Chapter 94: Surrounding the Saint

After leaving a Light Element Spirit to protect those Peach Blossom Guards just in case, Miss Vilyric and the others continued deeper into the peach forest.

Soon, everything opened up before them.

Climbing up the last gentle slope, they arrived at the peak platform above the sea of clouds.

No peach wood obstructed their view anymore; hazy white clouds intertwined with clear mist in the air, almost merging this place with the horizon, as if they were in a fairyland.

The platform, with a diameter of just over a hundred meters, had two-thirds of its area occupied by a clear spirit spring and pool, with water trickling down into the valley from who-knows-where. In the middle of the spring stood a delicate stone pavilion.

Inside the pavilion, a beautiful young woman with pink hair, dressed in luxurious palace attire, sat alone, her head lowered as she fiddled with the chess pieces in front of her, causing the peculiar array on the table to emit faint silver light. Meanwhile, outside the stone pavilion, by the spring—

They were surrounded by a group of people in blue clothing.

Hiding at the edge of the platform behind the entrance, Vilyric and the others had a clear view of the scene.

“It seems we arrived just in time.”

Miss Xiao Kong looked a bit relaxed but didn’t rush to reveal themselves.

“Looks like the other party just broke through here too. Let’s see how Tao Mu plans to handle this situation.”

“Hey… isn’t there one crucial person missing? That Princess Ling wouldn’t be stuck somewhere and running away again, right?”

As the Priestess whispered in disbelief, Ling Feng was about to respond when a clear and gentle male voice rang out from the direction of the stone pavilion.

“Well, have you thought it over, Saint?”

The speaker stepped forward, perfectly framed for Vilyric and the others to see from the side.

He was very white.

Like, literally white.

White clothes, white pants, white hair, white eyebrows, and even his skin looked extremely pure, like a newborn baby. He carried a large pharmacist’s box on his shoulder and had a face that seemed harmless, exuding no oppressive aura at all. Glancing at him, one wouldn’t feel the slightest sense of threat.

Although he was very white, his hair wasn’t purely white but was instead pale, old, resembling an elderly person. However, disregarding that bizarrely delicate skin, this youth looked to be no more than twenty years old, which was quite puzzling.

The palace-dressed woman in the stone pavilion didn’t stand up; she merely lifted her head to glance at him, her tone indifferent.

“Pharmacist… the rat of the Seven-Day Demon Lord really has the guts to appear before me. Aren’t you afraid I’ll take care of you myself? Or do you think I can’t?”

The white-haired youth slightly nodded, maintaining a calm expression.

“Tao Hua Saint has been renowned for a thousand years, and your powers have reached the pinnacle. There are hardly any who can compare in the entire Ancient Spirit Realm. Naturally, I wouldn’t be arrogant enough to challenge you.”

“We’ve come this time just to find one person. However, Peach Blossom Peak has stringent defenses, and the Saint seldom sees outsiders, making it exceptionally difficult to come for a visit in the usual way. I hope you understand our offense, Saint~”

“Ha…”

The Tao Hua Saint chuckled lightly and placed another piece into the array, creating ripples of faint light.

“To dress up an intrusion as something so grandiose, you shouldn’t be called ‘Pharmacist,’ but rather a title suited for a ‘Sophist’ or something similar.”

“I know why you’ve come. Indeed, the Western Spirit Princess is here as a guest, but may I ask what your business is with her?”

As if he didn’t grasp the straightforward sarcasm, the Pharmacist maintained his smile.

“We merely wish to request a small favor from that Princess Ling. As the Saint knows, the great era is about to begin, and many things in the Ancient Spirit Realm are starting to change.”

“We, like-minded friends, have gathered with the intention of achieving something great, hence we sought out the Princess, selected by the Ancient Spirit Realm. The Princess is destined to be the guide for the Chosen One; she should naturally join us in this undertaking.”

“However, it seems that she has some misunderstandings about us and quietly ran away to this place. We had no choice but to travel a great distance to pursue her.”

“Oh… So, you believe yourselves to be the fated ones born of the destiny of the Ancient Spirit Realm? You think this great era has descended for you?”

The Pharmacist smiled softly.

“It doesn’t matter for whom the great era has arrived; what matters is who can seize and grasp this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Could it be that with your profound cultivation and mastery, the Saint still cannot understand this simple truth? Fate is unpredictable; man can triumph over heaven.”

“Ha, ‘man can triumph over heaven’.”

A mocking tone emitted from the Tao Hua Saint as her patience with this probing wore thin, and her attitude instantly turned unfriendly.

“Pharmacist, you madman, still as disgusting as ever! Even the refuse of the Demon-Suppressing Sect can cooperate with you. With your kind of garbage alliance gathering together, how dare you talk about triumphing over heaven, self-proclaiming as the son of destiny?”

“That’s the funniest joke I’ve heard in nearly a thousand years!”

“A bunch of rat scum dare to invade my Peach Blossom Peak; today, not a single one of you will leave alive!”

“Damn it, we’re already a bunch of loners here, and you’re still acting tough! We’re here for a toast, not a punishment drink; brothers, take her down!”

The official declaration of the Tao Hua Saint instantly became the last straw that broke the camel’s back. A furious shout erupted from the crowd, and over ten blue-clad individuals leapt up, wielding weapons, charging towards the stone pavilion!

At the same time, from beneath the spring’s surface next to the pavilion, four or five lurking shadows sprang out, shooting several sharp water arrows at the only beautiful woman in palace attire within the pavilion!

“You rude little fish, don’t wet my pavilion.”

With a calm admonition, the Tao Hua Saint casually raised her hand and flicked an already fallen chess piece on the array.

“Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!!!”

Like being repelled by an invisible wall, the water arrows shot out were drawn back, and the fish demons that had just poked their heads out launched out like cannonballs, flying past the edge of the mountaintop platform and plunging into the clouds, disappearing from sight.

“As for you scum, it’s better for you to reincarnate sooner.”

The array moved again.

“Poof! Poof! Poof! Poof! Poof! Poof! Poof! Poof!!!!!!!!!!”

The ten or so elite members of the Demon-Suppressing Sect, including their bodies and weapons, bizarrely shattered mid-air, scattering into countless fragments, yet the remains and spilt blood did not fall into the spirit spring but rather were twisted and kneaded by some invisible force into a mass, ultimately vanishing into an unknown singularity with no trace left behind.

From their joint attack on the demons to the Tao Hua Saint erasing them to oblivion, it took only a total of seconds, and most of that time was spent on the Saint talking.

What she truly did was merely gently nudge a couple of chess pieces on the array.

“This… this…?”

The group of blue-clad individuals exchanged glances, their second wave of attack stalled in place.

One move, and she overwhelmed everyone.

Clearly, the Demon-Suppressing Sect did not expect the Tao Hua Saint to be so formidable. The process of killing those strong ones was even less troublesome than swatting flies, and they were naturally thrown into an uncontrollable state of agitation and panic.

After all, there’s no normal person who isn’t afraid of death, and even the fiercest desperado would hesitate before a meat grinder they couldn’t escape from. Not to mention, they didn’t even comprehend the reality of the powers the Tao Hua Saint just displayed.

Except for… the abnormal ones.

   

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