Chapter Twenty-Two: Wasteland Manor

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Li Qingqing, standing nearby, had just finished observing Shen Chang'an’s entire battle and was left trembling with fear. On one hand, she hoped Shen Chang'an would be stronger; otherwise, they would never break through the ambush today. On the other hand, she secretly wished he wasn’t too strong—for if he were overwhelmingly powerful, she saw no hope of escaping.

But as she watched, she realized Shen Chang'an’s strength far exceeded her imagination.

That psychic power—she had never seen it before—now appeared, and Shen Chang'an wielded it with an almost divine finesse, controlling his psychic energy within an extremely small range to breach others’ defenses and injure their bodies.

Then there was the sword. The divine sword’s imposing aura made Li Qingqing shiver. Even if she were to lift her restrictions and restore her full strength, sacrificing everything to fight Shen Chang'an, she doubted she could evade that blade’s radiance.

Though Shen Chang'an seemed unable to fully master the Withered Wood Sword yet, it was not something she could contend with.

She recognized it immediately: that Withered Wood Sword was definitely a superior divine sword.

Those who wield such supreme divine swords were invariably sword immortals. When their sword flew from its sheath, it sought to sever heads.

Within the White Lotus Sect, there was a guardian who was a sword cultivator. He didn’t even need the blade; wielding a sword light, he could release a sky full of sword qi with a flick of his finger—a swordsmanship cultivation rare to this era.

Yet even this guardian was not the strongest in existence, because the strongest sword cultivator today held a dragon blade in hand that could easily overwhelm him.

No matter how powerful one’s spiritual techniques were, they could not stand against a divine weapon’s sharp edge.

This is no joke: weapons that elevate a person's strength to such heights cannot be suppressed by spiritual techniques alone. The higher the master, the more formidable the weapon they regard as divine.

The Withered Wood Sword in Shen Chang'an’s hand, though not as terrifying as the dragon blade Li Qingqing imagined, already bore the embryo of a divine sword.

If Shen Chang'an’s cultivation ever reached its peak and the Withered Wood Sword awakened alongside, he would undoubtedly become one of this world’s top masters.

“Let’s go.”

At that moment, Shen Chang'an approached, calling out loudly before preparing to leave.

Li Qingqing hurried after him and whispered, “Taoist, what kind of divine sword is the one you hold?”

Shen Chang'an paused, thought for a moment, and answered, “Wood Sword.”

Li Qingqing’s expression stiffened, snorting, “If you don’t want to say, then don’t.”

Shen Chang'an raised an eyebrow. Except for Xue Lie, none of those who had obtained divine swords knew their names. The name “Wood Sword” was something Shen Chang'an casually gave it, since the sword alternated between withered wood and fresh wood. He knew the name lacked finesse, but why would a divine sword need a name? If you wished, you could call it “Dog Slayer,” “Pig Butcher,” or even just a “Blade.”

No matter what it was called, once it cut down a person, someone would remember its name—even if... it was just a Wood Sword.

...

“Phew, Taoist, aren’t you... aren’t you at all thirsty?”

On the barren land, Shen Chang'an walked on by himself, but Li Qingqing behind him couldn’t help but complain bitterly.

Shen Chang'an sighed, looking at her pained face. “Since you know we have a long journey ahead, why didn’t you buy some water and food?”

“Nonsense!” Li Qingqing snapped irritably. “You stubborn ox, I dare not leave your side for even two steps—you’d want to kill me. Besides, I’m penniless. Where would I get any food or water?”

Shen Chang'an frowned; this was indeed an oversight.

Previously, Zheng Xin always carried her own provisions, so he didn’t have to worry about that.

Shen Chang'an himself didn’t need to eat, so he always overlooked buying supplies, resulting in Li Qingqing now nearly dying of thirst.

To make matters worse, this was a wasteland with no sign of any people or resources nearby.

“Ah, no choice then. If worse comes to worst, I’ll find a place later and give Miss Li some... well, my urine to drink.”

“Get lost!” Li Qingqing’s throat was hoarse from thirst, yet she still couldn’t help but curse. “You stubborn ox! I’m your captive already, but you want to feed me urine? Are you even human?”

Shen Chang'an replied seriously, “If we truly can’t find water, this is the only way.”

“Impossible! I’d rather die of thirst here than drink that!”

Shen Chang'an shook his head. “I still need Miss Li’s help rescuing Zheng Xin. I absolutely won’t let you die.”

Li Qingqing fumed with curses but soon had to silence herself as her mouth grew unbearably dry.

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While the two were speaking, a manor suddenly appeared on the horizon, its arrival unnoticed.

“Where there’s life, there’s hope!” Li Qingqing became excited. They had been walking so long, and that stubborn ox seemed immune to hunger or thirst, yet she was about to die of thirst.

Seeing the manor, she immediately jumped up, ready to rush toward it.

Shen Chang'an grabbed her arm. “Be careful, there might be trouble.”

The first day Shen Chang'an came to this world, he fell victim to a giant spider demon’s illusion and nearly died after rushing into a manor that appeared mid-route.

Now, this manor in the wilderness was equally strange, causing Shen Chang'an to halt.

The spider demon’s manor was near a city and man-made. But this one lay dozens of miles from the nearest city.

Although some clans lived in the wild, their fortresses were vast—not a small manor. If bandits passed by, they could easily wipe out such a small estate.

“I don’t care! I’m about to die anyway. Even if there’s trouble, I’m going in to drink my fill first!” Li Qingqing said stubbornly.

Hearing this, Shen Chang'an was helpless. He couldn’t just watch her die.

“Alright, but be cautious.”

He then took out the Zhonglong Jade Talisman and rubbed it on his nose.

Noticing this, Li Qingqing said, “Taoist, maybe you can try to analyze the talisman’s structure.”

“Analyze?” Shen Chang'an looked puzzled.

Li Qingqing waved her hand. “I feel the Zhonglong Jade Talisman should be stronger than we think. Of course, I’m just guessing—you can choose to ignore it.”

Shen Chang'an examined the talisman and nodded. “Got it. Let’s approach first.”

Though the manor was visible, it was still some distance away. They walked until they reached its front.

“Do you smell anything?” Li Qingqing asked cautiously.

Her cultivation was suppressed, so she was extremely careful. If not for her thirst and Shen Chang'an’s threat of giving her “yellow soup,” she wouldn’t approach so easily.

“No, nothing unusual,” Shen Chang'an sniffed lightly.

“Forget it. We’ll just ask for water and leave immediately,” Li Qingqing said, knocking on the door.

Shen Chang'an agreed. Regardless of danger, they wouldn’t provoke anyone.

After a while, the door cautiously opened a crack, revealing a single eye peeking through.

“What are you here for?” a muffled voice asked.

Shen Chang'an and Li Qingqing exchanged glances. Li Qingqing softly replied, “Just travelers passing through. We ran out of water and came to ask the manor owner for a bowl.”

At that moment, Shen Chang'an had placed his belongings on his back, removed the long pole from his pack, and held it in his hand.

The small eye looked at Shen Chang'an, then Li Qingqing, and suddenly slammed the door shut.

“Go away, you poor wretches! If you want water, find it yourselves!”

The two stared in disbelief—such stinginess, refusing even a bowl of water.

Shen Chang'an sighed and looked at Li Qingqing. “Let’s go.”

Li Qingqing bit her lip, a wronged expression on her face. “Taoist, I... I don’t want to drink your…”

Shen Chang'an sighed helplessly. “How about a bit of my saliva to moisten your mouth?”

Li Qingqing jumped up anxiously. “That’s even worse!”

At this moment, Shen Chang'an truly appreciated the value of the “Bigu” (grain avoidance) technique. Cultivators below the celestial realm were still mortal. Without Bigu, their hunger and thirst couldn’t be extinguished. In extreme situations like this, even top masters could starve to death.

No wonder Bigu was considered a divine technique. The more powerful the master, the more terrifying their daily energy consumption. A mortal warrior saint needed to eat a whole ox daily to maintain strength.

But a cultivator with Bigu could draw spiritual energy from the void continuously, filling the body’s needs without external resources, sustaining peak power at all times.

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Shen Chang'an deeply felt that any technique listed among divine arts must be formidable.

“This won’t do, that won’t do. Miss Li, why don’t you suggest a method?”

Li Qingqing pointed at the big door. “You break it down, and we go rob some water.”

Shen Chang'an frowned. “Miss Li, I absolutely cannot agree to that.”

No matter how stingy the manor’s people were, Shen Chang'an would never agree to stealing.

“But if we can’t get any water, I’ll die of thirst!” Li Qingqing said angrily.

Shen Chang'an remained calm and said without a change of expression, “If that happens, Miss Li will have to drink my blood.”

Li Qingqing was startled, not expecting him to say such a thing.

“Taoist, are you crazy?”

Shen Chang'an replied solemnly, “If you won’t drink yellow soup or share saliva, after much thought, blood is the only thing I can offer you.”

Hearing this, Li Qingqing suddenly stopped protesting, extending her hand softly. “Taoist, carry me. You’re fast; we’ll hurry to the next village to get water.”

She could still speak and wasn’t completely weak.

Shen Chang'an smiled faintly. This demoness didn’t seem utterly malicious; at least she knew how to repay kindness.

Just as they were about to leave, a shadow darted overhead, followed by a torrent of liquid drenching them both.

Shen Chang'an was stunned and glanced at the liquid—fresh blood poured down upon them!

And the thing that flew past just now was a severed half-body.

“What the hell is that!?”

Being drenched in blood was no pleasant experience. Li Qingqing quickly wiped her face but only smeared it further. Her once-clean clothes were now filthy.

Shen Chang'an hastily took out two purification talismans, one for each of them, and wiped off the grime before approaching the half-body cautiously.

Though only half a corpse, Shen Chang'an recognized the eyeball—it belonged to the person who had peeked at them earlier.

Why was he suddenly dead?

Shen Chang'an sniffed lightly; a strong stench of blood and an unbearable foul odor emanated from inside.

“There’s demon energy,” Shen Chang'an said quickly.

“Demon energy?” Li Qingqing, still trying to recover from the blood stains, was momentarily confused but snapped to attention upon hearing this.

“Let’s move quickly to avoid being involved,” Li Qingqing said.

Shen Chang'an frowned slightly but whispered, “Forget it. Today, I’ll break down this door so you can drink your fill.”

Li Qingqing frowned, looking aggrieved. “Just at this moment, I don’t want to go inside to drink water.”

Shen Chang'an laughed heartily and said no more. He reached out and gently pressed his hand against the heavy crimson double doors.

Behind the door were thick bars blocking entry; not even a few strong men could easily open it.

But before Shen Chang'an’s divine powers, the barriers were meaningless. Using psychic energy, he lifted the bars and with a slight push, opened the door effortlessly.

What greeted their eyes was... a sea of blood.