bookandnovel Chapter 14690 Trading
Chapter 14690 Trading
Chapter 14690 Trading
At this moment, the Queen Mother leaned against a huge vermilion gourd, seemingly asleep but not quite. On the table were several small jade cups, from which wisps of white steam slowly rose, emitting a strange fragrance that was definitely not the smell of wine.
However, the occasional glint of light in her half-open eyes revealed a chillingly sinister aura.
Ling Xiao moved with the lightness of a cat, his aura completely concealed. He stepped forward and stopped steadily three zhang away from the woman, bowing deeply and speaking respectfully: "Junior Ling Xiao greets Senior Mother Empress."
The Queen Mother's eyelashes drooped, her breathing was long and deep, as if she were still immersed in a deep sleep, completely unaware of Ling Xiao's arrival, and she didn't even lift her eyelids.
Ling Xiao was extremely patient and did not rush. He stood quietly in the cold mist, his body as straight as a pine tree, waiting patiently.
After a moment, he spoke slowly, his voice neither too loud nor too soft, just loud enough for the Queen Mother to hear:
"I have come here not to bother you unnecessarily, but to talk to you about the 'Demon Lord Black Sky Sword' and... the supreme mystery that it might unlock, leading to the outside world."
As soon as the words "outside the boundary" were uttered, the Queen Mother's eyelashes finally trembled slightly.
The next second, she slowly opened her eyes a crack, her cloudy yet unusually clear gaze, like an ancient, stagnant pool, suddenly falling upon Ling Xiao, her hoarse voice carrying the vicissitudes of time:
"Boy, are you trying to get me to help you deal with the Sword Star Sanctuary?"
Ling Xiao nodded frankly, without any concealment: "Yes. But I did not ask for help without offering my own words; I also brought sufficient reward. That 'Demon Lord Black Heaven Sword' is by no means a simple key; it contains the true essence of laws and the original Dao that transcends this world."
"If we can gain some insight from the level of our predecessors, we might be able to break through our current constraints and take that crucial step."
The Queen Mother gave Ling Xiao a deep look, her gaze seemingly able to penetrate his very soul. Then she slowly shook her head, her tone resolute: "That sword is not in the hands of the Sword Star Holy Temple."
Ling Xiao's heart skipped a beat, and a chill instantly ran through his body, but he forced himself to remain calm and cupped his hands in greeting:
"Why do you say that, senior? Many fellow cultivators witnessed the battle for the sacred artifact that day, and in the end, the aura of the sacred artifact clearly landed on Li Cangshan of the Sword Star Sacred Hall..."
Stop making excuses.
The Queen Mother raised her hand to interrupt him, a half-smile curving her lips, her hoarse voice carrying a hint of mockery.
"That sword, from beginning to end, was with you, kid. The Sword Star Sanctuary and those idiots from Breaking Boundaries Mountain were all played like fools by you, used as pawns."
Ling Xiao's expression changed abruptly, but he quickly regained his composure.
Faced with this ancient monster who had lived for countless years, and having already been seen through, further sophistry would only make him a laughingstock; there was no need to play clever tricks. He readily admitted, "Senior, your insight is truly remarkable; I admire you."
"Admire?" The Queen Mother waved her hand, glancing sideways at Ling Xiao, her tone full of worldly wisdom, laziness, and amusement. "I've lived this long and seen shameless people, but I've never seen anyone as shameless as you."
While demonic cultivators may indeed take unorthodox paths and act unpredictably, the fact that they can lie so brazenly, and even set up a series of traps to make two top-tier forces bleed for them and restrain each other… wow, truly a formidable young talent. I admire them greatly.
Ling Xiao: "..."
He opened his mouth, but ultimately said nothing. Before absolute insight, any explanation is superfluous.
The Queen Mother, leaning against the large gourd, had no intention of stopping there. She continued slowly, "I've seen plenty of these tricks you're playing back in the day, and I've probably played them myself."
"You took advantage of the Broken Realm Mountain's greed for the Demon Sword and used them to restrain the Sword Star Holy Hall. The Sword Star Holy Hall initially underestimated you, but you schemed against them repeatedly, causing them to lose top combat power like Yun Yin. Now they regret it too late, but they are intimidated by the power behind you and are hesitant to act against you."
She paused, her cloudy eyes locking onto Ling Xiao again, a hint of inquiry in them: "Knowing that I'm here, and there are a few other old fogies hiding in the quiet, why didn't you expose you or take direct action against you, even though you clearly saw through the scheme?"
Ling Xiao remained silent, quietly awaiting her answer.
The Queen Mother gave a soft snort and slowly said, "Because I don't want to get involved in this mess. Who wouldn't want a treasure like the 'Demon Lord Black Heaven Sword'? But the karma associated with that thing is too deep, and you..."
"The waters run deeper, especially with the entities you're involved with. We're old folks, half our bodies are buried in the ground, all we want is peace and quiet, we don't want to get involved in these deadly troubles."
Having reached their level, they have long since grasped the essence of cause and effect, and hold in awe of the unseen backlash from the Heavenly Dao.
Killing Ling Xiao is not difficult; the difficulty lies in how to bear the karmic consequences behind the Demon Sword after killing him, and how to deal with the terrifying existence that may exist behind Ling Xiao.
The treasure was valuable, but also extremely dangerous. They hadn't reached the point of desperation and had to gamble everything, so naturally they didn't want to easily succumb to such a catastrophic disaster. The stronger they were, the greater their reverence for cause and effect.
Ling Xiao remained silent for a moment, then looked up at his mother, a resolute glint in his eyes: "Senior, since that's the case, how about we make a deal?"
The Queen Mother raised an eyebrow, neither agreeing nor refusing, but simply watching him quietly, signaling him to continue.
Ling Xiao smiled slightly, his tone carrying a hint of certainty: "If senior truly has no interest in the 'outside world' or the mysteries of cultivation in higher dimensions, then this junior will take his leave today and will not disturb you any further."
After saying that, he turned and left, his steps decisive and without the slightest hesitation, as if he really wanted to give up this deal that concerned his life and death.
Just as he took a step...
hum!
A strange, gentle yet overwhelming power quietly spread out, like an invisible shackle, instantly freezing Ling Xiao in place. This power seemed mild, yet it rendered him unable to move even a finger, and his spiritual energy was completely imprisoned.
The Queen Mother's slightly hoarse voice came from behind, carrying a hint of barely perceptible urgency: "Tell me your terms of the deal."
Ling Xiao slowly turned around and looked at his mother, his expression calm: "The path of cultivation outside the realm has long surpassed the simple accumulation of power in this realm. What they study is the more fundamental and profound mystery of origin."
"Many of the techniques and principles we practice today may just be minor details left over from a certain stage of their development, and they don't touch the core at all."
As he spoke, he opened his right palm.
With a slight thought, the sacred rune of the law within his body, which originated from the "Demon Lord Black Heaven Sword" and contained profound spatial mysteries, suddenly lit up. A wisp of extremely pure spatial law power gathered and flowed in his palm, emitting an aura that transcended the rules of this world.
Ling Xiao gently clenched his five fingers, then slowly opened them outwards.
boom!
As he opened and closed his palms, the space within a radius of about ten feet around him twisted, folded, and reassembled like soft silk!