdamandias
Apprentice Plane Wizard
Xi Fu appears incapable of doing anything by half measures. It is fun to watch.
- Location
- in the trash
There's no way they're getting out of the city without several new bounties on their heads at minimum.
Chapter 39: Incitement of Violence is a guide, not a crime
ninjastar
(Verified Taoist Immortal)
- Location
- Your mom's house
Transmigrated back into the body of her child self, can the mighty Celestial Bing Meilu survive in a Xianxia world all the while staving off the advances of arrogant young masters and wannabe protagonists alike?
Why is life so hard for the Icy Beauty?
Any corrections or criticisms are welcome, I hope you enjoy Chapter 37: Incitement of Violence is a guide, not a crime
---
"Are you sure that's the name you want to go with?"
"I am."
---
Bing Meilu stood in the large metal cage. Her hands were folded behind her back as she silently waited. After enough time for betting passed, the challenge officially began. A decently large crowd of people had gathered for the fight, at least a few hundred. Her spiritual sense revealed several dozen potential challengers, in the Qi Condensation and Foundation Establishment Realms. An announcer jumped onto the top of the cage, projecting his voice. His Qi was hidden, and he must have been at least in the Core Formation Realm.
"Welcome, guests, gamblers and fighting enthusiasts all. Today, we are graced with a special event. An open-ring challenge, launched by our very own fighter. Please clap for Ice Unrivaled Under all the Heavens, Without equal in the Nine Mountains and Seas."
Boos rang out at her completely ridiculous and grandiose name. She had been surprised they'd even let her put that many words into it. The girl suppressed a smirk. The more offended they were, the more would volunteer to fight, and conversely, the more money she made.
It was a simple solution to one of the main flaws of open cage challenges. If no one was willing to challenge you for a long enough time period, you'd have to leave with whatever prize money you'd win up to that point. If you seemed too strong, people would be unwilling to challenge you and lose for no reason, if you seemed too weak, the stronger fighters would feel shamed if they challenged you. The ideal would be to show just enough strength to avoid both scenarios.
Bing Meilu would instead sidestep the whole issue by simply making everyone in the audience want to kill her. A foolproof plan. Well, if anything did go wrong, she had an entire faction of (relatively) strong cultivators waiting outside to step in. She was confident at this point even a high-stage Core Formation Enemy would find it difficult to defeat her whole faction.
'Beyond just money, I have yet to have many real fights that have pushed my limits, due to my overwhelming advantage. Hopefully, I'll manage to temper my foundation with some real combat.' thought the girl. 'To make it fair, I'll only use techniques I learned in the Mortal worlds.'
"As always, fights are until unconsciousness or surrender. However, the open ring challenge has..."
Bing Meilu tuned out the announcer as he went on to explain how exactly the fight would work. Eventually, he finished.
"Hey! I came here all the way for the vaunted open ring challenge, and it's just a little girl?" a young man in the third stage of Qi Condensation complained loudly. "She can't be older than twelve. Is this a joke?"
"Heh, if you think she's so weak, why don't you take her on then?" the announcer egged on. "You can be our first combatant of the day!"
"Then I'll have to ask my brothers to forgive me for taking the prize money!" the young man shouted.
Bing Meilu stood calmly, watching as the young man climbed up the side of the cage and jumped in. Before he could even move, she blurred forward, palm raised.
Utpala Lotus Palm - First Form - Blue Lotus Blossoms
This was the simplest of the Moon Crying Swan Palace's martial arts. Her hand slammed into his chest. Blue-white ice Qi blossomed on his stomach, skin cracking and ripping as it froze and expanded. The man screamed, desperately clutching his chest.
"Do you surrender?" Bing Meilu asked.
The man nodded desperately, as the skin of his chest swelled and ripped with ice, courtesy of her freezing Yin Qi.
"Then we have our first win for the contest Ice Unrivaled Under all the Heavens, Without equal in the Nine Mountains and Seas. The prize pool has risen from five spirit stones to ten!"
Bing Meilu Qi flared, revealing her cultivation base, the peak of Qi Condensation.
"Although I am here to make money, I don't have a habit of bullying the weak. If you aren't in Foundation Establishment, you aren't worth my time."
More angered boos filled the air. Actually, per the rules, only Qi Condensation fighters could enter for the first five fights, given she was only a first-realm fighter. Bing Meilu was just insulting them all.
"Foundation Establishment? If you can defeat me then we'll see!" yelled a voice.
A woman in the seventh stage, first realm, leaped towards the cage. From the loud cheers and cries, she was well known as a fighter.
"Kick her ass, Blade Empress!"
"You can do it!"
The woman nodded politely to Bing Meilu as she landed. She drew two long hooked swords and readied into a fighting stance. Unlike the first man, the woman was obviously a real fighter. The subtle buzz of the Sword Qi gave her away as a weapon cultivator.
The woman leapt forward, swords blazing with yellow light.
'Dance of the Ghost Queen'
Bing Meilu cleanly sidestepped the attack, dodging and weaving through the woman's attack. With each step she took, invisible Yin Qi threads were left behind, wrapping around the 'Blade Empress'. As they tightened, the woman's movements grew dazed and slurred.
"A mental attack-" the woman questioned before her body fell limp, soul tightly wrapped in threads of Yin Qi.
The unconscious woman was removed from the ring, and the boos grew louder. From their perspective, Bing Meilu had defeated her with some dishonourable method.
'I need them to be even more incensed if I want the stronger foundation establishment cultivators to be willing to give up their face and challenge a small child to a fight. Ideally, each fighter thinks I am someone they can definitely defeat.'
The next three fights went the same way, Bing Meilu roundly knocking out the high-level first-realm combatants with her Yin Qi. At this point, the people in the crowd were intensely angry.
"Now, Miss Ice, with five wins, you may choose to take your seventy spirit stones or continue for another five. From now on, even those a realm above you may choose to fight."
"Given there is no one here capable of defeating me, I think I'll continue for another five rounds. Free money right?" Bing Meilu mocked.
"Let me be her opponent!" a muscular man shouted.
His aura pulsed, revealing him to be at the third stage of Foundation Establishment. He approached the page, turning to look coldly at Bing Meilu.
"Unrivaled under heaven? You cannot fathom the depth of heaven, child!" he dramatically announced, leaping at her.
This time, Bing Meilu did not bother with the mental attack. Using Frozen Genesis, a spear of ice appeared mid-air, floating. The man's leap was already underway, and being unable to fly, she could only helplessly slam straight into the waiting spear, his own force slamming his halfway down the shaft.
"Arggh!" he grunted, slamming into the ground. "A cheap trick!"
Golden light lit up his body.
"Allow me to end this! Extreme Yang Codex! Sunlight fist!"
Burning Yang Qi fired forth from him toward Bing Meilu in the form of a fist. She made an expression of disbelief. This was... one of the most commonly known attacks in the Bird Talon Continent. Did he really think she didn't know how to dodge it?
As it neared her, the sunlight fist exploded into three concentric rings of light. Bing Meilu leaped through the center, slamming her Qi-enhanced foot into the man's face.
The force of the blow knocked him to the side, blood and teeth flying out. His arms wrapped around her in a bear hug, but she covered her body in ice, sliding from his grip and falling to the floor.
'Heart Tearing Ice Claw Art!'
Longs claws of ice appeared around her fingers and she grabbed forward, ripping off a certain organ between the man's legs. He screamed, the pain shattering his concentration, and the Yang Qi reinforcing his body fading.
"Surrender," Bing Meilu ordered, dropping the pulped mass of flesh in her hands.
The man's body flared with golden light once more. He jumped at her, eyes burning red as let loose a scream of wordless rage and pain.
"Didin't learn your lesson last time?"
Five spears of ice ripped through the man's stomach as he jumped. He fell to the floor, leaking out copious quantities of blood. She could hear a young child in the audience vomit.
'What a weak bloodline! Already five and they haven't hardened that child's resolve. I fear he'd never be able to reach the Saint Realm,' she shook her head in disapproval. 'As the saying goes, all children deserve parents, not all parents deserve children!'
The yang cultivator twitched on the ground, desperately trying to move.
'At this rate, he'll bleed out before he surrenders- Fine, I suppose saving his life shouldn't cause me any problems. Nothing wrong with a good deed every now and then.'
Bing Meilu enhanced her foot with Qi and kicked it forward, slamming into the man's head. Two, three, four, five kicks and the man finally lost consciousness. At that point, he was removed from the ring.
"Are all foundation establishment cultivators this weak and pathetic or is he simply a failure?" Bing Meilu goaded loudly.
"How dare you speak about Yangfist Zhang that way!" another man shouted.
The boos grew even louder. Clearly, the man was popular.
"Am I wrong then? Either all Foundation Establishment fighters are worthless losers, or it was just him!"
Three men ran towards her cage. The first to enter was a tall, scholarly man in the second stage of the second realm. He barely lasted a minute, before falling to the ground, skin torn open by dozens of ice crystals that almost resembled blue lotus.
'What an elegant and refined technique! Much more civilized than the weapons I normally use. But with how short my arms are, the range of a spear is quite nice!'
The next man was significantly more powerful, in the fifth stage of Foundation Establishment. But, he was still weaker than Jiang Hu, who Bing Meilu had defeated when she was far weaker than she was now.
"Why don't you just surrender and save me some time?" the girl offered, as the man charged her, his entire body thrumming with Wind Qi.
"Gale Palm!"
She danced to the side, avoiding the technique. The man followed up with a downward slam of his fists. Bing Meilu slammed upwards, meeting his attack with a Blossoming Lotus Palm, her icy Qi chilling his hands.
"How the hell have you not run out of Qi yet?" the man shouted in bewilderment.
After all, an ordinary Peak First Realm would not have nearly enough Qi to last this long, let alone challenge attacks empowered by those a Realm above her. He couldn't know that Bing Meilu had seventy-two people's worth of Qi inside her, and had only used up five. It became even more ridiculous when you realized that most would never draw on the bottom ten or twenty percent, for fear of leaving themselves completely exhausted and undefended.
"Isn't it natural for those of us from the Twelve-Headed Avian Sect to far surpass provincials from a backwater?" Bing Meilu haughtily chuckled, fully committed to the act.
"Vortex sword!" a swirling cone of wind appeared in the man's hand and he slashed at her.
'Time to end this! Heart Tearing Ice Claw Art'
Large, clawed gauntlets covered her hands. She dashed forward, using the Dance of the Ghost Queen as a movement art, she avoided the slash. One hand shot up to his chest, ripping into his stomach and pulling out a chuck of liver, while the over slashed his throat.
Blood gashed from the horrid cut. Even as he desperately flooded the wound with his Qi to stem the bleeding, she stepped forward. In the blink of an eye, a dozen palm blows slapped into his chest, each injecting chilly yin Qi in the form of a seed.
Utpala Lotus Palm - Second Form - Blue Lotus Seeds
"Surrender or die."
If Bing Meilu flared her Qi, each seed would blossom inside him into a blue lotus of ice crystals, shredding his internal organs. He'd lost too much blood and vitality to resist the seeds.
"I-I surrender," the man spat, blood leaking from his lips.
'That's already three out of five.' she smiled, placing her hands behind her back and smiling as the man was escorted out.
"I'm next!" a woman in the crowd shouted.
A tall, foreign-looking woman with golden hair and pale skin ran towards the cage. She held a long spear made of gold and embedded with jewels.
'A yin metal spear cultivator? How unique,' Bing Meilu rolled her eyes.
There was a reason most weapon cultivators went with Yang metal... Well, she'd give the woman a chance to impress her.
"Show me your spear intent?" Bing Meilu asked.
"Spear Intent? You must be kidding," the woman shook her head. "I'm far from that realm."
"I suppose it would be too much to ask for every spear cultivator I meet to actually be talented, Oh well."
"Excuse me? I'm only fifty and I'm already almost done with mastering Spear Qi. That makes me one of the fastest Spear cultivators in all of Redscale City!"
"Yes, yes, go on," Bing Meilu rolled her eyes. "I'm sure that not even being able to dominate even a single weapon type in a backwater village is a wonderful sign of your unrivalled talent!"
"Why are you so rude? This is a duel, show me some respect!"
'Money basically!' Bing Meilu shrugged internally. 'But don't worry, even if I weren't putting on a show to intentionally piss off the audience, I still wouldn't respect you!'
The woman charged at her, spear thrusting. Bing Meilu batted aside the spear with her ice claws, watching in fascination as they flew through it as if it were made of liquid. The spear continued unimpeded towards her chest.
Bing Meilu snorted, ducking under the attack and leaping forward. Her Qi-enhanced foot shot into the woman's stomach, sending her flying backwards. The woman leapt at her, arms blurring with Qi.
"While your application of Yin metal Spear Qi is a novel way to fight, sometimes traditions exist for a reason. That spear was slow and lacked the destructive force of a Yang metal fighter." Bing Meilu lectured, dodging dozens of rapid attacks. "Although, if you are going to use Spear Qi of a yin element, water is a far better choice!"
A spear of ice formed in Bing Meilu's hands. Her stance changed slightly.
'Glacier Entombing Art!'
Her Spear blurred forward, impaling the woman in the chest and pinning her to the cage wall. Lines of ice grew out, wrapping the woman in a cell. The blow was too much for the cultivator, as with many weapon cultivators, she was a glass cannon. Falling unconscious, she was removed from the cage.
This was Bing Meilu's second fifth fight. If she won this one, she could leave with a full thousand spirit stones, and that was the most common departure point. Meaning, it was the most profitable round to defeat her. A half dozen high-level Second realm cultivators suddenly moved towards their cages, only to stop as a young man released his aura.
"Fellow challengers. I hope you'll show me some face and leave this fight to me."
The young man was at the peak of foundation establishment, his body peppered with scales and his aura burning with fire. A member of the Redscale clan. None of the other challengers moved to stop the man from jumping into Bing Meilu's cage.
"I hope to show the esteemed miss from the Armada just how strong this so-called 'backwater village' is!" the Redscale challenger said, a hint of offence in his words.
Bing Meilu smiled politely as the man readied for battle, a sabre and rapier of ice appearing in her hands.
---
Xi Fu sat outside of the red horse inn sighing in boredom. He was having a hard time not thinking about his Spear Intent, but the result last time from an accidental increase in his comprehension was a good motivation to find something to distract himself. He looked around the bustling street, mortals going about their lives.
There was a father carrying his daughter on his shoulders. Xi Fu paused for a second.
'I don't even know if my child is a boy or a girl...'
He felt antsy. Xi Fu was normally quite comfortable not thinking about his past life in Redscale City, but actually being here was putting him on edge.
'How the old brothel is doing? I suppose Mother is probably retired by now. It doesn't employ women over forty. If I wasn't wanted I'd go drop her off a few spirit stones so she doesn't starve to death. Hopefully, she's managed to convince some chump to marry and take care of her.'
Having grown up in a brothel, Xi Fu was well aware of how bad life could be for prostitutes and sex slaves who aged out of beauty without a plan B. It wasn't like they were paid enough(Or at all, for some) to have a lump sum to retire. Xi Fu was lucky enough to have had a talent for fighting that could have earned him a career as a mercenary if he'd ever lost his job as a male escort for wealthy noblewomen.
'Jeez, crazy to think that might have been my fate if I hadn't stumbled on that retired spear master and convinced him to teach me to use Qi...'
He rested his weight against his spear, sighing as he watched a man holding up his son, who playfully swung a toy sword in the air.
'I really want to see my kid at least once... At least make sure they're safe. Even that'd make me better than my own dad, whoever they are.'
"I'll be back in a few hours," Xi Fu suddenly said to Daoist Eartheart.
"Boss said to stay here," the man objected, sighing as Xi Fu ran off.
Why is life so hard for the Icy Beauty?
Any corrections or criticisms are welcome, I hope you enjoy Chapter 37: Incitement of Violence is a guide, not a crime
---
"Are you sure that's the name you want to go with?"
"I am."
---
Bing Meilu stood in the large metal cage. Her hands were folded behind her back as she silently waited. After enough time for betting passed, the challenge officially began. A decently large crowd of people had gathered for the fight, at least a few hundred. Her spiritual sense revealed several dozen potential challengers, in the Qi Condensation and Foundation Establishment Realms. An announcer jumped onto the top of the cage, projecting his voice. His Qi was hidden, and he must have been at least in the Core Formation Realm.
"Welcome, guests, gamblers and fighting enthusiasts all. Today, we are graced with a special event. An open-ring challenge, launched by our very own fighter. Please clap for Ice Unrivaled Under all the Heavens, Without equal in the Nine Mountains and Seas."
Boos rang out at her completely ridiculous and grandiose name. She had been surprised they'd even let her put that many words into it. The girl suppressed a smirk. The more offended they were, the more would volunteer to fight, and conversely, the more money she made.
It was a simple solution to one of the main flaws of open cage challenges. If no one was willing to challenge you for a long enough time period, you'd have to leave with whatever prize money you'd win up to that point. If you seemed too strong, people would be unwilling to challenge you and lose for no reason, if you seemed too weak, the stronger fighters would feel shamed if they challenged you. The ideal would be to show just enough strength to avoid both scenarios.
Bing Meilu would instead sidestep the whole issue by simply making everyone in the audience want to kill her. A foolproof plan. Well, if anything did go wrong, she had an entire faction of (relatively) strong cultivators waiting outside to step in. She was confident at this point even a high-stage Core Formation Enemy would find it difficult to defeat her whole faction.
'Beyond just money, I have yet to have many real fights that have pushed my limits, due to my overwhelming advantage. Hopefully, I'll manage to temper my foundation with some real combat.' thought the girl. 'To make it fair, I'll only use techniques I learned in the Mortal worlds.'
"As always, fights are until unconsciousness or surrender. However, the open ring challenge has..."
Bing Meilu tuned out the announcer as he went on to explain how exactly the fight would work. Eventually, he finished.
"Hey! I came here all the way for the vaunted open ring challenge, and it's just a little girl?" a young man in the third stage of Qi Condensation complained loudly. "She can't be older than twelve. Is this a joke?"
"Heh, if you think she's so weak, why don't you take her on then?" the announcer egged on. "You can be our first combatant of the day!"
"Then I'll have to ask my brothers to forgive me for taking the prize money!" the young man shouted.
Bing Meilu stood calmly, watching as the young man climbed up the side of the cage and jumped in. Before he could even move, she blurred forward, palm raised.
Utpala Lotus Palm - First Form - Blue Lotus Blossoms
This was the simplest of the Moon Crying Swan Palace's martial arts. Her hand slammed into his chest. Blue-white ice Qi blossomed on his stomach, skin cracking and ripping as it froze and expanded. The man screamed, desperately clutching his chest.
"Do you surrender?" Bing Meilu asked.
The man nodded desperately, as the skin of his chest swelled and ripped with ice, courtesy of her freezing Yin Qi.
"Then we have our first win for the contest Ice Unrivaled Under all the Heavens, Without equal in the Nine Mountains and Seas. The prize pool has risen from five spirit stones to ten!"
Bing Meilu Qi flared, revealing her cultivation base, the peak of Qi Condensation.
"Although I am here to make money, I don't have a habit of bullying the weak. If you aren't in Foundation Establishment, you aren't worth my time."
More angered boos filled the air. Actually, per the rules, only Qi Condensation fighters could enter for the first five fights, given she was only a first-realm fighter. Bing Meilu was just insulting them all.
"Foundation Establishment? If you can defeat me then we'll see!" yelled a voice.
A woman in the seventh stage, first realm, leaped towards the cage. From the loud cheers and cries, she was well known as a fighter.
"Kick her ass, Blade Empress!"
"You can do it!"
The woman nodded politely to Bing Meilu as she landed. She drew two long hooked swords and readied into a fighting stance. Unlike the first man, the woman was obviously a real fighter. The subtle buzz of the Sword Qi gave her away as a weapon cultivator.
The woman leapt forward, swords blazing with yellow light.
'Dance of the Ghost Queen'
Bing Meilu cleanly sidestepped the attack, dodging and weaving through the woman's attack. With each step she took, invisible Yin Qi threads were left behind, wrapping around the 'Blade Empress'. As they tightened, the woman's movements grew dazed and slurred.
"A mental attack-" the woman questioned before her body fell limp, soul tightly wrapped in threads of Yin Qi.
The unconscious woman was removed from the ring, and the boos grew louder. From their perspective, Bing Meilu had defeated her with some dishonourable method.
'I need them to be even more incensed if I want the stronger foundation establishment cultivators to be willing to give up their face and challenge a small child to a fight. Ideally, each fighter thinks I am someone they can definitely defeat.'
The next three fights went the same way, Bing Meilu roundly knocking out the high-level first-realm combatants with her Yin Qi. At this point, the people in the crowd were intensely angry.
"Now, Miss Ice, with five wins, you may choose to take your seventy spirit stones or continue for another five. From now on, even those a realm above you may choose to fight."
"Given there is no one here capable of defeating me, I think I'll continue for another five rounds. Free money right?" Bing Meilu mocked.
"Let me be her opponent!" a muscular man shouted.
His aura pulsed, revealing him to be at the third stage of Foundation Establishment. He approached the page, turning to look coldly at Bing Meilu.
"Unrivaled under heaven? You cannot fathom the depth of heaven, child!" he dramatically announced, leaping at her.
This time, Bing Meilu did not bother with the mental attack. Using Frozen Genesis, a spear of ice appeared mid-air, floating. The man's leap was already underway, and being unable to fly, she could only helplessly slam straight into the waiting spear, his own force slamming his halfway down the shaft.
"Arggh!" he grunted, slamming into the ground. "A cheap trick!"
Golden light lit up his body.
"Allow me to end this! Extreme Yang Codex! Sunlight fist!"
Burning Yang Qi fired forth from him toward Bing Meilu in the form of a fist. She made an expression of disbelief. This was... one of the most commonly known attacks in the Bird Talon Continent. Did he really think she didn't know how to dodge it?
As it neared her, the sunlight fist exploded into three concentric rings of light. Bing Meilu leaped through the center, slamming her Qi-enhanced foot into the man's face.
The force of the blow knocked him to the side, blood and teeth flying out. His arms wrapped around her in a bear hug, but she covered her body in ice, sliding from his grip and falling to the floor.
'Heart Tearing Ice Claw Art!'
Longs claws of ice appeared around her fingers and she grabbed forward, ripping off a certain organ between the man's legs. He screamed, the pain shattering his concentration, and the Yang Qi reinforcing his body fading.
"Surrender," Bing Meilu ordered, dropping the pulped mass of flesh in her hands.
The man's body flared with golden light once more. He jumped at her, eyes burning red as let loose a scream of wordless rage and pain.
"Didin't learn your lesson last time?"
Five spears of ice ripped through the man's stomach as he jumped. He fell to the floor, leaking out copious quantities of blood. She could hear a young child in the audience vomit.
'What a weak bloodline! Already five and they haven't hardened that child's resolve. I fear he'd never be able to reach the Saint Realm,' she shook her head in disapproval. 'As the saying goes, all children deserve parents, not all parents deserve children!'
The yang cultivator twitched on the ground, desperately trying to move.
'At this rate, he'll bleed out before he surrenders- Fine, I suppose saving his life shouldn't cause me any problems. Nothing wrong with a good deed every now and then.'
Bing Meilu enhanced her foot with Qi and kicked it forward, slamming into the man's head. Two, three, four, five kicks and the man finally lost consciousness. At that point, he was removed from the ring.
"Are all foundation establishment cultivators this weak and pathetic or is he simply a failure?" Bing Meilu goaded loudly.
"How dare you speak about Yangfist Zhang that way!" another man shouted.
The boos grew even louder. Clearly, the man was popular.
"Am I wrong then? Either all Foundation Establishment fighters are worthless losers, or it was just him!"
Three men ran towards her cage. The first to enter was a tall, scholarly man in the second stage of the second realm. He barely lasted a minute, before falling to the ground, skin torn open by dozens of ice crystals that almost resembled blue lotus.
'What an elegant and refined technique! Much more civilized than the weapons I normally use. But with how short my arms are, the range of a spear is quite nice!'
The next man was significantly more powerful, in the fifth stage of Foundation Establishment. But, he was still weaker than Jiang Hu, who Bing Meilu had defeated when she was far weaker than she was now.
"Why don't you just surrender and save me some time?" the girl offered, as the man charged her, his entire body thrumming with Wind Qi.
"Gale Palm!"
She danced to the side, avoiding the technique. The man followed up with a downward slam of his fists. Bing Meilu slammed upwards, meeting his attack with a Blossoming Lotus Palm, her icy Qi chilling his hands.
"How the hell have you not run out of Qi yet?" the man shouted in bewilderment.
After all, an ordinary Peak First Realm would not have nearly enough Qi to last this long, let alone challenge attacks empowered by those a Realm above her. He couldn't know that Bing Meilu had seventy-two people's worth of Qi inside her, and had only used up five. It became even more ridiculous when you realized that most would never draw on the bottom ten or twenty percent, for fear of leaving themselves completely exhausted and undefended.
"Isn't it natural for those of us from the Twelve-Headed Avian Sect to far surpass provincials from a backwater?" Bing Meilu haughtily chuckled, fully committed to the act.
"Vortex sword!" a swirling cone of wind appeared in the man's hand and he slashed at her.
'Time to end this! Heart Tearing Ice Claw Art'
Large, clawed gauntlets covered her hands. She dashed forward, using the Dance of the Ghost Queen as a movement art, she avoided the slash. One hand shot up to his chest, ripping into his stomach and pulling out a chuck of liver, while the over slashed his throat.
Blood gashed from the horrid cut. Even as he desperately flooded the wound with his Qi to stem the bleeding, she stepped forward. In the blink of an eye, a dozen palm blows slapped into his chest, each injecting chilly yin Qi in the form of a seed.
Utpala Lotus Palm - Second Form - Blue Lotus Seeds
"Surrender or die."
If Bing Meilu flared her Qi, each seed would blossom inside him into a blue lotus of ice crystals, shredding his internal organs. He'd lost too much blood and vitality to resist the seeds.
"I-I surrender," the man spat, blood leaking from his lips.
'That's already three out of five.' she smiled, placing her hands behind her back and smiling as the man was escorted out.
"I'm next!" a woman in the crowd shouted.
A tall, foreign-looking woman with golden hair and pale skin ran towards the cage. She held a long spear made of gold and embedded with jewels.
'A yin metal spear cultivator? How unique,' Bing Meilu rolled her eyes.
There was a reason most weapon cultivators went with Yang metal... Well, she'd give the woman a chance to impress her.
"Show me your spear intent?" Bing Meilu asked.
"Spear Intent? You must be kidding," the woman shook her head. "I'm far from that realm."
"I suppose it would be too much to ask for every spear cultivator I meet to actually be talented, Oh well."
"Excuse me? I'm only fifty and I'm already almost done with mastering Spear Qi. That makes me one of the fastest Spear cultivators in all of Redscale City!"
"Yes, yes, go on," Bing Meilu rolled her eyes. "I'm sure that not even being able to dominate even a single weapon type in a backwater village is a wonderful sign of your unrivalled talent!"
"Why are you so rude? This is a duel, show me some respect!"
'Money basically!' Bing Meilu shrugged internally. 'But don't worry, even if I weren't putting on a show to intentionally piss off the audience, I still wouldn't respect you!'
The woman charged at her, spear thrusting. Bing Meilu batted aside the spear with her ice claws, watching in fascination as they flew through it as if it were made of liquid. The spear continued unimpeded towards her chest.
Bing Meilu snorted, ducking under the attack and leaping forward. Her Qi-enhanced foot shot into the woman's stomach, sending her flying backwards. The woman leapt at her, arms blurring with Qi.
"While your application of Yin metal Spear Qi is a novel way to fight, sometimes traditions exist for a reason. That spear was slow and lacked the destructive force of a Yang metal fighter." Bing Meilu lectured, dodging dozens of rapid attacks. "Although, if you are going to use Spear Qi of a yin element, water is a far better choice!"
A spear of ice formed in Bing Meilu's hands. Her stance changed slightly.
'Glacier Entombing Art!'
Her Spear blurred forward, impaling the woman in the chest and pinning her to the cage wall. Lines of ice grew out, wrapping the woman in a cell. The blow was too much for the cultivator, as with many weapon cultivators, she was a glass cannon. Falling unconscious, she was removed from the cage.
This was Bing Meilu's second fifth fight. If she won this one, she could leave with a full thousand spirit stones, and that was the most common departure point. Meaning, it was the most profitable round to defeat her. A half dozen high-level Second realm cultivators suddenly moved towards their cages, only to stop as a young man released his aura.
"Fellow challengers. I hope you'll show me some face and leave this fight to me."
The young man was at the peak of foundation establishment, his body peppered with scales and his aura burning with fire. A member of the Redscale clan. None of the other challengers moved to stop the man from jumping into Bing Meilu's cage.
"I hope to show the esteemed miss from the Armada just how strong this so-called 'backwater village' is!" the Redscale challenger said, a hint of offence in his words.
Bing Meilu smiled politely as the man readied for battle, a sabre and rapier of ice appearing in her hands.
---
Xi Fu sat outside of the red horse inn sighing in boredom. He was having a hard time not thinking about his Spear Intent, but the result last time from an accidental increase in his comprehension was a good motivation to find something to distract himself. He looked around the bustling street, mortals going about their lives.
There was a father carrying his daughter on his shoulders. Xi Fu paused for a second.
'I don't even know if my child is a boy or a girl...'
He felt antsy. Xi Fu was normally quite comfortable not thinking about his past life in Redscale City, but actually being here was putting him on edge.
'How the old brothel is doing? I suppose Mother is probably retired by now. It doesn't employ women over forty. If I wasn't wanted I'd go drop her off a few spirit stones so she doesn't starve to death. Hopefully, she's managed to convince some chump to marry and take care of her.'
Having grown up in a brothel, Xi Fu was well aware of how bad life could be for prostitutes and sex slaves who aged out of beauty without a plan B. It wasn't like they were paid enough(Or at all, for some) to have a lump sum to retire. Xi Fu was lucky enough to have had a talent for fighting that could have earned him a career as a mercenary if he'd ever lost his job as a male escort for wealthy noblewomen.
'Jeez, crazy to think that might have been my fate if I hadn't stumbled on that retired spear master and convinced him to teach me to use Qi...'
He rested his weight against his spear, sighing as he watched a man holding up his son, who playfully swung a toy sword in the air.
'I really want to see my kid at least once... At least make sure they're safe. Even that'd make me better than my own dad, whoever they are.'
"I'll be back in a few hours," Xi Fu suddenly said to Daoist Eartheart.
"Boss said to stay here," the man objected, sighing as Xi Fu ran off.
- Location
- Mid-Atlantic
Okay, I gotta admit that I'm impressed by this guy's determination, though oh God, man, if you were gonna win this one, you'd have won it before she ripped your spear comprehension off...
Someone else is gonna have to make the spear jokes this time, because I confess to being at a loss.
Awh.
Little did they know.
Article: 
Ah, best laid plans...
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ch8MzYclx5I
- Location
- USA
Oh shit, I choked on my drink. The comma made me think the second part was the announcer hyping her up, not that it was part of her stage name.
Minor corrections needed here. Should be "he" not "she". Second has more than one fix -- easiest being "him", but you could also do something like "his body" as an option.
She did more than slap his face, she tore the man's pride from him. I'm a touch surprised he didn't die from pure outrage.
Xia Xuefeng Interlude 4: The Sect Entrance Trials
ninjastar
(Verified Taoist Immortal)
- Location
- Your mom's house
Xia Xuefeng sat in a pool of viscera and corpses, a vortex of blood swirling around her. Her entire body pulsed with the burning of Karmic Merit from killing so many demonic cultivators. As her Mistress Bing Meilu had advised her, she had yet to use a drop of it, despite the temptation.
'Well, it's not I like I even need it!'
Cultivating the Blood Moon Spectral God's Anthem of the Crucified, and already at the tenth stage of Qi Condensation, she was virtually untouchable in the Shadow Pit.
'Now if only these idiots would understand that,' the noirette sighed as the blood flowed into her. 'This must be the third attack this month. No wonders Orthodox Sects dominate the world. Demonic cultivators just have no sense of self-preservation!'
Xia Xuefeng sighed as she suppressed the breakthrough coming on. At this point, she had accumulated more than enough blood Qi to break through to Foundation Establishment whenever she wanted. of course, until she was out of the Shadow Pit, doing so was probably a poor idea.
In her months in the Shadow Pit, Blood Demon Xia Xuefeng had quickly become a local hegemon, founding her own society, which she called the Safe Zone. As the name implied, she was basically trying to build a society with at least a modicum of sanity and normalcy in a pit filled by demonic cultivators and their descendants. A place where one could not just randomly kill others and use them as a cultivation resource.
"Empress, the Night City Confederacy has sent another wave of attackers! Some of the Flavoured Tongues are there as well!" one of her administrators shouted.
"Uhh, already? I haven't even finished eating the last wave of demonic cultivators! At this point, I think I need to pay Night City a visit. Do they really think they can just toy with me like that?"
The established powers of the Shadow Pit did not appreciate a young upstart cultivator shattering the balance of power. Especially since her territory was growing daily and the majority of the Shadow's Pit's population either had or wanted to move into it.
Demonic cultivation required humans as a resource, so no one would be happy to lose a large amount. Meanwhile, the so-called 'resources', mortals and low-level cultivators, loved the idea of living in a place that actually had laws and protections for the weak.
As she strode forward, a golden chain suddenly shot down from above, wrapping around her ankle. Before she could react, the teen girl was dragged, screaming, through the dank, musty caverns of the Pit. She could see dozens of other chains firing out, grabbing people at random.
'What the hell is going on?'
The chains pulled her through the caverns, smacking her agasint rocks and pillars, until she found herself pulled into a large open-air crevice, the open sky sealed off by a blue array. Hundreds of demonic cultivators ranging from the first to eighth rank of Qi condensation were dangling from the chains. Xia Xuefeng was by far the strongest here.
---
Tang Dongyi sat, eyes closed, with the other cultivators, in a large building, his ninth-stage Qi Condensation cultivation base ciruclating slowly. They were all here for a single purpose. To pass the exams of the Bird Talon Continent's mightiest sect and ascend to heaven in a single step. They were of all different backgrounds. From those from clans and minor sects, rogue cultivators and mercenaries all. A mighty voice rang out.
"The first task of the trials awaits. Climb to the top of that staircase! Those who fail to reach the top shall not become members of the sect."
The doors of the building opened and the cultivators all ran out. In an open field before them was an absolutely massive stone staircase, reaching up into the heavens far beyond what the eye could see. Each 'step' was almost half the height of Dongyi and made of completely smooth white marble.
He gingerly stepped onto the first, watching interest as a subtle Qi began to pressure his mind.
'A spiritual attack array? The true test to show endurance in the face of pressure that grows with each step - Luckily for me I have the Treasured Pagoda!'
A miniature pagoda appeared beside him, a gentle stream of Qi pouring from it into him. The pressure on his mind decreased, and he began to race up the stairs, leaping and bounding up dozens with his Qi-enhanced jumps.
Even with the enhancement of the pagoda, the pressure grew exponentially, and he was forced to stop leaping, running up the steps one by one, gritting his teeth as the pressure slammed down into him, making even one step painful.
'No! I can't give up here. I have to make it!' Dongyi forced himself to push forward slowly, rising up step by step.
Just when he thought his resolve would break, he suddenly found himself in another building. Of the five or six hundred that had originally signed up, there were only around two hundred in the room with him. At the end of the building stood a massive series of doors, each ranked from one to one hundred.
A sect elder appeared, floating in the air.
"Behind each door is a demonic cultivator you must defeat to progress. The stronger the cultivator you defeat, the more points you will receive. One is the lowest and one hundred is the strongest."
Dongyi and several other cultivators all immediately burst forward, running towards the door marked one hundred.
'Pagoda!'
The floating building thrummed and Dongyi suddenly shot forward, outpacing the rest and leaping into the One Hundred Door.
---
High in the sky, an invisible platform overlooked the sect trials, within which six of the highest-ranking members of the Armada sat, overlooking the trials.
"The prospects this year are weaker than ordinary," Commodore Rampage-Sword complained.
"You say that every year," rebuked Captain Tian of the Medicine Hall.
"And what about you, Commodore Liyang? See anyone that catches your eye?" the sword cultivator continued.
"That boy with the Pagoda seems interesting."
"Those who rely on magical treasures instead of their own strength will never amount to anything," Rampage Sword waved his hand in dismissal, taking a snipe at Liyang, who himself relied on artifacts and formations heavily.
"I agree," interjected Commodore Black Heartflame. "Just as weapons cultivators become like mewling babies when forced to fight anything strong against their one trick."
"As if you'd know anything about weapon cultivation. You didn't even last a week studying the sword!" Rampage-sword spat.
"I simply switched to a path more suited for me," the Daoist replied, eyes sparking with a black fire. "You're free to try it out and see how it stacks up to weapon cultivation!"
The air grew tense. Rampage-Sword growled, reaching for his sheathed sword.
"Can you fools really not pause your infighting for a single meeting? I assure you, my frandfather will not select his successor based on who is most disruptive at the Sect Entrance Trials," Captain Ji Longyi interjected dryly, frowning.
"Hmpph, watch your tone when speaking to your superiors, Captain!" Commodore Rampage-Sword replied, his Nascent Soul glimmering with an inner light.
"If I ever meet one, I'll keep that in mind," Ji Longyi smirked.
All the cultivators in the room suddenly turned towards room one hundred, their spiritual senses firing out to investigate.
---
The chains dragged them upwards, past the blue seal, and suddenly Xia Xuefeng found herself alone in a black room. She could not see anything, not the wall floor or ceiling.
"Greeting Demonic Cultivator. You are now partaking in the Sect Entrance Trials. You will be forced to face a disciple who will be trying to kill you. If you manage to kill them, you will be allowed to live. Fight to survive, if you wish." A voice rang out.
"Hey! There's been a mistake! I'm not a demonic cultivator!" she shouted out.
There was no response.
"Fine!" Xia Xuefeng growled, crossing her arms.
'Bing Meilu better get me out of here soon!'
---
Dongyi pushed through the door, blinking as he found himself in what seemed to be a completely black void. Standing in the center of it was what appeared to be a young child, no older than thirteen. She had long black hair stained red with blood, and her smooth flawless jade-like skin was covered in dried bodily fluids. A powerful bloody aura emanated from her, more potent than any butcher shop he'd been to. It seemed to lack some of the nefarious chill he normally felt fighting demonic cultivators.
Dongyi grimaced. He did not know if she was an actual child, or if her appearance was the result of some kind of demonic cultivation method, but either way, he could tell he would be uncomfortable killing the cute kid.
'Keep in mind she's probably some sixty-year-old grandma. Not to mention she is a demonic cultivator! Don't let her appearance fool you, this girl is a bonafide killer!'
"What a shame, someone as cute as you chose such a bloody path. Perhaps in your next life, you won't choose to be a demonic cultiv-"
"First of all, I am not a demonic cultivator!" the girl interrupted growling.
"Miss, you're covered in human blood. I don't think you can trick me." he raised his fists into an offensive stance.
"All of this blood comes from self-defence!" she assured him, a nail of blood forming in her hands. "If you'd just let me ex-"
"I'm sure!"
Gongyi exploded forward, slamming his fists toward her. She turned to dodge.
"Pagoda!"
The miniature treasure appeared, a powerful aura surging out and crashing into the small woman's form. She gasped and froze as the paralyzing effect took hold. His fist smashed into her mouth.
---
'I can't move!' Xia Xufeng gasped as powerful energy flooded out from the pagoda, invading her meridians and forcefully freezing her. Unable to enhance her body with Qi, her mind went white with pain as a fist slammed into her face, shattering her jaw. She could feel blood and bits of teeth falling down her paralyzed throat.
The so-called righteous cultivator leapt at her again, fists raised to slam. She sat helplessly as the energy locked her down tightly.
An idea suddenly occurred to her. She reached out with all the force she could muster, grabbing a strand of the paralyzing force and guiding it through her meridians all the way to her Dantian. It flooded out and she gasped as the most intimate place of her cultivation was penetrated by the paralyzing energy
Tendrils of it reached out, wrapping around her blood-crosses to freeze her entire cultivation base. If she could, she would have smiled, as she watched one of the tendrils try to grab the Blood-Moon Spectral God's, Sealing Mark.
She felt every drop of Qi in her entire body flood towards the Sealing Mark. An incredible prestige exploded forward, ripping through the air. The man attacking her flew backwards. Cracks began to appear on the Pagoda, and with incredible ripping noise, the treasure exploded, and the world went white. An incredible shockwave slammed into her, shattering bones and pulping flesh.
Blood spilled from her mouth as she blinked, taking in her surrounding. She found herself lying in the middle of a massive room filled with doors. The man who'd attacked her was there as well, but somehow not nearly as injured. He stood, face completely red with fury.
"My Pagoda!" he screamed in utter rage, jumping at her, eyes red with fury. "Do you know what you've done?"
Xia Xuefeng tried to conjure Qi to defend herself but was completely unable. Whatever the Blood-Moon Spectral God's Sealing Mark had done to save her had used up every drop of Qi in her body. She had only one choice. Her entire body began to glow with golden light as she drew on the burning energy that suffused every part of her being.
'Karmic Merit! Save me!'
The golden light she had built up over months of slaughtering countless demonic cultivators and beings of every flavour burst out of her. The golden light formed into a single floating symbol of gold light.
'Heaven'
The martial artist slammed forward into a barrier of light. He slammed forward wildly with martial arts, punches and kicks, but the barrier did not budge. With each attack, she could feel the karmic merit drain slightly.
The man suddenly froze, gasping and falling to his knees. The pressure of a much stronger cultivator crashed through the air, freezing both of them, though Xia Xufeng was already laying stationary on the floor, in a pool of her own blood.
"How intriguing... a demonic cultivator using Karmic Merit?" she heard a voice ring out.
Six cultivators appeared in the sky above her. Blinking she recognized one of them as the very man who'd originally locked her up, whom she remembered being called Captain Ji Longyi! The cultivators flew down, inspecting the scene.
"It shouldn't have been possible for anything these two could do to destroy the spatial array," one of them commented, stroking his long, white beard. "They're only in Qi Condensation..."
"Finally something interesting happens in a Sect Trial!" one of the cultivators, a swordsman in a red robe heartily laughed, looking over the crater from the Pagoda.
As the man in red's eyes passed over her, she felt like something sharp was pressing against her, only for the feeling to fade as the man looked away. Another of the cultivators, a handsome young man whose eyes burned with black fire, walked over to her, staring intently.
"It shouldn't be possible at all for a demonic cultivator to use Karmic Merit... Such a thing would violate the Dao of Heaven."
A rainbow of fluorescent poured from around the young man, strands of it running over her. She gasped as she felt his Spiritual Sense inspect her Dantian.
"As I thought, You aren't a demonic cultivator at all...How did you end up in the Shadow Pit?"
Xia Xufeng tried to speak up in agreement, only to gurgle blood instead.
A pill appeared in the man's hands and flew into her mouth. She swallowed and instantly gasped in relief as a powerful vitality poured through her body, her wounds rapidly knitting themselves back together.
"What do you mean she isn't a demonic cultivator?" Captain Ji Longyi, asked, perplexed, as he recognized the girl.
"Hah, once you reach the Nascent Soul Realm, your spiritual sense will evolve and you'll be able to understand things on a far deeper level. While she cultivates blood Qi, which is unorthodox, there is no Karmic sin or her, no resentment or ghostly Qi. The fact she can use Karmic merit is further proof. To us in the Nascent Soul Realm, it's fairly obvious!" the man in red bragged to Captain Ji Longyi, who frowned.
'Obvious my ass! Your entire judicial system didn't even bother to confirm my innocence!' Xia Xuefeng was smart enough to not say this out loud.
Ji Longyi burrowed his brows deep in thought.
"This matter will require a full investigation," the man with the white beard sighed. "Let's question these two first."
The man with the black flame replacing his eyes waved his hand, and she found herself sitting beside the former pagoda wielder in what appeared to be a courtroom.
The six cultivators flew into the courtroom.
"I think I should preside over this," the young man with the fiery eyes said.
None of the other cultivators disputed it, so he flew over to the judge's seat and sat down.
"First of all, who are you and where are you from?" he questioned the man who'd fought Xia Xuefeng.
"Senior, this little one is known as Tang Dongyi. I am a rogue cultivator originally from Bluewing Prefecture."
"I see. Now, describe what happened in the trial!" he asked the man with the Pagoda.
"O-of course Senior. I went into the trial and found myself facing this demonic cultivator. I used my Treasured Pagoda to restrain her and began to attack-"
"What a complete coward! Not only freezing an enemy to dodge a real fight, but using a magical treasure to do it!" the man in red interrupted, sneering at Dongyi.
"Please don't interrupt, Rampage-Sword," the young judge said in exasperation. "Continue, Dongyi."
"All of a sudden, there was a strange pressure in the air, and my Pagoda began to shatter. It exploded, and I think Senior witnessed everything that happened after.
"No normal treasure's explosion could destroy my spatial array," one of the cultivators snorted.
"Are you sure, Liyang? Maybe you're just a lot worse at creating formations than you claim," the red-robed swordsman interrupted.
"Where exactly did you get that magical treasure?" Liyang continued, ignoring the swordsman.
"Senior, I hope you'll understand that I have my secrets," Dongyi replied hesitantly.
"Answer the question," the young judge ordered, the black fire in his eyes flaring with a crackle.
"I'm afraid I can't-"
"Can I just soul search him?" Rampage-Sword interrupted.
"I'll give you one more chance to answer me before I let Rampage-Sword have his way with your soul." The young judge turned to glare at Dongyi.
"I-I found it in a secret realm," Dongyi whispered.
"And what do you know about it?" the burning-eyed man pressed.
"I believe it is called the Nine Martial Truth Treasured Pagoda," Dongyi eventually replied.
"You found the legacy of Senior Nine Martial Truth?" the one named Liyang's eyes widened. "I'll have to have you take me there once this investigation is over."
Xia Xuefeng smirked at the expression of concealed rage of Dongyi's face. Normally she wouldn't be so happy about an older cultivator taking advantage of someone using their power, but if anyone deserved it, the trigger-happy bastard who'd broken her jaw did.
"Now, your turn." the judge turned to her. "Who are you and where are you from?"
She could feel a strange pressure push its way into her. Instinctually, she knew if she lied the pressure would burn her soul to a crisp in dreadful black fire.
"I am-i'm called Xia Xuefeng!" she replied. "I'm from Copper Egg Prefecture."
That earned her multiple looks of surprise.
"How the hell did you get all the way to the southern tip of the continent?" Rampage-sword asked in disbelief.
"This junior came through the Flesh Mountains."
Several eyebrows raised, and Rampage Sword whistled in appreciation. There were nine well-known special methods of travel in the Bird Talon Continent. The Malignant Road, the Xiaomi Jin, the Folded Seas, the Gates of Marrow, the Peela Baadal Secret Realms, Meng's Hollowed Veins and the Flesh Mountains. Collectively, they were called the Nine Roads. Trading companies like the one she'd worked for before meeting Bing Meilu used them to ferry goods at much faster speeds. However, they tended to be incredibly dangerous. Even with a full caravan, they'd nearly died after all.
"And how did you end up in the Shadow Pit?"
"I originally came to the sect as the servant of Bing Meilu, who was a survivor of the Moon-Crying Swan Palace who transferred into this sect. I planned to take the sect entrance exams. While cultivating, I was seen by Captain Ji Longyi, who falsely accused me of being a demonic cultivator and had me imprisoned in the shadow pit."
"Oooh! I guess even the so-called 'Chosen Son of Heaven' can make mistakes then?" Rampage Sword chuckled. "How are you going to compensate this poor young girl for all the damages caused by your incompetence? If only you had a superior cultivator in the Nascent Soul Realm confirm she really was one first!"
The red-robed swordsman was clearly enjoying rubbing this in the Captain's face. Ji Longyi inhaled deeply, then to Xia Xuefeng's complete surprise, he bowed deeply in apology.
"I offer my full apologies. All this happened because of my own incompetence. No matter what, I will ensure to fully pay you back as much as I can. I hope to one day earn your forgiveness."
Xia Xuefeng blinked in confusion as she felt the Karmic Merit inside her stir and wobble as if in happiness. It seemed to be reacting to the presence of Ji Longyi.
'Is he also a karmic merit cultivator?'
"That still leaves the matter of how the Pagoda was destroyed." the fire-eyed judge stared at her in deep thought. "If shouldn't have been possible for you, being only in Qi Condensation, to destroy such a treasure."
She would have to pick her wording very carefully.
"Senior, this little one does not know how the Pagoda was destroyed."
She did not know the exact process the Sealing mark had used to destroy it, after all. It seemed her wordplay was a bit too obvious, as the judge immediately pressed forward with another question.
"Do you know what caused the destruction?"
How did she answer this without revealing anything? Xia Xuefeng couldn't think of anything. Perhaps someone more skilled in deception, but she'd spent most of her life as a baker, not a lawyer.
"I-it was destroyed by a Sealing Mark left inside me by a Senior from a higher world."
Every person in the room turned to look at her in shock.
'Well, it's not I like I even need it!'
Cultivating the Blood Moon Spectral God's Anthem of the Crucified, and already at the tenth stage of Qi Condensation, she was virtually untouchable in the Shadow Pit.
'Now if only these idiots would understand that,' the noirette sighed as the blood flowed into her. 'This must be the third attack this month. No wonders Orthodox Sects dominate the world. Demonic cultivators just have no sense of self-preservation!'
Xia Xuefeng sighed as she suppressed the breakthrough coming on. At this point, she had accumulated more than enough blood Qi to break through to Foundation Establishment whenever she wanted. of course, until she was out of the Shadow Pit, doing so was probably a poor idea.
In her months in the Shadow Pit, Blood Demon Xia Xuefeng had quickly become a local hegemon, founding her own society, which she called the Safe Zone. As the name implied, she was basically trying to build a society with at least a modicum of sanity and normalcy in a pit filled by demonic cultivators and their descendants. A place where one could not just randomly kill others and use them as a cultivation resource.
"Empress, the Night City Confederacy has sent another wave of attackers! Some of the Flavoured Tongues are there as well!" one of her administrators shouted.
"Uhh, already? I haven't even finished eating the last wave of demonic cultivators! At this point, I think I need to pay Night City a visit. Do they really think they can just toy with me like that?"
The established powers of the Shadow Pit did not appreciate a young upstart cultivator shattering the balance of power. Especially since her territory was growing daily and the majority of the Shadow's Pit's population either had or wanted to move into it.
Demonic cultivation required humans as a resource, so no one would be happy to lose a large amount. Meanwhile, the so-called 'resources', mortals and low-level cultivators, loved the idea of living in a place that actually had laws and protections for the weak.
As she strode forward, a golden chain suddenly shot down from above, wrapping around her ankle. Before she could react, the teen girl was dragged, screaming, through the dank, musty caverns of the Pit. She could see dozens of other chains firing out, grabbing people at random.
'What the hell is going on?'
The chains pulled her through the caverns, smacking her agasint rocks and pillars, until she found herself pulled into a large open-air crevice, the open sky sealed off by a blue array. Hundreds of demonic cultivators ranging from the first to eighth rank of Qi condensation were dangling from the chains. Xia Xuefeng was by far the strongest here.
---
Tang Dongyi sat, eyes closed, with the other cultivators, in a large building, his ninth-stage Qi Condensation cultivation base ciruclating slowly. They were all here for a single purpose. To pass the exams of the Bird Talon Continent's mightiest sect and ascend to heaven in a single step. They were of all different backgrounds. From those from clans and minor sects, rogue cultivators and mercenaries all. A mighty voice rang out.
"The first task of the trials awaits. Climb to the top of that staircase! Those who fail to reach the top shall not become members of the sect."
The doors of the building opened and the cultivators all ran out. In an open field before them was an absolutely massive stone staircase, reaching up into the heavens far beyond what the eye could see. Each 'step' was almost half the height of Dongyi and made of completely smooth white marble.
He gingerly stepped onto the first, watching interest as a subtle Qi began to pressure his mind.
'A spiritual attack array? The true test to show endurance in the face of pressure that grows with each step - Luckily for me I have the Treasured Pagoda!'
A miniature pagoda appeared beside him, a gentle stream of Qi pouring from it into him. The pressure on his mind decreased, and he began to race up the stairs, leaping and bounding up dozens with his Qi-enhanced jumps.
Even with the enhancement of the pagoda, the pressure grew exponentially, and he was forced to stop leaping, running up the steps one by one, gritting his teeth as the pressure slammed down into him, making even one step painful.
'No! I can't give up here. I have to make it!' Dongyi forced himself to push forward slowly, rising up step by step.
Just when he thought his resolve would break, he suddenly found himself in another building. Of the five or six hundred that had originally signed up, there were only around two hundred in the room with him. At the end of the building stood a massive series of doors, each ranked from one to one hundred.
A sect elder appeared, floating in the air.
"Behind each door is a demonic cultivator you must defeat to progress. The stronger the cultivator you defeat, the more points you will receive. One is the lowest and one hundred is the strongest."
Dongyi and several other cultivators all immediately burst forward, running towards the door marked one hundred.
'Pagoda!'
The floating building thrummed and Dongyi suddenly shot forward, outpacing the rest and leaping into the One Hundred Door.
---
High in the sky, an invisible platform overlooked the sect trials, within which six of the highest-ranking members of the Armada sat, overlooking the trials.
"The prospects this year are weaker than ordinary," Commodore Rampage-Sword complained.
"You say that every year," rebuked Captain Tian of the Medicine Hall.
"And what about you, Commodore Liyang? See anyone that catches your eye?" the sword cultivator continued.
"That boy with the Pagoda seems interesting."
"Those who rely on magical treasures instead of their own strength will never amount to anything," Rampage Sword waved his hand in dismissal, taking a snipe at Liyang, who himself relied on artifacts and formations heavily.
"I agree," interjected Commodore Black Heartflame. "Just as weapons cultivators become like mewling babies when forced to fight anything strong against their one trick."
"As if you'd know anything about weapon cultivation. You didn't even last a week studying the sword!" Rampage-sword spat.
"I simply switched to a path more suited for me," the Daoist replied, eyes sparking with a black fire. "You're free to try it out and see how it stacks up to weapon cultivation!"
The air grew tense. Rampage-Sword growled, reaching for his sheathed sword.
"Can you fools really not pause your infighting for a single meeting? I assure you, my frandfather will not select his successor based on who is most disruptive at the Sect Entrance Trials," Captain Ji Longyi interjected dryly, frowning.
"Hmpph, watch your tone when speaking to your superiors, Captain!" Commodore Rampage-Sword replied, his Nascent Soul glimmering with an inner light.
"If I ever meet one, I'll keep that in mind," Ji Longyi smirked.
All the cultivators in the room suddenly turned towards room one hundred, their spiritual senses firing out to investigate.
---
The chains dragged them upwards, past the blue seal, and suddenly Xia Xuefeng found herself alone in a black room. She could not see anything, not the wall floor or ceiling.
"Greeting Demonic Cultivator. You are now partaking in the Sect Entrance Trials. You will be forced to face a disciple who will be trying to kill you. If you manage to kill them, you will be allowed to live. Fight to survive, if you wish." A voice rang out.
"Hey! There's been a mistake! I'm not a demonic cultivator!" she shouted out.
There was no response.
"Fine!" Xia Xuefeng growled, crossing her arms.
'Bing Meilu better get me out of here soon!'
---
Dongyi pushed through the door, blinking as he found himself in what seemed to be a completely black void. Standing in the center of it was what appeared to be a young child, no older than thirteen. She had long black hair stained red with blood, and her smooth flawless jade-like skin was covered in dried bodily fluids. A powerful bloody aura emanated from her, more potent than any butcher shop he'd been to. It seemed to lack some of the nefarious chill he normally felt fighting demonic cultivators.
Dongyi grimaced. He did not know if she was an actual child, or if her appearance was the result of some kind of demonic cultivation method, but either way, he could tell he would be uncomfortable killing the cute kid.
'Keep in mind she's probably some sixty-year-old grandma. Not to mention she is a demonic cultivator! Don't let her appearance fool you, this girl is a bonafide killer!'
"What a shame, someone as cute as you chose such a bloody path. Perhaps in your next life, you won't choose to be a demonic cultiv-"
"First of all, I am not a demonic cultivator!" the girl interrupted growling.
"Miss, you're covered in human blood. I don't think you can trick me." he raised his fists into an offensive stance.
"All of this blood comes from self-defence!" she assured him, a nail of blood forming in her hands. "If you'd just let me ex-"
"I'm sure!"
Gongyi exploded forward, slamming his fists toward her. She turned to dodge.
"Pagoda!"
The miniature treasure appeared, a powerful aura surging out and crashing into the small woman's form. She gasped and froze as the paralyzing effect took hold. His fist smashed into her mouth.
---
'I can't move!' Xia Xufeng gasped as powerful energy flooded out from the pagoda, invading her meridians and forcefully freezing her. Unable to enhance her body with Qi, her mind went white with pain as a fist slammed into her face, shattering her jaw. She could feel blood and bits of teeth falling down her paralyzed throat.
The so-called righteous cultivator leapt at her again, fists raised to slam. She sat helplessly as the energy locked her down tightly.
An idea suddenly occurred to her. She reached out with all the force she could muster, grabbing a strand of the paralyzing force and guiding it through her meridians all the way to her Dantian. It flooded out and she gasped as the most intimate place of her cultivation was penetrated by the paralyzing energy
Tendrils of it reached out, wrapping around her blood-crosses to freeze her entire cultivation base. If she could, she would have smiled, as she watched one of the tendrils try to grab the Blood-Moon Spectral God's, Sealing Mark.
She felt every drop of Qi in her entire body flood towards the Sealing Mark. An incredible prestige exploded forward, ripping through the air. The man attacking her flew backwards. Cracks began to appear on the Pagoda, and with incredible ripping noise, the treasure exploded, and the world went white. An incredible shockwave slammed into her, shattering bones and pulping flesh.
Blood spilled from her mouth as she blinked, taking in her surrounding. She found herself lying in the middle of a massive room filled with doors. The man who'd attacked her was there as well, but somehow not nearly as injured. He stood, face completely red with fury.
"My Pagoda!" he screamed in utter rage, jumping at her, eyes red with fury. "Do you know what you've done?"
Xia Xuefeng tried to conjure Qi to defend herself but was completely unable. Whatever the Blood-Moon Spectral God's Sealing Mark had done to save her had used up every drop of Qi in her body. She had only one choice. Her entire body began to glow with golden light as she drew on the burning energy that suffused every part of her being.
'Karmic Merit! Save me!'
The golden light she had built up over months of slaughtering countless demonic cultivators and beings of every flavour burst out of her. The golden light formed into a single floating symbol of gold light.
'Heaven'
The martial artist slammed forward into a barrier of light. He slammed forward wildly with martial arts, punches and kicks, but the barrier did not budge. With each attack, she could feel the karmic merit drain slightly.
The man suddenly froze, gasping and falling to his knees. The pressure of a much stronger cultivator crashed through the air, freezing both of them, though Xia Xufeng was already laying stationary on the floor, in a pool of her own blood.
"How intriguing... a demonic cultivator using Karmic Merit?" she heard a voice ring out.
Six cultivators appeared in the sky above her. Blinking she recognized one of them as the very man who'd originally locked her up, whom she remembered being called Captain Ji Longyi! The cultivators flew down, inspecting the scene.
"It shouldn't have been possible for anything these two could do to destroy the spatial array," one of them commented, stroking his long, white beard. "They're only in Qi Condensation..."
"Finally something interesting happens in a Sect Trial!" one of the cultivators, a swordsman in a red robe heartily laughed, looking over the crater from the Pagoda.
As the man in red's eyes passed over her, she felt like something sharp was pressing against her, only for the feeling to fade as the man looked away. Another of the cultivators, a handsome young man whose eyes burned with black fire, walked over to her, staring intently.
"It shouldn't be possible at all for a demonic cultivator to use Karmic Merit... Such a thing would violate the Dao of Heaven."
A rainbow of fluorescent poured from around the young man, strands of it running over her. She gasped as she felt his Spiritual Sense inspect her Dantian.
"As I thought, You aren't a demonic cultivator at all...How did you end up in the Shadow Pit?"
Xia Xufeng tried to speak up in agreement, only to gurgle blood instead.
A pill appeared in the man's hands and flew into her mouth. She swallowed and instantly gasped in relief as a powerful vitality poured through her body, her wounds rapidly knitting themselves back together.
"What do you mean she isn't a demonic cultivator?" Captain Ji Longyi, asked, perplexed, as he recognized the girl.
"Hah, once you reach the Nascent Soul Realm, your spiritual sense will evolve and you'll be able to understand things on a far deeper level. While she cultivates blood Qi, which is unorthodox, there is no Karmic sin or her, no resentment or ghostly Qi. The fact she can use Karmic merit is further proof. To us in the Nascent Soul Realm, it's fairly obvious!" the man in red bragged to Captain Ji Longyi, who frowned.
'Obvious my ass! Your entire judicial system didn't even bother to confirm my innocence!' Xia Xuefeng was smart enough to not say this out loud.
Ji Longyi burrowed his brows deep in thought.
"This matter will require a full investigation," the man with the white beard sighed. "Let's question these two first."
The man with the black flame replacing his eyes waved his hand, and she found herself sitting beside the former pagoda wielder in what appeared to be a courtroom.
The six cultivators flew into the courtroom.
"I think I should preside over this," the young man with the fiery eyes said.
None of the other cultivators disputed it, so he flew over to the judge's seat and sat down.
"First of all, who are you and where are you from?" he questioned the man who'd fought Xia Xuefeng.
"Senior, this little one is known as Tang Dongyi. I am a rogue cultivator originally from Bluewing Prefecture."
"I see. Now, describe what happened in the trial!" he asked the man with the Pagoda.
"O-of course Senior. I went into the trial and found myself facing this demonic cultivator. I used my Treasured Pagoda to restrain her and began to attack-"
"What a complete coward! Not only freezing an enemy to dodge a real fight, but using a magical treasure to do it!" the man in red interrupted, sneering at Dongyi.
"Please don't interrupt, Rampage-Sword," the young judge said in exasperation. "Continue, Dongyi."
"All of a sudden, there was a strange pressure in the air, and my Pagoda began to shatter. It exploded, and I think Senior witnessed everything that happened after.
"No normal treasure's explosion could destroy my spatial array," one of the cultivators snorted.
"Are you sure, Liyang? Maybe you're just a lot worse at creating formations than you claim," the red-robed swordsman interrupted.
"Where exactly did you get that magical treasure?" Liyang continued, ignoring the swordsman.
"Senior, I hope you'll understand that I have my secrets," Dongyi replied hesitantly.
"Answer the question," the young judge ordered, the black fire in his eyes flaring with a crackle.
"I'm afraid I can't-"
"Can I just soul search him?" Rampage-Sword interrupted.
"I'll give you one more chance to answer me before I let Rampage-Sword have his way with your soul." The young judge turned to glare at Dongyi.
"I-I found it in a secret realm," Dongyi whispered.
"And what do you know about it?" the burning-eyed man pressed.
"I believe it is called the Nine Martial Truth Treasured Pagoda," Dongyi eventually replied.
"You found the legacy of Senior Nine Martial Truth?" the one named Liyang's eyes widened. "I'll have to have you take me there once this investigation is over."
Xia Xuefeng smirked at the expression of concealed rage of Dongyi's face. Normally she wouldn't be so happy about an older cultivator taking advantage of someone using their power, but if anyone deserved it, the trigger-happy bastard who'd broken her jaw did.
"Now, your turn." the judge turned to her. "Who are you and where are you from?"
She could feel a strange pressure push its way into her. Instinctually, she knew if she lied the pressure would burn her soul to a crisp in dreadful black fire.
"I am-i'm called Xia Xuefeng!" she replied. "I'm from Copper Egg Prefecture."
That earned her multiple looks of surprise.
"How the hell did you get all the way to the southern tip of the continent?" Rampage-sword asked in disbelief.
"This junior came through the Flesh Mountains."
Several eyebrows raised, and Rampage Sword whistled in appreciation. There were nine well-known special methods of travel in the Bird Talon Continent. The Malignant Road, the Xiaomi Jin, the Folded Seas, the Gates of Marrow, the Peela Baadal Secret Realms, Meng's Hollowed Veins and the Flesh Mountains. Collectively, they were called the Nine Roads. Trading companies like the one she'd worked for before meeting Bing Meilu used them to ferry goods at much faster speeds. However, they tended to be incredibly dangerous. Even with a full caravan, they'd nearly died after all.
"And how did you end up in the Shadow Pit?"
"I originally came to the sect as the servant of Bing Meilu, who was a survivor of the Moon-Crying Swan Palace who transferred into this sect. I planned to take the sect entrance exams. While cultivating, I was seen by Captain Ji Longyi, who falsely accused me of being a demonic cultivator and had me imprisoned in the shadow pit."
"Oooh! I guess even the so-called 'Chosen Son of Heaven' can make mistakes then?" Rampage Sword chuckled. "How are you going to compensate this poor young girl for all the damages caused by your incompetence? If only you had a superior cultivator in the Nascent Soul Realm confirm she really was one first!"
The red-robed swordsman was clearly enjoying rubbing this in the Captain's face. Ji Longyi inhaled deeply, then to Xia Xuefeng's complete surprise, he bowed deeply in apology.
"I offer my full apologies. All this happened because of my own incompetence. No matter what, I will ensure to fully pay you back as much as I can. I hope to one day earn your forgiveness."
Xia Xuefeng blinked in confusion as she felt the Karmic Merit inside her stir and wobble as if in happiness. It seemed to be reacting to the presence of Ji Longyi.
'Is he also a karmic merit cultivator?'
"That still leaves the matter of how the Pagoda was destroyed." the fire-eyed judge stared at her in deep thought. "If shouldn't have been possible for you, being only in Qi Condensation, to destroy such a treasure."
She would have to pick her wording very carefully.
"Senior, this little one does not know how the Pagoda was destroyed."
She did not know the exact process the Sealing mark had used to destroy it, after all. It seemed her wordplay was a bit too obvious, as the judge immediately pressed forward with another question.
"Do you know what caused the destruction?"
How did she answer this without revealing anything? Xia Xuefeng couldn't think of anything. Perhaps someone more skilled in deception, but she'd spent most of her life as a baker, not a lawyer.
"I-it was destroyed by a Sealing Mark left inside me by a Senior from a higher world."
Every person in the room turned to look at her in shock.
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- Location
- Mid-Atlantic
Well, at least she's out of the damn pit and some of the local high-level cultivators seem to have some sympathy for her.
samdamandias
Apprentice Plane Wizard
Why do I get the feeling that Xia Xuefeng is going to go back into the pit, only this time on purpose?
Like it or not, she's actively able to use karmic merit, and what could be more meritorious than bringing order and peace to a place where there was none?
Like it or not, she's actively able to use karmic merit, and what could be more meritorious than bringing order and peace to a place where there was none?
- Location
- Mid-Atlantic
Well, the problem there is that from the sound of it, the local Core Formation and Nascent types might want to stop her.
Lenimentus
Ignorant but learning.
I'm a Baker, Jim, not a lawyer!
- Location
- in the trash
She crit failed the bluff check.
Not a bluff. What she said was quite literally true.
- Location
- in the trash
I mean yes, that's why it's a critical fail.
- Location
- USA
You know, that's so unbelievable that they might just laugh it off as her grasping at straws.
- Pronouns
- He/His/etc
Xia Xuefeng just beat up a protagonist and potentially derailed his entire plotline. No wonder destiny has it out for Bing Meilu if she's creating this much work for them.