The Transmigrator’s Cultivation

Arc 22: Affairs At Sword Conference | Chapter 410: Punishment

Meanwhile, Xu Ziqing had been in meditation for several hours, and his internal circulation hadn’t reached its peak when suddenly, a thought stirred within him.

Someone has intruded?

Since that was the case, he could no longer continue sitting in meditation. He opened his eyes and stood up.

At this moment, he listened closely and indeed heard sounds coming from a distance. Just as Xu Ziqing was about to use his spiritual awareness to investigate, the sounds drew nearer, and he stopped trying to pry.

After a few breaths, he saw a woman stumbling as she ran, with someone chasing her from behind, as if she were being hunted.

The woman’s face was filled with hatred. Suddenly, she looked up, her expression desperate, pleading for help.

Behind her, a middle-aged cultivator shouted harshly, “Don’t meddle in this laozi’s affairs, or I’ll kill you along with her!” With that, he struck out with a conical magical artifact, murderous intent surging toward them, ruthless in his approach.

Xu Ziqing’s brows furrowed slightly upon hearing this.

Among cultivators, battles, and bloodshed were common. He did not know either of these individuals and was reluctant to interfere in matters that did not concern him.

However, seeing the middle-aged cultivator act so aggressively before even facing the woman made it clear he was no benevolent person. With a fierce expression, it was easy to dislike him. Noticing that the woman’s cultivation level was far inferior to the middle-aged man’s, he realized the man was taking advantage of her weakness. Thus, Xu Ziqing resolved to teach him a lesson.

With a calm expression, Xu Ziqing flicked his fingers, and a green vine suddenly shot out, wrapping around the woman’s waist and pulling her back to safety, avoiding the middle-aged cultivator’s attack while keeping her from escaping—just binding her beside him. Then, with another flick of his finger, a streak of green light erupted and raced toward the cultivator, aiming to strike him.

The middle-aged cultivator, merely at the Golden Core stage, couldn’t possibly defend against it. The green light struck him, and instantly a sense of decay spread out from that point. In a single breath, he found himself bound, his skin resembling that of a withered old tree, able only to see, speak, and hear.

In an instant, the situation changed dramatically; regardless of whether he had sought life or spoken rashly, he was now completely restrained.

The middle-aged cultivator was terrified and couldn’t help but glance back at the young cultivator in green.

This young man appeared youthful, yet his eyes shone with a gentle light. His aura seemed calm, yet it exuded an ethereal and profound quality, making the middle-aged cultivator dizzy when he tried to observe him closely, unable to continue his scrutiny.

At that moment, he realized he had picked the wrong target. The young cultivator’s realm was unfathomable and evidently far above his own. Even if he were a late-stage Golden Core cultivator, he wouldn’t be in such a pitiful state… Could it be that he was a Nascent Soul? In an instant, the middle-aged cultivator felt a surge of panic, and recalling his previous words and actions, he was filled with regret, repeatedly begging for mercy: “Senior, spare me! Senior, spare me! I was only pursuing a thief of treasures; I never intended to offend you! Please forgive me!” While pleading, he added, “I’m willing to offer the treasure to you as long as you remove this woman! I will definitely present it to you!”

His words were earnest, fearing for his life.

Hearing this, the woman couldn’t help but shout angrily, “Shameless scoundrel! Those aren’t your treasures! You deceived my sister and put her life in danger, yet you still want to covet her belongings! Fortunately, my sister was sharp enough to send the treasure to us, preventing you from succeeding! It’s a pity that after hiding for so many days, we were still found by you, and you dare to spout such nonsense to deceive the senior and slander us!”

The middle-aged cultivator quickly replied, “Senior, this woman is twisting the truth and speaking lies! That treasure belongs to my late wife. After her passing, it naturally belongs to me. This woman and her sister stole the treasure, and I couldn’t bear to let my wife’s relic fall into the hands of a female thief, so I pursued them to this place…”

Hearing this, the woman grew even angrier. “You’re the one twisting the truth! You, you dare to lie!”

The two of them argued back and forth, each seeming to have their own reasoning.

Xu Ziqing remained silent, listening to their accusations and insults. However, in his heart, he had already come to a conclusion. From his perspective, what the woman said was likely the truth.

Ignoring other matters, the woman expressed her outrage with every word, her focus solely on seeking justice for her sister, while the treasure was a secondary concern. In contrast, the middle-aged cultivator repeatedly referred to his “beloved wife,” yet concealed the circumstances surrounding her death. He claimed to be searching for his wife’s relic rather than coveting treasures, but just moments ago, in order to save himself, he was willing to offer up the treasure. His inconsistent words felt contradictory.

Moreover, the woman’s eyes were filled solely with hatred, her expression righteous, while the middle-aged cultivator showed signs of embarrassment, and his deep gaze revealed more greed than love or remembrance, indicating a lack of sincerity.

Xu Ziqing, having observed this calmly, could deduce that the middle-aged cultivator was indeed a man who killed his wife for treasure!

Having settled this in his heart, Xu Ziqing raised his hand and sent out a leaf, which stuck to the middle-aged cultivator’s forehead. He said, “Speak the truth.”

This was a form of divine ability, using the sensitivity of countless trees to discern the truth.

However, using it on a person required the medium of something derived from trees and caused some harm to the individual. Therefore, it couldn’t be used recklessly.

In the next moment, the middle-aged cultivator felt himself losing control, unable to stop as he spilled forth a torrent of words, recounting how he had chanced upon three beautiful women wielding a powerful treasure, and how he had pretended to encounter the leading woman, sweet-talking her and eventually winning her heart over many years, culminating in a marriage. As their relationship deepened and the woman grew to trust him, he found an opportunity to launch a sneak attack while she was in meditation, nearly killing her.

What followed was entirely consistent with the woman’s account, with the middle-aged cultivator even revealing his vile intentions to take the two sisters as concubines, which was truly disgusting.

Xu Ziqing listened, his gaze turning icy.

What a cunning, sordid, and despicable person—deceiving emotions and ambushing his wife, such actions were utterly intolerable!

The middle-aged cultivator, having finished his confession, was overwhelmed by fear.

Xu Ziqing, however, no longer gave him a chance to speak and simply opened his fingers.

Immediately, the middle-aged cultivator, who had not been restrained before, was suddenly petrified, his entire form turning into a wooden sculpture. Then, as Xu Ziqing’s fingers closed together, the wooden figure shattered like it was struck by something, instantly turning into a cloud of dust!

The middle-aged cultivator was now nothing but ashes!

Not lingering to look, Xu Ziqing turned back and walked to the woman’s side.

The woman glared at the wooden shards with hatred, her eyes reddening, and said to Xu Ziqing, “Thank you, senior. My family all died at the hands of that vile man. Fortunately, you intervened, or I would have…”

Xu Ziqing waved his hand, retracting the vines and releasing the woman.

She wiped her tears, forcing herself to regain her composure, then bowed sincerely to Xu Ziqing, lifting her eyes to thank him once more.

Xu Ziqing simply replied, “You may go.” Just as he finished speaking, he paused slightly.

He hadn’t noticed before, but now, looking closely at the woman’s face… she seemed unfamiliar, yet somehow familiar at the same time.

The woman, however, was in a hurry. Hearing that Xu Ziqing intended to let her go, she immediately rushed off in the direction she came from, seemingly very anxious.

Xu Ziqing suddenly recalled that she had mentioned a sister earlier. Perhaps she had made some significant sacrifice that compelled her to hurry like this.

If he hadn’t felt that strange familiarity, he would have left, but since he had noticed, he decided to follow along, wanting to understand the reason behind it.

Soon, the woman arrived at a clearing in the woods, where Xu Ziqing saw another woman lying under a tree, appearing to have been violently thrown out, her body covered in injuries and looking pitiful.

The woman rushed over and tightly embraced her sister’s body, crying uncontrollably. She checked her sister’s breath, only to find there was none… Originally, the three sisters had relied on each other for survival and lived a relatively stable life, but unexpectedly, they had attracted the attention of a vile man, leading to such a dire situation… Now, she was left all alone, abandoned and desolate.

Suddenly, a cool breeze swept by.

Startled, the woman looked up and saw the blue-clad cultivator who had just appeared by her side. She couldn’t help but ask, “Senior…”

Xu Ziqing sighed, “Your sister’s life is not yet extinguished; there is no need for such weeping.”

Upon hearing this, the woman was overjoyed and immediately understood. She knelt down and pleaded, “Please, senior, save my sister’s life! I am willing to serve you like a cow or horse in return for your great kindness!”

Seeing her distressed state, Xu Ziqing’s gaze softened a bit. “Step aside for now.”

It was rare to witness such deep sisterly affection; the elder sister was willing to sacrifice herself for the younger sister’s escape, and the younger sister was begging for her elder sister’s life. It was merely a matter of lifting a finger, so he didn’t need to hold back.

Xu Ziqing pointed a finger to the space above the elder sister’s forehead, and in an instant, a green light entered her Zifu.

With a simple gesture, life could be given or taken away.

After the formation of his Nascent Soul, such divine abilities naturally manifested. Xu Ziqing had just used a finger to turn the middle-aged cultivator into dead wood, and now, with another finger, he could restore the life force of anyone near death whose cultivation was less than his own.

This green light rose from the purple palace and began to circulate within her body.

In a flash, the life force in the woman’s internal world rejoiced and responded, and after a moment, it began to return. Although her life force was restored, her injuries healed slowly.

Xu Ziqing thought for a moment and took out a small vial from his sleeve, handing it to the younger sister. He said, “You should give the medicine inside to your sister.”

The younger woman saw that her sister’s complexion had improved significantly and was filled with gratitude. Without a doubt, she hurriedly fed the medicine to her sister.

Sure enough, after a little while, the elder sister awoke.

The younger girl was overjoyed, quickly embracing her sister and recounting everything that had happened, thrilled to have escaped death.

The two sisters then supported each other and turned to face Xu Ziqing, bowing in gratitude.

Their voices trembled as they spoke:

“I am Chen Ni…”

“I am Chen Shang…”

“Thank you, senior, for saving our lives! We have no way to repay such kindness!”

After the two sisters performed their deep bows, they finally stood up.

Xu Ziqing observed their faces and felt an even greater sense of familiarity than before.

He couldn’t help but dig through his memories.

From the moment he was born, to entering the path of cultivation, all the encounters and people he had met…

He thought carefully about each one.

Finally, Xu Ziqing vaguely remembered a pair of sisters and hesitated for a moment, “Guiyin… Guiyang?”

He recalled that if these two beautiful faces had a cut marked on each of their cheeks, with a spider tattoo on the other side, wouldn’t they be the Guiyin and Guiyang sisters he had seen over a hundred years ago? It was only because their appearances had changed that he felt a sense of familiarity without recognizing them at first glance.

The Chen sisters, on the other hand, paled at this revelation. “Senior… Who are you? Why…”

Author’s Note:

The reason the Guiyin and Guiyang sisters didn’t recognize Xu Ziqing should be clear to everyone. It has been over a hundred years, and the sisters have experienced a lot; they wouldn’t expect that a young man they had once met would turn out to be a senior now… It also relates to their cultivation level; the higher the realm, the better the memory. Otherwise, even trivial matters from a long time ago wouldn’t come to mind without a strong effort to recall them. Even Xu Ziqing had to think for a long time.

Translator: Lynn

Translations are not 100% correct. Please let me know if there are typos/mistakes in the chapter.

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