- Location
- Mid-Atlantic
I prefer the "terrified awkward hot potato" idea.
Mmm. Given the quality the Five Bones of the Origin God, I think that's not really the problem.
Consider the politics here; Commodore Black Heartflame is the strongest of the Commodores, and the leader of his faction. Throwing his attack back into his face might actually seriously injure him and trigger the cold war among the factions going hot, which is a quick way to destroy all the lovely resources Bing Meilu is trying to gain access to. (It also theoretically could trigger direct attacks against the BMFS, but I think we can be pretty sure they'd survive that, at this point.)
Bing Meilu's plan requires the support system for her ocean-harvesting expedition to remain intact, and that means she wants things to stay peaceful. Especially since her success will vastly increase the quantity and quality of resources of the faction she joins, in a way that actually reduces the incentive for that faction to suppress the others.
Or to use the Qi from the attack to cultivate, like how Bing Meilu considered using the curses for.
- Location
- Mid-Atlantic
Prediction:
At some point the Elemental Five will literally just merge into a single person.
Bing Meilu will still be unable to remember this person's name.
At some point the Elemental Five will literally just merge into a single person.
Bing Meilu will still be unable to remember this person's name.
BarbatosLupus008
Certified Not Killer Giant Robot
- Location
- Behind You
"Slave Twelve Thousand Three Hundred and Fourty Five!"
Fellow Human
Verified Roado Rolla
Author missed making the correction again, just a reminder because I quoted an even older chapter, then noticed someone else already provided correction but it wasn't fixed.
Chapter 64: Don't mind if I buy a little something?
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 64: Don't mind if I buy a little something?
---
Essence Blood resided in the Ancestral Cavity, an Aperture point located between the eyes. It was the place where the uncultivated Soul naturally resided. Thus the blood of the Ancestral Cavity, being near the soul, developed a strong spirituality and was deeply connected to the fundamentals of your being.
For those with the knowledge or tools, Essence Blood could be sacrificed or 'burnt' to provide a burst of temporary power far beyond what one could normally manage. This was often used as a last resort life-saving measure, or as a resource for extremely important situations.
However, burning Essence Blood had extreme consequences, ones that only become worse the more was lost. At the lowest level, one would permanently harm their future talent and cultivation. Their vitality decreased, and they would struggle to cultivate further the more was lost. If a large amount was sacrificed, one's cultivation base could regress or even end up crippled. If enough was burnt, you would die.
Medicines that restored Essence Blood were extremely rare, even rarer than Meridian healing treasures, and the higher your cultivation, the harder it was to restore. Even if you were incredibly wealthy and managed to heal your Essence blood, it could never progress past the amount you had when you burnt it, a deep blow to one's future potential, even in the best of cases.
Therefore, those watching were extremely shocked as Commodore Black Heartflame began to glow with a bloody red light. Waves of chaotic qi rolled off of him, growing stronger and stronger even as they grew more chaotic. He had clearly sacrificed a large amount of Essence Blood to unleash power far beyond what he was normally capable of.
"Has Black Heartflame gone insane? He's burning his Essence Blood to fight five juniors a full Realm below him?" A lieutenant in Tang Squadron asked in shock. "Isn't he losing face for all Nascent Souls?"
"The Commodore is no fool. If he wins the service of Bing Meilu's faction, he will by far outstrip his rivals in terms of the power of his followers, According to the leaks, that will be the main criterion in determining the successor to the Division Commander. That's a massive rise in access to resources, in other words, his pathway to the Transcending Impurtity Realm!" the man's superior explained. "Compared to that, even half dying would be worth it. While he's strong, everyone has known of Black Heartflame's struggle to progress his cultivation further. He has to win this contest, even at the cost of his Essence Blood!"
Meanwhile, in the forest, the Elemental Five stood silent, staring up at the blazing light above with calm expressions, as they cycled the energy of the five phases between them. Rather than cowed, their cultivations actually seemed to be steadily rising, their freshly broken-through First Stage cultivation sliding forward to the second.
The floating Commodore raised his blood-red hands, muttering under his breath. A black fire that seemed to extinguish all light appeared atop his palms, pouring outwards like water pouring from a jug, only towards the heavens, rather than the earth. Soon, a lake of ebony fire covered the sky, rippling and churning like real water.
These were the 'Black Heartflames' the man's Daoist title was named after. They were actually the result of an extremely mysterious legacy tome h had stumbled onto by complete chance. The man had complete faith in the power of his Heartflames. Today, he would crush those before him and finally win the competition that had consumed decades of his life.
The Commodore's cultivation base regressed. From the seventh stage of Nascent Soul to the sixth, then the fifth, then the fourth. Nearly a century of bitter progress lost in an instant. Yet the power of the flames above only grew more and more extreme, to the point its pressure could be easily felt even by the distant spectator's countless miles away.
A brilliant rainbow light exploded from the Commodore as more and more Qi spilled from his Nascent Soul and into the burning black fire. An audible chanting filled the air, in an ancient, unrecognizable language.
At least, to the people of the Bird Talon Continent, it was unknown. Bing Meilu recognized it.
"Great Black Bodhissatva! My eyes are black with ignorance, my heart is burning with pure faith! Lead me from the day of sorrow and vicissitudes, into a night of emptiness and certainty! Lead me to the depths of bitterness, to the foothold of Sovereignty!"
As the sombre ancient chanting rose in volume, the Commodore visibly withered, his skin turning gaunt and yellow, yet the power of his attack only rising and rising.
'So he cultivates a simplified version of the Black Heretical Buddha's Heart Flame Sutra?' she realized, vaguely recognizing the chant.
The Black Heretical Buddha Cult, or as they referred to themselves as, the Faithful of the Black Certainty Buddha, was an unorthodox sect of Buddhist cultivators who harvested the faith of numerous mortal planes to power their own cultivation. Simplified versions of their techniques were often used to gain the loyalty of mortals, who would then gather followers for their masters.
Somehow or other, fragments of their inheritance made their way to the Bird Talon Continent during the Classical Era, only to be suppressed by the Great Minghong Dynasty, the ancestors of the modern Eastern Enlightenment Hall, who were from a separate lineage of Buddhism, and detested what the saw heretical deviations. In the end, no Black heretical Buddhist ever gained prominence or power, but every now and again, someone would find a fragment of their legacy and cultivate it.
It also explained why the Commodore was so dead set on a promotion, even to the point of sacrificing his Essence Blood. Becoming a Division Commander would increase his authority and control of others and would allow him access to a far greater amount of the intangible faith energy he needed to cultivate.
The chanting grew louder, and the sky turned above the Commodore turned completely black, consumed by the dark fire, until no blue sky could be seen for miles. This was an attack that even one at the utter peak of the Nascent Soul realm would not be able to casually unleash. It even seemed that the spatial laws of the Bird Talon Continent were shuddering from the pressure, subtle distortions twisting through the air.
This was the full power of a Nascent Soul cultivator, someone who could reshape the landscape. When the fire descended, let alone the forest, the whole region would be utterly incinerated.
"Bitter Lake, Burn all sight! Bitter Fate, overturn the light! Bitter hate, bring the night! Drowning-In-Fire Palm!"
A crushing pressure exploded, ripping open the world. Black lines danced through the air, like cracks in a rock. Even Space would break before the spiritual power of a Nascent Soul. The lake of fire shrunk into an enormous floating palm, each finger the size of a mountain. Before it, the Elemental Five were like ants, utterly insignificant. A vague Buddha figure appeared as an outline as if prepared to crush the mortal dust beneath its divine hand.
The other three Commodores, Rampage-Sword, Tang and Liyang, let a rare expression of shock grace their countenance. None of them had known that Commodore Blackflame had such a terrifying attack up his sleeve. While some of them could perhaps just barely survive the attack, assuming each used their trump cards, five people barely in the first stage of Core Formation should be utterly doomed.
They even entertained thoughts of intervention to save the five captains. After all, if decades of rivalry were ended just like this, it would be a bit too laughable. By no means could they allow Commodore Black Heartflame to win the bet with Bing Meilu and gain her services for free. At least if he was forced to compete in an auction, they all had a fair chance of victory.
However, it was too late for such thoughts. The massive palm descended, leaving a trail of empty blackness as it travelled downwards. Weighty and imposing, it seemed to scrape away space.
A massive formation appeared around the five men. Golden symbols poured from them to create an enormous floating diagram. It appeared like a humble chart of the five phases found on the wall of an old medicine man, only the size of an entire field. The enormous diagram rose to meet the descending palm. Then, to the shock of everyone watching, the palm froze in place, chains of symbols growing from the diagram to wrap around it like bindings.
Commodore Black Heartflame's jaw dropped in complete shock. What he was seeing was not possible! He knew that out in the wide world were geniuses whose combat power was far beyond the norm... but this was a bit ridiculous. Even someone a half step into Transcending Impurity would have to take this attack seriously.
'This can't be fucking real- I'm dreaming? Are they all Chosen of Heaven or something?'
Below, the formation began to glow. The Elemental Five all closed their eyes in concentration.
"Burning creates ashen soil!" Daoist Flameheart shouted.
Black flame poured from the palm, a whole finger of fire draining into the formation. A massive yellow character appeared in the air, reading Earth.
"Metal conducts heat away from the flame." Daoist Goldsnake smiled.
The Earth character rippled, now reading Metal. A brilliant white light ripped the second finger to pieces, The glowing character grew even larger as it devoured the attack.
"Rain extinguishes all blazes." Daoist Seagreen continued.
The metal character became Water. The third finger was smothered.
"I don't actually have a fancy line, I hope brothers can forgive me!" Daoist Broadforest admitted, bowing his head in apology.
He waved his hand, and the water character once more became a chart of the whole five phases. Wood produced flame, flame produced earth, earth produced metal, metal produced water, and water produced wood. The cycle grew larger and larger, swallowing flame energy until the fourth finger disappear.
"Per the draining cycle, Earth smothers Fire," Daoist Eartheart finished, making a dramatic crushing motion with his hand.
The flame palm, which earlier had seemed so utterly unstoppable,e obediently crumbled into motes of light that poured into the formation, becoming earth energy.
"We'll have to have a talk about your ability to represent the Elemental Five's reputation, Broadforest! Wouldn't it have been better to stay silent, than to say aloud you were stumped?"
"...Sorry boss."
"Whatever. Right now, we have to cultivate!"
The group fell silent, preparing to refine the incredible amount of energy and advance their cultivation base. They actually had not expected to receive such an amazing gift from the Commodore, even to the point he had burned his own Essence Blood just to give them more power.
---
Everyone watching the exchange on the spiritual projection fell completely silent. Only one thought came to mind.
"Geniuses!"
It wasn't that long ago, the Chosen of Heaven Ji Longyi slaughtered multiple Nascent Soul demonic cultivators while barely in the first stage of Core Formation. But that was comprehensible. Chosen of Heaven were special existences who defied the norms.
If it weren't for his personal matters, an incredible talent like Ji Longyi would have long since gone beyond their meagre Seventh Port Snake and into the sacred lands of the Armada out on the sea. Several Fleet Admirals had offered to take him as a direct disciple, but the man always said no. He was the pride and celebrity of the whole port, so if it had been Ji Longyi blocked the attack, it would not be that surprising.
But the Elemental Five? They were completely obscure, but those who had known them understood they had been low-level, modestly skilled juniors in Qi Condensation, practicing a Formation of the five phases, with only four members. In other words, they were ordinary, people doomed to never make waves in the world.
Yet now they had all risen to the level of Core Formation and become so incredibly powerful even a Nascent Soul could not hurt them.
That was not even mentioning the other captains of the faction, a sabre fighter with an incredibly domineering bloodline, and a spear genius who had awakened martial intent in the third realm, plus all the talented lieutenants who no doubt had high potential as well.
"Bing Meilu's faction is going to go far beyond our Port," one Captain realized, shaking his head. "Isn't it a shame this is the second shocking genius born in our home, destined to leave it far behind?"
"That's fine," his comrade smiled. "Amongst all the backwater ports, how many can brag to have produced two crops of shocking geniuses? Heaven is smiling on us, to let us witness the birth of future legends."
"That's assuming they survive. Dead geniuses are not geniuses. Many people like them will die long before ever achieving their potential."
---
With a crack of displaced air, Commodore Black Heartflame returned to Port Snake. His face was ashen and filled with utter despair. Not only had he failed to gain anything, he had actually irreparably damaged his own personal power. At this point, let alone the clear strongest of the four, he might have actually become the weakest.
'How did they do that? How they could stop my attack? How is any of this possible? Has my whole life and all my cultivation has been a joke?'
He could barely think, his entire mind blank in disbelief.
A Nascent Soul, who upon unleashing his ultimate move, failed to kill five early Core Formation juniors. He suddenly had the feeling his name would become a laughingstock for centuries to come.
"Sir..." his right-hand Captain looked at him with worry. "Was that truly wise?"
"So long as I could have become a Commander and attain the loyalty and reverence of a whole Division, it would have been worth it! " the Commodore shook his head. "Where else am I supposed to find the path to Saint, if not in this promotion? I had to go all out..."
He sighed in despair. What ifs were useless now. It would have been worth it had he succeeded, but at this point, he was like the saying 'To try to steal the chicken only to end up losing the rice'. He had only harmed his own efforts. Before he looked like a vigorous, youthful man. Now he appeared much more his true age, doddering and old, as he took a seat overlooking the auction stage.
"What an astonishing show of ingenuity and talent! Even in all the nine heavens and ten earths, such skillful Formation Cultivators are rare! Let's all give it up for the Elemental Five and the Bing Meilu's faithful slaves faction." Bing Meilu shouted. "...clap!"
Behind her, all of the BMFS members began to cheer and clap as if their lives depended on it. One even pulled out a drum and began to loudly beat it.
"Also, our faction will be recruiting after the auction ends, so even those who do not plan to buy anything should stay if they're interested in such a thing. Now, let's not waste any more time. If anyone had doubts about the value of this purchase, I'm sure they are settled now. As for rules, you must take out whatever you plan to bid with, so its existence can be verified. The highest bidder wins. Now begin!"
"I'll start us off then. A deed to a large vein of Cold Gorge Silver!" Commodore Tang shouted, pulling out a large piece of paper. "It's estimated that there are several entire mountains worth of metal in this untapped mine. You could use it to create a treasure trove of weapons and armour and as material for your faction's ships."
"Bah, is that supposed to be impressive?" Commodore Rampage-Sword shouted. "The still-beating heart of an evergreen tree demon at the peak of the Fourth Realm is more valuable."
An enormous green heart appeared in the air, beating and pouring a powerful woody life Qi.
Commodore Black Heartrflame's spatial ring flashed, and he pulled out a long obsidian spear that crackled and sizzled with flames. Its aura seemed to pulse, pushing and pulling as if under the influence of an unseen tide. However, the rhythm was disrupted by constant flares of fiery energy.
"A World-Merging Treasure?"
"Not quite... Its aura is chaotic and disordered. It must be defective or broken somehow. A true World-Merging Item flawlessly syncs with the natural world."
"This is the Dharma Incerinating Heavyspear. I found it deep in an ancient tomb. I hope we can all agree this is something of incredible value. While it can no longer function as a proper combat weapon in its broken state, studying it will be very beneficial to one attempting to understand the mysteries of Sainthood."
World-Merging Treasures were magical items capable of syncing with the pulse of the world, borrowing the power of nature to unleash massive power. They were normally intended to be wielded by those in the Saint-Realm.
However, this spear seemed to have a chaotic aura that prevented it from properly unleashing the power of nature. Even still, by studying, one might gain clues on the breakthrough to the Saint realm. While it was not directly relevant to Bing Meilu, who was in the second realm, she could sell or exchange it for a massive amount of wealth, far more than either of the other bids.
All eyes turned to Commodore Liyang, who had yet to put forward his own bid. The man stood, projecting his voice to the whole audience.
"Long ago lived the incredibly renowned formation master of our Bird Talon Continent, the Ancient Sage, Senior Nine Martial Truth. He left behind a secret legacy I've managed to uncover-"
"All by yourself I'm sure," Commodore Rampage-Sword interrupted, smirking sardonically.
"As such, I can only humbly present this Nine Revolutions Secret Tome, a treasure trove of rare and powerful formations, reaching all the way to the Ancient Sage Realm."
At that, Commodore Liyang smirked. The obvious benefit of his bid was that knowledge was not something that could be lost. Regardless of the value of the Tome, he would never hand it over without having made either a copy or memorized everything within. He was planning on winning this auction without losing any wealth.
"Hah! How about this?" Commodore Rampage-Sword shouted.
A jade-green slip of paper appeared in his hand. It emanated a pristine aura of pure yin metal that engulfed the whole port.
"How about a ticket to the fabled Jade-Heart Palace?" he smirked. "I found this in the stomach of a Peak Fourth Realm sea demon. With it, one can enter the world's most mysterious secret realm when it opens, attaining countless good fortunes! This is something all geniuses dream of attaining. Worthy of a faction, if I do say so myself."
Huge exclamations of shock filled the whole audience, but Bing Meilu remained calm, eyes flashing to the other commodores.
Bing Meilu herself had no interest in trash-level mortal arrays and formations. Nor did she need a ticket to the Jade Heart Palace. When it descended, one could openly snatch tickets from the weak. However, both were obviously of extreme value. She could sell them for resources more immediately useful to her ascent.
"An auction? How interesting. it's been years since I've gone shopping. Say little fellow, you don't mind if this old man participates?"
Flying down from the sky, stroking a long white beard, was the Commander Third Division of the Private Subduing Strike Force, master of the Seventh Port Snake, Grand Elder of the Ji Clan, Ji Tianfang!
Why is life so hard for the Icy Beauty?
Any corrections or criticisms are welcome, I hope you enjoy Chapter 64: Don't mind if I buy a little something?
---
Essence Blood resided in the Ancestral Cavity, an Aperture point located between the eyes. It was the place where the uncultivated Soul naturally resided. Thus the blood of the Ancestral Cavity, being near the soul, developed a strong spirituality and was deeply connected to the fundamentals of your being.
For those with the knowledge or tools, Essence Blood could be sacrificed or 'burnt' to provide a burst of temporary power far beyond what one could normally manage. This was often used as a last resort life-saving measure, or as a resource for extremely important situations.
However, burning Essence Blood had extreme consequences, ones that only become worse the more was lost. At the lowest level, one would permanently harm their future talent and cultivation. Their vitality decreased, and they would struggle to cultivate further the more was lost. If a large amount was sacrificed, one's cultivation base could regress or even end up crippled. If enough was burnt, you would die.
Medicines that restored Essence Blood were extremely rare, even rarer than Meridian healing treasures, and the higher your cultivation, the harder it was to restore. Even if you were incredibly wealthy and managed to heal your Essence blood, it could never progress past the amount you had when you burnt it, a deep blow to one's future potential, even in the best of cases.
Therefore, those watching were extremely shocked as Commodore Black Heartflame began to glow with a bloody red light. Waves of chaotic qi rolled off of him, growing stronger and stronger even as they grew more chaotic. He had clearly sacrificed a large amount of Essence Blood to unleash power far beyond what he was normally capable of.
"Has Black Heartflame gone insane? He's burning his Essence Blood to fight five juniors a full Realm below him?" A lieutenant in Tang Squadron asked in shock. "Isn't he losing face for all Nascent Souls?"
"The Commodore is no fool. If he wins the service of Bing Meilu's faction, he will by far outstrip his rivals in terms of the power of his followers, According to the leaks, that will be the main criterion in determining the successor to the Division Commander. That's a massive rise in access to resources, in other words, his pathway to the Transcending Impurtity Realm!" the man's superior explained. "Compared to that, even half dying would be worth it. While he's strong, everyone has known of Black Heartflame's struggle to progress his cultivation further. He has to win this contest, even at the cost of his Essence Blood!"
Meanwhile, in the forest, the Elemental Five stood silent, staring up at the blazing light above with calm expressions, as they cycled the energy of the five phases between them. Rather than cowed, their cultivations actually seemed to be steadily rising, their freshly broken-through First Stage cultivation sliding forward to the second.
The floating Commodore raised his blood-red hands, muttering under his breath. A black fire that seemed to extinguish all light appeared atop his palms, pouring outwards like water pouring from a jug, only towards the heavens, rather than the earth. Soon, a lake of ebony fire covered the sky, rippling and churning like real water.
These were the 'Black Heartflames' the man's Daoist title was named after. They were actually the result of an extremely mysterious legacy tome h had stumbled onto by complete chance. The man had complete faith in the power of his Heartflames. Today, he would crush those before him and finally win the competition that had consumed decades of his life.
The Commodore's cultivation base regressed. From the seventh stage of Nascent Soul to the sixth, then the fifth, then the fourth. Nearly a century of bitter progress lost in an instant. Yet the power of the flames above only grew more and more extreme, to the point its pressure could be easily felt even by the distant spectator's countless miles away.
A brilliant rainbow light exploded from the Commodore as more and more Qi spilled from his Nascent Soul and into the burning black fire. An audible chanting filled the air, in an ancient, unrecognizable language.
At least, to the people of the Bird Talon Continent, it was unknown. Bing Meilu recognized it.
"Great Black Bodhissatva! My eyes are black with ignorance, my heart is burning with pure faith! Lead me from the day of sorrow and vicissitudes, into a night of emptiness and certainty! Lead me to the depths of bitterness, to the foothold of Sovereignty!"
As the sombre ancient chanting rose in volume, the Commodore visibly withered, his skin turning gaunt and yellow, yet the power of his attack only rising and rising.
'So he cultivates a simplified version of the Black Heretical Buddha's Heart Flame Sutra?' she realized, vaguely recognizing the chant.
The Black Heretical Buddha Cult, or as they referred to themselves as, the Faithful of the Black Certainty Buddha, was an unorthodox sect of Buddhist cultivators who harvested the faith of numerous mortal planes to power their own cultivation. Simplified versions of their techniques were often used to gain the loyalty of mortals, who would then gather followers for their masters.
Somehow or other, fragments of their inheritance made their way to the Bird Talon Continent during the Classical Era, only to be suppressed by the Great Minghong Dynasty, the ancestors of the modern Eastern Enlightenment Hall, who were from a separate lineage of Buddhism, and detested what the saw heretical deviations. In the end, no Black heretical Buddhist ever gained prominence or power, but every now and again, someone would find a fragment of their legacy and cultivate it.
It also explained why the Commodore was so dead set on a promotion, even to the point of sacrificing his Essence Blood. Becoming a Division Commander would increase his authority and control of others and would allow him access to a far greater amount of the intangible faith energy he needed to cultivate.
The chanting grew louder, and the sky turned above the Commodore turned completely black, consumed by the dark fire, until no blue sky could be seen for miles. This was an attack that even one at the utter peak of the Nascent Soul realm would not be able to casually unleash. It even seemed that the spatial laws of the Bird Talon Continent were shuddering from the pressure, subtle distortions twisting through the air.
This was the full power of a Nascent Soul cultivator, someone who could reshape the landscape. When the fire descended, let alone the forest, the whole region would be utterly incinerated.
"Bitter Lake, Burn all sight! Bitter Fate, overturn the light! Bitter hate, bring the night! Drowning-In-Fire Palm!"
A crushing pressure exploded, ripping open the world. Black lines danced through the air, like cracks in a rock. Even Space would break before the spiritual power of a Nascent Soul. The lake of fire shrunk into an enormous floating palm, each finger the size of a mountain. Before it, the Elemental Five were like ants, utterly insignificant. A vague Buddha figure appeared as an outline as if prepared to crush the mortal dust beneath its divine hand.
The other three Commodores, Rampage-Sword, Tang and Liyang, let a rare expression of shock grace their countenance. None of them had known that Commodore Blackflame had such a terrifying attack up his sleeve. While some of them could perhaps just barely survive the attack, assuming each used their trump cards, five people barely in the first stage of Core Formation should be utterly doomed.
They even entertained thoughts of intervention to save the five captains. After all, if decades of rivalry were ended just like this, it would be a bit too laughable. By no means could they allow Commodore Black Heartflame to win the bet with Bing Meilu and gain her services for free. At least if he was forced to compete in an auction, they all had a fair chance of victory.
However, it was too late for such thoughts. The massive palm descended, leaving a trail of empty blackness as it travelled downwards. Weighty and imposing, it seemed to scrape away space.
A massive formation appeared around the five men. Golden symbols poured from them to create an enormous floating diagram. It appeared like a humble chart of the five phases found on the wall of an old medicine man, only the size of an entire field. The enormous diagram rose to meet the descending palm. Then, to the shock of everyone watching, the palm froze in place, chains of symbols growing from the diagram to wrap around it like bindings.
Commodore Black Heartflame's jaw dropped in complete shock. What he was seeing was not possible! He knew that out in the wide world were geniuses whose combat power was far beyond the norm... but this was a bit ridiculous. Even someone a half step into Transcending Impurity would have to take this attack seriously.
'This can't be fucking real- I'm dreaming? Are they all Chosen of Heaven or something?'
Below, the formation began to glow. The Elemental Five all closed their eyes in concentration.
"Burning creates ashen soil!" Daoist Flameheart shouted.
Black flame poured from the palm, a whole finger of fire draining into the formation. A massive yellow character appeared in the air, reading Earth.
"Metal conducts heat away from the flame." Daoist Goldsnake smiled.
The Earth character rippled, now reading Metal. A brilliant white light ripped the second finger to pieces, The glowing character grew even larger as it devoured the attack.
"Rain extinguishes all blazes." Daoist Seagreen continued.
The metal character became Water. The third finger was smothered.
"I don't actually have a fancy line, I hope brothers can forgive me!" Daoist Broadforest admitted, bowing his head in apology.
He waved his hand, and the water character once more became a chart of the whole five phases. Wood produced flame, flame produced earth, earth produced metal, metal produced water, and water produced wood. The cycle grew larger and larger, swallowing flame energy until the fourth finger disappear.
"Per the draining cycle, Earth smothers Fire," Daoist Eartheart finished, making a dramatic crushing motion with his hand.
The flame palm, which earlier had seemed so utterly unstoppable,e obediently crumbled into motes of light that poured into the formation, becoming earth energy.
"We'll have to have a talk about your ability to represent the Elemental Five's reputation, Broadforest! Wouldn't it have been better to stay silent, than to say aloud you were stumped?"
"...Sorry boss."
"Whatever. Right now, we have to cultivate!"
The group fell silent, preparing to refine the incredible amount of energy and advance their cultivation base. They actually had not expected to receive such an amazing gift from the Commodore, even to the point he had burned his own Essence Blood just to give them more power.
---
Everyone watching the exchange on the spiritual projection fell completely silent. Only one thought came to mind.
"Geniuses!"
It wasn't that long ago, the Chosen of Heaven Ji Longyi slaughtered multiple Nascent Soul demonic cultivators while barely in the first stage of Core Formation. But that was comprehensible. Chosen of Heaven were special existences who defied the norms.
If it weren't for his personal matters, an incredible talent like Ji Longyi would have long since gone beyond their meagre Seventh Port Snake and into the sacred lands of the Armada out on the sea. Several Fleet Admirals had offered to take him as a direct disciple, but the man always said no. He was the pride and celebrity of the whole port, so if it had been Ji Longyi blocked the attack, it would not be that surprising.
But the Elemental Five? They were completely obscure, but those who had known them understood they had been low-level, modestly skilled juniors in Qi Condensation, practicing a Formation of the five phases, with only four members. In other words, they were ordinary, people doomed to never make waves in the world.
Yet now they had all risen to the level of Core Formation and become so incredibly powerful even a Nascent Soul could not hurt them.
That was not even mentioning the other captains of the faction, a sabre fighter with an incredibly domineering bloodline, and a spear genius who had awakened martial intent in the third realm, plus all the talented lieutenants who no doubt had high potential as well.
"Bing Meilu's faction is going to go far beyond our Port," one Captain realized, shaking his head. "Isn't it a shame this is the second shocking genius born in our home, destined to leave it far behind?"
"That's fine," his comrade smiled. "Amongst all the backwater ports, how many can brag to have produced two crops of shocking geniuses? Heaven is smiling on us, to let us witness the birth of future legends."
"That's assuming they survive. Dead geniuses are not geniuses. Many people like them will die long before ever achieving their potential."
---
With a crack of displaced air, Commodore Black Heartflame returned to Port Snake. His face was ashen and filled with utter despair. Not only had he failed to gain anything, he had actually irreparably damaged his own personal power. At this point, let alone the clear strongest of the four, he might have actually become the weakest.
'How did they do that? How they could stop my attack? How is any of this possible? Has my whole life and all my cultivation has been a joke?'
He could barely think, his entire mind blank in disbelief.
A Nascent Soul, who upon unleashing his ultimate move, failed to kill five early Core Formation juniors. He suddenly had the feeling his name would become a laughingstock for centuries to come.
"Sir..." his right-hand Captain looked at him with worry. "Was that truly wise?"
"So long as I could have become a Commander and attain the loyalty and reverence of a whole Division, it would have been worth it! " the Commodore shook his head. "Where else am I supposed to find the path to Saint, if not in this promotion? I had to go all out..."
He sighed in despair. What ifs were useless now. It would have been worth it had he succeeded, but at this point, he was like the saying 'To try to steal the chicken only to end up losing the rice'. He had only harmed his own efforts. Before he looked like a vigorous, youthful man. Now he appeared much more his true age, doddering and old, as he took a seat overlooking the auction stage.
"What an astonishing show of ingenuity and talent! Even in all the nine heavens and ten earths, such skillful Formation Cultivators are rare! Let's all give it up for the Elemental Five and the Bing Meilu's faithful slaves faction." Bing Meilu shouted. "...clap!"
Behind her, all of the BMFS members began to cheer and clap as if their lives depended on it. One even pulled out a drum and began to loudly beat it.
"Also, our faction will be recruiting after the auction ends, so even those who do not plan to buy anything should stay if they're interested in such a thing. Now, let's not waste any more time. If anyone had doubts about the value of this purchase, I'm sure they are settled now. As for rules, you must take out whatever you plan to bid with, so its existence can be verified. The highest bidder wins. Now begin!"
"I'll start us off then. A deed to a large vein of Cold Gorge Silver!" Commodore Tang shouted, pulling out a large piece of paper. "It's estimated that there are several entire mountains worth of metal in this untapped mine. You could use it to create a treasure trove of weapons and armour and as material for your faction's ships."
"Bah, is that supposed to be impressive?" Commodore Rampage-Sword shouted. "The still-beating heart of an evergreen tree demon at the peak of the Fourth Realm is more valuable."
An enormous green heart appeared in the air, beating and pouring a powerful woody life Qi.
Commodore Black Heartrflame's spatial ring flashed, and he pulled out a long obsidian spear that crackled and sizzled with flames. Its aura seemed to pulse, pushing and pulling as if under the influence of an unseen tide. However, the rhythm was disrupted by constant flares of fiery energy.
"A World-Merging Treasure?"
"Not quite... Its aura is chaotic and disordered. It must be defective or broken somehow. A true World-Merging Item flawlessly syncs with the natural world."
"This is the Dharma Incerinating Heavyspear. I found it deep in an ancient tomb. I hope we can all agree this is something of incredible value. While it can no longer function as a proper combat weapon in its broken state, studying it will be very beneficial to one attempting to understand the mysteries of Sainthood."
World-Merging Treasures were magical items capable of syncing with the pulse of the world, borrowing the power of nature to unleash massive power. They were normally intended to be wielded by those in the Saint-Realm.
However, this spear seemed to have a chaotic aura that prevented it from properly unleashing the power of nature. Even still, by studying, one might gain clues on the breakthrough to the Saint realm. While it was not directly relevant to Bing Meilu, who was in the second realm, she could sell or exchange it for a massive amount of wealth, far more than either of the other bids.
All eyes turned to Commodore Liyang, who had yet to put forward his own bid. The man stood, projecting his voice to the whole audience.
"Long ago lived the incredibly renowned formation master of our Bird Talon Continent, the Ancient Sage, Senior Nine Martial Truth. He left behind a secret legacy I've managed to uncover-"
"All by yourself I'm sure," Commodore Rampage-Sword interrupted, smirking sardonically.
"As such, I can only humbly present this Nine Revolutions Secret Tome, a treasure trove of rare and powerful formations, reaching all the way to the Ancient Sage Realm."
At that, Commodore Liyang smirked. The obvious benefit of his bid was that knowledge was not something that could be lost. Regardless of the value of the Tome, he would never hand it over without having made either a copy or memorized everything within. He was planning on winning this auction without losing any wealth.
"Hah! How about this?" Commodore Rampage-Sword shouted.
A jade-green slip of paper appeared in his hand. It emanated a pristine aura of pure yin metal that engulfed the whole port.
"How about a ticket to the fabled Jade-Heart Palace?" he smirked. "I found this in the stomach of a Peak Fourth Realm sea demon. With it, one can enter the world's most mysterious secret realm when it opens, attaining countless good fortunes! This is something all geniuses dream of attaining. Worthy of a faction, if I do say so myself."
Huge exclamations of shock filled the whole audience, but Bing Meilu remained calm, eyes flashing to the other commodores.
Bing Meilu herself had no interest in trash-level mortal arrays and formations. Nor did she need a ticket to the Jade Heart Palace. When it descended, one could openly snatch tickets from the weak. However, both were obviously of extreme value. She could sell them for resources more immediately useful to her ascent.
"An auction? How interesting. it's been years since I've gone shopping. Say little fellow, you don't mind if this old man participates?"
Flying down from the sky, stroking a long white beard, was the Commander Third Division of the Private Subduing Strike Force, master of the Seventh Port Snake, Grand Elder of the Ji Clan, Ji Tianfang!
- Location
- USA
Huh, I wonder if he's actually got an angle here, or if this is just something Old Monsters do for fun?
Having an actual reason for doing something doesn't mean you can't do it for fun too.
BarbatosLupus008
Certified Not Killer Giant Robot
- Location
- Behind You
As another xianxia fiction said once you get old and powerful enough all you do is look for entertainment.
- Location
- England
I feel deeply for Daoist Broadforest.
After a lot of bitter meditation, i managed to come up with this: "The Sun nourishes the Forest's growth".
I believe i have spent all the creativity i had left, i don't know how long it will take for me to recover it.
- Location
- Lost amidst hungry sheep
- Pronouns
- They/Them
Doesn't fit the "water begets wood" of the moment, though.
"The wave, however tall, only nourishes the forest" or something along those lines. Broadforest just isn't a good cultivator; not nearly dramatic enough.
All of the lines in question are about how the cultivator's element relates to fire. They're not doing a cycle referencing each other.
I'd note that Broadforest is the fifth recruit for the group, who used to cultivate a different element; it's entirely plausible that the rest of the group had done a significant amount of practice coming up with sweet lines to announce their attacks that he hasn't benefited from.
- Location
- Lost amidst hungry sheep
- Pronouns
- They/Them
Ah you're right. Must have had a brain derp.
Quest
The Great One
- Location
- Everywhere
How about "Fire burns away the undergrowth, only leading to new life."?
We can also do a ash=fertilizer thing, but idk best way to word that.
- Pronouns
- He/His/etc
Fire's warmth brings forth verdant growth
RazorSmile
ROB Used To Be A Knife Missile
His real Dao isn't Wood, it's the Dao of L'esprit D'escalier
Chapter 65: Isn't this a good bid?
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 65: Isn't this a good bid?
---
Waves of pure pressure rolled from the white-haired old man. Half-Step Saint- Just barely a hair from merging with the rhythm of the world's Qi. The chaotic power of his qi, even suppressed as it was, made it clear a breakthrough was imminent.
When Ji Tianfang became a Saint, he would be promoted to Strike Force Commander. The position of Division Commander of the Third Division would then be open to one of his Nascent Soul subordinates. This was the source of decades of bitter rivalry and infighting in Seventieth Port Snake.
All of the onlookers looked in shock at the emergence of the mysterious Division Commander. He had entered secluded cultivation more than fifty years ago. For many of the younger cultivators here, this was the first time they'd ever seen him.
The four Commodores all calmed their expressions, bowing respectfully at their direct superior.
'Why has he decided to intervene now?' Commodore Liyang wondered. 'is Bing Meilu too much of a balance breaker in the competition?'
"Greetings, senior!" they all said.
The old man waved his hand dismissively, turning back to Bing Meilu with a questioning glance.
"Of course. My humble auction would be honoured to receive you, esteemed Division Commander," Bing Meilu replied cooly. "Please, take a seat."
The old man smiled, conjuring himself a rocking chair in the air, and sitting down with a sigh. He pulled out a shabby bottle of rice wine, poured some of it into a cup, and then began to drink straight from the bottle.
"Who's winning?" he asked, wiping dribbling alcohol from his lips with his sleeve.
"Thet would be either Commodore Rampage-Sword or Commodore Liyang," Bing Meilu said.
"How about my initial bid is that you can become my personal disciple?" the old man asked.
Gasps of shock rang out at that. A future Saint was a big deal in the Bird Talon Continent. Becoming the disciple of one would be a dream to any of the untalented cultivators of a Port. It would be a complete change in fate.
"In this lifetime, I already have a single master, so this humble disciple must turn down the generous offer."
Ji Tianfang raised an eyebrow, nodding in understanding.
While most of the onlookers were baffled that she would turn down the chance to be the disciple of a future Saint, those in the BMFs faction had already seen her reject an actual Saint back at Redscale City, so they were not surprised.
"Then... how about this?"
Ji Tianfang raised his hands and a portal opened. A scholarly-looking man, with a boyish, almost feminine physique fell from the portal, looking utterly confused. He stopped his fall, floating beside the Division Commander.
It was none other than Ji Longyi, Seventieth Port Snake's one and only Chosen of Heaven.
"Isn't it quite good?" Ji Tianfang smirked, gesturing at Ji Longyi. "This should be enough to secure me a winning bid, right?"
"Is-is he selling his grandson?" someone asked in confusion.
Bing Meilu's eyes narrowed in interest. Not only was he trying to remove her interference from his subordinate competition- He wanted her to raise his grandson.
Anyone with the slightest wisdom would realize that Bing Meilu had been the one to cause the transformation of the Crimson Dragon Faction. It was a pretty obvious fact. It seemed he wanted to borrow her power as a whetstone for Ji Longyi.
'Well, so long as I benefit from it, I don't mind... My own personal Chosen of Heaven as a slave? I could do worse.'
"And how long would I have him for?"
"How about twenty-five years, or until he reaches Transcending Impurity, whichever comes first?" Ji Tianfang offered.
"One hundred years, or until he becomes a Saint. Whichever comes first."
"That's a little long, don't you think?"
"Fifty Years, or until he becomes a Saint. Whichever comes first. For the remainder of my time under your authority, I will pay no taxes, fees or fines. Operational independence for me and my faction except in emergencies, and the resource allocation and permissions of a Commodore."
"...Very well, it's a deal!" Ji Tianfang smiled.
Bing Meilu was effectively giving herself permission to create her own Squadron, one with little oversight and that had to pay no taxes, massively increasing profit.
He pulled out a contract and signed with a brush. It wasn't a binding magic formation or anything, but having publically agreed, he would have to follow through or greatly damage his reputation.
The paper floated over to Bing Meilu, who signed it. Ji Tianfang waved his hand, and the contract split into two copies. One of them rolled up into a scroll and shot into his sleeve and the other settled into the girls' hands.
"...Grandfather, What's going on?" Ji Longyi asked in confusion.
"I sold you!" The old man chuckled, slapping his grandson in the back. "Constantly bleeding my ears off with your nagging, oh karmic merit this, karmic merit that! Well, now you have a whole new faction to evangelize! Aren't you happy? Well, anyways, enjoy being a slave, I have to go back into seclusion."
He tossed the scholarly Captain over to Bing Meilu's ice platform, before vanishing through a portal.
Ji Longyi stood back up, blinking in utter bewilderment. He had long since grown used to his old man's antics- From being tossed into a snake pit at age five, to randomly teleported to the middle of the sea when he'd just entered Qi Condensation.. but being sold as a slave was new to him.
'The old man might pretend to be callous, but everything he does is for my own good. For some reason, he thinks working for this girl will be good for me?'
"Um- Ji Longyi greets you? Might I ask your name?" he asked tentatively.
For some reason, his Karmic Merit stirred strangely as he looked at her, a sort of strange cold feeling. It didn't feel like a warning of danger or an affirmation of her. To be honest, he'd never had the guiding energy react like that.
She ignored him, turning to face the onlookers of the auction, all of whom sat in stunned silence.
"Well, it appears our auction is over! A special thank you to Commodore Rampage-Sword for his generous donations, and to Commodore Blackflame for giving all of us onlookers a good martial arts show. I'm afraid I have a business to attend to now, so I cut this short. If you're interested in applying to join my faction, I've set up a notice board with more details at the mission hall. Thank you all for attending, have a nice day."
Bing Meilu melted her ice stage and flew off into the air, her whole faction immediately following her, alongside the still confused Ji Longyi. She had planned to hold a recruitment immediately after the auction, but leaving some time for everyone to cool off seemed smart.
Having caused a Commodore Black Heartflame to lose a huge amount of Essence Blood for nothing, and extorted Rampage-Sword for resources just to get a chance to attend an auction he'd had no chance to win, she was quite happy to quickly get out before anyone did anything rash.
---
Those left behind watched in dumb shock as the event came to an end just like that. The Commodores all shared glances. While none of them had gained the winning power of Bing Meilu's faction, the rivalry had still changed.
Black Heartflame was no longer the strongest of them, Rampage-Sword was down a Captain. They all had also gained information on the wealth of each other. It actually now seemed Commodore Liyang would have the upper hand.
All of that in just a couple days, whereas before their war raged cold, with little movement in whole years.
"Do you think he wants to groom someone from Bing Meilu's faction to be the new Division Commander?" Commodore Tang asked. "Why else would he send his grandson to her and even prop her up to create a fifth faction? What is he playing at?"
"Possible... but unlikely," Black Heartflame said, eyes narrowed in anger. "She seems liable to take her whole faction out of the Port when she's ready. Not like us who lack much in the way of future prospects beyond this promotion."
"But if he was- Would we even be able to stop her?" Tang asked.
None of them answered that question.
"Hmph. I'm going on a demon hunt, you losers keep worrying about that," Rampage-Sword snorted, flashing away.
---
Ji Longyi stepped into a throneroom. A young girl with pale skin and black hair sat atop an oversized throne. He let out a snort of amusement at the sight.
"So-"
"Shh."
"What do you mean-"
"Shhh."
The refined-looking young man fell silent, mouth hanging slightly agape. He had never had someone disrespect him so nakedly. She- she was just ignoring him?
'What the hell? Does she even know who I am?' he crossed his arms.
For minutes they stood there, until she finally opened her eyes, revealing two frosty blue orbs. They seemed to pierce him, slowly inspecting his form. He shivered slightly for some reason.
After a while, she nodded.
"So you are Ji Longyi, the famed Chosen of Heaven? Tell me, do you remember my little subordinate, Xia Xuefeng? How you had her unlawfully arrested because you couldn't even tell she wasn't a demonic cultivator? How do you intend to compensate me for that?"
The man blinked in shock, not having realized that Bing Meilu knew Xia Xuefeng.
"Oh-Uh, Yes. I suppose that was me- But I already compensated her for it-" he replied in surprise.
"You compensated her, not me. How do you plan to make up for the months of lost progress and training time? She'd have definitely reached Core Formation in the Ashen Mountains if not for your intervention. This is a karmic debt that you must repay." Bing Meilu said, eyes narrowed. "Not that you could ever afford to compensate me for wasting my invaluable time, given your puny mortal wealth, but if you give me something at the Nascent Soul realm, I'll look the other way just this once."
"W-what? Nascent Soul Realm? She was only in Qi Condensation at the time-"
"Shh. This is not a common bazaar for you to bargain at. Either give me my due or reap what you've sown," she said a mysterious look in her eyes.
"A Nascent Soul level item? For a few months of time from someone in the first realm? That's just ridiculous..."
He paused in confusion. His Karmic Merit had begun to pulse, the lines of heavenly fate guiding him.
'My Karmic Merit- Wants me to do it?' he was completely confused.
Last time as well, it had told him to let Xia Xuefeng take the remnant Nascent Soul from the Demonic Cultivator he'd killed. Now it wanted him to do the same for Bing Meilu.
'I don't understand? Why the hell would they be worth so much?'
Ji Longyi was confused, but he could only trust in the guidance of the Heavenly Dao. It had never led him astray.
He opened his spatial ring, and retrieved a Nascent Soul level herb, the Inner Consciousness Lotus. He had planned to use it himself when he was ready to step into the fourth realm, but now he had to give it up. Face pained at the loss of wealth, he tossed it to Bing Meilu. She smiled and stored it away in her spatial ring.
"Now, I'm still not quite sure what to do with you as my new slave, given your lack of basic competence in the matter with Xia Xuefeng, you clearly can't be trusted with anything important- But don't worry, I'm sure I'll find something for you to do. For now, just get to know the other slaves."
He frowned in confusion. Jiu Longyi was an exceptional talent, a Chosen of Heaven already in Core Formation. Any organization would jump to have someone like him in their ranks, but she seemed unimpressed, and even a bit disdainful. He'd never had anything like this happen to him and was a bit unsure of what to say.
"I already said I was sorry about Xia Xuefeng, you don't have to be so disrespectful to me."
"...This generation!" Bing Meilu shook her head. "Back in the day, when people respected the proper order of things, you'd be flogged publically for speaking to your master like that. And no discipline or patience either! The youth these days are all so hyperactive, immediately speaking before even being spoken to. As I've always said, spare them the soul torture, spoil the child."
"...What?"
"You're dismissed for now. When I have something for you to do, I'll call you back. As I said, just get to know your comrades. You'll be spending a lot of time together, after all."
"Whatever." Ji Longyi shook his head and left.
---
Deep below the Slave Hall was a basement, filled with ice. Encased in one ice crystal was Jia Lao, Rampage Factions' top Captain. He stood there, frozen in ice, his eye flashing around.
'Dammit! I can't believe this would happen to me? The Boss fucking sold me to this crazy bitch! And I can't get out of this blasted ice!'
Every time he tried to use his Ghostly Sword Qi to break the ice, it just seemed to grow in size. He had been stuck here for days, slowly shivering as cold energy crept into his bones.
'When I get out, I'll fucking kill that bitch! I'll chop her into a dozen parts and toss her corpse into my dog pit for them to use as a fucking chew toy! I'll pour fucking hot oil down her smug stupid throat-'
He suddenly heard the door of the basement open. Footsteps resounded through the air, as Bing Meilu stepped down the stairs, coming into view. Jin Lao's eyes glared in hatred at the sight of the girl.
"I'm a bit disappointed, to be honest- I expected you'd have already figured out how to curse me for revenge, but it seems you're a bit incompetent for a so-called curse master. All that blustering and bragging, causing trouble in my hall, but you can't even melt a bit of my ice?" she laughed, her voice amused and disdainful.
Just hearing that despicable, haughty laugh sent waves of fury through him. He bit down on the ice gagging his mouth, eyes filled with rage. Her words stung even more because they were true. He'd been utterly unable to escape for days.
"I suppose it's to be expected, given the trash method you cultivate. Ghostly Sword Qi as a method for curses? You might as well just eat your own shit if you want to imitate a brainless monkey so desperately! Sword Qi is sharp and direct, whereas curses are subtle and indirect. It not as you have close to the talent to harmonize the Yin and Yang contradiction and create a working sword-qi curse method."
There was a smirk of complete contempt on her lips, arrogant eyes staring down at him like he was worthless. She suddenly waved her hands, creating from ice a large mural, covered in inscriptions and images.
"This here though, the Hungry Ghoul Six Dao's Inner Incantation- This is a real curse method, something that can cause calamity and disaster to whomever it targets. As it happens, I wanted to train my curse resistance, so you can freely curse me with it as much as you wish. If I left it to your own method, I'm sure I'd never feel the curse in a decade, so I'm forced to actually make you stronger just to make you barely strong enough to be worth using as a training tool. I'll even give you a lock of my hair to serve as a catalyst and focus."
"I would never give something this dangerous to anyone actually competent, but for a pathetic loser like you, it's fine. It's not like you'll ever be strong enough to threaten me in any way. If you had any talent the boss you loyally served for years wouldn't have tossed you aside like yesterday's trash. If I were you, I would kill myself out of shame but you sadly lack even that level of basic self-respect."
A strand of black hair was ripped from her head, and she waved a finger. The black threads floated over to his eye. She carefully threaded the hairs through the gap between his eyeball and socket, until both of his eyes were stuffed with dozens of threads of coarse, sharp hair. He would have screamed from the discomfort and disrespect, had he not been gagged.
He could only uselessly glare at her. Eyes flashing over the mural she had created, he froze. It actually seemed incredibly profound. Just at a glance, he could tell it was leagues beyond his self-made Ghastly-Sword Cursing Art, which itself was superior to any of the curse methods he had studied before joining the Armada.
'Fine then, you fucking whore! You want me to curse you? I'll curse you alright! I'll curse you to death! Wanting to use me as a training block? I'll make you regret the day you ever gave me this curse technique! I'll end your shit life!'
He glared at her as hard as he could, trying to let her how much he despised her guts. She laughed, voice cold and arrogant.
"Ah, how pitiful. Glaring at me so angrily, but unable to do anything about it. Haven't you spent decades cultivating to Core Formation for nothing you worthless loser. You can me as much as you want, it'll never amount to anything with how weak you are! Hate me, loathe me, revile me, it's all as worthless as the rest of you!"
With that, Bing Meilu left her basement, with a pleased smile. Of course, she had no particular dislike for Jin Lao, he really wasn't important enough for her to care enough to dislike him. It was just the case that the more he genuinely hated her, the more powerful his curses would be, and the more motivated he would be to get stronger. If it were not for the risk of being caught and punished, she might have actually tortured him just to make him hate her more.
That said, mental torture was just as effective, and not against any rules in particular, so she'd used her words instead.
She could already feel the first bits of cursed energy latching onto her. She immediately refined them into the mass of cursed energy she already possessed.
Why is life so hard for the Icy Beauty?
Any corrections or criticisms are welcome, I hope you enjoy Chapter 65: Isn't this a good bid?
---
Waves of pure pressure rolled from the white-haired old man. Half-Step Saint- Just barely a hair from merging with the rhythm of the world's Qi. The chaotic power of his qi, even suppressed as it was, made it clear a breakthrough was imminent.
When Ji Tianfang became a Saint, he would be promoted to Strike Force Commander. The position of Division Commander of the Third Division would then be open to one of his Nascent Soul subordinates. This was the source of decades of bitter rivalry and infighting in Seventieth Port Snake.
All of the onlookers looked in shock at the emergence of the mysterious Division Commander. He had entered secluded cultivation more than fifty years ago. For many of the younger cultivators here, this was the first time they'd ever seen him.
The four Commodores all calmed their expressions, bowing respectfully at their direct superior.
'Why has he decided to intervene now?' Commodore Liyang wondered. 'is Bing Meilu too much of a balance breaker in the competition?'
"Greetings, senior!" they all said.
The old man waved his hand dismissively, turning back to Bing Meilu with a questioning glance.
"Of course. My humble auction would be honoured to receive you, esteemed Division Commander," Bing Meilu replied cooly. "Please, take a seat."
The old man smiled, conjuring himself a rocking chair in the air, and sitting down with a sigh. He pulled out a shabby bottle of rice wine, poured some of it into a cup, and then began to drink straight from the bottle.
"Who's winning?" he asked, wiping dribbling alcohol from his lips with his sleeve.
"Thet would be either Commodore Rampage-Sword or Commodore Liyang," Bing Meilu said.
"How about my initial bid is that you can become my personal disciple?" the old man asked.
Gasps of shock rang out at that. A future Saint was a big deal in the Bird Talon Continent. Becoming the disciple of one would be a dream to any of the untalented cultivators of a Port. It would be a complete change in fate.
"In this lifetime, I already have a single master, so this humble disciple must turn down the generous offer."
Ji Tianfang raised an eyebrow, nodding in understanding.
While most of the onlookers were baffled that she would turn down the chance to be the disciple of a future Saint, those in the BMFs faction had already seen her reject an actual Saint back at Redscale City, so they were not surprised.
"Then... how about this?"
Ji Tianfang raised his hands and a portal opened. A scholarly-looking man, with a boyish, almost feminine physique fell from the portal, looking utterly confused. He stopped his fall, floating beside the Division Commander.
It was none other than Ji Longyi, Seventieth Port Snake's one and only Chosen of Heaven.
"Isn't it quite good?" Ji Tianfang smirked, gesturing at Ji Longyi. "This should be enough to secure me a winning bid, right?"
"Is-is he selling his grandson?" someone asked in confusion.
Bing Meilu's eyes narrowed in interest. Not only was he trying to remove her interference from his subordinate competition- He wanted her to raise his grandson.
Anyone with the slightest wisdom would realize that Bing Meilu had been the one to cause the transformation of the Crimson Dragon Faction. It was a pretty obvious fact. It seemed he wanted to borrow her power as a whetstone for Ji Longyi.
'Well, so long as I benefit from it, I don't mind... My own personal Chosen of Heaven as a slave? I could do worse.'
"And how long would I have him for?"
"How about twenty-five years, or until he reaches Transcending Impurity, whichever comes first?" Ji Tianfang offered.
"One hundred years, or until he becomes a Saint. Whichever comes first."
"That's a little long, don't you think?"
"Fifty Years, or until he becomes a Saint. Whichever comes first. For the remainder of my time under your authority, I will pay no taxes, fees or fines. Operational independence for me and my faction except in emergencies, and the resource allocation and permissions of a Commodore."
"...Very well, it's a deal!" Ji Tianfang smiled.
Bing Meilu was effectively giving herself permission to create her own Squadron, one with little oversight and that had to pay no taxes, massively increasing profit.
He pulled out a contract and signed with a brush. It wasn't a binding magic formation or anything, but having publically agreed, he would have to follow through or greatly damage his reputation.
The paper floated over to Bing Meilu, who signed it. Ji Tianfang waved his hand, and the contract split into two copies. One of them rolled up into a scroll and shot into his sleeve and the other settled into the girls' hands.
"...Grandfather, What's going on?" Ji Longyi asked in confusion.
"I sold you!" The old man chuckled, slapping his grandson in the back. "Constantly bleeding my ears off with your nagging, oh karmic merit this, karmic merit that! Well, now you have a whole new faction to evangelize! Aren't you happy? Well, anyways, enjoy being a slave, I have to go back into seclusion."
He tossed the scholarly Captain over to Bing Meilu's ice platform, before vanishing through a portal.
Ji Longyi stood back up, blinking in utter bewilderment. He had long since grown used to his old man's antics- From being tossed into a snake pit at age five, to randomly teleported to the middle of the sea when he'd just entered Qi Condensation.. but being sold as a slave was new to him.
'The old man might pretend to be callous, but everything he does is for my own good. For some reason, he thinks working for this girl will be good for me?'
"Um- Ji Longyi greets you? Might I ask your name?" he asked tentatively.
For some reason, his Karmic Merit stirred strangely as he looked at her, a sort of strange cold feeling. It didn't feel like a warning of danger or an affirmation of her. To be honest, he'd never had the guiding energy react like that.
She ignored him, turning to face the onlookers of the auction, all of whom sat in stunned silence.
"Well, it appears our auction is over! A special thank you to Commodore Rampage-Sword for his generous donations, and to Commodore Blackflame for giving all of us onlookers a good martial arts show. I'm afraid I have a business to attend to now, so I cut this short. If you're interested in applying to join my faction, I've set up a notice board with more details at the mission hall. Thank you all for attending, have a nice day."
Bing Meilu melted her ice stage and flew off into the air, her whole faction immediately following her, alongside the still confused Ji Longyi. She had planned to hold a recruitment immediately after the auction, but leaving some time for everyone to cool off seemed smart.
Having caused a Commodore Black Heartflame to lose a huge amount of Essence Blood for nothing, and extorted Rampage-Sword for resources just to get a chance to attend an auction he'd had no chance to win, she was quite happy to quickly get out before anyone did anything rash.
---
Those left behind watched in dumb shock as the event came to an end just like that. The Commodores all shared glances. While none of them had gained the winning power of Bing Meilu's faction, the rivalry had still changed.
Black Heartflame was no longer the strongest of them, Rampage-Sword was down a Captain. They all had also gained information on the wealth of each other. It actually now seemed Commodore Liyang would have the upper hand.
All of that in just a couple days, whereas before their war raged cold, with little movement in whole years.
"Do you think he wants to groom someone from Bing Meilu's faction to be the new Division Commander?" Commodore Tang asked. "Why else would he send his grandson to her and even prop her up to create a fifth faction? What is he playing at?"
"Possible... but unlikely," Black Heartflame said, eyes narrowed in anger. "She seems liable to take her whole faction out of the Port when she's ready. Not like us who lack much in the way of future prospects beyond this promotion."
"But if he was- Would we even be able to stop her?" Tang asked.
None of them answered that question.
"Hmph. I'm going on a demon hunt, you losers keep worrying about that," Rampage-Sword snorted, flashing away.
---
Ji Longyi stepped into a throneroom. A young girl with pale skin and black hair sat atop an oversized throne. He let out a snort of amusement at the sight.
"So-"
"Shh."
"What do you mean-"
"Shhh."
The refined-looking young man fell silent, mouth hanging slightly agape. He had never had someone disrespect him so nakedly. She- she was just ignoring him?
'What the hell? Does she even know who I am?' he crossed his arms.
For minutes they stood there, until she finally opened her eyes, revealing two frosty blue orbs. They seemed to pierce him, slowly inspecting his form. He shivered slightly for some reason.
After a while, she nodded.
"So you are Ji Longyi, the famed Chosen of Heaven? Tell me, do you remember my little subordinate, Xia Xuefeng? How you had her unlawfully arrested because you couldn't even tell she wasn't a demonic cultivator? How do you intend to compensate me for that?"
The man blinked in shock, not having realized that Bing Meilu knew Xia Xuefeng.
"Oh-Uh, Yes. I suppose that was me- But I already compensated her for it-" he replied in surprise.
"You compensated her, not me. How do you plan to make up for the months of lost progress and training time? She'd have definitely reached Core Formation in the Ashen Mountains if not for your intervention. This is a karmic debt that you must repay." Bing Meilu said, eyes narrowed. "Not that you could ever afford to compensate me for wasting my invaluable time, given your puny mortal wealth, but if you give me something at the Nascent Soul realm, I'll look the other way just this once."
"W-what? Nascent Soul Realm? She was only in Qi Condensation at the time-"
"Shh. This is not a common bazaar for you to bargain at. Either give me my due or reap what you've sown," she said a mysterious look in her eyes.
"A Nascent Soul level item? For a few months of time from someone in the first realm? That's just ridiculous..."
He paused in confusion. His Karmic Merit had begun to pulse, the lines of heavenly fate guiding him.
'My Karmic Merit- Wants me to do it?' he was completely confused.
Last time as well, it had told him to let Xia Xuefeng take the remnant Nascent Soul from the Demonic Cultivator he'd killed. Now it wanted him to do the same for Bing Meilu.
'I don't understand? Why the hell would they be worth so much?'
Ji Longyi was confused, but he could only trust in the guidance of the Heavenly Dao. It had never led him astray.
He opened his spatial ring, and retrieved a Nascent Soul level herb, the Inner Consciousness Lotus. He had planned to use it himself when he was ready to step into the fourth realm, but now he had to give it up. Face pained at the loss of wealth, he tossed it to Bing Meilu. She smiled and stored it away in her spatial ring.
"Now, I'm still not quite sure what to do with you as my new slave, given your lack of basic competence in the matter with Xia Xuefeng, you clearly can't be trusted with anything important- But don't worry, I'm sure I'll find something for you to do. For now, just get to know the other slaves."
He frowned in confusion. Jiu Longyi was an exceptional talent, a Chosen of Heaven already in Core Formation. Any organization would jump to have someone like him in their ranks, but she seemed unimpressed, and even a bit disdainful. He'd never had anything like this happen to him and was a bit unsure of what to say.
"I already said I was sorry about Xia Xuefeng, you don't have to be so disrespectful to me."
"...This generation!" Bing Meilu shook her head. "Back in the day, when people respected the proper order of things, you'd be flogged publically for speaking to your master like that. And no discipline or patience either! The youth these days are all so hyperactive, immediately speaking before even being spoken to. As I've always said, spare them the soul torture, spoil the child."
"...What?"
"You're dismissed for now. When I have something for you to do, I'll call you back. As I said, just get to know your comrades. You'll be spending a lot of time together, after all."
"Whatever." Ji Longyi shook his head and left.
---
Deep below the Slave Hall was a basement, filled with ice. Encased in one ice crystal was Jia Lao, Rampage Factions' top Captain. He stood there, frozen in ice, his eye flashing around.
'Dammit! I can't believe this would happen to me? The Boss fucking sold me to this crazy bitch! And I can't get out of this blasted ice!'
Every time he tried to use his Ghostly Sword Qi to break the ice, it just seemed to grow in size. He had been stuck here for days, slowly shivering as cold energy crept into his bones.
'When I get out, I'll fucking kill that bitch! I'll chop her into a dozen parts and toss her corpse into my dog pit for them to use as a fucking chew toy! I'll pour fucking hot oil down her smug stupid throat-'
He suddenly heard the door of the basement open. Footsteps resounded through the air, as Bing Meilu stepped down the stairs, coming into view. Jin Lao's eyes glared in hatred at the sight of the girl.
"I'm a bit disappointed, to be honest- I expected you'd have already figured out how to curse me for revenge, but it seems you're a bit incompetent for a so-called curse master. All that blustering and bragging, causing trouble in my hall, but you can't even melt a bit of my ice?" she laughed, her voice amused and disdainful.
Just hearing that despicable, haughty laugh sent waves of fury through him. He bit down on the ice gagging his mouth, eyes filled with rage. Her words stung even more because they were true. He'd been utterly unable to escape for days.
"I suppose it's to be expected, given the trash method you cultivate. Ghostly Sword Qi as a method for curses? You might as well just eat your own shit if you want to imitate a brainless monkey so desperately! Sword Qi is sharp and direct, whereas curses are subtle and indirect. It not as you have close to the talent to harmonize the Yin and Yang contradiction and create a working sword-qi curse method."
There was a smirk of complete contempt on her lips, arrogant eyes staring down at him like he was worthless. She suddenly waved her hands, creating from ice a large mural, covered in inscriptions and images.
"This here though, the Hungry Ghoul Six Dao's Inner Incantation- This is a real curse method, something that can cause calamity and disaster to whomever it targets. As it happens, I wanted to train my curse resistance, so you can freely curse me with it as much as you wish. If I left it to your own method, I'm sure I'd never feel the curse in a decade, so I'm forced to actually make you stronger just to make you barely strong enough to be worth using as a training tool. I'll even give you a lock of my hair to serve as a catalyst and focus."
"I would never give something this dangerous to anyone actually competent, but for a pathetic loser like you, it's fine. It's not like you'll ever be strong enough to threaten me in any way. If you had any talent the boss you loyally served for years wouldn't have tossed you aside like yesterday's trash. If I were you, I would kill myself out of shame but you sadly lack even that level of basic self-respect."
A strand of black hair was ripped from her head, and she waved a finger. The black threads floated over to his eye. She carefully threaded the hairs through the gap between his eyeball and socket, until both of his eyes were stuffed with dozens of threads of coarse, sharp hair. He would have screamed from the discomfort and disrespect, had he not been gagged.
He could only uselessly glare at her. Eyes flashing over the mural she had created, he froze. It actually seemed incredibly profound. Just at a glance, he could tell it was leagues beyond his self-made Ghastly-Sword Cursing Art, which itself was superior to any of the curse methods he had studied before joining the Armada.
'Fine then, you fucking whore! You want me to curse you? I'll curse you alright! I'll curse you to death! Wanting to use me as a training block? I'll make you regret the day you ever gave me this curse technique! I'll end your shit life!'
He glared at her as hard as he could, trying to let her how much he despised her guts. She laughed, voice cold and arrogant.
"Ah, how pitiful. Glaring at me so angrily, but unable to do anything about it. Haven't you spent decades cultivating to Core Formation for nothing you worthless loser. You can me as much as you want, it'll never amount to anything with how weak you are! Hate me, loathe me, revile me, it's all as worthless as the rest of you!"
With that, Bing Meilu left her basement, with a pleased smile. Of course, she had no particular dislike for Jin Lao, he really wasn't important enough for her to care enough to dislike him. It was just the case that the more he genuinely hated her, the more powerful his curses would be, and the more motivated he would be to get stronger. If it were not for the risk of being caught and punished, she might have actually tortured him just to make him hate her more.
That said, mental torture was just as effective, and not against any rules in particular, so she'd used her words instead.
She could already feel the first bits of cursed energy latching onto her. She immediately refined them into the mass of cursed energy she already possessed.
- Location
- USA
I do love her trash talk game. Always fun to see her let rip.
- Location
- Mid-Atlantic
If even Bing Meilu isn't stupid enough to hang around in a situation like this and rev up the effrontery another notch or three, things must be really fucked.
"You are literally twelve..."
But yeah, she thinks like this crazed immortal mega-ancient, so she was effectively born ranting about kids these days.
Ooof.
Nah, she is 8-10, and she transmigrated to after she was born.
And made her 6 years old litlle brother cry, after threatening to shatter his nine generations and flay off his skin because he dared to touch her.
...Damn, that copper coin kid was absurdly lucky, he besmirched her with blood, interrupted her meditation, and was personally taught an immortal level martial art by her.