Chapter 34: Sword Splitting Technique

It was not small, measuring about a hundred feet in length. Its azure eyes were large and watery, and it looked as if it wanted to devour him in a single bite.

“A second-grade demon beast?”

Li Meng sized up the white serpent. The aura emanating from it wasn’t overwhelmingly powerful. A second-grade demon beast possessed strength comparable to a human cultivator at the Peak Qi Condensation stage.

“Ah, forget it. I’ll spare your life on account of your beauty. An appreciation for beauty is universal, after all!”

Li Meng formed a single-handed seal. A golden talisman flew out from the storage pouch at his waist and transformed into a streak of golden light that shot toward the white serpent. The serpent opened its massive maw, aiming to bite down on the golden radiance. Suddenly, the golden light veered upward. It circled once around the serpent’s head, transformed into a Spirit Gathering Talisman Treasure, and affixed itself to the creature’s forehead.

The white serpent seemed to feel some discomfort. It shook its head, slamming it against the cliff wall in an attempt to knock the talisman off.

“A gift for you!”

Li Meng turned and flew away on his sword. Behind him, the white serpent continued to bash its head against the rock. After a short while, it suddenly stopped its frantic movements and shook its head slightly. Its sapphire-like eyes seemed to grow clearer, and the ferocity in its gaze gradually dissipated. The massive head turned to look in the direction Li Meng had departed. Soon after, its long, snow-white body slowly retracted back into the crevice in the cliff.

The encounter with the white serpent was merely a minor interlude. Although he had lost a Talisman Treasure, Li Meng didn’t mind. As a Talisman Master, such treasures were hardly in short supply.

Over the next few days, Li Meng began harvesting spirit plants within the Landscape Stream. Any spirit plant over five hundred years old was promptly collected.

In the afternoon, atop a certain mountain peak, Li Meng descended and landed. Behind a massive boulder, he discovered a patch of translucent spirit plants.

“Seven-hundred-year-old Ethereal Spirit Grass? Not bad, not bad!”

Li Meng crouched down to harvest the plants. Ethereal Spirit Grass could nourish the soul and spirit, making it one of the main ingredients for refining high-quality Soul Nourishing Pills. This type of spirit plant excelled at concealing itself; the Spiritual Power fluctuations it emitted were far weaker than those of other plants. More than twenty stalks of Ethereal Spirit Grass were deftly collected and stored away.

“The Scarlet Forbidden Ground truly is a treasure trove!”

Standing up, Li Meng swept his gaze across his surroundings. There were still many demon beasts within the Scarlet Forbidden Ground. Nearly all thousand-year spirit plants had guardian beasts protecting them. For demon beasts, spirit plants served a purpose similar to pills for human cultivators. Often, beside a single thousand-year spirit plant would be a guardian beast that had protected it for centuries. If anyone tried to seize the plant, a fight to the death was inevitable.

Li Meng soared into the air and flew away. Above the clouds drifting between mountain peaks, he traveled by sword flight. The vastness of Heaven and Earth lay spread out before his eyes.

“I wonder what realm that mighty expert who sealed off this realm had reached.”

Although spiritual energy was dense within the Scarlet Forbidden Ground, the restrictive formations here had altered the laws of Heaven and Earth. Even if one cultivated here for centuries, achieving Foundation Establishment would be impossible. The demon beasts within this realm could not break through to third-grade, either. A flicker of yearning passed through Li Meng’s eyes. Who wouldn’t desire such great supernatural powers capable of altering the world?

“Just focus on cultivating diligently!”

Whoosh!

Before the sword arrived, its intent did. A streak of sword light suddenly shot out from behind a mountain peak to Li Meng’s left. The radiance streaked across the sky, heading straight for him. Its speed was so great that it closed in on him in the blink of an eye.

“Sword Control Technique? A petty trick!”

Li Meng formed a single-handed seal. The Golden Shield Talisman attached to his back lit up, and a golden barrier instantly enveloped him. The flying sword struck, colliding with the barrier. The golden dome rippled violently, and the flying sword was repelled, sent spinning back.

Right before Li Meng’s eyes, an elegant figure flew out from behind the mountain peak. She formed hand seals with both hands as spiritual light erupted from her body. The repelled flying sword suddenly emitted an aqua-blue spiritual glow. The sword light split into two, then four, then eight separate beams.

“Sword Splitting Technique?”

Eight split-sword lights plus the original flying sword all converged on Li Meng. He looked at the woman attacking him. She wore cyan-colored Daoist robes, making her identity easy to recognize. At this sight, a faint smile touched Li Meng’s lips.

“Junior Sister, could you stop playing around?”

That address of “Junior Sister” made the female Daoist freeze momentarily. The split-sword lights attacking Li Meng suddenly dissipated. The flying sword also turned around and flew back toward her. A cloud of white mist suddenly enveloped her figure. As the mist dispersed, she vanished as well.

In her place stood a young Daoist acolyte carrying a purple gourd on her back. This acolyte was very small in stature, with cheeks that looked soft and pink—utterly adorable. She stood upon her flying sword and drifted leisurely over to Li Meng’s side.

“Senior Brother, how did you recognize me?”

Her face was full of curiosity as she stared at the little old man. Li Meng formed another seal and dismissed his golden barrier.

“Junior Sister… your aura isn’t quite like an ordinary person’s. It’s somewhat special.”

Not like an ordinary person’s aura?

A flicker of surprise passed through Qi Wei’s eyes. So Senior Brother’s Divine Sense truly far surpassed that of an ordinary Qi Condensation cultivator.

“Junior Sister… you’re only at the fifth layer. What are you doing playing around in the Scarlet Forbidden Ground?”

“‘Playing’?” Qi Wei glared angrily at him. She crossed her arms over her chest and stood on tiptoe, trying to look up at him. “What do you mean ‘playing’? I have an assignment! Hmph! I may look young, but my age isn’t small! And what do you mean ‘only layer five’? The cultivation art I practice is very special; I’ve already dispersed my cultivation twice! Don’t judge by my fifth layer of Qi Condensation—my Mana reserves are more abundant than even Peak Qi Condensation cultivators!”

Facing his Junior Sister’s displeased glare, Li Meng chuckled softly. Her age indeed wasn’t small… but her temperament certainly wasn’t mature, either.

“Junior Sister… didn’t you say you have an assignment? Why scare your Senior Brother, then? This is already the second time.”

Qi Wei’s gaze grew somewhat evasive. “I… I wanted to ask Senior Brother for help… but… but Senior Brother looks so useless… so… so I tested him first.”

Useless?

Li Meng felt deeply melancholic. Was that really the image he projected?

“And now?”

Qi Wei pursed her lips into a smile. Her eyes curved like crescent moons, and she nodded her small head vigorously. “I’ve confirmed it now—Senior Brother isn’t useless!”

As she spoke, Qi Wei leaped lightly with her small frame and landed on Li Meng’s flying sword. Two small hands grabbed onto the sleeves of his robe.

“Senior Brother… please help me? The task Master gave me is really difficult!”

Master? That building keeper I saw on the second floor of the Thousand Treasure Pavilion that day?

“Junior Sister… are you really an Outer Disciple of the Joyous Union Sect?”

Although the Thousand Treasure Pavilion belonged to the Joyous Union Sect, not everyone inside was necessarily a disciple of the sect itself. Qi Wei nodded vigorously again.

“Your token, then?”

Qi Wei gave him a sweet smile.