The head master has a new female apprentice

Chapter 377 You're just like a mini-Shen Hanyi, please! (6k)

“You already revealed your identity when you used ‘Heart-Burning Bone-Corroding Flame’ on me. Why hide your identity any longer? It would be beneath your dignity.”

After several clashes and separations, Shen Hanyi spoke in a cold voice, her voice like ice that had stood for millennia, piercing through the void.

A hoarse chuckle came from within the black mist, tinged with feigned confusion: "What 'Heart-Burning, Bone-Corroding Flame'? What are you talking about? I don't understand."

Before he finished speaking, the black mist suddenly surged.

A stark white bone claw suddenly tore through the void, its tip wreathed in eerie, ghostly green flames, and with a power capable of tearing apart heaven and earth, it slammed down directly towards Shen Hanyi's head!
"boom--!"

Shen Hanyi's eyes narrowed, and with a slight lift of her hand, a thousand-foot-long ice wall instantly formed in front of her.

Countless mysterious runes appeared on the crystal-clear ice wall as bone claws slammed heavily against it.

A deafening roar erupted, and ice shards scattered like a torrential rain.

Strangely, the shattered ice crystals did not fall; instead, they hovered in the air and reformed at a visible speed.

Then, the extreme cold spread rapidly along the bone claw, and ice crystals clung to it as if they were alive.

In the blink of an eye, the entire bone claw was frozen and continued to erode deeper into the black mist!

“Ka-ka-ka—”

The freezing sounds continued, and a muffled groan came from within the black mist. The frozen bone claw shuddered violently, and spiderweb-like cracks appeared on the surface of the ice.

But the newly formed ice immediately filled the gap and burst forth with dazzling light!

"You think you can seal me with mere ice?" A hoarse, cold laugh came from within the black mist.

"boom!"

The bone claw suddenly shattered, turning into a sky full of dark green phosphorescent flames that sizzled as they burned the ice crystals.

Shen Hanyi's eyes turned cold, and a wisp of icy blue Dao principle condensed at her fingertips. She said softly, "Ice Soul - Condensation".

"Om-"

The void trembled, and the corroded ice crystals suddenly reformed, transforming into billions of tiny ice needles that shot towards the black mist.

"Is that all you've got?" A disdainful snort came from the black mist. Then, a pitch-black barrier appeared out of thin air and swallowed all the ice needles.

However, a cold smile appeared on Shen Hanyi's lips.

"burst."

"Boom--!"

The swallowed ice needles suddenly exploded inside the black barrier, and the terrifying power of ice instantly froze the entire barrier, which then crumbled inch by inch!

The figure in the black mist was finally forced back half a step, revealing half of its pale face—it was an old man with a withered face and a cold, eerie light flashing in his eyes.

"Little girl, you've got some skills."

Shen Hanyi stopped talking nonsense, formed a hand seal, and the cold aura around her suddenly surged, as if the entire world was frozen.

"boom--!"

The phantom of a vast glacier appeared behind her, and on the glacier, an ice phoenix with wingspans of a thousand feet spread its wings and cried out.

Endless frost swept across the heavens and earth, freezing even space itself with fine cracks!

The old man in the black mist changed his expression slightly, then grinned maliciously: "Netherworld Bone Path - Nine Hells Appear!"

"Om-"

The entire sky suddenly darkened, and the phantom images of nine giant bronze gates emerged from the void, with viscous black blood seeping from the cracks in the gates.

When the Ice Phoenix's frost touched the giant gate, all the cold air was corrupted into foul-smelling blood ice!
Shen Hanyi's eyes turned cold. She bit her tongue hard, spitting out a mouthful of blood. The blood mist condensed in the air into three alluring blood lotuses.

A miniature phantom of an ice phoenix appeared at the heart of the lotus, its wings spreading out to resonate with the heavens and earth.

The temperature of the entire Wuxiang Mountain plummeted again, and Xuanyuan Shuo, who was watching the battle, had no choice but to summon the Nine Dragon Seal to shield the three of them from the cold.

"Wow!"

The ice phoenixes within the blood lotus cried out simultaneously, their sound waves transforming into tangible azure ripples.

The contaminated ice suddenly exploded, each fragment bursting with blinding aurora.

The old man in the black mist groaned, and most of the mist surrounding him was purified, revealing his bluish arm covered with corpse spots.

"Good! Good! Good!" the withered old man said three times, his rotting vocal cords emitting a metallic scraping sound.

His withered chest heaved violently, and he spat out an ancient bronze seal from his mouth.

The ancient seal grew taller in the wind, eventually becoming the size of a mountain. The four ancient seal characters "Youming Zhenyu" on the seal surface shimmered with an eerie blood-red light.

"Let me show you the true Netherworld Bone Path!"

The old man's ten fingers, like hooks, traced strange lines on his chest.

The ancient bronze seal trembled violently, and a thick, ink-like aura of the underworld gushed forth from its base.

These black wisps condensed in the air into nine ferocious bone dragons, each with a pale white skull embedded in its vertebrae.

As the bone dragon swam, the skeletons simultaneously let out mournful howls, the sound waves causing rocks within a radius of a thousand miles to shatter.

"Nine Netherworld Dragon Summoning Technique? It seems I was right after all!" Shen Hanyi's pupils shrank sharply, and she dared not be negligent at all.

Her jade hand tapped seven times in the void, each tap blooming into an ice crystal lotus.

Seven lotus flowers bloomed instantly, their hearts emitting dazzling aurora.

These rays of light intertwined in the air to form a net, temporarily blocking the approaching bone dragon.

But then those skulls suddenly spewed out foul-smelling green flames, scorching countless holes in the light net.

The old man seized the opportunity to bite his tongue, spitting a mouthful of black blood onto the bronze seal.

The four characters "幽冥镇狱" on the seal seemed to come alive, transforming into four blood-red chains that pierced through the air.

Wherever the chains passed, even the space itself was corroded and left charred marks.

"What is this?!" Shen Hanyi's expression finally changed.

She could sense that these chains seemed to be specifically designed to suppress the primordial spirit; once entangled, even she would be severely injured.

She decisively chopped off a strand of silver hair with her fingers, and the strand ignited in the air with icy blue Dao flames.

"Use your hair instead of your body, and cut it off!"

The moment the chains entangled the Dao Fire, Shen Hanyi's true form appeared a thousand feet away.

But the chain tip still grazed his left arm, instantly revealing a spiderweb-like black pattern.

Without hesitation, she cleaved off her infected left arm at the shoulder with a palm strike as sharp as a knife.

The severed arm froze into an ice sculpture before it even hit the ground, while a new arm rapidly regenerated from the wound.

The old man grinned maliciously, "Let's see how many times you can break it!"

As he spoke, he tore open the robe on his chest, revealing a bizarre array composed of three hundred and sixty bone nails.

Each bone nail was engraved with a different curse rune, and it was now gleaming with a scarlet light.

Just as the old man was about to activate the formation, the entire space suddenly trembled violently.

A deep voice echoed from the heavens: "Oh my, isn't this the ice beauty from the Shen family? Do you need any help?"

"boom!"

Space was violently torn apart, and a burly figure nearly two meters tall stepped out into the air.
His bare upper body was muscular and bulging, and his broad back muscles were etched with ancient battle markings that rose and fell with his breath like a living thing.

Behind him followed a giant, silver-white elephant.

With a flick of its trunk, the giant elephant transformed into a two-meter-tall man, exuding the aura of a mid-stage Spirit Slaying Realm cultivator.

"Zhao Muye!" Upon seeing that it was Zhao Muye, Zhou Qing and Shen Yunzhou both breathed a sigh of relief.

Xuanyuan Shuo frowned and said in a low voice, "It's them!"

He clearly remembered that the last time he saw his elder brother fighting against the late-stage Spirit Slayer with the black sword was in this very place. He had later entered the battlefield to provide support and had seen them on a mountain peak.

However, after the young man with the black knife left, they chased after him.

It seems that they all come from the same place.

Shen Hanyi frowned slightly when she saw Zhao Muye.

Zhao Muye laughed loudly and said, "The eight great families of Nanhuang Prefecture have always been closely connected, and they should help each other, especially when they are away from home."

"Hey, old man, you don't mind, do you?"

The old man's face was ashen, and he gritted his teeth, saying, "Zhao family brat!"

"Oh, you know me?" Zhao Muye raised an exaggerated eyebrow. "Great Perfection of the Spirit Severing Realm? I've never seen anyone like you before?"

He waved his hand casually, "Whatever, I love fighting. You're really angry right now, so you can really beat me to a pulp, the worse the better."

He turned to the burly man with the silver elephant and said, "Old Bai, you shouldn't interfere. It's not fair for two against one, and it'll only give people something to talk about."

The burly man stood with his arms crossed, and said in a deep voice, "I can't be bothered. But..."

He looked at Shen Hanyi, "It seems she has broken through to the Great Perfection stage."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Muyi turned his head sharply, and after carefully sensing the surroundings, his eyes widened: "Great Perfection? How is that possible! That dung beetle Shen Yunzhou clearly said that you haven't even broken through to the late stage!"

Shen Yunzhou, standing next to Zhou Qing, immediately blushed.

It's one thing to say he's lying, but why add "dung beetle" to that?
Shen Hanyi ignored him, her gaze fixed on the old man, a chilling mist rising around her as she rapidly drew out wisps of profound Dao patterns, ready to deliver a fatal blow at any moment.

The old man's gaze swept over the three men like a venomous snake, his cloudy eyes flashing with a sinister light.

When he looked at Shen Hanyi, his chapped lips twisted into a ferocious smile: "Next time, you won't be so lucky."

"Sizzle—" A dark crack was violently torn open in space, and the old man's withered body began to fade into nothingness.

"Did I say you could leave?" Shen Hanyi snorted coldly, raised her jade hand slightly, and a cold, icy blue light shot out from her fingertips, blasting towards the old man.

At the same time, Zhao Muye laughed wildly: "Want to leave? Did you ask me first!"

He slammed his fists together, and a visible shockwave erupted.

The violent force shattered the spatial structure within a radius of a hundred feet, causing the originally stable spatial rifts to twist violently.

"Damn it!" the old man cursed, his body becoming fragmented in the distorted space.

He glared at the two of them with venom, then suddenly bit his tongue and spat out a mouthful of blood: "Blood Shadow Escape!"

The essence and blood instantly turned into a sky full of blood mist, and the old man's figure completely disappeared in the blood mist.

Shen Hanyi's silver hair flew wildly, and an ice lotus condensed beneath her feet, carrying her away in an instant.

Zhao Muyi let out a long roar, his muscles bulging, and he used his physical body to tear through the void and give chase...

Upon seeing this, Xuan Yuanshuo's eyes flashed with a sharp light, and he suddenly reached out and grabbed Zhou Qing and Shen Yunzhou's shoulders.

He laughed and said, "How can we miss such a wonderful show? Let's go and see."

Before he finished speaking, the Nine Dragon Seal, which had been used to block the cold air, grew in the wind and became about ten feet in size, hovering at the feet of the three people.

The nine jade dragons are lifelike, emitting brilliant spiritual light.

Xuanyuan Shuo made a hand seal and pointed, and the jade seal, carrying the three of them, transformed into a streak of light and soared into the sky.

Soon, they saw the trails left by Shen Hanyi's ice lotus and Zhao Muye's physical body as they broke through the air.

The three of them rode in the Kowloon Seal at an extremely fast speed, and in the blink of an eye, they had covered a thousand miles.

In the distance, the aftershocks of the fierce battle could be seen exploding in the void, sometimes filling the sky with frost, sometimes churning with blood and energy. In particular, Zhao Muye's berserk battle domain shattered space wherever his fists passed.

Unfortunately, in the end, the old man still seized the opportunity, tore open a spatial rift, and escaped.

Shen Hanyi and Zhao Muyi also disappeared into the space.

"Forget it, unless we can lock down the space, it's simply impossible to leave behind a Great Perfection of the Spirit Severing Realm!"

Xuanyuan Shuo gazed at the gradually dissipating spatial fluctuations, sighed deeply, and a trace of helplessness flashed in his eyes.

Zhou Qing remained silent, but in his heart he deeply agreed.

Not long ago, when Xuan Yuanhao and Xuan Yuansha joined forces to hunt him and Sikong Yan down, the treasure that sealed off the space made it impossible for them to move an inch, leaving them in a truly miserable state.

If a powerful expert at the Great Perfection of the Spirit Severing Realm is determined to escape, it is indeed difficult to keep them unless a trap is set up in advance.

"It seems you've made a wasted trip." Xuan Yuanshuo shook his head, a hint of apology on his face. "I hope she can come back."

With that, he waved his sleeve, and the Nine Dragon Seal, carrying the three of them, slowly turned around and flew back the way they came.

Shen Yunzhou stood on the jade seal, gazing at the gradually calming spatial fluctuations in the distance, a hint of worry flashing in his eyes.

Zhou Qingze gazed thoughtfully into the distance, seemingly lost in thought.

……

Not long after, the two returned to the inn's courtyard.

Lu Yaoyao was sitting at the stone table, leisurely enjoying the exquisite pastries, a faint smile on her lips.

She knew the two of them wouldn't fight. Even if ten more Shen Yunzhous came, they wouldn't stand a chance against her father.

However, his artistic conception is so disgusting that I don't bother to fight with him.

"Fourth!"

"Little A-Qing!"

Gui'ao and Luo Lingling, who had just returned from buying gifts, came out of the side room upon hearing the noise.

Zhou Qing nodded slightly in acknowledgment, then stepped forward and whispered to Luo Lingling, "Senior Sister, there's something I'd like to tell you."

He then led Luo Lingling to the sycamore tree in the corner of the courtyard and told her about the white crane.

Luo Lingling remained silent for a long time after listening.

Seeing this, Zhou Qing didn't disturb them but returned to his own room.

Pushing open the carved wooden window, Zhou Qing looked at the bustling street scene outside and suddenly felt an invisible pressure coming over him.

Having come into contact with too many experts at the Spirit Severing Realm during this period, he deeply realized that those at the Divine Transformation Realm were nothing more than slightly larger ants in the face of such experts.

Even his proud status as a fourth-level array master proved so fragile in the face of absolute power.

Poison, cultivation techniques, supernatural powers, even threats from sects—the Spirit Severing Realm has countless ways to make him submit.

The appearance of Yama, in particular, made him feel an unprecedented sense of urgency.

He must raise his strength to the Spirit Severing Realm as soon as possible.

According to the original plan, he was supposed to possess a large number of Five Elements Spirit Stones and two thousand top-grade spirit stones obtained from the royal treasury.

The "Subduing Demons Golden Bone" supernatural power, the ancient tea tree of enlightenment, and the foundation of the Four Flowers Gathering at the Top.

Refining the three Blood Phoenix Tribulation Crystals of Nangong Xiongba, a Spirit Severing Realm cultivator, along with the jade slips obtained with the help of the Lu sisters, and the nine Spirit Severing Insights from the Azure Wave Heavenly Lake, Nangong Xiongba's Spirit Severing Experience.
In addition, there is the four-colored magic array "Nine Revolutions Spirit Condensation Array" that is of great benefit to spirit slaying, which is inherited from Xuan Qingzi's memories.

These resources increased his chances of breaking through to 90%, far exceeding the old emperor's secret medicine, which only had a 30% success rate.

Moreover, after this unexpected dual cultivation with Shen Hanyi, although he didn't know what her constitution was, that wisp of cold energy made him touch the threshold of the Spirit Severing Realm once again.

Zhou Qing could clearly feel that the chill was always with him when his spiritual energy circulated within his body.

As it circulates through the meridians, each cycle makes the spiritual energy more condensed and pure.

"Ninety-nine percent certainty," Zhou Qing muttered to himself, his eyes gleaming.

He opened his palm, and a wisp of icy blue cold air slowly swirled in his palm.

The profound Daoist principles contained within this chilling aura deepened his understanding of the Spirit Severing Realm.

"I wonder how those materials that Elder Mo found for me are doing?" Zhou Qing looked out the window with some anticipation.

Since their last meeting at the Duobao Chamber of Commerce, Elder Mo promised to do his best to collect the remaining materials.

But now the situation is urgent, and he can no longer wait passively.

The Nine Revolutions Spirit Condensation Array is a medium-level array among the four-color arrays, and it is extremely difficult to refine.

Although he was a newly promoted fourth-level array master, it was extremely difficult for him to perfectly refine this array.

When he last visited the Duobao Chamber of Commerce, although Elder Mo was missing a dozen or so items of materials, most of the basic materials were already complete.

"Perhaps we can refine the basic part of the formation first," Zhou Qing thought to himself.

After thinking it through completely, he immediately summoned Lu Yaoyao, Gui'ao, and Luo Lingling to explain his plan in detail.

After listening, the three expressed their support without hesitation.

Out of caution, Luo Lingling booked all the surrounding rooms to ensure that no one would disturb her.

That very night, Shen Yunzhou sneaked into Zhou Qing's room.

"I advise you to wait two more days," he said in a low voice.

Zhou Qing was silent for a moment, then sighed softly: "What must be faced will eventually have to be faced. I'll wait for her for half a month."

Shen Yunzhou grinned: "Don't worry, brother-in-law, my sister won't do anything to you. You still have me, don't you?"

"First of all, don't call me brother-in-law." Zhou Qing glanced at him sideways. "Secondly, you? You're like a mouse before a cat when you see your sister. What can I expect from you?"

"Hey, you just don't understand!" Shen Yunzhou puffed out his chest, looking smug.

"I was just pretending! Who am I, Shen Yunzhou? I'm the future Shit Emperor... wait..."

Before he could finish speaking, he seemed to sense something, patted his storage bag, and saw a jade platform flashing continuously, faster and faster.

"Oh no! My sister's here!" He jumped up in a panic. "Brother Zhou, you'd better pray for yourself!" He then ran out the door and fled.

Zhou Qing's heart sank, but since things had come to this point, he could only grit his teeth and face it.

Before long, a bone-chilling cold suddenly enveloped the entire courtyard.

Lu Yaoyao, who was meditating and adjusting her breathing, suddenly opened her eyes, a look of surprise on her face.

She had just gotten up to open the door when Shen Yunzhou rushed in like a gust of wind and slammed the door shut behind her.

"Girl! Take my advice, whatever you do, don't go out!" Shen Yunzhou's forehead was covered in sweat, and his voice was trembling. "Anyone who goes out now is doomed!"

Lu Yaoyao tilted her head, looking puzzled: "Why?"

"Children shouldn't pry into adult matters!" Shen Yunzhou paced anxiously, then suddenly grabbed Lu Yaoyao's shoulder. "By the way! Doesn't my sister like you a lot?"

"Look at her hair, it's exactly the same as hers, she's a mini Shen Hanyi!"

As he spoke, he quickly pulled out two top-grade spirit stones and stuffed them into Lu Yaoyao's hand, his voice trembling: "If she gets angry later, you have to say a few good words for me, I'm begging you!"

Lu Yaoyao blinked, becoming even more curious.

What exactly happened?
……

At this moment, the room where Zhou Qing was located had long since turned into an ice cave, with the biting cold air condensing into frost.

He stood frozen in place, awkwardly staring at the white figure at the doorway.

Shen Hanyi stood quietly in front of the door, dressed in white, her silver hair flowing like a waterfall, her face lightly covered by a veil.

Only those icy blue eyes pierced through the chill, staring straight at you with a coldness that sent shivers down your spine.

“Um…” Zhou Qing’s Adam’s apple bobbed, his voice dry and unlike his own.

He instinctively stepped back, his back hitting the cold window frame.

Shen Hanyi walked slowly closer, and with each step she took, ice flowers bloomed on the ground.

She stopped three steps away from Zhou Qing, her gaze sweeping across his face like a knife.

"Um, I really didn't take advantage of you!" Zhou Qing hurriedly explained, "Your brother tore off the veil, it has nothing to do with me!"

Zhou Qing betrayed Shen Yunzhou without hesitation.

Shen Hanyi remained silent, but her breathing beneath the veil seemed to quicken slightly.

Zhou Qing swallowed hard, forcing herself to continue, "I was about to leave when you suddenly pounced on me."

"Shut up!" Shen Hanyi's voice trembled slightly, a hint of panic flashed in her icy eyes, and a suspicious blush appeared on the tips of her ears.

Zhou Qing immediately fell silent, but after a moment's thought, he gritted his teeth and asked, "So what exactly do you want?"

"That senior," Shen Hanyi suddenly changed the subject, "what did he look like?"

"What?" Zhou Qing was taken aback.

"The one who taught you the Inscription-level Divine Power 'Hundred Tribulations Blood Curtain'," Shen Hanyi's voice returned to its cold tone, "tell me more about it."

Zhou Qing was taken aback; this was an opportunity to probe the details of "Number One".

“That senior was wearing a mask the whole time, so I couldn’t see his face clearly,” Zhou Qing replied cautiously.

Shen Hanyi narrowed her icy eyes and asked three questions in a row: "When did you meet? And why did he teach you inscription-level divine abilities? How many strands of Phoenix Dao patterns have you cultivated so far?"

Zhou Qing gazed at the beautiful woman so close to him, and that familiar fragrance once again lingered around his nose.

No, this person's identity is more important than your innocence?

Could it be a deliberate attempt to change the subject and ease the awkwardness?
"This is a long story," Zhou Qing said, feigning seriousness.

"I have plenty of time!" Shen Hanyi waved her hand lightly, and the cold air instantly sealed the room into a separate space.

She sat down gracefully, adopting an attitude of attentive listening.

Zhou Qing secretly groaned.

After all, "Number One" is himself, and you asked so suddenly, I haven't figured out how to make it up yet.

He carefully considered his words, but his gaze involuntarily fell on Shen Hanyi.

She sat upright in the chair in front of him, her silhouette partially obscured by a veil, her icy blue eyes fixed intently on him.

“Actually,” Zhou Qingqing cleared her throat, “my encounter with that senior was purely accidental.”

“At that time, the five sects of the Eastern Region held the Treasure Exchange Meeting,” Zhou Qing said while observing her reaction.

“Disciples from different sects often spar to entertain each other. My cultivation is still shallow. When I saw the Golden Thunder Sect and the Azure Feather Immortal Sect competing, I couldn’t help but marvel at their mysterious supernatural powers.”

Then someone nearby scoffed, saying those were just rudimentary techniques.

As Zhou Qing spoke, the chill in the room seemed to intensify, and he could even clearly see the white breath he exhaled.

Shen Hanyi remained motionless, her face expressionless.

"Then he said I had extraordinary bone structure and was a martial arts prodigy, one in a million. I guess he could tell at the time that I had refined the number one Yin-Yang Qi."

As Zhou Qing finished speaking, Shen Hanyi's icy eyes narrowed slightly, as if she were scrutinizing the truthfulness of his words.

"Oh, right, to add something, that Yin-Yang energy was given to me by my second uncle. I don't know exactly how I got it."

Zhou Qing quickly replied.

(End of this chapter)