The Daoist Seal

Editor: Vis

This took place at the Emperor"s Heaven Sect"s valley below the seven main peaks. Jiang Xiaofan strode forward, not caring whose younger brother he was, raised his leg, and brutally kicked him.

*Bang*

Zhu Yunlin cried in pain as he was once again knocked flying out. His face turned deathly pale, blood profusely streamed from his nose and mouth, and his four limbs were completely broken. He lay on the ground, immobile. Compared to Zhu Youwei from the prior incident, Zhu Yunlin was in an even more pitiable state.

"Jiang, you are so dead! My brother will kill you!" screeched Zhu Yunlin.

"Sure, I"ll wait until he comes out first," replied Jiang Xiaofan, unconcerned. He turned around and walked away.

Many spectators rolled their eyes again. The direction which Jiang Xiaofan was heading towards was where the Soul Training PaG.o.da laid. They guessed that he was going to s.n.a.t.c.h the precious weapon for his personal possession.

"Jiang, what the h.e.l.l are you doing?! That"s my brother"s treasure! You"re not allowed to touch it!" Zhu Yunlin became exasperated. If the Soul Training PaG.o.da was stolen, not only would he lose face, but his brother would as well.

"Pft, kid, what are you talking about? You used it to kill me. Am I supposed to kindly return it back to you? Are you delusional?" Jiang Xiaofan asked, with his back to Zhu Yunlin.

"You!"

Zhu Yunlin"s complexion grew ashen. However, Zhu Yunlin was a child after all. In the eyes of the crowd, his expression didn"t seem like one of anger but one of being wronged.

He wanted to stop Jiang Xiaofan, but he was already disabled. No matter how Zhu Yunlin raged, he couldn"t move at all. He furiously glared at Jiang Xiaofan, his look seething with poison. Jiang Xiaofan was unnerved. It was difficult for Jiang Xiaofan to imagine that an eleven to twelve-years-old child could project such a hostile aura.

The Soul Training PaG.o.da returned to its normal height. Although they were visibly faint, three streaks of cracks had appeared on its surface. Still, no one would dare to take the paG.o.da lightly. Ultimately, it was a precious-ranked weapon.

Many of the onlookers" eyes were red with envy as they watched Jiang Xiaofan approach the paG.o.da and prepare to take it in his hands. However, they didn"t make a move at all because this was a precious weapon which they were unable to control. Not to mention, they didn"t want to offend its original owner.

*Boom*

Suddenly, just when Jiang Xiaofan"s hand touched the paG.o.da, a powerful surge of qi charged at him. The dimly glowing paG.o.da instantly beamed forth thousands of rays of light, as if it was unlocking the door to s.p.a.ce and time.

Jiang Xiaofan quickly retreated backward. He sensed a strong force, one that carried death.

The atmosphere suddenly turned very mysterious. The Soul Training PaG.o.da hovered in midair by itself. A silver door connected to the spatial dimension opened. A beautiful spiritual light beamed forth and transformed into a figure who exuded a n.o.ble bearing.

"This is…."

"Zhu Xidao! Why is here?!"

Many of the spectators gasped and stepped backward. Shock was written on their faces. Many of them were outer disciples from the previous selection, and mixed in the crowd were a good number of inner disciples. As such, they obviously recognized Zhu Xidao.

"Big Brother!"

Taken aback, Zhu Yunlin also let out a surprised gasp. Even he didn"t know what was going on.

With black hair flowing past his shoulders, this figure"s face was finely chiseled, and he had copper-toned skin. He had a healthy, masculine stature. The glimmer of the spiritual light blanketed him. He looked like the reincarnation of a divine king.

Above his head was the paG.o.da. Although it was still less than three-centimeters tall, it shined more brightly and released a call of joy.

Alarmed, Jiang Xiaofan retreated farther. This person"s qi was just too strong, causing him to tense up. Just standing there alone was unsettling. In addition, his aura was ten times more frightening than Zhu Yunlin attacking him with the full power of the paG.o.da.

"Is it really that person? Wasn"t he said to be in closed-door training?" questioned an inner disciple. The color on his face drastically changed.

Zhu Xidao was only past twenty years of age, but his innate talent was frightening beyond comparison. His cultivation skills were so strong that even some cultivators who were older to him could not defeat him. Besides, he was lucky. Rumor had it that some primordial sage had pa.s.sed down a set of Daoist cultivation methods to him. In the words of the Emperor"s Heaven Sect, he contained immense potential.

This was the reason why Zhu Yunlin could act so willfully within the sect.

Jiang Xiaofan"s heart chilled. This Zhu Xidao was too terrifying. He wasn"t someone who Jiang he could defend against.

"Big Brother, kill him!" Zhu Yunlin shouted after recovering from his shock.

Zhu Xidao was completely bathed in the light emitted by the paG.o.da above him. Even though he was only in his twenties, his eyes were deep like an abyss. He pointed a finger and directed a ray of light at Zhu Yunlin, wasting no time to heal Zhu Yunlin"s wounds.

He then stared at Jiang Xiaofan like he was looking at a celestial star dying before him. The Soul Training PaG.o.da was linked to his body and mind. Together, they evolved. That was his secret. Through the paG.o.da, he had seen all that had been unfolded.

Jiang Xiaofan"s heart sank. His energy and focus seemed to have evaporated and were replaced by chills running down his spine.

*Boom*

All of a sudden, Zhu Xidao attacked. Although he seemed indifferent and hadn"t moved, the paG.o.da above his head shook and shot a powerful ray of light at Jiang Xiaofan.

Jiang Xiaofan"s face paled as he faced against the tremendous pressure of the qi coming down towards him. A layer of sweat covered his forehead. Channeling Buddha"s Shadow Steps, he rapidly dodged backward. It felt like a heavy chunk of the sky had fallen on him, unable to resist it.

"Completely unacceptable! How can you do this?!" Livid and discontent, Ye Yuanxue rushed over.

"It is indeed slightly out of line."

Around this time, a melodious voice resonated throughout. Zhu Xidao"s death-dealing ray of light was parried by a mysterious force. The silent impact of the force dissipated into the air.

Jiang Xiaofan finally relaxed his muscles. He looked up and saw a woman who had appeared out of nowhere. Donning her lithe body in a white robe, she stood gracefully under a halo of spiritual light, just like a fairy who had fallen to the mortal realm.

"It"s her! Ye Qiuyu!"

The crowd then erupted into gasps of awes and burst with excitement. Because of this mysterious girl, Jiang Xiaofan fell into a daze and could feel the heated blood rushing throughout his body.

Currently, the girl stood beside him. Her body was jade-like and her proportions were perfect. No matter how he looked at her, she was stunning, just like Ye Yuanxue.

"Oi, oi! Pervert, what are you looking at?!"

Ye Yuanxue walked over to him and tugged his earlobe. She then turned and stared wide-eyed at the mysterious girl.

Zhu Xidao stopped his attack and stood still, coldly looking at the white-robed female.

"To think that that Zhu Shixiong"s[1]  physical body would be in closed-door training, but his nascent soul[2] would be stored in the Soul Training PaG.o.da. You are indeed the Emperor"s Heaven Sect"s number one youth cultivator."

The mysterious girl smiled and continued, "With someone of your status and position, going after a newcomer will surely tarnish your reputation. Why don"t you let this go?"

Her tone was firm, but the sound of her voice was angelic and enticing, like a warm wind gently blowing over a person"s soul and tugging at the heartstrings.  

It was not until after she had spoken that many people began to realize the meaning behind her words. Stupefied, they all turned to look at Zhu Xidao with growing fear and respect in their eyes.

"That"s a nascent soul?! Too scary!"

"Even…. Even many high-level cultivators can"t do this!"

Nascent Soul Transformation was a G.o.d-like, mystical technique. Zhu Xidao"s innate talent was just too mind-blowing. Although he was only twenty years old and his cultivation level might not be on par with other elderly cultivators, his potential was something that this world had rarely witnessed. To master this mystical technique at this stage was truly extraordinary.

Zhu Xidao directed his gaze at Ye Qiuyu and then coldly glanced at Jiang Xiaofan. At last, he turned around. Spiritual light flickered and blanketed Zhu Yunlin. Like a laser, they shot to the tallest main peak.

During this whole time, Zhu Yunlin had not arrogantly demanded Zu Xidao to kill Jiang Xiaofan. In front of others, he could act willfully, but in front of this mysterious female core disciple, he could only remain quiet. Just the second before Zhu Xidao left, Zhu Yunlin ferociously eyed Jiang Xiaofan like he wanted to devour him.

Jiang Xiaofan was still in a shock. Zhu Xidao was too powerful for him. That glance made him feel as if there were two peerless swords held to his neck. His heart violently skipped a beat.

"Everyone, you may leave now."

The white-robed girl turned to look at Jing Xiaofan and Ye Yuanxue, still wearing a smile on her face. Her voice was soothing, making her appear friendly and charming. Except for the three of them, everyone else had already left.

"Thank you, Miss Fairy, for helping me out!"

Jiang Xiaofan walked up to her to express his grat.i.tude. If not for her, he would probably be dead by now. Zhu Xidao had shown him no mercy. That one strike could have been an instant kill unless the bra.s.s piece inside him activated again. Otherwise, there would be no hope for him.

"What fairy?! Pervert, can"t you come up with something more creative?!" Ye Yuanxue tugged on his earlobe harder before rushing into the embrace of the mysterious girl. She sweetly murmured, "Sis, I miss you so much!"

What the h.e.l.l is going on?! Jiang Xiaofan froze on the spot while looking at both of them.

"You child! You didn"t even tell me that you"ve been here for two months, yet you say you missed me. If I didn"t possess our clan"s Thread of Life and could sense your spiritual energy, I don"t know how long I would"ve been kept hidden in the dark!"

The white-robed girl admonished Ye Yuanxue and then poked her on the forehead while affectionately looking at her.

"Sister, I just wanted to give you a surprise! Besides, I can enter the Heavenly Maiden Peak through my own capabilities. Hehe, Sis, look. I won! I"m qualified! Amazing, right?!" explained Ye Yuanxue, playfully swaying her sister"s left hand.

"Xue"er, you came by yourself? Where"s that elder?"

"Hmph! That decrepit old guy is awful! He abandoned me on the road and fled. I get so angry just thinking about him! If I see him in the future, I"ll rip his whiskers out!" Ye Yuanxue pouted and harshly ground her teeth.

The white-robed girl shook her head and chuckled, "You…. Don"t be rude! That elder is a high-level cultivator. It"s your fortune to have been able to become his pupil."

"Pft, what fortune?! Those past two years have been nothing but frustrating for me!" Ye Yuanxue was discontent, but then she thought of something. She pulled her sister in front of Jiang Xiaofan and said, "Sis, this is Jiang Xiaofan. After the decrepit old guy abandoned me, there were these two jerks that wanted to bully me. It"s Xiaofan who came to my rescue."

"This is my sister, Ye Qiuyu. Ye as in leaves, Qiu as in autumn, and Yu as in rain. What do you think? A beautiful name, yeah?" Ye Yuanxue happily introduced both of them.

"Thank you, Hero Jiang. From a young age, Xue"er has been very mischievous. She must"ve caused so much trouble for you along the way." Ye Qiuyu beamed a smile at Jiang Xiaofan and thanked him.

"Not at all! It"s nothing. No troubles," Jiang Xiaofan disagreed and replied, "On the contrary, I have to thank Ye Shijie [3]. If not for you, I would"ve died at the hands of Zhu Xidao."

After hearing him speak, Ye Yuanxue instantly grinned impishly, "Haha, if you want to thank my sister, shouldn"t you offer her a gift?"

"Xue"er, what are you doing?"

Ye Qiuyu questioned her after seeing Ye Yuanxue pat down Jiang Xiaofan.

"Sis, you have no idea! This guy has treasure on him!"

Ye Yuanxue scanned their surrounding before finally taking out three stalks of green gra.s.s. One of them was shoved into Ye Qiuyu"s hand.

"This is…. Immortal Spirit Root!"

Ye Qiuyu loudly gasped as the color on her complexion changed. Astonished, her tiny mouth stretched wide open.

Footnotes