Chapter 10: Amaterasu

The small town market, the Senior Brother and Junior Sister casually strolled around again.

Lin Ci bought a hoe and a flower pot, though it was unclear what they were for.

Xia Xiaochan also bought a sugar figure and a little goldfish. This might have been the happiest day in her memory.

After wandering around for a while, it was already afternoon. The two left the bustling market, preparing to return to the Great Void Sect.

Before long, they passed by a narrow forest path.

Lin Ci walked ahead with his hands clasped behind his back, while Xia Xiaochan licked her sugar figure with her tiny tongue, deliberately stepping on the dry leaves at the roadside, making them crunch underfoot.

Soon, Xia Xiaochan noticed some purple flowers that resembled lavender. She picked a bunch and ran over to Senior Brother:

“Senior Brother, look at these flowers. Aren’t they beautiful?”

“Let me see.”

Lin Ci was feeling playful again. He took the flowers, closed his eyes, brought them to his nose, and sniffed, then sighed softly: “Ah, the scent of home…”

“Senior Brother?”

Xia Xiaochan felt a little uneasy. Senior Brother had never mentioned home before. Could it be that these flowers reminded him of his family?

“Senior Brother, you can always consider me family…”

Not very good at comforting others, Xia Xiaochan could only give Lin Ci a small hug.

Lin Ci patted Xia Xiaochan’s head, then tucked the wildflowers into her hair.

Her cheeks flushed slightly as she looked up to meet Lin Ci’s gaze. Seeing his handsome face, her heartbeat quickened.

“Does it look good?”

She shyly asked after adjusting the little flower in her hair.

“Xiaochan, don’t say a word!”

Lin Ci suddenly leaned closer.

“Huh?”

Xia Xiaochan was stunned, panicking. This… this… Senior Brother was about to… no, no, this was too soon for such things.

“Ambush!”

Contrary to Xia Xiaochan’s expectations, Senior Brother didn’t make any improper moves. Instead, he suddenly pushed her head down.

The next moment, a sharp arrow streaked by, slicing off several strands of Xia Xiaochan’s hair near her ear!

“Well-reacted, fellow cultivator…”

At that moment, rustling sounds came from the bushes on both sides of the forest path, and several black-clad figures emerged.

Masked, dressed in black—this was clearly a robbery attempt…

Lin Ci’s expression darkened as he stared at the black-clad rogues who had jumped out of nowhere.

One of them held a longbow. The previous arrow had to have been shot by him, and its force was so great it pierced a tree trunk not far away.

Lin Ci didn’t move, holding Xia Xiaochan close, quietly observing.

Xia Xiaochan’s face turned pale.

If Senior Brother hadn’t pushed her down just now, she would have been lying on the ground.

“Fellow cultivator, we meet again.”

A voice sounded behind them.

Lin Ci turned around to see the Bookstall Owner slowly stepping forward, blocking their retreat.

“Yeah, we meet again.”

Lin Ci nodded calmly, expression unchanged.

“You have quite the courage. How about this, we make another deal—hand over the Storage Pouch, and we’ll leave immediately. What do you say?”

Hearing this,

Lin Ci raised an eyebrow, pulled the Storage Pouch out of his chest, and displayed it openly in his palm:

“This one you mean?”

Seeing the Storage Pouch appear, the owner and the masked men’s eyes lit up.

“Is this really valuable?”

Lin Ci tossed the Storage Pouch lightly in his hand.

“You must be joking, fellow cultivator. This Storage Pouch may be common in large sects, but to us Rogue Cultivators, it’s an extremely rare treasure. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have made such a fuss over it.”

“Oh, I see.”

Lin Ci nodded.

After the Bookstall Owner appeared, Lin Ci had guessed that he must have accidentally exposed some wealth, attracting enemies.

But Xia Xiaochan was careful, even haggled when buying books. So where was the leak?

It turned out to be the Storage Pouch.

It was really a matter of lacking cultivation knowledge—he didn’t realize how precious the Storage Pouch was.

“One Storage Pouch for two lives—how’s that deal, fellow cultivator?” the owner asked next.

“Hmm… not very worthwhile.”

Lin Ci pondered for a moment.

He glanced around at the seven men surrounding him, including the lean owner.

“Nine lives in exchange for the Storage Pouch. And you seven keep yours.”

“You do know how to bargain.”

The owner frowned, his expression instantly turning cold.

“Listen carefully. We have Qi Refining Stage cultivators here. You must be a newcomer, and you even brought a burden along…”

“Fighting us to the death over a Storage Pouch isn’t very wise.”

He knew Lin Ci was a sect disciple and didn’t want to kill him or cause conflict with the Great Void Sect. They were Rogue Cultivators, not Devil Cultivators—they sought wealth, not bloodshed.

But if the other side was stubborn and resisted, they wouldn’t hesitate to kill and loot.

That was the way of Rogue Cultivator survival.

Lin Ci heard this and casually replied, “Who said I’m the one who wants to fight you?”

“Xiaochan, go!”

“Ah? Me?”

Xia Xiaochan was stunned, pointing at her own nose.

“That’s right. Time to test your cultivation progress. Just fight. Senior Brother will back you up.”

“O-okay…”

Taking a deep breath, Xia Xiaochan stepped out from Senior Brother’s embrace, facing the black-clad Rogue Cultivators.

At this moment, the opponents had already released their spiritual energy, revealing their cultivation levels—all were no weaker than her, with even two at the Qi Refining Stage…

How was she supposed to fight?

Her mental preparation just built up moments ago instantly wavered.

Standing behind Xia Xiaochan, Lin Ci remained calm.

When the lean owner revealed their highest cultivation level as Qi Refining, Lin Ci lost all concern.

This was his specialty—cross-boundary combat!

Under such level suppression, he didn’t need sword techniques or tactics. One powerful slash could subdue them all!

The reason he let Xia Xiaochan act first was that he felt it was time for her to experience some hardship.

Since Xia Xiaochan’s entry into the path, her enthusiasm had grown daily.

One day she was asking about Heart Law, the next about Sword Dao—soon she’d be asking about things he didn’t even know.

Keeping up appearances was exhausting.

So today, a little setback might help her calm down for a while. Anyway, he was here; protecting her life was no problem.

“Seems reasoning won’t work… Number Three, shoot! Kill this little girl first!”

The lean owner sneered when Xia Xiaochan stepped forward, waving his hand dismissively.

The Rogue Cultivator with the longbow drew the string, and an arrow appeared on the bowstring out of nowhere.

As the bow was fully drawn, a killing aura enveloped the entire forest.

Xia Xiaochan knew she couldn’t just stand there. She had to do something.

She unleashed her only mastered skill—

Palms of Flame!

A red flame ignited in her palm. She activated the Nine Revolutions Heaven-Burning Technique and charged straight at the black-clad Rogue Cultivators.

“Whoosh—!”

“Fwoosh—!”

Arrow and flame collided midair.

Sparks flew everywhere!

The scorching heat spread instantly. The spirit energy condensed arrow suddenly exploded and shattered on impact!

The bursting sparks also scattered onto the surrounding black-clad Rogue Cultivators—

“Ah! Ah!!”

“Burning hot! What is this thing?”

“Help me! The fire won’t go out!”

“Why is it getting bigger when we try to put it out?”

“Too hot! I can’t take it!”

Under everyone’s shocked gaze, the first six black-clad Rogue Cultivators were engulfed by flames that kept growing!

They desperately realized the fire was impossible to extinguish!

Before long, five of the six couldn’t even act and fell painfully to the ground, writhing before turning to ashes…

Xia Xiaochan, Lin Ci, and even the lean Bookstall Owner stood dumbfounded.

Lin Ci was still a little stunned—

Damn!

What is this? Amaterasu?

When did Xia Xiaochan learn the Sharingan…?