Let Me Inside
Inside the Transient blade's alchemy room, Xiao is starting to prepare for her vengeful confrontation. She knew that Qiang is still a realm above her, but that makes her vengeance all the more sweeter if she could pull it off. In the world of cultivators, there are few things more shameful than being bested by those who are below you in realms.
A defeat like that would mentally scar a cultivator, torturing him throughout immortality. Lucky for Qiang, Xiao would spare him that. Because she's going to end him as soon as she sees an opening. And the combat pills that Xiao is planning to concoct would be the key in opening the door for victory.
From beast parts to herbal plants, the ingredients that she would use to brew various pills are neatly arranged in rows at the table before her.
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"This." Xiao's hand rested on a large blue turtle shell.
<< Ah, 'Xuan Wu pill'. One of the best defense pills.>>
Xiao grabbed the alligator turtle's shell with two hands. She only had one encounter with the nasty beats when she was still a kid, they usually live deep in the forests which troublesome little brats like them had no business being in. Needless to say, one of her childhood friends paid the price by getting three of her fingers. Looking back at the memory, that little girl had it coming, it wasn't a bright move to pet a wild razor-jawed turtle the size of a dog.
Manifesting an ice sword on her right hand, Xiao tossed the shell above the cauldron with her left hand and began cutting it mid air. Doing 20 slicing motions in a single second gave the illusion that Xiao was trained with the sword but it was nothing but her preternatural speed brought about by her cultivation level. The turtle shell was already in bits and pieces by the time it hit the cauldron.
Next Xiao tossed into the cauldron a dash of Goldenseal root followed by Hydrastis leaf. With all three combined, it will make one powerful defensive pill that will allow her to weather Qiang's powerful blows.
As Xiao began heating up the flames to 150°, her focus was taken away by the voice of her master.
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A wry grin formed in Xiao's lips upon hearing the question. At first, her master's voice inside her head had taken a lot of getting used to. Everytime Xiao would be reminded that her body isn't solely hers now. Yet, she got used to it for the same reason, now she was never alone wherever she went.
"Why wouldn't I be? That baldie is insanely strong, especially that rapid punch technique of his. It's a good thing I have you on my side, you'll bail me out when things go south, right?"
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"Let's just say that isn't the case. What if you're just wandering cultivator that passed by
, would you still help me?"
Zhen didn't know the purpose of this question. If she would guess, it was just to ease Xiao's anxious mind.
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The flames in Xiao's cauldron intensified for a second. Her teacher's answer just made her heart skip a beat.
"Teacher, are you hitting on me again? I thought you said I don't interest you?"
The question made Zhen giggle. The brat was a few hundred years younger to be in her age range. Then again, all that flirting of the fox woman and her student were starting to get to her. She was envious to feel another's touch. Normal morals do not apply to them since they could live for hundreds of years but Zhen still wanted to keep their relationship strictly mentor and mentee. Zhen's spectral heart might not be able to handle it if she had an affair with Xiao knowing she was priming her up for a war against heaven's strongest.
That may well be, that doesn't mean Zhen can't fool around. It was time for a little payback for making Zhen the constant third-wheel.
The voice inside Xiao's head took on a more alluring timbre, seductive even.
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Xiao gulped, her master's words rendered her speechless. There was no doubt about it, her master was hitting on her harder than a blacksmith's hammer.
"I…I'm not against it but…" Xiao deliberated. The only reason for her hesitation was that her master was fucking ancient. She was already alive while she was naught but air. Then again, Xiao was already an adult. Free to do what she wanted, do who she wanted.
A laugh echoed inside her mind as her teacher did away with that salacious tone of hers.
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A jest!? Xiao was genuinely about to seriously consider things between them but her teacher was just fucking with her emotions!?
Xiao's flames intensified again, but this time another emotion fueled it.
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"Take a fucking guess, master."
<< It was all in good fun. We're both dual cultivators, you should be able to handle banter like that.>>
To let her master know how pissed she was, Xiao ignored her as she harvested the dark blue pill from the cauldron. Xiao tossed it inside her mask.
Onto the next pill, Xiao put three white tiger fangs onto the cauldron followed by fire ginseng and basilisk tears. It was a pill that would embody the offensive capabilities of the white tiger, augmenting her combat prowess twice fold.
Xiao heated it up to 80°.
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Xiao ignored her master once more. Zhen, being the mature one, decided to just let her student concoct her pills in peace.
Minutes of silence passed, Xiao heard nothing but flames hitting the cauldron.
"Master, are you there?"
<< Where else would I be?>>
"Is what you said true, that you will manifest a physical form one of these days?"
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Xiao's lips formed a grin, if her master had put her on edge, it's only fair that she does too.
"Since you fancy yourself as an expert on dual cultivation, will you dual cultivate with me when that time comes?"