Chapter Forty-Seven: Zhao Xin Is Dead

Zhou Qi had followed Liu Piaopiao in cleaning up numerous battlefields and gained considerable rewards; it was no wonder the disciples all wished to join this squad. Looking at its members, one could see that they were either the grandchildren of elders or the elders’ disciples; all of them were well connected, except for Zhou Qi.

As for their combat prowess, that hardly needed mentioning—for they rarely fought. If the Fallen Wind Valley were to ambush this squad, the Zhengyi Sect would surely be plunged into mourning. Though Liu Piaopiao, a Golden Core cultivator, led them, Zhou Qi still felt unsafe.

If not for Liu Piaopiao’s request, Zhou Qi would avoid attending altogether, preferring to quietly circulate the Xuantian True Art to improve his cultivation.

Without combat, the experience within Zhengyi Sect had lost all meaning for him; it would be better to feign death and leave early, but he had yet to find such an opportunity.

“Pay attention, everyone. There are several fallen Golden Core cultivators here, lost among the dead. They might have valuable items on them,” Liu Piaopiao announced loudly.

The disciples’ hearts leapt with joy. If they could find a Golden Core cultivator’s storage ring, they could save themselves years of effort. But the battlefield was littered with corpses; the dead did not shine like torches as the living did—their bodies were nearly indistinguishable. To find a Golden Core cultivator, one could only rely on luck.

Zhou Qi mingled with the disciples, imitating their actions: upon finding a storage ring, he would scan it with his spiritual sense, pocket anything valuable, then hand the rest to Liu Piaopiao.

Liu Piaopiao was helpless; she had long noticed the disciples’ behavior. Without incentives, lofty cultivators would never stoop to rummage through piles of corpses. Besides, each disciple had a powerful figure from Zhengyi Sect backing them. With war underway, the sect relied on them.

“True Lord, can you sense which corpse belongs to a Golden Core cultivator?” Zhou Qi asked. The search was painfully slow; he had no use for Qi Refining cultivators’ storage pouches, and Foundation Establishment cultivators seemed destitute. Only the Golden Core cultivators held promise.

“The third one on the left, and the fifth one on the right,” replied Xuantian True Lord.

Zhou Qi casually moved in the directions indicated. Seeing that no one was watching, he successfully retrieved two storage rings. One held a number of low-grade and mid-grade spirit stones; Zhou Qi quickly transferred them to himself. The rest consisted of items like bellybands and undergarments, clearly belonging to women. Zhou Qi cursed the pervert under his breath and proceeded to check the other ring.

This ring contained various medicinal herbs, some monster cores and demon cores, evidently belonging to a pill enthusiast. Among them, one monster core emitted a terrifying aura—just looking at it made his head spin, clearly of a high level.

“True Lord, what kind of monster core is this?” Zhou Qi shared his findings with Xuantian True Lord.

“It’s the monster core of a Heart-Shadow Wolf at the Nascent Soul level. Combined with the succubus blood you obtained earlier, you could try the Bewitching Immortal Array. But a Nascent Soul-level monster core can only ensnare a Nascent Soul cultivator for a quarter hour at best,” Xuantian True Lord replied.

Zhou Qi was ecstatic. He had searched far and wide, never expecting to find the Heart-Shadow Wolf’s monster core here. To be able to confound a Nascent Soul cultivator for even fifteen minutes could mean the difference between life and death.

Transferring the monster and demon cores to himself, Zhou Qi called out, “Senior Sister, I found two storage rings, likely belonging to Golden Core cultivators.” The remaining items were useless; it was best to hand them over to Zhengyi Sect, his alma mater.

Liu Piaopiao was delighted and finally began to see Zhao Xin in a new light.

The other disciples, seeing Zhao Xin hand over two Golden Core storage rings, were half jealous and half sympathetic, convinced he had been brainwashed by Liu Chengfeng.

The group continued their search. Several more disciples found Golden Core storage rings, but after handing them over, Liu Piaopiao discovered that these Golden Core cultivators were poorer than Foundation Establishment ones—clearly, the disciples had already taken anything valuable. If Zhengyi Sect were filled with people like Junior Brother Zhou and Zhao Xin, it would surely thrive. Alas, Junior Brother Zhou was gone, but at least Zhao Xin remained.

“Be careful, there’s an enemy approaching,” Xuantian True Lord warned.

Zhou Qi had barely vanished when Liu Piaopiao suddenly spat blood and was knocked back. The attacker—a Golden Core cultivator—had ambushed her, revealing himself only after inflicting a grievous wound. The rest were of no consequence.

“Run, quickly!” Despite her injury, Liu Piaopiao urged the disciples to retreat. Their prospects were grim; she had no idea how this Golden Core cultivator had appeared.

A chilling laugh echoed. “None of you will escape. Killing you will surely make Zhengyi Sect grieve,” the attacker crowed.

Ignoring her injuries, Liu Piaopiao forcibly channeled her spiritual power, unfurling a great net to ensnare the Golden Core cultivator. He was startled—he hadn’t expected Liu Piaopiao to have such strength left. Still, she wouldn’t last long. Calm, he stabbed at the net with his flying sword.

“Run!” Liu Piaopiao shouted, coughing blood, as the net was about to be breached.

Seeing the Fallen Wind Valley Golden Core cultivator trapped, the disciples scattered in panic, flying away on their swords.

Only Liu Piaopiao, the enemy Golden Core cultivator, and Zhou Qi remained.

Seeing Zhou Qi hadn’t fled, Liu Piaopiao grew frantic. “Zhao Xin, go! You’ll die here!”

Zhou Qi ignored her plea. If he ran, Liu Piaopiao would surely perish.

“True Lord, is there any way?” Zhou Qi asked. Liu Piaopiao had treated him well; he couldn’t bear to see her fall.

“Ah, very well. Go ahead!” Xuantian True Lord realized Zhou Qi’s resolve and did not dissuade him further.

“Senior Sister, let me help you,” Zhou Qi declared, unleashing his spiritual power. The Immortal-Slaying Sword transformed into thousands of small blades, flying towards the trapped Golden Core cultivator.

Unable to break free, the Golden Core cultivator spat a mouthful of blood onto his sword, causing it to blaze with light. With one strike, he tore the net apart, though he was clearly weakened by the effort.

With the net destroyed, Liu Piaopiao could no longer hold on. She spat blood again and was thrown back, unable to rise.

Seeing Liu Piaopiao defeated, the Golden Core cultivator rushed toward her in a streak of light.

As the hand drew closer, Liu Piaopiao felt despair. She regretted implicating Zhao Xin—her carelessness had allowed the enemy to succeed. Overwhelmed, she closed her eyes and awaited death.

At the moment the hand struck, a figure stepped in front of Liu Piaopiao—it was Zhou Qi. He activated the Longevity Armor with Divine Steps, blocking the killing blow.

The Longevity Armor shattered, and the Xuantian Transformation automatically activated, sending Zhou Qi and Liu Piaopiao flying. Liu Piaopiao fainted from the impact.

Zhou Qi felt pain throughout his body; countless bones were broken. Seeing both himself and Liu Piaopiao lying helpless, the Golden Core cultivator finally relaxed.

“Now!” Xuantian True Lord’s spirit transformed into a needle and stabbed into the attacker’s soul sea.

The Golden Core cultivator collapsed. The needle appeared suddenly, severing his soul before he could react.

Enduring the pain, Zhou Qi found two healing pills from the Medicine Immortal’s Holy Mansion—one for himself, one for Liu Piaopiao.

“Zhao Xin must die now,” Zhou Qi thought. He dragged a corpse over, placed it before Liu Piaopiao, dressed it in his own clothes, smashed its face, and, dragging his wounded body, left the scene.