Guardians of Mountain and Sea - Chapter 18

“Treasures without masters belong to the first to find them. I won’t fight you for it, Junior Sister. Cold Sparrow, time to go!”

The fairy spoke with a beaming smile, her hands forming a seal behind her back. Suddenly, a giant serpent of swamp mud surged from the pool, flicking its tongue and lashing its tail toward them.

Lin Pu hurriedly waved her hand, and a long string of arrow shafts hissed out from the storage pouch at her waist.

“Please don’t say that, Senior Sister. Treasures belong to the capable. Your cultivation is three realms higher than mine; it is I who should yield. Wan Xiang, let’s go.”

The wooden arrows were bare, lacking even fletching, and looked quite pitiful on their own. However, bolstered by Geng Metal essence, the thousands of wooden arrows whistled through the air, linking head to tail to form a shimmering golden chain that instantly bound the great serpent and dragged it back into the pool.

Had it been a cultivator of the same rank as Lingyi, this mud snake would have been locked tight. But Lin Pu’s cultivation was a major level below hers; the golden spirit rope could not hold the swamp serpent for long. The great snake thrashed and twisted, on the verge of breaking free.

Another string of black iron arrows flew out, pinning the serpent into the quagmire with a series of thuds. Upon impact, the iron arrows shattered, and the pure, fierce Geng Metal essence attached to the fragments exploded. The water essence instantly collapsed, and the great snake crumbled back into foul mud.

Lingyi was somewhat surprised. Although she hadn’t used her full strength in that strike, it wasn’t something a mere third realm cultivator should have been able to neutralize. The demoness’s beautiful eyes flickered with a strange light, and she tilted her head with interest, smiling. “I am truly sorry. This habit of my spiritual essence acting uncontrollably always comes and goes.”

Lin Pu nodded with a look of absolute belief. “I understand. Every family has its problems. Look, Senior Sister, my storage pouch always loves to throw things around randomly too.”

The righteous looking young cultivator then said seriously, “Senior Sister, if the storage pouch acts on its own, it has nothing to do with me.”

Before her voice had even faded, a small cat quietly circled behind Lingyi. It hid its aura and crept to within three zhang, preparing to pounce, only to be pinned down by a giant water eagle that appeared out of thin air.

Lingyi glanced back and laughed. “Does this tiger beast have nothing to do with you either?”

At that exact moment, a streak of black light erupted from beneath the lotus. The black coffin snatched the Earth Spirit Water Soul and the exotic lotus, carrying them away.

Lingyi’s temper flared instantly.

Fine! Telling lies to my face while sending a demonic tiger behind my back—all of it was just a distraction!

That black coffin was indeed a remarkable spiritual treasure; it had actually managed to evade her spiritual senses and sneak under her nose to steal the treasure!

She made a clawing motion with her right hand, and a vast wave of water spiritual power rose abruptly. As the true disciple of the Demon Sect finally got serious, Lin Pu was instantly bound by the thick Gui Water essence, unable to move a muscle.

The Geng Metal power was cut off, and the ink colored treasure box tumbled into the mud. A giant hand made of clear water rose from the swamp, grabbing the box and handing it to Lingyi.

Just then, the demon corpse at their feet moved.

The black python’s tail pulled out from the giant toad’s mouth and lashed out violently at the Demon Sect disciple. Caught off guard, Lingyi had to meet the strike of this half step beast king python with her full strength.

The collision caused the python’s physical body to explode, sending scales and flesh flying! The python’s demonic power vanished; it was clearly dead.

In her confusion, Lingyi saw a small ghost dash out from within the mountain of shredded meat. The ghost was clutching the treasure box, fleeing toward the young cultivator with a panicked expression.

Dammit! Tricked again!

Furious, Lingyi unleashed her divine ability. A thick mist rose from the marsh as a massive spiritual pressure weighed down. The little ghost gave a shriek of terror and dove toward the bottom of the pool. Before disappearing, it didn’t forget to toss the treasure box toward the owner of the square seal.

Only then did Lin Pu exert her full power. Her jade like bones became translucent as the Geng Metal essence from her eighteen apertures surged directly to her crown. Her face erupted with golden light; she tilted her head back slightly and slammed it forward with a roar, tearing a hole through the Gui Water energy that imprisoned her.

The black box sensed its master’s aura and transformed into a streak of black light, vanishing into Lin Pu’s sea of consciousness.

In the next heartbeat, Lingyi flashed in front of Lin Pu, pinned the young cultivator down, and sat on her waist, growling ferociously, “Spit it out!”

Lin Pu decided to go for broke, looking as though she were ready to face death. “It’s gone!”

“You!”

A cold gleam flashed as a water sword pressed against Lin Pu’s neck, drawing a thin line of blood. The demoness looked slightly livid, her beautiful face cold and menacing.

“Don’t think that just because True Monarch Hong Ling is protecting you, I won’t dare kill you. So what if you’re a Sword Domain disciple? I have a thousand ways to make you wish you were dead!”

Lin Pu’s amber eyes remained bright and unmoved. “A cultivator three realms above me must have actual killing intent to trigger the True Monarch’s protective talisman. But the talisman didn’t react at all just now. You don’t have killing intent toward me.”

Though, at this very moment, the soul talisman in her mind did sense killing intent and wanted to activate, but Lin Pu suppressed it.

“Besides, Senior Sister, I haven’t exactly lost either.”

A slight stinging pain came from her chest. Lingyi looked down to see a single green shuttle arrow pressed against her heart. Six more surrounded her, aimed at her dantian and sea of consciousness, ready to fire.

These seven shuttles, as thin as ox hair, were forged by the True Monarch using the Raven Green Heavy Iron taken from Wuyanzi. Along with the shuttles, her Senior Sister had used the Blazing Sun fire to forge a spear and a bow frame for her.

Mo Xianjun was a True Monarch who had lived for thousands of years. While she didn’t claim to be a master of a hundred arts, she was well versed in side paths related to fire. Although her forging skills couldn’t rival dedicated master smiths, she could easily serve as an elder in a forging sect like the Bronze Sparrow Pavilion.

The Raven Green Heavy Iron was a rare profound ore reserved only for the direct disciples of the Bronze Sparrow Pavilion’s leader. Treasures made from it could hide from the detection of five element spiritual senses and were incredibly hard, making them perfect for concealed weapons or shields.

The Star Sea Arrow Manual was indeed a technique focused on long range attacks, but if it came to close combat, Lin Pu was not afraid!

However, despite being crushed in terms of cultivation, the reason she had lasted this long against a Demon Sect true disciple was that the demoness had held back. Lin Pu acknowledged that favor.

Lingyi’s expression shifted rapidly.

Cultivators who entered the fifth realm, the True Immortal realm, had all undergone the Astral Wind Tribulation to form a nascent celestial body, let alone a sixth realm practitioner like her who had entered the Mortal Immersion stage. Even if a Human tier cultivator used the Raven Green shuttles to wound her, it wouldn’t damage her Dao foundation.

But while the injury might be light, getting the shuttles out would be a nightmare. If she insisted on seizing the Earth Spirit Water Soul, the benefits might barely offset the trouble caused by the shuttles invading her dantian and sea of consciousness.

Lin Pu had calculated this perfectly: either Lingyi would stop here and swallow her pride, or she would take the Water Soul and suffer the consequences of the Raven Green shuttles. It was a losing trade.

Lingyi gritted her teeth in hatred. Usually, she was the one scheming against others; she had never suffered such a huge loss at the hands of another, let alone a third realm brat!

Her anger flared. Ignoring everything, she thrust her right hand out against Lin Pu’s abdomen, intending to use her spiritual power to forcibly tear the Earth Spirit Water Soul from the young cultivator’s dantian.

Lin Pu was shocked, yet she instinctively withdrew her shuttles first and cried out, “Senior Sister, don’t!”

It was too late. The pure Gui Water essence flooded into Lin Pu’s dantian, instantly triggering the Water Soul that was surrounded by Geng Metal energy. In an instant, the spiritual energy of the marsh became turbulent, and the water essence turned into a flood, sucked into the young cultivator’s body.

Lin Pu was about to advance.

The Myriad Image Star Sea technique was a manual based on Geng Metal, supplemented by the other four elements to complete the five element arrow intent. Once the Geng Metal element reached perfection and one crossed the Lightning Fire Tribulation into the Unreturned Realm, one had to cultivate the water element next to progress into the Earth tier’s Realm of Creation.

This was why Lin Pu had risked everything—scheming, lying, and stealing—to get the Earth Spirit Water Soul. She didn’t know if she would ever have the luck to find another suitable water seed.

Coincidentally, Lingyi practiced Gui Water essence. The Cold Sparrow was her natal spirit and the True Immortal of her sea of consciousness. Therefore, the little Wan Xiang’s spiritual sense followed its master, being naturally close to Lingyi and feeling like an old friend to the Cold Sparrow.

Among the metal elements, Geng Metal was the most fierce and powerful. To cultivate the water element arrow intent, one required a vast amount of water essence. Lin Pu had originally intended to find a great lake to break through, but Lingyi’s direct infusion of Gui Water essence had instantly shattered the metal energy protecting the water seed.

Now, Lin Pu was riding a tiger and couldn’t get off; she had no choice but to enter the Realm of Creation.

Lingyi froze for a moment. Her water essence was still being subconsciously delivered, but Lin Pu thought she was being forcibly drained by the water seed. If a cultivator’s essence is drained too quickly, it can damage their Dao foundation.

Lin Pu’s dantian metal energy erupted, causing her to cough up blood as the force pushed Lingyi’s hand away. She rolled into the mud. The water vapor of the marsh was sucked dry instantly, yet it was still not enough. When the water seed couldn’t find enough water essence, it began to drain her blood.

Lin Pu screamed in agony, rolling on the dry, cracked earth. she crawled on the ground, her fingers digging into the soil as veins bulged on her forehead.

Lingyi stood by and watched, her expression changing, her eyes full of struggle. How could she not see? Geng Metal has the strongest ability to stabilize one’s essence. If this fool hadn’t injured herself to push her away, she wouldn’t be struggling to survive the suction of the water seed. Could she, a sixth realm practitioner, really be afraid of having her essence taken by a Human tier cultivator?

After a moment, she stomped her foot and cursed, “Meeting you is truly the worst luck of my life!”

She jumped down from her spiritual tool, her jade white feet treading onto the dusty, grey black earth. Lingyi clapped her hands together to form a seal, and the cold sword she used for flight soared into the sky.

These two cold swords were forged by a Demon Lord using two great rivers after she had followed her master’s orders to slay a wicked flood dragon during a great flood a hundred years ago. They had been with her for many years, and now she was giving them up for this little fool.

A flash of shimmering ripples appeared, and the roar of rushing water filled the sky. The two surging rivers appeared for a brief moment before transforming into rolling black clouds that blotted out the sun!

Lightning flashed and thunder crashed. The sky seemed to tear open as a torrential rain poured down like a waterfall.

The two birds watching from a branch flew onto the fairy’s shoulder, while the little cat crept to her feet, meowing pleadingly. A light screen of water essence rose up, protecting Lingyi and the two birds. The little cat was only let in after the rain gave its head a cold shock.

Senior Tiger was furious but dared not speak.

Wan Xiang gave a worried chirp, and the beautiful little demoness snorted. “She’s fine. Your master owes me a massive favor this time!”

The clouds dispersed and the rain stopped. The forest had been washed clean, looking fresh and bright, filled with thick water vapor. The original marsh had turned into a small lake, reflecting the blue sky with shimmering waves.

A massive water arrow shot out from beneath the surface, its tail trailing a long whip made of golden spiritual power. With a flick of the whip, a figure swung from the water onto the shore.

Lin Pu shook her head, and her spiritual robe vibrated to disperse the moisture, instantly becoming dry. The young cultivator hopped in front of the fairy, flipped her palm to reveal the delicate lotus that had birthed the water soul, and gave an incredibly sweet, flattering smile. “Thank you for saving me, Senior Sister. This is for you.”

Lingyi glanced at her, snatched the lotus, and turned to walk away with a stony face. The demoness’s expression was terrifyingly dark. Lin Pu stuck out her tongue and hurried to follow.

She had been focusing all her Geng Metal power to fight the water seed’s suction earlier, but she wasn’t unaware of what was happening. She knew that the Demon Sect genius had destroyed two excellent cold swords to save her.

“Senior Sister, I’ve entered the Realm of Creation! It’s all thanks to you. You are truly my great benefactor!”

“Senior Sister, now that I’ve entered the Earth tier, Wan Xiang has a chance to transform its appearance. What do you think would look good? I think your Cold Sparrow is so cute and cool, truly extraordinary. How about I have Wan Xiang transform into a Cold Sparrow so we can match?”

Her Cold Sparrow was a unique species, the only one in the world! Who wanted to match this fool! Lingyi stopped and glared at her without a word.

Lin Pu caught the hint and realized she had said the wrong thing, so she quickly shut her mouth. Seeing the fairy about to leave again, she hurriedly called out, not knowing what else to say, and stammered out a sentence.

“Senior Sister, are… are your feet cold? I have many clean, beautiful embroidered shoes in my storage pouch. Can I give you a pair?”

They were all handmade for her by the priestesses of the Wild Mountains. Lin Pu treasured them dearly!

Lingyi was almost moved to laughter by the absurdity. Seeing the girl eagerly using a water spell to wash the dust from her feet, she said coldly, “My flight tool is destroyed. You take me to Songzhou.”

“Yes, yes, yes!”

Lin Pu hurriedly dragged Senior Tiger over. The cat smacked her face with a paw without mercy, jumped to the ground to return to its original form, and glared at the young master before enduring the humiliation of being a mount.

Support Guardians of Mountain and Sea