Blood on the Mountain

"Daoyou, please show mercy!"

Just as Chen Jinshu urged her Azure Frost Sword forward for another strike at the serpent demon's vulnerable spot, a slightly aged voice rang out—accompanied by three sharp blades flying rapidly toward her.

She swiftly twisted her body, narrowly evading the attack. The ground where she had stood exploded, leaving a half-zhang deep crater.

"Hmph!"

With a cold snort, Chen Jinshu showed no hesitation, driving her sword downward again.

Schlick!

The serpent demon's vulnerable spot was sliced halfway through. The mountainside shook violently once more.

"I'll make you pay with your life!"

The voice belonged to an old man in gray Daoist robes, whose cultivation had reached the peak of the Foundation Establishment stage. He radiated an aura of aged authority, cloaked in a faint white glow like a venerable elder. Yet the cruel, sullen glint in his eyes revealed the malice within.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

The elder soared into the air, furiously forming seals. Waves of fireballs rained down on Chen Jinshu, showing no mercy. Each fireball carried nearly half of his cultivation power, charring the ground on impact and leaving behind blackened scorch marks.

Chen Jinshu darted across the battlefield, leaving behind streaks of crimson afterimages.

"You demonic cultivator, raising a serpent to harm others."

"What's it to you?" The elder's expression darkened, his gaze growing colder.

"I accepted a demon-slaying commission. If you value your life, you'd best leave."

Chen Jinshu warned him flatly. Their cultivation levels were equal—only by going all out could she hope to kill him. Given the uncertainty of his full strength, she decided it was safer to finish off the serpent first.

"Insolent brat! Let this elder teach you some manners on behalf of your elders!"

With a furious snarl, the elder summoned a dust whisk in his right hand.

Whish, whish!

As he whipped it through the air, countless fine white threads shot toward her like sharp needles. Chen Jinshu pulled out her Lüqi Zither, her fingers quickly plucking at the strings.

Ting, ting, tang…

As the melody rang out, nearby vegetation—once only a few inches tall—began to surge upward with unnatural speed. In mere moments, dense plant life shot up before her, blocking the threads from reaching her.

Pupupupu!

Although the vegetation grew strong, they were still just plants and offered little defense. The threads tore through them in an instant. Chen Jinshu leapt into the air, flicked her finger across seven strings in rapid succession, sending multiple green sound waves slashing toward the elder.

Clang, clang!

The elder whipped his whisk, deflecting the sonic attacks with the steel-like threads.

"I've lived over a century! Do you really think a little girl like you can outmatch me?"

The elder spoke mockingly before blinking out of sight—and reappearing a zhang below Chen Jinshu. She flicked the corner string, activating an airborne resonance with her palm.

Ding ding dong dong…

Illusory sound waves rippled outward, and the elder's dash toward her slowed as he struggled to resist the pull of the illusion. He forced his spiritual awareness to stay grounded, trying not to be sucked into the hallucination.

Seeing this, Chen Jinshu summoned her spirit sword, which housed a sword spirit.

"Sword spirit, kill him. Help me now, and I'll find you materials to repair your origin."

The icy-blue sword hovered for a moment. Though startled to be summoned—it had always chased her, never the other way around—the sword spirit felt an inexplicable surge of loyalty and eagerness to follow her command.

Instantly, it erupted in a blizzard of sword qi, blades scattering in every direction. Even the fast-growing vegetation she had summoned was sliced clean in half. The elder, struggling to maintain his senses, found himself overwhelmed.

If he blocked the sword energy, the zither's illusion would ensnare him. He had sealed his five senses to resist illusion, yet the tug on his spiritual consciousness remained painfully strong.

"Spare me, young friend! I'll relinquish the serpent!"

Seeing death approach, the elder cried out in panic.

"Too late."

Chen Jinshu's fingers never stopped plucking. Sound waves rippled outward again.

Shing!

Multiple sword blades slashed across the elder's robes and neck, drawing blood that spurted into the air. He staggered back but had barely taken a few steps before more blades severed his hand and foot tendons, sending him crashing to the ground. His consciousness, already weakened, was finally pulled into the illusion realm.

"Seems I need a distraction to bring out the full power of my sonic illusions."

Glancing over the battlefield, Chen Jinshu realized this key insight. Without the sword spirit, defeating the serpent master would have taken much more effort.

Whoosh!

The sword spirit hovered in front of her, gleaming like snow and clearly seeking praise.

"All right, your help saved me a great deal of time. I'll keep my word and look for the materials you need."

With a flick of her hand, she stored the sword spirit away.

Originally, she had planned to leave it back at Ink Plum Courtyard, but this trip away from home reminded her: if someone infiltrated her room and found the sword spirit, they might take it.

It still had great value to her—for learning sword techniques and potentially revealing lost ruins of fortune. Not that it had ever told her where to find any, no matter how much she coaxed.

She descended rapidly and landed beside the fallen elder. He was bleeding out, the sword wound at his neck unstopped and growing wider. Blood pooled beneath him.

"Master, the serpent demon is dead."

Hearing the voice of Xiao Yin, Chen Jinshu turned to see the half-dead serpent demon under its talons. It looked just like the villagers had described—dragon horns prominent on its head, though it hadn't yet grown claws.

Dragonoid beasts were rare in the cultivation world. Any cultivator lucky enough to tame one would become nearly invincible among their peers.

Chen Jinshu nodded in satisfaction and reversed her grip on the sword before driving it through the elder's chest.

He let out a muffled grunt—and died.

She took his storage pouch and cast a fireball spell on the corpse. The elder had raised a serpent that was close to evolving into a flood dragon—his background likely wasn't ordinary. Still, she'd never heard of any sect in the cultivation world specializing in beast taming. The truly powerful ones were mostly Golden Core-level sects.