Forcing the Aloof Master to Madness - Chapter 45

Shenwu Square  is a place in the cultivation world similar to a mortal marketplace. It houses the largest auction house in the cultivation world and countless merchants who gather there.

Many cultivators go there to buy or sell various materials and artifacts. Moreover, Shenwu Square frequently holds celebrations, attracting an endless stream of people.

Coincidentally, Shenwu Square was recently hosting a grand celebration because its master, Lady Chi Yu, had happily given birth to a daughter and declared the entire square to be in festivities.

Speaking of Lady Chi Yu, she was an anomaly among the Three-Footed Scarlet Bird  clan, half-human and half-demon. In her childhood, she suffered endless humiliation within the clan and almost perished.

She escaped alone to the mortal world, thus evading persecution from her clansmen. When she returned from the mortal world, she slaughtered the branch of the Three-Footed Scarlet Bird clan that had bullied her, then established Shenwu Square, developing it to its current state.

When she returned from the mortal world, she brought a woman with her. That woman had been by her side since the establishment of Shenwu Square.

Rumors about their relationship were constant until three hundred years ago when Lady Chi Yu married that woman in Shenwu Square.

The wedding celebration lasted a full month. Shenwu Square was brightly lit day and night, non-stop, filled only with joy.

It was since then that Shenwu Square stopped having night. The lights of every household never went out, and traveling merchants settled there. This transformed Shenwu Square into the ultimate trading hub of the cultivation world, bustling and vibrant ever since.

Lady Chi Yu’s daughter, it was said, was the spirit essence of the Three-Footed Scarlet Bird clan, which she had obtained from the branch she annihilated. After a hundred years, this essence finally nurtured her child.

Shen Lezhi found this quite extraordinary and developed a slight interest in Lady Chi Yu.

However, none of the three of them were important figures, so naturally, they wouldn’t get to meet Lady Chi Yu.

Even if they did, they would probably only catch a distant glimpse of her on the high platform of the auction house.

The three found an inn to settle down. The inns in Shenwu Square were quite different from others. Almost all visitors were cultivators, so the inns were built like small immortal caves, which were even engraved with Spirit Gathering Formations, making them seem incredibly luxurious.

However, Shen Lezhi’s assigned cave did not have a Spirit Gathering Formation. The spiritual power absorbed by her Exquisite Heart was already overwhelming her; using a Spirit Gathering Formation would only hasten her death, she thought.

“Lezhi, let’s go see the Wish River,” Senior Sister Yunsha transmitted to her.

Although Shen Lezhi didn’t know what the Wish River was, she had no reason to refuse Senior Sister Yunsha.

Senior Sister Yunsha had told her that at their speed, it would only take a few days to reach Canfeng City, but they needed a permit to enter.

The permit was managed by the grey-robed elder of Fengdu Village (風渡村) and only appeared once every three months. Senior Sister Yunsha calculated the time and realized they would have to wait at least another month. They might as well travel and sightsee first.

Neither Shen Lezhi nor Hua Man had reached the cultivation level required to travel down the mountains before, so they had never seen sights like these.

Shen Lezhi placed her small white sword in her spatial ring. Without cultivation now, openly carrying such a treasured sword might cause trouble.

The small white sword was icy cold. Holding it in her hand, a moist coolness permeated the area around her body. Shen Lezhi’s eyes darkened, and she gently stroked the sword’s body.

As her finger touched it, the small white sword instantly flashed with a flowing water light, as if responding to Shen Lezhi’s touch.

Shen Lezhi paused, then stroked the small white sword more gently. Only when Senior Sister Yunsha called her from the cave entrance did she snap out of it and put the small white sword away.

The Wish River was a very famous sight in Shenwu Square. The river was ten zhang (about 33 meters) wide, and the water was silver-white both day and night. Occasionally, strands of golden light would emerge from beneath the water—the silhouette of the Spirit Swallowing Beast  surfacing.

This Spirit Swallowing Beast was said to be Lady Chi Yu’s mount, which dearly loved this silver-white river. It leaped into the river and never came back up.

Legend had it that if a scepter engraved with a special spiritual spell was cast into the river, the Spirit Swallowing Beast would retrieve it, and the person’s wish would come true.

Therefore, an endless stream of people came here to make wishes, and this silver river was thus called the Wish River.

Shen Lezhi thought it was just like a modern-day wishing well.

Except, the wishing well had no spirit beast manifesting.

Shenwu Square was brightly lit day and night. It was already evening, and the streets were hung with colorful lanterns, crowded with people, and filled with non-stop noise.

Perhaps due to Lady Chi Yu’s half-human, half-demon identity, Shenwu Square had many demon race and demon beasts in addition to a large number of human cultivators.

However, most of the demons had transformed into human appearance, retaining only a few beast-like features, probably to blend in.

Otherwise, many demon beasts were massive, and revealing their true form in this place would likely be impractical.

Moreover, in the human world, the Shape-Shifting Pill  was quite popular. Even demon beasts that hadn’t met the shape-shifting requirements could undergo a short-term transformation using the pill.

Shen Lezhi encountered quite a few such demon beasts on the road. They had transformed into the appearance of mature yujie (big sister type), but spoke with the tender voice of a young girl.

They clearly took a Shape-Shifting Pill but forgot the Voice-Changing Pill, little demons.

There was also one that only partially transformed. From the back, it looked graceful and heroic with flowing long hair, but when it turned around, it had the face of a tiger with a large “King”  character on its forehead. It looked fierce, but its body was extremely delicate, making it appear both comical and bizarre.

Shen Lezhi found it fascinating. It was the first time she had seen such a demon, with a sense of wonder as if a character from her childhood TV dramas had materialized before her.

After walking for a while, the three finally reached the Wish River. The scepters for wishing were sold right next to it. One simply had to write their wish on a Spirit Gathering Talisman, affix it to the front of the scepter, and the scepter would automatically operate its hidden small formation, absorbing all the words from the talisman.

Then, by casting the scepter into the Wish River, there was a chance to attract the Spirit Swallowing Beast.

However, even if the Spirit Swallowing Beast didn’t appear, many people specifically traveled here just to cast down their heartfelt wishes.

Since they had come all this way, Shen Lezhi decided to follow the local custom and bought a wishing scepter along with Senior Sister Yunsha and Hua Man.

“The carvings on this… ” Hua Man examined the scepter and talisman in her hand for a while, saying with some disappointment, “It’s just an extremely simple Visible Word Spell. It can’t possibly attract the Spirit Swallowing Beast.”

The Spirit Swallowing Beast fed on spiritual energy, but this small scepter didn’t even have a Spirit Gathering Formation. The Spirit Swallowing Beast probably wouldn’t even glance at it.

The past sightings of the Spirit Swallowing Beast were likely just luck, with the beast happening to swim by.

Hua Man spoke quietly. This item was only meant to be a sentimental gesture, and no one cared about its true composition. She didn’t want to spoil anyone’s fun.

Starry lights dotted the surface of the Wish River. Shen Lezhi cast her scepter into the water, and the river surface rippled.

She wasn’t the only one making a wish here. The sound of scepters hitting the water was constant. Shen Lezhi couldn’t help but sigh, wishes truly captivated people, no matter the era.

Just as the three were about to leave after casting their scepters, a commotion suddenly arose in the crowd.

Someone shouted, drawing everyone’s attention.

“It’s the Spirit Swallowing Beast! The Spirit Swallowing Beast has manifested!”

Shen Lezhi stopped in her tracks and turned to look. She saw a small wave ripple across the silver river surface. Beneath the wave, a golden light shone through the water, visible above the silver river.

The original starry lights on the silver river were dyed gold, twinkling and very dazzling.

As the golden light moved, a huge body slowly appeared on the water’s surface.

It came closer and closer, its posture agile, moving through the water flow. Then, that golden figure abruptly leaped out of the water.

It shimmered with light all over, and a large lump shaped like a precious pearl bulged on its back. Its skin was light white and translucent, with colorful light flowing inside, beautiful like glazed glass.

Shen Lezhi had thought the Spirit Swallowing Beast was an immortal fish since it always stayed in the water. But now, seeing it, it resembled a flying bird, with a sharp beak and a pair of wings on either side.

Was it navigating the water with its wings?!

But Shen Lezhi noticed that its whole body seemed untouched by water. The moment it leaped out, the water quickly rolled off, leaving not a single drop on it.

The crowd cheered at its appearance. Even though it quickly submerged into the water again, the joy people felt at seeing it did not dissipate.

They marveled at its beauty and happily anticipated that their wishes would certainly come true.

After the Spirit Swallowing Beast completely submerged and even the golden light could no longer be glimpsed, Shen Lezhi and the others left again.

Besides the famous auction house, Shenwu Square also had many small street stalls selling trinkets. Hua Man wanted to buy some materials, so the three went shopping together.

“Sister, do you want to buy a flower?” Shen Lezhi was standing in front of a shop selling sword tassels, browsing for one to hang on her small white sword, when a girl’s voice suddenly rang out behind her.

Shen Lezhi turned around to see a girl holding a flower.

The girl looked to be in her teens. The flower in her hand was very strange, vastly different from any flower Shen Lezhi had seen. It was less like a flower and more like an upright hand.

The flower in the girl’s hand was shaped like fingers, five of them, with a tiny golden flower blooming at the tip of each one. “This Buddha’s Hand Lotus (佛手蓮) really likes you, Sister.”

Shen Lezhi was instantly surprised. How did the other person know?

“Look, it’s shaking its leaves! It’s the first time I’ve seen it do that. Sister, buy it. It matches the small flower on your head perfectly,” the girl brought the Buddha’s Hand Lotus close to her, letting Shen Lezhi clearly see the spiritual flower’s appearance, hoping to persuade her.

Shen Lezhi now understood; the other person was just paying a casual compliment.

Although the Weeping Soul Tassel (哭魂縷) strongly expressed that this Buddha’s Hand Lotus did not suit her at all, Shen Lezhi still bought it.

Spiritual flowers in the cultivation world were not just judged by their appearance; many spiritual plants had their own special effects.

Although the Buddha’s Hand Lotus was not considered an extremely rare spiritual plant, it was not common either.

They usually grew in ponds and required five hours of full sunlight every day.

Its rhizomes were rooted in the sludge, with root whiskers spreading deep into the mud, hard as steel, making them impossible to harvest by ordinary means.

The five upright stems resembled human hands but were entirely golden, like the golden bronze Buddha statues in temples, hence the name Buddha’s Hand Lotus.

A golden flower bud would grow at the top, opening into five petals. When it bore fruit, a brown fruit grew in the center. The fruit was extremely bitter, its juice red, but when boiled with water, it would have a faint aftertaste of sweetness.

The fruit of the Buddha’s Hand Lotus could treat the strained meridians resulting from the cultivation of body cultivators and could also alleviate pain.

Shen Lezhi had previously wanted to plant a few Buddha’s Hand Lotuses when she saw the pond she found later in the Jadefrost Sect, but she didn’t get the chance.

Although she bought this spiritual flower, it was temporarily of no use to her. Just as she was about to put it into her spatial ring, a gust of wind suddenly rose from her left ear.

Although Shen Lezhi had lost her cultivation, she could still perceive such an obvious and strange gust of wind. Moreover, the speed was not fast, and Shen Lezhi instinctively reacted.

She sidestepped to dodge, only to see a miniature knife stuck where she had just been standing, its tip half-buried. If Shen Lezhi hadn’t dodged, the consequences would have been unthinkable.

However, given that speed, the attacker likely only intended a warning, not a direct killing blow.

Even so, Shen Lezhi’s eyes twitched, sensing a crisis, and she immediately pulled out her small white sword from her spatial ring, clutching it tightly.

Her cultivation might be gone, but it didn’t mean she couldn’t use a sword. Although she probably couldn’t win if she ran into real danger, it was better than nothing. Clenching the small white sword, the icy coldness on her fingers brought a slight sense of calm.

Moreover, Senior Sister Yunsha was right beside her. Even if she hadn’t dodged the hidden weapon, Senior Sister Yunsha would have already summoned an artifact to block it for her.

Just as Shen Lezhi was thinking this, Senior Sister Yunsha’s talisman had already been flicked out. Completely different from Hua Man’s, this talisman was dull and lightless, yet it caused a strange sense of unease.

After her meridians were damaged, Shen Lezhi could actually still feel the fluctuation of spiritual power. But Yunsha’s talisman was like a needle in the dark night. It flashed for just a moment, then disappeared without a trace until it pierced the enemy’s heart.

Secretive, precise, and possessing powerful explosive force.

But during the explosion, all the spiritual power was compressed to an extreme point, making it impossible for people to accurately judge the power of her move.

Truly terrifying.

It was the first time Shen Lezhi had seen Senior Sister Yunsha make a move up close, and she hadn’t expected it to be like this.

She had thought Senior Sister Yunsha’s moves would be as gentle and soft as her personality, but unexpectedly, it was such a sharp attack aimed at the enemy’s vital points.

Yunsha had unleashed a Wind Blade Talisman. They heard a muffled groan from the front, and the person who threw the hidden weapon at Shen Lezhi fell to the ground in response.

The three quickly rushed over to check, only to see a young girl in pink, tight-fitting clothes clutching the skin sliced by the wind blade on her shoulder, frowning and crying out in pain.

Seeing Shen Lezhi and the others approach, the girl immediately flipped over, leaping backward a distance of several zhang.

She held copper rings in her hands, which jingled. Although she was short and did not look very old, the tight-fitting clothes highlighted the strong and agile body beneath her garments.

“A Body Cultivator?” Senior Sister Yunsha was knowledgeable. Judging by the opponent’s physique and the explosive way she used her feet, she immediately determined that the pink-clad girl before her was a Body Cultivator.

“Hmph, you little thief has some eyesight,” her tone was unfriendly. After putting distance between herself and the three, the copper rings on her arms jingled more intensely. Her muscles tightened against her clothes, as if she were gathering strength.

Hearing her words, Senior Sister Yunsha felt there might be some misunderstanding between the two parties, so she decided to attempt communication. “Fellow Daoist, there might be a misunderstanding. We are disciples of the Jadefrost Sect and just arrived at Shenwu Square. Who is the ‘little thief’ you speak of?”

However, despite Senior Sister Yunsha’s attempt to communicate, her guard did not drop. As soon as she finished speaking, the enemy attacked without a word, showing no intention of mutual communication.

This pink-clad girl possessed immense strength, but she did not seem to be a purely traditional Body Cultivator. The copper rings on her arms were her controlled artifacts, seemingly completely integrated with her. Just as she threw a punch and Senior Sister Yunsha dodged, the copper rings followed with an attack.

It felt like fighting two people with close coordination in close combat.

However, the opponent’s strength was not very high. Senior Sister Yunsha summoned a Protective Shield Talisman around her. The attack struck the shield, causing golden light to flash, but it could not break it.

She naturally couldn’t break it. This was no ordinary Protective Shield Talisman; it was a move Senior Sister Yunsha had calculated well before the opponent’s swift assault.

Talisman cultivators rely on talismans for combat, and the world generally believes their close-combat ability is weak. The enemy before her was a Body Cultivator, so Senior Sister Yunsha deliberately exposed a flaw, allowing the opponent to get close.

But Feng Nianzhen of the Jadefrost Sect was no ordinary Talisman cultivator. Her attainment in formations was equally renowned throughout the world.

Or rather, Feng Nianzhen believed that cultivators who used talismans and formations complement each other. Few purely Talisman cultivators had the ability to fight head-on.

After all, once in close proximity, the means of counter-attack against a Sword or Artifact Cultivator were too delayed.

But if combined with formations, luring the enemy into the formation, one would always be in an advantageous combat environment. By using formations to deliberately conceal one’s weaknesses, the opponent would be unaware, and they would not know how they were defeated.

Just like Senior Sister Yunsha now. She had set up a formation beneath her feet in advance. The moment the pink-clad girl stepped within three zhang of her, she entered the formation.

In this formation, the opponent’s spiritual power was restricted, and her speed and movements were all limited.

The pink-clad girl thought she was exerting ten-tenths of her power, but in reality, she was using less than three-tenths, so naturally, she couldn’t break Senior Sister Yunsha’s ordinary Protective Shield Talisman.

She remained unaware, thinking only that the Talisman cultivator before her was incredibly strong and the shield was as solid as dark iron, rendering her attacks ineffective.

In this situation, the pink-clad girl became more and more impatient. Finally, in a desperate attack, Senior Sister Yunsha caught a flaw, and a Binding Talisman tightly restrained her limbs.

The pink-clad girl was completely immobilized. Unable to fight, she finally opened her mouth and cursed, “If you stole my Buddha’s Hand Lotus, who else is the thief?! You even claim to be from the Jadefrost Sect? Well, I’m Lady Chi Yu’s little sister-in-law!”

Shen Lezhi paused upon hearing this. Was this Buddha’s Hand Lotus a hot potato?

“Give me back my Buddha’s Hand Lotus, or none of you will leave Shenwu Square!” the girl was still cursing, glaring furiously at Shen Lezhi, who was hugging the Buddha’s Hand Lotus, and directing hatred toward Senior Sister Yunsha, who had restrained her.

Shen Lezhi and Yunsha exchanged glances, then looked at the Buddha’s Hand Lotus in Shen Lezhi’s hand, feeling helpless. However, they certainly couldn’t release the pink-clad girl. No one knew if what she said was true or false.

But the situation was indeed a bit tricky now.

Senior Sister Yunsha, however, felt that since the spiritual flower was bought by Shen Lezhi, and the other party could not produce any proof, there was no need to pay her any mind.

They might as well leave the person here. After they had gone far away, Senior Sister Yunsha’s restraint would naturally be lifted.

By then, they would already be out of Shenwu Square.

Shen Lezhi had no other idea and agreed to follow Senior Sister Yunsha’s plan.

The three walked a few steps. The girl was still cursing and swearing, but then several focused auras surged forward, enveloping the three of them.

The opponents didn’t directly attack but blocked the three’s path.

“Square Master! These three little thieves stole my Buddha’s Hand Lotus!” The pink-clad girl had been freed from her restraint by someone. She stood up and cried out with grievance toward a woman walking from behind.

Her cry of “Square Master” raised questions in the minds of Shen Lezhi and the others, and with their path blocked, they had no choice but to turn around and look at the group of people approaching from behind.

Calling them a group, there were only three to five people, dressed efficiently, orderly protecting the woman whom the pink-clad girl called “Square Master” at the center.

The woman was wearing a red dress, her long skirt trailing on the ground. A golden thread flying bird, wings spread, was embroidered on the red dress.

A strand of red feather was pinned into the woman’s black hair near her ear. Her appearance was enchanting, her eyes seductive. Her gaze slowly swept over Shen Lezhi and the others, finally landing on the small white sword, now sheathed, in Shen Lezhi’s hand.

She suddenly let out a soft laugh and glanced at the pink-clad girl, her voice becoming even more seductive: “What do we do, little sister-in-law? They truly are disciples of the Jadefrost Sect.”

Her use of “little sister-in-law” was highly teasing, causing the pink-clad girl to be at a loss.

She then walked up to Shen Lezhi and the others, tilted her head slightly, and kept her eyes on Shen Lezhi. “I apologize profusely for the misunderstanding just now. However, this Buddha’s Hand Lotus is indeed something we require. Fellow Daoist, would you be willing to sell it to us?”

From the moment this woman appeared, her demeanor, her conversation with the pink-clad girl, and the presence of the few high-level guards around her, Shen Lezhi and the others had already guessed her identity.

When she asked this, she had already retracted the spiritual power blocking their way. Shen Lezhi thought for a moment and then handed the Buddha’s Hand Lotus to her.

She asked for the same price she had paid for it, and the other party readily agreed.

However, Shen Lezhi took a few more glances at the woman before her. She had not expected Lady Chi Yu of Shenwu Square to look like this.

After hearing the story of Lady Chi Yu, she had expected the other party to look much fiercer.

“Little friend, who is Immortal Venerable Jiyue to you?” Lady Chi Yu received the flower and casually asked Shen Lezhi.

Shen Lezhi paused at the mention of the name, lowered her eyes after a moment, and responded softly: “My esteemed Master.”

As she spoke these words, a wave surged in her heart. She said it with such difficulty, yet she still admitted Wang Xi’s identity.

Shen Lezhi suddenly felt ridiculous. She had dissipated all her cultivation, yet she still acknowledged Wang Xi as her Master in her heart?

Shen Lezhi paused her breathing, unwilling to dwell on those thoughts anymore.

“No wonder. Why don’t the three of you come as guests to the Square tomorrow? It happens to be my youngest daughter’s hundredth-day celebration.” Lady Chi Yu finally moved her gaze away from Shen Lezhi’s small white sword, then extended an invitation to the three.

Senior Sister Yunsha hesitated for a moment, consulted Shen Lezhi and Hua Man for their opinions, and then accepted Lady Chi Yu’s invitation.

They were here to travel and sightsee anyway, and an invitation from Lady Chi Yu was naturally not to be refused.

After this brief ordeal, the three returned to their respective immortal caves. Shen Lezhi felt a slight throbbing pain in her meridians, so she took the pill from the Medical Immortal, then lay down on the bed and slowly fell asleep.

Shenwu Square was still noisy late at night, but the caves were protected by sound-insulating formations, so Shen Lezhi was undisturbed.

She was completely asleep, but the dream unsettled her.

In the dream, Wang Xi’s eyes were blood-red, demonic patterns emerging from her temples to her neck. She was pinned by Wang Xi on the couch, taken violently by the other party.

Her neck was tightly choked by Wang Xi. The latter’s utterly cold voice kept saying she hated her and would kill her.

Shen Lezhi resisted weakly, only her instinctive, low, painful sobs echoing in the icy, snow-like air.

She woke up before dawn, cold sweat on her forehead. Wang Xi clung to her memory like a nightmare. Even though she had left, she couldn’t escape.

Shen Lezhi looked out of the cave sorrowfully, but her breathing stopped instantly.

Inside the cave, there was a ghostly white figure. The person’s features were cold and clear, her face like frost and snow.

Shen Lezhi called out to the Weeping Soul Tassel, but received no response. She suddenly realized she was still dreaming.

Yes, Wang Xi had let her go. How could she appear here?

Shen Lezhi watched Wang Xi slowly walk to the bed and, without a word, leaned over and pressed down on her.

The familiar spiritual power that followed drilled into her body. The other party’s cold, clear eyes quickly flushed with the same rosy color of rouge as hers.

Shen Lezhi had experienced scenes like this many times during this period.

Shen Lezhi trembled, her chest violently heaving, hating her lack of self-control.

Was she yearning for that bone-deep pleasure even in her dream?

But she did not notice that from the small white sword on the table, a wisp of white mist floated out, connecting all the way to Wang Xi’s skirt hem, making Wang Xi’s clothes appear somewhat translucent.

It was exactly the same as when Wang Xi had entered the small secret realm through the small white sword before.