Chapter 172 - 171: Dual Ice and Fire

Red Lotus Cave Mansion.

All light was stolen by the magnificent and splendid Red Mist Sword Lotus.

When Luo Tian unleashed his sword, the formless Heaven and Earth Flame Power surged, resonating with the Red Lotus Sword in his hand to erupt with a terrifying might that could incinerate all creation.

After that single strike.

Zheng Wei, along with his invincible trump card, was directly turned to ash and smoke.

Not a single trace of his body remained.

It was as if Zheng Wei had evaporated into thin air.

Luo Tian was dumbstruck, unable to stop himself from sucking in a sharp breath of cold air.

The power of the Red Lotus Sword far exceeded his expectations; it was strong enough to destroy a town.

There was a reason for this.

Inside the Red Lotus Cave Mansion, the Red Lotus Sword had a home-field advantage. Boosted by the Flame Power within the mansion, its might was several times greater than normal.

A few breaths later.

WHOOSH!

In the sky, the blooming Red Mist Sword Lotus gradually dissipated.

Luo Tian’s face was pale. He had used up seventy or eighty percent of his True Qi, and his stamina and Vitality were also greatly depleted.

A wave of emptiness washed over him.

’What a massive drain!’ Luo Tian was shocked.

Even with his abundant True Qi, which surpassed that of an ordinary Spirit Sea Realm cultivator, he could at most unleash that strike once.

Therefore, Luo Tian knew he couldn’t rely on this sword to go on a killing spree in the outside world.

The Red Lotus Sword could only be a hidden ace up his sleeve, not a conventional weapon.

’One’s own strength is what’s fundamental.’

Luo Tian put away the Red Lotus Sword, not letting himself be seduced by the power of an external object.

When the day came that he could fully unleash the Red Lotus Sword’s power without restriction, he would have the strength to dominate the Continent.

After dealing with Zheng Wei, Luo Tian suddenly thought of something, and his expression changed slightly.

"Xia Bingyue!"

Previously, from what Zheng Wei had said, he’d gathered that Xia Bingyue was in a precarious situation.

SWOOSH!

Luo Tian shot off in a blur of motion, searching the nearby halls.

「Before long.」

Luo Tian arrived at the Martial Venerable’s Cultivation Room.

"Miss... Miss Xia!"

The scene inside the room stunned Luo Tian.

On the Ice Heart Meditation Mat lay a flawless, immortal-like body, pure as ice and smooth as jade. Her snow-white clothes were half-removed.

Xia Bingyue’s pretty face was flushed crimson. A pink blush had spread across her snowy skin, and she was fighting to suppress a seductive look in her eyes.

"This..."

Luo Tian was caught in a dilemma, not knowing what to do.

If he stayed, he would be tarnishing the girl’s innocence.

’Just walk away?’

Xia Bingyue had clearly been plotted against; it wouldn’t be right to just leave her like this.

"Water... water..."

Xia Bingyue was in agony. Seeing Luo Tian as her last hope, she forced out the words, fighting back her shame.

"Okay, okay."

Luo Tian hurriedly took out a water flask and offered it to Xia Bingyue.

SNAP!

Xia Bingyue’s slender, pale hand grabbed Luo Tian’s arm.

"Miss Xia..."

Luo Tian jumped in fright. He felt a pinkish aura rush towards his face.

At that moment, the Medicinal Power of the Peachy Drunken Immortal Fragrance that Xia Bingyue had been dosed with reached its peak.

The immortal-like body of ice and jade fell into Luo Tian’s embrace.

’Oh no! Xia Bingyue fell for such a despicable trick.’

Luo Tian suddenly had an armful of soft, fragrant jade. The exquisitely beautiful, pure girl in his arms breathed like a phantom orchid, revealing large patches of snowy, smooth skin.

He wanted to ask the Celestial Book how to break Xia Bingyue’s negative status.

But just then, a fiery aura surged from deep within Luo Tian’s body, coming into contact with the pinkish aura from Xia Bingyue.

BOOM!

Luo Tian’s entire body felt as if it had been set ablaze, engulfed in raging flames.

’What’s happening? This feels like the residual aura of the Dragon Scale Grass...!’

Luo Tian’s expression changed drastically.

Then, his remaining rationality was devoured by the surging flames. With a low growl, he pounced on Xia Bingyue.

"N-no..."

Lying on the Ice Heart Meditation Mat, Xia Bingyue was able to maintain a sliver of clear consciousness thanks to its cool, refreshing properties.

However, the residual power of the Dragon Scale Grass in Luo Tian’s body created a chain reaction with the pinkish aura, erupting with an effect several times stronger than what Xia Bingyue was experiencing.

Their clothes were stripped away, and their bodies intertwined.

(A thousand words are omitted here.)

...

An unknown amount of time passed.

Luo Tian’s consciousness gradually returned, and the fiery aura on his body receded like the tide.

He vaguely remembered having a wonderful dream.

Just then, a girl’s pained grunt reached his ears.

Hm?

Luo Tian’s eyes swept over the scene, and he was struck dumb.

The Fairy Bing Mei from his dream overlapped with the Xia Bingyue before him.

Their bodies were still entangled in an embrace.

In his vision, Xia Bingyue’s black hair was in disarray, two tear tracks stained her beautiful jade-like face, and faint bruises and marks were visible on her immortal body of ice and jade.

"This..."

Luo Tian felt as if he’d been struck by lightning, and cold sweat beaded on his back.

’How could I have done something like this?’

Xia Bingyue’s face was as cold as ice, her eyes revealing unconcealable shame and anger.

Before, Luo Tian had been unconscious when... that had happened.

But Xia Bingyue, lying on the Ice Heart Meditation Mat, had maintained her Jade Maiden Bingxin the entire time, clearly perceiving every rough and furious movement Luo Tian made on her immortal body.

That feeling of being in two heavens of ice and fire was a shame beyond words.

"Miss... Miss Xia. This was an accident. I couldn’t control my body..."

Luo Tian stammered, not knowing how to explain.

Until now, he had been quite ignorant about matters between men and women.

Today was also his first, accidental taste of the forbidden fruit, and it all had a hazy, dream-like quality.

"You, aren’t you going to get up?!"

Xia Bingyue was blushing with unbearable shame.

Luo Tian quickly released that soft, jade-like, beautiful immortal body.

Then, he turned his back and walked away.

From inside the room, he could faintly hear the sound of Xia Bingyue changing her clothes.

Luo Tian couldn’t help but let his mind wander, recalling the wonderful sensations from the dream.

「Before long.」

The icy, beautiful girl, dressed once again in snow-white clothes, walked out of the Cultivation Room.

"Miss Xia..."

Luo Tian braced himself and had just started to speak.

"Shameless and despicable!"

SLAP!

Xia Bingyue’s pretty face was taut as she slapped him across the cheek.

Luo Tian didn’t dodge. With his current physical strength, the slap didn’t hurt.

Besides, he felt truly guilty. He had defiled Xia Bingyue’s purity and had no idea how to compensate her.

"Ah..."

Overcome by a sharp pain, Xia Bingyue’s delicate body went limp and she began to fall.

SWOOSH!

Luo Tian quickly caught Xia Bingyue and, ignoring her struggles, settled her onto the Ice Heart Meditation Mat.

On the Ice Heart Meditation Mat, there was still a trace of blood.

Xia Bingyue’s expression was complicated. Her clear, tranquil eyes gave Luo Tian a deep look before she closed them to regulate her breathing.

During this time, Luo Tian stood guard nearby and checked the surroundings for any signs of enemies.

Aside from Zheng Wei, who had been turned to ash, the bodies of the pink-clothed woman and the withered man were both found.

The pink-clothed woman had been killed by Luo Tian with a finger piercing her throat.

The withered man had his chest split open by Xia Bingyue’s sword and had died from his grievous injuries.

’By this count, all ten people from the Qiu Yue Kingdom who entered the Royal Secret Garden, plus Zheng Wei, are now dead.’

Luo Tian did a rough calculation.

Surprisingly, almost all of them had died at his hands.

「Two hours later.」

After a period of recuperation, Xia Bingyue’s complexion gradually returned to normal.

However, the gaze this woman directed at Luo Tian was tinged with coldness and disgust.

BUZZ!

Just then, a navy-blue Jade Pearl in Luo Tian’s robes vibrated with a buzz, emitting a faint, silvery, ethereal light.

"The Royal Secret Garden is about to close!"

Luo Tian’s expression tightened.

Before entering the Royal Secret Garden, every participant had received a marker item.

When the Secret Garden closed, it would return the participants to the Royal Capital’s Celestial Cloud Mountain.

From within Xia Bingyue’s robes, the same faint, silvery, ethereal light also began to shine.

"Miss Xia! I have offended you greatly and don’t know how to apologize..."

Luo Tian stepped forward and took out a Blood Pear Fruit and a Red Lotus Fruit, wanting to compensate Xia Bingyue.

He didn’t intend to keep the Ice Heart Meditation Mat either.

"There’s no need! You also saved Bingyue. From now on, we owe each other nothing."

Xia Bingyue had returned to her usual ethereal and cold demeanor.

She only took the bloodstained Ice Heart Meditation Mat. Her gaze dimmed, and she sighed inwardly.

If Luo Tian hadn’t made his confession back at the Profound Spirit Hall, after what had happened, with her chaste and icy heart, Xia Bingyue would have willingly followed Luo Tian and become his partner in the path of Martial Arts.

But alas, all they could have was a fleeting affair.

VWOOM!

The faint, silvery, ethereal light on their bodies grew stronger and stronger, finally engulfing them completely.

A ripple of spatial fluctuation washed over them.

SWISH! SWISH!

Luo Tian and Xia Bingyue’s figures vanished from the Royal Secret Garden.

「Meanwhile.」

"It’s finally over!"

The Third Prince, the Seventh Prince, the green-skirted girl, and the others also vanished from the Secret Garden.

Inside the Profound Spirit Hall.

Nangong Yu, Li Yunxiu, and Senior Jin, who had been in secluded Cultivation, were enveloped in the faint, silvery, ethereal light and disappeared.

All the prodigies of the Azure Cloud Kingdom had left the Royal Secret Garden.

What no one noticed was that, back in the Red Lotus Cave Mansion, near the Cultivation Room, a lifeless, withered corpse held a navy-blue pearl that began to glow with a silvery, blood-red light.

"Time to go back?"

The withered man’s body gradually recovered a hint of vitality.

His face was pale as he opened his eyes and surveyed the chaotic scene around him.

"They’re all dead?"

The withered man’s face was filled with terror, and his voice trembled slightly.

Earlier, he had been struck down by Xia Bingyue’s sword. The wound was fatal, leaving him on the brink of death.

Since the situation was unclear, the withered man had used an unorthodox Secret Technique of feigning death, suppressing his body temperature and aura to the absolute minimum.

The reason he did this was because he was worried that if Young Master Zheng obtained the Red Lotus Martial Venerable’s inheritance, he would kill everyone to silence them.

In that state of feigned death, his senses were also reduced to a minimum.

In a daze, he had heard Young Master Zheng’s miserable scream, as well as the sounds of Luo Tian and Xia Bingyue finding carnal pleasure in the Cultivation Room.

"Young Master Zheng is dead too?"

The withered man’s face was ashen, and he trembled with fear.

VWOOSH!

A layer of silvery, blood-red light enveloped him, and he vanished from the spot.