Versatile Sword Cultivator

Chapter 192 – Fang Qingzhu

Lin Jichen's heart sank, and he stood there frozen, as if scared stiff.

Seeing this, Liang Baiye sneered and struck Lin Jichen's head with his palm!

Whoosh!

To Liang Baiye's surprise, his palm hit nothing but air.

Lin Jichen's figure twisted and blurred in the air, like a reflection in water.

He had been tricked!

Realizing he had been duped, Liang Baiye turned around to see Lin Jichen already standing in front of Fang Qingzhu, seemingly saying a few words before scooping her up and fleeing into the distance.

Furious, Liang Baiye flew after them.

But suddenly, a Buddha seal appeared above his head and came crashing down!

"Rebirth Buddha Seal!"

Caught off guard, Liang Baiye was struck by the seal and fell from the sky.

Though uninjured, Lin Jichen and Fang Qingzhu had already disappeared into the forest of thunder trees.

"Damn Buddhist disciple! I, Liang Baiye, swear to skin you alive and tear you apart! You will die without a grave!"

Liang Baiye roared through gritted teeth and quickly chased into the forest!

Liang Baiye moved at lightning speed, reaching the spot where he last saw the two disappear in an instant.

He glanced at the ground, finding no footprints, and saw no trace of anyone flying in the sky.

Liang Baiye sneered, thinking the two must be hiding nearby, waiting for him to pass before fleeing in the opposite direction.

"Do you think you can fool me with such tricks? Hmph!"

Liang Baiye soared into the air, wielding an umbrella sword. In a blink, he slashed down all the thunder trees around him, but saw no one.

"Could they have an earth-escaping technique?"

Puzzled, Liang Baiye threw several skills at the ground beneath him.

The ground was pitted with large holes, but he still found no trace of Lin Jichen or Fang Qingzhu.

"This is impossible!"

Panicking, Liang Baiye began a thorough search of the area.

While he was still searching, Lin Jichen had already run far away with Fang Qingzhu in his arms.

Lin Jichen hadn't hidden anywhere, nor had he flown.

He had simply run, putting as much distance as possible between himself and Liang Baiye.

The lack of footprints was thanks to the new equipment skill "Mountain River Step" gifted by the Kai Ming Beast, which left no traces.

And since he was carrying Fang Qingzhu, she left no footprints either.

This had completely fooled Liang Baiye.

At this moment, Fang Qingzhu, blushing deeply, was being carried in Lin Jichen's arms like a princess.

Before carrying her, Lin Jichen had sought her consent; otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to carry her away.

Lin Jichen ran wildly until he exited the forest, then immediately changed direction.

As night fell completely, Lin Jichen found a cave that seemed to be inhabited by Thunder Apes and took her inside, killing the sleeping Thunder Ape inside.

"Phew! He shouldn't be able to catch up now," Lin Jichen said, sitting on the ground and catching his breath.

Fang Qingzhu stood in front of him, severely injured but still enduring the pain, and bowed to Lin Jichen.

"Thank you, young master, for saving my life. I, Fang Qingzhu, will never forget the Buddha's life-saving grace."

Lin Jichen waved his hand with a smile, "I'm not a Buddhist disciple, nor a Buddhist cultivator."

"How can that be? I saw you use a Buddha seal earlier," Fang Qingzhu said.

"That was just a Buddhist secret technique I happened to learn. Actually, I'm a sword cultivator," Lin Jichen said, taking out the Dark Night Sword and fiddling with it before putting it away.

Fang Qingzhu understood and still thanked him, "Regardless, you saved my life. Can you tell me why you helped me?"

"Of course, to uphold justice. I am a righteous cultivator, and I cannot stand by while demonic cultivators harm others," Lin Jichen said righteously.

Indeed, that was part of the reason he intervened.

But the main reason was that he recognized the Mysterious Medical Sect and Fang Qingzhu.

The Mysterious Medical Sect was the top healer sect in Yuehua Province.

More importantly, he remembered Fang Qingzhu as the most promising Inner Temple disciple of the Mysterious Medical Sect.

She had done something remarkable: she had saved the entire Jiangling City.

After the world merged, Fang Qingzhu happened to pass by Jiangling City, which was under attack by demonic creatures.

Fang Qingzhu decided to temporarily join the Jiangling military, treating countless injured civilians and soldiers.

She eventually went to the front lines to fight the demonic creatures, but as a healer, she was no match for the powerful demons.

Still, her desperate efforts bought time for reinforcements to arrive, successfully defending Jiangling.

When soldiers found her among the corpses of demonic creatures, she was barely alive, with one arm bitten off by a demon.

Her once beautiful face was disfigured by demonic claws and corruption.

Though she survived, she became a disfigured, one-armed cultivator. Yet, in people's hearts, she remained beautiful and great.

This was why Lin Jichen had risked his life to save her.

He couldn't understand why Fang Qingzhu, who should have lived until the world merged, was about to die now.

If he hadn't intervened, Fang Qingzhu would surely have died.

Although "Tale of Immortal" was just a game, and NPCs killed by players could revive, NPCs killed by other NPCs would permanently disappear as part of the storyline.

This puzzled Lin Jichen. Fang Qingzhu should have lived until the world merged.

The only possibility was that the storyline had changed, and the plot of "Tale of Immortal" was quietly shifting.

Considering the early game updates and the righteous-demonic war, Lin Jichen felt he might be the butterfly causing these changes.

He might be the one flapping his wings, leading to a series of plot changes.

With the plot already changing so much, future events might unfold unpredictably.

Lin Jichen was worried. The further the story deviated, the less advantage he would have as a reborn individual, and he might no longer foresee events.

This was something he didn't want to see, but he was helpless against such changes.

He could only take advantage of the plot before it became too chaotic.

Lin Jichen decided that after reaching Crystal Formation, he would immediately collect all the opportunities and treasures he remembered scattered across "Tale of Immortal."

To prevent any unforeseen changes.

"May I ask my benefactor's name?" Fang Qingzhu asked gratefully.

"My name is Lin Jichen, a disciple of the Tianyan Sword Sect," Lin Jichen replied politely.

"So, you are a distinguished disciple of the Tianyan Sword Sect. I am Fang Qingzhu, an Inner Temple disciple of the Mysterious Medical Sect in Yuehua Province. Here is a small gift, please accept it."

Fang Qingzhu said, taking out two items and handing them to Lin Jichen.

Lin Jichen knew this was the reward for saving her and accepted them without hesitation.

[Ding! Fang Qingzhu's affection level towards you +30! Current affection level: 30 points (Riding Together)]