"Whoa..."
Qing He widened her eyes slightly, watching the blood qi that had blotted out the sky slowly dissipate. She first glanced around, then whispered to Xie Lingyu:
"That Li Xingtian kid usually seems so dull, acting like a pushover. Who would've thought you can't judge a book by its cover. With a heavenly omen like that, I thought some supreme old demon had emerged from seclusion."
Xie Lingyu's gaze didn't waver, but her hand accurately smacked Qing He on the head.
"Speak properly."
It didn't hurt, but Qing He still covered her head, her tone aggrieved: "What... With a heavenly omen like that, are you going to tell me some supremely virtuous person emerged from seclusion?"
"Naturally so," Cui Hao spoke up from behind Chu Xingchen. "My Second Senior Brother is mighty and imposing. Furthermore, Eldest Senior Sister once provided a perfect explanation regarding this blood qi."
Qing He looked back and saw that Chu Xingchen and Cui Hao had also arrived. "What explanation?"
Cui Hao gazed at the slowly dissipating blood qi, speaking as if with deep emotion:
"Eldest Senior Sister said that Second Senior Brother is righteous to the point of wickedness—the ultimate embodiment of earthly goodness."
Qing He's face instantly broke into a smile at these words, then nodded with satisfaction—no matter how you parsed that statement, it sounded like a backhanded compliment.
Cui Hao might be black-hearted, but he was still decent to her.
Chu Xingchen ignored the pair—one person and one dragon. When there was nothing to do, those two were quite close. Qing He would not only marvel at Cui Hao's occasional stunts but would even join in herself, though what awaited her was always a harsh lesson.
"Didn't expect you to arrive faster than me." Chu Xingchen walked to Xie Lingyu's side and asked with a smile.
Xie Lingyu shook her head slightly: "I was just closer. Didn't expect your second disciple to reach the Nascent Soul Realm this quickly either."
Chu Xingchen glanced sideways at Xie Lingyu upon hearing this. Her expression remained as composed as ever, as if the remark were merely casual, devoid of any emotional undertone.
"After all, I taught him. A bit of talent is only natural."
A faint warmth appeared in Chu Xingchen's smile. "But... aside from thanking me, he should also thank you."
Xie Lingyu looked at Chu Xingchen with a hint of confusion. She didn't recall providing Li Xingtian with any cultivation assistance.
Chu Xingchen's smile was gentle: "Sometimes fate pushes people into valleys, just as it did with you back then and me when I was still lost."
"If you hadn't been punished, if you hadn't left the Heavenly Derivation Sect, then our meeting would certainly have been you disliking my fondness for teasing, and me not caring for your coldness."
"The most we could have hoped for was to pass each other by—you, a peerless genius no lesser than Derivation Yun, and me, a wandering rogue cultivator scrambling to make ends meet."
"The greatest fascination of fate is that it brings utterly unrelated people together, only to discover they're unexpectedly compatible."
Xie Lingyu raised her eyes, their gazes meeting briefly before she looked toward the still-shut door.
"You always have a way with words... but I don't feel any particular way about it. Cultivation is one's own affair."
Chu Xingchen raised an eyebrow, his tone curious: "Hmm? Was I talking about cultivation?"
Cui Hao broke into a brilliant smile nearby—he still needed to learn diligently from his master.
Qing He shook her head in slight disappointment. She had already seen through it—Little Lingyu was no match for Chu Xingchen in verbal sparring.
Xie Lingyu looked back at Chu Xingchen, whose eyes held a teasing glint, and found herself unsure how to respond correctly without giving Qing He ammunition for gossip later.
Fortunately, the sound of a door opening answered for her.
This time's true protagonist—Li Xingtian.
He pushed the door open with a somewhat heavy expression, his face showing no joy from his breakthrough. Only a sense of grievance—the heavens had wronged him—along with the helplessness of a heart aimed at the bright moon only to shine upon the gutter.
Chapter 429 (continued)
Having broken through to the Nascent Soul Realm, Li Xingtian had no choice but to accept one fact—he might truly be a demonic cultivator now.
Previously, when his Golden Core had condensed his blood power, his body still remained unblemished, and manipulating blood qi still required channeling it through the Golden Core.
But after reaching Nascent Soul, that was no longer necessary. The great benevolent Li merely needed to raise his hand and blood qi would flood the heavens. From a distance, not only could he manipulate his own blood qi—he had just done a rough study and found that manipulating others' was equally effortless.
Setting everything else aside, facing opponents of lower realms, the great benevolent Li needed only to lift a finger to make them genuinely experience—the sensation of blood vessels rupturing.
A demonic cultivator killing mortals might not be as effortless as his methods, but this could be considered an expansion of capabilities, which was a good thing.
The negative effects, however, were also glaringly obvious—raise a hand and blood qi fills the sky, lower a hand and a river of blood flows endlessly.
This nominal righteous cultivator... Li Xingtian also felt his seat growing increasingly unsteady.
After all, anyone who witnessed his techniques would never consider Li Xingtian a righteous cultivator.
Chu Xingchen's gaze swept over Li Xingtian.
[Target: Li Xingtian]
[Cultivation: Early Nascent Soul]
[Golden Tag: Reborn One] [Non-upgradeable]
[Purple Tag: Blood Bone True Body] [Upgradeable]
[Purple Tag: Decisive in Slaughter] [Upgradeable]
[Blue Tag: Deeply Loyal] [Upgradeable]
[Blue Tag: Expert of Secret Realms] [Upgradeable]
[White Tag: Somewhat Smooth-talking] [Upgradeable]
Chu Xingchen nodded with great satisfaction. Li Xingtian's [Blood Bone True Body] had been born after absorbing that peculiar stone, and strictly speaking, his current blood-qi demonic cultivator appearance was very much tied to his own choices back then.
As for Expert of Secret Realms... one could only say that Li Xingtian, with his memories intact, was even more adept at plundering secret realms. The experience accumulated from his past life and the practical operations of this life had already achieved a perfect synthesis.
Though the system's terminology sounded more refined, it ultimately lacked the flavor of the traditional tomb-raider title.
The formerly blunt Li Xingtian had, under the education of the sect family, finally become the [Somewhat Smooth-talking] Li Xingtian.
No longer the hothead of years past. Naturally, Eldest Senior Sister's education had been particularly instrumental in this transformation.
As for what Li Xingtian could upgrade, the tag that best aligned with his desire to cultivate frantically—the higher the realm, the better—was none other than [Blood Bone True Body].
Chu Xingchen applauded with a solemn expression: "Excellent! My beloved disciple!"
Li Xingtian nodded gently, then looked at his master with a hint of bewilderment in his eyes—would things really get better after the Deity Transformation Realm?
Chu Xingchen completely pretended not to see Li Xingtian's silent plea, instead striding forward and slinging an arm around his shoulder:
"So, how is it? Is the power of the Nascent Soul Realm..."
Chu Xingchen's words cut off halfway as his gaze rapidly lifted toward the western side of the sect. A streak of purple rainbow light was speeding toward them, and instead of being blocked by the mountain-guarding formation, it descended directly nearby.
"Master... it has been a long time."
A voice that felt somewhat unreal yet familiar rang out.
Chu Xingchen looked over and saw a graceful young woman in a pale purple dress standing there. Her face was familiar yet strikingly transformed, a warm smile upon it, and her eyes were slightly reddened.
"Bai Qing has returned."
She spoke softly.
[
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