Xiaomeng instantly covered her mouth and stifled her surprise. Lingling also stopped shouting, and the room went completely quiet except for a few sobs from Lingling and a few drops at the corners of her eyes.
"Can I touch them?" Xiaomeng asked as her eyes focused on the two small, beautiful protrusions on Lingling's head.
"No!" Lingling moved back in alarm. "I will not let you cut them."
Who said anything about cutting those small beauties? Xiaomeng was completely taken aback by Lingling's guarded posture. She was just like before, only a little taller and the fat on her cheeks a little thinner.
Lingling's nose wrinkled as a foreign smell caught her attention. Her eyes moved to the small paper wrapping beside Xiaomeng. "What is that?"
Following Lingling's line of sight, Xiaomeng took the paper and slowly unwrapped it. Inside were four skewers from the morning. She wordlessly handed them to Lingling, who took them with a wary expression. Soon the smell of the meat spread throughout the room.
After smelling and gently licking the skewers, Lingling found nothing suspicious. She promptly started enjoying them with relish, her guard completely let down.
Xiaomeng slowly approached Lingling and sat behind her. Her hands rose and, with great concentration, gently caressed the two glossy extensions of blue and white. Lingling let out a soft hum of satisfaction. Xiaomeng really wondered whether she should teach the Senior Sisters about kidnapping prevention, or else she suspected Lingling would go missing every other day of the week.
Continuing her caresses, Xiaomeng also felt very good. The finger-length horns were hard yet soft at the same time. A little hotness and coldness continuously radiated out from them. Finishing the skewers, Lingling was currently enjoying the massage to her horns, forgetting the fear a few moments ago.
"Do you like it?" Xiaomeng asked. Lingling hummed in affirmation.
"Do you want me to continue?" Xiaomeng asked. Lingling once again hummed in affirmation.
"Then tell me, why did you hide away till now?" Lingling's eyes flew open, and she tried to fly out of Xiaomeng's arms. But Xiaomeng held her tightly. Although she could easily get out, it would harm Xiaomeng, so Lingling stayed put. Gazing up at the other girl's face, she said, "I thought that the horns would be cut."
Xiaomeng was puzzled. From the looks of it, Lingling must be the descendant of a half-blood Jiao who awakened her ancestral bloodline and gained the horns as a result. This was a common occurrence in the upper world, where dragons walked domineeringly wherever they went. Every now and then a normal person would undergo a bloodline resurgence, and a quarter of the time he was found to be from the dragon clan.
But here in this lower realm, she had not seen such a person with a mythical beast bloodline till now. Wouldn't the sect protect and raise her carefully after realizing her potential? What was this girl going on about cutting the horns? It would half-cripple her cultivation, and nobody in their right mind would allow that.
Luckily, for the dragon pearl inside Lingling, Xiaomeng only had half knowledge of its mythical species.
"Who will cut your horns?" Xiaomeng tentatively asked. She decided not to jump to conclusions before getting the full picture. Lingling didn't say a word and just pointed to the glass window. Xiaomeng got up from the bed and slowly approached it. Initially she didn't find any problem. She was just looking at the back area of the peak, where the disciples were cutting the horns of the horned rabbits.
Wait. Horns.
Xiaomeng focused her attention below. The Qi Refinement disciples were carefully holding and measuring the horns, and the Foundation Establishment disciples were precisely cutting them at proper length. Her body turned back to the two protrusions on Lingling's head. Don't tell me…
"Are you afraid that someone will cut your horns for artifact refinement?" Xiaomeng asked. It made no sense to her, but she still asked.
Lingling hesitated for a moment and nodded in affirmation. Xiaomeng didn't know whether to laugh or cry at this. She needed to have a good talk with the Lingling appreciation gathering of Senior Sisters. Instead of raising this girl well, they were just turning her into a half-baked cultivator.
She walked back to the bed and, sitting on it, began to play with the horns. This was the reason for her troubles, so it had the responsibility of relaxing her mind. And relax her mind it did. Whether it was just due to the horns being so soft or them radiating some special energy, she felt at peace.
Xiaomeng did not know how much time had passed when she was brought out of her stupor by a call from Lingling. "Xiaomeng, it is tickling a lot."
"Oh," Xiaomeng pulled her hand back. Maybe I had rubbed it too much.Okay, now let's focus on what to do about the horns. She herself knew that the Senior Sisters who were giving her death glares moments before would never do anything to harm Lingling, but this sheltered bird had zero emotional knowledge about it, from what she had observed.
Her mind began to race as a silly idea formed in her head. It was so silly that she wanted to slap herself. Anyways, why am I stressing about this so much? She gazed at Lingling, who was patiently reading a handwritten book. She slowly got up and approached the door.
Lingling felt something was amiss when she felt Xiaomeng get up and walk a few steps. She thought that Xiaomeng would come back soon, but when the steps started to go further. She quickly turned her head and met Xiaomeng's eyes, "No!" She rushed toward Xiaomeng.
Knowing she was out of time, Xiaomeng lunged at the door, and just as she barely opened it, she felt a massive force slam into her from behind. She was thrown to the ground outside the door, with Lingling atop her.
"Ah…" Lingling realized she was surrounded by her Senior Sisters. She quickly searched for something to cover her head. She remembered how her Senior Sisters had said that they hated horned beasts because it had injured the head disciple, forcing her into a half-death state.
More than her horns being cut, she was afraid of being hated by them. As she was ashamed of saying it out loud, she used a wrong excuse on Xiaomeng, and it backfired spectacularly. Her floundering hands were caught, and she was pulled up into a warm embrace of someone.
"You should have already told us. Do you think that this small thing will make us adore you less?" the voice of one Senior Sister entered her ears.
"Yes, yes. You should trust your Senior Sisters a little more," another voice chimed in.
"Come here. Let Senior Sister hug and console you."
"Hey, get in line as per your gathering number, and don't push."
The happy atmosphere was broken by a hoarse voice. "Can you please get off me?" Lingling looked down and saw Xiaomeng pinned beneath her legs. She quickly got off Xiaomeng's back and helped her up. "You should have just gotten up instead of waiting."
Xiaomeng just hmphed. Had I not tried enough? No matter what she did, her body was completely suppressed, most likely from Lingling unconsciously using her powers. She gave the group of Senior Sisters one final glare before going out. It is rightly said: if you push too much, even a cornered rabbit will bite back. And Xiaomeng was bigger and fiercer than a rabbit. Even while going out, she could hear the voices coming from behind her. She was forgotten as soon as her work was over. Such heartless people.
Since the Senior Sisters didn't seem to have any time to help her back, Xiaomeng started walking on the sect road. Anyways, she was planning to take a look at the changes in her absence. The environment beside the road was the same as she remembered. The trees' shades passed over her head, covering her from the afternoon sun. Her body, which had felt a little congested after just waking up, was relaxing as her muscles stretched.
When she reached the base where the roads to all the peaks intersected, she saw a boy wearing outer disciple robes. "You are awake. When did you wake up?"
Xiaomeng scanned her memories, but there was not a single one about this boy. Yet, she felt a familiarity from him that she could not put into words. So, she politely replied, "I woke up just yesterday."
The boy nodded and said nothing more. Giving him one final glance, Xiaomeng made her way back to the First Peak. Just as she was halfway up, she heard a loud laughter spread throughout the sect. "I have finally done it!" In response, the sky began to churn as dark clouds gathered, even thicker than the last time. The laughter only grew louder, as if welcoming it.
The first lightning bolt fell as Xiaomeng entered the courtyard. A white light covered the whole world, making sight impossible. Xiaomeng urgently closed her eyes and only opened them after she felt the intense brightness recede.
Tian Yao had also come out of the small room, her clothes a little disheveled and beads of sweat clinging to her forehead. Xiaomeng quickly approached her and pulled her inside the larger room. Closing the door behind her, she asked, "What is happening?"
Tian Yao threw a glance outside the window toward the clouds that were still brewing. "Seems like the Sixth Elder succeeded in using Heavenly Thunder to refine an artifact."
Xiaomeng was suddenly reminded of how the Senior Sisters were praising the Sixth Elder that morning. She had thought that the Sixth Elder was really talented, but the Elder far outstripped her understanding.
Someone suddenly began banging on the door from outside. Xiaomeng quickly took two steps and opened it, only to come face to face with Shen Yao carrying a large tray in her hand. She moved aside, allowing the girl to come in.
At that moment, another lightning bolt fell down once again, and Xiaomeng's eyes tightly closed due to the sudden brightness entering through the open window. Even before opening her eyes, she heard the sound of the window closing. "You can open your eyes now," came Tian Yao's voice.
Xiaomeng carefully took in her surroundings. Shen Yao had put the large tray on the table beside the bed and was removing their coverings one by one. A mildly sweet and tangy smell made its way toward Xiaomeng, who barely held back the saliva bursting forth. After all the walking, she was really hungry; everything else came after. She took one side of the table and looked at Tian Yao and Shen Yao, who were both standing still.
"Shouldn't you two also sit?" she asked with a puzzled face.
"I can just…" The sound of another thunderbolt interrupted Shen Yao. It didn't seem like she would be able to go back anytime soon, so she obediently took a seat in front of Xiaomeng.
Xiaomeng then gave an expectant look to Tian Yao. "I do not need to eat much after reaching Core Formation," Tian Yao flatly said.
Xiaomeng didn't force her and, taking the chopsticks, picked up a slice of meat. But just as she was about to eat it, she remembered the morning and how she had been fed by Tian Yao. Suddenly, she didn't have any appetite and placed the chopsticks down.
"Why aren't you eating?" Tian Yao asked.
"Just because I don't want to," Xiaomeng placed her hand on the table and her chin on her palms. Shen Yao also placed down her chopsticks as her Seniors were not eating. What had the poor her done to be trapped in this silent confrontation?
For some time, the only sound in the closed room was the falling lightning bolts outside. Tian Yao let out a soft sigh and went and sat beside Xiaomeng. She picked up the chopsticks placed in front of Xiaomeng and took a bite from the meat held in them.
Xiaomeng sat up straight and, taking a new pair of chopsticks, began to stuff her mouth with the food. "Didn't you say you didn't want to eat?" Tian Yao narrowed her eyes.
Xiaomeng said with her mouth still stuffed, "Now I want to."
Shen Yao also carefully picked up her own chopsticks and began to eat slowly. The sounds of lightning were now accompanied by the clashing of wood on porcelain.
While the trio was peacefully enjoying their meal, the back mountain was taking the brunt of the lightning tribulation. The Third and Sixth Elders observed from below as the recently forged sharp blade was subjected to the onslaught of Heavenly Lightning. The lightning bolts was dozens of times more intense than what Lan Xue had experienced a day prior.
"You should have waited for some time before completing it," Third Elder said from the side.
"Who was it that said all the arrays were in place?" Sixth Elder retorted.
Third Elder kept his mouth shut. All the arrays were really in place, but the tribulation was even stronger than he had anticipated, and not by a small amount. All the arrays he had arranged to contain the aftermath of the tribulation were destroyed as the recent third bolt fell.
Just as the ripples of the tribulation were about to spread further outward toward the sect, an invisible barrier stopped and dissolved them. "The Sect Leader must be using the Heavenly artifact of the sect," the Sixth Elder observed.
Just like with Lan Xue, the lightning bolts grew larger in size and their frequency also increased. The golden blade, filled with arrays throughout, absorbed some of the lightning from each strike and redirected it toward the next incoming one, barely keeping itself from breaking. But during each instance, the golden color on it shone brighter and brighter.
In the end, the bolts stopped raining, and the clouds churned even more fiercely, gaining momentum for the last strike. The red lightning fell without warning, and the blade used all the stored heavenly lightning to counter it. The red lightning was only held back for a moment before directly falling on the golden blade. Cracks ran through the blade, but it somehow held on until the red lightning finished falling.
The dark clouds dispersed as if they were never there. The Third and Sixth Elders approached the golden blade fallen on the ground. "So, is it a success or a failure?" the Third Elder asked while the Sixth Elder held the steaming blade.
After observing the blade from all angles, the Sixth Elder said, "Neither. Although it is not completely destroyed, its sentience, which should have formed during the tribulation, has been completely wiped out. Now it's just a precious metal."
The Third Elder let out a small chuckle. "Not the first time we have failed. At least we got a good material."
The Sixth Elder glared at him and took flight, returning to the Sixth Peak. At least her disciples will understand her problem and console her. But when she searched for them, she wasn't able to find any. Except for the boy hammering away at the forge, who was not paying any attention to her pesky behavior. Where have they gone? She wondered.
At that moment, in a mortal city, the largest inn was reserved by a very wealthy patron. It was then occupied by only a few beautiful ladies who were taking turns feeding a single girl with two finger-length horns jutting out of her head.