Chapter 854: Harvest Season!
"Tsk. As expected of a prominent family disciple from the Qingyun Sword Sect. To casually carry a Treasure Artifact..."
Shen An'yu turned the heavy gauntlet over in his hands. A dazzling white-gold luster bled from the metal, casting sharp reflections across his smiling face.
It was a Medium Grade Treasure Artifact. The sheer density of its spiritual aura easily eclipsed the White River Sword he had stripped from Xiao Qingtian, which sat at a mere Low Grade. Treasure Artifacts were the exclusive domain of Golden Core realm cultivators, projecting localized buffs that could simultaneously attack, defend, and restrict an opponent's movements.
Had Ouyang Che managed to equip this white-gold gauntlet before their clash, subduing him would have required a grueling expenditure of vital Qi. The resulting shockwaves would have undoubtedly leveled the surrounding landscape and drawn unwanted eyes.
An'yu shifted his attention to the rest of the spoils scattered across the dirt. The haul was staggering.
"Over thirty thousand Spirit Stones, more than sixty bottles of Foundation Establishment realm pills, and even a Golden Core Treasure Pill... the Qingyun Spirit Refining Treasure Pill. Now this is a rare prize."
He pinched a round, greenish-gold pill between his fingers. Its surface lacked a brilliant glow, but the moment he brought it close to his nose, a sharp, minty fragrance flooded his senses. His Divine Sense immediately flared to life, buzzing with hyperactive clarity.
It was a top-tier concoction designed to violently expand Mental Energy, making it an very useful catalyst for breaking through to the Golden Core realm.
An'yu cast a sideways glance at Ouyang Che's paralyzed form. Che was a Body Cultivator. He possessed a terrifying, diamond-hard physique, but his Mental Energy was notoriously brittle. His family had likely bestowed this treasure upon him to patch that exact fatal flaw.
Unfortunately for the young master, he never got the chance to swallow it.
"My Mental Energy could use a solid boost. I'll consume this the moment I break through to the Foundation Establishment realm."
He continued sifting through the pile, his fingers brushing against thick stacks of yellow parchment. "Hundreds of high-tier talismans. No wonder he could throw out dozens of them with a single flick of his wrist. A spoiled rich kid, burning through money like it was kindling..."
An'yu clicked his tongue, a sudden pang of phantom loss striking his chest. Those were his talismans now, which meant Ouyang Che had just incinerated dozens of his hard-earned assets.
My money.
After a brief, careful inventory, An'yu unceremoniously swept the entire mountain of loot into his storage ring. He then grabbed Che—now reduced to a mindless, living puppet—and tossed him inside as well. The ring, a god-tier prize pulled from a past System lottery, possessed a vast internal dimension capable of perfectly sustaining living organisms.
With his pockets heavy, An'yu surveyed the devastated clearing. Craters scarred the earth, and the lingering stench of scorched ozone hung heavy in the air.
He raised a hand. Wisps of emerald vital Qi bled from his fingertips, cascading into the ruined soil.
The earth trembled. In an instant, vibrant green saplings violently breached the dirt, shooting upward at a terrifying speed. Trunks thickened into massive, gnarled pillars of wood, their canopies exploding outward to blot out the moonlight. Within a single breath, a lush, ancient-looking grove stood where a battlefield had been, its roots completely burying the craters and bloodstains beneath a thick carpet of moss.
Not a single soul would ever know a battle to the death had taken place here.
Satisfied with his handiwork, An'yu turned on his heel and began the leisurely trek back to the Baiwu Mountain Valley.
He needed to enter secluded cultivation soon to digest this massive influx of resources and finally push into the Foundation Establishment realm. His immortal cultivation base was currently lagging far behind his martial prowess, a glaring imbalance he refused to tolerate. He wasn't some cliché child of destiny who enjoyed playing the pig to eat the tiger. Feigning weakness made sense when he was broke, but sitting on a mountain of resources without leveling up was just asking to be killed.
But before locking himself away in a dark cave, he needed to unwind. A man had to properly adjust his body and mind, attaining a state of perfect, unbothered clarity before charging at a major bottleneck.
A faint, predatory smile touched An'yu's lips as his pace quickened through the dark woods.
The bright autumn moon hung high above the Baiwu Mountain Valley, its silver light piercing the thin, drifting mist to drape the landscape in a ghostly veil.
Only the collapsed ruins of the central pavilion and the violently upturned earth remained as silent witnesses to the daytime slaughter.
The surviving members of the Sword Palace had divided themselves among the few intact structures at the rear of the valley. Master Chen Yuhua and Lin Qingqing shared one pavilion. Senior Sister Liu Ruyan and Junior Sister Zhong Lingyin occupied the second. Murong Jieyu had claimed the third entirely for herself—likely too flustered by the sheer awkwardness of the previous night to face her martial sisters.
Inside the second pavilion, Zhong Lingyin sat on the edge of her bed, watching with an incredibly strange expression as her Second Senior Sister tiptoed into the room.
"Second Senior Sister, are you planning to sleep in my bed tonight?"
"Is that a crime?" Liu Ruyan shot back, puffing out her chest in a display of faux righteousness, though her eyes darted nervously toward the door. "Or are you just eager to get An'yu all to yourself and find my presence annoying?"
Despite her bold words, Ruyan's heart was hammering against her ribs. Earlier that evening, she had caught An'yu staring at her. The sheer, aggressive heat in his gaze had made her skin prickle. His Yang Qi was practically boiling over. If he caught her alone tonight, in that kind of fiery, pent-up state, he would absolutely tear her apart.
She needed a meat shield. If she could just get Lingyin to absorb the first brutal wave of his attention, Ruyan could safely swoop in for the second round without fearing for her life.
Lingyin's dark eyes glinted in the dim light. Her sharp mind effortlessly dissected her senior sister's transparent panic. She wants to use me as cannon fodder?
"Oh, what a terrible shame," Lingyin sighed, her delicate face twisting into a mask of deep regret while a wicked smile danced in her eyes. "My monthly visitor arrived today. I'm afraid I am completely indisposed."
Ruyan froze, her jaw dropping. "What? Your visitor is here?"
"Is it really that shocking?" Lingyin tilted her head. "I haven't reached the Heavenly Being realm to sever the red dragon yet. Naturally, my mortal cycle continues."
Ruyan's heart plummeted. It was true—Lingyin was only at the Grandmaster realm. Only upon achieving the extraordinary state of a Heavenly Being did a female cultivator's body shed its mortal impurities, severing the 'red dragon' and ending menstruation forever.
Taking a subtle breath, Ruyan caught the faint, metallic tang of blood in the air. Lingyin wasn't lying.
Panic seized her chest. Does that mean I have to face him alone?!
Ruyan's naturally seductive, fox-like features twisted into a chaotic blend of deep anticipation and genuine terror. She desperately wanted him, but she also wanted to walk tomorrow.
Lingyin covered her mouth, her shoulders shaking as she stifled a giggle. "Sister Yan'er, didn't you always complain that you could never get enough? Now you get to eat your fill all by yourself. Isn't that a blessing?"
Flushing crimson, Ruyan lunged forward and pinched Lingyin's waist.
"Ah!" Lingyin let out a delicate yelp of pain, squirming away.
Ruyan's charming eyes narrowed into dangerous slits. She leaned in close, her gaze dropping to Lingyin's soft, pink lips with a thoroughly wicked intent. "It doesn't matter if your visitor is here. You still have other places."
"Eh? W-Wait, eh?!" Lingyin stammered, her teasing confidence instantly evaporating.
A short distance away, in the adjacent pavilion.
The ancient, thousand-year-old architecture lacked any modern amenities, but the approaching mid-autumn moon bathed the interior in a brilliant, silvery glow.
Goddess Doctor Murong Jieyu lay tangled in her silk sheets, tossing and turning, utterly incapable of finding sleep.
Her mind was a chaotic storm; her heart, a frantic drum.
An'yu had kissed her. He had forcefully pulled her in and declared, right in front of everyone, that she was his woman. What was she supposed to do with that? They had known each other for less than forty-eight hours!
Worse still, he was already intimately entangled with her Fifth Junior Sister, Lingyin, and her Second Senior Sister, Ruyan. He even shared an uncomfortably close dynamic with Fourth Junior Sister Ye Liyou and Seventh Sister Yang Luoluo.
Did this man intend to swallow their entire Sword Palace whole?
Jieyu suddenly sat up, the silk sheets pooling at her waist. She raised a delicate fist, her elegant, dignified face flushing with sudden indignation.
"Our Sword Palace is not a brothel! Absolutely not!"
She squeezed her fist tight, cementing her resolve. She owed An'yu her life, yes. She had to repay him. But she refused to repay him that way. Seven martial sisters sharing one man? If word of this leaked to the outside world, the prestigious Sword Palace would become the laughingstock of the martial arts community.
Even a brothel charged money. The Sword Palace was apparently giving it away for free.
And yet...
Jieyu's beautiful eyes softened, her anger melting into a hazy, unfocused stare. Her mind betrayed her, replaying the image of An'yu's broad back as he stood between her and death. He had shielded her from Xiao Qingtian. He had blocked the terrifying might of the Qinghong Old Freak without a second thought. The sheer, overwhelming security of his presence refused to leave her head.
"If only..." Jieyu bit her plush lower lip, the words slipping out in a soft, dreamy whisper. "If only he were single..."
"If I were single, how would that do you any good?"
Jieyu violently jolted. Her head snapped up.
Standing casually outside her open window, bathed in the pale moonlight, was Shen An'yu. He was leaning against the wooden frame, a devastatingly calm smile playing on his lips.
Instantly, a furious, burning red flush consumed Jieyu's elegant face.
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