After The Death Escape and Ascension, The Male Protagonist of Long Aotian Went Crazy - Chapter 9

When Wei Shizhou blocked that strike for Qin Xiyan just now, he thought she would, as in the original storyline, develop some favorable feelings toward him.

Who would have thought—

Qin Xiyan’s face was like thunder, ugly and dark.

“Wei-shidi, you mustn’t act rashly again! At worst, if I took that hit, I’d be bedridden for a few days. But you’ve just built your foundation—you really don’t want to live anymore?!”

Wei Shizhou nearly coughed up bl00d.
So, after taking the blow for her, following the “plot,” he still ended up being scolded on both sides?!

As if he wanted to risk his life! He cherished it more than anyone!

If she wasn’t grateful, fine—but she actually lectured him!

Wei Shizhou gritted his teeth, glaring at the real culprit.

The culprit, Shi Hua, was searching for spirit herbs nearby.

“Master, what are you looking for?”

Shi Hua glanced sideways, and seeing it was her disciple, asked with concern:

“Are you hurt anywhere?”

Xie An scratched his head with a silly grin. “Thanks to Master’s timely action, I’m fine.”

Shi Hua nodded, pushing aside a heap of bones. A wave of putrid stench instantly filled the air.

She only frowned slightly. Upon spotting the spirit herb hidden beneath, a flicker of joy crossed her face.

Xie An covered his nose and followed.

“Master, is this the spirit herb you want? Let me pick it for you!”

“Wait—”

Xie An rolled up his sleeves and stepped forward.

But he overlooked one thing—how could a spirit herb that thrived amidst a heap of corpses possibly be harmless?

The moment he stepped into its domain, vines shot out from behind the herb.

As thick as an arm, one vine pierced straight through Xie An’s shoulder blade.

“Ugh!”

Xie An’s eyes widened in disbelief.

How… could this be…

The vine withdrew quickly, then stood defensively, guarding the herb.

Xie An’s whole body went weak. Unable to stand, he collapsed into Shi Hua’s arms.

Bl00d gushed endlessly from the gaping hole in his shoulder, soaking Shi Hua’s blue robes like a poisonous poppy blooming—beautiful and dangerous.

Shi Hua immediately cast a spell to stop the bleeding, fed him a pill, then handed him over to Qin Xiyan before turning her cold gaze toward the spirit herb.

Overwhelming killing intent surged in her eyes.

The oppressive might of a late-stage Mahayana cultivator came crashing down.

Qin Xiyan and the others felt their breaths caught in their throats for a moment.

“You dare harm my disciple? This Venerable will leave not a single leaf of you intact!”

With a light stomp of her right foot—

Flames burst forth around Shi Hua, rising violently like serpents, swallowing the spirit herb.

Within the fire, the vines clung desperately to shield it.

Shi Hua narrowed her eyes.

The flames roared larger, soaring nearly to the cavern’s ceiling.

Steam hissed, sweat trickled down faces, and the dank chill of the cave was replaced by blistering heat.

Wei Shizhou rolled up his sleeves, retreating three steps before he could breathe easier.

This evil woman was terrifying!

It was bad enough her ice techniques were monstrous—how could her fire techniques be just as terrifying?

Ice and fire dual cultivation?

Wasn’t she afraid of losing control and exploding from within?

“Venerable, Shidi Xie seems to be poisoned!”

Checking his pulse, Qin Xiyan discovered it was almost gone.

Shi Hua snapped her head back. Sure enough, Xie An’s lips were black, bruising spreading beneath his eyes.

Boom!

The flames burst with a loud crack.

Shi Hua was enraged. Her disciple—how could she allow anyone to harm him?!

One look, and she saw this spirit herb had gained sentience.

“Still not surrendering?!”

The flames surged higher still.

The vines shielding the herb were burned away.

“Ahhhhhh!”

The herb finally let out a shrill scream.

“Immortal, spare me! Please, spare me! Little Grass knows it was wrong! Please, Immortal, grant me a chance to live!”

Shi Hua’s expression remained cold and terrifying. “The antidote.”

The herb dared not disobey. It quickly plucked one of its own leaves and offered it.

Shi Hua wrapped the leaf in spiritual energy, refined it with fire into a pill within a few breaths, and fed it to Xie An.

Moments later, color returned to his face, and his pulse stabilized.

Only then did Shi Hua’s expression soften slightly.

This evil woman… actually knew how to protect her disciple?

Wei Shizhou was dumbfounded.

How could she, in one breath, commit cruel, evil deeds, and in the next, save lives with kindness?

He couldn’t understand her.

As the flames died down, the herb gasped for air.

“Thank you, Immortal, for sparing me!”

Shi Hua withdrew the fire, but at the same time trapped the herb in a formation.

The once-vibrant herb was now scorched black, drooping pitifully. Hidden beneath corpses, stained with bl00d, and now charred, its original beauty was unrecognizable.

Shi Hua interrogated it. “When did you gain sentience?”

Clutching its tattered leaves, the herb answered honestly: “I’ve been here for over a thousand years. A wounded flood dragon barged in, coveted my spiritual energy, and tried to eat me. I repelled it, but it refused to give up and took over my home instead…”

It was aggrieved—its home stolen, forced to endure corpses piled on it daily, reeking stench robbing it of its natural color.

Shi Hua, too angry earlier, hadn’t paid attention to its true form and couldn’t tell what kind of spirit herb it was.

“Take it back first,” she decided.

Her storage space could hold living beings. Without asking its opinion, she uprooted it and stored it away.

“Let’s return.”

“Yes.”

Before leaving, Qin Xiyan fished A-Qing’s necklace from the corpses and returned it to the girl.

They rode their swords out of the sea.

The frozen waves still loomed high. On the shore, under the darkened sky, townsfolk gathered, trembling, then fell to their knees.

Qin Xiyan set the rescued girl down.

She burst into tears, running into the arms of an old woman.

“Thank you, Immortals, for saving us from fire and water!”

The town chief bowed deeply, the crowd echoing thanks.

Shi Hua stood aloof above them. “The sea beast has been slain. The Southern Sea is safe once more. From now on, none of you may ever again feed humans to the sea. If I discover such vile acts repeated, I’ll personally cut you down!”

“Yes, yes!” The chief kowtowed frantically.

Shi Hua didn’t care who had devised that cruel practice. A warning was enough.

After chastising them, she left with Wei Shizhou and the others.

Behind them, the townsfolk cried out in gratitude, sending them off.

Back in the Xuanyin Sect, Shi Hua entered seclusion.

Xie An’s injuries were not fatal—after a few days of rest, he stayed on another peak to recover.

Outside, Shi Hua laid a barrier.

The spirit herb from the Southern Sea slowly recovered under the nourishment of spiritual spring water.

Its green leaves surrounded its body, but at the very top, one tender sprout glowed scarlet. The attacking vine had emerged from it. Now, it was thin and swayed weakly, supporting its head.

“Venerable, Venerable, where do you want Little Grass to heal you?”

Shi Hua lifted her eyelids to look at it.

This herb wasn’t recorded in any ancient texts. Likely, no one had discovered it yet. If not for the flood dragon’s escape revealing its aura, it might have remained hidden for another thousand years.

She could feel its aura soothing the burns in her body left by heavenly tribulation lightning.

“Do you have a name?”

The herb tilted its head. “No. Since I gained awareness, I’ve just been grass. I grew on the essence of sun and moon. I don’t even know what effects I have myself.”

Its thin vine plucked one of its own leaves and held it out to her.

“Maybe Venerable could send someone to study it?”

It was generous enough.

Shi Hua closed her eyes to meditate. “Keep your little leaves to yourself.”

“Oh.”

Disappointed, it hugged itself.

After a pause, it plucked the scarlet leaf from its crown.

“Venerable, Venerable, this aura is strongest here. It’ll definitely work best! Won’t you try it?”

Shi Hua opened her eyes.

Indeed, the aura there was strongest. Just inhaling it eased her pain.

She accepted it, liquefied it with spiritual energy, and swallowed it.

Soon, the burning pain in her body began to fade—not only from lightning tribulation, but also the burns left by cultivating both ice and fire.

“Venerable, Venerable, how do you feel?”

Shi Hua exhaled. “Not bad—”

Before she could finish, an unbearable burning flared from her dantian.

“Ugh!”

Her face twisted in agony.

“Venerable, what’s wrong?!”

The herb trembled, clutching its pot.

It hadn’t poisoned her!

But Shi Hua clearly felt the clash of ice and fire inside her.

The two were opposites, the most primal forces of heaven and earth, domineering yet powerful—the fastest way to grow stronger.

But most cultivators chose one path. To master even one to perfection was already difficult.

Back then, Shi Hua, in her impatience for strength, ignored Chi Qingxuan’s warnings and cultivated both ice and fire, leaving permanent burns in her body.

She had endured the pain for a thousand years, long since used to it.

Who would have thought the herb’s healing would trigger the backlash anew?

As if the moment she tried to remove the pain, the backlash would sweep in.

Shi Hua couldn’t think.

Her power burst uncontrollably, wrecking the room.

The herb, weak in cultivation, cowered and dodged, terrified of being struck.

“Venerable, please stay awake! Little Grass still wants to live!”

Its whining only made things more unbearable.

Suddenly, a blast struck.

It threw out vines to block, but was still hurled against the wall.

Its flowerpot shattered.

“Ahhh! Help! Venerable’s going to kill Little Grass!”

Only then did it realize her cultivation.

Late-stage Mahayana! Thank heavens it hadn’t fought her head-on.

At that moment, someone entered Shi Hua’s immortal estate.

Wei Shizhou.

His mood was far from pleasant.

Every time he encountered this evil woman, he ended up coughing bl00d and nearly dying.

First during the apprenticeship, then at the Southern Sea—was she determined to see him dead?

If talent couldn’t be changed, shouldn’t she cultivate harder instead of taking her anger out on him?

Wei Shizhou grumbled under his breath, then noticed her quarters were sealed with a barrier.

Chi Qingxuan had sent him to summon her.

Still in seclusion? It had already been three days.

He hesitated.

“Ahhh! Help! Little Grass is being killed!”

“Is anyone there? Save meee!”

The herb’s soft voice turned sharp and piercing.

Wei Shizhou realized—the sound was coming through the barrier.

This barrier…

Boom!

A deafening explosion. Ice and fire clashed violently, the force rushing outward.

Half freezing, half burning.

Wei Shizhou felt like he was being torn in two.

Wiping his face, he looked up and saw the barrier shatter, Shi Hua’s room blown apart.

Something black shot out, darted into his robes before he could react.

Wei Shizhou blinked in confusion. “Little Grass?”

It trembled violently. “Venerable’s gone mad! Venerable’s gone mad!”

Wei Shizhou was just about to look up when he felt a killing intent slash straight toward his face.

In his sight—a sword wreathed in frost came stabbing down at him!

Wei Shizhou’s pupils contracted sharply.