The odd-looking skeletons closed in around her. One was barely a foot tall, shaped like a squirrel; another resembled a tiny turtle. Others ranged up to four feet, but none exceeded that height.
A panda with a bony belly, a hamster, a pirate crew, a crow, a goose — each was composed entirely of bones, yet the chaotic energy around them sculpted their forms into sothing appearing alive.
All of them converged on the old woman, rushing forward with unsettling coordination.
Then, from the back, a bizarre figure appeared: a fat, robotic cat. It waddled forward, its round hand slipping into the pocket on its stomach. From the pocket erged a torch, it clicked the ON button.
"Very big light," the robot cat announced proudly.
A warm, glowing light flared from the torch, washing over the skeletons that encircled the old woman. The bones shivered and rattled as if awakened by the illumination.
Without another word, the robot cat pulled a door from its pocket, stepped through, and vanished entirely, leaving the surroundings strangely quiet.
The old woman looked around, startled, as the previously tiny skeletons began to grow. Bones elongated, limbs stretched, and their forms swelled, now looming over her with surprising nace.
"Is she an idiot... or a genius?" the old woman muttered under her breath and looked at Lingluo strangely.
She had witnessed the strange creature unleash its light, and now the chaotic minions had beco far more formidable than she could have imagined.
Then the massive panda lunged first, performing a sweeping kung-fu strike. Its punch tore through the air, generating a concussive air cannon that slamd toward the old woman — but still, she remained unscathed, her expression unreadable.
Then the pirate crew attacked.
One crew mber stretched its limbs impossibly long, another mimicked Yu Xuan’s sword technique, while a female pirate manifested a leg to strike at the old woman.
Just as it swung, the goose honked, startling the leg, which veered off and smashed into another pirate crew mber, who promptly lted — likely out of sheer joy or shock, no one could tell.
Then the crow cried out, "Caw-caw!"
From the purple mist, dozens of miniature crows erged, each with red eyes and strange patterned .
They kamikazed the old woman relentlessly, and each ti one was destroyed, it reappeared but it’s one eye lost the red color and appeared lifeless.
The chaos raged on for a long stretch, and the old woman grudgingly retracted her earlier remark about Lingluo being a "dumb girl."
"Alright, stop. Now I’ve seen quite enough," she finally said, addressing Lingluo.
Lingluo, pale from overextending her energy, managed a faint smile.
"Master... did I manage to surprise you?"
The old woman exhaled, her lips curling into a hint of amusent.
"Yes... you did surprise ."
Her expression shifted instantly, sharp and authoritative.
"But that does not an you are spared from your punishnt."
A jagged bolt of lightning struck from above Lingluo’s head.
"Kyaaa!" she shrieked before collapsing into unconsciousness.
With a simple wave of her hand, the old woman lifted both Yu Xuan and Lingluo into the air behind her. A mont passed in silence, and then she surrounded herself with a searing, writhing Chaos Fla.
With ticulous precision, she unleashed it upon the two of them.
The Chaos Fla engulfed their bodies, purifying every layer, their physical forms, their spirits, their very souls.
"I wonder what the result will be?" she murmured as if having so experience.
Then after a while, her eyes widened in astonishnt.
"It’s... taking root. In both of them?!"
The Chaos Fla, has it’s own will and it was willingly establishing itself inside Yu Xuan and Lingluo.
"Did I just increase the trouble in the sect?" she muttered under her breath, a rare note of concern in her voice.
The old woman vanished from the white realm, taking Lingluo and Yu Xuan with her, still enflad in the sentient, purifying Chaos Fla.
Oh! and the Chaos fla did not burn their clothes, the Peak Master of the Chaos Heaven Peak had full control over the fla.
***
Yu Xuan woke from his deep slumber, his body tingling with a strange vitality. His limbs felt lighter, his breathing smoother, and his mind clear.
"Where am I?" he muttered groggily.
The last thing he rembered was being struck unconscious by that old woman. Blinking, he realized he was back in his own cottage atop the peak.
Sitting upright, he crossed his legs into a ditative pose. A peculiar energy humd inside him, it was unfamiliar.
Thanks to his passive ability of his skill [Ultra Instinct], he could sense subtle changes within his body that might have gone unnoticed otherwise.
He pushed his spirit sense inward and froze.
"What?!" His eyes widened.
His muscles, bones, and blood were more refined than before.
But what truly shocked him was in his lower dantian: a small purple star hovered there, like a radiant sun suspended in an endless night sky.
Curiosity overca caution. He extended his spirit sense toward it.
The star pulsed in response, its surface rippled. He willed it into different shapes, molding it like clay. Each form it took radiated a faint chaotic aura.
Welling with excitent, Yu Xuan lifted his palm.
Carefully, he guided the star’s energy through his ridians. To his surprise, they welcod the energy as if a star was already a part of him.
Then—
Fwoosh!
A small fla blood in his hand. It burned purple, its light strangely srizing.
"What the—?!" His heart raced as he realized his Qi was draining at an alarming rate just to sustain it. Still, he couldn’t help but stare in awe.
Tentatively, he touched the fla with his other hand. Astonishingly, it did not burn him. Instead, it felt warm, alive, almost as if the fire was breathing with him.
"Wow..." Yu Xuan muttered.
"Playing with fire just got real."
He dispelled the fla before his Qi could bottom out completely, watching as the purple fire winked out of existence. His reserves were nearly half-empty, far faster than he expected.
Shaking his head, Yu Xuan stood and stepped outside his cottage. The sun was dipping toward the horizon.
He stretched, feeling strangely at peace, before turning his steps toward Lingluo’s cottage. Whatever the old won had done to him... surely she had experienced it too. And he wanted to see what kind of changes she had gone through.
When he arrived, faint noises echoed from inside.
"I’m coming in," Yu Xuan called out before pushing open the door.
The sight that greeted him was pure catastrophe.
Lingluo stood in the center of the room, brandishing a sword entirely composed of purple fla.
The blade burned with chaotic energy, its aura unstable. Furniture was smoldered and the walls were scorched black.
And amidst this disaster, Ming Tiani sat cross-legged on a chair, looking she were enjoying an afternoon show. Her expression suggested she had seen such things happen.
"You’re here!" Lingluo shouted with a wild grin, swinging her flaming sword recklessly.
"I was just about to drag you out myself! Look at this, hahaha!"
Yu Xuan pressed a hand to his forehead.
"Because of your tantrum yesterday, we missed the auction. And I missed food. So let’s go today, before you burn this cottage."
At his words, Lingluo blinked, then finally cald.
She clapped her hands once, and the roaring flas instantly died down, leaving behind only smoke and wreckage.
Yu Xuan’s eyes marveled at her control.
’That control... maybe it’s because of her physique and the bloodline she ntioned too.’
Even though her chaos was wild, she commanded it far more intuitively than he did. Heck, he didn’t even wield those flas freely.
"Yes, Lingluo, let’s depart," Ming Tiani chid in lightly, brushing off imaginary dust from her robes.
"I was bored out of my mind this whole half day, just cultivating while you two were napping."
Yu Xuan and Lingluo exchanged a look, then sighed in unison.
’Does my master hold a grudge against her?’ Lingluo couldn’t help but think.
"But the auction doesn’t start until night," Lingluo said suddenly, her mischievous grin returning.
"Until then, why don’t I try out so of my new moves — hehe..."
Before she could finish, Yu Xuan and Ming Tiani flashed to either side of her. Each grabbed one of her arms, trapping her completely.
"Let’s go," they said in perfect synchronization.
Lingluo could only pout helplessly, her flaming sword dissipating as she was dragged away.
***
The three of them strolled down the familiar streets of the Main Peak. With ti to spare before the auction began, none of them felt like wasting it idly. Instead, they shared a wicked idea, why not seek out a little trouble to pass the ti?
It was undeniably sadistic, but for them, watching chaos unfold among others was far more entertaining than quiet conversation. After a short walk, they even agreed to swing by The Arena later, once they’d had their fill of mischief.
"Let’s go there," Lingluo suddenly said, her finger pointing toward a bustling crowd up ahead.
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