The Arrogant Immortal
Chapter 354 - 353: I’m Still a Child, Honest and Kind

Chapter 354: Chapter 353: I’m Still a Child, Honest and Kind

Master Chaoyan’s approach was indeed correct; Ao Zhan’s death had somewhat soothed Xie Jiuniang’s emotions.

At the very least, she calmed down.

Then, while diligently honing her Soul Art, she did not forget to use Ao Zhang as practice for the Soul Needle, such as catching him off guard with a few strikes to test the current effectiveness of the Soul Needle against Divinity Transformation.

It’s just a pity that it was somewhat disappointing.

Ao Zhan seemed to only feel stinging for a few moments, and it didn’t damage his Spiritual Soul.

"Who exactly is this coward? Playing hide and seek with sneak attacks, what kind of thing is that, have the guts to show yourself!"

Ao Zhan, driven to near madness by torture, asked, "What place is this, why is my Soul Power dissipating?"

Suddenly his Spiritual Soul was imprisoned; he thought at first it was Master Chaoyan’s method.

But now he thought it over and it didn’t seem right.

Master Chaoyan wouldn’t have remained silent after being cursed for so long.

Throughout the experience, Xie Jiuniang stayed completely conscious, witnessing Ao Zhan in panic and despair, his soul on the verge of collapse.

The more she observed, the more indifferent she became.

At the same time, she was slowly emerging from the indescribable sorrow and self-blame she felt upon first seeing the tragedy of Yunmu City.

It’s not that she wasn’t sad.

Or that she didn’t blame herself.

She had realized that dwelling on sadness and self-blame wouldn’t solve any problems. Her formidable enemy had not yet been dealt with, and she had no time to grieve.

"Ao Zhan, I am the one you wanted to kill," Xie Jiuniang conveyed her thoughts to Ao Zhan, "and also... the person who will annihilate the Ao Family!"

"Surprised? The nemesis you’ve been desperately seeking is me. It’s just a pity that you won’t be able to avenge your family in this lifetime."

"If I must say, that old ancestor of yours who deduced fortunes has quite an accuracy—annihilation means annihilation."

"To be honest, I originally had no intention of committing such annihilation; it’s too detrimental to the heavens. Besides, I’m still a child, upright and kind-hearted. I’ve hardly ever killed, not even many Demonic Beasts."

"But you kept pushing me, constantly reminding me to annihilate your clan. Tell me, aren’t you asking for it? If I don’t wipe out your family, you just won’t rest."

Xie Jiuniang jabbered away effortlessly.

Ao Zhan’s Spiritual Soul trembled with fury.

If he hadn’t already died, he would have been angered to death at this moment!

But having learned that the one imprisoning his Spiritual Soul was the Child of Destiny, Ao Zhan, who had held a sliver of hope, was now utterly in despair!

The Xie Family was destroyed, and his captor surely wouldn’t let him go.

So, Xie Jiuniang’s daily routine became the closed-door cultivation of Soul Art, mixed with the intermittent torture of Ao Zhan.

Until he was tormented to the point that his Spiritual Soul dissipated.

The pent-up frustration in Xie Jiuniang’s heart dissipated substantially, and what’s more, as she continued to practice the Soul Art, her Spiritual Soul unexpectedly became more substantial without her noticing—an unexpected joy.

This completely compensated for the earlier, fleeting sensation of her breakthrough.

At least when she used her only Divine Ability again, it felt much smoother, lacking the earlier stiffness and difficulty.

"Master, have you left seclusion?"

Jian Lingyan’s small voice revealed an inexplicable excitement. Then it started to nag, "Stupid master, do you know? Our mentor is so amazing; his talent and understanding even surpass yours... Ouch, let’s not compare to avoid bruising your ego. The gap is as wide as from the Eastern Region to the Western Region."

Xie Jiuniang had grown accustomed to being mocked, taking the silly creature’s words as hot air.

Still, she caught the crucial information.

"What did my mentor do?" asked Xie Jiuniang.

Jian Lingyan excitedly continued, "Our mentor learned the Face-changing Technique in one night, unlike you, stupid master, who spent several years..."

Xie Jiuniang felt as if she’d been struck by something.

Was that true or false?

Soon, she calmed down again, "Stupid creature, isn’t my mentor at the Divinity Transformation stage? He’s crossed more bridges than I’ve walked roads; so what if he learns faster than me?"

In the end, she concluded forcefully, "I’m not ashamed."

"Ashamed of what?" Chaoyan’s clear voice sounded.

Xie Jiuniang’s heart skipped a beat, and she turned to look behind her, only to see Master Chaoyan standing steadily a yard behind her.

His eyes and brows were like stars, his expression seemingly amused.

It appeared he was waiting for her to answer.

Xie Jiuniang yanked out Broken Sword and complained resolutely, "It’s this damn thing, mocking me for learning too slowly, not as good as you, Master."

"Is that so?"

Chaoyan approached with a smile, stretching out his slender fingers to flick the blade of Broken Sword, "Bullying my disciple?"

Xie Jiuniang nodded.

Broken Sword wanted to explain to Chaoyan but couldn’t communicate with him, and could only tug at Vermilion Bird, "Little Vermilion Bird, I said my master isn’t as formidable as Master, and she wouldn’t accept it."

"Where have you heard that? She just said she wasn’t ashamed."

"That’s because you don’t understand, when a woman says no, she means yes. If she says she’s not ashamed, then obviously she is ashamed. Isn’t there a saying? ’When a woman says no, she means yes’, so saying not ashamed definitely means ashamed."

"Hmm—"

Vermilion Bird didn’t even bother to lift his eyelids and chose to ignore Jian Lingyan.

From observing over this period, this little Sword Spirit was exactly as the little disciple described, nothing but a damn thing.

Always engaging it in idle chatter.

Talking about all sorts of things, mostly useless nonsense.

When it came to secrets about its master, not a single word was spilled.

What was Vermilion Bird most interested in? Of course, the affairs of the little disciple!

But the little Sword Spirit, though chatty, never mentioned those things. At most, it complained about the little disciple being stingy, not willing to give even a single Spirit Stone for free, and something about a ledger.

The sword and the bird communicated.

Meanwhile, Chaoyan and Xie Jiuniang started discussing external affairs.

This time, the retreat had lasted only a month or so, the rapid progress being due to her Nascent Soul Stage Spiritual Soul, which refined Soul Power at a speed incomparable to before.

Chaoyan said, "I went out once to contact the Sect and the family. The Sect hasn’t sent any news yet, and the people supposed to meet us haven’t arrived; your Uncle-Master must have been delayed by something."

Moreover, there was news from the Nalan Family.

Chaoyan added, "The powerful figure who made a move earlier was none other than our family’s ancestor."

He handed a Jade Slip to Xie Jiuniang.

Xie Jiuniang took it and looked over the contents.

It said that Nalan Family’s ancestor had saved them, though he was somewhat late, and nearly all of Xie Family’s top combatants had perished. Those who wanted to leave could do so, while those who hadn’t left were temporarily settled in the Southern Region.

Jian Lingyan exclaimed, "Little Vermilion Bird, our ancestor is very strong?"

Vermilion Bird was speechless.

This shameless little Sword Spirit, when did Nalan Family’s ancestor become theirs?

However, Vermilion Bird still answered, "He ranks among the top three in the Cultivation World. He’s just one step away from ascending."

"Wow, the ancestor is so impressive."

Jian Lingyan, thinking he had found useful information for his master, immediately shared it with Xie Jiuniang, "Master, that’s amazing, isn’t it?"

Xie Jiuniang’s peach blossom eyes narrowed slightly, "Our family’s ancestor is indeed formidable."

Vermilion Bird, "..."

Truly a case of birds of a feather flock together.

They obviously belonged to the same mold.

"Bang!"

Suddenly, a loud noise came from afar.