When Immortal Ascension Fails Time Travel to Try Again

Story 10 - The Spy Who Rocked Too Hard (47/52?)

Story 10 - The Spy Who Rocked Too Hard (47/52?)

Little Spring’s POV

Sister Lin always acted like she was invincible. It was to the point where I sometimes believed she was... when I didn’t think she was crazy.

During the past week, I had seen her accomplish the impossible multiple times over. And she did it so quickly that I could barely keep track of all the things she was doing.

She created new spiritual tools I’d never heard of before in amounts that seemed unbelievable for a single tool smith. She worked with two bands to create their sets for the competition. Every time I looked in on her, her alchemy cauldron wasn’t far from her as she multitasked, creating pill after pill.

Just looking at her constantly moving was exhausting, especially considering I had my own tasks to do.

Sister Lin continued to be the most impressive person I had ever met... even if her head wasn’t always there all the time. But I felt like that was okay. She could be a little off, and I would be there to help her when she needed it.

At least I had been before the bath.

After it, while I was stronger than I had ever been, I was not as helpful. I couldn’t help her create pills. Nor could I help her forge the things she called ‘canned lights’ or her projection tool.

I couldn’t help.

Then, embarrassingly, I broke down when I found the symbol of my mother’s enemy, the one who’d chased us to Lin’s hometown. And she’d taken time out of our busy schedule to reassure me.

To make it up to her, since I wasn’t as useful, I never gave up on finding our mission’s target. Even when she had to leave for the concert, I kept going. And I did it! I got lucky! He tripped, exposing the box, and I secretly followed him into the woods where I notified her.

But when she arrived, she slid the hairpin I gave her into my hair and had me wait while she grabbed the scroll. Once again, I felt completely useless.

It should have been me. With the energy I received from the Beast Blood Bath, I was stronger than her. Didn’t that mean I should have been the one to go out there and face the two peak Golden Core cultivators?

She stole the box right from under two incredibly powerful cultivators’ noses. Two people, who were a half step away from Nascent Soul! And she ran with it... away from me. To protect me. Because she had more experience and could handle it.

Which felt like nonsense because wasn’t I always helping her?

Except that recently, I was beginning to think that I’d been holding her back.

I had to watch with my divine sense as Pink Hair and Box Guy caught up with her. A single one of their strikes would kill me! Actually, I didn’t even think I could dodge the way she was because she treated their attacks like they were simple things from enemies in her same realm.

What she did should have been impossible. I knew I couldn’t do it. Not as I was now. Even with the extra strength I received from the bath. Because what she was doing was unconsciously calculating where their strikes would land and timing her movements to not be there.

But it wasn’t perfect. They were too strong. Every time their attacks barely missed and caused her to cough up blood, I cursed her for giving me the hairpin.

Then her earring defensive tool activated, one I didn’t even know she had. It created a bubble-like shield around her, saving her from the worst of their combined efforts. Ones that would have killed her.

And that was it! I wouldn’t allow myself to just be protected here. I was an immortal cultivator too! She had trained me. And even if she hadn’t specifically said anything or asked for help, I knew what to do.

I used Impossible Leap in succession faster than I ever had before. I reached them in a second.

She grinned. It might have been my imagination, but I thought our eyes met. And I understood that it wasn’t that I was useless to her. It was that my usefulness had changed. Until she fixed the bath’s side effects, I could be her sword. One that just needed to be used at the right time. Because, while she would struggle to harm these two with her current cultivation, she had given me a powerful technique that could damage them. How much, though, I wasn’t sure.

I had to do it now while she was safe.

I threw almost all of my Qi into the 12 moves, feeling the energy build up inside of me with each slash of my blade. Then, before they could release another whip or punch to crack open her defenses, I stabbed my sword toward them. A beautiful golden petal explosion poured out from the tip and decimated the space in front of me.

The two hadn’t expected my attack since I’d kept my presence hidden. I’d made it impossible for them to block it. My petals cut deeply into their backs. But my attack had also blown Sister Lin up a short hill and sent her flying.

I quickly took a Qi replenishing pill with a mouthful of spiritual spring water. As I cycled my cultivation technique, my internal energy slowly replenished. I just hoped it would be fast enough that I could fight them if I needed to.

Once the last golden petal fell, the Box Guy struggled to his feet, but he was a body cultivator with a defensive tool sash, so him recovering so fast wasn’t unexpected. I anticipated his next attack, but he just glared and pointed for me to stay before walking over to Pink Hair, who was facedown in the dirt. The demonic cultivator’s whole back was... not nice to look at. At all. The large man pushed him over with his foot and scowled.

Wait... Had my attack actually knocked him out? Someone that powerful?! How? Just what had Sister Lin taught me?

Or maybe that evil cultivator had a strong offense but a weak physical body? That could be one of the side effects of his demonic path.

Box Guy spat a half-mouthful of blood onto the floor next to the guy and turned to me. “You fool! You cost our sect our only cure!”

“The thing they brought is over there.” I pointed to the package that Pink Hair had held earlier. “But we can’t trust the demonic cult, senior. They would never give us the real solution. Besides, my junior sister is already creating one with Noxious Fangstrike. Those evil cultivators would never send us a real cure.”

He paused, then furiously walked over to the jade box.

I followed him and watched as he cautiously pulled the lid off. A familiar pink vine burst out of it. It was the same one I’d seen in the barrels at the Alchemy Convention. I quickly sent it into the frozen time part of my space to go die with the others.

The poison body cultivator’s eyes grew wide and his mouth opened in shock.

I tapped the empty box. “My sister and I just stopped you from destroying the sect.”

Actually, where was she? How wasn’t she back yet?

::Sister?::

No response.

I called for the little gold dragon. ::Spirit, is Sister Lin with you?::

::No.::

“What’s your name, junior?”

“Verdant Spring. And my little sister is Fairy Linlin.” I was starting to get worried. Even if I’d sent her flying, she would have returned just to make sure I was okay.

“I’m Sect Elder Poison Eater.” He frowned down at the demonic cultivator. “This evil bastard is still alive.” He grabbed Pink Hair’s neck and lifted him high into the air. He pulled his fist back and punched straight through his chest.

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Boom!

Ah… I see. The same trick was used against my Indomitable Will sect.

Heat hit my face. I flew back until something hard slammed into my back and I fell to the ground. An intense ringing in my four ears deafened me. The world went dark. Darker than night. Air struggled to enter my lungs. It hurt!

Before I could even pop a healing pill, my injuries started to mend. Was this a combination of my body cultivation and the changes the bath had on me?

Still, I took a Lin’s Repair Dan to speed up my recovery.

When I could hear and see again, I ran over to Elder Poison Eater. Most of his face had been charred, his clothes were in shreds, and the inside of his chest was exposed. If it wasn’t for the fact that I could see his beating heart, I would have thought he was dead.

With shaking hands, I grabbed another healing pill and brought it to his mouth. He waved it away, took out an amethyst pill from his own bag, and ate it like his pain was nothing. It must have been a healing pill designed specifically for poison body cultivators because it didn’t take long until his chest and face had fully healed.

“Sect Elder?”

He coughed up a mouthful of blood. He still wasn’t looking good, but he took out another set of robes and put them on. “What?”

“We need to warn everyone now. The demonic cult will realize your trade failed. They’ll start whatever plans they’ve cooked up soon.”

He grimaced. “Go on without me. I have to find where your martial sister took the scroll.”

“She wouldn’t have just run off with it. And I can’t contact her. Something happened.”

He narrowed his eyes at me. “You trust that she isn’t a pawn of the demonic cult?”

Using my spiritual energy, I brought my sword over to me from where it had fallen in the explosion. I stopped myself from attacking him for suggesting that. “She’s the only one who’s succeeded in helping Noxious Fangstrike fix the flawed beast blood bath... He even trusted her enough to have her make sure the scroll didn’t get into the hands of those evil cultivators.”

Well, this was a bit of an exaggeration, maybe a little fib… or a big lie, but I had a feeling it was necessary. While he hadn’t questioned me about why I was there, because he’d been so busy dealing with Pink Hair, I figured that his interrogation was coming.

He nodded. “So that’s how you both knew about this. I thought it might be Senior Noxious who sent you two. That was the only reason I didn’t immediately kill you.”

I chuckled nervously.

He looked at me, showing that he was dead serious.

“Could she have been taken by the cult?”

Did the demonic cultivators have Sister Lin? Was that why she wasn’t responding?

A chill ran down my spine.

He stared at my face and cursed. “If they have the box, they won’t be able to get inside it, but it’s possible they could break it and the contents. This would still free a portion of the evil souls within the scroll.”

I bit my lip. “Are you sure they don’t have a way to get in?”

He nodded. “There is nobody left alive who can open that box. But... if there was, and they managed to release it, our sect would be ruined. One way or another. We need to locate it and your junior sister before that happens.”

Even when I stretched my divine sense out as far as I could, I still couldn’t feel her. It looked like we’d have to use another way. Unfortunately... “I know someone who can find her.” I grimaced.

And it was the last person I wanted to ask for help.

I made it to the concert as Lin’s band played their last cord. The crowd cheered loudly and for a long time. All the band members basked in their reaction.

I flew down and landed in front of my martial sister’s statue.

Elder Poison Eater, who had traveled by running all the way here on pockets of divine sense touched down next to me.

“What is the meaning of this interruption?” Pearlescent Rose said.

The person I was looking for sat in the reserved seating. Her gray hair curled cutely around her face.

“Senior Little Teasing Mouse! We need you to help find Sister Linlin fast.”

Dread Lotus grabbed my shoulder. “What do you mean? Where is my friend?!”

Poison Eater crossed his arms. “Probably kidnapped by demonic cultivators. We have to hurry or the sect could be in danger. We also need to start preparing for the demonic cult’s attack.”

The audience began to murmur to themselves and some rushed out of the concert area.

Dread Lotus swallowed. “Then we have to find her!” She looked up at Noxious Fangstrike, who had gone pale. He shook his head, likely telling his niece that he also couldn’t locate her.

I grimaced. “This is why I’m asking Little Teasing Mouse. If her tracking mouse could discover me even after I flew through the air, then it can find Sister Linlin.”

The girl nervously bit her lip and clasped her hands. It made her look like an adorable, pleading mouse. “I-I don’t know, junior brother. I’m scared. If I get close, those evil people could hurt me.”

Whatever adorableness she had, it didn’t change the fact that those demonic bastards could also harm my older sister, too!

I clenched my hands into fists and hid them behind my back. “Are you terrified or are you stalling because you don’t want to find her?”

She puffed her cheeks out cutely and tugged on her robes. “Junior Sister Linlin is not a nice person!”

Of course not! Foolishly kind people couldn’t survive in this world. But she did have her own set of morals.

I glared down at her.

“B-but I would still look for her if it really helped our sect. I just don’t see how finding her can help anyone.”

“She prevented the demonic cult from getting the Scroll of 1000 Evil Souls! Though they may have taken her anyway!” I practically yelled.

She trembled. “T-then shouldn’t we be preparing to protect everyone here from it?”

“That’s why we need you to find her. If we save her, then no one here will have to die to any corrupt souls they release. Unless that’s what you want?”

Her eyes started to water. “No! Never! Why do you keep accusing me of things when I haven’t said or done anything?”

That was why. Because she hadn’t done anything! Didn’t she understand how bad the situation was? Why wasn’t she working to help already? For once she could be useful, but...

Someone who I assumed was one of the music cultivators who went up against Lin patted the girl on the back. “Please do it for the sect, Little Teasing Mouse. This sounds serious.”

She winced, then looked up at me with her hands clasped in front of her chest, as if expecting me to coax her. Oh... she wanted me to be kind to her and fawn on her to get what I needed. Just like everyone else.

But why should I? Sister Lin never needed coaxing or begging. She was a powerful person who knew what she wanted and went after it within her limits, like a whirlwind. She didn’t hesitate. Never, not even once, did she do disgusting, childish nonsense like this.

Was this one of the many reasons why Sister Lin asked me to wait until I reached immortality before I even thought about romance? To avoid girls like this. Girls who would put their whole sect in danger, just to have everyone act the way they demanded.

If I had never met Sister Lin, someone I could respect, I might have fallen into this girl’s rhythm and done what she wanted in order to make things easier. But I knew now that there were some individuals who were too toxic to be around. Those people needed to be cut from my life.

Dread Lotus put her hands on her hips and glared down. “You’re not the only one here with a tracking mouse spirit beast.”

The mouse girl nodded. “Maybe not, but the others aren’t as good.”

“Then you better help us. Because if you do not, I will find someone else. And when I do, I can’t promise that you’ll still be welcome in this sect.”

She paled and glanced at Noxious Fangstrike, who wore a glare that spoke of murder if she even hinted at saying the wrong thing. “I’ll help! I said I’d help the sect. Please don’t have your uncles kick me out! I just need something that smells like Sister Linlin.”

I pulled the hair stick out and used my spiritual energy to send it to her.

She took it. Her bottom lip trembled.

Yeah, it felt like weeks had passed since we fought over it, but it had only been a few hours.

With a wave of her hand, a large gray mouse appeared in front of her. “Little Sharp Nose!! I need you to find the girl who owns this hairpin.” She held it to her beast’s face. It began sniffing all around the hairpin and brushing its whiskers up against it.

“I-it will take some time.”

Pearlescent Rose walked over to us. “Dread Lotus.”

“Yes, master?”

“I assume you’re going after Linlin?”

“Of course!”

“Then take this to her.” She handed her a holding bag.

“But the judges haven’t even discussed who won.”

She rolled her eyes. “Thunder and Lotus won after your first song. Everyone here knows that. There’s no need to announce it.”

She clutched the bag to her chest. “Then I’ll take these to my friend.”

Gold String Delicate Touch walked over. “I’ll need one of those defensive tools if I’m going with you.”

Azure Melodic River wrapped her hand around Dread Lotus’s arm. “Me too.”

Knowing her, Sister Lin wouldn’t miss two or three tools as long as they helped keep her band safe.

Dread Lotus hesitated. “Are you going to come help, master?”

Pearlescent Rose shook her head. “I’m needed here. I’ll be organizing our demonic musicians' defense for when those demonic fools come to attack us.”

Noxious Fangstrike finished whatever mental argument he ended up having with his fellow sect elders during our conversation and flew down. “I told her to not die, so she goes and gets herself kidnapped.”

“Are you coming with us, Uncle?”

He nodded. “She’s the only hope we have of creating a treatment plan. I’m absolutely going to help find her. She’ll be lucky if I don’t keep her locked up in my alchemy lab until she finishes the cure after this.”

Dread Lotus pouted. “You better not. She’s my friend, uncle.”

“I know. I know. How could I do that to your friend?”

She nodded.

“Unfortunately, I can’t sense her. Which means I’m also relying on this tracking mouse.” Then he turned to Sect Elder Poison Eater. “Once we know Alchemist Linlin and the scroll are safe, you, the junior sect leader, and I are going to have to talk about why that thing was even brought out of the treasure pavilion in the first place.”

He winced. “Yes, senior.”

“In the meantime, go report this to him while I fix your mess.”

The body cultivator bowed deeply and left.

It would have been nice to have an extra Golden Core powerhouse along, but with a Nascent Soul with us, we wouldn’t need anyone else.

::Junior Verdant Spring.:: Noxious sent me a telepathic message.

::Yes, senior?::

::Once we’ve saved Alchemist Linlin, I think we should all have a discussion on what exactly happened leading up to this.::

I winced. ::Well, you see—::

::Later.::

Little Sharp Nose vibrated with energy and pointed in the direction of the city.

“He’s ready!” Teasing Mouse tossed the hairpin back to me and I placed it in my hair, exactly where my martial sister put it.

Dread Lotus raised her fist in the air. “Let’s go get our Linlin back!”