Front Line of the Beast Tide, Part 31

The power of a Spirit Transformation stage cultivator’s every move was already extremely formidable, let alone self-detonation, a sacrifice of millennia of cultivation, seeking only to unleash maximum power in an instant.

Therefore, even long after the self-detonation, everyone’s heads were still buzzing, as if the explosion still echoed in their minds, and their spirits were largely blank.

Despite this, no one was injured.

Honestly, Su Qing hadn’t expected this sword intent talisman to be so effective.

She had seen few Spirit Transformation cultivators.

She couldn’t gauge the Sect Leader’s cultivation, so the only Spirit Transformation cultivator she had ever seen was Elder Danxia when she was hitchhiking during his heavenly tribulation.

At that time, even the few small lightning tribulations during his breakthrough had benefited Su Qing to this extent, which showed how terrifying late Spirit Transformation cultivation was.

Correspondingly, what a valuable magical artifact Wang Quan had given her.

It was just that this magical artifact was one-time use, gone after one use, which was very much his style.

In any case, it was thanks to his Taia Sword Intent that she saved her life.

Moreover, “ten years of grinding a sword” sounded very chivalrous. Although she hadn’t yet figured out exactly how he had “sold” her, she would curse him two fewer times.

A tiny talisman actually blocked the lifelong cultivation of a Spirit Transformation cultivator.

It was truly astonishing. For a moment, the cultivators who had come to their senses looked over with very meaningful gazes. Their minds churned, all speculating about the origin of the person who made the move.

Most people, upon their consciousness returning, were first confronted with a Spirit Transformation cultivator’s self-detonation.

A small number of highly cultivated individuals woke up earlier and witnessed the battle on the front lines, but because Su Qing always existed in a spiritual form, she didn’t attract everyone’s attention.

Everyone’s gaze naturally fell on Jiang Xiaocao, and the more than two hundred valuable metal puppets beside him.

From their perspective, this puppet was controlled by this young man, and the talisman also flew automatically in front of the puppet.

He even contracted a high-tier spiritual plant, capable of using grass and tree leaves for his own purposes.

Moreover, that talisman could actually withstand the explosion of a late Spirit Transformation stage cultivator, suggesting it was at least a sixth-tier, or even seventh-tier, existence.

The identity of a young man who was generous with his actions, covered in heavenly treasures and earthly wonders, and always accompanied by a hundred puppets as bodyguards wherever he went, was very precious and very rare.

In this way, the other party’s identity was easy to guess: he must be a direct disciple of a prestigious orthodox sect, or from one of the major aristocratic families.

Otherwise, it would be impossible for him to have such terrifying deep reserves.

It was just that this person, for some unknown reason, had an ordinary appearance, so forgettable that one would barely notice him.

He looked young; his body’s bone structure seemed to be still in the adolescent stage, and even a faint soft curve remained on his cheeks.

But his temperament was truly ordinary, showing no trace of an aristocratic family’s demeanor.

Intelligent people instantly realized: this kind person must have used some artifact to hide his true identity, making himself appear so ordinary, because he didn’t want to expose it.

Among this group, there were naturally also Sword School students, but they too were surprised and wondered why, as fellow new students, the other party could achieve this level.

Was this Xiaocao really that Xiaocao?

It was known that besides his exceptional talent in artifact refining, Jiang Xiaocao of the Sword School was otherwise unremarkable.

He didn’t like to talk, had few friends, and even talked more to the orange cat in the sect than to other people, having long been labeled as aloof.

Could it be a mistake?

Since the benefactor had such intentions, the others found it difficult to ask further questions, lest they cause him trouble.

Therefore, when thanking him, although some reported their family names and expressed gratitude, they mostly deliberately avoided this point.

“Fellow Daoist, if not for your timely assistance today, we would probably already be dead. I am Li Weichen from Jinxin Sect. I cannot repay this kindness and virtue now, but if Fellow Daoist has any need of me in the future, please do not hesitate to ask. I will certainly do my utmost!”

“Truly a hero from a young age! I observe Fellow Daoist’s demeanor to be truly extraordinary, incomparable in this world. I imagine that in the upcoming Sword Pavilion trial, the Nine Continents will gain another new star. This old man is fortunate to witness this with my own eyes!”

For this young hero, those with no spirit stones lavished praises, beautiful words, and promises first.

Those with some family wealth hesitated. Although they also wanted to offer some spiritual treasures, pills, or at the very least, seasonal local specialties to express gratitude.

But that young man, though seemingly humble, actually had an illustrious background, profound cultivation, and natural wealth.

Casually gifting a treasure would likely not only fail to seem thoughtful but might also be misinterpreted as disdain or ignorance of his true depth.

It might even be misunderstood as buying off their kindness with worldly possessions, which was ultimately not proper.

Therefore, these people thought about it, but ultimately gave up.

Jiang Xiaocao still didn’t know that he had missed an opportunity to get rich due to his uniquely ordinary temperament, his makeshift puppet army, and a rare talisman grudgingly given by the Sect Leader. Facing everyone’s gratitude, he was somewhat uncomfortable.

He wanted to explain that the person who had guarded everyone was not him, but Su Qing.

But considering that Su Qing had a reason for not wanting to be exposed to everyone, he ultimately gave up, only nodding vaguely and urging everyone to quickly get into the water for treatment while the vitality in the new spring lasted.

His clumsy and affable demeanor earned him repeated praises from everyone.

Fortunately, he was a highly concealed little grass. As long as he was determined to hide, he would not be discovered.

This allowed him to easily escape the bothersome praises and take Su Qing’s physical body into the water for treatment.

But he was still a bit unhappy.

He pouted and sank into the water, his clear black and white eyes flickering as he thought about something.

The frail body, upon entering the Spring of Vitality, automatically began to heal. Su Qing’s foundation was still present, and her recovery speed was much faster than others’.

But she didn’t rashly attempt to enter her physical body, because this time, the spirit’s entry into the body would definitely be a long process. She had a few things that needed to be resolved first.

The first thing was Xiu Fu’s safety. She had already confirmed it just now.

Because of her low cultivation, after four years, she was almost nothing but bones.

Fortunately, she had embarked on the immortal path, so her life wasn’t in danger, and with the new spring for healing, she would be fine.

Due to the immortal bone and other matters, Su Qing was afraid of eyes watching in the dark.

At this moment, she dared not acknowledge Xiu Fu, lest it bring disaster, so she could only suppress it for now.

The second thing concerned Xiaocao.

Su Qing had long noticed that his condition was not right. “Xiaocao, what are you agonizing over?”

“Because you protected them.” He never hid anything from Su Qing. He frowned and said, “Just now, when that person self-detonated, all I could think about was quickly escaping with you. I didn’t care about their lives. It was you who, in a critical moment, protected them. But they thanked the wrong person. It’s too unintelligent.”

Su Qing paused, thinking, ‘Who put such a filter on Xiaocao? His filter for her was at least eight layers thick.’

She was not as great as he imagined.

“…Is it possible that at that time, I was just desperate to protect myself, and everyone else was incidental?”

Actually, it wasn’t entirely incidental.

Mainly, Xiu Fu and the others were still behind her.

In that extremely short moment, she truly wanted to protect everyone. But Su Qing chose not to say it that way.

Jiang Xiaocao blinked, “Is that so?”

He didn’t even think about it, quickly saying, “But the result is the same. They still have to thank you.”

“But, Xiaocao,” Su Qing said helplessly, “I only protected everyone for a moment. You protected everyone for four years. Why can’t they thank you?”

Even who to thank needed to be clarified.

Su Qing didn’t quite understand what he was thinking anymore.

She said, “Sometimes, I actually wish you could be a little more selfish.”

Jiang Xiaocao, “Selfish?”

“It’s not exactly selfish; it should be ‘self-centered’,” Su Qing asked, “You don’t have to try to hide it. I have my own eyes. I’m asking you, if spiritual energy hadn’t overflowed at that time, how did you plan to summon Earth Mother’s manifestation? Would you sacrifice your own life to make up for the shortfall?”

“It’s not easy for humans to live, and it’s also very difficult for grass to cultivate into human form. A blade of grass becoming the Jiang Xiaocao in front of me requires thousands of years. Its life is also one and only. I hope that no matter when or where, this blade of grass can put its own life before others’, and of course, before mine too.”

She knew that Xiaocao had always agonized over the concept of “friend,” so when she spoke, she was particularly careful to address the issue.

“A true friend wouldn’t want you to die before her, or die for her. She would only wish for you to live well, and then make more true friends.”

Su Qing had actually long felt that Xiaocao was a bit too dependent on her.

Not that this dependency was bad, but if one invested their entire being into friendship, even being able to abandon oneself and one’s life, she always felt it was a bit unhealthy, and not what she wanted.

Although Su Qing hadn’t lived long, she was precocious from a young age and had truly died once, which gave her more insights into life. She still felt that relying solely on a single pillar to survive in this world was too fragile.

She hoped Xiaocao could form more bonds in this world, and with humans as well.

She hoped that when he succeeded in artifact refining, someone would praise him extravagantly.

When he failed, someone would comfort him. When he was short on money, someone would help him out. When he was hungry, someone would treat him to a meal.

Because Xiaocao was a very good child, she hoped more people could accept him and acknowledge his goodness, so that even if he left her side one day, he wouldn’t feel lonely.

Su Qing’s words were somewhat difficult for Jiang Xiaocao to understand.

His nascent emotional system seemed to struggle to process them.

Stripped of his usual naive demeanor, the young man’s expression was somewhat inexplicably cold; that inorganic, non-human feeling emerged.

He asked softly, “So I shouldn’t die for you?”

Su Qing immediately replied, “Not until you understand how important you are, no.”

Although she truly thought this way, after saying these words, she couldn’t help but feel a little awkward in her heart.

Although the words sounded nice, if Xiaocao hadn’t been outside delaying the forest spirit in the Eternal Night Forest, they would probably have been infected and killed by demonic energy before the purification.

Thinking of this, Su Qing couldn’t help but feel a bit hypocritical, even though these were truly her heartfelt words.

Having soothed one problem child, another problem child was waiting for her.

The master of equilibrium, Su Qing, found Ye Mingshi at the bottom of the new spring.

Her eyes were tightly closed, submerged at the bottom of the lake, bubbles gurgling from her mouth, as if she was cursing something.

The moment Su Qing’s spirit approached, she immediately opened her eyes. After all, they had shared life and death together. She simply stopped pretending, revealing her true nature, and said bluntly, “There’s something I want to say, but I don’t know if I should.”

Su Qing, “Teacher Mingshi, please speak.”

“You might not believe what I’m about to say. Your Sect Leader, that white-robed young master, that sickly man who always carries a broken fan… One day, I will tear his fan to shreds!” Ye Mingshi’s face was ferocious, grinding her teeth viciously, looking as if she wanted to eat his flesh and blood raw. “Shameless! Bastard! Liar! Not human! Maybe the demonic race should just let him be their leader instead!”

She said angrily, “The demonic bone did absorb my demonic energy, but my demonic bloodline is still there! In the end, my true form is still a demon. What’s the point of all this trouble? I might as well just lie at home and sleep!”

Everything Wang Quan told her that day, from beginning to end, only one sentence was true: if he truly knew a method to transform the demonic race into the human race, he wouldn’t be a Sect Leader anymore; he would simply capture demons and make them cultivate immortality.

No wonder when she asked Wang Quan if he was lying to her, he didn’t answer directly but changed the subject, saying her speech was pleasant.

So that’s how it was.

This was simply too much deception!