I Ruined the Long Ao Tian Script

The group from Dustless Island, accompanied by two demonic cultivators and a rogue cultivator, had been leisurely eating, drinking, and making merry throughout the secret realm. It wasn’t until they stumbled upon an ice cave by chance that they finally remembered they had actual business to attend to.

As they approached the cave entrance, Bai Roushuang immediately felt a biting cold wind pierce through her. She hastily draped the winter robes gifted by her senior sister over her shoulders.

The ice cave was enormous and towering, entirely constructed of ice and snow, its walls crystalline and translucent, with frost carpeting the ground. Looking up, they could see sunlight spilling in from the highest opening, casting the cavern in a breathtaking, surreal glow.

As Bai Roushuang put it, this cave looked exactly like the kind of place a mysterious master would stash their treasures.

For once, she was right.

Unfortunately, treasures are never unguarded.

A little fox, dragging its fluffy tail, darted into the cave. The moment its paws touched the frozen ground, an enormous serpent, roused from slumber, lunged at the group with its fangs bared. Xu Shulou swiftly raised her folding fan to block the strike.

When the serpent snapped at Jiang Yan, Xu Shulou flicked her fan, striking one of its venomous fangs and shattering half of it. Before the serpent could react, she recalled the fan and carefully wiped away the traces of venom, looking rather distressed at the damage.

Whether provoked by the loss of half a fang or her blatant disdain, the serpent roared in fury. Its massive tail whipped against the ground, splitting the ice as the group swiftly dodged by summoning their swords. The serpent then coiled around Xu Shulou, attempting to crush her to death.

Xu Shulou dodged with ease, even finding time to pick up the broken fang and weigh it in her hand. She turned to her juniors and asked, "Anyone need materials for alchemy? If so, I’ll go ahead and knock out a few more."

This remark successfully drew the serpent’s full attention, sparing the others for the moment. With Xu Shulou keeping the monster occupied, she instructed the rest to proceed ahead and claim the treasure.

After swiftly relieving the serpent of all its fangs, the creature slumped in defeat, its will to fight utterly sapped.

Xu Shulou didn’t finish it off. Seeing it in such a pitiful state, she withdrew and flew deeper into the cave, only to find her juniors locked in a standoff with another group.

"We were the first to enter the treasure chamber," the leader of the opposing group declared. "First come, first served. The artifact is rightfully ours."

Bai Roushuang scoffed, "If not for my senior sister holding off that monster, you wouldn’t have gotten in so easily!"

The other party knew this was true, but seeing how few in number the Dustless Island group was—and likely drained from their battle with the serpent—they refused to back down.

Xu Shulou stepped forward with a compromise. "Whatever we find, we’ll split it seventy-thirty. If we take the artifact, we’ll compensate you with spirit stones equivalent to thirty percent of its market value. How does that sound?"

The man flatly refused. "We don’t lack spirit stones. Who enters a secret realm for anything *but* artifacts?"

Xu Shulou sighed. "Then there’s nothing left to discuss."

Bai Roushuang tensed. "Senior Sister, you’re not actually going to let them have it, are you?"

Xu Shulou gave her a puzzled look. "Do I really seem like *that* much of a pushover?"

"N-No, of course not…" Bai Roushuang coughed awkwardly, not daring to admit that had indeed been her assumption.

While they spoke, Ji Ci—never one for patience—had already summoned his sword and shot toward the glowing artifact at the heart of the cave.

If both sides raced for it, that would have been fair. But instead, one of the opposing cultivators channeled a burst of spiritual energy and launched it straight at Ji Ci.

"Watch out!" the Dustless Island group shouted in warning. Ji Ci barely dodged, but the attack still grazed his left arm, leaving a gash.

Xu Shulou’s expression darkened. "Now that you’ve injured my junior brother, this matter can’t be settled peacefully."

The man sneered. "What are you going to do about it?"

Her folding fan slid into her palm, her hair and robes fluttering despite the lack of wind. "Make your move."

The other side erupted in mocking laughter. The Dustless Island group, even with their two demonic cultivators and rogue cultivator, numbered barely over ten. The opposing force, however, hailed from a major sect and boasted nearly fifty members.

The leader feigned courtesy, barely hiding his amusement. "Ladies first, then, miss."

Xu Shulou didn’t hesitate. With a single flick of her fan, she sent him flying.

The man crashed into the cave wall, coughing blood. He managed a clumsy roll upon landing, avoiding utter humiliation, but his face twisted in fury. "Out of respect for your beauty, I was going to go easy on you. But since you insist—don’t blame me for what comes next!"

Bai Roushuang couldn’t help but laugh. "Nice excuse."

The man shot her a glare before summoning a five-element hook. "Attack!"

Xu Shulou raised a barrier, blocking the incoming strikes, and instructed one of her juniors, "Protect Little Sister Bai."

Bai Roushuang shook her head. "Don’t worry about me! Just help Senior Sister fight!"

Xu Shulou smiled. "I’ve already gauged their leader’s strength. Don’t worry."

"Of course I’m not worried! Senior Sister is the best!" Bai Roushuang’s faith in Xu Shulou was absolute.

The rogue cultivator trailing them hesitated. "Can Miss Xu really handle this?"

Bai Roushuang shot him a glare. "Don’t you dare say my senior sister can’t!"

Xu Shulou stepped out of the barrier, strolling forward as casually as if she were on a leisurely walk. Every spiritual attack directed at her was effortlessly deflected with a flick of her fan.

As she drew near, several opponents lunged at her with blades, only to be sent flying by the sheer force of her protective spiritual energy.

Her fan moved like flowing water—opening, closing, blocking, striking—each motion seamless. Today, she wielded a lotus-leaf fan, its frame crafted of green jade, its surface painted with hibiscus blossoms. When paired with the dazzling bursts of her spiritual energy, she looked like a lotus rising from emerald waves.

Bai Roushuang was nearly entranced.

The rest of the Dustless Island group clashed with the opposing forces in a chaotic melee.

Given the leader’s lackluster strength, the others fared no better. Xu Shulou dominated the battlefield, pressing them relentlessly.

This was the first time Bai Roushuang had truly witnessed just how powerful her senior sister was. The last time Xu Shulou had been forced to draw her sword, it was only due to the overwhelming power of a soul-summoning banner. Now, she didn’t even need her sword—just her fan, facing the enemy head-on with sheer, unadulterated skill. Bai Roushuang finally understood why Xu Shulou was hailed as one of the finest cultivators of her generation.

Realizing they were outmatched, the opponents resorted to dirty tricks. A shadowy streak of cold light shot silently toward Xu Shulou’s heart, barely dodged at the last second. Her gaze snapped to the attacker, who stumbled back under her piercing glare.

With a graceful flick of her fan, Xu Shulou condensed her spiritual energy into a whip and lashed it across the man’s body. The first strike shattered his defenses; by the fifth, he collapsed, unconscious.

Against her, only the leader lasted more than a few exchanges. Most fell within five moves.

Her eyes were icy as she fought. Just as her opponents thought they would die beneath her fan, Xu Shulou stopped.

The entire opposing force lay sprawled on the ground—some coughing blood, some unconscious, some with broken bones. But in the cultivation world, as long as one wasn’t dead, even lost limbs could be regrown. Xu Shulou had spared their lives. That, in itself, was mercy.

Amidst the stunned silence of the crowd, Xu Shulou lowered her gaze slightly, concealing the killing intent in her eyes, once again appearing as the unassuming, overly kind person she usually seemed to be. She cleared her throat and pointed at the giant snake lying motionless and defeated in the distance, playing dead: "This mountain is mine, and this snake was slain by me..."

This was Xu Shulou's first attempt at robbery, and she wasn't very practiced—mainly because she didn’t know how to set the price. Bai Roushuang, sensing her hesitation, immediately bared her teeth fiercely and snarled, "If you want to keep your lives, hand over your spirit stones!"

"...H-how much?"

Xu Shulou wasn’t familiar with the market rates. "How much do you think you're worth?"

She asked sincerely, but the others interpreted it as a threat.

The leader of the group paled, humiliation flashing across his face as he pulled out a money pouch and offered it with both hands—payment for their lives.

Xu Shulou weighed it in her palm. "Quite wealthy, aren’t you?"

Bai Roushuang peeked inside and gasped in delight. "Enough to buy so many steamed buns!"

Wait—why steamed buns?

Tears welled up in Bai Roushuang’s eyes. When had she been corrupted by her gluttonous senior siblings?

Xu Shulou tossed the pouch to Ji Ci. "He hurt you. Consider this your compensation for medical expenses."

After collecting one pouch, she was about to extort the others when footsteps echoed from the cave entrance. Ji Ci sighed. "More people are coming."

Moments later, a group appeared before them. Jiang Yan took a closer look. "What a coincidence."

It was the Lingxiao Sect again. They stared in shock at the forty to fifty people scattered across the ground in disarray.

Some were even holding out their money pouches in twisted, submissive poses, while Bai Roushuang stood triumphantly atop one of them, cackling wildly. "Still acting high and mighty? Still think you can ambush us?"

Lu Beichen couldn’t help but feel that this Bai Roushuang was different from the delicate, gentle junior sister he remembered. Hesitantly, he asked, "What exactly happened here?"

Xu Shulou leisurely wiped the blood from her hands with a handkerchief. "Someone tried to steal from us."

"..."

She glanced at him. "What? You want to try too?"

Lu Beichen gave a dry laugh. "Shulou, stop joking. Do you really think you can take on a hundred people alone?"

"Fifty was doable," Xu Shulou replied, her eyes gleaming with challenge. "A hundred sounds like fun."