The carriage advanced slowly. Xu Yu Zhu sat at the front in a recessed spot that provided shelter from the wind and rain; besides, she possessed the strength of the seventh level of the Golden Core stage.
It was very warm inside the carriage. The two sisters, Ji Shengyao and Zheng Linger, were bound with handcuffs and ropes. With their internal Spiritual Qi suppressed, they didn't feel the cold.
Wang Li held a cup of warm, low-quality spirit wine and took a gentle, appreciative sip. None of the three inside the carriage spoke, making the atmosphere somewhat awkward.
Wang Li felt that life was too exhausting. The female leads only needed to lie down and wait to be disciplined, while she not only had to rack her brains every day thinking of how to train them but also had to slay those blind Cultivators—like right now, as the carriage was blocked by a group of Cultivators shrouded in black Qi.
The leader was an Outer Sect Deacon of the Lianhun Sect at the third level of the Golden Core stage: "Listen, those in the carriage! Hand over our Sect's supreme treasure, the Soul Refining Lamp, or don't blame me for refining you into Soul Slaves!"
Most Cultivators possessed Spells to track auras. Wang Li had long known she couldn't escape the Lianhun Sect's pursuit, but even a small mosquito is still meat; these Lianhun Sect Cultivators would surely provide some experience.
"Xu Yu Zhu, I'll leave these people to you. Any problems?"
"None."
Xu Yu Zhu drew her sword on the spot. Her Spiritual Qi surged, her white clothes fluttered, and her Golden Core seventh-level aura was instantly revealed.
The two auras the Lianhun Sect had been tracking were one at the third level of Foundation Establishment and one at Half-Step Golden Core. Yet, the woman driving the carriage was actually a Master at the seventh level of the Golden Core stage. The Lianhun Sect members were shocked: "Seventh level of the Golden Core!"
Before their shocked expressions could fade, Xu Yu Zhu swung her sword. Spiritual Qi swirled around, forming an ice-blue whirlwind that trapped the dozen or so Lianhun Sect members within.
The whirlwind shrank tighter and tighter. The Lianhun Sect Disciples had nowhere to run. They tried to raise their swords to strike back, but as soon as their blades touched the whirlwind, they were enveloped by an intense cold.
The freezing cold started from the tips of their swords, moved to their arms, and finally spread to their entire bodies. Their whole beings were frozen into ice sculptures, becoming lifelike works of art.
Through the transparent layers of ice, one could see their shocked or confused eyes. The third-level Golden Core deacon pulled out a Talisman and stuck it to his chest.
He lunged forward rapidly, gathering Spiritual Qi in his feet and leaping high, intending to burst out of the whirlwind in one go. But just as he saw the blue sky and white clouds outside the gale, he felt his feet grow heavier. Looking back, he saw that both his legs had already frozen!
With a "clatter," his fully frozen body hit the ground hard, shattering into pieces scattered everywhere.
At the final moment of his fall, he pulled out his waist token: "The target is not Half-Step Golden Core, but Half-Step Nascent Soul!"
Xu Yu Zhu directly unleashed a powerful move. Whether it was the Frost Sword in her hand or the sword techniques of the Tianchi Holy Land, killing these Lianhun Sect Disciples was simply effortless.
She picked up three golden invitations that had fallen from the shattered ice and handed them to Wang Li inside the carriage: "Sect Master, these were on the leader."
Wang Li took the invitations and saw they were actually three invitations for the Tianqing Manor Poetry Meet in the next chapter. This Tianqing Manor was actually a front for the Lianhun Sect.
The entire manor was a Soul Refining Grand Array. They were just waiting for the poetry meet to open the array and absorb the Yang Qi of the men within to feed the ghost practitioners underground. They deserved to die; the entire poetry meet would surely be a bloodbath!
Zheng Linger looked at Xu Yu Zhu with a face full of confusion: "Senior Sister Xu, why are you helping this enchantress? Have you defected? What benefits did this enchantress give you!"
Xu Yu Zhu looked at Wang Li with some hesitation, but Wang Li pulled out a whip: "Your Senior Sister Xu is doing this for you, of course. If she doesn't work for me, I'll take this whip and lash you mercilessly. She doesn't want you to get hurt, so she has no choice but to do things for me."
"What! You enchantress, you're truly despicable and shameless! I'll kick you to death!"
Zheng Linger directly raised a foot and kicked Wang Li's shin. The bells at her ankles jingled "ring-a-ling," and her small foot in a white cloth sock landed squarely on Wang Li's shin.
Since Zheng Linger couldn't use Spiritual Qi, Wang Li didn't dodge. Instead, she held the black leather whip high: "No matter how much I bully your Senior Sister, she has never kicked me. I think you've forgotten who the prisoner is here!"
"You enchantress! My Master is at the Late Stage of Soul Transformation. One palm strike would blast you into dust! Go ahead and hit me! If I make a sound, I'm your dog!"
Zheng Linger glared, her eyes spitting fire. Thinking about how Senior Sister Xu had to treat an enemy as a father for her sake, and how her Senior Sister was "beaten" severely by this enchantress every night, she wished she could just strangle the woman!
However, what felt strange to her was that although she was naturally inclined to hate evil and loathed the thugs who harassed girls on the streets, she didn't hate this wicked enchantress as much as she imagined she would.
Seeing Zheng Linger's defiant, beautiful face full of provocation, Wang Li was about to bring the "toy" whip down hard when she felt her wrist grabbed by Ji Shengyao beside her: "Enchantress, can you let my Junior Sister go this once, for the sake of how obedient I've been? I know you're angry. If you need to vent, just hit me instead."
"I won't let you hit my Senior Sister! If you're going to hit someone, hit me!"
"Hit me!"
"Hit me!"
"Stop arguing! If you keep it up, I'll hit you both! A hundred lashes each, no one gets away!"
Following Wang Li's directions, the carriage passed through layers of mist and finally reached its destination. Wang Li felt a hint of excitement because this was essentially her base of operations in this world.
After getting off the carriage, she saw a nine-story tower in front of her. It was ancient and dilapidated, with red lanterns hanging from each balcony. She pushed open the iron gates, and the interior of the tower was suddenly spacious and warm as spring.
A circular corridor surrounded a Spirit Medicine garden. There were some Spirit Medicines planted by that Grand Elder of the Holy Land, along with tall trees and vibrant flowers glowing with various colors in the dim light. Waves of powerful Spiritual Qi surged forth.
Going up the stairs to the second floor, there was a library filled with bookshelves, as well as rooms for Alchemy and Artifact Refining. The third to seventh floors were private bedrooms for Disciples, each about fifteen square meters.
The top floor had five bedrooms for the Sect's high-ranking members. The Sect Master's bedroom was fully equipped with a double bed, a dressing table, a wardrobe, and more.
Pulling back a bead curtain, there was actually a stone bath over two meters wide. Wang Li gently turned a tap, and clear spiritual water mixed with Spiritual Qi flowed into the bath.
Wang Li was very satisfied with the place. Realizing she hadn't increased Ji Shengyao's strength today, she took ten top-grade Fusion Pills from the System mall and poured them all into the bath.
Eating one Fusion Pill could only increase one's strength by one level, but if the bath was filled with the medicinal power of Fusion Pills, it could likely increase Ji Shengyao's strength by another two levels.
Wang Li pulled the metal chain on Ji Shengyao's hand, leading her to the edge of the bath: "Saintess, this is the medicinal bath I prepared for you to increase your strength."
Looking at the small bath surrounded by Spiritual Qi, Ji Shengyao's cheeks instantly flushed deep red: "You enchantress, what new trick is this to torment me!"