Chapter 67: A Fate Worse Than Death

Just three minor realms had propelled Luo Bingli’s strength to the peak of the Nascent Soul stage. Considering that three minor Nascent Soul realms equate to one minor Soul Transformation realm, it was clear that the current Luo Bingli was akin to a true Soul Transformation expert.

Elder Wu, on the other hand, had already surrendered all resistance the moment Luo Bingli manifested her Immortal Path Flower. After all, if even a sneak attack couldn’t disrupt Luo Bingli’s ascension, then taking down the now fully promoted Saintess would be effortless.

Indeed, Luo Bingli’s oppressive aura now surpassed even that of the Soul Transformation ‘grandmasters’ Elder Wu had encountered in the past.

Of course, the ‘grandmasters’ Elder Wu had seen were merely pseudo-gods, not true Soul Transformation cultivators. Therefore, upon witnessing Luo Bingli’s aura, which was far more terrifying than any Soul Transformation grandmaster, Elder Wu had naturally abandoned all thoughts of resistance.

She even decided against consuming the Qi Bursting Pill she had prepared for a crucial moment.

After all, even with the pill, Elder Wu’s cultivation would at best reach the peak of the Nascent Soul stage, and that was with a third-grade mortal nascent soul. This was still several minor realms away from even a pseudo-god, let alone the current Luo Bingli.

Consuming it meant death; not consuming it also meant death. More critically, the Qi Bursting Pill came with severe consequences. The immense spiritual energy surge was a hundred times more agonizing than the pain of the Spirit Ascension Pill.

The thought of her body being torn apart by spiritual energy was a torment Elder Wu had no desire to experience again, especially when she already faced certain death.

Seeing this, Luo Bingli instantly understood Elder Wu’s intentions. A sneer touched her lips. “Are you seeking death? I’m afraid not. You’ve angered me, so my sword will only cripple your cultivation, not kill you. Conveniently, the elders on the back mountain are quite lonely. After I cripple your cultivation, you’ll become a happy ‘comfort girl’ for them from now on!”

After Luo Bingli uttered these words with a casual air, she immediately formed a sword-finger gesture. The reason she didn’t use an actual sword was simple: the Harmony Empress’s sword was still sulking with her.

Ever since the Harmony Empress’s sword had appeared, any other sword Luo Bingli attempted to use would be broken by it. Left with no other choice, Luo Bingli resorted to the less imposing sword-finger technique.

However, given Luo Bingli’s stunning beauty and graceful figure, this posture, far from diminishing her allure due to the lack of a real sword, instead made her appear even more valiant and captivating, thanks to her inherent charisma.

Without hesitation, Luo Bingli immediately channeled a surge of sword qi toward Elder Wu’s dantian.

Elder Wu, who had braced herself for death, was instantly drenched in a cold sweat at Luo Bingli’s words.

Though Elder Wu possessed some knowledge of the back mountain, her understanding wasn’t profound. Even so, she knew it was an incredibly perilous place, filled with old beasts, each more monstrous than the last.

She recalled a time when a woman who had erred was banished to the back mountain, becoming one of those ‘comfort girls’ who provided ‘welfare’ to the elders.

After a few months, that senior sister emerged utterly insane. The mere mention of the back mountain would send her into a wailing fit, claiming she’d rather be drained to death through dual cultivation than return.

At the time, Elder Wu had inquired about it. Apparently, the senior sister’s offense wasn’t severe, and the sect had offered several solutions. Yet, because becoming a ‘comfort girl’ wouldn’t result in any loss of cultivation, the senior sister had willingly served for three months to atone for her sins. The outcome, however, was her descent into madness.

‘If I were to be trapped there for a lifetime, what kind of fate would that be?’ Even worse, if her cultivation was gone, leaving only a body steeped in internal spiritual energy, wouldn’t she lose even the thought of escape?

The most critical point was that Luo Bingli and Wang Qiu’er had explicitly stated that Elder Wu would serve as a ‘comfort girl’ on the back mountain for the rest of her life. This was an unbearable prospect.

As the saying goes, ‘It’s better to live a wretched life than die well.’ But if that life was to be lived in hell, why not choose death sooner?

With that thought, Elder Wu gritted her teeth and immediately swallowed the Qi Bursting Pill she had kept in reserve.

Instantly, a torrent of violent spiritual energy erupted from Elder Wu’s body. Accompanied by a piercing shriek, her aura surged wildly. In just a brief moment, it reached the late Nascent Soul stage and continued its ascent toward the peak.

“Ah…” Having previously consumed the Spirit Ascension Pill, Elder Wu’s subsequent ingestion of the Qi Bursting Pill resulted in pain more than ten times greater than simply taking the Qi Bursting Pill alone.

In that moment, the surging spiritual energy was no longer Elder Wu’s most trusted companion, her source of power. Instead, it was the very force that threatened to obliterate her physical body.

As her strength swelled, Elder Wu felt her life essence rapidly draining away.

It was at this precise moment that Luo Bingli’s sword qi arrived, hovering not far from Elder Wu.

The first defensive talisman offered no resistance, instantly shredding into pieces.

The second and third defensive talismans met the same fate as the first, utterly useless and torn to shreds in an instant.

Subsequent talismans followed suit, effortlessly reduced to nothingness.

Only the final defensive talisman managed to offer a slight impediment, yet it too was ripped apart after but a moment.

Coincidentally, at this very moment, Elder Wu’s cultivation, fueled by the spiritual energy outburst, had reached the peak of the Nascent Soul stage. With her last shred of rationality, Elder Wu swung her sword, foolishly attempting to obstruct Luo Bingli’s sword qi.

‘Clang!’ ‘Pfft!’

However, accompanied by the snapping sound of her sword, Luo Bingli’s sword qi ultimately pierced directly into Elder Wu’s spiritual sea, pinning itself upon her nascent soul.

‘Thud!’

As Elder Wu collapsed, her previously surging aura rapidly dissipated due to the leakage from her spiritual sea and the damage to her nascent soul.

In a blink of an eye, her cultivation plummeted from the peak of the Nascent Soul stage to the late Nascent Soul, then to the middle Nascent Soul, finally settling at the initial Nascent Soul stage.

This was not the end. As Elder Wu’s nascent soul grew increasingly feeble, in mere moments, her cultivation plunged further, reaching only the peak of the Core Formation stage.

Seeing this, Luo Bingli immediately approached Elder Wu. After manipulating the nascent soul within her body to disperse it, Luo Bingli ensured it dissolved rather than perished completely. After all, if the nascent soul were utterly destroyed, Elder Wu would die.

By all rights, such a person deserved death, but Luo Bingli wished for Elder Wu to experience the torments of the eighteen layers of hell.

Fearing that Elder Wu might die from internal injuries caused by the outburst, Luo Bingli took out the best healing medicine and fed it to her. After several minutes of careful work, she finally managed to preserve Elder Wu’s life.

Relieved, Luo Bingli’s lips curled into a smirk. “Damn it, you dare provoke me and then try to die? That’s a pipe dream. I’ll make you wish for death but be unable to find it!”

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