The Sovereign's Ascension

“Young Master Bu Chen and Xiao Ran suggest taking a short rest. Lin Yun, what do you think?” asked Bai Qiushui when the three of them got close. The team had suffered many casualties from the demonic beast waves and even many of Bai Qiushui’s herb servants were injured. The group really needed some rest.

“Sure. I’m fine with it,” nodded Lin Yun.

Bu Chen swept his glance out and locked his brows when he saw Gao Yu on the Dragon Blooded Horse. He spoke out, “Lin Yun, our mission is to protect Lady Bai and her herb servants, not the Gao Clan’s disciples. Don’t forget the mission. Lady Bai was nearly injured.”

“Yeah, pay some attention. Don’t do that again,” added Xiao Ran.

The two of them behaved like the leaders as they reprimanded Lin Yun. Previously, Lin Yun didn’t know what they were trying to do, but he knew now. Of course, he wouldn’t stoop down to their level. After all, his focus was on cultivation, so how could he possibly worry about competing for affection?

“It really was dangerous. It would have been a little troublesome without Brother Bu Chen’s Dragon Painting,” replied Lin Yun.

“Only a little?” Xiao Ran replied with a smile. If it wasn’t for Bu Chen’s Dragon Painting, it wouldn’t have been just ‘a little’ troublesome. If the five leopards got through, Bai Qiushui would have either been injured or dead.

Bu Chen comprehended the Dragon Painting last night and as a result was very full of himself. So he immediately became unhappy when he heard Lin Yun’s tone. With a sharp flicker in his eyes, he retorted, “I almost forgot that you practice the Dragon-Tiger Fist too. Perhaps you know the Dragon Painting?”

“I don’t.” Lin Yun shook his head. He could barely use all the forms, but even then, Lin Yun wouldn’t consider ‘knowing’ how to do something unless he reached greater mastery in it. After all, it would be dangerous if any of the forms were filled with flaws.

His Dragon Painting might be slightly stronger than Bu Chen’s, but he wasn’t exactly proficient in it. Because of this, he had only been using the first four forms to fight. He had achieved complete mastery with the first three moves, while the fourth move only reached greater mastery. 

“Then don’t talk about things you don’t know,” replied Bu Chen. The Dragon Painting wasn’t something that could be easily learned. He spent half a year working on it and only barely managed to comprehend it last night. Outer disciples could only rely on incomplete manuals, not to mention that they didn’t have any guidance. So it would be strange if they could learn it easily.

Most of the team heard Bu Chen’s voice and began discussing among themselves, “We need to rely on Bu Chen and Xiao Ran for this trip. They were so low-profile yesterday, so I never expected that they would be so powerful.”

“Those who are capable don’t need to be high-profile.”

“Yeah. Lin Yun defeated Xia Tengfei and Lin Lan yesterday, but in the Bloodbone Forest, he’s clearly inferior to Xiao Ran and Bu Chen. He’s especially inferior to Bu Chen. Bu Chen’s Dragon Painting was simply incredible.”

“Bu Chen is too strong. He only needed one punch to kill five Firerune Leopards. Simply unbelievable. I bet that even if Lin Lan and Xia Tengfei worked together, they might not be able to fight him.”

“We're safe with Bu Chen around. We don’t even have to fear wandering cultivators.”

Bu Chen was happy when he heard the praises, but he didn’t let it show on his face. He swept a glance at Bai Qiushui and said, “Lady Bai, let’s just rest here since Brother Lin isn’t against it.”

“Okay,” replied Bai Qiushui with a smile.

After the three of them left, Gao Yu who was on the Dragon Blooded Horse cursed, “Those fellows only have women in their eyes. Are our lives that insignificant to them?”

Based on Gao Yu’s words, it was clear that Xiao Ran and Bu Chen didn’t care about his safety. They merely glanced at him with words that held no regard for him.

“Young Master Lin, I feel bad for you.” What left Gao Yu depressed was that everyone only saw how Bu Chen killed the five Firerune Leopards with a punch. No one noticed that Lin Yun prevented the Firerune Leopards from attacking their rear. Only Gao Yu witnessed it in its entirety.

“It doesn’t matter. I’m just doing my job,” replied Lin Yun. He then closed his eyes and meditated, circulating the Iris Sword Sutra to recover his origin energy.

Half an hour later, the team continued their journey. They travelled deep into the Bloodbone Forest. Many of the paths they traveled through were covered with thistles and thorns that needed to be removed. After traveling another twenty miles, Lin Yun suddenly felt the increased density in spiritual energy.

“We’re almost there?” muttered Lin Yun.

Bai Qiushui’s eyes suddenly lit up and she said, “We’re almost there. Just a little more.”

Everyone was relieved by her words. It hadn’t been an easy journey and they had been on guard the whole time. The valley was massive and the end of the valley couldn't be seen. Under the dense spiritual energy, there were all sorts of flowers and herbs growing in the valley.

The boundless spiritual energy in the surrounding also condensed itself into mist that filled the air, making the scene even more enchanting.

“We’re finally here.” Bai Qiushui rejoiced. “I’m afraid that the valley won’t be safe, so I’ll have to trouble the two of you.”

Xiao Ran nodded, “Indeed. At least the spiritual energy here is mild. I don’t think there will be any ferocious demonic beasts around.”

Bu Chen looked around and spoke, “I’ll go take a look at the surroundings. If there are no issues, then Lady Bai can feel free to let her servants enter the valley.”

“I’ll have to trouble you,” responded Bai Qiushui.

“No worries.” Bu Chen smiled and left using a movement technique from the Heavenly Profound Sect. He descended into the flowers after a few quick movements. His figure, which could vaguely be seen,  was like a combination of a dragon and tiger. His movements were so gentle that not a single petal was damaged.

“What a great movement technique!” Everyone couldn’t help but praise Bu Chen when they saw that.

It didn’t take long for Bu Chen to return. He looked around and said, “There aren’t any dangers here, but there are lots of poisonous wasps in the valley. So be careful.”

“Go in,” commanded Bai Qiushui.

It was just as Bu Chen said, there weren’t many demonic beasts in the valley. Aside from the poisonous wasps, most of the demonic beasts were mild and wouldn’t attack the party on their own.

The herb servants under Bai Qiushui were in the valley excitedly collecting herbs. This was clearly a valley that no one had visited for a long time, so the herbs here were rather old. The journey might have been dangerous and Bai Qiushui even paid a great price with the losses and casualties in the team, but the harvest was shocking.

Lin Yun waved his hand in the valley and let a few sword auras shoot out, grinding the poisonous wasps into ashes as he walked through the valley.

Bai Qiushui’s background was mysterious. No one had been to this valley, but she knew where it was located. When Lin Yun looked around, he could tell that the herb slaves were proficient in their work.

They would carefully remove the herbs and roots from the ground. Lin Yun stayed in the Herbal Peak for a month, so he knew that they must be taking the herbs back to be planted.

Then again, it wasn’t easy to transfer wild herbs. The more precious they were, the harsher the requirements they posed on their surroundings. It was tricky since it wasn’t easy to duplicate the herbs’ habitat.

Then again, this wasn’t Lin Yun’s concern. He gently plucked a petal off and placed it by his nose. Suddenly, Lin Yun opened his eyes with a trace of shock because he could sense a slight tremor from the Flower Burial Sword that was in the sword box. There seems to be something here that’s attracting the sword, but nothing like this had happened before.

“Flower fragrance?” Lin Yun fell into deep thought and walked towards Bai Qiushui’s location. Bu Chen and Xiao Ran were standing next to Bai Qiushui like her personal bodyguards. But there weren’t any dangers here since the demonic beasts were mild.

There really was no need for them to stand guard by Bai Qiushui. It would be better for them to pay attention to the wasps so that they wouldn’t get stung and poisoned.

“Lin Yun, what are you doing here instead of protecting us against the poisonous wasps?” asked Bu Chen with a frown.

“There’s no need for you to worry about protecting Lady Bai,” smiled Xiao Ran.

However, Lin Yun didn’t pay any attention to the two and looked at Bai Qiushui saying “I’m here to ask for permission as I wish to explore deeper into the valley.”

“Lin Yun, I’m not too familiar with this valley and I only dare to harvest herbs at the border. You might encounter danger if you go any deeper.” Bai Qiushui locked her brows together.

“Since Brother Lin has such intentions, then he must be confident. Lady Bai, there’s no need for you to worry.” Bu Chen spoke up before Lin Yun could.

It was good for him that Lin Yun wanted to separate from the team. After all, Bu Chen and Xiao Ran both felt somewhat awkward when they saw Bai Qiushui looking in Lin Yun’s direction earlier. After all, Bai Qiushui didn’t even spare them a glance even though they were so close to her.

“Since Brother Lin wishes to go on an adventure, then let him go. We’re more than enough to ensure Lady Bai’s safety here at the border of the valley,” continued Xiao Ran.

“But…” Bai Qiushui still wanted to say something, but Lin Yun had turned around and left. It didn’t take long for Lin Yun to merge with the valley and disappear from their view.

When Lin Yun walked deeper into the valley, the flower fragrance gradually intensified. “It looks like it really was a flower fragrance that attracted the Flower Burial Sword!”

Lin Yun’s eyes flashed with expectation and he quickened his steps. He was curious to find out what kind of flower fragrance could attract the Flower Burial Sword. Could it be the king of flowers?