The Arrogant Immortal
Chapter 144 - 143 Kill Them All

Chapter 144: Chapter 143 Kill Them All

The day of the trial had finally arrived.

Early in the morning, Xie Jiuniang set off, riding the Little Immortal Crane leisurely through the sky.

This relaxed demeanor caught the attention of many from the Sect. Since learning that Xie Jiuniang had given her master a Pure World Lotus as a gift during her initiation ceremony, even though the matter hadn’t spread widely, almost all the higher-ups knew about it.

Some were regretful. Had they known this little disciple was so wealthy, they would have made their move.

A Nascent Soul sighed, "Old Xiao, you were right. She is a little wealth deity—generous enough to give a Pure World Lotus just like that."

"Ha ha, Chaoyan really has a keen eye; we are no match for him."

"The sourness in your words—I can smell it from miles away..."

"Go away, who isn’t envious now? This little disciple has great fortune, plus she’s hardworking. A slightly inferior Spirit Root really isn’t much. Three Spirit Roots, Foundation Establishment at fifteen. Even the strongest genius of this generation only managed Foundation Establishment at sixteen."

"She’s fifteen already? She looks rather young..."

Xie Jiuniang, unaware of the gossip about her, was fully engaged in conversation with Jian Lingyan. She didn’t dare to use her Divine Sense to scout around in the Sect to prevent accidentally offending someone by scanning them, so she had Jian Lingyan monitor her surroundings and report to her.

"Flying so slowly, aren’t you afraid of annoying those watching us to death?" Jian Lingyan had long known about her dog owner’s nefarious schemes.

Xie Jiuniang just smiled nonchalantly, "I’m not in a hurry."

Along the way, some people had been waiting on the certain routes she would take.

Some even rotated several people in and out.

If not for Jian Lingyan’s warning, she really wouldn’t have noticed.

She flew for over half an hour.

Finally, she arrived at Trial Peak at the beginning of chen time.

On the first day of every month, Trial Peak would be crowded with disciples in droves.

The trial grounds were created jointly by the powerful members of the Sect, specifically for Qi Cultivation and Foundation Establishment Disciples to train. It was said to have originally been a desolate Secret Realm.

Xie Jiuniang had been there in her previous life.

There were mechanical techniques, Illusion Arrays, puppet formations, and more—various types of traps and dangers one might encounter in the Cultivation World.

They were specifically meant to train disciples.

The possibility of a lethal accident was very low. If one encountered danger and activated the Wooden Token they brought, they would be transported out. Nevertheless, there were still a few unlucky souls who died there every year.

As soon as she landed on the Stone Platform at the summit of Trial Peak,

Xie Jiuniang sensed several malicious gazes.

Looking in the direction of the gazes,

she caught Wu Shuangshuang’s lingering look. Wu Shuangshuang awkwardly smiled at Xie Jiuniang, as if to cover up something.

Xie Jiuniang was aware of this woman’s malevolence.

Seeing several Foundation Establishment Disciples from the Wu Family’s side branches standing beside Wu Shuangshuang, Xie Jiuniang sneered inwardly.

These people had often troubled her in her previous life.

She noticed two female cultivators nearby who, like Wu Shuangshuang, shared a certain unpleasantness. They were admirers infatuated with Lin Wangchen.

It seemed like Lin Wangchen had once helped or saved them.

Three women in one act.

Especially malicious women, they were bound to stir up a lot of trouble. Xie Jiuniang remained alert and asked Jian Lingyan to keep an eye on their movements.

Jian Lingyan clicked his tongue and said, "They’re all badmouthing you, Master."

"What are they talking about?"

"Wu Shuangshuang is saying it’s your fault Lin Wangchen was punished and sent to the Cliff of Reflection. If you had obediently accepted Lord Minhuang as your master and not embarrassed him by refusing, he wouldn’t have been so angry and punished Lin Wangchen..." Jian Lingyan summarized the women’s conversation.

Xie Jiuniang speechless, "What’s wrong with these people’s brains? Everyone else is normal, but they have to be different."

Jian Lingyan giggled and said, "They are planning to teach you a lesson in the trial grounds."

"Who teaches whom isn’t certain yet."

Xie Jiuniang said this through transmission, feigning arrogance.

But then, Jian Lingyan, scared for his life, began checking all the life-saving items his master carried. First was the Jade Token hanging at her waist, which could defend against a full-force strike from a Nascent Soul, followed by the top-grade Soft Sword wrapped at her waist.

Then there was the magic artifact wristband that she had modified.

This wristband was no ordinary item.

Xie Jiuniang had pondered over the inheritance of the puppetry technique; although she didn’t succeed in creating a puppet, she applied some of the mechanical techniques involved in her research into the wristband, equipping it with a hidden mechanism for launching projectiles. By activating it with divine sense, poison needles would be shot out.

There were three darts in total.

The poison was indeed lethal, the kind that seals one’s throat on contact with blood.

She also wore the vestment robe of a direct disciple, belonging to the high-rank attire.

On her feet were a pair of top-quality Flowing Cloud Boots.

They might look mundane, but each boot had a dagger hidden in it.

There were also defensive hairpins, earrings, and so on.

This ruthless set-up was almost the standard for direct descendants.

It undoubtedly signaled to others that this disciple had a strong backing and was not someone to be trifled with casually.

Once upon a time, Xie Jiuniang envied others.

Now, dressed in her domineering attire, she stood calmly on the stone platform, attracting many envious gazes.

Unaware of this, she was still wondering if she had forgotten anything.

"Buzz!"

A bell rang out, calming the atmosphere at Trial Peak.

It was the signal that the trial was about to begin.

All at once, five Nascent Soul practitioners appeared, taking up positions at the peak’s center, above the five giant stone pillars carved with array patterns. They then formed seals with their hands and pressed their palms onto the pillars, activating the formations above them.

The five of them joined forces to open the doors to the trial.

Xie Jiuniang saw a ghostly door gradually materializing in the center of the five pillars.

A Golden Core True Person from Trial Peak announced loudly, "The door to the trial has opened and will only remain so for the duration of one hour. Disciples who wish to participate in the trial, please enter swiftly; those who are late will be deemed to have forfeited their chance."

No sooner had the Golden Core True Person finished speaking, the disciples closest to the entrance plunged into the door and disappeared instantaneously.

Xie Jiuniang then made her move.

As she approached the entrance, a male cultivator bumped into her from behind.

Xie Jiuniang slightly sidestepped, and the male cultivator merely brushed past her.

Soon after, Xie Jiuniang noticed a trace of powder on the hem of her vestment robe.

Jian Lingyan, puffing with indignation, questioned, "Master could have avoided it altogether, so why get hit on purpose?"

"What do you know? If they don’t come after me, how can I play my part?" Xie Jiuniang had intentionally allowed the other party to leave the powder, which was typically used for tracking, "Does that person have a contracted beast?"

"Probably does."

"We’ll talk inside." After conversing briefly with Jian Lingyan, to the outsiders, it looked as if Xie Jiuniang had merely paused for a moment before entering as usual.

A phantom-like gate.

It transported those atop Trial Peak into another world.

This place was still a square.

There stood the stone token of the Tianxu Sect and the statue of the sect’s founding ancestor.

For every disciple entering the trial, this central square was the first place they appeared in.

Xie Jiuniang spotted the male cultivator who had almost bumped into her, the very one who had been with Wu Shuangshuang earlier.

Wu Shuangshuang and her group had followed her into the trial.

The male cultivator quickly rejoined Wu Shuangshuang and the others.

Jian Lingyan, with a child-like tone, piped up again, "We must kill them all! They are too hateful, hmph."

"Killing one or two is acceptable, but not all of them."

The death of one or two could be written off as an accident, but a massacre would provoke an investigation by the higher-ups.