183: Shu Shichan

Chen Xuan glanced at the voluptuous woman he had nearly played to death.

Giving her no chance to breathe, he abruptly raised the longsword in his right hand and slashed down without hesitation. Instantly, a wisp of pale-gold Sword Qi, condensed to the extreme, shot through the air, moving so fast it left only a blurred afterimage.

Night Butterfly's pupils snapped into pinpoints. Her body's Yao power had long been sluggish due to previous exhaustion; she couldn't even manage to dodge before the Sword Qi accurately struck the center of her brow.

With a soft 'chi-la' sound, the supply of essence blood within her body was instantly severed, and the final trace of power maintaining her Yao form vanished into thin air.

As the supply of essence blood ceased entirely, the fragments of the fox phantom that had not yet fully dissipated let out a shrill howl. The dark red flames covering it dimmed at a visible rate before finally collapsing into a sky full of tiny sparks that slowly drifted down.

The remaining Heart-Burning Crows in the vicinity also lost their source of power and flickered out one by one in the air.

Chen Xuan looked at Night Butterfly, who lay on the ground devoid of any breath. He casually waved a hand, using Spiritual Qi to sweep up all the items on her person to inspect the loot.

There were actually as many as five storage rings.

He quickly scanned them with his Divine Sense and found four or five earth-rank magic treasures, though they were all unsuitable for combat. There were also tens of thousands of Mid-Grade Spirit Stones and several Talismans. Simply put, there wasn't much of value; perhaps the most valuable thing on her was that Deity Transformation Realm Yao Core.

While rummaging, several books rolled out from a corner of a storage ring. The characters on the covers were clearly visible: "Illustrated Collection of a Hundred Go Games," "Miraculous Encounters of a Heavenly Immortal," "Secret Records of the Bibo Palace Fairies," and the last one was actually "The Unofficial History of the Yin Shen Sect."

Even more absurdly, every single book was interleaved with vibrantly colored illustrations!

Recalling the methods Night Butterfly used during her illusion sneak attack earlier, Chen Xuan's lips twitched, feeling quite speechless. What kind of nonsense was this fox Yao studying all day and night?

Chen Xuan casually tossed the "Illustrated Collection of a Hundred Go Games," which taught people how to play Go, back onto the ground. He stowed the rest of the loot along with the Yao Core into his own storage ring and turned to fly toward Biyun City.

A Sect like the Qinglan Sect, controlled by the Yao Race, definitely wasn't the only one. He hadn't expected the Yao Race to have already gone into hiding and developed within the borders of the Flame Continent.

It wasn't that Chen Xuan hadn't thought about interrogating Night Butterfly to find out how many more Sects like the Qinglan Sect existed.

But he mainly felt that although this fox Yao was frivolous in speech and manner, her backbone was remarkably stiff. She would rather burn her essence blood to fight to the death than utter a single word of surrender. Even if he kept her alive, he likely wouldn't get anything out of her.

He could mention this matter to Fellow Daoist Qin once he reached the Yin Shen Sect.

The Golden Core Realm Qinglan Sect was a massive trouble for Biyun City, but for a great Sect like the Yin Shen Sect, it was merely a trivial matter that could be handled in passing by sending out a few Disciples for experience.

When he returned to the courtyard in Biyun City, he saw Mu Wanqing and Xiao Lingxian waiting there. Standing beside them was Shu Shichan, her head bowed as if she had made a mistake.

Xiao Lingxian's expression was exceptionally complex. She had lost her usual aloof, 'keep away' demeanor; in her eyes was a hint of aggrieved hesitation mixed with a clear, regretful melancholy.

"Revered Master, why did you take so long to get back? Could it be you didn't defeat the Sect Master of the Qinglan Sect?" Mu Wanqing was the first to approach, her almond eyes sparkling with the curiosity of someone eager for gossip.

With Revered Master's cultivation, wiping out a tiny Qinglan Sect should have only taken the time it takes to drink a cup of tea.

Yet, nearly two hours had passed.

Chen Xuan didn't answer. Instead, he glanced at the three people with their varying expressions. Among them, Mu Wanqing, in her yellow dress, was in the best mood, her eyes curved like crescent moons and her round, oval face full of schadenfreude.

"What happened here?" he asked.

Just as Mu Wanqing was about to speak, Shu Shichan interrupted her, her voice carrying a hint of fear: "Revered Master, it's this Disciple's fault..."

"After this Disciple received the Myriad Medicine Heart Sutra you bestowed, I tried to refine a fifth-grade elixir using the remaining Spirit Medicine in the manor. However, I was missing a Fire Essence Flower during the refinement, so I used other herbs as a substitute.

Later... later I asked Senior Sister Xiao to help test the medicine."

"Was there a problem with the pill?" Chen Xuan raised an eyebrow and asked curiously.

Shu Shichan quickly shook her head, her peach-blossom eyes watery and full of innocence: "The medicinal effects are a perfect match; there weren't any problems at all!"

"Mm~ Little Junior Sister's talent in Alchemy is indeed high," Mu Wanqing interjected from the side, though her words carried a bit of helplessness. "It's just... Senior Sister thinks that perhaps you could consider the flavor of the pills more, and... learn from others how to make a pill look 'presentable'."

"Senior Sister?" Shu Shichan blinked, staring straight at Mu Wanqing.

With her exquisite beauty paired with a dazed, innocent expression, her tone was full of confusion. "But isn't Alchemy just about extracting the medicinal effects of the herbs? Why do all that extra work?"

At those words, Mu Wanqing was instantly rendered speechless.

She couldn't exactly say that when Xiao Lingxian tested the medicine, she wasn't just choked into a coughing fit by the strange smell, but also nearly ended up twitching on the ground because of that bowl of thick, viscous medicinal liquid.

Xiao Lingxian had also been stared at so intensely that she felt as a Senior Sister, helping her Junior Sister test some pills was nothing.

Then she regretted it.

Chen Xuan looked at Xiao Lingxian in her red clothes, her head bowed. From her eyes, which were filled with a loss of will to live, he seemed to read a single sentence: 'I am no longer clean.'

Chen Xuan had no intention of getting involved in his Disciples' little episode. He turned to Shu Shichan: "Go inform your father that the Qinglan Sect has been wiped out. I will take you back to the Sect in a moment."

Shu Shichan looked up quickly at Chen Xuan. Seeing that her Revered Master didn't mean to blame her at all, she immediately broke into a smile, her voice becoming much more cheerful: "This Disciple obeys!"

Just as she left the courtyard, Shu Shichan couldn't help but pump her fist and cheer, "Alright! I finally refined a fifth-grade elixir. This Dao Seeking Sect of Revered Master's is truly great."

Standing in the courtyard, Xiao Lingxian only realized in hindsight after hearing this that the pitiful, head-bowing, mistake-admitting act the little Junior Sister put on earlier was completely fake!

Looking at Shu Shichan's skipping figure, Chen Xuan inexplicably had an illusion: it was as if he were seeing someone who had been a man for several lifetimes finally getting the chance to be a woman for once.

About an hour later, Chen Xuan brought his three Disciples to the gates of the Shu Manor.

Shu Qingfeng and the other two were already waiting at the entrance. Upon seeing Chen Xuan, they cupped their hands in salute, their tones full of gratitude. "Many thanks to Senior Chen for removing this great scourge from Biyun City!" He then turned to Shu Shichan and urged, "Chan'er, in the future when you follow your Revered Master, you must be obedient. Talk less, cultivate more, and do not cause trouble for your Revered Master."

Chen Xuan exchanged a few polite words and then led Mu Wanqing and the others, channeling their Spiritual Qi to transform into streaks of light that flew toward the distance.

[Received pious worship from fifteen people, gained 150 sect prestige points]

A notification sound suddenly echoed in his mind. Chen Xuan reckoned it was the servants of the Shu Manor, truly bowing in gratitude because he had wiped out the Qinglan Sect.