Chapter 41: There will be punishment if you return late

“…”

[Luo Qingling] looked at the gravely injured, bleeding crimson True Dragon, her expression tinged with seriousness. “I can save her, but you need to tell me, why are you so determined to save her?”

“…She traveled with us for a while and helped me.”

“So, I don’t want her to perish here.”

[Luo Qingling]’s eyes showed a hint of contemplation before she gave a slight smile and nodded. “Alright, I’ll reluctantly save her this once…”

“But you have to come back as well.”

“No problem.”

This was within Shen Mu’s expectations.

Boom!!

Suddenly, the sky rumbled, and crimson fire clouds carrying terrifying heat rapidly blanketed a three-hundred-li radius, turning the entire landscape fiery red!

Waves of scorching heat surged forth!

Within the fire clouds, the red-robed man stepped through the air, standing proudly with an extraordinary aura.

His crimson eyes seemed to blaze with intense fire, holding a flame-tipped spiritual spear, its tip aimed directly at the three small figures below.

“This crimson dragon is mine. If you want to take it, you’ll have to ask for my opinion first!”

[Luo Qingling]’s gaze darkened, a trace of coldness flashing through as she released Shen Mu and turned to face the proud figure in the sky.

“What a noisy pest.”

With a single step, [Luo Qingling] unleashed a myriad of sword intent array patterns, instantly forming an eighth-grade slaughter sword array!

In a flash, it enveloped a five-hundred-li radius, trapping the red-robed man within, leaving him no escape.

“Speak. What’s your opinion?”

The man fell silent, his once-arrogant demeanor fading into solemnity.

He felt every inch of the surrounding space filled with boundless, sharp sword qi. The slightest movement caused faint tearing sounds from his protective spiritual armor…

His skin prickled with pain.

Even his primordial spirit sensed an overwhelming, dangerous aura enveloping him from all directions.

“…”

Forming an array with a step…

And a high-tier slaughter array at that…

Could she be…

The array genius my father spoke of… Luo Qingling?

The red-robed man realized he might have kicked an iron plate.

Damn it…

How could a once-in-a-millennium prodigy like her take such an ordinary disciple?!

“Speak. What’s your opinion?” [Luo Qingling] appeared before him in an instant, her icy gaze demanding again.

“…”

The man’s lips trembled slightly. “Senior… are you the Immortal Moon of the Wind Spirit Immortal Sect?”

His tone no longer carried its earlier domineering arrogance.

“What? Begging for mercy now?”

“Uh… I didn’t know it was you, Immortal. I meant no offense. Please forgive me.”

Whoosh!

With a flick of her finger, a razor-sharp sword qi instantly severed the arm that had pointed the spear at her, spraying hot blood.

“Argh!”

The man cried out in pain, looking down at the clean-cut, bleeding stump, trembling as he clutched it with his other hand, teeth gritted.

“I am…” Fury flashed in his crimson eyes, about to invoke his background.

But [Luo Qingling] cut off his self-introduction coldly. “Even if you’re royalty from the Nine Heavens Dynasty, even if Jiang Chitian himself came today, you’d still owe me an explanation.”

“…”

Hearing her boldly call out his uncle’s name with such fearless words, the man’s confidence crumbled.

He swallowed the threatening words he usually relied on.

“Hmph!”

Seeing he dared not respond, [Luo Qingling] snorted coldly, turning away and adding lightly, “Remember, if you point a weapon at me with that tone again, it’ll be your head next time.”

“…”

Due to an extraordinary past, Luo Qingling held no fondness for the Nine Heavens Dynasty’s royalty.

Especially certain princes.

If not for the bigger picture and her plans for Shen Mu, she would’ve taught those people a lesson long ago when she stepped into that new realm of array mastery.

“…”

Shen Mu watched the red-robed, one-armed figure flee in disgrace, his curiosity about his immortal-like Master deepening.

So she has a ruthless, decisive side too?

Looks like I know far too little about her compared to the game’s original storyline.

“The annoying flies are dealt with. Let’s continue.” [Luo Qingling] returned to Shen Mu’s side in an instant, smiling gently as if she’d just handled a trivial matter.

“…What other requests do you have, Master?” After witnessing her lightning-fast shift in demeanor, Shen Mu’s tone carried a touch more reverence.

“I’ll set up a teleportation array to send her alone back to Myriad Phenomena Peak.”

“As for you two, you’ll have to return using the teleportation array in Divine Flame City.”

“After all, this is just my spiritual avatar, with limited spiritual energy and divine sense. The long-distance teleportation array I can set up can only transport one target.”

“Got it.”

Shen Mu understood how far the Heavenly Fire Mountain Range was from Xuanyong City.

“Also, I’m giving you five days to return. Hurry back~”

“Or else I’ll have to punish you.”

“…”

Meanwhile.

In the sky above the ancient ruins, several Spirit Transformation Realm cultivators stood, surrounding a dozens-zhang-long phoenix with crimson-gold feathers.

Men and women, dressed differently, they clearly weren’t from the same faction.

Yet, despite their differences, their gazes toward the crimson-gold phoenix that emerged from the ruins… all carried traces of greed.

“Fellow daoists, this rare phoenix is no ordinary creature. Shall we act together?” a young-looking man in green robes suggested, glancing at the others.

“Hmph, this old man doesn’t need a junior’s suggestions to act.”

Buzz!

An old daoist in a purple-red robe summoned a purple-gold treasure gourd, instantly enlarging it to the size of a small mountain, unleashing immense suction to draw the phoenix in.

“Old senior, your temper only gets worse with age!”

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

The green-robed man followed suit, unleashing thousands of green jade spiritual chains from the void behind him, weaving toward the crimson-gold phoenix!

Seeing this, the other Spirit Transformation cultivators, unwilling to be outdone, summoned their own treasures and spiritual artifacts, launching a forceful capture of the True Phoenix fledgling.

In an instant, the sky was filled with dazzling treasure lights, blanketing the heavens…

The world reverberated with the clashing intents of various spiritual energies, their unleashed power causing the ancient ruins and surrounding red sand mountains to quake and crack…

The crimson-gold phoenix, at the center of this vortex of attacks, faced the onslaught of multiple Spirit Transformation cultivators, gradually showing signs of weakness, its body accumulating more wounds.

Thus, it began to flee rapidly in all directions, no longer confronting them head-on.