Chapter Fifteen: Withered Chrysanthemums

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First update of the day, three updates today!

Lady Gao showed no surprise, indignation, or sorrow. She merely smiled at Lei Xiang and said calmly, “I didn’t expect you to be hiding such skill. If destroying my treasure mirror with the Heavenly Crystal was luck, then taking out the Fat Dragon in the low wall with a single move is sheer strength.”

Lei Xiang replied, “All I know is that you won’t be taking the Lotus Plate today, nor will you gain any advantage.”

Lady Gao suddenly cast him a coquettish glance. “I know you’re not from the Ten Thousand Talismans Sect, so why risk your life for them? We could have a proper conversation; you can ask for whatever you desire.”

Lei Xiang winked and uttered something peculiar: “I want you to take off your clothes.”

Lady Gao was momentarily stunned, then responded in a sultry tone, “Such poor manners for someone so young. I’m not that kind of woman. How can you ask that right after meeting me?”

Lei Xiang paid her no mind, but his gaze was fixed on Gao Tianchan, whose expression was remarkably calm, as if the alluring woman belonged to someone else.

Lei Xiang turned to Lady Gao and said, “Now we can truly talk.”

Prison Seal!

Lady Gao had no time to react to the two words Lei Xiang suddenly spoke, nor was she able to. She felt her spiritual power languid and unable to gather, then found herself bound by countless frames large and small, her spiritual power utterly unusable.

Lady Gao thought, “A mere sealing technique; let’s see how I break it.”

She kept a smile on her face. “Young man, you’ve tied me up; how can we talk? Unless… unless you really do want me to take off my clothes.”

Lei Xiang replied coolly, “There’s no need for that now, my esteemed leader Gao Tianchan.”

The entire crowd was stunned at these words. Clearly, she was Lady Gao; how had she become the chief Gao Tianchan?

Hundreds present wondered this, but Lady Gao voiced the question. Lei Xiang said, “Stop acting. You are the real Gao Tianchan; that one was merely your substitute, perhaps a lover or subordinate.”

“Why?”

Lei Xiang explained, “There are several pieces of evidence. First, throughout this affair, the false chief always acted on your cues; only you could command. Second, all fourteen elite members of the Tianchan Sect died, and he showed no reaction, while you fainted from grief. Third, when I teased you, he didn’t respond, but you dared flirt with a stranger before the chief—does that make sense? Fourth, the puppet lacked the air and bearing of a true commander, something that can’t be faked. These four points are enough to prove you are the chief.”

Lady Gao said only two words: “Not enough.”

Lei Xiang ignored her, turned, and addressed Lei Xiang: “Sect Master Fu, quickly bind the false Gao Tianchan; leave the rest to me.”

Lei Xiang’s recent actions had deeply impressed and convinced the other Lei Xiang of his analytical and decisive ability. “Alright, you have my trust.”

He continued directing the attack on the false chief, subtly handing the reins of the battle to Lei Xiang.

Seeing Lei Xiang arranging the forces and paying her no mind, Lady Gao was secretly pleased, though she cursed aloud, “Just because you claim I’m the chief with a few words, everyone knows the chief is a man; you saw his avatar at Lei Fortress, so you should know.”

Lei Xiang calmly replied, “The chief is a man, but I never said you were a woman.”

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“What? You mean I’m a man? Would a man spend all day looking in the mirror?”

Lei Xiang didn’t answer directly. “Your Tianchan Sect recruits the disabled; all of you have your flaws, but why are you untouched?”

Before she could respond, Lei Xiang answered for her, “Because you have no physical disability, but you are sick in the mind—a pervert!”

Lady Gao’s eyes grew vicious. “You fantasize about being a woman, so you try to show it everywhere. That Condensed Flower Treasure Mirror is just your way of hiding the truth. Look at your flat chest, ha!”

Lady Gao gritted her teeth. “Are you really just a teenager? How could you know so much? I think you’re the real pervert here.”

Lei Xiang thought, “I lived thirty years in my previous life, how could I lack such experience?”

Lady Gao suddenly said, “Fine, I admit I am Gao Tianchan. So what? I’ll still kill you, and everyone from the Ten Thousand Talismans Sect will die, ha ha!”

“Tsk tsk, your voice has changed. Why aren’t you acting coy anymore? Did your throat catch appendicitis?”

Lady Gao gave a sinister smile and then asked a strange question, “Do you know why I’ve talked so much with you?”

Lei Xiang answered calmly, “Because you want to stall for time, to break through my seal.”

Now it was Lady Gao’s turn to be surprised. “If you know that, then why…”

Lei Xiang cut him off, “First, I exposed your identity. Then, I used Prison Seal to lock your spiritual power; though it’s a top-tier technique, our cultivation gap is vast, so I never expected to trap you for long.”

Gao Tianchan didn’t understand Lei Xiang’s motives, but he realized this eleven-layered Qi Refiner was the most troublesome enemy he’d ever faced. He reached for his storage pouch.

“The reason I wanted you to stall is because I needed time myself—to set up a grand formation and pin you here. Now that you’ve broken the seal, try moving.”

Gao Tianchan’s heart leapt. He fully understood the purpose of stalling. If Lei Xiang was so brazen, he must have something else up his sleeve.

She tried to lift her leg but couldn’t budge; her feet felt rooted to the spot.

What kind of sorcery was this?

“Hehe, you’ve never seen this, have you? This is my own creation, ‘Drawing a Prison on the Ground.’ I’ve sealed a strand of your consciousness at the formation’s core. Now, does your left head hurt?”

Gao Tianchan’s face turned ashen; sure enough, his left rear skull throbbed painfully. The boy spoke the truth.

“I won’t let you die easily. Prepare to taste the Eighteen Techniques of Tianchan.” Gao Tianchan drew a foot-long hammer from his storage pouch, tossed it skyward, and it emitted a pale white glow. He quickly formed seals with both hands, sending a series of techniques forth.

Lei Xiang forced himself to stay calm. He knew Gao Tianchan would pull out a trump card. Judging by the hammer, it was a top-tier item, equal to his Helan Shield. But in the hands of a genuine Foundation Establishment cultivator, its power would be tenfold greater.

Thinking this, Lei Xiang threw out three beast-skin tents, layering them as shields, then covertly gripped an object in his right palm.

Before he finished, Gao Tianchan had completed his spell, pointing at the hammer, which descended from above, aiming for Lei Xiang’s head.

“Break!” With a dull thud, the first beast-skin tent was obliterated instantly.

The hammer shuddered, then swung back, swelling to five fathoms under Gao Tianchan’s changing seals, and slashed downward.

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“Crack!”

The hammer’s head emitted a bright white lightning bolt, speeding toward Lei Xiang.

Thunder Hammer!

Lei Xiang had just identified the artifact when the bolt pierced two beast-skin tents, about to hit him squarely.

In the midst of chaos, Lei Xiang slapped the ground, his body’s spiritual power surging madly, his meridians nearly bursting with energy—was he about to break through again?

Now wasn’t the time to ponder that. He had to escape danger first. Using the force of his slap, he sprang up, and the spot he’d just stood on exploded with a thunderous blast, leaving a gaping pit.

“Huh!”

Gao Tianchan exclaimed in disbelief. The top-tier Thunder Hammer’s strike—even Fu Lintian couldn’t guarantee to withstand it—yet this eleven-layered Qi Refiner dodged with ease? Astonishing.

Lei Xiang, airborne, produced a mounting talisman, inserted a spirit stone, activated the horse’s eye, and leapt onto its back, circling Gao Tianchan. “Hehe, you can’t hit me now.”

“Ha, you think just because I can’t move I can’t kill you? You’re too…” The word “naive” never left his lips.

Because Gao Tianchan suddenly felt a cold, hard object pierce his rear, then travel up through his body into his throat.

A sharp pain in the throat—and then nothing.

Nothing meant everything was gone: breath, heartbeat, thought. Then he saw Lei Xiang’s smiling face and bared little tiger teeth.

Gao Tianchan’s Adam’s apple convulsed, as if wanting to speak, but couldn’t utter a word.

At that moment, Lei Xiang spoke, “You don’t understand what happened? Let me clarify so you can die with understanding. I trapped you with my ground prison, then, while dodging the Thunder Hammer, secretly drove the Chrysanthemum Spike underground. I drew your attention in the air, then waited for the spike to ambush you from below.”

“This move is called ‘Chrysanthemum Ruin’!”

“The Chrysanthemum Spike is actually the horn of a third-tier beast I slew, refined and augmented with Earth Escape techniques, allowing it to burrow underground and deliver a surprise attack.”

Lei Xiang gestured, collecting Gao Tianchan’s storage pouch and the Thunder Hammer. He was in high spirits, having resolved the crisis for the Ten Thousand Talismans Sect and fulfilled his oath to avenge Old Master Lei. Suddenly, he noticed something strange in Gao Tianchan’s eyes, sensed something amiss, and quickly retreated two fathoms.

Gao Tianchan’s seven orifices oozed black blood, yet his lips curled in a cold smile, as if mocking Lei Xiang or himself.

“Boom!”

Suddenly, Gao Tianchan’s corpse exploded, flesh and blood splattering in a ten-fathom radius, leaving nothing behind. Thus, the mighty chief of the Tianchan Sect vanished from the world without a trace.

His phobia—a twisted illness—also disappeared without a trace.