Chapter 37: Chapter 37

Lan Xiaohui coughs, facing off her opponent, and a trickle of blood stains the corner of her red lips. The encounter had already started off at her disadvantage, but it is fairly impressive that she managed to withstand that blow in the first place. Had she not blocked, I would likely now be in the possession of a reptile — of all things — and at best, with its level of intelligence, all I could hope for is that it tries to swallow me and recycle itself into something useful — Blood Points.

For a brief moment, while I am on the topic of abstract resources, I wonder if it possible to store a living creature inside my internal storage, and perhaps attach a [Soul Harvest Formation]. Would that give me more abstract resources than my current method of refining their corpses?

It is worth exploring.

Lan Xiaohui takes a step forward and slightly relaxes her stance. This is not conceit on her part, but rather a smart move. A rigid stance will not do against her opponent who also practices — if bestial instinct could be called practice — a fierce and rigid style of combat. In a clash, naturally, the one with the higher body strength would prevail — unfortunately for Lan Xiaohui, she is outmatched by an order of magnitude.

Her external martial art is of the soft type, and with her stance now brought into accord with its principles she also manages to calm her heart. I am aware of her thoughts and feelings in some ways. I can determine by way of her pupil dilation, breathing rhythm and heart rate that she is afraid but determined.

She understands the threat and the caliber of her opponent. This is not a white-furred wolf she can bring down in one blow. This battle requires a strategy, not only tactics. Her strategy is obvious: defend and counter.

The demonic beast is also not without battle intelligence. Its reptilian eyes follow me, not only because I am Lan Xiaohui’s weapon but also because it recognizes me as the greater threat. In some ways, it is correct in this deduction, but alas I have no capability to engage it on my own. But in a very literal sense, it is correct; Lan Xiaohui cannot harm it with her fists — only with me.

Were I a treasure of lower grade or lesser body cultivation, I would worry that I am incapable of cutting through the snake’s diamond-patterned externals. Even with the simplest glance I can determine that its body is tough, but mine is tougher.

Finally, the snake’s pupils narrow, and it lunges. It is so fast that its body cracks like a whip, its head propelled forward like a projectile that aims to devour Lan Xiaohui’s head. Its maw is open so wide that it could effortlessly swallow Lan Xiaohui whole. Unfortunately, it is not stupid enough to attempt such a foolish maneuver. The insides of its mouth and digestive tract are likely far softer than its outsides.

Lan Xiaohui steps forward when the snake moves, closing the distance to reduce the force the snake can generate on impact. She extends me forward in a lightning-fast thrusting maneuver, and my tip glances off the snake’s fangs with a resounding impact. The meeting of our two forces is powerful enough to rustle the leaves on the tree above Lan Xiaohui’s head.

Undeterred, the snake attacks again, recoiling into a stable stance from which it can attack within a moment’s notice.

This time, Lan Xiaohui blocks the attack with the flat of my vessel, and is forced back a single step by the softer impact.

Wasting no motion, the snake’s surprisingly agile form begins to coil around Lan Xiaohui’s legs, but she manages to leap away to safety before the demonic beast could crush her knees and ankles.

Within one second, all of these things happen.

A silence settles in the area.

Everything is quiet.

Lan Xiaohui has a frighteningly high level of battle instinct. This is not merely training, and I am certain that she does not have much in the way of actual experience. This is instinct. Perhaps being cast out by her traitorous lover was not a stroke of bad fortune, but the opposite. It is clear that her place in the world is not at the side of someone who only holds her in high esteem for her beauty, but here, in this place that is between life and death.

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Every creature should embrace the purpose it was created for, and Lan Xiaohui’s purpose is not to be an ornament, but a weapon.

Slowly, she exhales.

“Heartless Blood Lily, Black Moon Harvest,” she speaks the words as if they were a mnemonic device and I find that this is potentially true, because suddenly I feel the influx of her Qi rousing my sea of consciousness and producing sword energy through my vessel.

My blade becomes shrouded in black and red sword energy.

It reminds me of what she asked me when I told her of the actual mnemonic device — whether it was like martial techniques — and I see that she is likely correct in that understanding.

It is exactly like this.

She dashes forward, holding my blade in the palm of her hand. Her feet do not touch the ground as she charges into close quarters. The demonic beast responds by slithering slightly sideways, and then lunging forward.

A burst of red and black sword energy and Qi emanates from Lan Xiaohui’s body, and she unexpectedly changes directions, avoiding the direct confrontation with the snake’s rigid force.

The [Heartless Blood Lily] method possesses several martial techniques, one of which includes this Waning Moon Step.

She stops suddenly, having stepped past the snake’s head, and then thrusts my tip into the snake’s back.

My tip collides with its hard skin, and the its scales chip and shatter — truly like diamonds — scattering glimmering fragments of dead skin into the air.

Lan Xiaohui’s lips quirk into an expression of frustration, as she arrests the recoil of my vessel bouncing off the snake’s hard skin, and then she brings me down from above, into the same place.

This time, even though my body bounces off its hardened bones and skin, cutting deep into the snake’s flesh, the sword energy continues through, causing havoc within the internal body of the snake.

But it is still not enough. Even though I am sharp and hard enough to cut through this snake with ease, Lan Xiaohui does not possess the strength nor the cutting technique to finish it in one blow. She took a risk, and it did not produce favorable results.

The snake hisses loudly — it is enough to destabilize Lan Xiaohui’s stance through the pressure of that sound alone — and, in a half panicked state, it lashes out with its tail against Lan Xiaohui’s unprotected body to the effect of crushing several ribs and possibly puncturing her lungs. Lan Xiaohui is sent flying away once more, and on impact with the ground, she rolls like a rag doll on the forest floor, until she comes to a stop, motionless.

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