Starting with a Family System to Become an Immortal Official Chapter 92

In a remote quadrant of the scorching dunes.

Sword-light flashed like falling moonlight.

Xu Lingxi’s figure flashed forward in a radiant streak of silver and violet.

Her slender wrist flicked once.

The head of a burly candidate flew off before he could even finish screaming.

Blood arced in a crescent through the dry air.

His pill bottle clutched in his dead fingers were already in her grasp before the body hit sand.

High above, her pet baby dragon Xiao Bai circled with delighted yips. The little creature opened its jaws and spat bursts of deep-purple dragonfire. Each fireball exploded with concussive force as they blasted two more candidates backward like broken kites.

"Aarrghhh!"

"UGH—!"

They crashed into dunes in smoking heaps.

Not far away.

Two surviving candidates huddled behind a boulder with pale and sweating faces.

"Run... we have to run right now!"

"H-, Huh...?"

"That’s Lady Xu Lingxi. Heaven-Dao Golden Core! She condensed it at sixteen... pure heavenly law resonance. One wrong move and her sword intent will shred your body before you even feel pain."

His companion swallowed dryly, eyes fixed on the graceful figure collecting loot.

She was too beautiful to be dangerous.

One could describe her as a Lily Of The Valley.

A stunning but poisonous flower.

If you touch, you die.

"And that dragon... it’s already at early Nascent Soul. A holy war beast! Look at the purple flames—those aren’t ordinary dragonfire; they carry devouring law intent. Even peak Core Formation experts get crippled if they take a direct hit."

He glanced at Xu Lingxi’s beautiful feet.

"Don’t forget her footwork—Void Flower Steps. She moves like she’s walking on ripples of space itself. You think you can block her? You think you can outrun her? She’s already decided we’re next."

The first man shivered.

"Let’s just—"

Too late.

Xu Lingxi’s pupils contracted slightly.

Her body vanished in a graceful flicker.

Two crisp sword hums rang out gently.

Schlick. Schlick.

Two bodies parted neatly at the waist.

Upper halves toppled one way, lower halves the other.

Fresh blood sprayed in thick fans and painted the golden sand dark red.

Not a single red droplet touched her. She hadn’t even bothered to circulate protective qi or sidestep. The blood simply... refused to land on her, as though some invisible domain gently repelled it.

She crouched beside the corpses, plucked the storage rings from lifeless fingers, and shook them empty. Dozens of pill bottles tumbled out. One by one she popped their seals and poured the contents into the sand.

Age-prolonging pills scattered like worthless gravel.

From a nearby dune crest.

The shapely figure of Auntie Chuyan watched with one slender eyebrow slowly rising.

A soft, amused smile kissed her lips.

"So my young miss has finally seen through it."

Xu Lingxi didn’t look up.

She shrugged one delicate shoulder.

"Obvious. Proctor Gu Bingyue could never perfectly replicate true age pills. Too many rare heavenly materials, too precise a balance of yin-yang essences. She only spread the rumor to make these idiots fight and bleed for them."

Her small mouth curved faintly.

"Classic bait."

She swept all the empty bottles into her storage ring then casually wiped the blood from her sword by dragging the flat of the blade through empty air.

She hung the sword back over her slender shoulder.

A gentle sigh escaped her lips.

"This quadrant is cleared. The eastern one too. And the small valley to the northwest—I killed another hundred-plus who thought numbers meant something."

She shook her head.

"Lower-world trash are so full of themselves. They see my cultivation, see Xiao Bai, see my sword, and still think they have a chance. Pathetic."

Her gaze drifted across the endless dunes.

"I’ve already gathered over four thousand pill bottles. More than enough. Now... where would that lazy fraud Li Qingmu be hiding?"

Her fingers unconsciously tightened around the hilt.

"I hope he hasn’t picked up even one."

She bit her lower lip sensually.

Almost as if the thought of his downfall turned her on.

"I want to watch his face when he realizes he lost."

She pictured his usual smirking, infuriating expression and her grip tightened further.

"What am I even worried about?"

She rolled her beautiful violet eyes.

"That slacker hasn’t done anything worthwhile since the exam started. Hmph! What a waste. He’ll fail the next phase without me lifting a finger."

With a decisive motion she sheathed her sword.

Xiao Bai gave an adorable barking yelp and swooped down to gently land on her shoulder like an oversized parrot before nuzzling against her cheek.

Xu Lingxi resumed her elegant march forward.

Behind her, Auntie Chuyan shook her head with a smile.

"Young miss... perhaps you shouldn’t underestimate Li Qingmu so much. His cultivation talent is monstrous. Many of the strongest families already talk about him. Give the boy a little credit."

Xu Lingxi stopped mid-step.

She whipped around, brows furrowed.

"Why are you suddenly on his side, Auntie?"

Why was she the only one who hates Li Qingmu?

The thought always bothered her.

"He’s trash!"

Chuyan’s smile only grew milder.

"If he’s truly just trash... then why has my young lady spent more time thinking and talking about Li Qingmu than about any other candidate or even her own clan cousins since this exam began?"

Xu Lingxi’s face instantly flushed a delicate peach color.

Her eyebrows shot upward in genuine shock.

She spun away quickly and cleared her soft throat with exaggerated force.

"Shut up, Auntie. Let’s move to the next quadrant."

Chuyan flicked open her blue-feathered folding fan and giggled softly behind it.

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Meanwhile, thousands of li away.

Li Qingmu was still carrying Song Ruyi over his shoulder like a sulky princess sack. The girl had gone suspiciously quiet for the last quarter-hour... no threats, no insults, no pounding on his back.

Su Liyue cast a sideways glance and immediately noticed the faint flush on Song Ruyi’s cheeks, the way her lips were pressed together, the embarrassed little spark in her eyes.

『She was screaming murder earlier... now look at her. All quiet and meek. Don’t tell me she’s actually enjoying being carried like this? At her age? How lecherous can one holy daughter be!?』

Su Liyue’s brows shot up.

A tiny "hmph" escaped her nose.

She deliberately quickened her pace.

Li Qingmu tilted his head.

"Hm? What’s wrong with her now?"

He adjusted Song Ruyi slightly higher on his shoulder so she wouldn’t slip.

"How’s the ankle feeling?"

Song Ruyi swallowed hard.

Pride warred with pain... and lost.

"...It still hurts. But it should heal soon."

Li Qingmu nodded casually.

"If it gets worse I can give you some herbs. My wives kept nagging me to learn a bit about medicinal plants that it’s important. I actually listened for once."

Song Ruyi blinked in surprise.

Wives...?

『He already has wives? Well... of course he does. He’s old enough. And a man like him in the lower worlds would attract plenty of beautiful women. Even Auntie seems to have fallen for Li Qingmu down there...』

She puffed her cheeks.

Suddenly she’s irritated for no clear reason.

"Hmph. If you want to play good servant and treat my wound, I won’t stop you."

Li Qingmu sighed.

"Do you always have to talk like that?"

"Shut up!"

He went deliberately silent for a full minute.

The quiet made Song Ruyi feel uncomfortable.

She squirmed a little.

Finally she swallowed another mouthful of pride and pursed her small lips to mumble.

"Uhm... what’s your name again? I said I wouldn’t ask but... I’m curious."

Realizing she sounded far too polite, she hurriedly added in her haughtiest tone.

"Ahem! I mean—I will graciously allow you to tell me your name... if, if that’s acceptable to you."

Li Qingmu gave her a lazy side-eye.

He shifted her smallish body closer against his neck so she wouldn’t jostle.

"Well, it’s Li—"

"GET BACK!!"

Su Liyue’s sharp shout cut him off.

BOOOM!!

A violent storm of green miasma erupted from the sand right in front of them. The poisonous fog billowed upward in a thick mushroom cloud visible for dozens of li.

Li Qingmu reacted instantly by leaping backward with Song Ruyi still over his shoulder as he cleared the deadly range in one movement.

"What’s happening?!" Song Ruyi cried.

Li Qingmu’s eyes narrowed on the thick green cloud.

"Su Liyue!"

Inside the miasma, Su Liyue stood steady.

Her expression was calm but focused.

『Thousand Poisons Green Miasma... made from Jade Corpse Orchid, Ghostface Vine, and Nine Yin Mourning Grass. This is the signature move of the Gu family’s poison path that corrodes qi, rots meridians, devours vitality. Even with my Nascent Soul cultivation I don’t think I can stay exposed for up to twenty minutes.』

She raised one palm.

Rich spiritual plant energy gathered then exploded outward in a cleansing wave.

The green fog rapidly disintegrated under her control.

When the miasma finally cleared, dark purple veins crawled visibly across Su Liyue’s body.

"Cough! Cough!"

She leaned heavily against a nearby rock.

She forced five stalks of spiritual herbs to appear, spun them rapidly between her fingers, and condensed them into three plain-looking pills in seconds.

"Purple-Heart Lotus stamen, Bitter Yang Root, and Cleansing Dawn Leaf... combined they neutralize this exact toxin strain on even an overexposed body."

She coughed blood then swallowed all three pills.

A mocking voice rang out.

"To decipher my poison formula so easily... truly worthy of being called a medicinal genius."

From the swirling sand stepped a tall, muscular man in Gu family robes.

His grin was wide and cruel.

"I am Gu Shi."

He licked his dry lips.

"One of the Gu family’s finest poison masters."

Hidden on a distant dune.

Gu Lao and the other vicious Gu clan members watched with cold smiles.

Everything was proceeding exactly as planned.