Chapter 114
Chapter 114: Fifth Rank Green Rock Li Flower
The task Meng Xi Yu had entrusted was urgent. Before he left, Shi Zi Chu had only received a paper slip from him.
Celestial Grace Mountain Range, inner zone.
Shi Zi Chu arrived via a teleportation talisman.
Barely a moment after her arrival, Pei Qing You and a strange woman appeared right behind her.
The two immediately noticed Shi Zi Chu.
Pei Qing You did not bear his usual look of disdain or resistance. Instead, his expression was complex—so complex that words could scarcely capture it.
The woman looked at Shi Zi Chu. At first, her gaze was one of astonishment, swiftly followed by shock, disbelief, and then, to Shi Zi Chu’s surprise, joy.
The changes in her expression were so vivid that Shi Zi Chu couldn’t help but glance at her again.
“Sect Master Pei,” Shi Zi Chu greeted, offering him a nod. Her eyes then turned to the unfamiliar yet oddly familiar woman.
She felt as though she had seen this woman before, though the memory escaped her.
Meeting Shi Zi Chu’s inquisitive, yet unfamiliar gaze, the woman quickly suppressed her excitement and introduced herself. “Pei Luo Xiu.”
“A’Xiu?” Shi Zi Chu asked, her voice tinged with hesitation.
Years ago, when she had set fire to a village, there had been an accomplice—a young lady by the name of A’Xiu.
As Shi Zi Chu studied the woman before her, flashes of that old memory stirred within her.
Pei Luo Xiu’s eyes instantly brightened.
Without a second thought, she rushed toward Shi Zi Chu. “Big Sister Qin!”
Shi Zi Chu opened her arms, catching Pei Luo Xiu in a warm embrace.
Pei Luo Xiu clung tightly to her, both laughing and crying. “I finally found you! I missed you so much!!”
For over a decade, she had searched for Big Sister Qin.
And now, her dream had come true.
Shi Zi Chu gently patted her back, her voice soft. “As expected, a girl changes a lot as she grows. I almost didn’t recognize A’Xiu.”
Pei Luo Xiu buried her face in Shi Zi Chu’s chest, tearfully complaining, “Big Sister Qin almost didn’t recognize me.”
“My fault, my fault,” Shi Zi Chu soothed, her tone tender. “Alright, alright, no more tears.”
Pei Qing You watched, stunned, as Shi Zi Chu and Pei Luo Xiu, like sisters, shared such an intimate reunion.
Did they know each other?
Yan Zhou Bai stepped forward.
He saw a woman sobbing in Shi Zi Chu’s arms, while Shi Zi Chu, with gentle patience, consoled her.
“Zi Chu,” Yan Zhou Bai called, then asked, “Who is this?”
“It’s a long story,” Shi Zi Chu replied with a helpless smile before inquiring, “Where’s Ruo Ruo?”
Without even greeting him, she asked about her junior sister.
Yan Zhou Bai couldn’t help but protest, “Partiality.”
Shi Zi Chu smiled lightly. “Not at all. Ruo Ruo is a girl, after all. Of course, I need to take better care of her.”
“Junior Sister is about to cross her tribulation and ascend. Master ordered her to stay in the sect for closed-door training,” Yan Zhou Bai explained, then added, “Congratulations on your tribulation crossing to the Nascent Soul stage.”
“Same to you,” Shi Zi Chu smiled in return.
Pei Luo Xiu reluctantly pulled away from Shi Zi Chu’s embrace, her tear-streaked face appearing pitiful.
Shi Zi Chu took out a handkerchief, gently wiping her tears away.
Pei Luo Xiu immediately clung to Shi Zi Chu’s arm, clinging like a shadow.
“I go by Shi Zi Chu now,” Pei Luo Xiu said after a pause, frustration heavy in her voice. “I missed so many chances to find you, Big Sister! I could’ve found you sooner!”
Shi Zi Chu smiled helplessly, shaking her head at her.
Pei Luo Xiu huffed, her girlish tantrum causing Pei Qing You to raise an eyebrow in surprise.
Was this truly his fiancée, once so composed? She now seemed as though she had been possessed by a different spirit entirely.
Shi Zi Chu glanced at the spirit beast napping nearby, a determined gleam flashing in her eyes.
She turned her gaze toward the task at hand. “So, Zhou Bai, how did you end up with this task?”
Yan Zhou Bai replied, “I need the Green Rock Li Flower.”
Shi Zi Chu frowned.
This wouldn’t be easy.
Yan Zhou Bai’s eyes shifted toward the spirit beast. “A late Nascent Soul spirit beast, do you think you can handle it?”
While he needed the flower, it wasn’t a matter of life or death.
“Perhaps,” Shi Zi Chu said, her eyes narrowing as a playful smile appeared. “If I can capture the spirit beast, the flower will be mine.”
Yan Zhou Bai gave a slight nod.
Since she was so determined to obtain the Green Rock Li Flower, there was no need for him to intervene.
Shi Zi Chu then turned to Pei Qing You, who had been standing quietly. “Sect Master Pei, what about you?”
If Pei Qing You objected, she wouldn’t hesitate to knock him aside. It was no trouble at all.
Pei Luo Xiu spoke before Shi Zi Chu could act. “Sect Master only came out for some fresh air. He has no interest in the Green Rock Li Flower.”
Pei Qing You clicked his tongue in displeasure.
Shi Zi Chu lightly tapped Pei Luo Xiu on the head before leaping toward the late Nascent Soul Cangming Serpent.
Snake hunting—now that was something she excelled at!
Yan Zhou Bai and the others stepped back, moving to the outskirts of the battlefield to avoid being caught in the crossfire.
The enraged Cangming Serpent lashed its tail at Shi Zi Chu.
Shi Zi Chu swiftly dodged, and the serpent’s tail struck a towering tree, snapping it in two.
Frustrated, the serpent opened its massive mouth, lunging at Shi Zi Chu with its venomous fangs.
Shi Zi Chu raised her hand, forming a water shield in one and a water needle in the other.
The Cangming Serpent, not viewing Shi Zi Chu as a threat, swiped its tail, deflecting the water needle, and its head dove down, aiming for her with its sharp, venomous fangs.
The water needle left only a damp patch on the serpent’s scales, while the fangs struck the water shield.
“Bind!”
Countless blue silk threads shot out, wrapping around the serpent’s tail, pinning it in place.
Seeing the venomous fangs stuck in the water shield, Shi Zi Chu swiftly moved to grab one.
With a loud crack, she snapped the fang in two.
Pei Luo Xiu’s eyes widened in shock.
Pei Qing You, equally stunned, wore an expression of disbelief.
The calmest of all was Yan Zhou Bai. Watching Shi Zi Chu handle the serpent with such ease, his anxious heart settled.
Zi Chu’s strength was close to the mid Nascent Soul stage, and with her proficiency in both close combat and ranged attacks, taking down the Cangming Serpent posed no problem.
The broken fang released potent venom, splashing onto Shi Zi Chu’s hand.
The corrosive hissing sound sent chills down the spine.
Shi Zi Chu remained unfazed. Her expression did not waver, and she seemed completely unaffected by the pain, her focus unbroken.
In a final act of fury, the Cangming Serpent struck with its tail again. This time, Shi Zi Chu leapt onto its back, using her left hand to block its head and tail with aqua blue silk threads.
With a resounding thud, the serpent’s body slammed to the ground, its foul blood spilling everywhere.
Yan Zhou Bai acted swiftly, sending his Radiant Snowblade through the air toward Shi Zi Chu.
The blade passed over her, striking the Green Rock Li Flower and sending Yun Chi, who had been attempting to seize it, flying.
Yun Chi fell, his senior brothers catching him, their eyes now trained on Yan Zhou Bai with caution.
The Cangming Serpent’s massive body crashed to the ground, its blood pooling around it.
Yan Zhou Bai stepped forward, extending a hand toward Shi Zi Chu.
Shi Zi Chu gracefully leapt down, like a butterfly.
“Apologies,” Yan Zhou Bai said, casting a dust dispelling spell as he took her arm.
The venom had already corroded large portions of her skin, the back of her right hand nearly bare, white bones visible, blood oozing with an eerie green glow.