亚洲偷自区

(Southern Region- Xercopolis Empire)

(Unnamed Cave)

Drip... drip... drip...

Drip... drip... drip...

Xu Lu shifted around uncomfortably as she felt something cold hitting her body over and over again without stopping.

She slowly opened her eyes and found herself lying down on a cold hard floor with rocks pressed up against the underside of her body.

Water was flowing down from the tip of the stalactites that hung from the ceiling of the cave and the droplets landed right on her face.

The saintess got up immediately and looked around to see where she was. It took a few moments for Xu Lu in her addled state to remember how exactly she got here.

Oh yeah... the demon cultivator... the disciples... the...

Wait... how did she defeat the demon cultivator?

Xu Lu had vague memories of a strange power flowing through her body but her memories of the fight were blurry and hard to recall.

The saintess rubbed her temples as she felt the dull throb of a painful headache. Her body was still sore and honestly... it hurt to move.

She walked slowly towards the deeper part of the cave where fortunately there were no pools of water.

There was nothing to start a fire with so Xu Lu used a heating technique and a small burst of flame erupted from her fingertips.

The warmth that the fire provided was not enough to be comfortable but at least she would be able to get some warmth in this cold place.

Crack!

A blinding flash of light briefly illuminated the interior of the cave which was then followed by a thunderous boom that shook the ground itself.

Xu Lu glanced towards the entrance of the cave and saw that it was now beginning to rain quite heavily.

And to make matters worse... her heating technique stopped working as she sensed that her qi was somehow being funnelled into her dantian without her permission.

Great... just great...

Xu Lu let out a heavy sigh under her breath and then sat down on the ground. She leaned against the wall and focused on slowly breathing to calm down her mood.

She did remember one thing about the fight.

The intense sense of panic that she got when the demon cultivator threatened to remove her mask.

That was a fatal weakness.

The mask covering her face was not invulnerable and more importantly... the mere thought of the mask being removed was enough for her body to undergo a panic attack.

If that happened in the heat of battle again...

Xu Lu wasn\'t sure if she would be so lucky next time. She needed to find a way to overcome this trauma but...

It was easier said than done.

When Sui Li had inherited this body from the original Xu Lu, she also got her emotions and was influenced by her personality.

This meant that she knew that logically she should be able to fight without caring if her mask was removed or not but in practice...

Her body would subconsciously move in ways to protect her face. It was a habit that Xu Lu had observed during her fights so far.

The saintess took in another deep breath and slowly raised up her fingers to the edges of her mask.

Her fingers trembled violently the closer she got to the silvery-grey material that was covering most of her facial features.

(Covering the monster she had become)

(You\'re a hideous disgusting little freak...)

(Gross! Gross! Look at you... do you really think you deserve to be the saintess?)

Xu Lu gasped for breath as she felt as though a heavy weight was pressing down on her chest and preventing her from taking in air.

She forced herself to continue... she needed to face this... she needed to overcome...

(What do you think Camilla would think of your appearance?)

Xu Lu froze in shock just as her fingers touched the edge of the mask. That last voice... it didn\'t belong to the original Xu Lu... it belonged to her.

Was she being too affected by living in this body?

The saintess was shaken and eventually her fingers slipped away from the mask and went back down to her sides.

"Fuck!" Xu Lu yelled in irritation as she slammed her fist against the wall with so much force that a large crack appeared in the stone.

"You seem to be quite irritated young one," a gentle voice came from somewhere in the cave.

Xu Lu immediately took out her sword from her storage bag and unsheathed the blade. She nervously looked around her immediate surroundings for any signs of intruders.

Why had she not sensed anything?

"Relax... I am incapable of harming you..." the voice chuckled lightly.

Xu Lu could clearly hear the bemusement in the voice\'s tone as if this was all just one big game to them.

"Where are you? Show yourself..." Xu Lu calmly replied as she lowered her stance and held her weapon firmly in her hands.

There was a vague shimmer and then a woman stepped out of thin air. She smiled at Xu Lu who looked at her with a wary expression.

The woman\'s body was completely translucent. She resembled a ghost and in fact... her feet were floating slightly above the ground.

"What are you?" Xu Lu asked cautiously as she took a step back and maintained her distance with the stranger.

"My name is Tan Yahui... I am a weapon spirit," the woman replied with a small smile as she bowed her head.

Wait... was that possible?

The chance of a weapon spirit forming was extremely rare. Weapons spirits as the name suggested were weapons with an ego or will.

They were immensely powerful tools that would enhance a cultivator\'s strength by leaps and bounds.

However... there was always a price to be paid.

And the weapons themselves were the ones who were able to choose their masters.

"Well it is nice to meet you but... what do you want with me?" Xu Lu asked curiously as she slightly relaxed her guard.

The weapon spirit smiled and snapped her fingers. A hole opened up in the ground and a small wooden box slowly rose upwards.

The box opened and Xu Lu saw a small black knife inside the chest. The knife was only the size of her palm, but it glowed eerily in the darkness.

Intricate golden runes had been carved onto the edge of the blade and the weapon itself throbbed with power.

"Those who wield my weapon will be granted the power to see the flow of time and the destiny that awaits them," Tan Yahui cheerfully spoke.

"And it is destiny that has brought you to this cave... and to me."

"You... you want me to wield this knife?" Xu Lu\'s eyes widened in shock as she heard about the weapon\'s overpowered ability.

"Oh, heaven\'s no!" the weapon spirit quickly replied.

"I want you to bring me to my real master! She is currently a member of your sect."