The Cold And Aloof Senior Sister Keeps Flirting With Me - Chapter 12

The Battle with the Black Serpent

A black serpent attacked, moving like a sharp lightning bolt. Its massive body created a hazy phantom in the air, snapping trees in half wherever it passed.

Qi Xianqing lightly tapped the ground and retreated instantly. She formed a hand seal and silently recited her cultivation technique. Her sword, “Candle Shadow” (Zhu Ying), shot out, transforming into hundreds of small swords under the dark night sky, raining down like a shower of light.

As the sword rain pierced the serpent’s scales, it let out a deafening roar of pain. Its massive tail swept forcefully, breaking an ancient thousand year old cypress, which then crashed down toward Qi Xianqing.

With a “thud,” Yan Jue could only watch as Qi Xianqing was pinned beneath the tree before she could react. The sword rain weakened significantly. The black serpent retreated slightly, then whipped its tail again, striking the base of the tree pinning Qi Xianqing. The crushing pressure caused Qi Xianqing to cough up a mouthful of blood.

The sword rain vanished. The black serpent, its golden eyes shining with greed, began slithering toward Qi Xianqing. It struck the ancient tree again with its tail.

Yan Jue frowned; if this continued, Qi Xianqing would be crushed.

Qi Xianqing, though pinned, had a sudden moment of enlightenment as the sword rain fell. Everything clicked into place, and spiritual energy surged wildly in her chest. Despite the intense pain in her abdomen and knowing the snake was approaching, she couldn’t move she was on the verge of a breakthrough! She needed ten breaths to circulate the violent spiritual energy, a critical amount of time in the face of death.

As the black serpent rushed towards her, the expected pain never came.

Qi Xianqing opened her eyes and saw a small, fiery red fox that had emerged from the undergrowth. It had clamped its jaws onto the serpent’s tail and was desperately dragging it backward.

One breath… two breaths…

The serpent thrashed in pain and broke free, striking the little fox hard with its tail. The fox was sent flying, its back instantly drenched in blood, landing in the cold pond before swimming back. It let out a low growl, baring its teeth, and bit the serpent’s tail again.

It’s… quite fierce? Qi Xianqing closed her eyes again.

One breath… two breaths…

The spiritual energy successfully completed one full cycle within her body. She heard the serpent’s enraged roar and the fox’s yelps. The red fox’s back was covered in bloody patches, and its sharp canines were bleeding from gnawing, but its eyes remained fierce and persistent as it held onto the tail.

Qi Xianqing suddenly exerted her arms, and the massive ancient tree was instantly thrown aside by her powerful spiritual energy!

She recited a sword incantation, and Candle Shadow roared out of its sheath, becoming a streak of azure light that shot toward the horizon. Within moments, it returned, expanding into a gigantic sword in the night sky. The giant sword descended with a majestic howl, piercing the black serpent’s back.

Blue light filled the surroundings, and the black serpent shrieked in agony before fleeing, plunging into the water. It seemed adept at moving underwater, creating massive waves.

Qi Xianqing rose into the air, her white skirt billowing in the wind. She calmly recited an incantation, and instantly, thunder rolled, and dark clouds gathered.

Yan Jue, lying on the ground, watched with wide, constricted pupils. In Daoist duels, combat mainly relied on magical artifacts and talismans. Being able to borrow from the heavenly mechanisms like Heavenly Fire, Heavenly Ice, or Heavenly Thunder meant one’s cultivation had reached a profound level, capable of resonating with the heavens.

Qi Xianqing’s current cultivation could not be lower than the Fourth Realm, Fusion Stage!

A bolt of lightning instantly struck, causing countless thin, snake-like streaks of light to appear across the cold pond, illuminating the entire surface. The black serpent let out a piercing scream and sank. When it resurfaced, it was floating belly up it was dead.

Aftermath and Naming

Yan Jue could not believe what she witnessed. The demonic beast had an aura of at least the Third Realm, yet Qi Xianqing had dispatched it so easily in three moves.

The dark clouds dispersed, and the clear moonlight returned.

Qi Xianqing knelt down, taking one of the fox’s paws. “You saved my life.”

Yan Jue stared blankly, unsure how to react.

Qi Xianqing knelt lower, her palm facing up, shorter than the fox by a head, and bowed deeply to the little fox, touching her forehead to the ground. “Thank you.”

She was sincere, making Yan Jue feel awkward, and she whined, shaking her head.

Qi Xianqing smiled, “If you don’t have a name, may I call you Little Red (Xiao Hong)?”

Yan Jue shook her head, unwilling. So tacky…

Qi Xianqing was surprised and laughed, “It seems you have your own thoughts. Then how about Little Fox Baby (Xiao Hu Baobao)?”

Yan Jue: ?! Even more exaggerated. It seemed the protagonist, beneath her cold exterior, also had a girlish heart.

Yan Jue grumbled on the ground, showing clear reluctance. Qi Xianqing picked her up, unconcerned that the fox’s blood was staining her skirt. She looked down, “You’re injured. Will you come back with me? I’ll put some medicine on your wounds.”

Yan Jue didn’t want to, wriggled free from Qi Xianqing’s embrace, and ran off. She didn’t want to stay near a killing fiend for too long.

Qi Xianqing watched her retreating figure but didn’t get angry. “Thank you.”

The little fox paused its running for a moment, then jumped and fled.

Seeking Medical Attention and New Information

Back in her room, Yan Jue transformed back into human form, feeling a sharp pain on her back. Having been severely scraped by the black serpent, she was bleeding profusely. Yan Jue almost wanted to howl at the sky she should have let the protagonist apply the medicine! Now, alone, how could she reach the wound on her back?

So, Yan Jue knocked on the door of her neighbor.

Du Ming was shocked when she saw the extensive wounds on Yan Jue’s back. “Heavens, Junior Sister Yan, where did you get so many injuries?”

Yan Jue quickly concocted a lie to placate her. “It was from going down the mountain on a mission…”

Du Ming was easily fooled. “Ah, missions down the mountain are indeed perilous. When I did my first-level mission back then…” Yan Jue had realized long ago that her neighbor, Senior Sister Du, was a chatterbox. Once she started talking, she couldn’t stop.

In the dim light, the young woman’s skin was snow-white, her thin back exposed. Since Du Ming was kindly applying medicine, Yan Jue recounted the experience of her month-long training trip down the mountain.

Du Ming gasped upon hearing the details while tending to the wounds. “Were the tasks really that hard? Mine was a bit difficult, but not to the extent of being covered in wounds like yours.”

Yan Jue: “Extremely difficult.”

Du Ming: “It’s a pity I’m only at the late Foundation Establishment Stage. The leading Senior Sister needs to be at least mid-Illumination Stage. Otherwise, I would have been your team leader and taken you down the mountain for missions directly.”

Despite the rumors surrounding Yan Jue, after interacting with her a few times, Du Ming felt the rumors deviated significantly from reality. Junior Sister Yan was actually quite nice.

“Your mission was indeed too tough. Wouldn’t it be better to find a leading Senior Sister to guide you?”

Yan Jue was surprised. “A leading Senior Sister? Where would I find one?” Last time, she had simply gone to the Steward’s Pavilion to accept missions; she had no idea this team-leading arrangement existed.

Du Ming puffed out her chest in a mentoring manner. “Yes! You didn’t know? To the left of the Immortal Seeking Plaza under the Steward’s Pavilion, there are people setting up small stalls. Many disciples recruiting companions for team missions gather there!”

After asking, Yan Jue learned that the Steward’s Pavilion was still the first place to get a mission. However, because some missions were very difficult and required three or four people, a leading disciple would be assigned. The leading Senior Brother or Sister would accept the mission, then go to the left side of the Immortal Seeking Plaza to set up a stall, recruiting disciples who wanted to train outside the mountain and were willing to share the mission rewards. The successful team would be officially grouped under that mission, recorded on the token as: “Led by Senior Brother [Name] to complete [Mission] with [Who’s Who].” Upon completion, it would count as a beginner mission.

Yan Jue: “It can be done like that…” If I had known this earlier, none of those things would have happened!

Du Ming was very enthusiastic. “Junior Sister Yan, rest well for the next few days, and we can go check out the Immortal Seeking Plaza together in a couple of days.”

The Harsh Reality

Yan Jue rested for five days in her dormitory, and with meditation, her injuries were almost completely healed.

On a sunny afternoon, Yan Jue and Du Ming arrived at the Immortal Seeking Plaza. Just as Du Ming described, the left side was crowded with small groups, a few loudly hawking their needs.

“Central Plains Su Family Tragedy! Two spots left, Fusion Stage Senior Brother leading, absolutely safe!” “Temple at the foot of Five Dragon Mountain haunted, need a Junior Sister who understands healing!” “Late Illumination Stage Senior Sister leading, only need one person, location just fifty li outside Five Dragon Mountain, very close!”

Suddenly, a girl of about sixteen or seventeen entered the crowd. She wore a lotus green pleated skirt, her long black hair slightly pinned up, her skin snow white. A golden collar hung around her neck, dangling three bells that chimed with every graceful step.

“….”

Yan Jue watched as the bustling crowd quieted for a moment when this girl passed, a bad feeling rising in her heart.

As expected, after inquiring around, no team wanted her.

“Junior Sister, sorry, we need a Wood element disciple who understands healing and repair…” “Sorry, Junior Sister. We need a late Foundation Establishment disciple… What? You’re already mid-Foundation Establishment? Sorry, we need a late Foundation Establishment disciple, this task is a bit harder.”

Yan Jue: “…” Blame the original owner’s past actions; she was now notorious. Seeing their reactions, Yan Jue understood. If she were a leading Senior Sister, she probably wouldn’t want a troublemaking, useless person like the original owner joining either.

A moment later, Du Ming rushed over. “All those teams are full! Oh my, Junior Sister, you are too unlucky.” She looked at Yan Jue worriedly. She had noticed a few teams that hadn’t filled up when she asked earlier, but as soon as people heard that it was Yan Jue from the Zhenhuo Sect wanting to join, they all refused. Sigh… it’s all because Junior Sister Yan was a love struck fool, a good for nothing who couldn’t even break through to early Foundation Establishment after three years in the mountain. For cultivation, there would naturally be untalented people. Du Ming didn’t want to say it directly and hurt Yan Jue’s feelings.

Yan Jue, however, took it well. “It’s fine, it’s fine. Isn’t there one more team over there? Shall we go take a look?”

At the very edge of the crowd, one team was still standing there a team they hadn’t approached yet.

Du Ming watched Yan Jue walk over and couldn’t help but call out, “Junior Sister, let’s wait until tomorrow. That team over there is…”

“Led by the Eldest Senior Sister!”