Chapter 43: Save your life

Inside the main tent, the atmosphere was suffocating.

Curious disciples formed a circle outside the tent, secretly observing.

Wangyou Zhenren casually restrained Ling Xiyue and stared at Luo Qingchen.

“Speak. You tricked my disciple out of the Cold Pith. What do you plan to use as compensation? If you can’t produce an explanation, I’m afraid it will be difficult for you to leave here today.”

Luo Qingchen swallowed.

‘This old geezer changes his face faster than turning a page!’

‘One second he’s all smiles, the next he wants to kill people. The cultivation world is terrifying. I want to go home.’

She forced out a smile that was uglier than crying.

Bracing against the pressure, she spoke.

“Senior! A misunderstanding! A huge misunderstanding!”

“I am actually the last single-line inheritor of the hidden sect ‘Face Reading Sect’!”

Luo Qingchen grew more fluent as she spoke, starting to talk nonsense.

“I observed that your disciple’s forehead is dark, marked by the Lone Star of Doom, destined to be lonely and friendless for life!”

“I couldn’t bear it!”

“I wanted the Cold Pith solely to set up an altar and change your disciple’s fate!”

“Absolutely to make her loved by all, blooming wherever she goes!”

Wangyou Zhenren sneered.

The pressure suddenly increased by a notch.

Luo Qingchen grunted, barely keeping herself from falling by bracing her hands on the ground.

“Such nonsense might fool my naive disciple.”

The old man stood up and walked over to Luo Qingchen, looking down at her.

“Spouting nonsense in front of me.”

“Do you really think I’m senile?”

“If you don’t tell the truth, I’ll use soul search right now.”

Luo Qingchen’s heart leaped.

‘Soul search absolutely cannot happen. I must not expose my identity as an otherworldly demon!’

‘If exposed, even ten lives wouldn’t be enough to save me.’

She dropped her playful expression, plunked down on the carpet, and sighed.

“Fine, since you’re a wise person, let’s speak plainly.”

Luo Qingchen looked up, meeting Wangyou Zhenren’s eyes.

“I did take the Cold Pith.”

“But I have a bargaining chip worth a hundred times more than the Cold Pith.”

Wangyou Zhenren raised an eyebrow.

“Oh? Let’s see it.”

Luo Qingchen held up three fingers.

“One hundred percent of the ancient formations in this secret realm were opened by me alone.”

“I am proficient in breaking all kinds of ancient remnant formations, killing formations, and trapping formations.”

“Spare my life, and for any future Hidden Sword Mountain expedition into a secret realm, the formation restrictions will be like my own backyard.”

“I can enter and take whatever I want.”

Wangyou Zhenren narrowed his eyes.

The pressure inside the main tent dissipated completely.

He sized up Luo Qingchen anew.

After a moment, the old man gave a verdict.

“Seems you’re a clever one.”

In the cultivation world, value is the only truth.

A genius proficient in ancient formations is indeed worth more than a life.

Luo Qingchen rubbed her sore shoulders and painfully pulled out a dark-gold high-level storage pouch from her bosom.

This was her carefully selected “ransom money.”

She tossed it directly at Wangyou Zhenren’s feet.

“Most of the good stuff in the secret realm is all in there.”

Luo Qingchen deliberately emphasized.

“Old man, remember to give half to your disciple.”

“The stuff in there was acquired by me and your disciple together.”

Wangyou Zhenren bent down and picked up the storage pouch.

His divine sense probed inside.

The old man’s hand suddenly trembled.

Inside the storage pouch were mountains of top-grade spirit herbs, pills exuding rich medicinal fragrance, and dozens of yellow-grade spirit tools flickering with spiritual light.

Also, the beautiful floor tiles from the cave dwelling, neatly stacked in a corner.

The quantity was so great it exceeded the understanding of a Nascent Soul old monster about what a Foundation Establishment cultivator could plunder.

‘Is this little girl a locust?’

‘She even scraped up the floor of the cave dwelling!’

Luo Qingchen saw the old man’s shocked expression.

‘She was delighted inside.’

‘Extremely pleased.’

‘Shocked, aren’t you?’

In reality, this was only one-fifth of the total gains.

The truly top-tier heavenly treasures, earth-grade techniques, and those incriminating stolen goods.

Had long been stuffed into the independent space of the Deception Jade Slip.

No matter how strong the divine sense of a Nascent Soul old monster was, it couldn’t detect the Deception Jade Slip.

To completely dispel the old man’s doubts, Luo Qingchen simply unstrapped all the worn storage pouches hanging at her waist and threw them all in front of Wangyou Zhenren.

She spread her hands, striking a pose of a dead pig unafraid of scalding water.

“Senior, if you don’t believe me, search at will.”

“If you can find even one extra inferior-grade spirit stone on me.”

“I will commit suicide on the spot.”

Wangyou Zhenren looked at the storage pouches on the ground.

His divine sense casually swept over.

Inside, aside from a few changes of coarse clothes, there were only wild fruits and some concocted soups and liquids of unknown origin.

Not even half a spirit stone’s residue remained.

The old man’s doubts were completely dispelled.

This little girl, though glib-tongued, knew when to yield.

Wangyou Zhenren kicked all the storage pouches back to Luo Qingchen’s feet.

His attitude did a one-hundred-eighty-degree turn.

The wrinkles on his face bloomed into a smile.

“Little Friend, what are you saying!”

The old man laughed heartily.

“With such formation skills and voluntarily handing over the secret realm gains.”

“You are truly a light of the righteous path!”

“Little Friend, you might as well join Hidden Sword Mountain directly.”

“I guarantee you’ll walk sideways across the Xuanzhou Continent in the future!”

Luo Qingchen re-hung the worn storage pouches on her waist.

‘Rolling her eyes madly inside.’

‘This old geezer’s face-changing act is definitely maxed out.’

Wangyou Zhenren raised his hand and waved, dispelling the spiritual power restraint on Ling Xiyue.

Ling Xiyue regained her freedom and immediately walked quickly to Luo Qingchen’s side.

A trace of self-blame flickered in her clear eyes.

She lowered her head, her voice very soft.

“I’m sorry.”

“My master has a bad temper.”

“He made you suffer.”

Luo Qingchen’s eyes darted.

She immediately put on a pitiful expression, rubbed her shoulders sore from the pressure, and sighed.

“It’s okay.”

“A little grievance for me is nothing.”

Luo Qingchen deliberately dragged out her tone.

“It’s just a pity.”

“The treasures I promised to share with you.”

“I just gave them all to your master to save my life.”

“You won’t blame me, will you?”

Ling Xiyue was stunned and shook her head repeatedly.

“No, I’ll compensate you later when we get out. I won’t let you lose out.”

Wangyou Zhenren, watching from the side, twitched his mouth.

‘This little girl is putting on an act right in front of me. But at least she seems to have some human touch now. Keeping this girl might actually teach my foolish disciple how to handle people.’

Just then, the curtain of the main tent was violently flung open.

The tall sword cultivator stormed in angrily.

He had seen Wangyou Zhenren retract the pressure outside, thinking his master was fooled by the little thief’s sweet talk.

The tall sword cultivator pointed at Luo Qingchen’s nose and shouted loudly.

“Master!”

“Absolutely cannot spare this little thief!”

“She is full of lies and deceitful tricks!”

“Just drag her out and behead her to eliminate future trouble!”

Luo Qingchen rolled her eyes dramatically.

‘Some people are really in a hurry to die.’

She turned to look at Ling Xiyue, tugged at her sleeve, and started precisely tattling.

“Senior Sister, this fellow disciple of yours has quite a temper.”

Luo Qingchen pursed her lips.

“Just now, outside the camp, I was holding your token and asking for help.”

“Saying you were surrounded by the Overlord Blade Sect and in mortal danger.”

“Not only did he not believe me, he directly drew his sword to cut me down.”

Luo Qingchen stared at the tall sword cultivator, repeating word for word.

“He said in front of everyone.”

“Saying this little thief is full of lies, do you think I’m as dumb as Ling Xiyue?”

“Senior Sister, I haven’t studied much. Is ‘dumb’ a term of praise in Hidden Sword Mountain?”