Chapter 138: The Aqueous Manor’s Destiny is All Mine

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Qin Haoxuan thought about how magical artifacts needed to be nourished with spiritual energy to extend their lifespan, and his heart grew a little heavy. If he were to acquire more artifacts, especially powerful ones, the cost of maintaining them would be enormous. He suddenly thought of the Formless Sword, which had saved him several times, and a chill went down his spine. Although it was a flying sword, did it also need to be nourished after a certain amount of use? If it did, given its terrifying power, the number of spirit stones required would surely be an astronomical figure.

Qin Haoxuan put the small snake away. Not long after, Xing, having completed his thirty-li circuit around the plaza, returned with a displeased look on his face. He glared at Ye Yiming and Qin Haoxuan and said, “I’ve checked. There’s no danger. Just a few small, blind demons and Nether-Souls, which I swallowed.”

“What about a way out?” Qin Haoxuan asked absently. He was still preoccupied with the thought of his snake having developed its own consciousness and whether the Formless Sword needed to be nourished.

“The surrounding area is a barren wasteland; I couldn’t find an exit,” Xing said, rolling his eye. The Thousand-Mile Mirror couldn’t find a path in a several-hundred-li radius; how could he be expected to find one in just thirty? The question was obviously pointless.

Just then, Ye Yiming interjected to smooth things over. “It’s alright. Even if we can’t find a way out, it’s fine. When the time is up, the Aqueous Manor will automatically teleport us out. There’s only half an hour left until then.”

Only then did Qin Haoxuan nod in relief. If that was the case, then they could just wait here.

However, he quickly thought of a thorny problem. If both humans and demons were teleported out, what would happen to Xing? He asked Ye Yiming, “Senior Brother, when the time is up, will everyone, human or demon, be automatically teleported out?”

Ye Yiming nodded, then also realized the problem Qin Haoxuan was worried about. What were they to do about Xing?

After a moment’s thought, Qin Haoxuan said to Xing, “I’ll find you the appearance of someone who has died. You transform into that person, and you might be able to get through. Otherwise, if you go out looking like this, you’ll be killed on sight.”

Xing quickly sensed the severity of the problem. Although he was reluctant, there seemed to be no better way. With his current strength, if he were dropped into a crowd of human cultivators, they could drown him in a flood of spiritual arts without their elders even needing to lift a finger.

Qin Haoxuan took out the Thousand-Mile Mirror and began to search through the manor.

The candidate had to be dead, and preferably someone he was familiar with, otherwise Xing wouldn’t know their basic details and could easily be exposed. It would be best if it was a new disciple from their year.

But finding one specific dead person among the two hundred new disciples in the vast manor was like finding a needle in a haystack.

Qin Haoxuan scanned with the mirror for a full incense stick’s worth of time. Just as he was beginning to think it was impossible, a corpse in a hidden corner caught his eye, and his spirits lifted.

The person was one of Zhang Yang’s followers. He had been extremely active in serving his master, so Qin Haoxuan knew a little about him.

“This person will do. I think he’s quite suitable,” Qin Haoxuan said, pointing to the corpse in the mirror. “His name is Hua Lao. He’s one of Zhang Yang’s lackeys, a colorless weak seed, at the Rooting stage.”

Qin Haoxuan paused, trying to recall Hua Lao’s characteristics. “He has one thing in common with you,” he added. “He never shuts up. People call him ‘chatterbox’, and he’s a first-class bootlicker. If you show off your bootlicking skills, you’ll definitely blend in! But there is one condition you must agree to: no matter what, you cannot eat anyone from the Taichu Sect. Otherwise, you and I will have to fight to the death.”

After speaking, he stared at Xing with great seriousness. Xing’s face was grim. “To have me, this seat, bootlick a petty cultivator weaker than myself is a complete humiliation! And not eating people…”

As he spoke, he saw Qin Haoxuan’s unfriendly expression, remembered his astonishing spiritual sense, and thought of the many Nether-Creatures that might still be hunting him. He realized that on the issue of eating people, there wasn’t much room for negotiation.

So, he just sighed helplessly and said with a tilt of his head, “In order to live, to continue being your bodyguard, and to repay your life-saving grace, this seat has decided to endure humiliation! But if the manor teleports me out like a human, right into the middle of your kind, that would be a disaster. What if I slip up and get crushed to death?”

Qin Haoxuan just smiled, not bothering to waste any more words on the creature.

After the candidate was chosen, Xing began to transform into his appearance. After failing once and turning into a pig, he finally succeeded.

Looking at him, Qin Haoxuan thought of another important problem. “Your transformations don’t last long. What will you do if you suddenly revert to your original form after we’re on the shore?”

Xing grinned mysteriously. “You don’t have to worry about that. I have a Shape-Fixing Pill!” He took a small jade vial from his robes, tipped out a black, soybean-sized pill, and swallowed it. “After taking this, I can maintain my current form for twenty-four hours. It also helps to conceal my original aura even more perfectly.”

A sharp glint flashed in Qin Haoxuan’s eyes, as if trying to see right through him. The look startled Xing. “Don’t look at me like that! I refined these pills myself! I am a peerless genius among the Nether-race!”

Qin Haoxuan didn’t bother asking why he hadn’t used a Shape-Fixing Pill earlier to avoid being chased like a wild dog.

Half an hour passed in the blink of an eye. As Qin Haoxuan sat cross-legged on the ground, he suddenly felt the earth tremble, as if the sky were falling.

Ye Yiming’s expression was grave. “The time is almost up. The manor is about to close, and we will be teleported out. Xing, remember what Junior Brother Qin told you.”

The moment he finished speaking, a faint white light enveloped all three of them. In an instant, the scene before their eyes changed, and they were back on the shore of Sun Moon Lake.

Flashes of white light appeared continuously along the shore as the three thousand disciples who had entered the manor returned one by one. It was now afternoon. It turned out that the time they had spent in the manor had been a full seven days.

Before everyone had returned, Qin Haoxuan quickly found Xu Yu. In a secluded spot, he passed her the small snake, the Thousand-Mile Mirror, the Formless Sword, and the Aqueous Manor Token. The sect elders would soon be collecting everyone’s gains, and these treasures were far safer with her. After all, she was an Unsurpassed Purple Seed; not even the Ninth Elder would be too invasive when searching her, for fear of upsetting her.

As he handed the items over, he reflected on what a bountiful trip this had been. He had obtained two magical artifacts, things that were rare in the entire sect. The token, in particular, gave him free access to the Aqueous Manor, which meant that, in a way, all of its destiny was now his. He had also watched Li Jing’s Tyrannical True Dragon Art through the mirror, learning a supreme secret art for free.

“Sister Yu, I’ll entrust these to you.”

“Don’t worry, Brother Haoxuan,” Xu Yu said, carefully hiding the items. “There will be no problem.” If it wasn’t safe with Xu Yu, then there was no safe place.

Looking at the wounded cultivators, and thinking of the many who had been killed by their own sect members or by Nether-Creatures, Xu Yu sighed with emotion. “The path of cultivation is fraught with danger. They all said the Aqueous Manor wasn’t that dangerous, but so many have died this time.”

Qin Haoxuan nodded grimly. “A cultivator not only has to seize life from the heavens, but also has to be able to protect themselves from their scheming peers and ruthless demons. Otherwise, even a long lifespan is useless.”

As they were speaking, a small commotion broke out in the crowd. It turned out that some Nether-Creatures had also been teleported out. The waiting elders immediately locked onto them and immobilized them with spiritual energy. The Taichu disciples, who had been forced to flee in terror inside the manor, now swarmed forward and beat the helpless creatures to a pulp.

Seeing this, Qin Haoxuan remembered Xing. Since his treasures were now safe, he had nothing else to worry about. He returned to the crowd. Just then, Zhang Yang emerged from the portal not far from them. Qin Haoxuan nudged Xing. “That’s your new boss, Zhang Yang.”

Although Zhang Yang’s cultivation wasn’t strong, his Fourth-Leaf realm and Gray Seed aptitude gave him a vibrant and distinctive air. When Xing saw him, he couldn’t help but swallow. He whispered to Qin Haoxuan, “Can we make a deal? How about I eat him after this is all over?”

Qin Haoxuan did not reply, but his gaze gradually grew cold.

He would have been more than happy for Xing to eat Zhang Yang and Zhang Kuang. However, they were special seeds, highly valued by the sect. If they were to suddenly disappear, a massive investigation would surely be launched. The world of cultivation was full of wonders; he couldn’t risk the sect elders using some artifact to uncover the truth, which would lead them to Xing, and eventually, to him. The risk was too great.