Chapter Forty: Abandoned After Three Attempts

So it was this old scoundrel stirring up trouble! Feng Ke’er’s heart sank, and she quickly drew a talisman in midair, activating her transformation spell.

Her guess had been correct—the so-called “Jade Worms” were none other than the handiwork of Old Master Chen. The “Jade Worms” were merely a pretext for his extortion. In truth, he had researched every source he could find, but to this day, he still hadn’t unraveled the true nature of these worms. All he knew was that they were called “Sacred Worms.” And the task given to him by that person was precisely to hatch these Sacred Worms. That person had told him that the Sacred Worms were extremely particular about their hatching environment. In the entire Qingyun Sect, only the small side courtyard was suitable for hatching them.

And so, ever since he’d been promoted to overseer of the outer sect’s jade slips, Old Master Chen had been hatching Sacred Worms year after year. He’d succeeded dozens of times, never once encountering an incident. Who could have foreseen that this year would bring a disaster—he had just finished collecting the worms from the southwestern room when a burst of multicolored light erupted from the eastern room. Immediately after, he could no longer sense the worms within.

Disaster—something major had happened in the eastern room!

At the thought of that person’s methods, his heart twisted with regret: he never should have been careless, never should have dismissed these greenhorn disciples!

Before activating the protective formation, he had noticed someone still in the eastern room. But collecting the Sacred Worms was never an easy or simple task. With such an important job, he couldn’t pay attention to the life of a mere new disciple—once the Sacred Worms hatched and met the light, they would transform within half the time it took to burn an incense stick, growing from larvae to winged adults. But that person wanted only the larvae. So, he had to gather hundreds of thousands of Sacred Worms from the three rooms into his purple gourd before the time was up.

Yet he had not expected that new disciple to break through to the next level in such circumstances!

Damn it—how could advancing merely from the acquired stage to the Qi Refining stage cause such a commotion? Even forming a Foundation wouldn’t produce such an ostentatious display! Could it be that the Sacred Worms in the eastern room had mutated?

With this in mind, he rushed into the room, praying desperately: “Great Pangu above, please let nothing have happened to the Sacred Worms.”

If Heaven granted him another chance, he swore, he would first crush that damned brat into a pulp before activating the protective formation! If anything happened to the Sacred Worms, no matter who was behind the tricks in the eastern room, he would kill that person with a single palm strike.

Hmph! If he had to die, he’d take someone down with him. If he couldn’t survive, that little trickster could forget about seeing another sunrise!

But when he saw the person inside, he was taken aback. “You? How is it you?”

Feng Ke’er’s heart thudded—had her transformation spell failed, exposing her to the old scoundrel?

“Uncle-Master Chen, it’s me! I advanced! I really advanced!” She touched her cheeks with both hands, feigning wild joy and shouting in excitement, while secretly checking if her transformation had held.

Thank goodness, her face was fine!

She glanced down to check her body—no mistakes there, either.

Her courage restored, she took advantage of the fact that Old Master Chen was only at the peak of Foundation Establishment, while her breath-concealing talisman was so powerful it could easily fool his eyes. Right under his nose, she used her spiritual sense to adjust the talisman, displaying the aura of early Qi Refining—Old Master Chen had rushed in so quickly, she’d barely had time to cast her transformation spell. The disturbance was too great to explain away, so she decided to simply pretend she had just advanced.

The food for new disciples at the dining hall was hopelessly bland—if she leveled up, at least she could get a change of menu.

Amitabha, Heaven help me—hopefully every advancement is unique, without a fixed pattern. She silently crossed herself, beseeching the gods of all faiths for good fortune.

But in her fluster, she forgot one thing: this was tens of thousands of years BCE—the likes of those gods hadn’t even been born yet!

Old Master Chen, upon seeing the room, nearly went up in smoke with rage—not only had this brat used some kind of sorcery, but the entire eastern room was spotless and orderly, even the sandalwood boards that should have been destroyed by the Sacred Worms were as good as new.

His Sacred Worms—there was not a single one in sight! It was as if they had never existed here at all.

“Insolence! Outrage!” The little old man stowed his purple gourd in his storage pouch, unleashed his full oppressive aura, and bellowed thunderously, “You dare defy your elders? Such arrogance! This is a sacred place of the sect—how dare you run wild here!”

So what if you’re a direct descendant of the Qin family? This is my turf—I make the rules!

He was livid, veins bulging, eyes bloodshot, as he raised his palm high.

Suddenly, the world seemed to darken. Feng Ke’er looked up and realized that the old man’s palm had instantly grown many times larger, looming over her like Mount Tai, a gale howling as it descended.

She had never seen such a spectacle in her life. For a moment, she was petrified with terror, staring up at the enormous palm crashing down, rooted to the spot like a wooden stake.

To see a mere early Qi Refining disciple withstand his full spiritual pressure made Old Master Chen suspicious—could the brat have some protective treasure?

With a thought, he halted his palm midair and used his Heart’s Eye technique to scrutinize the dazed youth before him.

Just as he suspected, he, a cultivator at the peak of Foundation Establishment, could not see through the aura of someone who had just entered Qi Refining!

To hell with the Qin family! To hell with Qin Ruhua! All he knew was that this brat had destroyed his entire roomful of Sacred Worms. So, he wanted the treasure—and the brat’s life as well!

With a flick of his wrist, his palm transformed into a sharp blade, slashing toward Feng Ke’er’s neck with lightning speed—this had nothing to do with humanitarian concern. The old man couldn’t identify the treasure on Feng Ke’er, and worried that with a reckless palm he might smash both the brat and the treasure to pieces, so he changed tactics, turning his palm into a blade for a clean beheading.

By the time Feng Ke’er was startled awake by the icy, cutting wind, the blade was less than a fist’s width from her neck!

No escape!

Ha—she had her precious manual; she was not afraid!

He truly was a master at the peak of Foundation Establishment—so quick! She didn’t even have time to duck or close her eyes.

Hmph, little ant! A cold gleam flashed in Old Master Chen’s eyes, a sinister smile on his face.

Just as her head was about to part from her shoulders, at that critical moment, a clear female voice chimed, “Shield activated!”

The Phoenix Jade Medallion emitted a dazzling white light, blocking Old Master Chen’s hand-blade with a ringing clash.

Blood sprayed three feet.

With a bang, a hole in the shape of a human figure was blasted through the wooden wall. The old man was hurled out of the room before he could even cry out.

Thud! He landed heavily on the bluestone tiles in the courtyard, like a sack of potatoes, his head lolling as he lost consciousness.

Feng Ke’er’s face was spattered with blood—Old Master Chen’s blood.

She had no time to wipe it away, hastily patting her chest to calm her wildly pounding heart: That was close! If she’d been a millisecond slower... she’d be headed for reincarnation now. Dear precious manual, she knew you were awesome, but did you have to be so precise? Her heart was not as strong as you imagined!

Then, another clear chime sounded in her mind, the female voice declaring: “Master, three strikes and it’s gone. The shield has disappeared.”

What! It’s gone? Feng Ke’er nearly choked—so the shield could only be used three times? Damn, that was a rip-off! Here, everyone was so quick to fight and kill, all of them violent maniacs. Without the shield, how was she supposed to survive?

Just then, a thunderous tenor boomed above the courtyard: “Miscreant, cease your recklessness!”

The voice was powerful and awe-inspiring, cleaving the air like a blade.

Whoosh—a great wind rose!

With a ripping sound, the new white silk covering the windows was torn to shreds, fluttering like countless butterflies in the storm.

The jade slips on the wooden racks buzzed and bounced three times from the shockwave.

A naked declaration of war! A sneak attack! Feng Ke’er was completely unprepared (not that her skills would have allowed her to react even if she’d been warned). She took the blow head-on.

Darkness closed in—she felt as if a heavy fist had struck her chest, and she spat out a mouthful of blood, flying straight backward.

With a crash, her back slammed into a row of wooden shelves behind her.

Like a row of dominoes, all the shelves in the room toppled with a clatter.

Hundreds of jade slips fell to the floor with a series of crisp crashes.

“Damn it!” The man in midair was heartbroken. He leaped off his flying sword, didn’t even glance at the injured people in the courtyard, and whirled into the room like a spinning top.

All he saw was chaos.

His gaze finally landed on the unconscious Feng Ke’er, and he stamped his feet in fury, yelling, “Calamity! Calamity!”

In his eyes, all the damage in the room was Feng Ke’er’s fault.

So many jade slips... he wished he could grind the unconscious culprit to dust.

The more he thought about it, the angrier he became. With a single stride, he reached Feng Ke’er’s side, raised his right foot, and stomped down viciously on her chest.

“Hold it!” A lazy female voice sounded from the courtyard. “Hmph, is this how you people bully others with impunity?” As the words fell, a flash of golden light, and Feng Ke’er disappeared with a swoosh.

The man inside, unprepared, stomped on empty air, lost his balance, and fell face-first to the ground.

Someone had snatched her away right under his nose! With a nimble roll, he leaped to his feet, blood rushing through his veins, his old face flushing bright red. With a flash, his sword was in his hand as he vaulted out of the house: “Who? Who is it?!”

At a certain peak, the author bows and thanks everyone, promising an extra chapter at six o’clock if the recommendation votes reach a thousand.

Tongtian Manual, Chapter 40: “Three Strikes and It’s Gone”—End of update!