192: Don't let him die too soon.

"Rise!!"

Su Hongling stood barefoot on the pile of rubble.

Her red and white short-outfit was soaked in sweat, clinging tightly to her body and outlining her explosive muscle lines.

Relying purely on the brute force of a Mahayana Stage Body Cultivator, her arms embraced a small mountain peak that was a full hundred feet high.

That was the "bonsai" she had just forcibly pulled back from several hundred miles away.

"The Old Man said the entrance was too empty and couldn't block the wind! This mountain is just right!"

She gave a mischievous laugh, and with a surge of power in her arms, she swung that small mountain like a sandbag.

"Boom!!!"

A massive sound rang out, and the earth trembled violently.

That mountain peak was crudely shoved into the left side of the Daochu Sect mountain gate. Because of the excessive force, half of the mountain even sank into the ground, kicking up dust hundreds of feet high.

"Cough, cough, cough! Second Senior Sister! Are you trying to shatter all the floor tiles we just laid?!"

Amidst the dust, Gu Qiuyue covered her nose and mouth, looking heart-brokenly at the cracked white jade floor tiles on the ground.

She held a thick ledger in her hand, her abacus clicking rapidly, her face full of pain.

"These are Warm Jade Bricks just shipped from the East Sea! One piece costs five hundred High-Grade Spirit Stones!"

"With this crash of yours, at least fifty pieces are shattered! Twenty-five thousand Spirit Stones are gone!"

"Oh, Sixth Junior Sister, don't be so stingy."

Su Hongling scratched her head, looking innocent.

"Out with the old, in with the new. At worst, I'll go to the Otherworld to rob... oh no, move some more back for you."

"Move? I think you're going for demolition!"

Before Gu Qiuyue could finish her calculations, the air on the other side suddenly dropped to freezing point.

"Too ugly."

Mu Qingxue floated in mid-air, her white clothes as pure as snow, looking coldly at the bare dirt mountain Su Hongling had brought.

"It's all mud and weeds, no aesthetic sense at all. It doesn't match Revered Master's style."

She extended a slender jade finger and tapped lightly toward the dirt mountain.

"Ice Seal."

Crackle, crackle.

A white cold mist instantly swept through.

In the blink of an eye, that gray dirt mountain was covered by a thick layer of Mystic Ice, turning into a crystal-clear ice mountain emitting wisps of cold air.

When the sunlight hit it, it reflected rainbow-colored light, truly magnificent.

But the problem was... "Achoo!"

Several Outer Sect Disciples planting flowers at the foot of the mountain were instantly frozen until their noses ran and frost formed on their eyebrows.

"Seventh Junior Sister! It's summer now!"

Luo Ximei was wearing a thin black gauze dress, lazily leaning against a newly erected pillar, playing with a ball of black Demonic Fire in her hand.

"You're making it so cold. What if Revered Master catches a cold at night? Are you trying to freeze Revered Master?"

Her gaze sharpened, and the Demonic Fire at her fingertips shot out.

"It's better to add some warmth."

Whoosh!

That ball of Demonic Fire landed on the ice mountain. It didn't melt the Mystic Ice but instead acted like black Dragons, burrowing into the ice layer to burn.

A world of ice and fire.

The entire mountain turned a bizarre blue-black color, emitting cold air on one side and heat waves on the other, looking like the entrance to a Devil's cave about to explode.

"Perfect." Luo Ximei nodded in satisfaction. "This is what you call domineering, fitting for Daochu Sect's current reputation."

"Domineering my foot!!"

Chu Weiwei walked over carrying a small basket filled with colorful seeds.

"None of you understand life."

She sighed and walked to the right side of the mountain gate.

"Revered Master likes nature and vitality."

She grabbed a handful of seeds and scattered them casually on the ground, then took out a purple bottle from her sleeve and dripped a few drops on the earth.

The soil churned.

Countless vines grew frantically at a speed visible to the naked eye, instantly covering the mountain gate and blooming with enormous, brilliantly colored flowers.

Gu Qiuyue looked at all this:

On the left was a demonic mountain of ice and fire.

On the right was a sea of poisonous flowers that ate people without spitting out the bones.

In the middle was a ground full of shattered, expensive jade bricks.

She closed her ledger in despair.

"Just destroy it all, I'm tired."

...Meanwhile, Su Lin was sitting on a surviving stone chair, holding a teacup, watching this scene of chaotic demons dancing with a numb expression.

Where was this Daochu Sect?

This was clearly a combination of "Desperate Valley," "Ice and Fire Island," and "Cave of Ten Thousand Poisons."

If anyone came to join the Sect in the future, they would probably be scared to death, frozen to death, or eaten by flowers before they even entered the door.

"Revered Master~"

Luo Ximei slithered over like a snake and naturally leaned on Su Lin's lap, looking up, her heterochromatic eyes flashing with a light seeking praise.

"Look, what do you think of the defensive Formation your Disciple designed?"

"As long as someone dares to take a step into the mountain gate, they will first be frozen, then burned, and finally have their Divine Soul eroded by Devilish Qi. I guarantee they won't return!"

"Revered Master, Revered Master! My flowers are also very powerful!"

Chu Weiwei also squeezed in, shoving a drooling purple flower in front of Su Lin.

"This is a Soul-Devouring Flower. As soon as it smells a stranger, it will spray poisonous needles, and its juice can..."

"Revered Master."

Mu Qingxue stood coldly to the side. Although she didn't speak, the surrounding temperature dropped a few more degrees, clearly waiting for Su Lin to praise her ice sculpture art.

As for Su Hongling... she was squatting on the ground, trying to piece together the shattered jade bricks. When she couldn't, she irritably smashed them into powder with her fists.

"All of you... stop."

Su Lin rubbed his temples and put down his teacup.

"Are you rebuilding the Sect or setting traps?"

"This is a home, not a battlefield."

He pointed to that ice and fire demonic mountain.

"Ximei, Qingxue, withdraw your Divine Ability. That's for looking at scenery, not for scaring people."

"Weiwei, dig up those man-eating flowers. Replace them with ordinary welcoming pines. If any guests are eaten in the future, I'll hold you responsible."

"Hong Ling..."

Su Lin glanced at his Second Disciple, who was still struggling with the floor.

"Go to the back mountain to chop wood. You are not allowed to touch another brick!"

"Oh..."

Although the four were reluctant, Revered Master's orders were hard to disobey, so they could only comply obediently.

Just then.

In the sky outside the mountain gate, several sounds of breaking air suddenly came.

A dozen streaks of light pierced the sky and stopped aggressively above Daochu Sect.

Leading them was a burly man with a face full of scars wearing a tiger-skin coat, holding a Ghost-Headed Great Saber. His cultivation was at the Early Stage of Body Integration. Behind him followed a dozen or so Void Refining minions.

This was the chieftain of a stronghold eight hundred miles away, known as Ghost Blade Wang Ba.

He had heard that Daochu Sect was attacked by various major Sects and its grand array was shattered, so he thought of coming to pick up the scraps and see if he could occupy this auspicious land.

"Hey! Listen up down there!"

Wang Ba floated in mid-air, looking at the bizarre scene below. Although he felt a bit hair-raised, he still plucked up his courage.

"I am Chieftain Wang of the Black Wind Stronghold!"

"I heard your Daochu Sect has no one left? In that case, this territory belongs to my Black Wind Stronghold from now on!"

"If you're smart, quickly hand over all the treasures in the storehouse, and then send up the remaining female cultivators for me to enjoy. Maybe I'll even spare your miserable lives!"

His voice, amplified by spiritual power, echoed in the valley like rolling thunder.

Inside Daochu Sect, there was dead silence.

Mu Qingxue, who was dismantling the ice mountain, stopped her movements.

Chu Weiwei, who was pulling up the poisonous flowers, straightened her back.

Luo Ximei, who was withdrawing the Demonic Fire, narrowed her eyes.

Su Hongling, who was chopping wood in the back mountain, came out carrying her giant sword.

Gu Qiuyue quickly flicked her abacus, looked up at the sky, and a glint of "work is here" flashed in her eyes.

Su Lin still sat on the stone chair, not even lifting his head, just gently blowing the floating leaves in his teacup.

"Who just said they wanted someone to practice with?"

He asked faintly.

As soon as he finished speaking.

"Me!!!"

Four voices rang out simultaneously.

The next second.

Four figures disappeared from their spots like arrows leaving a bow.

In the sky, Wang Ba was still waiting triumphantly for the people below to kneel and beg for mercy.

Suddenly, he felt a chill down his back.

Turning around, he saw a red figure had appeared behind him at some point, holding a giant sword that looked like a door panel, grinning at him with two rows of small white teeth.

"Was it you who just said you wanted us to let you enjoy yourself?"

Su Hongling tilted her head, her smile brilliant, but her eyes were a deep crimson.

"You... who are you?!"

Wang Ba's heart skipped a beat, instinctively sensing danger.

"I'm your grandma!"

Su Hongling shouted, not using any spiritual power at all, and directly swung the giant sword [no edge], sweeping it across like swatting a fly.

"Whoosh!"

The terrifying wind pressure even caused the surrounding space to distort.

Wang Ba was terrified and raised his Ghost-Headed Great Saber to block.

"Clang!!!"

A crisp sound.

That High-Grade Spirit Stone Ghost-Headed Great Saber was like paper in front of the giant sword, instantly shattering.

The giant sword's momentum didn't decrease, hitting Wang Ba squarely.

"Pfft!"

Wang Ba didn't even have time to scream before he was sent flying like a cannonball.

But it wasn't over yet.

On his backward trajectory in the air, a white cold mist suddenly appeared.

Mu Qingxue stood on the clouds and expressionlessly extended a finger.

"Ice Seal."

Crack, crack, crack!

Wang Ba, who was still spitting blood, was instantly frozen into a giant block of ice.

Immediately following.

A large hand woven of black and white appeared out of thin air and grabbed the ice block.

Luo Ximei stood below, a cruel light flashing in her heterochromatic eyes.

"Want to occupy our territory? You're not worthy!"

She squeezed her fingers hard.

"Crack!"

Cracks appeared on the ice block.

"Wait! Leave him a breath!"

Chu Weiwei flew out from the flowers, holding that dark green little bottle, looking excited.

"Don't let him die too soon!!!"

She pushed aside Luo Ximei's hand and unhesitatingly shoved that priceless [Nine-Rotation Life-Sustaining Pill] into the crack in the ice, sending it directly into Wang Ba's mouth.

"Dissolve!"

Chu Weiwei formed a hand seal, and a streak of green spiritual light entered Wang Ba's body.

The next second, a miracle happened.

Wang Ba, who had already been frozen stiff, had his bones crushed, and his internal organs ruptured, suddenly erupted with an amazing surge of vitality.

His shattered bones reorganized with a popping sound, his damaged Meridians instantly reconnected, and even his frostbitten skin regained its color.

In just three breaths, Wang Ba snapped his eyes open.

"Cough, cough, cough! Hah—! I... I'm not dead?"

Wang Ba gasped for breath and touched his intact chest, his eyes full of the wild joy of surviving a disaster.

He looked at Chu Weiwei in her white dress, smiling like an angel, and was moved to tears.

"Thank you, Fairy, for saving my life! You truly have the heart of a bodhisattva..."

"Shh—"

Chu Weiwei placed an index finger to her lips, a smile so sweet it could make one's bones go soft appearing on her face.

"No need to thank me, as long as you're a bit more durable."

"Dur... durable?" Wang Ba was stunned.

Before he could react, Chu Weiwei's other hand, like a magic trick, pulled out a dozen small bottles of various colors and lined them up on a nearby rock.

"That was for saving your life. Now... let's play something interesting."

She picked up a purple bottle.

"This is [Ten Thousand Ants Heart-Eating Dew]. When applied to a wound, it feels like ten thousand ants are gnawing at your heart, but you won't die."

"What?!" Wang Ba's face changed drastically. He tried to run, but found his body tightly bound by several invisible poisonous vines, unable to move.

"Ahhh—!!!"

A shrill scream once again pierced the sky.

Wang Ba twitched all over in pain, foaming at the mouth, looking like he was about to roll his eyes and die.

"Oh, you only lasted half a cup of tea's time? Too weak."

Chu Weiwei frowned in dissatisfaction and stuffed a [Rejuvenation Pill] into his mouth.

"Wake up! No sleeping!"

Spiritual power surged, and Wang Ba was once again fully revived, his consciousness clearer than ever.

"I beg you... kill me... let me die..." He broke down and cried.

"That won't do. Revered Master said we shouldn't kill indiscriminately. We must make the best use of everything."

At this time, Luo Ximei also came over, her heterochromatic eyes looking at Wang Ba with great interest.

"Third Senior Sister, your poison is still too slow. Let me try his Divine Soul strength."

"Soul Search: Myriad Demons' Bite!"

Luo Ximei pointed a finger at Wang Ba's forehead.

Wang Ba's body instantly stiffened, his eyes became hollow as if he were seeing the most terrifying sights in the world, and his Soul was being torn apart by countless demons in his Sea of Consciousness.

That deep-seated pain from the Soul made him unable to even scream; he could only make "clucking" strange noises.

Seeing his Divine Soul about to collapse.

"Stop!"

Chu Weiwei acted again, sticking a [Soul-Settling Needle] into the top of his head, forcibly stabilizing his Soul that was about to dissipate.

"Fifth Junior Sister, you're being too heavy-handed. If you break him, I'll have to fix him again!"

"Hmph, it's because he's too fragile."

"I want a turn too, I want a turn too!"

Su Hongling ran over carrying her giant sword. "I just sent him flying with one strike earlier and didn't even get to feel it. Heal him up, I want to see if I can shatter his bones using just one finger!"

And so.

For the next hour.

In front of the Daochu Sect mountain gate, a tragic "interactive experiment of medicine and martial arts" took place.

Wang Ba experienced: being corroded by poison -> being healed -> being scared insane -> being healed -> having every bone in his body shattered -> being healed -> being frozen into dross -> being melted and healed... countless Reincarnations.

From his initial begging for mercy, to his later cursing, to his final numbness, his eyes were as hollow as a rag doll's.

As for the dozen or so minions who had come along, they had long since been so scared they peed their pants, kneeling on the ground and banging their heads loudly.

"Spare our lives! Spare our lives, Great Fairies!"

"We are willing to serve as beasts of burden! Just don't treat us! Please, don't treat us!"

Gu Qiuyue walked over with a smile, the beads on her abacus clicking rapidly.

"If you don't want to be 'treated', that's fine too."

She took out a stack of prepared contracts and threw them in front of the minions.

"Sign these."

"This is... an Indenture Contract?!" one minion looked at it and said in horror, "Five hundred years? And it's for unpaid mining?"

"What? You think the time is too short? Then make it a thousand years." Gu Qiuyue's smile grew even more brilliant.

"We'll sign! We'll sign!"