There is Still Such A Good Thing? - Chapter 9

In a side hall of Pihan Terrace.

Wu Lingchan was sprawled across the table, practicing his calligraphy by writing the word “Obedient.”

However, he was accustomed to the script of the Immortal Alliance, and being forced to learn an entirely different font made it difficult for him to get the strokes right. He would lose focus after every character he wrote.

After writing only a few “Chen” characters, he began doodling portraits on the blank paper.

The ink produced by the Xuanxiang vessel had the ability to shape-shift. Wu Lingchan skillfully wielded his brush, quickly sketching the likeness of Chen She.

Staring at the man on the paper, Wu Lingchan, who had been humbled and thwarted by him several times, felt a surge of rage and daring in his heart. He flicked his finger sharply, infusing the paper with spiritual power, which instantly transformed into a living, moving image of Chen She.

Wu Lingchan ordered him: “Give me plenty of demonic beast inner cores.”

The ink-man, wearing Chen She’s cold and handsome face, became obsessed with Wu Lingchan. He chattered incessantly and diligently took a pile of paper balls from his bosom to offer to the young lord.

Wu Lingchan then ordered the ink-man to knead his shoulders.

The ink-man complied.

Wu Lingchan was extremely satisfied.

At that moment, a voice echoed eerily in his sea of consciousness: “If Chen She knew about this, your life would be forfeit.”

Wu Lingchan sat bolt upright: “Mobao!”

“If you call me that name again, your life will also be forfeit.”

Wu Lingchan closed his eyes and channeled his divine sense into his sea of consciousness. Sure enough, he saw that the vessel spirit, who had been weak just yesterday, had begun to coalesce. The overwhelming, weak ink marks surrounding it were being drawn toward a single point in the center.

“Spit.” A thing seemed to be spat out from the illusory ink in the center. “What did you feed me? It tastes terrible.”

Wu Lingchan looked down.

It was the silver leaf that Jiang Zhengliu had given him, which had been chewed into a piece of scrap metal by Xuanxiang.

Xuanxiang said: “But the spiritual power is dense. It is the only reason I was able to coalesce my spirit.”

“Good stuff.” With Xuanxiang awake, Wu Lingchan felt unexpectedly relaxed. He sat cross-legged beside the vessel spirit: “It was a magic tool containing Demonic Qi that Jiang Zhengliu gave me. If I get more Demonic Qi, will you be able to fully coalesce your spirit?”

Xuanxiang was still just a blob of ink, but one could still hear his disdain in his tone: “I do not eat Demonic Qi. It is disgusting. Go get me something with spiritual power.”

Wu Lingchan’s focus was elsewhere: “You have been asleep for these past few days, and I never told you what Demonic Qi was. How do you know it tastes bad?”

Xuanxiang did not answer, merely sneered.

“If you do not eat it, can I use it?” Wu Lingchan asked him: “The last time I encountered danger, a wisp of Demonic Qi accidentally burrowed into my inner court, immediately restoring my Golden Core cultivation.”

Xuanxiang: “And then?”

“It shattered after three breaths.”

Xuanxiang gazed at the shattered Golden Core in Wu Lingchan’s inner court, lost in thought.

“Since this substance is a forbidden item in Kunfu, there must be a reason for it being banned. However, I have never heard of it actively burrowing into a person’s inner court. I fear there is more to this than meets the eye.”

Once the serious business was settled, Wu Lingchan finally had a chance to exercise his tongue, which had not been given a proper workout for a long time. He chattered away in his sea of consciousness for what seemed like eight hundred sentences, talking about the Fengyu Small Studio, his elder brother, and cursing Meng Ping.

Xuanxiang was annoyed to death, closing his eyes to cultivate and pretending he did not exist.

The sky grew darker.

Wu Lingchan, parched, drank a pot of cold tea. He stroked the ink block tied to the red rope on his wrist, gathered a bit of ink, rubbed it gently between his fingers, and instantly transformed it into a bird that hopped onto his fingertip.

“Go.”

The bird chirped and spread its wings, flying outward.

The vast Pihan Terrace was almost larger than the half-mountain territory Wu Lingchan had at Xiaodiao Peak. The bird flew for a long time before returning, chirping and slamming itself onto the table. With a soft plop, it scattered into ink marks, transforming into a map of the region.

Wu Lingchan glanced at it.

Chen She did not know where he had gone, and Pihan Terrace was deserted.

A perfect opportunity.

Wu Lingchan took advantage of the night, nimbly flipping out of the side hall window like a maple leaf drifting over the wall.

Bang. He landed on the ground.

“Oh my.” Wu Lingchan turned around, his red robes swirling like a blooming flower. He said happily: “Isn’t this Master Xun? What a coincidence. Why is a person of your stature not by my brother’s side, and what are you doing here?”

Xun Ye stood by the wall in the backyard. He did not know how long he had been guarding there; the bird had not even discovered him.

He smiled, though his eyes did not: “Where does the Young Lord intend to go?”

Wu Lingchan did not even blink: “I saw the weather was nice, so I wanted to come out for a stroll, hahaha.”

Xun Ye gave a mirthless smile: “Climbing over a wall to go for a stroll?”

“Yes, Pihan Terrace is too big, and I lost my way.”

Xun Ye seemed to sneer: “Shall this subordinate take the Young Lord back?”

Seeing his disrespect, Wu Lingchan impulsively lunged forward, channeling immense spiritual power to strike Xun Ye with a palm. He even summoned a bolt of lightning to strike the man, turning his face charcoal black and making him fall to his knees, begging for mercy and shouting, “Long live the Young Lord, I abandon my master to serve you! From now on, if you tell me to go south, I will never go north!”

Hahaha.

Xun Ye: “Young Lord?”

Wu Lingchan snapped back to reality from his daydream: “Oh! Never mind, I suddenly remember the way. No need to trouble Master Xun.”

Having said that, he turned and ran.

Xun Ye watched him with a blank expression, making no move to pursue.

Wu Lingchan sprinted down the long corridor, terrified that Xun Ye might catch up and insist on escorting him.

After running a few steps, Wu Lingchan flapped his wings and transformed into a butterfly, spreading its wings to fly.

Xuanxiang said: “It can only last for half an incense stick of time. Hurry.”

Wu Lingchan fluttered with all his might toward the main hall of Pihan Terrace.

Xuanxiang was a celestial-grade magic tool, one of the few in the Three Realms, and even while heavily injured, he could avoid detection.

Before long, the butterfly flew in through the open window of Pihan Terrace. As it landed, it transformed back into human form, rolling off the table.

Pihan Terrace was empty.

Wu Lingchan was freezing, shivering as he exhaled a few breaths before crawling up to look around.

The box on the table was still there, a faint glow flickering through the gap.

Wu Lingchan hurried over and happily opened the box.

…His face fell instantly.

The box still contained a pile of bloody demonic beast inner cores, but the Demonic Qi that had been attached to them had dissipated completely, leaving not even a wisp behind.

All his efforts were in vain.

Click.

The object wrapped in talisman paper at the side of the box suddenly jumped twice.

Wu Lingchan was startled: “What is that?”

The object looked like a palm-sized dagger or a sharp leaf. Wrapped in talisman paper, its appearance was indistinguishable, but it seemed to possess consciousness; one could vaguely hear it rasping for help.

“Save me, save me.”

Xuanxiang said impatiently: “Do not bother with it. In the Kunfu Ruins, anything trapped by talismans is no good. If there is no Demonic Qi, just eat a few inner cores. If Chen She finds you, you will be done for.”

Wu Lingchan asked curiously: “You seem to be very afraid of my brother?”

Xuanxiang choked for a moment, then said with a sour face: “Why would I be afraid of him?”

I do not know which of them had a crow’s mouth, but just as they mentioned Chen She, the great doors of Pihan Terrace slowly opened.

Chen She’s voice drifted in softly: “Call Fu Yu over.”

Xun Ye: “Yes.”

Wu Lingchan: “!”

Wu Lingchan’s hair stood on end. He subconsciously wanted to find a place to hide, but Xuanxiang seemed even more terrified of Chen She than he was. Not believing they could escape, he simply wrapped Wu Lingchan in ink marks and moved.

Clack.

Wu Lingchan instantly transformed into a jet-black ink stick and lay on the table, surrounded by the four treasures of the study, blending into them perfectly.

Wu Lingchan: “?”

Wu Lingchan asked in astonishment: “What are you doing? Are we not running?”

“What is there to fear?” Xuanxiang said coldly, “No one has ever been able to see through my disguise, as long as you do not move.”

Wu Lingchan muttered: “Are you afraid that we cannot escape?”

“Shut up!”

“Oh!”

Chen She’s footsteps were close, and soon he stopped before the desk.

Wu Lingchan did not feel afraid, yet he inexplicably felt that Chen She was looking at him.

That couldn’t be right.

Mobao was a celestial-grade magic tool. All these years, whenever he was punished by the Sect Master of Xiaodiao Peak to face the wall in repentance, Mobao would always take him and transform into a little bird to fly out and play.

Fortunately, Chen She walked toward the daybed nearby.

Wu Lingchan breathed a sigh of relief.

But before he could even exhale, he heard Chen She say: “Xun Ye, go grind some ink.”

“Yes.”

Wu Lingchan: “?”

Xuanxiang: “…”

The tassel on Wu Lingchan’s ink stick form felt like it was going to explode.

Grind, grind ink?

Wu Lingchan could not feel where his head or feet were after transforming into an ink stick, but his vision was wide, and he could see Xun Ye’s magnified torso walking toward him step by step.

Xun Ye stood before the desk, still muttering to himself.

In the middle of the night, why does Chen Jun need ink?

Chen She’s desk had everything. Xun Ye scanned the area and chose the most beautiful ink stick to pick up.

Perhaps it was his imagination, but he felt the tassel hanging from the ink stick was trembling.

Just as Xun Ye was about to add water to the inkstone, he saw the ink stick, which had the character “Ink” written on it in gold, dripping a few drops of water.

Xun Ye: “?”

Wu Lingchan: “Mobao, Xuanxiang, Xuanxiang, Xuanxiang! My face is facing down! He is going to grind my face!”

Xuanxiang: “…”

Chen She said: “What is it?”

Xun Ye said in confusion: “This ink stick seems a bit strange.”

“Bring it here.”

Wu Lingchan’s face had just escaped disaster, only to fall into Chen She’s hands, and now he could not escape at all.

Fortunately, Chen She did not intend to grind Wu Lingchan’s face. His long, jade-like fingers casually held the ink stick, his cool fingertips brushing over the character on the ink, as if playing with a piece of jade.

Wu Lingchan: “…”

Wu Lingchan had already started spitting out phantom souls.

By the time Xun Ye had switched to a new ink stick, ground the ink, and brought it over, a cold wind swept into Pihan Terrace.

Fu Yu arrived instantly with his blade strapped to his waist.

The number one killing god under Chen Jun was dressed in a capable black martial outfit, a snowy-white cloak draped loosely over his shoulders, with a long sword strapped to his back, the scabbard still dripping blood.

Fu Yu saluted: “Chen Jun, task accomplished.”

Having said that, he raised his hand and waved. Several streams of light appeared from his sleeves, and with a thump, thump, thump, several people covered in demonic energy rolled onto the ground.

The group was covered in blood and in a wretched state, their eyes glowing red as they glared at Fu Yu. As soon as their restraints were removed, they subconsciously tried to flee.

Chen She sat there, idly playing with the ink stick, his eyelashes not even twitching.

Thump, thump, thump.

Fu Yu did not draw his blade, using his bare hands to beat them back.

Chen She said indifferently: “Which of you has been to the Blood Sea of the Reincarnation Tombs?”

The demonic cultivator being trampled by Fu Yu sneered: “What, has Chen Jun changed his mind and wants to enter the Blood Sea to cultivate?”

Fu Yu raised an eyebrow and applied pressure with his foot.

Bang.

The demonic cultivator’s head was directly crushed, red and white splashing all over the floor.

The remaining monkeys, used as a warning, shuddered, looking on in horror.

Fu Yu grabbed another person and pressed his head against the floor: “Chen Jun has a good temper, but I am different. Remember what should be said and what should not.”

The demonic cultivator trembled, struggling to lift his eyes to look at her: “You…”

Fu Yu stomped again.

This time, not only the demonic cultivator, but even Xun Ye and Chen She looked at her.

Fu Yu explained: “He was too ugly.”

Everyone: “…”

Having killed two, the surviving demonic cultivators almost collapsed, roaring: “What is wrong with Demonic Qi? Do you want to cut off our retreat just because you cannot use Demonic Qi to cultivate?!”

“Good?” Chen She finally spoke, saying gently: “Have you looked in a mirror to see if you still look human?”

“Human?” The demonic cultivator probably knew his death was imminent and stopped struggling, saying coldly: “Chen Jun is flashy and glorious, imprisoning the old Demon Lord to take this position as the new Lord. Who does not praise you for having a human appearance? Even if your skin looks like a human, you are just a hybrid…”

Bang.

Fu Yu impatiently kicked the corpse aside and looked around, seemingly puzzled by something.

Chen She was not angered by the insults, asking the only surviving demonic cultivator: “I will only ask once. Who opened the rift leading to the Blood Sea of the Reincarnation Tombs?”

The demonic cultivator gritted his teeth, refusing to answer. But strangely, it seemed he was controlled by an invisible pressure, and his mouth could not stop itself from speaking.

“It, it was Elder Jiang. He is on good terms with a great demon from the Blood Sea.”

Xun Ye’s expression changed: “Good terms? There is a great demon in the Blood Sea with sentience?”

“Yes.”

Fu Yu became interested: “Chen Jun, I will go to the Blood Sea and capture that great demon right now.”

Chen She did not answer, instead asking: “What is Jiang Zhengliu’s purpose in trying to win over Wu Kunkun?”

The demonic cultivator was bewildered: “Elder Jiang said that Young Lord Kunkun is the one chosen by the Ancestral Spirit, and the great demon wants to obtain the…”

Chen She’s hand, which was holding the ink stick, paused.

Ancestral Spirit?

“What?”

“Fish…”

Under Chen She’s “Execution of the Heart,” the demonic cultivator was unable to resist telling the truth.

But as soon as he uttered a single word, as if he had been cursed, his eyes suddenly turned completely red, and a purple mist exploded in his Dantian.

BOOM!

The demonic cultivator absorbed the Demonic Qi, suddenly transforming into a huge demonic beast, his eyes filled with crimson malice. It seemed he had lost his consciousness, knowing only slaughter.

“ROAR!”

Wu Lingchan’s spiritual body, now an ink stick, was held in his hand, unable to discern any specific parts, but the feeling of having his life in someone else’s hands was too terrifying, and he nearly cried in fear.

He did not understand much of what Chen She and the demonic cultivator had said, but upon hearing this commotion, Wu Lingchan looked over, nearly jumping out of his skin.

Why is there suddenly a demonic beast?

The fierce beast opened its fangs wide, savagely pouncing toward Chen She.

Chen She stood up, holding the ink stick, and raised his hand gracefully, his wide sleeves fluttering in the gale.

Compared to the hill-like beast, he appeared like an ant, yet the moment the beast pounced to his face, it was like crashing into an immovable mountain.

The beast stiffened, looking on in horror.

Chen She’s indigo robes fluttered in the wind, and he opened his eyes gently.

The moment his eyelashes moved, the vermilion talisman marks that seemed to be sealing his eyes vanished silently.

Wu Lingchan could not see Chen She’s eyes from this angle, but he could see that the terror in the demonic beast’s eyes was even greater.

Chen She’s face was filled with compassion as his five fingers moved.

“Return to the Blood Sea.”

Boom.

Before the demonic beast could react, its body suddenly turned into countless fluttering bamboo leaves, drifting down.

Wu Lingchan watched in a daze.

As the spiritual power dissipated, the vermilion talisman marks crawled back onto Chen She’s eyes.

Xun Ye cleaned up Pihan Terrace with practiced ease: “There was no trace of spiritual power fluctuation for teleportation. Chen Jun, all these people have been killed, yet no one came to save them. Does Elder Jiang have another malicious scheme?”

Chen She rubbed the ink stick, sat back down, and said indifferently: “No rush.”

Today was not a good day for anything. Wu Lingchan struggled to regain his senses. There was no time to think; the top priority was to escape.

Suddenly, Xuanxiang said shortly: “Lingchan, my spiritual power cannot hold out.”

“Mm-hmm.” Wu Lingchan suddenly realized: “Huh?!”

Xuanxiang: “Give me those two inner cores!”

Wu Lingchan rushed to give them to him.

But I do not know if Chen She did it on purpose, but before Wu Lingchan could move, he suddenly pinched the tassel on the ink stick and shook it lightly.

Wu Lingchan dangled upside down, nearly vomiting all over him.

Fu Yu sheathed his long blade into the nape of his neck and noticed Chen She’s action: “Chen Jun, is there anything special about this ink stick?”

Chen She smiled and did not answer.

Wu Lingchan, dazed and dizzy, was still struggling to retrieve the inner cores for Xuanxiang from his storage space.

Suddenly, the inner cores he had finally managed to get hold of were hit by something, falling mid-air and rolling off Chen She’s knee.

Fu Yu: “?”

Xuanxiang: “I have tried my best, you are on your own.”

The next instant, the camouflage spiritual power on the ink stick receded like a tide, and in the blink of an eye, Wu Lingchan transformed into human form, tumbling across Chen She’s lap like a string of bells, ding-a-ling.

Wu Lingchan: “…………”