Chapter 38: Master, I’m Actually Your Dao Partner

With Leng Qingqiu’s mid-Great Vehicle strength, dodging attacks from mere late Nascent Soul or early Spirit Severing beings would’ve been easy.
But her keen spatial law senses detected something off.
The massive fireball formed by the three crimson-robed flame creatures carried a faint trace of law power, forging an unavoidable link with them.
As Great Vehicle cultivators, Leng Qingqiu and Xia Baiqian had seen it all—nothing fazed them.
Could some unknown, powerful cultivator suddenly appear in this world? Unlikely.
But Master was different. Amnesiac and vulnerable, if she failed to sever that law power and the fireball took him, the consequences were unthinkable.
She wouldn’t risk even the slightest chance.
So, she faced the fireball alone.
Though loath to leave the scheming Xia Baiqian with Master, she had no choice.
She trusted Xia Baiqian’s strength—her gu could protect Master thoroughly against further threats.

In a flash, as Leng Qingqiu met the fireball, she was yanked into an indescribable dimension.
Intense discomfort forced her eyes shut.
When they opened, she stood in a vast, cratered cavern, dozens of football fields wide and tall.
Around her, dozens of crimson-robed flame figures knelt, looking tiny in the immense space.
“Welcome… sacrifice…”

The fireball that brought her soared upward.
Her Mysterious Ice Immortal Armor activated, encasing her in frost armor to repel corruption.
Face impassive, Leng Qingqiu looked up, realizing why the cavern was bright as day.
Countless blazing, sun-like orange fireballs floated above, pulsing like breathing, warping the surrounding space with their heat.
Yet, their warmth felt absent.
To her senses, these fireballs lacked divinity, instead resembling screaming faces—vile, like sewer rats or swamp lizards.
Disgusting.
Could this be the work of the Sun-Moon Temple, one of the five demonic sects?
No, it didn’t match their methods.

The kneeling figures, at least Spirit Severing in strength, could slaughter second-rate sects outside, yet they gazed enviously as the fireball merged above.
“Ah, those three are lucky, offering such a pure sacrifice to the master, merging with it.”
“When will we return to our master’s embrace?”

Leng Qingqiu snorted, her gaze fixed on the fireballs, unmoved by their words.
Mere ghouls daring to call themselves divine?
Who was the sacrifice? That remained to be seen.
Let’s test what you’re made of.
At the center of the flames, a dark orange fireball, spewing flame pillars, eyed her below, pleased with its luck.
Not long in this world, and I’ve found a trace of its origin. Invasion’s close.
But then it froze. Something’s wrong.
This creature lacked the origin’s aura—no, she had it! Two strands!
No, she was the origin itself!
Then, shock hit. There’s more…
If fireballs could emote, it would be wide-eyed, incredulous, as the “sacrifice” became a dire threat.
Who… who brought this monster here?!
Is the Heavenly Dao meddling, summoning this world’s powerhouses to stop me?

Sensing the fireball’s fear, Leng Qingqiu’s lips curved slightly.
Only now you notice? Too late.
Snap—
She raised a hand, snapping her fingers. Her mid-Great Vehicle aura erupted.
Great Vehicle spell—Frozen Extreme Domain: Ten Thousand Years Void Calamity!
A bone-chilling cold swept the cavern, time seeming to freeze.
The robed figures turned to ice sculptures, lifeless, before they could react.
The fireballs above, sensing danger, flared brightly to resist, but their flames slowed under her spell’s grip.

Chu Huaizhou, seeing Leng Qingqiu vanish, froze, then gaped, hands clutching his face like an abstract painting.
Where’s my giant Leng Qingqiu?!
He’d expected her to snort, stomp, and freeze the fireball to shards, dominating the scene.
Why’s she gone?!

“Two… no threat… become sacrifices…”
The remaining flame figures, seeing Leng Qingqiu teleported away, dismissed the “Golden Core” and “Qi Refining” duo.
They reached out with twisted, fiery arms.

Ji Yifei, pressed against his box’s glass, watched gleefully, no longer fleeing.
Heh, that’s what you get for crossing me. Think your spirit stones make you special? You’ll die anyway!
His gaze darkened. Pity about Leng Qingqiu, but the cute girl beside Chu Huaizhou sparked new plans.
Once that guy’s dead, I’ll save her…

Xia Baiqian, dropping her playful act, focused. Her eyes widened, then gleamed.
With her free hand, she swiped the air, a spatial rift forming along her fingers’ path.
“Master, don’t worry. Sister Qingqiu’s fine, just teleported away. She can’t return yet.”

Chu Huaizhou turned to ask if Qingqiu was in danger or if they could find her, but a floral scent hit him as Xia Baiqian slithered into his arms.
Her lace-stockinged legs wrapped around his, coiling like a snake finding prey.
“Master~ Don’t worry so much. Sister Qingqiu can handle it.”
Her arms locked around his neck, her usually innocent face now sultry, eyes radiating heart-shaped intensity.
“Actually, I have a secret. With Sister Qingqiu around, I couldn’t tell you~”
Her lips curved, licking them like a viper eyeing prey, legs rubbing against him through fabric.
“I’m… your dao partner~”

Chu Huaizhou: ???