Chapter 135: Borrowing a Sword

’She’s finally here!’

Li Chang’an breathed a sigh of relief.

Although he had the Tier Two Profound Water Turtle as a trump card and wasn’t afraid of Chu Xiong, an Early Stage Foundation Establishment Cultivator, it was always best not to reveal one’s trump cards if possible.

However, Li Chang’an was puzzled.

’It isn’t a long way from Yellow Crane Mountain. Why did Pei Yingyao only just arrive?’

He only dared to wonder this in his heart, not ask it aloud.

"Elder Pei, please save me!"

Li Chang’an put on a panicked expression and hurried to Pei Yingyao’s side.

He spoke in an anxious tone, "Early this morning, this elder suddenly broke into my courtyard and tried to seize me without any explanation."

Pei Yingyao’s brow furrowed slightly as she glanced at the ravaged courtyard.

She said coolly, "This man is named Chu Xiong. He is my junior martial brother."

"So it’s Elder Chu."

Li Chang’an acted as if he’d just had a revelation.

But he quickly put on a troubled look and said to Pei Yingyao, "Elder Pei, it’s a good thing you arrived when you did. Otherwise, Elder Chu would have torn down my entire house."

"That’s an exaggeration. You have a Tier Two Array, so you could have held out."

Pei Yingyao had identified the tier of the Thundercloud Annihilation Array at a glance.

An imperceptible trace of surprise flickered in her eyes.

"You certainly are a fortunate person to have obtained an Ancient Grand Array of such a tier."

"Elder Pei, how did you know this was an Ancient Grand Array?"

"The Array Formation method for the Thundercloud Annihilation Array during the Ancient Times is very different from today’s."

Pei Yingyao’s tone was indifferent, but she explained patiently.

The Thundercloud Annihilation Array still exists today—it’s even sold at the Ten Thousand Treasures Tower—but the Array Formation method is different from the one used in the Ancient Times.

The ancient arrays focused more on Illusion Techniques and trapping enemies.

Modern arrays, however, emphasize the "annihilation" aspect, making them more powerful.

"I see. Thank you for the guidance, Elder!"

Li Chang’an thanked her sincerely.

Pei Yingyao nodded slightly and said no more.

The next moment, her eyes turned sharp and cold. Her gaze, like a pair of icy longswords, fell upon Chu Xiong.

Chu Xiong, who had been bombarding the Array, shuddered the instant he felt that gaze.

He stopped what he was doing and turned around.

"S-Senior Sister..."

"Mm."

Pei Yingyao responded coolly.

"Explain yourself. What sent you into a frenzy this time?"

"I’m not in a frenzy!"

Chu Xiong wanted to argue.

But when he saw Pei Yingyao’s cold eyes, he immediately lost the courage to do so.

"Senior Sister, this man is a Tribulation Cultivator! He killed my disciple!"

Chu Xiong pointed a finger at Li Chang’an, his voice still filled with rage.

Then, he took out the Memory Stone.

He had Pei Yingyao watch it.

After watching it, Pei Yingyao cursed coldly, "Idiot. The facial details of the Li Chang’an in this Memory Stone don’t match the one standing next to me at all. Are you blind?"

"Senior Sister, it’s a Memory Stone recording! It’s normal for there to be some discrepancies with reality!"

Chu Xiong grew anxious, his face turning an even deeper shade of red.

Pei Yingyao’s shapely brows shot up. She raised the sword scabbard in her hand, threatening to strike him.

"You were going to attack Li Chang’an over something so unreliable?"

"I... I just wanted to capture him and interrogate him."

Seeing the sword scabbard, Chu Xiong immediately flinched, his imposing aura weakening considerably.

Seeing his reaction, Pei Yingyao didn’t strike, merely letting out a sigh.

"Forget it. Apologize to Li Chang’an, and we’ll let this matter drop."

"Senior Sister, how can I apologize to him? I’m a Foundation Establishment Cultivator, and he’s just some Qi Refining Stage brat! Where has a Foundation Establishment ever apologized to a Qi Refining? Besides, I was only avenging my disciple!"

Chu Xiong stuck his neck out, utterly looking down on Li Chang’an. There wasn’t a hint of remorse in his words.

He didn’t think he was wrong at all.

Even with Pei Yingyao here, he still wanted to kill Li Chang’an and even tried to persuade her to take his side.

"Senior Sister, your disciple was also killed by a Tribulation Cultivator. Can’t you understand how I feel?"

He would have been better off not saying that.

The moment he did, Pei Yingyao’s entire face darkened, and a terrifying, cold Sword Intent began to radiate from her body.

"Shut up! Apologize to Li Chang’an immediately and compensate him for his losses!"

"No! Senior Sister, I won’t apologize even if you kill me!"

"Fine!"

The next instant, with a "SHING," the longsword left its scabbard. A cold glint flared, like a bolt of white silk, and instantly pierced through Chu Xiong’s chest, drawing a spray of blood.

Chu Xiong trembled, looking down in disbelief at the hole in his chest.

"Senior Sister, you... you’re really going to kill me?"

Although the wound wasn’t fatal, a chilling aura of death lingered within it, sending a cold dread through his entire body.

At that moment, an intense fear rose in his heart, instantly dispelling all his anger and indignation.

It left him with nothing but a dread of death.

Spurred by this bone-deep terror, his mind cleared considerably.

Pei Yingyao cursed coldly, "Idiot! If I don’t kill you now, you’ll only cause greater disasters in the future and make all of Yellow Crane Mountain a laughingstock!"

"Senior Sister, don’t kill me."

Chu Xiong’s face was filled with terror as he begged for his life.

"I was wrong! I was really wrong!"

"Since you know you were wrong, then apologize to Li Chang’an!"

"Yes, yes..."

Chu Xiong didn’t dare to be stubborn any longer.

No matter how much he looked down on Li Chang’an, he had no choice but to apologize now.

"Li, this was my fault. Please take these Spirit Stones as my apology."

As he spoke, he took out a Storage Pouch.

Inside were several thousand Spirit Stones, enough to compensate Li Chang’an for his losses.

Li Chang’an accepted the Storage Pouch and said amicably, "Elder Chu, you were merely being used. You weren’t truly at fault in this matter."

"It’s good that you understand, Li."

Chu Xiong was completely subservient, all his previous manic arrogance gone.

But inwardly, he was still incredibly resentful. His rage resurfaced, and he wished he could tear Li Chang’an to shreds on the spot.

A Foundation Establishment Cultivator apologizing to a Qi Refining Cultivator.

This was an absolute, utter humiliation!

If word of this got out, he would surely become a laughingstock among Foundation Establishment Cultivators!

"Senior Sister, I’ve already apologized, and Li has forgiven me. May I leave now?"

Chu Xiong asked cautiously.

Pei Yingyao nodded slightly.

"Mm. Get lost."

"Yes."

Chu Xiong didn’t dare to linger. He was terrified that Pei Yingyao would actually kill him, so he immediately fled the courtyard, running away without a single look back.

Li Chang’an still felt a little uneasy.

"Elder Pei, Elder Chu is a Foundation Establishment Great Cultivator, after all. I’m worried he won’t let this go and will target me again in the future."

"Mm, that idiot most likely won’t give up."

As she spoke, Pei Yingyao gave him a Jade Token.

She explained to Li Chang’an that this Jade Token would only work against Chu Xiong.

Then, she gave Li Chang’an a longsword.

"This is the sword I used before I reached Foundation Establishment. It has been with me for a long time and is saturated with my aura. I’ll lend it to you for now."

Pei Yingyao looked at the longsword, a nostalgic expression flashing across her face.

"If that idiot dares to come again, show him this sword first. If he doesn’t back down, then crush the Jade Token."

"Yes, thank you, Elder!"

Li Chang’an’s eyes lit up as he accepted the Jade Token and the Treasure Sword.

After all this was done, Pei Yingyao didn’t linger and turned to leave.

...

「Not long after.」

In a courtyard at the foot of Yellow Crane Mountain.

Huang Feng sipped his tea, his gaze fixed on the location of Li Chang’an’s residence.

’Why hasn’t Junior Martial Uncle Chu captured Li Chang’an yet?’

’It should be soon,’ he thought.

He calculated the time and waited patiently for news.

But just then, with a "BOOM," the gate to his small courtyard suddenly exploded into pieces!

Outside the gate stood Pei Yingyao, her face an icy mask. With a longsword on her back, her killing intent was palpable.

Feeling that cold killing intent, Huang Feng’s face contorted in terror.

He screamed in fear.

"Master, save me!"