103 - Divine Mastering Dragon System

## Chapter 103: Pure Water After the disciple ceremony concluded and she bade farewell to her senior brother and sister, Xiang Shi Yan promptly secluded herself within her room once more. The heatwave struck fiercely; the suppression medication sustained her clarity for a brief period before quickly losing its efficacy. Xiang Shi Yan was at a loss. Her previously regular heat cycle had unexpectedly arrived more than a week early and was agonizing. In the past, her discomfort would last for half a day, or a full day at most. She relied on sleep aids to rest, waking refreshed, but this time, the fire within was still raging upon waking, despite the long slumber. During Zhu Yun and Zhu Yu's disciple ceremony, she forcibly suppressed her bodily responses with medication. Yet, as the effects faded, the heat returned more intensely, torturing her for a longer duration. Nightmares plagued her, alternating between images of Gong Ning from before her demise to ambiguous, steamy scenarios. An indistinct woman's face embraced her tightly—her body ice-cold—bearing a subtle resemblance to He He. Xiang Shi Yan slept until late the next afternoon, finally awakening from her hazy slumber amidst clammy clothes and sweltering sheets. Her body felt weak and unfamiliar exhaustion and discomfort reddened her cheeks. The thought of lingering in the humid bedding any longer filled her with mortification. With a flushed face, she rose and freshened up, destroying the damp clothes and bedding. Only then did she feel at ease, pouring herself a cup of water to catch her breath. She lit incense anew and sat quietly by the table, waiting for the odorless smoke to neutralize the overbearing cedar scent of recent days. The originally fresh and elegant aroma had become cloyingly sweet, as if yearning for something. Her mind in chaos, Xiang Shi Yan shook her head, forcing herself to discard the indulgence of recent days from memory, but her ears continued to burn. He He was sweeping the courtyard. As Xiang Shi Yan stepped out, she saw him clearing a pile of fallen leaves, his thoughts adrift amid the dust, a picture fitting for the early autumn setting, bringing a sense of tranquility. Hearing the creak of her door, He He donned a long-lost puppy-like expression, clutching the broom as he ran to her: "Shizun, you're finally out of seclusion." What kind of seclusion? Xiang Shi Yan nearly faltered, her cool face discreetly turning away, inadvertently revealing her flushed ear to He He. The puppy-like girl chuckled darkly in her heart. Before Xiang Shi Yan could inquire about the whereabouts of her senior and junior sisters, He He voluntarily reported the occurrences during her "seclusion" period, counting on his fingers: "Senior Brother Qin remains holed up in his room, but I heard faint sobbing last night, so he should be fine." "I taught the two junior sisters how to manage your herb garden. Zhu Yun was too frail, suffering heatstroke at noon, but rested in the pavilion and recovered. She even made us some herbal iced tea." "Zhu Yu and I opened new arable land with plans to sow spiritual seeds obtained from the Zhi Gong Hall. However, it might not be deep enough, and we'll need your help later to see if they'll survive..." Listening to his meticulous recount, Xiang Shi Yan felt an unexpected sense of peace. He He, a character nonexistent in the original story, represented proof that this world wasn’t entirely governed by the so-called "creator." Xiang Shi Yan often remembered the time He He had saved her; without that inadvertent rescue by the little village girl, she might have long abandoned the will to live. In mere days, He had forged a good rapport with the two sisters, reflecting his naturally gentle nature that few could resist. Bringing He back to Mo Zhu Peak was, indeed, her best decision. In a playful mood, Xiang Shi Yan, catching He off guard, pinched his nose: "You're quite the housekeeper now." The girl's face lit with transient warmth as she teased: "Am I Shizun's little wife, then?" Her rare playful mood wiped away by the jest, Xiang Shi Yan’s mind flashed with wild, unimaginable images, tightening her expression. She stammered, "Don't joke like that." "Shizun’s so thin-skinned," He He puffed. "By the way, at noon, the sect leader sent someone to summon you to discuss something happening at the main peak, but we couldn’t wake you, so they decided to wait." It's probably about severing ties with the Zhu family. Li Hui's senior brother is known for his decisiveness, and a righteous man wouldn’t stand for the vile acts committed by bugs of his own gender. Xiang Shi Yan decided she should indeed take a look, telling He He, "I'm going to the main peak to have a look; I'll be back shortly." With those words, she summoned her spiritual sword and soared into the sky. The girl stood watching her figure fade into the distance, her thoughts a flurry of disarray. Dragons, the supreme beast, favor and curse of heaven and earth, their nature lewd and elusive, aligning with the aura of jade foxes to amplify desire. That Xiang Shi Yan reacted so strongly because of her was not surprising. Such thoughts stirred ripples within He He's heart, birthing notions of cunning manipulation. A person like Shizun, even if played with at her whim, might never realize, perhaps even growing guilty and more affectionate... Shaking her head sharply, she dispelled her murky gaze. If she indulged in such acts, how was she any different from those repugnant mongrels? Sighing, He He watched Xiang Shi Yan's image shrink to a speck on the horizon, another sigh escaping her lips. Rather than advancing further, it would be best to keep her distance from Shizun. Xiang Shi Yan landed before the main peak's assembly hall, sensing something was amiss as disciples passed by—some silent, others whispering to companions while casting glances her way. She realized something had indeed happened. Late as she was, the hall was already deserted, the various peak elders long dispersed. As she ventured inward, she found Li Hui at the table in a daze, evidently awaiting her. Feeling a sinking sensation, Xiang Shi Yan dreaded it might be something significant or dire. "What happened?" she asked directly, driven by an undercurrent of unease, forgoing pleasantries with Li Hui. His face grim, Li Hui furrowed his brow in agitation, pondering a moment before slowly speaking: "Something has happened in Huaihai City..." At the mention of “Huaihai City,” Xiang Shi Yan’s brow furrowed, sensing this might involve her in some way. She took a seat beside Li Hui, ready to hear his explanation. Li Hui's lips quivered. Initially stunned upon hearing the news, he had regained some composure during the elders' discussions earlier. Yet, sitting alone now, a bizarre dread crept upon him anew. "Last night, someone attacked Huaihai City. Not only did they shatter the city's protective array, but they also annihilated the heads of its three major families..." He hesitated, carefully selecting his words before forcing out the term "slaughter." Xiang Shi Yan’s complexion paled. If someone had executed patriarchs within heavily fortified Huaihai City, could they not infiltrate Yu Cang Mountain and assassinate sect leaders with ease? Having heard her experiences with the clans, Li Hui harbored no pity for those evildoers. If one fell victim to a heavenly tribulation during ascension, he might even celebrate. They were akin to Zhu Cheng’s ilk, filth undeserving of existence. Yet, the current scenario surpassed mere moral judgment. The five slain individuals included the Bai family head Bai Jing Yi and his young son, the Xu family head Xu Yu and his eldest son, along with Zhu Feng—the Zhu family patriarch and acting leader. All were cultivators at or above the Nascent Soul stage. Who could kill three Tribulation Transcenders and two Nascent Soul cultivators on clan territory, then depart unabashedly, initially unnoticed? No one learned of the nocturnal massacre until morning. The killer had even hung their bodies upon the outer city wall. It wasn't until the family’s undue absence sparked chaos, with no trace found, that the guardian soldiers at the gates detected a foul decay below, discovering the bodies dangling beneath the stones they trod. Huaihai City’s towering gates hosted the prominent, powerful family decision-makers, nailed through the neck by inch-thick steel spikes, swaying lightly in the wind. The bodies reportedly bore expressions of unified agony and terror, none left intact. “Reportedly... upon discovery, Zhu Feng's eyes had been gouged out and clenched in his own hands; the Xu family head and his heir were bludgeoned beyond recognition, their bodies half-pulverized...” Li Hui paused, glancing at Xiang Shi Yan, “Revealing more might tarnish your ears.” Xiang Shi Yan wasn't particularly curious about the gruesome states of the deceased, but an ominous premonition and a peculiar chill gripped her heart. She asked, "Did the murderer leave any traces? Anything on the corpses?" Li Hui's complexion grew paler. He fixed his gaze on her eyes, replying seriously, "The skin on the corpses was pale and wrinkled, as though soaked in water." Xiang Shi Yan's mind buzzed as she stood there in a daze. "Shizun... I... I used a special channel to inform Shizun about the matters in Huaihai City after I returned," she said blankly, including all matters concerning Gong Ning. As she locked eyes with Li Hui, an unsettling feeling overcame them both. The former master of Yucang Mountain, Lian Long Dao Jun, was a water element cultivator with a reputation for doing as she pleased, never considering consequences, acting on whims. A self-centered, unruly woman. Even those taught by her acknowledged that, despite her mentorship, she was fundamentally a "bad" person—indifferent to law, justice, and dismissive of rules and decorum. Precisely because of this, she was dangerous. Lian Long appreciated beauty; all four disciples were strikingly handsome. Except for Li Hui, the others were whimsically taken in, without initial concern for their talents or potential for cultivation. Truthfully, Xiang Shi Yan sometimes felt Shizun treated her and her fellow sisters more as exquisite collectibles, her possession, rather than as independent beings—unlike Li Hui, who was probably akin to a dust-catching decor unable to even qualify as a tabletop ornament. Among Gong Ning, Xiang Shi Yan, and Yu Ming, Xiang Shi Yan was undoubtedly the most striking, but Gong Ning had been with Lian Long the longest, with a character most attuned to her, which won her the greatest affection from Shizun. Would Lian Long be angry if her favorite inkwell was defaced or shattered by a child? Certainly. Not only would she hold grudges against the child, but also retaliate against indulgent parents. Vindictive and indulgent—such was the disciple's impression of Lian Long. Lian Long never punished disciples corporeally, but she left an indelible shadow on Li Hui's heart, to the point where Xiang Shi Yan noticed a flicker of hidden fear in his eyes. "Could it really be Shizun... She's someone who would do such a thing, and timing-wise, it coincides with when she received your message," Li Hui suggested. If a person acted, signs would inevitably be left behind, particularly ones this blatant. In the entire cultivation world, how many water element cultivators can achieve such feats? With Xiang Shi Yan having recently returned from Huaihai City, it wouldn’t be long before connections between her and this incident arose. Eventually, Lian Long Dao Jun, the once-world-renowned genius cultivator now long absent from the world, might be implicated again, perhaps having already broken through the Deity Transformation stage. "There are... but..." Xiang Shi Yan sighed, rubbing her forehead, "Is there anything else?" Li Hui pondered a moment before realization struck: "There is indeed. People from Huaihai City mentioned that the five were killed in their homes, within heavily guarded family estates, with blood everywhere—and in the blood lay—" "Teacups filled with clear water," Xiang Shi Yan blurted, startling even herself and Li Hui. That was a ritual item, a substitute for alcohol, used to commemorate the deceased and pay respects to the departed. Xuanjiu. Xiang Shi Yan wished it had been Shizun’s doing. Seeing she seemed to know something, Li Hui promptly asked, "Junior sister, do you have any clues?" Xiang Shi Yan couldn't help massaging her temples. To single-handedly breach Huaihai City and slaughter five high-level cultivators in one night… it surpassed anything she could contend with. She gave a bitter laugh, rising to say, "Don’t worry, Senior Brother. This wasn't Shizun's doing, nor will it implicate Yucang Mountain... but it’s not exactly reassuring either." The autumn wind grew chillier as Xiang Shi Yan flew back to Mo Zhu Peak, feeling surprisingly cold. Under the clear daylight, a wave of dizziness overtook her. Though she had heard of Xuanjiu's power from the system, she hadn’t expected it could reach such extremes. Standing alone in the deserted autumn courtyard, she cast a cold, mocking glance towards Qin Miao’s quarters. Did the so-called Will of Heaven truly create a foe only Qin Miao could defeat? Even so, she wouldn't yield easily; there had to be another way. The woman, her expression sorrowful, was about to look up when she noticed three girls gathered in the pavilion, chatting and laughing. Stunned, she made her way over. Seeing Shizun return, their faces lit up with joy. Zhu Yu opened her mouth to call out, but recalling her previous awkwardness, she struggled to do so, awkwardly holding back. Approaching, Xiang Shi Yan caught a whiff of tea aroma—Zhu Yun was brewing tea. The gentle girl silently poured her a cup, a gesture that transported Xiang Shi Yan back to her youth. Zhu Yun's demeanor and disposition increasingly resembled Gong Ning’s. Sipping the tea, she softly advised Zhu Yun, "Your meridians are fragile, remember not to indulge in too much spiritual tea or wine. I'll gradually help fortify and broaden your meridians." Ever since leaving Huaihai City, all she seemed to utter were such words. Others might tire of hearing them, yet Zhu Yun responded with a pleasant smile, "Disciple understands. I just started on my first cup, too engrossed in brewing the tea." "That's good." Xiang Shi Yan raised a brow subtly, taking another sip, "This tea is truly exquisite. Where is it from?" He He finished chewing a pastry, grinning, "Naturally, it’s from Shizun's storage! Perhaps it's been so long, you've simply forgotten." "Surely, it wasn't stolen from me?" --- Author's Note: Thank you to all the delightful angels who cast their overlord votes or watered with nutrient solutions between May 3, 2022, 35:20:08 and May 4, 2022, 35:57:10~ Special thanks to the angel who threw a grenade: Yu Mou, SOY 1; Thanks for the angels watering with nutrient solutions: hjkgjgjk 40 bottles; Wu Qi Qi 15 bottles; My product must doi tonight, Humble pawns, Split personality Erha, Bai Yi 10 bottles; A bowl of salted fish bean curd, Wang Wang Wang Wang Wang Wang 1 bottle; I am incredibly grateful for your support, and I will continue to work hard! No popup ads on this site, permanent domain (xbanxia.com)