The Holy Water Palace Master Displays His Ferocity

“Senior Luo, you still possess such youthful beauty…”

As he spoke, Nian Yinfeng straightened his attire and bowed deeply and respectfully to the woman before him.

“You’re actually injured?”

Luo Bingyan extended her divine sense, meticulously examining Nian Yinfeng’s internal organs.

“Fire poison?” Luo Bingyan couldn’t help but chuckle. “You always have such luck, young man. I’m no expert in medicine, so for other injuries, I wouldn’t have many solutions. But this fire poison? I am its nemesis!”

With that, Luo Bingyan raised her hand, gathering spiritual energy. Her right palm faced upwards, her ring and pinky fingers bent. Before long, a vortex of spiritual energy coalesced above her index and middle fingers.

“Gathering spiritual energy externally! This… isn’t this a technique only immortals can use after transcending tribulation?”

Though the Tianjian Sect was no longer as mighty as it had been eight hundred years prior, its ancient texts, passed down for ten millennia, remained perfectly preserved. These texts contained records of Mahayana experts who, after overcoming three tribulations, could gather external spiritual energy and commune with heaven and earth.

‘How did Senior Luo manage this…’

It defied all reason!

Nian Yinfeng’s face was etched with disbelief. Even as Luo Bingyan channeled the gathered water-attribute spiritual energy into his body, she couldn’t pull his thoughts back to reality.

Meanwhile, Granny Dai, who had been following closely behind Nian Yinfeng, finally arrived on her flying sword.

Even Dai Yimei, the knowledgeable City Lord of Ancient Tianliu City, was startled by the thousands of ice sculptures arrayed before the Tianjian Sect’s gates.

Seeing Nian Yinfeng’s eyes wide with shock, Dai Yimei initially assumed he was gravely wounded.

However, a probe with her divine sense revealed countless fire poison particles spread throughout Nian Yinfeng’s body, astonishing her anew. ‘If such a vast quantity of fire poison invaded my own body, I doubt I’d last even a quarter of an hour,’ she mused. Yet, Nian Yinfeng had managed to fly back on his sword, half-crippled, a truly remarkable feat.

Furthermore, an intensely icy spiritual energy was now storming through Nian Yinfeng’s body, ruthlessly eradicating the stubborn fire poison as if blowing away withered leaves. Despite its fierce assault, it hadn’t harmed his internal organs in the slightest. What an unheard-of level of control!

Withdrawing her divine sense from Nian Yinfeng’s body, Dai Yimei finally noticed a female cultivator, barefoot, hovering within fifty paces of Nian Yinfeng.

She couldn’t even discern the depth of her power!

The woman carried nothing of note and wore simple, thin clothing, suggesting she wasn’t using any concealing artifacts. The only logical conclusion was that her cultivation far surpassed her own.

Such a youthful appearance, coupled with incomparably powerful water-attribute magic…

‘Could it be the continent’s strongest female cultivator, Palace Master Luo of the Saint Water Palace!’

At this thought, Dai Yimei couldn’t help but feel a surge of excitement. This was the aspirational figure for all female cultivators on the continent!

Dai Yimei’s hands trembled slightly as she respectfully inquired, her voice carrying a faint tremor: “May I ask if you are Palace Master Luo Bingyan?”

Luo Bingyan, having just finished purging all the fire poison from Nian Yinfeng’s body, offered Dai Yimei a slight smile and nodded.

Indeed!

Suppressing her excitement, Dai Yimei bowed to Luo Bingyan.

‘She was internally struggling with how to phrase her request, hoping to get an autograph from her idol.’

“Report!” A city guard, flying on his sword, arrived. “Granny Dai, thousands of cultivators are injured above the city’s defensive formation! Should we open the array and send city defense cultivators to rescue them?”

‘Granny Dai felt speechless. ‘Couldn’t you have waited just a moment longer!?’ she thought.’

Yet, twenty years of professional conduct allowed her to compose herself, slightly calming her agitation.

“Senior Luo, this old one must return to the City Lord’s manor to oversee matters. Might I humbly request you join me for a cup of immortal tea there later?”

“Tea?” Luo Bingyan found it a little strange, but Tianliu City was the closest and most ancient city to the Saint Water Palace. She felt it appropriate to show some deference to the City Lord. Returning the bow, she added, “I’ll be there shortly!”

“Good, good…” Granny Dai’s heart bloomed with joy. Fortunately, her face was already covered in wrinkles, preventing her true emotions from showing too much. Overjoyed, she even forgot to bid farewell, soaring away on her sword.

Luo Bingyan watched Granny Dai depart, then waved a hand, striking Nian Yinfeng with a blast of ice dust. “Young Nian, don’t let inner demons take hold.”

Stimulated by the ice crystals, Nian Yinfeng awoke to find the fire poison completely vanished from his body. He immediately felt an unparalleled sense of comfort and refreshment.

“Many thanks, Senior Luo.”

Luo Bingyan waved her hand dismissively. “Your spiritual root is no weaker than mine. It’s just that for the past eight hundred years, you’ve been quite distracted by your sect! I’m not like you; I’m quite lazy. I hand all trivial matters over to my disciples. You should also let the new generation within your sect gain more experience.”

Nian Yinfeng offered a wry smile. “Senior Luo, you might not know, but Tianliu City indeed has many exceptionally talented individuals. I’ve even discovered a few promising seedlings. However, with so many sects in Tianliu City, the competition is incredibly fierce…”

As Nian Yinfeng spoke, his gaze involuntarily drifted to the ground. He wondered if the sect’s direct disciples had successfully brainwashed… ahem, passed on their legacy to those mortals.

“Heh heh, indeed,” Luo Bingyan mused for a moment. “I owe your father a great debt. How about you move your sect to my island? My sect has everything, except for many skilled artifact refiners. Many people visit the island daily, so recruiting disciples who wish to learn artifact refining techniques would be much easier.”

Nian Yinfeng’s face initially lit up with joy, but his eyes quickly dimmed. This proud man suddenly seemed a little bashful. “Senior Luo… you, your family doesn’t own a mine, does it…”

“Uh…”

As an awkward silence settled between them, a clamor erupted overhead.

The city’s great defensive formation had finally lowered.

“Quick, quick! Send these ones full of holes to the Medicine King Sect, toss these lightly injured ones by the roadside, and for those naked ones, just give them a piece of cloth…”

“Captain, the cloth vendors are all mortals, and they’ve all gone to the underground city. They’re hard to find…”

“Stick a few leaves on them.”

“…”

“Dooooong—” Just then, the city defense captain blew an alarm whistle, using his flying sword to block a female cultivator. “You! Can’t you see everyone is moving in one direction? Low-altitude sword flight is forbidden against traffic within Tianliu City!”

Xin You’s face was a picture of misery. Just moments ago, she had been chasing after the treasure on her sword high above when, for some reason, the cultivators ahead suddenly stopped. Her sword-flight technique was usually just for travel, far from reaching peak mastery, so she lost control for a moment, and her flying sword simply thudded into someone. At that time, the Palace Master of Hundred Charms Palace had pushed her aside, signaling her to flee quickly. Now, separated from her sisters in the palace, her heart was filled with urgency as she darted haphazardly on her sword, searching for them. She hadn’t expected to end up going against traffic again.

Xin You was trying hard to explain herself to the city defense captain when the corner of her eye caught sight of Luo Bingyan on the ground. Her eyes instantly widened. “Isn’t that the Palace Master of the Saint Water Palace?”

As if a nerve had suddenly twitched, an idea sparked in her mind, a desperate attempt to escape the city guard’s punishment. She immediately used a sound transmission spell and shouted: “The little girl who took the treasure just now is from the Saint Water Palace! That woman in white below is Palace Master Luo Bingyan of the Saint Water Palace! Those who want the treasure, hurry and get it!”

Instantly, a vast number of flying swords rose into the air across the city once more.

The city defense cultivators could only drop what they were doing and rush to maintain order. While they had tolerated the cultivators’ antics outside the formation earlier, this was now inside the city, where many mortals owned property. After all, it was the assurance of property that made these mortals feel secure living in Tianliu City!

Luo Bingyan wore a look of astonishment. She hadn’t expected someone here to recognize her. “Little girl? Miaomiao? In that case, I’ll take that treasure!”

“Young man of the Nian family, the people in those ice sculptures are still alive; you can deal with them as you see fit!” With that, Luo Bingyan shot straight into the sky. After all, fighting in the air would minimize damage to Tianliu City. She had just accepted an invitation from the City Lord of Tianliu City; if she damaged public property now, how could she possibly show her face for tea later?

Luo Bingyan ascended higher and higher, stopping only when she felt she was far enough not to affect the city below.

Those who could emerge unscathed from the chaotic collision of sword clouds and still pursue her on their swords were certainly no ordinary cultivators. Yet, with unspoken understanding, they all halted dozens of yards away.

Who hadn’t heard of the Palace Master of the Saint Water Palace? Everyone was simply waiting for someone else to lead the charge. The opponent was the continent’s strongest cultivator; the first to attack would surely suffer.

“Where are those bald donkeys who were chasing so enthusiastically earlier? Let their Immovable Wisdom King Formation take the lead.”

“I just saw a dozen bald heads running in the opposite direction. I don’t know if it was them.”

“…”

“What about the Great Evolution Sect members?”

“It seems the five disciples who set up the formation all got their backsides ‘blasted open.’ Their elders tied them together and dragged them away…”

“…”

The crowd exchanged glances. “How come all the famous sects have fled?”

Luo Bingyan hovered in the air for a long while, seeing no one come to attack, and simply let them be. She wasn’t in a hurry anyway. Having stayed in her palace for too long, a little stroll outside was a good way to relieve boredom. She only noticed her soles felt a bit chilly. She had left in such a rush to chase Miaomiao that she hadn’t even had time to put on her shoes.

After much chattering and discussion, the group finally pushed forward a furry-faced Mahayana stage cultivator. He simply wanted to test if the rumored Palace Master Luo was truly as powerful as claimed.

“I am Bashangtian, Sect Master of the Little Profound Gate. I humbly request a brief exchange of pointers with Palace Master Luo.”

The furry-faced cultivator bowed, wasting not a moment, and immediately unleashed the Little Profound Gate’s ultimate technique, “Profound Finger.”

When the “Profound Finger” was deployed, it gathered all spiritual energy at the user’s fingertip. As the energy peaked, the finger would emit a blinding flash. Anyone who met its gaze would have their divine sense dragged into an illusion, leaving them disoriented and unaware of how they met their end—a truly bizarre and terrifying skill.

Watching his finger grow progressively brighter, Bashangtian couldn’t help but inwardly snicker. ‘It seems Palace Master Luo is merely famous in name. If she won’t even interfere, then I can only say my apologies. Humph hmph.’

Bashangtian finally completed his energy accumulation, just about to strike, when he discovered his arms and hands were no longer obeying his commands. A chill of horror seized his heart, and he quickly probed with his divine sense. It was better not to look; upon inspection, his soul nearly fled his body. The meridians in his arms were completely frozen, yet the blood and flesh above them were utterly unharmed, clearly indicating that his opponent had held back.

However, his technique was already complete and couldn’t be stopped. He could only watch helplessly as the “Profound Finger” exploded right before his eyes.

Boom!

Under the gaze of all the cultivators, Bashangtian quite literally blasted himself into the sky.

A moment later, Bashangtian plummeted in a free fall, caught by a kind-hearted cultivator.

“Cough, cough… To have exchanged blows with Palace Master Luo, this old man’s life is complete… I can’t help but recall running in the sunset when I was young; that was my lost youth…”

“Damn it, all I saw was you strike a pose and then blast off! What the hell are you playing at?” The kind-hearted cultivator grew annoyed and let go.

Luo Bingyan hadn’t moved an inch from start to finish. She merely spoke leisurely to the crowd: “Next.”

At this, all the cultivators present understood that Bashangtian’s transformation into a human bomb had something to do with the Palace Master Luo before them.

Someone, nobody knew who, muttered, “Why don’t we all attack together? No matter how powerful she is, she’s still only one person…”

Luo Bingyan, of course, heard it. “That works too. Come at me together; I have an appointment, after all.”

As she spoke, Luo Bingyan raised her hand.

Seeing Palace Master Luo make a move, everyone held their breath.

Luo Bingyan glanced at her fingernails. “There’s dust on them, huh.”

“…”

“My god, this is too contemptuous! Whether you join or not, I’m charging in!”

“Charge!”

“Charge!”

With someone stirring them on, the crowd’s morale surged instantly.

In an instant, various lights flickered like stars across the sky above Tianliu City, a prelude to the cultivators gathering their spiritual energy.

“Now this is more like true cultivators!” Luo Bingyan watched, somewhat pleased that everyone finally had fighting spirit. It was good for the cultivators of the continent to have some vigor and morale.

“Vast and boundless, I am the Immortal of Saint Water!”

“Sword, come!”