There is Still Such A Good Thing? - Chapter 11

Back Mountain.

This area was originally a sea of lotus and pond lilies. Hundreds of years ago, Lord Zufushi, in pursuit of Lord Wu, used his spiritual power to force a thousand acres of lotuses to bloom in an instant, professing his love by declaring, “This is the heart I have bloomed for you.”

Lord Wu laughed, drained the entire lotus pond with a single palm strike, causing the “heart” that Zufushi had bloomed to wither instantly, and then strode away.

Ever since then, the seas dried up and mountains rose. The ground was bone-dry yet covered in lotus flowers, leading to it being renamed Lotus Root Mountain.

The next day, Wu Lingchan attended only half a day of classes at Fengyu Academy before heading to the back mountain.

The ink stains, shimmering like a fairy’s ribbons, wrapped around Wu Lingchan’s forearms. He vaulted to the entrance of the back mountain with his token in hand, greeted immediately by a sea of emerald-green and pale pink. The fragrance of lotus flowers washed over him.

As Wu Lingchan was only at the Qi Refining stage, the elder overseeing the back mountain had restricted his hunting area to the periphery. He wandered around for half a day before spotting a single, waddling young beast.

Despite having no spiritual energy, it fiercely pounced at Wu Lingchan, trying to bite his hem.

Wu Lingchan swatted its head to the ground with one palm.

The small beast let out a few cries, scrambled back up, and bit his shoe.

“This will not do.” Wu Lingchan sat atop his swirling ink, swinging his legs as he let the creature gnaw on him. “This place does not allow me to show my skills. Xuanxiang, can you search for where the larger demonic beasts are?”

Xuanxiang was already too lazy to correct him on the name. “Twenty miles south is the heart of the back mountain. The demonic energy there is dense, but it is covered by a barrier, and someone is specifically guarding the entrance. I am afraid your token will not pass.”

Wu Lingchan scoffed, “No one ever refuses me.”

Xuanxiang remarked, “Oh? Hasn’t Chen She refused you many times?”

Wu Lingchan: “…”

Wu Lingchan flew toward the heart of the mountain with a darkened face, determined to show Xuanxiang his capabilities.

Sure enough, just as he reached the edge of the barrier, the mountain guard arrived, stepping on a lotus leaf. He gestured, summoning a strand of spiritual energy that transformed into an illusory lotus flower, tightly enclosing Wu Lingchan within it.

“Who dares trespass?”

“Young Lord Wu Kunkun.”

The mountain guard, dressed in black and wearing a mask, had never heard of any “Kunkun” or “Young Lord.” He said in a low voice, “Those at the Qi Refining stage are forbidden from entering the heart of the mountain. Leave immediately.”

Wu Lingchan stood inside the rotating spiritual lotus, his robes fluttering like flower petals. “Let me in. Even if something happens, no one will blame you for it.”

The guard was so angry he laughed. “Nonsense! If you do not leave, I shall have no choice but to throw you out!”

Wu Lingchan, shocked at being refused, shouted, “You dare throw me?!”

Xuanxiang was rendered speechless.

He wanted to open his mouth to advise Wu Lingchan, but he knew this stubborn temper would never listen.

Wu Lingchan had been brought into the sect by the Sect Master of Xiaoduo Peak. Although he practiced the orthodox methods of the immortal sect, his bones remained deeply ingrained with the rogue tendencies of a demonic cultivator, frequently leading him into trouble.

The Xiaoduo Peak Sect Master did not treat him kindly, nor did he have the patience to teach him right from wrong. Every time Wu Lingchan caused trouble, the master would simply lock him on an uninhabited mountain to reflect.

Xuanxiang sometimes spent two or three years in seclusion. Over the past decade, besides a room full of books, the things Wu Lingchan spent the most time with were the ink-people Xuanxiang had painted.

The ink-people were completely obedient to Wu Lingchan; dressing him, combing his hair, massaging his shoulders, kneading his legs, kneeling, and kowtowing, they complied with everything.

By the time Xuanxiang realized something was wrong, it was already too late. After years of reflection, Wu Lingchan had crowned himself the Child of Destiny, the center of the world, and a peerless genius, believing that all living beings in the world should revolve around him.

As fate would have it, Wu Lingchan possessed excellent luck and a terrifying natural talent for cultivation. Even on rare trips out, he was surrounded by frantic adulation and envy.

Having the top rankings of this list or that list thrust upon him had only laid a solid foundation for the Young Lord’s arrogance, a foundation even Xuanxiang could not shake.

Xuanxiang could hardly bear to look back.

Seeing the mountain guard’s look, which clearly read, “Is this person an idiot?”, Xuanxiang stifled his advice and waited to see him get rebuffed.

With this temper, it was about time Wu Lingchan faced some setbacks.

The guard swept his cultivation pressure forward, his patience completely exhausted. He raised his hand, preparing to throw the lotus flower containing Wu Lingchan twenty miles away.

Suddenly, his gaze landed on the clinking, clanking accessories at Wu Lingchan’s waist.

“Hiss!”

The guard gasped.

That was the Four-Nether Gold Bell that Lord Chen had carried with him for years. It was a wonder he could spot that tiny bell among a pile of blinding accessories.

Xuanxiang was preparing to mock Wu Lingchan after he was tossed away, but instead, he saw the guard suddenly drop to one knee, offering a token to enter the barrier with a clearly respectful tone.

“It is this subordinate’s offense! Please enter, Young Lord Kunkun!”

Xuanxiang: “?”

The pale pink lotus slowly blossomed and withered on all sides. Wu Lingchan leaped down from the lotus platform lightly and took the token, his demeanor as natural as if this were how things ought to be.

“Can I hunt whatever demonic beasts I want inside?”

“Naturally,” the guard said. “However, the students of the Four-Cut Academy are currently having a hunting competition today. You may head south to avoid them colliding with you, Young Lord.”

“Oh!”

The guard bowed and retreated.

Wu Lingchan entered the heart of the back mountain smoothly with the token. Realizing belatedly that Xuanxiang had been silent, he asked curiously, “Why are you not saying anything?”

Xuanxiang: “…”

Xuanxiang remained silent for a long time before saying gloomily, “I do not talk much. Do not waste time. Let us hunt demons.”

“Oh!”

There were far more demonic beasts in the heart of the mountain than on the periphery, especially since Wu Lingchan’s flesh was a prize fought over by the beasts.

Less than half an hour after entering, over a dozen demonic beasts had already come to throw their lives away.

Although Wu Lingchan claimed to be the one hunting, it was Xuanxiang doing all the work. In the blink of an eye, demonic cores floated out amid the blood mist and ink traces.

Xuanxiang devoured them on the spot.

Wu Lingchan, still wearing his “fairy ribbons,” propped his chin on his hands and drew little figures. Seeing Xuanxiang devouring them with such savagery, he asked in confusion, “Do you have the feeling that more and more demonic beasts are coming?”

Xuanxiang was too busy eating to speak. Once he had his fill, he turned into a ring of ink surrounding Wu Lingchan, masking his demonic aura.

The effect was nearly instantaneous; the demonic beasts gradually began to decrease.

Wu Lingchan modestly nodded, “Even the demonic beasts are infatuated with me, crazily coveting me.”

Xuanxiang: “…”

Xuanxiang had swallowed too many demonic cores, and the ink finally managed to condense into a faint, illusory human form.

He did not want to listen to Wu Lingchan’s self-aggrandizement, so he picked out the prettiest demonic cores from the ones he could not swallow and placed them in the storage space for Wu Lingchan to play with.

After killing the surrounding beasts, Xuanxiang flicked a finger, and the blood-stained corpses dissolved into a bloody mist in mid-air as if eroded.

Xuanxiang killed beasts, claimed cores, and cleaned up the aftermath, while Wu Lingchan sat by and watched, eating pastries, looking exceptionally leisurely.

Xuanxiang glanced at him, then seemed to discover something. Impatiently, he reached into the depths of the lotus flowers.

The ink transformed into a whip, severing countless lotus stalks, and in a blink, wrapped around a human figure and dragged them over, causing them to stumble and fall to the ground.

Xuanxiang looked as if he had stepped out of an ink wash painting, his movements light and fluid, his sleeves fluttering like ink smoke submerged in clear water.

He gathered his hand, drawing an ink stroke to outline his black hair, which transformed into a sharp, slender sword. He looked down at the person on the ground and said coldly, “You have been following us all the way. Do you want to die?”

Wu Lingchan, who had been idly playing with a lotus flower, glanced over and raised his eyebrows. “Is it you?”

The person tied up by Xuanxiang was none other than the half-demon he had seen before.

Xuanxiang’s eyes moved. “You know him?”

“Yes.” Wu Lingchan floated over and tapped his finger, dissipating the ink rope on the half-demon. “Why are you here?”

The half-demon was even more wretched than last time, though his face was much cleaner. However, the arrow in his back seemed to have pierced deeper into his body, his face pale as paper, devoid of any color.

The half-demon looked fearfully at Xuanxiang, who was clearly not the same species as them. He pursed his lips and said weakly, “I… I have no ill intent.”

Xuanxiang scoffed. If there had been ill intent, he would not be alive now.

Xuanxiang did not care to bother. He turned into a streak of ink and burrowed into the ink block on Wu Lingchan’s wrist.

Wu Lingchan asked curiously, “Are you here looking for me?”

Half-demon: “No!”

“Still lying?” Wu Lingchan said with a smile. “If you were not here for me, why have you been secretly following me all day?”

Half-demon: “…”

The half-demon’s breath was as thin as gossamer. He muttered for a long while, not knowing what to say.

Wu Lingchan tilted his head to look at him, then suddenly walked behind him.

The half-demon was startled, instinctively not wanting to face someone with his back. Just as he was about to turn around, a piercing pain shot through his heart.

Wu Lingchan had neatly and cleanly pulled out the arrow from his back.

Half-demon: “…”

Blood surged out instantly, the pain causing the half-demon to sprawl clumsily on the ground. Cold sweat poured down his face, and his skin turned deathly pale. “What are you doing?!”

Wu Lingchan pulled out the other arrow as well.

The half-demon lay there, gasping for breath, feeling an unprecedented level of regret.

So that was why he had not killed him last time; he had wanted to torture him properly.

He had thought this person was different from the others, but he turned out to be a deeply calculating hypocrite. Humans and demons were all the same. He truly should not have had such expectations.

Just as he thought this, the half-demon felt the pain that had followed him for decades quickly knitting together. New flesh grew over the wounds, and his wild body recovered its strength inch by inch.

The half-demon paused, looking at Wu Lingchan in astonishment.

Last time, Jiang Zhengliu had packaged that barrel of jade nectar for the Young Lord. Wu Lingchan had casually taken a few drops, which were worth the entire foundation of Xiaoduo Peak, and pressed them onto the half-demon’s wounds. The injuries that had tortured him for decades were cured in an instant.

“There.” Wu Lingchan said, “Now you have the strength to talk.”

Half-demon: “…”

The half-demon had never received any kindness; his heart hammered against his throat, nearly causing him to choke, and his eyes slowly turned red.

How could this person be so kind?

When Wu Lingchan saw this, he thought, This will not do! He hurriedly reached out as if to slap him. “I pulled the arrows and treated your wounds for you; why are you repaying kindness with resentment? You are not allowed to glare at me!”

Half-demon: “…”

The half-demon closed his eyes, momentarily not knowing how to handle the boiling emotions in his chest.

After a long time, he let out a shaky breath, pulled something out of his dirt-stained sleeve, and handed it over.

He had never done such a thing before; now, not only were his eyes red, but his face was turning a flush of pink.

“For you.”

Wu Lingchan took half a step back.

The half-demon remained silent for a long moment before picking up a few lotus petals, wiping it clean, and giving it to him again.

Wu Lingchan looked at the worn-out, circular iron lump. “What is this?”

“Demonic energy.” The half-demon lowered his head and whispered. “You wanted it, right? Here.”

Wu Lingchan was stunned, looking at the inconspicuous, ugly thing.

The half-demon pressed a groove on the iron lump, and the iron device split into five petal-like leaves, as if a lotus were blooming, each extending a string to tie down the object in the center.

A wisp of purple mist curled into a ball, floating and drifting.

It was precisely demonic energy.

Wu Lingchan was astonished.

He had been busy for several days and had not managed to get a single wisp, yet here, unexpectedly, the demonic energy had been delivered to his doorstep.

“Is this really for me?”

“Yes.”

“Where did you get it?”

“A demonic beast battle in the void fissure where both sides were heavily wounded. I found it.”

Wu Lingchan was filled with admiration. Seeing that the half-demon was not stingy at all, he happily went to take it.

Just then, Xuanxiang suddenly said, “Careful.”

Before the words fell, a stark white light flashed on their faces, followed by a giant spherical boulder that descended from the sky with a boom, covering them both.

Wu Lingchan arched his eyebrows, about to use Xuanxiang to protect them both.

At this moment, a human figure suddenly rushed in from the side, swiftly scooped him up, and leaped away at the critical moment to dodge the boulder.

Wu Lingchan: “?”

Boom!

The boulder finally landed, instantly rotating and shrinking countless times. Symbols flashed, and like a glazed stone, it trapped the half-demon who had failed to escape.

Wu Lingchan was stunned.

The person holding him like a cat finally set him down gently. This person’s refined blue robes were stained with blood; his features were handsome, the corners of his eyes drooping slightly. He pursed his lips, possessing an inexplicable quality of melancholy.

“Are you all right?” he asked with concern, his voice soft.

Wu Lingchan blinked his eyes and then looked at the trapped half-demon.

Oh no, the half-demon and the demonic energy.

Before Wu Lingchan could snatch the half-demon back, another black boulder followed.

That person’s eyebrows drooped even more severely. He raised his hand, releasing the spiritual energy of a Golden Core stage, and the boulder in mid-air exploded with a boom.

He shielded Wu Lingchan behind him, impatiently saying, “This is an academy competition; let it be at a point of balance. Are you not afraid of harming the innocent?”

“Hahaha!”

Arrogant laughter came from the distance, followed by several figures falling from the sky. The leading youth walked out from the depths of the lotus flowers, his voice heard before his person was seen.

“Wen Juanzhi, or should I call you Wen Stammerer? Indecisive people are not fit to be the champions. I thought the lesson of being the runner-up for the past five years would have taught you this truth.”

Wen Juanzhi said listlessly, “The grievances and competitions between you and me have nothing to do with him.”

The lotus flowers parted left and right. A youth, his robes half-black and half-white, leaped up. A square object in his hand rotated and landed on the ground, suddenly expanding countless times, crushing a patch of lotus flowers.

It was then that Wu Lingchan realized it was a spiritual artifact with intersecting horizontal and vertical lines—a chessboard.

The “white boulder” that had just trapped the half-demon was a white chess piece. The one attacking Wen Juanzhi was a black chess piece.

Chi Fu han stepped leisurely on the chessboard, his features sharp and aggressive.

He did not even look at the Qi Refining stage Wu Lingchan, provoking, “The competition ends before sunset. Counting this half-demon, there are 135 demonic beasts in my new artifact, while you have a measly 100. Wen Juanzhi, you have lost again.”

Wen Juanzhi said coldly, “The sun has not set yet; the outcome is not yet decided.”

Chi Fu han tossed the chess piece at random. “Today, the demonic beasts in the back mountain seem to have disappeared due to the oppressive aura of some ancient demonic beast. There is only half an hour left, and you are still playing the hero protecting a Qi Refining ant. I want to see where you will find the 35 demonic beast cores to finish.”

Wen Juanzhi: “Do not trouble yourself, get out, get out, get out, get out.”

During their argument, Wu Lingchan had remained silent.

This was not his style.

Xuanxiang always felt he was calculating something, his eyelids twitching lightly. “What are you thinking? Are you thinking about how to snatch back the chess piece trapping the half-demon?”

Wu Lingchan was short and was blocked firmly behind Wen Juanzhi’s tall figure. Every time he tried to peek out, he was pressed back in alarm by Wen Juanzhi, who feared that Chi Fu han would strike at this innocent child.

“Hmm.” Wu Lingchan poked Wen Juanzhi’s arm and poked his head out, looking first at the unharmed half-demon, then at the massive jade chessboard under Chi Fu han’s feet, his eyes shining brightly. “Tell me, if I snatch that chessboard artifact, would brother like it?”

Xuanxiang: “…”