vstars Chapter 61 Enemies meeting are bound to be extremely hostile.
Chapter 61 Enemies meeting are bound to be extremely hostile.
Xue Zhen carefully stepped across the threshold.
"thump!"
He knelt down as soon as he entered the door.
His forehead was pressed tightly to the ground, and he dared not lift it.
Yao Ye didn't speak, but instead took a thin vine from the wall.
This is no ordinary vine. It is covered with fine barbs, each one coated with a faint spiritual light. When you lash it, the spiritual light seeps into the flesh, causing pain several times more intense than a normal lash.
He weighed the rattan cane in his hand, walked up to Xue Zhen, and without saying a word, lashed out with the whip.
"Hmm..."
Xue Zhen shuddered as the barbs tore his clothes on the back, leaving a deep bloodstain on his skin.
He clenched his teeth, letting out a very low groan, which he then forcibly suppressed.
He dared not cry out in pain; the more he showed his suffering, the less Yao Ye's anger he would lose.
But Yao Ye did not stop because of his forbearance.
Wang Zhiwei's contempt, the hopelessness of the true discipleship spot, the ruthless trampling of his dignity as a disciple of the immortal race... this series of failures made Yao Ye's anger surge even more fiercely.
The root cause of all this is Xue Zhen's incompetence!
"Slap! Slap! Slap—"
A series of fierce whip strikes rained down on Xue Zhen's bloodied and mangled back.
Xue Zhen was in so much pain that he felt like he was dying. He pressed his forehead against the cold ground, his fingernails dug into the cracks in the bricks, and he had bitten his lips until they bled, but he remained silent.
He knew that crying out in pain in front of Yao Ye would only invite a more severe beating.
After an unknown amount of time, Yao Ye finally stopped.
He threw the rattan cane on the ground, sat back on the futon, and gasped for breath, but his eyes gradually regained their composure.
"stand up."
Xue Zhen used his hands to support himself on the ground and barely managed to lift his head.
The clothes on his back had been torn into strips of cloth, and the exposed flesh was covered with more than a dozen bloodstains of varying depths. In some places, the skin had rolled up, and blood was flowing down his spine.
Seeing his disheveled appearance, Yao Ye's pent-up anger finally dissipated somewhat.
He hung the rattan cane on a hook on the wall, took out a small porcelain bottle from his sleeve, and threw it in front of Xue Zhen. The bottle rolled a few times on the ground and stopped next to Xue Zhen's knee.
"Apply the medicine yourself."
Yao Ye's tone had returned to its usual indifference. "In a few days, I'll be going to the Ten Directions Mountains for a mission to wipe out the monster strongholds. I asked Senior Brother Wang for a spot, and you'll be coming with me."
Xue Zhen paused slightly in his grip on the porcelain bottle, a flicker of fear crossing his eyes, but he quickly gritted his teeth and said in a deep voice, "Your subordinate will certainly—"
"To show your loyalty, is that it?"
Yao Ye suddenly leaned down, grabbed Xue Zhen's hair, pulled his face close to hers, and said, word by word, "You dare to say that?"
You've ruined my plans time and again. If it weren't for the fact that you're still somewhat useful, do you think you'd still be standing here talking to me?!
Xue Zhen's pupils contracted sharply, and his whole body trembled uncontrollably. He said in a trembling voice, "Young Master, please calm down! I deserve to die! I deserve to die!"
Please give me a chance, my lord, I will certainly…”
He slammed his forehead hard against the stone bricks, making a loud thud, and a small patch of blood immediately seeped into the ground.
"I will certainly atone for my crime by performing meritorious service!"
"Save your energy. Let's show it to the monsters when we get to the Ten Directions Mountain Range."
Yao Ye stood up, uttered a single sentence, and then walked out the door without a second thought.
……
……
Half a month passed in the blink of an eye.
Xiaojianshan Market, outside the South Gate, a large blue stone archway.
The age of this archway is unknown. The carvings on the stone pillars have been blurred by wind and rain, but the four large characters "紫气东来" (meaning "purple aura comes from the east") at the top are still clearly visible.
At the foot of the archway was a rammed earth open space, usually used by merchant caravans to rest, but today it was packed with about a hundred people.
Although there were many people, they were clearly divided into distinct groups.
On the left is a group of independent cultivators, numbering around thirty or forty, dressed in a motley collection of clothes and carrying a variety of magical implements.
An old man wearing a short brown animal skin squatted on a stone block, sharpening his knife, the blade scraping against the whetstone making a soft, rustling sound; a talisman master wrapped in a long gray cloth robe sat on his backpack, closing his eyes to rest.
There were also two or three acquaintances gathered together and talking in hushed tones, their topics being nothing more than how many bottles of pills the bounty could be exchanged for, and whether the monsters in the mountains were easy to deal with.
Wu Liang was gesturing at several unfamiliar faces with the sheepskin map, talking incessantly.
As usual, Lü An squatted at the base of the stone pillar of the archway, with his small bronze incense burner in front of him.
He Xiu stood to one side, carrying a herb-gathering hoe half-wrapped in oilcloth, a shy smile on her face, listening to Wu Liang talk animatedly, nodding occasionally.
Miao Wuniang was still standing at the very front.
Today she changed into a dark green, narrow-sleeved outfit, with a short knife at her waist.
She crossed her arms in front of her chest, her gaze passing over the crowd of cultivators and landing on the empty space to the right of the archway. The corners of her mouth turned down slightly, showing a hint of impatience.
The area on the right was reserved for the Immortal Sect. It was currently deserted.
Duan Heisi leaned against the stone pillar of the archway. He looked up at the sky. The morning mist had dissipated, and a thin layer of golden light shone through the eastern ridgeline. The sun was about to rise.
"Where are the people from the Immortal Sect?"
A nearby cultivator, unable to contain his impatience, muttered under his breath, "It's already past 3:45 AM, and we haven't even seen a shadow of them."
"What's the rush?"
Duan Heisi didn't turn his head, his voice as rough as gravel, "When disciples of the immortal sects travel, do they never arrive on time? Just wait..."
Before the words were finished, a clear and melodious sword cry suddenly came from the distant horizon.
The sound was initially very distant, as if it came from the depths of the clouds. Before the crowd could listen carefully, the sword's cry tore through the silence of the morning sky like a thunderclap.
A streak of silver-white sword light pierced the sky from the south. Even before the light arrived, the chilling sword intent had already enveloped the entire open space of the archway.
Several of the less skilled cultivators among the independent practitioners involuntarily shrank their necks, feeling a chill on the back of their necks, as if an invisible sword was held against their throats.
The sword light arrived in an instant, landing in the center of the open space to the right of the archway. The light faded, revealing a moon-white figure.
Zhang Ruxue.
Unlike the day of the tea party, her attire today was much more neat and tidy.
The moon-white long dress was replaced with a silver-gray outfit, over which was a plain white short robe with a few simple cloud patterns embroidered in silver thread at the hem, fluttering slightly in the mountain breeze.
Her black hair was no longer loose, but tied up high with a white jade hairpin, revealing her slender and fair neck.
She stood with her hands behind her back, her back straight like a sword yet to be drawn, so piercing that people almost dared not look directly at her.
The independent cultivators involuntarily fell silent.
Zhang Ruxue ignored the gazes of the rogue cultivators, only slightly tilting her head to glance in the direction she had come from, her brows furrowing almost imperceptibly.