Once Upon A Time, There Was A Spirit Sword Mountain

After she put aside that barely alive Golden Thread Red Refined Snake, Little Ling'Er showed a boring expression. She failed to see that as a "mere" mortal world's martial artist, there should be a sense of accomplishment in "one-shot killing" a monster who already had an inner core.     

However, wouldn't this show how peerless she was!? If she was instead overjoyed, exclaiming "yay! I won!" then her image would drop. Wang Lu inwardly sighed with emotion, thinking that he didn't befriend a wrong person to bring to this "picking herb" trip. "Sister Ling, as a mortal world's martial artist, your power has truly broken all the limits!"     

A snake with an inner core, even if it was just a basic inner core, should have the strength that was far beyond an ordinary category-three monster. Solely based on its core ray alone [1], it had an overwhelming power, which was enough to break ten-thousand techniques with one strike. Wang Lu's Non-Phase Sword Bone was able to resist the Little Thunder and withstand the Full Moon Roar, yet he was still completely unable to resist that golden core ray. Let alone a Qi Cultivating Stage cultivator like him, even a Foundation Establishment cultivator would find it hard to resist that attack. However, such a powerful beast couldn't even last a round against Little Ling'Er!     

That being the case, what was her exact level then? High-level Foundation Establishment? Xudan?     

No, she was just a mere mortal. Wang Lu was confident that he didn't misread this. As a possessor of the Void Spirit Root, Wang Lu was very sensitive to the surrounding spiritual energy. If Little Ling'Er ever manipulated the surrounding spiritual energy, he would immediately know it with just a glance.     

The apex of the mortal world's martial art, in theory, was comparable to a high-level Qi Cultivating Stage of an ancient sect. This was already quite a high appraisal. However, Wang Lu believed that even in his Spirit Sword Sect, no disciples could resist this golden core ray merely by their body. Even an invincible tanker like him, when he reached the higher level of Qi Cultivating Stage in the future, wouldn't necessarily come out unscathed against that ray.     

Then what about the Lady Boss? Did she find another path after the end path of a martial art master? She started from spell immunity, and later directly evolved to break time-space limits?     

There were many questions in his heart, but since she didn't say anything, Wang Lu was also too lazy to ask.     

Unfortunately, even though Wang Lu knew not to ask such private questions, someone else couldn't resist.     

"Wh-what just happened? I clearly saw it…"     

Wang Lu directly kicked his butt. "Damn! When it's time for you to take action, you're too slow to react; but when you should shut up, you have a quick mouth!"     

Wen Bao was bewildered. "What's wrong?"     

The Lady Boss didn't mind. "Forget it. Look at his face now; no need to embarrass him any further…" With that, she turned her head and looked at Wen Bao.     

No matter how slow this fatty was, he knew what he should do at this time. Although he was afraid, he clenched his teeth. "I-I want to take a piss!"     

Then he ran to the far corner as he warily and innocently looked at Wang Lu and the Lady Boss from his peripheral vision, looking forward to when their conversation would end.     

After Wen Bao had left, the Lady Boss smiled as she looked at Wang Lu. "To be honest, I've been waiting for you to ask. But after two years, you still kept the questions to yourself, which makes me worry sometimes."     

Wang Lu sighed. "Men sometimes, sometimes, need to be able to endure much longer than women."     

"... When you first entered the sect, I was about to say it when I first came to visit you. You ought to have some questions about me, right?"     

Now that it had come to this, Wang Lu no longer hesitated. "Of course I have. Sister Ling, your identity is so special; even that idiot Wen Bao could see that you're different. How could I not recognize it?"     

The Lady Boss replied him with another question, "What do you think?"     

Wang Lu said, "In the beginning, my gut feeling told me that you should be the Sect Leader's illegitimate daughter. After all, you could freely go up the mountain any time you wish, and you even possessed that Firmament Cloud Ancient Coin; all of them refer to the illegitimate daughter identity."     

"..." The Lady Boss didn't say anything, but as she heard Wang Lu's deduction, it was clear from her eyes that she was distraught.     

After a while, she asked, "Then what happened? Did you change your mind? If so, why?"     

Wang Lu threw up his hands. "Because my Master calls you Little Ling'Er and claims to have a deep sisterly love with you. Moreover, not long ago, she also told some nonsense about wanting to marry you or something, so I thought that you shouldn't be an illegitimate daughter."     

"What… does it have to do with this?" Little Ling'Er was confused.     

"If you're the daughter of Sect Leader Feng Yin, wouldn't Wang Wu be a generation lower if she was your sister? Usually, she despises the Sect Leader very much, so how could she be willing to lower herself a generation lower in front of him? I made my judgment based on this reasoning."     

The Lady Boss was stunned and then shook her head as she held back her laughter. "You are really… too smart; always thinking a few steps ahead of other people. But sometimes, you're too smart for your own good. Your first guess is right. I… am indeed the Sect Leader's daughter."     

"What!?"     

Wang Lu was startled; he even took a few steps back to size up this pretty, lively, but full of grassroots feeling girl.     

"Sister Ling, to be honest, I really couldn't see it."     

The Lady Boss casually stroked some of the disheveled hair on her forehead. "That's fine; after all, I am an illegitimate daughter. As for your slut Master, you actually should be able to guess. In her wishful thinking, if she could get my hand in marriage, she could openly compete for the succession of the Spirit Sword Sect Leader position as a 'son-in-law' identity."     

"Puff!"     

Wang Lu finally couldn't hold back. Though he had gotten along with his Master for two years, she could still show a degraded part of her that was new to him!     

"However, you don't need to blame her; there are reasons why she became like this."     

Seeing that Wang Lu didn't seem to believe her remark, she was about to argue; but before she could open her mouth, she heard Wang Lu said, "Sister Ling, since your identity is so prominent, why don't you live on the mountain and be a little princess there, instead of running that… that daily-turnover-of-more-than-ten-thousand family inn at the Spirit Creek Town?"     

When he brought up this topic, Lady Boss' expression suddenly turned cold. "What? Why do you think so?"     

Wang Lu shrugged. "It seems like your father-daughter relationship is quite poor; is it because of your mother?"     

The Lady Boss said, "No. I don't have any impression at all about my mother. According to the recorded events at the Spirit Sword Sect, I was brought here by him alone. I have never seen my mother, and he also never brought up this matter to me. So, our poor relationship is not because of my mother."     

"Well, what then? I thought his treatment of you is quite good."     

"Good? Are you sure?" The Lady Boss sneered. "The daughter of the grand Sect Leader of the Spirit Sword Sect was actually just a mortal, why do you think it's like this?"     

Wang Lu immediately said without thinking, "Of course it's because you are a simple-minded person and thus didn't have the opportunity to become a cultivator."     

The person being called as simple-minded stomped her foot in irritation. "Damn! How could I be more simple-minded than your Master, Wang Wu? Even she has already been in Jindan Stage!"     

Upon hearing her appropriate example, Wang Lu finally felt that his answer was inappropriate.     

"Em, why then? It is always said that the qualification for Immortal Cultivation is not entirely based on heredity. It happens a lot that tiger father begets dog son or something."     

The Lady Boss sneered. "That still could be alleviated with human-made spirit root. With his position as one of the seven great elders of the Union of Ten Thousand Immortals, wouldn't it be difficult for him to ask for a few top rate spirit roots from the Shengjing Sect? As long as he's willing to ask, anyone would be generous to him. I'm afraid that matchless Twelve Floors Spirit Root would even be delivered to him."     

Wang Lu pondered for a moment. "I feel like Sect Leader Feng Yin is not the kind of person that would worry about his face; could it be that he was limited by the sect rules? But I thought the Spirit Sword Sect is not too stuck up on rules. Remember, when I participated in the Immortal Gathering, they were extremely flexible in rules. Those too-many rules changes almost made people feel that they didn't have any credibility."     

The Lady Boss sighed. "Yes, you're right. If human-made spirit root could solve my problem, he would find one for me and then lead me to Immortal Cultivation road. However, by the way, have you ever heard about a major crisis in the Spirit Sword Sect thirty years ago?"     

"Never heard of it."     

"Yes, it was because that crisis went away as fast as it came. Before it could cause any real damage, the Heavenly Sword Hall Elders had eliminated it, so many people didn't know about it. But actually, that crisis nearly wiped out the Spirit Sword Sect in an instant, and the Elders didn't have an easy time to get rid of it…"     

"Is it the return of the Fifth Elder?"     

"... No. It was the appearance of the Nine-Tailed Heavenly Fox."     

"I'll be damned! Nine-Tailed Heavenly Fox? Isn't that one of those legendary beasts?"     

Wang Lu was thoroughly amazed. In recent days, he spent some free time fixing the knowledge gap in the Monster Category Encyclopedia in the Nine Regions. Thus, he very clearly knew what that Nine-Tailed Heavenly Fox meant. It was a real mythical beast that had been extinct for nearly a hundred years! It was invaluable merely by its collection value, on par with his Void Spirit Root!     

Of course, if viewed from another aspect, any genuine mythical beast would, theoretically, have a power level approaching that of a True Immortal. Moreover, these mythological beasts possessed extraordinary wisdom and knowledge, their lifespan was long, and they would always have some heavenly treasures. It was far above the level of those treasureless monsters in the Small Clear Sky, and no cultivators in a lower level could challenge it.     

In the glorious era, perhaps this Nine-Tailed Heavenly Fox could only become a dominant power. But after the end of the last Age of Chaos, when the surrounding spiritual energy had undergone a significant change, it was enough to shock the entire Nine Regions.     

"But, at the time, the Heavenly Sword Hall didn't want to shock the Nine Regions. Although they could request reinforcement from the Union of the Ten Thousand Immortals, at that time, the Sect Leader decided that the Spirit Sword Sect alone could put an end to it."     

Upon hearing this, Wang Lu deeply wrinkled his brows. "Because the Sect Leader wanted to pick up all its drops [2] by our own?"     

"Nobody knew what he was thinking; even most of the Heavenly Sword Elders recommended that they should ask for reinforcements because that's not the time to be brave. Even the insufferably arrogant Sect Leader of the Shengjing Sect wouldn't want to face this mythical beast alone. It was not because he couldn't beat it, but the 'loss would outweigh the gain.'"     

"It seems like at that time; Sect Leader has an ingenious method that could efficiently deal with this mythical beast."     

"Oh, actually, there was—but not exactly that. Before that magnificent Nine-Tailed Heavenly Fox could even appear on the sect, it was already eliminated."     

The Lady Boss sneered, and then asked Wang Lu with a smile, "Have you ever heard about the Stars Revolution Seal of God?"     

"No. Although I have no idea about it, it sounds pretty awesome."     

"Yes, it was the top-level technique in the Stellar Sword Method. Only the Sect Leader alone could practice it. Its function is to seal God."     

"Seal God? Is that even real?"     

"It should be. You should know that since you've entered the sect for two years. The Spirit Sect's Patriarch inherited several ancient methods, and this Stellar Sword Method is one of them. It is rumored that this method is a genuine True Immortal level spell. Though parts of its content had gone missing after thousands of years, this Seal of God content at the bottom is naturally a True Immortal Level technique. It could even seal a mythical beast. The only problem is, how could you use a True Immortal Level spell?"     

Since the Sect Leader had only reached the Deity Stage so far, it was indeed still quite a distance away from a True Immortal. As such, it stood to reason that this spell should be very difficult to cast.     

"By himself, he certainly couldn't. But by using Immortal Treasures, combined with the Spirit Sword Sect's inheritance of the thousand years old Grand Cloud Arrays, the strategically located spiritual energy node, and with the help of his two Junior Brothers whose cultivation was closest to him, he was qualified to use half of this Seal of God."     

After all that trouble, the majestic Deity Stage expert could only use half of the spell? Although this was beyond Wang Lu's level of understanding based on his current cultivation level, he was still sure that the spell was effective.     

"That's right; even with half the spell, it had enough lethality against this mythical beast. However, because it was only half the spell, the Seal of God was unable to banish the Mythical Beast beyond the Ninth Heaven completely, or perhaps in some certain space. Simply by virtue of the spell power to suppress the resistance of the mythical beast has already been so exhausting, therefore…"     

The more she talked, the thicker her ironic smile became. "Therefore, the Sect Leader devised an ingenious array method as the next step. He combined the strategically located spiritual energy node on the Spirit Sword Mountain and the protection from the Grand Cloud Array. After which, he launched a sacrificial ritual; he used a newborn baby as a sacrifice to create a vacuum point. After that, through the spiritual energy node and the connection to the Seal of God, he sealed the Nine-Tailed Heavenly Fox into that vacuum point. Yes, that's right, as you guessed, that vacuum point is me. From then on, Nine-Tailed Heavenly Fox has been sealed in my body."     

With that, the girl held out her hand and pointed to herself, assuming a proud stance.     

Unfortunately, there was no response; as the only audience, Wang Lu was thoroughly dumbfounded. His whole body seemed petrified.     

At first, the Lady Boss thought that it was interesting that she was able to scare someone like Wang Lu like that. However, after a while, he kept on staring at her, which made this girl slightly embarrassed.     

"Hey, have you seen enough? Is it that bad? A mere Nine-Tailed Heavenly Fox doesn't deserve such surprise, you know."     

Wang Lu finally got back his composure, but he still wore that "unable to believe" expression; his hand reached out and pointed at the girl. "Sister Ling, just now, you said that event happened thirty years ago…"     

"Yes, what's wrong?"     

"In other words, you're already a thirty years old woman…"     

Before he could finish his words, a mighty fist had directly landed on Wang Lu's face!     

...     

[1] The powerful golden light in the previous chapter.     

[2] In online games, when a big boss is killed, it often leaves some drop items to the participated gamers