Chapter 24: The Summit

Shi Qi used the secret art taught by Master Egret to conceal his wings, then stood up.

Suddenly, a grotesque face appeared before him—hideous, covered in backward-facing spines, with a gaping mouth full of sharp fangs—startling Shi Qi. He instinctively slapped the monstrous face aside and shouted, “What on earth is that!”

A peal of silver-bell laughter rang out by his ear. Underwater, the sound was anything but charming; it was almost eerie.

“A fish!” Su Xiaomu swam down from above. “I saw you sitting still, so I went off to chase the fish.”

Only then did Shi Qi realize that the monstrous face belonged to an ugly fish. He had been too preoccupied with diving and absorbing the ice lotus to notice the schools of fish swimming at the lakebed.

Shi Qi chuckled, “The bottom of this lake never sees sunlight. These fish really do grow however they please. Then again, it’s not like anyone can see them anyway.”

“Hmph.” Su Xiaomu snorted. “I was born at the bottom of the lake too. Are you saying I just grew however as well?”

Su Xiaomu’s words immediately reminded Shi Qi of that dazzlingly pale jade-like body.

“All right, all right, you look better than they do. By the way, is there anything else at the bottom of the lake?” Shi Qi quickly changed the subject.

“Hmph, that’s more like it.” Su Xiaomu replied, satisfied. “I circled around here several times just now. There shouldn’t be anything left.”

“Then let’s go up,” Shi Qi said.

With that, he gathered his true energy and swam upward, Su Xiaomu following close behind.

Suddenly, as if realizing something, Su Xiaomu shouted, “Hey! Are you saying I only look a little better than those fish?!”

Shi Qi stifled a laugh.

Soon, the two broke through the surface and stood atop the lake.

Su Xiaomu pointed at Shi Qi. “Big brother, your clothes.”

Shi Qi turned to look and realized his shirt had been torn to shreds by his wings, leaving his entire back exposed.

Shi Qi opened his storage pouch. The old witch’s bag—did it have any spare clothes for him? He vaguely recalled spotting a wardrobe when he first obtained the bag but hadn’t looked closely.

He opened the wardrobe and was dumbfounded. Inside hung all manner of garments—red, white, blue, green—long shirts, robes, single-layered clothes, padded jackets, even vests, all meticulously prepared for him by Master Egret.

Shi Qi sighed, “Truly, a woman remains a girl at heart, even to her dying day.”

In the end, Shi Qi picked a blue long robe. He summoned a curtain of water to shield himself from Su Xiaomu’s view, then channeled his energy, turning the coarse cloth on his body to powder before donning the blue robe.

When the water curtain faded, Shi Qi beckoned to Su Xiaomu. “Let’s go.”

Su Xiaomu gazed at him. Indeed, clothes make the man. Shi Qi seemed utterly transformed—he’d never been unattractive, but before, the rough hempen garb gave him none of the bearing of a cultivator. Now, with the new robe, Su Xiaomu studied him closely for the first time: his features were chiseled and defined, his frame tall and straight as a rod, his skin a healthy wheat-gold, brows like carved blades, a straight nose, thin tightly pressed lips, and eyes so dark they sometimes flashed emerald. There was a cool, aloof air about him, as though he was a hidden dragon disguised among commoners.

“Let’s go,” Shi Qi urged when Su Xiaomu remained rooted.

“Oh… right… let’s go,” she replied.

The two mounted the art of riding the wind and flew toward the summit of the side peak.

As they reached the top, they saw flames soaring skyward from the main summit—surely the result of magical combat.

Shi Qi mused, “Is there a fight up there? It seems these people have no idea that one of the treasures is right by my side, and the second has already been absorbed by me. Since there’s a fight going on…”

Su Xiaomu cut in eagerly, “Then obviously, we should go watch!”

Just as they were about to fly upward, Shi Qi’s glance caught something. He tugged at Su Xiaomu, signaling her to look. Su Xiaomu turned—and her pupils suddenly widened.

At the peak of Mount Jiuhua, Leng Lingmeng and her three companions were locked in fierce battle against Liao Hongda and the three from the Blazing Fire Sect.

“Xuewu, Xueqing, Xueyao,” Leng Lingmeng called to her companions, “you three hold off the Blazing Fire Sect while I deal with Liao Hongda!”

“Yes!” the trio replied, unleashing their spells at the three enemies.

There had been a skirmish between these groups before at Mount Jiuhua, and the three from Moonlit Palace—Xuewu, Xueqing, and Xueyao—were not the equals of the Blazing Fire Sect’s trio. All they could do was stall, hoping Leng Lingmeng could settle matters quickly.

Leng Lingmeng herself was not having an easy time. Among the ten legendary arts, the second-ranked was Liao Hongda’s body-forging technique, while Moonlit Palace’s Formless Art ranked third.

It wasn’t that Formless Art was inferior, but its properties could not replicate the abilities of the body-forging art. The latter refined the body itself, making it impossible for Formless Art to mimic or absorb. Moreover, body-forging had no spell attacks, leaving Formless Art with no starting point.

Yet Leng Lingmeng’s reputation as the foremost young master was well-deserved. Her cultivation had reached the peak of the Golden Core realm, and her resourcefulness was unmatched. Simply put, it was not Formless Art that made Leng Lingmeng formidable—it was she who elevated the art.

Liao Hongda let out a roar; his muscles swelled, bursting his fur vest. He stamped the ground and charged straight at Leng Lingmeng.

Leng Lingmeng snorted coldly and slashed out with her sword, sending a massive wind blade at Liao Hongda.

Clang! The wind blade struck Liao Hongda’s chest, ringing like metal on metal and halting his advance.

“Hm?” Liao Hongda was surprised. This wasn’t an ordinary wind blade—it contained formless power. Though it didn’t break his defenses, he felt its corrosive force eating away at his body.

The energy faded quickly, but a shallow bloody mark appeared on his chest—a minor wound, but a wound nonetheless!

“As expected of Moonlit Palace,” Liao Hongda thought.

Without further pause, he clenched his fists and charged Leng Lingmeng again.

Leng Lingmeng vanished in a blink, reappearing as a ring of lightning walls encircled Liao Hongda, trapping him.

He frowned, punching through the lightning and scanning the perimeter for her.

Meanwhile, the three from Moonlit Palace were struggling; under the onslaught of the Blazing Fire Sect’s trio, they were steadily being forced back. Chou Guangqi, at the height of his power, raised his hand and hurled a fireball at them.

“Hey, friend, mind if I borrow some fire?”

Suddenly, a voice sounded beside Chou Guangqi.

He turned to see his fireball crashing into a screen of water, sizzling as it was blocked.

A youth in blue robes, holding a tree branch, reached into the fireball…