The Arrogant Immortal
Chapter 214 - 213: Something Is a Bit Strange Here

Chapter 214: Chapter 213: Something Is a Bit Strange Here

Suddenly, a tiny shadow flitted by.

It was a hummingbird contracted beast, delivering a letter to Xie Jiuniang.

The letter essentially stated that if Xie Jiuniang wanted to stay alive, she had to head east and was forbidden from contacting anyone.

The written letter self-ignited after a few breaths, leaving no ashes behind.

Xie Jiuniang feigned anger and tolerance, having no choice but to comply.

Along the way, the same hummingbird delivered more messages, each time changing directions. After five or six changes, the final message specified that she had to reach Tiantian Mountain by herself before sunset.

There were still over two hours left before the sun would set.

At the early stages of Foundation Establishment, flying with a sword to Tiantian Mountain would take roughly two hours; the person behind the scenes was giving her no time to think.

Xie Jiuniang turned around and flew towards Tiantian Mountain.

Tiantian Mountain lay to the northeast of the Sect, beyond its territory.

There, a range of seldom-visited mountains stood, and Tiantian Mountain itself was particularly barren. High mountains and rugged rocks surrounded it, with little greenery seen all year round.

Sect disciples would pass by without stopping.

Xie Jiuniang opted for flying with her sword.

She maintained the vigor expected of someone at the third layer of Foundation Establishment.

Who knew if she was being watched on this journey?

Although Jian Lingyan hadn’t detected anything unusual, it didn’t necessarily mean there were no abnormalities.

Before the sun set, Xie Jiuniang arrived at Tiantian Mountain.

From a distance, nothing seemed amiss with Tiantian Mountain.

After probing the mountain with her Divine Sense, Xie Jiuniang faintly noticed some anomalies but couldn’t pinpoint them just yet.

"Little Jianjian, is anyone lying in ambush?"

"No, there isn’t a single person in Tiantian Mountain," Jian Lingyan asserted after checking.

That was a question Xie Jiuniang had already explored.

Not to mention people, there weren’t even many demonic beasts around, mainly due to the scarce food supply, and even demonic beasts needed to eat.

Another familiar hummingbird flew in, dropping off a letter.

As it prepared to fly away, a small hand reached out and grabbed the bird. "So small, hardly enough flesh to fill the gaps in my teeth."

In Xie Jiuniang’s grasp, the hummingbird let out a short, sharp shriek.

She squeezed until it almost suffocated, then let go.

When it caught its breath, she squeezed again.

Hummingbirds lack combat ability; they’re good for surveillance and delivering messages but are otherwise at death’s mercy in such situations.

And the cultivator who has contracted a hummingbird is generally not the principal.

Usually, it will be a person raised by a powerful force, devoted to death.

Xie Jiuniang looked over the letter, which contained a crudely drawn temporary map with a circled spot, indicating that she should go there.

"Here..."

Jian Lingyan uncertainly said, "It’s just that this place seems a bit odd."

"If it wasn’t odd, why would they send me here?"

Following the map up the mountain, Xie Jiuniang found a cave entrance, which turned out to be a passageway rather than a mere cave.

There was an Array that concealed the entrance, yet did not impede passage.

Just as the letter instructed, she stepped in.

The passage was narrow, allowing only one person to pass through.

Heading down the passageway, she could tell she was descending.

The inside of the passage was pitch-black; although Divine Sense could aid her vision, she wasn’t comfortable in the darkness and without a second thought, she took out a luminous stone.

Instantly, the passageway lit up.

It was shadowy, cool, and vaguely damp.

The deeper she went, the colder she felt, even through her vestment robe. Could this be yin energy?!

Xie Jiuniang emotionlessly crushed the hummingbird to death.

Since she had come inside, there was no need for the hummingbird to exist any longer.

The contract practitioner hidden in the distance, upon the instant death of the hummingbird, experienced severe pain in his spiritual soul, his complexion turning deathly pale in a flash.

"Damn it! You deserve to die——"

No matter how much this person cursed, it didn’t affect Xie Jiuniang.

Xie Jiuniang didn’t care about such a minion.

The person behind had been exceedingly cautious, not showing their face even once for so long. Perhaps, they never intended to show themselves from the beginning?

Knowing that there are tigers in the mountain, yet still heading towards Tiger Mountain.

Xie Jiuniang moved forward again, the pathway widening before her, until she came upon a large stone chamber.

She took out the base of the Buddha’s Green Lamp.

A small flame of spiritual fire rose from her fingertips, lighting the wick.

In the instant the azure lantern was lit,

under the illumination of the light, the ghostly qi receded.

"I didn’t expect the master to acquire it many years ago—the seemingly useless old lamp base actually has such a wondrous use," Jian Lingyan’s tender voice propped up.

Xie Jiuniang smiled, "Don’t interrupt. Organize your words again. Are you sure there’s no one here?"

"No one!"

"Then what’s in this cave..."

"Should be what your human race calls ’ghosts,’" Jian Lingyan said, not sounding very confident.

Xie Jiuniang laughed in exasperation.

A ghost cultivator isn’t really human, right?

"Hee-hee, such a lively little girl..."

A strange hee-hee laughter came from inside, "That old thing disguises himself as an orthodox cultivator, yet acts more ruthlessly than I do. Such a lovely little girl will meet her untimely end here today, hee-hee-hee..."

Xie Jiuniang saw a Nascent Soul Ghost Cultivator.

The entire figure was emaciated, hardly resembling anything human, but then again, it was no longer human. If one isn’t human, couldn’t their soul at least look a bit plumper?

Could this be the ghost of someone who starved to death?

Did they have to maintain the appearance of having starved to death even after dying?

The Nascent Soul Ghost Cultivator had thought a young girl would be terrified out of her wits upon seeing his fearsome appearance, but instead she simply looked at him with a peculiar gaze?

Indeed, her gaze was odd.

But she showed not a hint of fear.

This reaction was abnormal, and just as the Nascent Soul Ghost Cultivator was about to let out a strange laugh, he abruptly restrained himself and asked, "Hee-hee, aren’t you afraid?"

"Hee-hee? Must villains always laugh strangely like this?"

Xie Jiuniang was extremely wary inside, yet her expression remained tranquil as a cloud, "Senior, I’ve read through many books; the ghost cultivators described in them, besides lacking a physical body, look almost like people at first glance, and don’t need to laugh as disagreeably as you do."

The Nascent Soul Ghost Cultivator’s strange laughter froze.

He scrutinized Xie Jiuniang once again.

A girl with the appearance of a thirteen- or fourteen-year-old, yet at the third level of Foundation Establishment? Dressed in a Tianxu Sect direct disciple’s robe, wearing a high-level defense jade token on her waist, and treading in top-quality Luminous Cloud Boots.

Every piece of her attire was exorbitantly expensive; how could her backing be small?

The Nascent Soul Ghost Cultivator had made a deal with someone.

He was supposed to lead a sect disciple to their death, but the other party hadn’t clarified that the victim was an untouchable young ancestor like this one.

Who was Xie Jiuniang?

Seeing the Nascent Soul Ghost Cultivator’s darkening expression, Xie Jiuniang roughly guessed what was going on. She shook a jade token in her right hand, "See this? It’s a single strike from a Divinity Transformation."

Then, she shook the three talismans pinched between her left fingers.

These were not spirit talismans, but sealing talismans.

"Did you see that? Three Nascent Soul sealing talismans; a Nascent Soul one strike, no no, three strikes." Xie Jiuniang’s confident demeanor was especially infuriating.

For the first time in his life, the ghost cultivator was threatened by a junior, and it nearly drove him mad.

It made him especially furious!

Yet, he truly felt threatened!

He was just a ghost cultivator at the early stage of Nascent Soul; not to mention a strike from Divinity Transformation, just one of those sealing talismans would give him a hard time.

Clever scheme, Wu Sheng!

How dare he scheme against him?!