>>5454402

Having already convinced her to duel you, instead of slaughtering Yongzheng on a murderous whim, hoping that this would give him and the Dian Brothers time to finish their grisly work, as well as allow Qiang to whisk Yuyi and her maids away from the dangers of the palace before your disciple could come across or draw the attention of the ogress herself. Since if either Qiang or Fu caught a single glimpse of Ling Yaonan, they would most assuredly throw themselves at her to avenge their prior humilation and beating at her hands.

However, considering how much of an interest she had taken in you, it might be possible to make this bloodthirsty maniac wait until you've had the satisfaction of watchin Lord Long be shuffled off this mortal coil and dragged down to hell as the cowardly mutt deserved for forsaking his duty as a father and male.

"Well then, we shall meet in the gardens then, underneath the swaying shadows of persimmon tree and bamboo stalks to bare our fangs and unsheathe our claws and tear into each other with wild abandoned. The possessed corpse of an old man and the wild and untamned daughter of the Ling clan. We'll duel beneath the full moon of this night, alone" You answer, smirking as you press your forehead to the taller woman's own, feeling the beard on the face you wear bristle like whiskers

"Except for each other, oh I can't wait. It's been so long since I've fought something fun. Hope you can be a challenge worth of my steel, Old man <3" She purred, grabbing ahold of the collar of your bloodstained tunic, her eyes wild and crazed with excitement

"Ah ah ah, you'll spoil your appetite if your so greedy a monster" You purred back, making a point to match her vicious stare with one of your own "I have business here myself"

"Fuck you" She spat , eyes narrowing and sparking with the unmistakable carmine light of Blood Qi

"What are you going to do to punish me for making you wait? Kill me? I can always take control of another corpse in this palace, there are plenty here after all" You say back with mock kindness as she tightened her grip on your collar "It won't take long, my only concern is ensuring the emperor doesn't breath past midnight. He's escaped death once before, and it'd be unfortunate to see him slither away to live another day. All I ask, is you all me to do my duty, and confirm his death without a shred of doubt"

"Want me to kill him?" She snarled, loosening her grip "This sword of mine could have him dead at your feet before you could blink"

"Oh I wouldn't want to tarnish your good name. How about, you take this body, wait in the courtyard for a few minutes at most. I'll return, and we can battle to your hearts content. See if I am the challenge you seek. Is that a reasonable compromise? All I ask is for bit of patience. Do you think I mean to run away from this confrontation, Ling girl?" You cackled, wearing a devious grin "It is not like a corpse can die"
Cont

>>5454403

"It can be butchered" She grumbled, pouting as she let you go, turning away with a hup and turning up of her nose "Fine! Watch the waste of a man die! But don't think to renege on your offer to let me cut you up, Grandpa ~"

"And don't you go looking for my actual body bitch, you won't find it" You boast as you left the dead man's skin and allowed him to collapse

"Where's the fun in only killing you once, huh?" The Ogress laughed, crouching down in front of the motionless body and poking its forehead "Fighting a corpse puppet will be much more entertaining, I think, so come back soon, okay, Mysterious one?"

Without waiting a moment, you bounded after Yongzheng in your spectral cat demon form, ignoring the number of palace cats looking up at you and the spirits of the recently slain gathering in confused, beffuddled mobs. Following the wispy tails of the grudge clouds produced by both the monk and the three brother's dian, you soon find the former, slamming his shoulder against a barred door.

"Ah, Yongzheng, how pleasant to meet you here" You cooed as you curled in the air above him, floating above his head and knowing he can see you "Are the three Dian brothers past this door"

"A guard slammed it shut and locked it" He huffed, red in the face and soaked in sweat that reeked of fear "I can still hear their fighting! I'm thankful they hadn't used their full power when I had met them on the road as their enemy! They fight like wild beasts! With the strength of ten men and the speed of whirlwinds! It is an incredible sight to see them in motion"

"What a bad buddhist you are" You tease "Being entertained by killing and murder, maybe my tastes have rubbed off on you a little during the time we've spent, side by side, eh?"

"I pity the men they have killed, and will pray for them later, but even a virtuous man such as myself can be forgiven for feeling joy at knowing a demon in human guise will soon meet their demise" He answered angriy back, clearly annoyed by your pointed jab "I need to help them, even if I'm a weakling compared to them, I can't in good concious let them fight alone, no matter how strong and swift they are"

"Well, its just your luck, I was planning on watching this play out with my own eyes, so please, allow me to get the door for you" You laugh happily as you walk through the door, and lift the wooden bar on the other side up, allowing Yongzheng to smash the door open with his next charge

"You have my thanks, I'll be sure to leave an offering in one of your many shrines" Yongzheng sardonically thanked you, hastily cupping his fist before sprinting after the trail of the dead left by the Three Brother's Dian. You lazily followed after him.

And soon, you come across the exhausted form of Dian Bo, who you thought for a moment was dead from the several arrows stuck in him, and the broken spear stabbed in his leg until you saw his chest rise weakly as Yongzheng stepped past him
Cont

>>5454404

"You're that monk! The one that was accompanying the party stealing Saintess Yuyi to this awful place!" He roared angrily, lifting up his dull and pitted edged dao as, through the extra strength and stamina granted to him by your pills, he stood back up

"You're alive! I was just about to pray for your soul. Do not worry, we are on the same side friend" the young monk answered quickly as Bo eyed him warily

"Realized your mistake huh" Bo said woozily, obviously suffering from blood loss "Well, I wasn't gonna fight you, even if you were an evil monk like we thought, I'll trust you since that's easy"

"What are you doing here alone?" Yongzheng asked as he helped Dian Bo walk by allowing him to lean on him

"Bunch of mask wearing maniacs and guards surrounded us! I told my older brothers to go on ahead, meant to catch up to them, but I got so tired" He yawned, as if he was unaware of the arrow sticking out of his neck, a few feet away from his carotid or the spear still lodged in his leg

"Do you need to rest?" Yongzheng asked, shooting you a concerned look as Bo yawned again and shook his head

"No, I think I just had too much to eat at supper, I'll be ready to fight once I've walked a bit more!' He declared blithly unaware of his grievous injuries.

Bao, you find still fighting a handful of elite guards, blinded by his own blood. You watch Yongzheng and Bo intervene, and smile as the two brother's tearfully reunite and embrace one another. It would seem, from what little of half cried conversation you hear over the horrible clamor of shouting voices, clashing blades and crackling fire, that you had just missed the eldest and most chivalrous of the three Dian brothers. Dian Gang.

Who, judging from the fact Dian Bo is alive, and you just saw Dian Bao lift a man up by his neck, they have taken the weakened divine blood honey medicines you had given them, along with the cheaper pills. And Dian Gang had taken the flickering wind pellet upon realizing he and Bao were about to be surrounded again, and, like his younger brother, Bao bravely sacrificed himself to allow his elder brother to continue forward

Now thoroughly excited to see what came next, you followed Yongzheng, who marched ahead, and Bo and Bao, the latter of which was being caught up and told that Yongzheng was actually a proper Buddhist and no wicked or greedy monk taking advantage of innocent and naïve Yuyi. You couldn't help but to wonder how their brief meeting with you had been twisted in their minds during their trek to the palace, corrupting and distorting their mental image of you as they encouraged themselves with what they imagined had happened and what they had envisioned they'd do to the emperor and his soldiers in retribution.
Cont

>>5454406

Shaking that pointless thought out of your head, you devoted all the rest of your thoughts to the anticipation of watching the scumbag emperor meet his end, and so rushed ahead of the two wounded brothers and the winded Yongzheng. And because you picked up your pace and shot like a bolt of lightning through the palace, that you were able to catch up with Dian Gang, right as he finally got within spitting distance of the emperor.

He had cornered him in the throne room, which was now filled with severed limbs and a thick pool of blood. Long Tiantunri, even reinvigorated and muscular once more, was cowering, trying to hide behind his women and push them forward as if he thought they'd fight on his behalf. Especially the one smiling, who judging by her beauty, was the lover whom had replaced the stolen Lady Bao.

Gang, wasn't looking well. The skin on his feet and hands had been degloved and torn away, and blood vessels were popping along his bulging arms and his eyes and turned a beautiful shade of crimson from internal bleeding. His armor was broken and his chest was bared. You could hear his heart hammering, everyone could

"LONG TIANTUNRI!" He bellowed, frothing at the mouth, not from pill overdoes, but from sheer maddening anger "I have come to take recompense for the thousands of corpses you have left in your wake, the lives you have trampled in your hubris! I shall see your every sin repaid and Lord Bao avenged! And Lady Yuyi freed from her confinement here!"

You had never seen a man who had less dignity facing his death than the last emperor of the Long Dynasty. He couldn't even speak he was so terrified, despite being in a health and strong body once more. His tears flowed like wild rivers down his cheeks, his hanging earlobes danced to and fro as he shook his head, silently pleading for just a few more moments of life. His wispy beard and mustache were soaked with snot and his handsome, draconic features were gnarled into a whimpering look of terror and panic.

Even Gang himself seemed disappointed

"A waste of a man, you shame your ancestors. May this bring an end to the chaos consuming the kingdom, and allow peace to return at last" He muttered, as he stepped forward, and stepping past the women, drove his blade through the emperor's back

and that was that.

The end of an ancient dynasty, the destruction of the imperial family and the final page of their history. That was their legacy, he who was equal to heaven, the son of heaven himself, squealing like an infant and hiding behind women he had taken from their husbands, brothers or fathers by force. Unable to defend himself, without the will or resolve to stand as he died.
Cont

>>5454409

He died a dog's death. And the moment he did. The air lightened, as a thousand grudges were satisfied at once, and you felt a feeling of enlightenment upon witnessing this once in a lifetime even of a man hated by so many getting what he deserved, and dying pathetically. Like swarms of butterflies, ghosts and grudges fulfilled, gathered around the still body of Tiantunri, flocking around him as Dian Gang fell to one knee, panting and wheezing as his face turned a ghastly pale.

What do you do now, Huanliuxue?

>See if Dian Gang is alright and if he needs help surviving the burden of all the drugs he took, then fight the ling bitch

>Mediate on the emperor's death and the gathered storm of enmity released upon it, and the great comfort and light that has taken its place, Then fight the ogress

>Check if Yuyi and Qiang are safely away from the ogress, and then go fight Ling Yaonan as you had promised

>Grab the emperor's soul, and mock him that, his misrule gave birth to a much more deserving ruler. HUANLIUXUE!. Personally escort the bastard to hell, to relish in his fear, before returning to duel the crazed battle junky

>Decide you have no reason to uphold promises given to a Ling, and gather Yuyi, Fu, and Qiang and just leave before the Ogress realize you lied about fighting her.

>Write in

>>5454414
>Grab the emperor's soul, trapping it into one of the soul sealing jars to bring it back to your sect.
>See if Dian Gang is alright and if he needs help surviving the burden of all the drugs he took, then fight the ling bitch
His blackened soul would make for a great cultivation tool for Siwang, and a source of grudges for us. I'm not letting the bastard go that easily after all that effort to kill him.
And I trust Qiang's ability to protect Yuyi

>>5454414
>>Mediate on the emperor's death and the gathered storm of enmity released upon it, and the great comfort and light that has taken its place, Then fight the ogress

>>5454414
Supporting >>5454419

>>5454419
Oh, and if it's not possible to get his soul since we are on ghost form and may need to return to Yuyi to get the pearl with the jars, than just help Gang I guess.

>>5454454
Actually, even if it's possible, prioritize Gang over getting the soul, since we are on a time limit and we might not be able to do both.
I'm sure some demon with a grudge will get his hand on him to torture for eternity, there were plenty of those in hell when we visited, so it might not be gone forever. Gang's live on the other hand is quite final.

>>5454414
>See if Dian Gang is alright and if he needs help surviving the burden of all the drugs he took, then fight the ling bitch

>>5454409
>The end of an ancient dynasty
excepting the son of a dead concubine who was given to a maid that has raised him as their own until they're ready to take hold their destiny He's finally dead. Good riddance.

>>5454414
>Grab the emperor's soul
>See if Dian Gang is alright and if he needs help surviving the burden of all the drugs he took, then fight the ling bitch
I mean, why give him up at all? Just keep him as long as we can. Consider it training in how to hold onto a soul while we ourselves remain a soul. We've shaped our soul thoroughly, and have an even degree of physical/spiritual force, so by mouth or paw his shouldn't be impossible to transport.

Hell, if it works out well, we can just keep his soul with us while we repossess the corpse and fight Yaonan. Or better yet, zip it back to our body and drop it into something secure, considering how fast we move as souls.

>>5454414
>Check if Yuyi and Qiang are safely away from the ogress, and then go fight Ling Yaonan as you had promised

>>5454414
>>Grab the emperor's soul, and mock him that, his misrule gave birth to a much more deserving ruler. HUANLIUXUE!. Personally escort the bastard to hell, to relish in his fear, before returning to duel the crazed battle junky

>>5454464
Support

>>5454414
>Get soul
>Meditate
>Go fight Ling bitch

>>5454414
>Grab the emperor's soul, and mock him that, his misrule gave birth to a much more deserving ruler. HUANLIUXUE!. Personally escort the bastard to hell, to relish in his fear, before returning to duel the crazed battle junky

>>5454414
>Grab the emperor's soul
>Ckeck on Dian Gang
No need to go to hell right now, we’ve got a brat to correct

>>5454414
>Check on Dian Gang
>Grab the emperor's soul

>>5454414
>>See if Dian Gang is alright and if he needs help surviving the burden of all the drugs he took, then fight the ling bitch
>>Grab the emperor's soul, and mock him that, his misrule gave birth to a much more deserving ruler. HUANLIUXUE!. Personally escort the bastard to hell, to relish in his fear, before returning to duel the crazed battle junky

I'll point out that the death of this man is a once in a lifetime oppertunity, and if we don't meditate on it now, we're going to lose the shot.

It won't be irreparable damage to us, but I'd still greatly suggest that we take this chance to further our Dao of Grudges, because I can think of fewer mass quantity killings that can be indulged in.

>>5455135
>if we don't meditate on it now, we're going to lose the shot.
Why though? It's not like we'll forget everything in the next minute.

>>5455138
We're not observing the fine details of the event, not absorbing energy to test the 'taste' or glimpsing some very rare principle which is engaged through these unusual circumstances. Like this "comfort and light" which is the first time we've ever seen occur at a death.

The option is to study this phenomenon, which we won't do passively because we will be engaged in other things, namely catching a soul then trying to tend the wounds of Dian Gang [who frankly has served his purpose and can die content] before going to fight the Ling bitch.

No time to deeply examine the sating of so many symultanious grudges, and the event will dissipate rather quickly if we are not exceedingly lucky and it remains due to the energies involved. Which itself, we will miss out on observing how it is formed.

it's not an issue of "forgetting" it's an issue of not learning at all.

>>5455152
My only worry is if it’ll use up our big bonus that we’ll want to save for human form attainment.

>>5455135
Problem is that we are on a time limit until the bitch starts throwing a tantrum, so we have to ration what we do, and I would rather meditate on it later when we can stop and think on the bigger implications. It's going to be a less fresh memory and feeling, but we can take our sweet time doing it in compensation.
Honestly, the only thing that is truly once in a lifetime in this choice is Gang's survival. You know, because if he ides his lifetime ended

>>5455158
I'm honestly content throwing his soul to the dogs and Gang to his fate when faced with the opportunity to advance our Dao.

Dao is our path, our power, our strength and the way forwards in the path of cultivation. It's well worth missing out on one artifact or one mortal life. Especially given our dominion over ghosts.

Still, I'm willing to compromise and get rid of my vote for the soul and switch to Gang if it would increase the amount of votes towards meditation. Because Huan is a good moral girl, rather than my pragmatic ass.

>>5455157
We've the ability to divide up and partition the bonus as we wish.
Out of +135, we can put it all on the roll or none of it or +100 or +22 or whatever else, if precedent is followed. We've done it before.

>>5455166
Well, I still want to meditate on it, just not now, we shouldn't rush any advancement or enlightenment, otherwise we could have picked the chance to get our human form instead of getting even more bonuses. Although I admit some part of it was because we got sidetracked with other opportunities and helping people.
Also, I kind of want to save that bonus to use it all at once. I'm really curious what would happen if we got something like 90 over the DC, since Grandfather always mentions the difference, and I have a feeling it has an effect.
>>5454419
>Because Huan is a good moral girl, rather than my pragmatic ass.
You are right, I'm officially changing my vote to just
>See if Dian Gang is alright and if he needs help surviving the burden of all the drugs he took, then fight the ling bitch

>>5455175
I get that you want to meditate later, I'm saying that we cannot do it later without losing most of the benefits.

the difference between a science experiment about gravity and thinking about how an apple would fall

Also it's a bit early, but I'm counting the votes to check the progress

Votes
13

>Get soul - 6 (9?)
MKWdP0ea
nYynoVXb
SpxoLFBF
dJlLexm2
cmEwTU9T (?)
jv6l+axS (?)
IUtWYDY
NyKA6ZKm
VAKtHXl3 (?)

>Go to hell - 3
cmEwTU9T
jv6l+axS
VAKtHXl3

>Help Gang - 8 (?)
1shEj/mN
MKWdP0ea
Yviz7gkE
nYynoVXb
SpxoLFBF
fIUtWYDY
NyKA6ZKm
VAKtHXl3

>Meditate - 2 (?)
5P1NovTy
dJlLexm2

>Check Yuyi - 1 (?)
epvA7rFa

I don't know if the anons wanting to go the hell are more interested in just grabbing the soul than mocking him, so I put into a question mark.
So depending on how Grandfather counts this, we either only heal Gang or heal Gang and get the soul, but in neither case follow him to hell.

>>5455187
>but in neither case follow him to hell.
Unless these anons that just said Get soul and Check on Dian Gang meant to shorten the vote instead of purposefully removing the follow him to hell part, it still wouldn't be one less than half, but makes the tally more confusing.
>>5454800
>>5455089
But not this one since he specified
>>5455018
And this one, since he cut part of the grab soul, but made the entire of Gang, so I believe it was on purpose
>>5454497

If I missed anyone or counted wrong, please tell me

>>5455187
Go to hell is a rather large waste of time, if we are being honest with ourselves.

Sure, hate him and all that but he's not really worth our attention. His soul is a trophy, if that.

>>5455191
I think that confirms that you just want the soul without mocking him to hell, so we just need the other anon to mention something to be sure there is no misunderstanding.

>>5455199
I was only thinking of action order desu.

>>5454800
I'm gonna switch my vote to supporting this, I still think holding onto the emperors soul will be worthwhile in the future, and perhaps even for Siweng, and doing so while meditating on this event kind of just makes sense.

I fully expect Yaonan will be enraged by our lateness, they may even start clearing the palace. But we can trust Yuyi to Qiang and Yongzheng is near us, and we can tell him to hook up with them to flee.

>>5454414
>dirdct yongzheng to lead the brothers to safety.
>ask some friendly ghost to hold the emperor soul in place so we can grab him later on.
>Meditate on the emperor's death and the gathered storm of enmity released upon it, and the great comfort and light that has taken its place

I feel meditating is actually the most important thing, ok getting the soul and save the brothers would be good..
But like this anon explained
>>5455152
the dao is most important.

(i think this meditation will add to the bonus instead of using it since it's an opportunity to observe not a breakthrough.)

As for the brothers they had their shot at immortal glory and the revenge, i would direct them to join yuyi so that she can at least try to stabilize them while we deal with the ogress.
Or leave the ogress for last, bitch doesn't really deserve that much consideration.

>>5455282
>direct them to join yuyi so that she can at least try to stabilize them
That's really smart. +1 that. Babysitter Qiang is a go!

>>5455282
I'll switch to supporting this one.

>>5454414
>>5455282
I honestly forget if I voted already and don’t recognize my own vote. If I did, switching to support this.

>>5455282
If it works, then sure.

Switching from >>5454800

Fuck it, switching my vote >>5455089
to >>5455282

We could even ask for the soul of Mao's brother to grab the emperor soul for us, him and maybe his dead wife

Updated tally

>Votes
13 (14?)

>Get soul - 4 (8?)
SpxoLFBF
dJlLexm2
cmEwTU9T (?)
jv6l+axS (?)
IUtWYDY
NyKA6ZKm (?)
VAKtHXl3 (?)
nYynoVXb

>Go to hell - 3 (4?)
cmEwTU9T
jv6l+axS
VAKtHXl3
NyKA6ZKm (?)

>Help Gang - 6
1shEj/mN
Yviz7gkE
SpxoLFBF
fIUtWYDY
NyKA6ZKm
VAKtHXl3

>Meditate - 5
5P1NovTy
dJlLexm2
nYynoVXb
x9XCxJDQ
oyqS2U6h

>Check Yuyi - 1
epvA7rFa

>Ask ghosts - 3 (4?)
x9XCxJDQ
nYynoVXb (?)
MKWdP0ea
oyqS2U6h

>Babysitter Qiang - 4
x9XCxJDQ
nYynoVXb
MKWdP0ea
oyqS2U6h

Well, if this new development, the votes are now split and only getting the soul will win, unless more people change their votes. I'm not changing though
Put a question mark on nYynoVXb vote because I'm not sure if >>5455291 this mean he only supports the directing Yong part of the asking ghosts too.
I don't think asking the ghost will work, we helped all of them except Mao's brother and the old-empress move on, so the only ghost right now would be the ones killed in this attack, and they were the emperor's guards.

>>5455310
>>5455323
Fuck, I should have hit update before posting

>Votes
13 (14?)

>Get soul - 2 (6?)
SpxoLFBF
cmEwTU9T (?)
jv6l+axS (?)
IUtWYDY
VAKtHXl3 (?)
nYynoVXb (?)

>Go to hell - 3 (4?)
cmEwTU9T
jv6l+axS
VAKtHXl3

>Help Gang - 5
1shEj/mN
Yviz7gkE
SpxoLFBF
fIUtWYDY
VAKtHXl3

>Meditate - 5
5P1NovTy
dJlLexm2
nYynoVXb
x9XCxJDQ
oyqS2U6h

>Check Yuyi - 1
epvA7rFa

>Ask ghosts - 5 (6?)
x9XCxJDQ
nYynoVXb (?)
MKWdP0ea
oyqS2U6h
dJlLexm2
NyKA6ZKm

>Babysitter Qiang - 6
x9XCxJDQ
nYynoVXb
MKWdP0ea
oyqS2U6h
dJlLexm2
NyKA6ZKm

Now the new plan and getting the soul are tied, if we count. Gang will most likely die, since I doubt Yuyi know how to stop the flickering pellet from killing a person, but the other two may live.

Also, I'm not going to tally this vote anymore, I already posted three times and it's making the thread messy.
I should probably have waited some days first.

>>5455324
You are actually right that asking ghosts to restrain him may not work
(Or a real grim reaper/demon shows up)

If we're alone though we can actually lie to him as being the envoy of heaven that will bring them to paradise just to keep him quiet.
(That or dian gang may be amenable to pummel him some more after death which would be comically hilarious)

I wonder if somebody dies can we grab the soul and resuscitate them that way?
Or does that just make them jiangshi?

Anyway you're doing a sterling job counting anon!

>>5454414
>Mediate on the emperor's death and the gathered storm of enmity released upon it, and the great comfort and light that has taken its place, Then fight the ogress

File: 1650600343690.png (29 KB, 567x567)

29 KB PNG

Ending the vote now, tallying now. Meant to do so earlier, but the ants had returned and needed to be eradicated

Grab the emperor's soul: 5
-trapping it into one of the soul sealing jars to bring it back to your sect.:1
-and mock him that, his misrule gave birth to a much more deserving ruler. HUANLIUXUE!. Personally escort the bastard to hell, to relish in his fear, before returning to duel the crazed battle junky:3

See if Dian Gang is alright and if he needs help surviving the burden of all the drugs he took, then fight the ling bitch:5

Mediate on the emperor's death and the gathered storm of enmity released upon it, and the great comfort and light that has taken its place, Then fight the ogress:8

Check if Yuyi and Qiang are safely away from the ogress, and then go fight Ling Yaonan as you had promised:1

direct yongzheng to lead the brothers to safety And to yuyi (and thus Qiang):6


ask some friendly ghost to hold the emperor soul in place so we can grab him later on.:5

So by my count there were 16 votes

There are ten votes to nab the emperor's soul, so I'll say Huan will capture it and leave it in the hands of some cordial spirits for safe keeping for the time being.

And with 8 votes to meditate on his death to further your Dao of Grudges, exactly half, She will also meditate on the emperor's death.

So to summarize, you'll ensure the emperor's soul can't escape your clutches, and then meditate on his death.

Update will arrive shortly

You watched, concern flaring in your heart as you watched the brave rebel warrior turned chivalrous and principled assassin clutch at his chest, his face twisting into a gruesome mask of agonized pain, the kind of hurt that is so powerful it wipes away all thoughts and brings about a clarity of mind. A clarity that allows one to, as easily as they see the back of their hands, to realize and comprehend just how closely death follows behind the footsteps of all living things. His brow furrows and his nose scrunches, deep wrinkles carve through his expression like the crawling fingers of mold or the reaching roots of a tree burrowing through the rich soil of a grave. Beads of sweat condense and fall down his pale skin as his hand spasms and clutches his chest again, as worry rises within your own, spectral heart. But not guilt. Qiang had warned him of the risks of taking the stronger medicinal drugs she offered to them, Dian Gang knew what he was gambling when he pressed the flickering wind pellet, the most potent of the spirit medicine pills you had donated to their cause, upon his tongue and swallowed it. But still, you watch, darkly entranced by the brave man's struggle against the side effects of the drugs he had taken into his own body. Macabrely curious and grimly intrigued, you studied him in agony and watched to see if his body could endure the recoil of the sudden hastening of his heart, as the watered Ghost Princess's heart poison was purged from his body via the strengthened physique granted unto it by the diluted Divine blood honey medicines.

While the other components of the flickering wind pellet were still active. Ogre's blood and the hare's fleetness medicine. Soon the side effect of the Imperial cat's eye pill would take hold, and Dian Gang would be struck blind. Temporarily if his now unrestrained heart wasn't overwhelmed by the renewed and much hastened flow of blood. It could simply burst, or stall fatally and stop. Grossly overfilled veins bulged over the white face of the eldest of the three Dian brothers, as the last paramours of the emperor noticed his killer was in great pain, through some internal turmoil. They gathered around him, trying to help him stand or see what was wrong with him as his eyes bulged and his breathing become course, fast and stifled. But the lives these ladies lead, were so pampered and isolated, they had no clue how to help him or that offering him kind words and gently pressing their hands on his back and awkwardly rubbing it was doing absolutely nothing to impede the sudden attack his virtuous heart was experiecening.

You watched, as the man who toppled a dynasty that had endured the passage of centuries, wheeze, gasp and cough, unable to do anything but claw and scratch at his chest, as it lifted and fell further than it should, sweat soaking into his robes and pooling around him, as his pale face began to fluster and turn so deep a shade of red it almost look violet!
Cont

>>5457709

Meanwhile, the emperor expired, ignored by those he had taken as lovers by force in favor of his killing. He had curled into a pool of his own blood, steaming and fresh, having moronically pulled the sword in his back out, hastening his demise. And only just now did he dirty the air of the world with his final breath. Gang tried to stand, unsteadily, having lasted longer than you anticipated, but at that moment, your attention was torn away from him, as, with a great golden light, the emperor's soul was wrenched from its body. Very much unlike any death you had seen before.

And acting immediately, you pounced on it as it rose up into the eye of the storm of malice that was beginning to crash down upon the throne room in great, stygian waves. With a single paw, you pinned Long Tiantunri's now bodyless spirit to the ground and purred in delight as the failure of an emperor and man looked up at your true face with a terror so deep it could even strike the dead. At your side, His empress appeared in all her mangled glory.

"You could have at least died as a man should, you dog in dragon's hide" She spat venomously, her words colder than any ice "You have my thanks, Huanliuxue, for allowing my soul to rest in peace at last by showing me the pitiful death of this pitiful worm"

She smiled, her burned and melted face mending and repairing as her own grudge fell from her shoulders like water down a duck's back, and took the form of great, grey butterfly wings that fluttered and flew to join the rest of the storm's darkness and all consuming enmity

"Huanliuwho?" The emperor gasped, wide, horrified eyes flicking between two empresses "I..I'm the son of heaven! How can they allow a demon to pounce on me! How have I died! Who could be so insolent to not only harm the imperial body, but drive from it its holy life! This..this can't be happening"

"You..You don't even know who I am?" You squeak, suddenly feeling all of the excitement and dark joy in your heart rushing out of you, as the high of power and victory was wrenched from your paws immediately, as that mangling of your name struck a hard and decisive blow against your ego. But, almost as soon as the exultant feeling of this triumph died, was its place taken instead by a truly vicious, sadistic fury

"No matter" You laughed, throwing up your chin and head imperiously, refusing to even look down at the dog beneath your paw "My peer, the great and beneficent Empress Long, whose wisdom and beauty shall be spoken of long after your death. May this Wild princess and future Empress of all make a humble request of you?"
Cont

>>5457713

"Hmm?" The female shade hummed, tapping a nailed finger on her chin "And may I ask you, Huanliuxue, who would have been far worthier an emperor than this pile of filth, if the two of you had switched fates and births, what it is you would ask of me, after having done so much without a single question of recompensation or reward for your selfless services and the peerless generosity you showed to all of us wandering souls left behind in this trash's passing?"

"You're making a deal with the demon!?" Tiantunri raged, or rather, tantrum. You shut him up with a solid bat from your forepaw

"Could you hold onto him until I return? I have business elsewhere in the palace, and would hate to allow him to sliver out of my claws, when he is worth much more caught by them" You answer chipperly and merrily, eyes glittering and glowing with feline delight "Surely such a request is not insulting to your imperial self"

"Of course it isn't, it would in fact, be a great honor to be privileged to carry out such a favor for one as magnificent as yourself, Queen of cats" She answered back, just as happily, suddenly shifting from her beautiful, purified self into a terrifying dragoness spirit! Complete with scales and horns and replete with claws and fangs. With a shriek, she wrapped her ethereal coils around the emperor's own soul, and began to bind and constrict it, laughing like a true demon as you watched, entertained and pleased with the show.

A sudden rush of liquid drew your attention back behind your head, and to Dian Gang. Half expecting to see a geyser of blood shooting out of his chest, you instead saw him, in the arms of the stolen ladies of the dog who thought it was a dragon's court, his mouth, chin, chest, legs and the ground below him coated in a black oily mess.

He had survived the immediate backlash of the spirit medicines you gave him! But just barely, and he looked like half a corpse, but it'd seem his force of will and resolve to actually deliver the emperor's head to his master was strong enough to survive the disastrous heart attack he had suffered, and the expulsion of the impurities in his own body, brought about by how much Qi he had taken into his body through the drugs that had caused that heart attack. Miraculous! Incredible! However, that in no way guaranteed he'd survive the night, just that your gifts hadn't killed him. The damage done to his body, could still very well be lethal, but he'd at least last long enough to bask in his success and see his brothers one last time, if nothing else. And if he had enough willpower to come this far and endure so much, then he could very well survive the injuries he's sustained to his heart and veins. His future was uncertain, he might live with a weak and faulty heart or he might die, but no one could lay the blame for his death on your head. He made his choice, and was suffering the consequences.
Cont

>>5457715

But it was still a relief to you, that even though he was hovering between life and death, that he had the good manner not to die while in your sight. Witnessing the death of a man so chivalrous and respectful would've soured your evening and polluted your mind with whispers of regret and guilt. Now, you could meditate on and observe the great conflagration of a thousand grudges caused by the emperor's death, and gain new insights on the Dao of Grudges even if he did succumb to his internal injuries.

Which will certainly advance your cultivation and understanding of the Dao and one of the strongest energies that saturate your meridians!

Turning into a ball of free floating ghost fire, you zip to the center of the vortex of hatred and resentment, and begin to mediate on it, as it twists around you and begins to soak into your spiritual form freely. At first there is a searing, unfamiliar pain. That of your own soul being scorched and scaled by the sheer potency of the enmity with the grudges surrounding you as their weighted bore down all around you, crushing and smothering you like a current of mud and stone. But you endured, and focused your mind on the emperor's death, the releasing of the countless grudges focused upon him, meditating on the moment of his passing and contemplating what immediately followed his well deserved demise. For, what the storm of hate gave way to, was a strong sense of comfort, shared by both the living and dead. So many hearts and mind's had focused their anger, fury, rage and disgust towards one man, that, subconsciously, universally, all who held a grudge towards him felt the moment he had been cut down and killed.

A wave of relief and serenity washed forth from the yawning maw of the vortex of resentment you sat in, as it calmed and the black clouds that formed it began to weaken and gradually fade away into the heavy air of the night. Like the retreating of thunder clouds, or the ending of night. The Darkness of the Reign of Long dissipated, and was replaced by a warm, comforting light. As if, centered from the eye you sat within, a sun untarnished by his rule rose and showered the world with resplendence and mirth. You still much prefer the gloom of closed crypts and the chill of gravestones, but, the ushering in of a new era, clean of so many grudges, was enjoyable in its own way. While you delighted in swimming in grudges, strong and weak, petty and mortal, feeling them be satisfied and fulfilled and vanish to leave a void of emotion, a canvas to be painted by other, more colorful emotions than the black of enmity and hate, was just as gratifying as wallowing and stewing in resentment and rage.
Cont

Witnessing the storm of spite wash over you and fade into nothing, and then the comforting emptiness brought upon by the sudden fulfillment of countless grudges pour out from the throne room and across the whole of the now leaderless empire, was enlightening and left your mind and soul feeling truly illuminated. As if you were sunbathing beneath a light radiating from the Dao itself!
Pursuit of one's Dao only brings further benefit. +45 to next cultivation or Training roll. Total bonus +180! You have procured a great wealth of experiences and insights, as befitting a prodigy

When you end your meditation, you are alone in the throne room. Dian Gang and the maidens who held him are gone.

'His brothers and Yongzheng must've carried him off' you think to yourself as you gracefully but lazily plod along the blood and impurity coated floor, pausing to wonder if he's still alive, before deciding you can ask someone about it later. After all, the names Dian Gang, Dian Bao, and Dian Bo shall surely be immortalized for their brazen, three man assault on the stronghold of imperial power and their incredible success in their attempt at ending the life of the son of heaven, who had once been the most powerful man in the mortal realm. It didn't matter much if he, or his younger brothers, survived their injuries now.

'Why, if they have died and there is any justice in this world, they'll have acquired so much good karma, surely they'll reborn into greater forms and better lives. Perhaps they'll even become cats' You smugly thought as you trotted down the empty, corpse strewn hallways, stepping over cultist and palace guard alike, as you headed to find the Ling Ogress.

To your surprise, even though you had taken longer than a few minutes, a couple of hours, judging by how low the moon was in the sky, she was still waiting in the gardens, as you had asked her to.

The gardens were certainly more corpse filled than they were before, but, eh, what is a garden by a grave plot yet to be filled? She held the corpse you possessed when you first confronted her, and if it wasn't for how much blood she was covered, practically dripping in and the fact the man was obviously dead, the corpse and her would've looked like a pretty couple.

What do you do, after returning to the corpse ,Huanliuxue?

>Immediately begin fighting her, starting with a sucker punch! Don't give her time to prepare herself! (Martial/ Strength Trial. DC 80. DC reduced by surprise attack)

>Thank her for her patience, and ask if she gathered the bodies of those she killed here so the two of you can fight for longer

>Find a weapon, and tell her before you fight that you bare a grudge towards her, then begin your duel, no matter her response (Martial trial. DC 72)

>Decide to mess with and tease her by saying "The moon sure is beautiful, tonight. What a scandal there'd be, if word got out you sat in a garden with a man old enough to be your grandfather, eh?"

>Write in

>>5457723
>>Decide to mess with and tease her by saying "The moon sure is beautiful, tonight. What a scandal there'd be, if word got out you sat in a garden with a man old enough to be your grandfather, eh?"
>Find a weapon, and tell her before you fight that you bare a grudge towards her, then begin your duel, no matter her response (Martial trial. DC 72)
Tease her back for funsies!

>>5457729
I support.

Also
>+180
Fuuuuuuuuuck.
What can we NOT do with this? Cultivation roll of a 2, we will still pass in leaps and bounds.

Human form of plus +80, we should pass on a 5, given how the DC keeps lowering.
Legitimately. . what the hell

>>5457723
>Total bonus +180
Immense! We could potentially save a lot of it for going past foundation stage. It's also a cultivation or training roll, which means ridiculous techniques we can think of we may be able to make possible. The time perception alteration of ghostly Qi in particular might have some fun expansions. And a lot of this bonus we can retain even after attaining human form, too.

There was an idea of creating a Blood Qi cultivation area, and meditating there on our heritage. Or we could deep dive learning something new entirely. Maybe cultivate/search for another rare/underutilized source of Qi. I'm struggling to think of something more usefully interesting than what we've put forth. Root rewriting experiments was a fun idea. After we attain human form and do some student-sect stuff hopefully we'll get the time to be truly creative.

>>5457729
Support. Also, holy crap, of course fighting outside of our body through a corpse has high DCs. Hopefully we don't embarrass ourselves.

>>5457723
>Thank her for her patience, and ask if she gathered the bodies of those she killed here so the two of you can fight for longer
>Decide to mess with and tease her by saying "The moon sure is beautiful, tonight. What a scandal there'd be, if word got out you sat in a garden with a man old enough to be your grandfather, eh?"

>>5457723
>Thank her for her patience, and ask if she gathered the bodies of those she killed here so the two of you can fight for longer

>Decide to mess with and tease her by saying "The moon sure is beautiful, tonight. What a scandal there'd be, if word got out you sat in a garden with a man old enough to be your grandfather, eh?"
She doesn't need to know we have a grudge towards her.

Also, I'm sad for Gang. He knew what he was in for by taking that pellet, but he doesn't deserve so much pain.
I hope he survives.

>>5457818
I'm in favour of saving at least 100 for Surpassing Golden core.

Because Golden core, to quote grandfather, is where the wheat is separated from the chaff. Surpassing that roll would be. . . significant.

still, we can spare 60 or so for our human form. Just have to see what the DC is for human for attainment.

>>5457826
Support. Later in the fight we should use enmity incarnation and channel Fu. Not only will it be poetic, it will also completely mislead her regarding our fighting style, so when we square off in earnest, we can surprise her with our soft style.

>>5457723
>Thank her for her patience, and ask if she gathered the bodies of those she killed here so the two of you can fight for longer
I feel no shame in admitting we’ll get beaten in all likelihood. We’ve never done this before. May as well see how far we can push this!

Fly through the bodies, see if we can leave a piece of ourselves in them so we can puppet multiple bodies!

Perform moves that break or destroy our current body knowing that we’ll just hop in another!

See if we can possess body parts and merge them together, almost like a certain patchwork monster we haven’t met…

Experiment, and don’t feel bad since it’s against a Ling dog that attacked our village!

>>5457723
>Thank her for her patience, and ask if she gathered the bodies of those she killed here so the two of you can fight for longer
>Decide to mess with and tease her by saying "The moon sure is beautiful, tonight. What a scandal there'd be, if word got out you sat in a garden with a man old enough to be your grandfather, eh?"

>>5457723
>Decide to mess with and tease her by saying "The moon sure is beautiful, tonight. What a scandal there'd be, if word got out you sat in a garden with a man old enough to be your grandfather, eh?"

I like this awkward tease, it lets her believe we're as she sees us and obfuscate what we truly are.

>>5457828
You're right, there will come a time when we reveal it was us all along but it will have to be when she fights our disciple in a grudge setting match.

>>5457968
Support. This is probably more a learning exercise than an earnest attempt at victory, might as well have some fun with it.

>>5457723
>Find a weapon, and tell her before you fight that you bare a grudge towards her, then begin your duel, no matter her response (Martial trial. DC 72)

>>5457723
>Get a weapon (as she also has one) and offer cultivation secrets if she beats us.
> If she does beat us, tell her of the secrets of corrupted blood which turns humans into ghouls without giving specific warnings. Just vaguely state that it is risky. Cats are fickle! (dont explicitly state that we are a cat)
I need more Heretic Cultivation in this well written Heretic Cultivator Quest. Less "Good Karma" choices, more grey stuff.

>>5458804
Man that sounds like fun but also potentially risky.
Good chance it'll make her fight harder, and she'll wonder how we know about her forbidden techniques.
..+1

>>5458804
Just say you want to teach her something. Cause we're not beating her with these extremely subpar meat puppets. No chance bro.

>>5458804
If she weren’t Ling, I’d be willing to back something like this. As it stands though, I can’t bring myself to support making her stronger unless we can turn her against Ling, ensure we can kill her if she gets too shitty towards us or people we care about, or she mellows out.

If you want to test the waters about flipping her against Ling in exchange for blood cultivation secrets after this battle… I’ll join you with write-ins and we’ll see if others support it. Hatred aside, we’re a better mentor for her than her current sect.

>>5458841
He's trying to trick her with the demonic blood cultivation not give her actually useful advice. Though I still prefer to have Huan kill/capture her herself rather than have her turn into a ghoul. It's more personal that way, just how I like it.

>>5458841
This type of ghoulification was described as utterly destroying any cultivation base and replacing it with a different path of growing stronger. It should drastically weaken her (at first).

>>5458849
I agree, we must have our serpent beat her fair and square and then after establishing how good of a teacher we are tempt her with our techniques.

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>>5459116
You just reminded me of a huge brain blast I had!

What if we had Yujijiao possess Yaonan?

As we have found out through Yuyi, foreign beatly spirits can metamorphosize the human body and if we combine that with a theoretical reversal of the Bestial Edict to Attain- Human Form technique then our serpent student would attain new flesh from the very body of her killer!

The biggest unknown element is if the body will accept the new soul if the old one is removed. Still, it is both a fitting and deliciously ironic end for the Ling barbarian with great potential for learning in the event of failure so I am confident that it would be absolutely worth the effort.

I can just imagine the absolute smugness of Huan if it all works.

>>5459146
I think the fact she is genuinely a dead soul as opposed to our merely dispossessed one in Yuyi may change things up. But I am not a soul expert.

>>5459146
Possessing a cultivator for an extended period of time compared to a normal person might cause different results. Still worth experimenting with someday, especially if we can find a way to accelerate the changes

>>5459146
Poetic surely, but i can't see it work for long anon.
Even yuyi could blurt out a sound if we were surprised enough, i think even if our pupil was two realms higher in cultivation it may not work that smoothly.
Besides being a serpent spirit in a human body would just limit her cultivation growth and in the end just be a pointless pettyness.
Better to work towards giving her a body back and humiliate her with her own ..hands? ..Coils?

>>5458804
That's devious as fuck.

changing my support to this from >>5457748 with the obvious addition of then beating the shit out of her with the 72 dc.

>>5459146
Hmmm. Returning from the dead is usually the feats of those past the golden core. And the body isn't her original one, so it's not perfectly attuned.

In general this is all just a bit of a shit thing, that we have to be sure is an upgrade.

I also switch my vote from this
>>5457877
to support the chaotic neutral write-in here
>>5458804

>>5459457
I just want to say this for the record now. I am going to piss myself laughing if the ogress outsmarts the outsmarting and winds up gleaning alternate insight without going tits first into ruining her roots.

Which honestly for her probably isn't as big a problem as it is for most. Her body is pretty stupid strong even without cultivation. Big bitch is just built different.

>>5459466
I honestly think she will, to be frank with you.
Like, we mock her for being a battle hungry moron, but she IS a potential MC and a virtuoso in the art of killing.

I would genuinely be unsurprised if she took our advice, thought on it and applied some gleamed principles without ruining her roots. Which Huan would be very annoyed about.

Instead, I'm hoping that by encouraging this, she slips up and the taint of her blood dao finally gets sniffed by her family, which would then cut out her support network.

>>5459473
Yes this. If she practices carmine mysticism there is no way to cover that shit up

>>5459466
You should probably buy a diaper, just in case

>>5457723
>>5458804
Since I misunderstood and it still has potential upsides, I’ll back this as part of my vote here. Including the grab a weapon vote it includes since why not? >>5457960

I’m pretty sure she’ll turn it into a net positive for her, we may just drag the while family into being heretics, and she’ll be even crazier as a result. But curses are part of our domain and “live in interesting times” is a powerful one. It’s thematically appropriate.

>>5458804
You don't get it, do you? Our heresy is acting as kind and just as we are, as most individuals within Xianxia genre are at best, uncaring and at worst vile to an extent that they would consider creating something like Auschwitz as something banal in nature. What is more heretical than being more just and moral than the gods themselves?

>>5459750
>What is more heretical than being more just and moral than the gods themselves?
Probably putting water in your cereal instead of milk.

>>5459750
>>5459790
>What is more heretical than being more just and moral than the gods themselves?
Admitting dogs are better than cats.

>>5459750
Anons forget that "Good Karma" is rare among the orthodox, the heretical part is following new types of cultivation, otherwise the emperor and the god wouldn't have complimented us for it.
But if they are getting tired of Huan being too good or selfless I don't mind, as long as things don't go too far and break character by murdering innocent to eat their souls or something like that
Because in that case I might as well read a normal cultivator story.

>>5459834
I like Huan as she is, haughty but ultimately kind. Moral grayness can go fuck itself.

>>5459848
I don't even know why anons want to change it. Huan's good karma has been nothing but benefit so far.

>>5459858
Honestly I kinda like how things are going with our good Karma. Idk, it's nice that the Old God really went and was so kind and considerated with us, showing how people treated magical beast before.

Also, the council with the past Emperor Ling was also nice, that one of the Divine Lineage from Heavens himself called us virtuous and such.

>>5459848
I’m not quite sure this is really morally grey. Our hatred for the Ling is the reason for our enlightenment, so sabotaging one with a gift doesn’t seem like a stretch to me. Especially since we know that it could benefit her (to the detriment of others) later since she’s a prodigy as well.

Now, we could show her something serious instead, like the Carmine Shield. She won’t be able to use it like we do though since her blood qi is tainted like everyone else. We could then prove ourselves a better mentor and steer her towards us (as the ghost) or Huan to continue her education. Though that’s dangerous in itself since she’s clearly evil.

Ooooor we could promise her secrets and ditch her anyway. What is honor to a Ling dog? I know I’m here mostly to test our skills since corpse fighting is novel to us, not because we promised her this fight.

No matter what, we’ll have a vote at the end of the duel with some of these options. No harm in talking it out early since it isn’t binding now.

>>5459885
It's because of the comment that the anon made together with that plan, that he wanted to be more morally gray.
Also there's a chance that willing trying to corrupt the soul of someone can be considered an evil action, even if a bitch like her, since saving the emperor was a good option, even though he was a horrible person.

I don't want her to go demonic or soul-eating or some shit, but I also don't want her turning into a living Buddha (which would frankly be boring). Basically retain a certain whimsical factor and sometimes do horrible things just to play around or to satisfy our curiosity.

>>5459903
It's not really corruption when she is already this far gone.
It's tricky/subversive, if anything. But not evil.

>>5459934
She is already a murderer using corrupt blood qi, but she is using self taught abilities or changed forms of her sect. The plan is to spread actual demonic techniques to try and turn her into a Jianshi without her knowledge.
The demons were also tricky and subversive with the carmine mystics by twisting their corruption after they lost the blood fruit. If copying the action of demons isn't a bad karma option, than I don't know what else it would be.

>>5459885
If you’re really trying to commit, the shield would be my last choice. A berserker like Yaonan would be far more interested in one of the buffing techniques in my opinion. Speaking of techniques, anyone have the pastebin of Huan’s?

You know, in the end Karma is a bitch works in mysterious ways, we would only really know if Grandfather weights in on the discussion since he is the one writing the story, son no reason to get worried about things.
I wonder if the ants are still sieging his house.

>>5459946
I'd rather not teach her anything. She'll have more novel ideas which we can steal if she stays completely free of outside influence.

>>5459968
This is also a good point to reverse to our advantage, we can perhaps taunt her on her blood cultivation to have her show her hand at that and possibly gleam some insight from her techniques instead.

This fight isn't serious for us so long as huan's soul isn't damaged, so the one that fights to win only reveal their hands in the end.

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I like the option because we're offering a reward to encourage her to show her stuff. Which she'll clue in on quickly enough, after that is putting on a good enough show without giving up too much ourselves. Provided we "win" we don't need to give her anything, but that's okay because we'll still have planted a seed. I think the idea of incarnating a grudge to change our fighting style would do well. Fu would be the stoic grudge, and fit for her, and Xiongji would permit fooling her with a fiery fighting style entirely unlike our own.

I also think it's a good option because she was sent here to deal with us because someone higher in her sect detected either our activity or the activity of whatever the cultists are doing. Anything we can set up to encourage distance between her and her sect we can, hopefully/eventually, use against her.

And in the context of the duel we've set up, there is potential for us to fool her into just wanting more, it's like half her character weakness. Whether that more is a better battle thrill, or skin deep blood qi cultivation secrets, we can lean her along specific developments, not dropping carmine mysticism whole hog on her. I would prefer something less damaging to the world in potential; recall that the carmine mystics became terrifyingly strong and annihilated cities in order to gain strength by gaining more blood.

The ideal thing to me would be encouraging a range of potential that would make the nature of her cultivation more obvious, and therefore more likely for her sect/family to sever ties.

As well, if she's disowned she might just become stronger afterwards anyways. Being openly branded as a heretic is a free pass to no longer hold back, as we know. There's a mild risk of tempting ancient power to someone with brute smarts and it being pearls before swine, of course.

But really, what could go wrong? She learns 雨血海笛 or traps our soul with a talisman she hid on the corpse? Naaaah.

>>5459950
I'm not sure where karma would place it either. A mentor can give knowledge that may be inherently violent and dangerous, and can manipulate its presentation for an evil cause, but ultimately it's Yaonan's soul making the choice of what to do with what she's given. What I'd see affecting us most would be our choice to teach for the purpose of baiting and a scheme.

She's already attacked us and our students, and though she doesn't know it she is an enemy who we (I assume thus far) intend to destroy. If she does evil to the world, and we stop that, I don't see our karma being majorly hurt for this little trick. HOWEVER, if she reignites the strengths of carmine mysticism and goes insane with bloodlust I can see Karma wagging its finger at us in disappointment while a suped up Yaonan becomes the #1 enemy of the cultivation world and cycles into becoming our responsibility to stop after they drain Fu.

So... we probably shouldn't bait Blood Qi CM to the barbarian queen, ya. But other things maybe.

>>5460282
If you want to bait her with blood stuff why would you want to do grudge stuff?

>>5460375
Good point. We don't need to use an incarnation if we're set on fighting atypical to our style as a corpse, so we don't necessarily need to play that card.

>>5460375
I also don't know if we even can do that in a corpse.

>>5460282
Yeah, that's my biggest worry. Teaching someone forbidden knowledge with the specific intend for them to become even more twisted, even if they are your enemy, seems like crossing the line. Also good points on how powerful Carmine Mysticism can get, and the mass killing necessary to fuel it, that would become indirectly our fault.

I have no problem of teaching her some flashy blood technique to try and either get her greed going or make the sect cut her loose though. It's a delightfully devious scheme, but not actually evil or irresponsible.

>>5460615
But I'm not changing my vote by the way, it still feels like it could backfire.
I'm not going to underestimate potential MC options.

Also I admit I'm a moralfag that likes collecting characters, I would feel bad throwing her away or speeding up her descent into evil without even trying to stop it first.
I would rather just kill her eventually instead, if other anons hate her, don't think she's salvageable or would rather lean on Huan's grudge against the Ling.

Might as well do a bit of public service since I already posted too much

Votes
11

>Tease - 5 (6?)
5P1NovTy
nYynoVXb (?)
1shEj/mN
BtQPHOs+
fIUtWYDY
XDzoqI4V

>Grudge - 2 (3?)
5P1NovTy
nYynoVXb (?)
jv6l+axS

>Thank and ask - 4
1shEj/mN
BtQPHOs+
oyqS2U6h
fIUtWYDY

>Corrupt/Teach - 5
newQd2Ci
nYynoVXb
dJlLexm2
Nkq6YrBE / xKLGxyNb
oyqS2U6h

Put a question mark on nYynoVXb's vote because he didn't specify if he was changing or was just adding to the previous one >>5458808

>>5460626
The way I see it, she has already descended into evil.

>>5460652
>she practices blood qi
>we have source of uncorrupted blood qi in the world (had to get back in time for it)
>ergo she is practicing demonic arts.

>>5460665
More the fact she can't, or won't stop killing people. And is aroused only by thought of murder is the actions of evil.

>>5460652
She reached the bottom of the barrel, but hasn't started digging. She has killed innocent martial artists and is full of bloodlust, but I don't remember anything about her sacrificing unarmed villagers. For now.
When she attacked Fu's town, she was searching for then, because the group were famous and could be a challenge, right? Does anyone remember if she slaughtered the regular people? It's been quite a while.
>>5460665
The corrupted carmine mysticism is also a lost practice, and was the demonic one. Her blood qi is probably just self taught heretical one. Unless she found a demonic mentor, but it feels like it's stepping on the other potential MC, so I think gramps isn't going to go for that.

Anyway, if redemption is of the table, just kill her

>>5460674
I think she is more attracted to the battle and bloodshed than murder, otherwise she wouldn't have spared Fu and the others because they gave her a proper fight, right? Or did they manage to fight her off at great cost?
Although she probably gotten even worse since then, with the whole killing the guards here in the palace and wanting Mao and Yong to fight

Ok, just checked, she destroyed part of the village and villagers died because of it, fuck trying to redeem her.

>>5460691
I agree, she has no respect and too much bloodlust.
She's not disciple material, she's either a good challenge to pit our disciples against to develop their dao and sate their revenge or she'll become a dangerous enemy/rival.

And here's a list of everytime she was mentioned. I just marked the first post of each update. Seems her characterization is consistently battle junky, but she still murdered people, either willingly or collateral damage. I also got the impression she seems to have been slowly becoming more sadistic as time goes on.

Thread 1
5057457

Thread 2
5102810

Thread 3
5169628
5175536

Thread 4
5205706
5226161

Thread 5
5254741
5284149
5287854

Thread 7.5
5369322

Thread 8
5447374

I'm gonna let this idea here again:

Let's snitch those mf

We get human form (if we don't meditate and get lost for a bunch of years), talk to that one Nice Elder with the 5 Qi Spring, we give him the info and make his cultist that are into spy work and shit to look at the places where the Ogress went and investigate.

File: 1660178839081137.jpg (39 KB, 424x600)

39 KB JPG

ending the vote, tallying the result now. Sorry for the three day wait, love how much discussion there was, thou.

Decide to mess with and tease her by saying "The moon sure is beautiful, tonight. What a scandal there'd be, if word got out you sat in a garden with a man old enough to be your grandfather, eh?":7

Find a weapon:7
- and Offer her cultivation secrets if she beats you:5
- and tell her before you fight that you bare a grudge towards her, then begin your duel, no matter her response:2

Thank her for her patience, and ask if she gathered the bodies of those she killed here so the two of you can fight for longer:5

If she does beat us, tell her of the secrets of corrupted blood which turns humans into ghouls without giving specific warnings. Just vaguely state that it is risky. Cats are fickle!:5

So there were 12 votes, by my count.

So You'll decide to tease and mess with her by saying "The moon sure is beautiful, tonight. What a scandal there'd be, if word got out you sat in a garden with a man old enough to be your grandfather, eh?" before finding a weapon suitable for use in the duel

If you want to entice her to fight harder/ distract her by wagering cultivation secrets, I'll leave that up to a future vote.
since though most people who voted to pick up a weapon included it in their votes, others were against it and the votes themselves didn't reach half or more of the total votes, so for fairness sake, I won't include it in the update but as I said, will include the offer of betting cultivation techniques in a future vote.


ANYWAYS update will arrive shortly

The odd sight inspired and simultaneously awoke a certain, mischievous whimsy in your heart. Sinking into the cold, petrifying flesh of the corpse the ogress cradled like a sleeping lover, you spread your souls energies to fill its bloodless muscles and rigid bones, bringing to it a mockery of true life as you animated it with your spiritual essence and wove together that which had been broken and rendered useless through tears or stiffness inside of the motionless, breathless husk. Donning it like a coat, and wondering idly if its owner was glaring up at you from the yellow springs for partaking in the desecration of the vessel he had lived all of his long life inside, you tested the effectiveness of your hold of the corpse as you would with a puppet, by tugging on the strings of the still nerves with half a thought, clenching the hand of the corpse into a tight fist. Then, raising its limply hanging neck, you raised your head and looked into the Ogress eyes, seeing in them the same annoyance and anger of a child who has been scolded and had her toys taken away.

From your one conversation with her, and what your disciples recalled about their own unfortunate encounter with this blood starved maniac, you know she habitually and flippantly teases and flirts when talks. You aren't certain if she does it out of a real but twisted sense of romance with her soon to be victims, or if she just enjoys unnerving her opponents with a casual and playful attitude contrasting the violent intent that pours out of her every movement and mannerism, down to even the slight ticks and twitching of her expressions. Though you could be overthinking all this, and she could just be a not so innocent tease who is just a flirt by nature, but you doubt that is the case. Even if she were in perpetual heat, its clear her only lust is for battle and the blood shed by it. You try not to think how you share the name of one of her desires, as you clear the dry throat of your temporary body, and decide to follow the playful whim you had when you first looked at her sitting beside the body you spoke to her with.

The whim to pay back her teasing with teasing of your own in return, to mess with her a bit before beginning the bloody struggle. But, it wasn't like this mischievousness was only for your personal entertainment, by seeing how the ogress would react to being teased and played around with like herself like she does to seemingly everyone else she runs into, a deeper insight into her character and personality could be had and that in turn would reveal vital information about this spawn of Ling that would make beating her down to the ground and rubbing her face in the mud somewhat easier.

Somewhat because you weren't in your true, powerful and beautiful body, and because all you had to work with to fight her were the bodies of bunch of recently slaughtered men.
cont

>>5462656

Though you'd be lying if you claimed you first thought to tease her for any reason besides your own amusement

Stroking the grey flecked beard sprouting from your face, like great, twisted and curled whiskers, you chuckled low and actually caused Ling to start a bit, surprised by the sudden chortle you made as you looked deep into her glowering eyes and grinned ear to ear.

"The moon sure is beautiful, tonight" You whispered, trying your best to mimic and match the teasing way she spoke before, while pulling on the end of your beard with one hand, and propping yourself up with the other before pushing yourself from the bench with some effort. A warm shade of pink filled her cheeks and ears as she starred at you, clearly hearing the meaning behind those words, a term your mother had taught you one night while she read from her, surprisingly, vast collection of poetry she stilled deemed too "adult" for your eyes.

"Eh? What's an old boar like you saying such a thing to a young doe like me <3" She snapped back, slowly slipping into her usual manner of speech after an initial burst of open scandal and disquiet. Your grin only grew as you looked up to the falling moon, as a mummering breeze whipped through the garden, carrying the enticing aroma of drying blood and cold meat up from the ground, brushing the pleasing scents under your nose as they whispered away and vanished under the rustling of leaves.

"What a scandal there'd be, if word got out you sat in a garden with a man old enough to be your grandfather, eh? <3" You mocked back, grinning an audacious and manic smile back at her, the milky eyes of the corpse twinkling and sparkling with the mirth you feel. That made her composure crack, and her smile twitch as she stood to her full, staggering height and lifted her arms above her head, locking her fingers together as she stretched even taller. She closed her eyes, made a cute sound as she swayed back and forth with a look of frustration on her face. Feeling Satisfied and smug, partially due to mimicking the ogress' tone perfectly and mostly because you had made her react to the same kind of teasing she preferred in a way you only dreamt she would, the most amusing way, you walked away from her with your back turned to her, and began to pick through the corpses looking for a weapon to wield. Many of them were broken, or simply of too poor quality for you to even think of picking up without gloves, even while wearing a corpse, but as you moved through the corpses like a bed of flowers, gracefully and gently, careful not to disturb the twisted bodies in their bloody repose, you found enough weapons worthy of both being held by you and shedding the Ling Bitches blood.
Cont

>>5462658

"Old man, I have to admit, you piss me off. But at least you're not as uptight as most. It gets boring to deal day in and day out with stone faced busy buddies who can't take a joke. And those who can cast aside their face to make light of life and insult themselves and others without a care. Why, they're worth more than jade in my eyes. Shame those same words that brought me such relief and joy, also drove a nail into my heart. Though I'd still pummel you anyways, a few of the things you said to me have truly drawn my ire, grandpa <3"

"You certainly are an odd child, are you not?" You reply unamused and uncowed, as you kick the handle of a splintered spear away, blood soaking into your shoes as you stride back down the garden of corpses, memorizing where each worthwhile weapon lays, undisturbed in the every expanding pool of cold blood "Though, perhaps that is fitting, considering, as you pointed out just now, I myself am rather odd, am I not?"

"Certainly don't act like most geezers I've met" She said back, unperturbed, watching you carefully as you casually meandered past her gathered victims. She stuck one hand under the belt of her daoist robes, and rested her unsheated sword on her shoulder, standing in a very thuggish way, like a delinquent or common tough, as she analyzed your eye step with bored eyes

"I can say that" She sighed, clearly getting impatient with how long it was taking for the fighting to start "And there is that little detail of you hiding inside corpses, that is certainly strange, though not as bizarre as having a sense of humor however terrible it is. You must be an apostate, then, or a demon. a "proper" Daoist would never waste their breath on joking around"

"You've gotten serious yourself" You point out, as you step where all of your chosen weapons are well within your reach and adopt a wide, sturdy stance with your legs far apart and your hands stuck to your sides "All of the lusciousness of your voice has been bled dry"

"Well, a love confession changes that atmosphere, doesn't it~" She purred, eyes narrowing "There's no place between us for playful teasing and hollow flirting, and as I said, you pissed me off earlier. Can you blame me for getting focused? An outlet for my rage is pacing right in front of me, back and forth, and I am dying to wipe that smirk of your face"

"Hm, funny, our desires have aligned" You purr back "We both want to beat the crap out of the other, how amusing"

"It is, isn't it" Yaonan laughed, throwing her head back "Really, I'm glad you're using intermediaries for this fight, it'd be a shame to lose someone as fun as you are, Grandpa, even if you have insulted me and what little honor I care about"
Cont

>>5462662

"Eh, I'd have thought you'd have forsaken all dignity and face! Now I'm curious what I said to get under your skin. Was it the confession? I assure you, young girl, it wasn't serious" You cackle, mocking her some more to see her face twitch and eyes narrow further "Oh don't tell me I've hurt your pride, did you think it was honest? Poor thing?

"Shut your mouth, grab a blade, and lets get to killing each other, old man <3" She hissed through her tightly clenched teeth "before I lose my patience"

double vote

What weapon do you grab

>A Simple sword.

>A three Section Staff

> A Rope Dart

>A Meteor Hammer

>Something else

And what do you do, Huanliuxue?

>Continue mocking and teasing Ling Yaonan, in the hope she'll get so angry she'll make mistakes in battle,

>make a wager, offering her "valuable" cultivation secrets if she wins the fight, while actually plotting to deceive her into practicing accursed Carmine mysticism

>Invite her to make the first strike, and attempt to use your feline/ ghostly martial arts to dodge/ counter her attack (Martial trial. DC 72)

>Strike first, and strike fast! You'll need every advantage you can if you want to succeed and teach this bitch a lesson in humility! (Martial trial. DC 72)

>Infuse the corpses with the Yin energy radiating from your soul, and through that ghostly energy, make them rise as zombies, to swarm and distract The ogress (Magic trial. DC 40)

>Write in

>>5462665
>A Meteor Hammer
>Infuse the corpses with the Yin energy radiating from your soul, and through that ghostly energy, make them rise as zombies, to swarm and distract The ogress (Magic trial. DC 40)
I have a feeling that if the carmine plan backfires, it would backfire hard.

>>5462670
Actually, let me add this too
>Continue mocking and teasing Ling Yaonan, in the hope she'll get so angry she'll make mistakes in battle,
It probably will end badly, but it's just a corpse, not our real body

>>5462665
> A Rope Dart
We need to be either outside the range of her sword swings or so deep inside she has a hard time hitting us.
And I don't see any short range weapons on this list so we going extra long.

>Invite her to make the first strike, and attempt to use your feline/ ghostly martial arts to dodge/ counter her attack (Martial trial. DC 72)
Sending a zombie swarm after her is the easiest option, but that seems like putting a lot of bodies we can swap to into the trash.
Besides, best to use this opportunity to get the hang of battling in a human body.

>>5462709
Couldn't she cut the rope though? It's why I went for meteor hammer, if her sword can cut through metal chains we are fucked either way.

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Dropped my pic

>>5462724
The rope might be easier to cut but it moves faster through the air and can attack from odd angles with slight adjustments from a longer range.
Meteor Hammers are valid, but I think the Rope Dart will be better in the long run.

>>5462665
>>A Simple sword.
A classic.
>Invite her to make the first strike, and attempt to use your feline/ ghostly martial arts to dodge/ counter her attack (Martial trial. DC 72)

>>5462724
I'm fairly certain she can easily cut through a metal chain. The only reason she may not want to is because it could damage/dull her sword.

>>5462665
>A simple sword
Classic

>Strike hard and fast
Lets not cede initative.

>>5462865

Support

>>5462665
>A Rope Dart
make a wager, offering her "valuable" cultivation secrets if she wins the fight, while actually plotting to deceive her into practicing accursed Carmine mysticism

>>5462665
>A Simple sword
>make a wager, offering her "valuable" cultivation secrets if she wins the fight, while actually plotting to deceive her into practicing accursed Carmine mysticism

>>5462665
And for the fight
>Invite her to make the first strike, and attempt to use your feline/ ghostly martial arts to dodge/ counter her attack (Martial trial. DC 72)

>>5462665
>A Simple sword.
>Invite her to make the first strike, and attempt to use your feline/ ghostly martial arts to dodge/ counter her attack (Martial trial. DC 72)

>>5462665
>A Meteor Hammer
>Continue mocking and teasing Ling Yaonan, in the hope she'll get so angry she'll make mistakes in battle,

>>5462665
>A Meteor Hammer
>Strike first, and strike fast! You'll need every advantage you can if you want to succeed and teach this bitch a lesson in humility! (Martial trial. DC 72)


Who are the madmen using these kinds of fancy weapons inside a palace? XD
No wonder they all got killed easily..

Also like this anon said:
>>5462709
No need to lose viable bodies to swarm tactics.

>>5462665
>A Meteor Hammer

>Continue mocking and teasing Ling Yaonan, in the hope she'll get so angry she'll make mistakes in battle

>>5462665
>A Rope Dart
>Invite her to make the first strike, and attempt to use your feline/ ghostly martial arts to dodge/ counter her attack (Martial trial. DC 72)

>>5462665
>A rope dart
The arguments here are reasonable enough.
>Infuse the corpses with the Yin energy radiating from your soul, and through that ghostly energy, make them rise as zombies, to swarm and distract The ogress (Magic trial. DC 40)
>Freely admit you only mostly know what you’re doing. You don’t have much opportunity to practice against opponents who would be worth such tricks!
>Ask why she bothers staying with her sect. She doesn’t seem to care much for them.
I’m willing to get regular conversation going. Not like we need to breathe, so we can yammer away while fighting.

>>5462665
>A Simple sword.

>Strike first, and strike fast! You'll need every advantage you can if you want to succeed and teach this bitch a lesson in humility! (Martial trial. DC 72)

>>5462670
Changing my vote from corpses to
>Strike first, and strike fast! You'll need every advantage you can if you want to succeed and teach this bitch a lesson in humility! (Martial trial. DC 72)
But I'm keeping the meteor and the mocking.

>>5462665
>A Meteor Hammer
>Strike first, and strike fast! You'll need every advantage you can if you want to succeed and teach this bitch a lesson in humility! (Martial trial. DC 72)
These sure are some flashy weapons for guards

>>5464012
That's the strangeness isn't it?
I think they were martial artists recruited to deal with other martial artists.
Or like one piece and kingdom where the higher the rank the more strong and quirky the officers are.

Sadly they met the ogress and she wasn't in the mood to spare people, or nobody was worth her time.

File: Spoiler Image (2.91 MB, 1328x2651)

2.91 MB PNG

Welp!
After a bit of waiting and some very slight edits by myself, we have an interpretation of my interpretation of our darling and peerless, Huanliuxue.

I know the idea of preparing art for a form of a character we haven't seen and could look drastically different from what I propose is a risk some might see as wasteful, but it's my hard-earned wagey bucks getting spent on this and it'll be my wagey bucks being spent on any future images I get made as a sorta corrective follow up afterward. And it's all worth it in the end if you ask me!

In the end, If Huanliuxue's human form does not take this shape, then let this stand as a foolish but enthusiastic gesture of my love for the character and this quest that has come to become one of my favorites this year and for which we are quickly approaching the one year anniversary for.

Would also like to personally apologize if Our-Grandfather was planning to do a big reveal with commissioned art himself and I accidentally steal any of that future thunder with this. Big huge gomenasorry in advance.

>>5464097
I want to pet the cat she is holding.
Also her face is perfectly smug, and I love the pink robes and the symbols.

>>5464097
holy shit that's cool

As well, I never thought to ask whether Huanliuxue was a longhair cat or a shorthair cat until now. It's interesting that the hair + smug tilt makes her face look rounder than its total definition.

catgirl I would leave offerings for/10

>>5464097
You know, maybe it would have been better of she was holding Ghost Empress Melody than a very cute cat

>>5464097
She's cute

CUTE I SAY, CUTE!1!!!1

>>5464114
A good idea, but one I had no control over, unfortunately.

See, the small cat in the image as it is now is a holdover from my original concept for the image, which I won't share because
A) It's a bad drawing.
B) I may or may not get someone to do it in its entirety at some point.

The very cute cat in question is supposed to be little Huanliuxue, back when she was just a dumb kitten, only half covered in blood.
The original image idea was supposed to have a pokemon evolution sorta feel, with small kitten Huanliuxue, just awakened getting revenge on the Ling Huanliuxue, Huanliuxue in her current form, and then finally her human form.

I suppose the artist wasn't keen on drawing so many cats, so he opted for just the human form and the kitten form, which works well too, even if it doesn't capture the sense of progress and grandeur of my original concept.
But frankly, I wasn't even sure I would be getting this image until it was sent my way via DMs, so I'm happy to have it and share it.
Like with everything while working with this particular artist, from how the actual image comes out, to when you get it or even confirmation of if they've decided to work on it, it's all a pleasant surprise.

Regardless, it was wagey bucks well spent if you ask me.

>>5464129
Now that you said that the cat is Huan, I noticed the notched ear.
It was the first thing that I thought, but then I saw the eye colour were different I had changed my mind.
I hope our human form doesn't have the cat legs/arms though. It would make going undercover harder. Also hands are too useful to pass up. Maybe it could be some sort of halfway form?

>>5464134
>Maybe it could be some sort of halfway form?
I don't remember in what thread it was, but someone suggested that we could maybe develop a "combat form" where there's an in-between in our cat form and human form.

Maybe even something more monstruous ala Bloody Roar.

>>5464136
Yeah that was a great idea. Irrc it so we could have monsterish five digit hands and a tail for spellcasting. Something iterative to the human form to develop either afterwards or with its meditation.

It's terrifying enough we've learned to cast spells wit just a tail as one of the first things we did, by necessity. 3x that and every other daoist enemy may give us a parting compliment as they become a disintegrated yin-heavy paintstain.

>>5464143
>It's terrifying enough we've learned to cast spells wit just a tail as one of the first things we did, by necessity.
Oh yeah! That was absolutely one of the highlights in the Quest when we learned that, especially the reaction of the Toad King when he figured out.

Huan's already packed with the physical advantage a Cat has over a Human, and that mixed with the sole fact that we're a cultivator and the physical enhancement that brings is terrifying. Now if you mix all that with the hability of casting spells without restricting our paw or legs, shit gets wild

>>5464134
>I hope our human form doesn't have the cat legs/arms though.
In my head, the idea is that while her hands and feet are discolored from the rest of her human skin and would have a thin layer of fur and other cat traits, they would still be human in nature complete with the all-important human thumbs.
Just one of the little details lost in translation.

>>5464136
That's a very long-winded way of saying you want full furry Huan lol.
I do approve of the idea of having her have clearly monstrous traits along with the cute human girl. It's the only proper way to do things.
Having the right mix is more important than having all one or the other.

>>5464143
>Irrc it so we could have monsterish five digit hands and a tail for spellcasting
That was my idea yeah. Again, lost in translation.

>>5464154
>That's a very long-winded way of saying you want full furry Huan lol.
Honestly, from the fanart Huan already look like a Bloody Roar character, or at least is really close from the other catgirl character of the firsts games

>>5464097
Super cute and smug! Gramps is definitely going to be happy to see this. Though the anniversary of the quest was October 28th

>>5464097
I imagine her to be a lot taller and more shapely than this as a human, a form that oozes an aristocratic femininity. As it is now, this interpretation looks too much like a brat imo.

Though even if it's not how I imagine Huan looks like it's still very cool.

>>5464343
Oh god. What if Huan really did look like a brat?
>Everyone, I’ve achieved a feat long forgotten by both men and beasts, the art of transformation between them! Quick, move out of the way so I may see my beautiful, regal form in the spring’s waters!
>*Sees a snot-nosed brat*
>*Huan faints from shock at how she looks*

I want to see it even more now. Having her transformation not match up to her ideal bearing, or watching her attempt to rationalize it while the other people try not to laugh, would be beautiful. Maybe even humbling, but I don’t know if Huan really understands the meaning of the word.

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17 KB JPG

>>5464368
>I want to see it even more now. Having her transformation not match up to her ideal bearing, or watching her attempt to rationalize it while the other people try not to laugh, would be beautiful. Maybe even humbling, but I don’t know if Huan really understands the meaning of the word.
God no, it's fun to think about as a joke but having her look like the antithesis to the icon of Empress of Beasts and the Dead would not be humbling but humiliating and degrading. It reminds me of how Luke Skywalker was treated in The Last Jedi...

>>5464343
Huan spend a lot of time trying to justify her being a good person as a cat's fickle whim. She is also smug and like's to tease people.
What I'm trying to say is that she was always a brat. Sometimes a very polite brat that cares for both her elders and youngsters, but a brat at heart.

>>5464389
Being smug, a tease and rationalizing being a good person is not being a "brat". It is being "a child, typically a badly behaved one." or in other words, imature, impudent, spoiled but most importantly: not worthy of respect, admiration or fear.

>>5464368
>What if Huan really did look like a brat?
>wanting a smaller, weaker form simply for a meme
oy m8 u got a loicense foh dat schtewpid?

>>5464097
VERY good cat. Also very good Huanliuxue. Though I agree with many of the stylistic and design choices here, so I may be biased.

The tail is very funny in such an unfinished state

>>5464368
Maybe if she had an oujoo-sama level of smug i could see her attain a child sized form, but she's not as vapid nor so directly antagonistic, she doesn't truly looks others from above rather she walks circles around them like a stalking tiger.

She is terrifying and i can see her very similar to (yae miko) a cold beauty.

>>5464097
Cool drawing!
That is how i would have seen huan if she attained human form when she met Monu, unrefined yet confident.


(With all this talk of human form i imagine scenarios in which if we use all our gigantic cultivarion bonus for that and we end up unlocking the power to turn other people into animals and viceversa)

Personally, I'll always err on the side of Huanliuxue having a short and slim build similar to Yuyi.

I want her to look properly elegant and imperious of course, but also petite and athletic.
After all, Huanliuxue is still a maiden, at least in terms of lived experience, and I'd want her human form to reflect that instead of her looking like Monu or some sorta amazon.
In my head, she would be small but loaded with hidden wiry muscle, like an actual house cat.
Able to bound around, and do all the whimsical stuff she does while in Yuyi's flesh without the strain.

If she was too tall and grand, it would be weird to not have her act more restrained to match her new utterly aristocratic appearance.
You can't have a jade beauty or amazon babe climb all over people and slip out of the grasp of annoyed monks like Huanliuxue is want to do while in a human form.
And such whimsy is key to Huanliuxue as we know her.
Her having the body of a femme fatale or a combat-focused amazon just doesn't seem to go along with her current personality.

All that said maybe this whole thing with the human body will be another growth experience like it was when she first transformed into her Wild Princess form where we'll be allowed to pick a path that best suits Huanliuxue's future development.
Her human form being reflective of the type of princess, if not queen, she wants to be for her people as opposed to the noble young woman she is now.
That's the only way her ending up as a traditional jade beauty or an amazon queen would make sense in my mind's eye, but that's just me.

We'll see how it goes in the end.

Ending the vote now, tallying the result.

A Meteor Hammer:5

A Rope Dart:4

A Simple sword.:6
_

Infuse the corpses with the Yin energy radiating from your soul, and through that ghostly energy, make them rise as zombies, to swarm and distract The ogress:1
-Freely admit you only mostly know what you’re doing. You don’t have much opportunity to practice against opponents who would be worth such tricks!:1

Continue mocking and teasing Ling Yaonan, in the hope she'll get so angry she'll make mistakes in battle,:3

Invite her to make the first strike, and attempt to use your feline/ ghostly martial arts to dodge/ counter her attack :6

make a wager, offering her "valuable" cultivation secrets if she wins the fight, while actually plotting to deceive her into practicing accursed Carmine mysticism:2

Strike first, and strike fast! You'll need every advantage you can if you want to succeed and teach this bitch a lesson in humility!:4

Ask why she bothers staying with her sect. She doesn’t seem to care much for them.:1

So You'll pick up a humble sword and invite her to make the first strike, trusting that your soft style will be able to counter or deflect it

Update will arrive shortly

>>5463016
>>5464012
>>5464082
Both of those guess are true, and also some of them were brought by the cultists. The ogress wasn't decerning in who she cut down, if they were able to at least issue a challenge to her

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>>5464097
Seeing this made me, Your grandfather, suck in a breath of cold air! From the moment I put it in my eyes, I was astonished and knew this piece to be jade-like and as rare as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns, as still I feel as if I've been injected with chicken's blood just by looking at it!

But, chopping nails and severing iron, I have to say that I am over the moon overjoyed to see this, and am very grateful you commissioned the art, which I think looks phenomenal

I especially like how the hair is drawn, the style that was chosen for it (which I'd say is wildl yet elegant) and its color. The big eyebrows are also a nice choice and the expression in the eyes is enchanting with the pride and confident dignity that issues forth from them. The fangs are also a good detail and that smug cat smile are what really dot the eyes of the picture.

The amount of details in the robe is breathtaking, and every time I look back I see more depth in their design. Is the blue and blue white under clothes a reference to Monu and Ping's old sect, I wonder The black, white and red sash is attention grabbing, and the symbol of the Palace of Natural Laws Sect on the sleeve and how it bends with the movement of the fabric is just great! The green, gold gilded purse is also a cute detail.

And both Human and kitten Huanliuxue have her trademarked notched ear, and i appreciate the half and half look of her kitty form, showing the moment she became Huanliuxue, its a very nice touch.

Also a nice touch is the cat feet and paws, which add a sort of, otherworldly/ supernatural feel to the picture, which does help to separate that Huan isn't just an anime cat girl, but something out of old myth and folklore, and feels like something she'd do to express her nature to the world if, perchance, she broke the illusion of her "humanity".

Seeing this interpretation of Human form Huanliuxue really brightened my night

All in all, I feel deeply humbled and greatly you commissioned and edited this for my quest, and could not be happier with the result. I'd promote you to inner disciple if this were a sect.

Had to post this by itself, since it became so long!

>>5464728
Also, replying to this to say, that I really enjoyed seeing everyone's thoughts of what Human Huan will look like, and how much thought you've all been putting into it!

"Then, without further ado, let us begin this blood red dance beneath the moon, eh, Maiden Ogress~" You say in a manner as if you were lightly, gently mocking a child, without intending to insult them, which makes the insult in your words all the more deeply cutting and effective to rouse the dark ire of the Ling Girl, who responds to your attempt to incite her rage to grow and blossom into a brilliant, feral conflagration of emotion not with words or spoken curses, but just a playful little smile. That looks gross on her face with how innocent it looks! It doesn't match her face at all! You wanna wipe it off! Tear it off! Claw it off! Its disgusting! An ogress should be snarling and grimacing, not cutely smirking like a fragile flower or harmless jade beauty! Dammit! Now you're getting pissed off just looking at the Ling Bitch and her smug smile. So, to temper your rising anger and compose yourself, you flash her a smile of your own, haughty and cat like, as you, lifting up the blood soaked and dripping hem of your host body's lower robes, bend down and gingerly, almost like as if you were daintly plucking a flower, lift up a simple sword. Humble in design and purpose, but well balanced and almost as sharp as your fangs and claws.

The Ogress' powerful, tightly bound muscles bulge and reveal themselves as her whole body tenses and readies to launch itself into battle with a sudden burst of violent motion. Her eyes glittering, watching you like a kitten watches a cattail, and she becomes rigidly set, lowered to the sight of merely an average man, with her uncovered sword gripped in both hands and held at an angle, pointing at the ground. The cool moonlight catches on its edge, making it glow with an ethereal, dreamlike radiance that dances like a reflection upon water as her face becomes shrouded in shadow as her bone white hair falls loose over her eyes and shoulders. All that can be seen of her expression is a truly wicked smile, the sort that would be best compared to the snarl of a rabid dog, and indeed, you sense her aura raising and prickle like fur on her back as the air grows heavy and tense with just the ambient flow of the Qi in her meridians. It is a myriad of colors and types, all muddled and mixed together. Seems, from a glance, she is something of woman of many talents. A cultivator who has practiced many methods and techniques. The kind of martial artist who gathers moves and tricks from everywhere they wander and everyone they battle.

But, you'd be foolish to assume that meant she was a master of none! No! That'd be a novice's first and last mistake in facing her! While it is clear she has dallianced and pursued several True and Orthodox Cultivation law, you can tell from how she holds herself and stands and the air surrounding her, that those brief and incomplete educations were undertaken solely to bolster and support her true path! The Dao she follows in her heart, secret from the world.

Cont

>>5464769

"Those eyes, so fierce and scary! <3! Grandpa, your eyes are so focused and intense, it feels like your trying to imagine what's beneath my skin! How perverse!" She gasps and moans teasingly, licking her lips luridly and hungrily as you feel a chill deeper than death trickle down your back. If this body could still sweat, it would be. She, unlike most of the current generation of Cultivators, is the same sort of beast as yourself, at least in terms of practice, and is far more dangerous in that, unlike you, you can't imagine she would have standards and limits in what she'd do to gain power and experience. You would not devour souls or practice true Demonic cultivation. But the Ogress?

From her scent alone, from the feeling of her aura and the sheer weight of her killing intent, already practices at least one of the reviled arts that you are unjustly associated with. There is polluted Blood Qi in her meridians, you can feel it like you feel your own whiskers.

"My my, what lengths have you gone to stand amongst the strong? True ambition, without morals and unbound by dogma and tradition! A cultivator of a prior age! You are as rare as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns in this era of trembling children and blind masters" You remark, impressed by the brazenness of the ogress' heresy and her willingness to reveal her true self to you this night.

"And I could say the same to you. Even if you're inhabiting a weakling's body, it is only natural for me to recognize at least the shadow cast by the true height of your cultivation. The strong know the strong. You must follow a curious Dao, though, of course, a heretic like you who hides in corpses and wears the dead like formal robes, wouldn't restrict themselves to the insipid and boring Cultivation Methods and their tiresome and restrictive laws. Perhaps, you'll actually be a challenge" She said, far more serious now, her eyes filled with a cold gleam that matches that of the moonlight caught by her blade's edge "Though, I warn you, old timer, your facing a true prodigy! A once in ten generations existence!"

You can't help but laugh, never having adopted a fighting stance, a grave insult to one who follows the path of sword so closely and devoutly as Ling Yaonan. Standing casually, arms hanging and sword only barely held in your hand, you stood relaxed and at ease as The ogress became as tightly pressed as a spring.

"What's so funny!' She bellowed, the coldness in her eye replaced with true fire "If you have time to laugh, you have time to strike! Get to it! Begin the match! Strike the gong! Start the battle!"

"Is that some kind of joke?" You ask derisively, Lifting your arms up and holding them straight in the air, inviting the ogress' rage and hostility, and leaving yourself seemingly entirely defenseless "And I was waiting for you to make the first move, girl, come! I'll allow you one free strike before I begin to test your mettle properly as your grandfather!"
Cont

>>5464772

That was a lie. You fully intended to dodge or reflect her first blow, with your subtle, phantom esc style. Brutes like her often struggle with hard styles like...Wait! She's vanished!

The pressure in the air changes, a rush of wind pushes against you as the place where the ogress stood becomes empty! Immediately you realize, she simply kicked off the ground with such force and speed in her excitement to draw your blood, that to the dull of eyes of man, she has vanished from view! But your animal and fighting instincts warn you, that she is approaching you, charging forward with great tenacity and lethal intentions! As fast as her body will allow her to!

How EXCITING!

Adopting a proper stance, you lift her blade, just as she reappears in front of you, her shadow completely eclipsing you as she swings her blade upward, having already split cleanly through the flagstones of the garden path.

Roll 1d100. DC 72. best out of three

BOSS THEME: https://youtu.be/WTuYKvrlwyo

Rolled 33 (1d100)

>>5464775
PARRY

Rolled 95 (1d100)

>>5464775
Oh boy, c'mon big money big money...

Rolled 38 (1d100)

>>5464775

>>5464787
Very nice.

>>5464787
That is some mighty big money indeed.

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>>5464787
And on that note... I can finally fall asleep.

>>5464787
Nice Success! 20 over DC! Update will arrive shortly

Shuffling your feet, one behind the other, you create just enough distance from the blade that it won't immediately and literally disarm you. It cuts your sleeve, from wrist to shoulder. Without pausing for even the time it takes to blink, the ogress shifts her grip and turns the sword from the skies back down to the earth and with a subtle curve in movement, brings down her oversized blade while still preserving the immense momentum and force of her first swing. You, step back again, at the very last possible moment to avoid being split from crown to groin, leaning back and arcing the stiff back of the corpse. A few grey and black hairs fall through the air like autumn leaves, and you feel the dull sensation of the very tip of your chin being split open, cut just enough to pierce the skin and bleed. Following through with your lean, you roll yourself back, cartwheeling as your press one hand on the blood soaked ground. Moving swiftly, Ling follows you, stepping once and closing the distance immediately. A downward thrust his her next move. You push off the ground, nearly losing a few of your fingers as she slams her sword that is as tall as some men straight through stone and into the earth below. Catching yourself, faking a stumble to entice your opponent to keep up her assault, as you analyze and figure out the exact pace and rhyme of her movements and style. And she bites down on the bait you set, harder than you expected.

A flurry of strikes performed with blistering and blinding speed. You can hear them more than you can see them, as the edge of her blade sings as it slices through the air with a speed equal to lightning splitting the heavens. A piercing howl that no animal born beneath the heavens can make wails through the garden. The stone path under your feet is cut apart, as are the leaves and petals of every bush or tree you pass by. She moves without thought or rest, cutting and hacking the places where you stood less than a second ago, matching your speed and at times nearly surpassing it as you duck, lean, weave and sway just out of her and her sword's reach. In fact, she's moving so quickly, the passing of her sword can be traced through the lines it leaves in the air! It's like she's tracing a stick through sand or wading through a river! Its ridiculous! Yet, you can never stop smiling despite how closely that razor edge shaves across your arms, neck and face. And the ogress seems to be having just as much fun, tossing her sword between her hands with each swing, only needing one hand to swing it around so gracefully and swiftly despite its length and wait.
Cont

>>5464829

The duel has already reached a stalemate, with you constantly shuffling backwards, dodging and leaping just far enough away to not be dismembered by the terrifying speed and strength of the Ling Girl, and her unable to catch even the tip of your tail as the two of you dance ever further into the gardens, the only sound the scuffing of your shoes, the splashing of the blood on the ground and the howling of her blade.

Then, opportunity raises its head. An opening in her otherwise tireless and faultless assault. A breath in, to compose herself or steady her hand. Just a little longer than those that came before. But it is difference great enough for you to anticipate her next move perfectly, a blink quicker than you had all the others. A span of time even the most skilled of swordsman wouldn't be able to react to or take advance of. But you and her, inhabit a world of power and ability far beyond even the most storied of martial heroes. A wide swing, from one of her hips to the other, forming a curved arc through the air that will meet both of your arms and your neck. A truly strange technique, especially when performed with a sword as long as hers, rather than with something more flexible, but one that is inescapably crippling even if one blocks or avoids it before it lops of their head.

There's only a small opening, between when she swings her arms, and her blade connects. A small hole in her defense of ceaseless aggression. Even many cultivators on your level would struggle to exploit this very brief faltering of her guard and assault. But, Cats excel at squeezing into places they shouldn't be able to go. And you are the greatest specimen of feline kin, great or small! No matter what body you inhabit. Shifting one foot in front of the other, lifting it a hair from the ground, you adopt a two handed grip and tilt your sword at a slight angle, seeing exactly where the edge of your opponent's own blade will pass and taking the necessity of parrying that otherwise felling blow before you can carry out your counterattack.

Bowing your head, and pressing your shoulders and arms inward, you rush forward. With a turn of your wrists, your humble blade meets her priceless steel and glides over its honed edge with an almost musical whistle. Sparks fly from where the two weapons touch together, as you turn the tall girl's own monstrous strength against her, redirecting her sword just over your head as you lower yourself further towards the ground, almost kneeling to it. Pulling your left hand from the hilt of your sword, you press two of its fingers against the ground, as you press down hard with the tips of your feet.

Jumping upwards, you rotate your shoulders and twist your whole body around to put as much strength as this corpse vessel can muster into your swing. You shoot between the Ling Bitches' arm, as her sword fells a tree older than either of you in a single, accidental chop.
Cont

>>5464831

Curving your back, you roll over you shoulder, steel kissing her cheek as you pass it by, cutting through skin, past flesh and against bone.

You had meant to go for her throat.

Blood pools down the edge of your sword, and you fall on your heels. Or, you would have. For some reason, your feet are dangling in the air. You lift your eyes, and see, even though you have sliced cleanly through her cheek, Ling Yaonan had bitten down hard on the edge of your blade and stopped it and you by the corner of her now torn open mouth. And by sheer stubbornness and nerve alone, held you in the air. She clenched her jaw, biting down harder on the blade. You could see cracks in the steel.

Kicking both of your legs, you tore it from her jaw, and found it came back a bit shorter than before it was bitten. Quickly, you rolled onto your back and leaped to your feet, narrowly avoiding the ogress' own retaliatory strike and the tree trunk it brought smashing down with it.

And before the cloud of wooden debris and scattered can fall, she sends the part of the sword she BIT OFF back at you, spitting it out of her mouth! It moves like an arrow, and its only because you're amazing that you're able to bash it aside and into a stone statue of Tiantunri, where it strikes his throat and pulverize his head! It seems her killing prowess is so great, it even extends to statues!

"Ow" She sighed, standing still and brushing the back of her hand across her split open cheek, coating her hand in her own blood "Thaaaat huuuuurt~"

You did not lower your guard or move the new end of your blade from her as she threw her head back, running her bloody hand through her white hair, painting locks of it vividly scarlet as she let out second, relaxed sigh. A shudder traveled through her.

"Oh its been too long since I've been cut. I was starting to think there wasn't anyone left in the world who could make me bleed <3" She moaned, as her tongue stuck out of the hole in her face, cleaning the blood from her cheek "At least in a pure match of skill and technique with the sword. Guess I'll have to get serious and use more than just my raw expertise with the blade...Hey, Old man!"

She points at you, suddenly whipping her hand through the air as her grin returned, wider on one side than the other.

You froze.
Cont

>>5464833

"Your movements are strange! In the martial world or world of cultivation, I've never met a person who moves like you do! You really are nimble for your age. Not to mention flexible! Didn't know people could bend like that without breaking, you move like a reed in wind! Incredible ~" She giggled, tilting her head to the side as she moved her hands, one still holding her extravagantly large sword, to the sides of her head and curls them, mimicking cat ears as she bounces around between her feat playfully "It reminds me of when I used to chase cat's in my family's manor! All that rolling, twisting, leaping, stretching. Why even the way you attacked felt like a pounce. Surprised there exists martial artists who take inspiration from the lesser cats, rather than the great...Eh, then again, I've killed some who mimicked the movements of praying mantises and partridges. The world is truly a vast place, isn't it, grandpa"

You bite your tongue to not shout in outrage at her calling house cats "lesser".

"Die" She said cutely, attacking the moment your guard dropped from her seemingly inane rambling.

Her sword is glowing brightly, and not through reflected light alone. Is that a technique or spell!? You've never seen anything like THAT before, the light is jagged, irregular, jabbing and stabbing outward like a bolt of lightning, barely contained and held to the edge of the sword.

Oh dear. So this is how it feels to fight a heretic like yourself.

Roll 1d100. Defense/haste trial. DC 70

Rolled 71 (1d100)

>>5464835

>>5464862
Jesus Christ clutch! Her rambling gave me an idea for our next move though. Since we are puppeting a dead body we should actually be able to move in ways impossible for a living organism. Dislocate our shoulder for a wide swing, or bend our elbow the other way for a surprise stab. It's not like we can hurt this oldtimer anymore.

forgot to put the best out of three part

Rolled 59 (1d100)

>>5464835

>>5464876
Honestly it wouldn't have surprised me if we only got one die because this old geezer's body really is just regular meat at the end of the day and now she's entering full hype mode. But hey, I'll hundo this.

Rolled 29 (1d100)

>>5464835

>>5464862
Success! What a clutch! Update will arrive shortly.

Time slows, as you forcefully heighten your sluggish perception through the corpses milky eyes with a clever bit of blood Qi Manipulation, willing dead nerves and still veins into a semblance of life. That energy isn't Qi. It isn't magical in nature, at least as far as you understand Daoist sorcery, which is a deeper understand than most could dream of reaching. It is not an inherent attribute of the materials used in the sword, though they are high quality. Is that...internal energy? Its coming from withing Ling Yaonan, rather than her blades, but it isn't issuing forth from her Cultivation base or meridians. But you've never heard of inner energy being used in such a fashion, so that is unlikely. Tasting the air, feeling it, you can sense a shifting in the atmosphere, the weight produced by the ogress' aura and presence alone. You swallow hard, finding the corpses throat dry as your eyes widen as you find the answer through process of elimination of what that sword light couldn't possibly be, and that its exactly that.

Sword-Light. An ability or technique that requires peerless mastery of the sword as well as profound and expert cultivation. It is a rarity nowadays, like most profound mysteries of the Dao, Qi and its cultivation, restricted to those trusted and expert few. Apparently, it was labeled a dangerous art and sealed technique for the wider world of cultivation, due to the process one would have to undergo to be just be capable of creating it, which in times of peace could only be performed by a select few individuals due to the nature of the training. Killing. One couldn't produce true sword light without standing atop a mountain of corpses, all of which served as whetstones and material to refine not only their swordsmanship, but their body as well. And the two would, at the point Sword-Light could be unleashed, would be indistinguishable from one another, at least spiritually. The danger the orthodox world of cultivation and heavens saw of course, was that one would go mad from so much killing or be driven insane by the sheer, raw bloodthirst required to kill so many to achieve their goal of connecting their spirit with the soul of their blade and achieving absolute harmony between them. And even before the codification of cultivation techniques and the sealing of the "Demonic Cultivation" arts, only high level cultivators could produce Sword-Light, the lowest possible level that could create it being at the peak of Core-Formation and following the Dao of the Sword. Of course, a similar technique could be produced with elementary Qi Manipulation, and you had done so many at time, creating scythes with your claws even at your earliest stages of cultivation.

Which you had refined into more complex and worthwhile abilities, such as the Whispering Death Claw (呢喃死亡爪子, Nínánsǐwáng zhuǎzi) and its evolution, the Red Death Scythe (红色死亡 镰, Hóngsèsǐwánglián).
Cont

>>5464910

But sword-light, to your understanding, was different than Qi infused strikes or attacks. Any novice could make a rough blade out of Qi, or create an explosion with it, or rain arrows of spiritual energy down on their foes with a wave of their hand. But few could produce Sword-Light and if half of what is rumored about it is true, it is a great power worthy of only those few.

Ling Yaonan, if you would venture a guess, is in the foundation establishment stage. Same as yourself, though what layer she has climbed to, that you cannot say. Closing your eyes, you come to an unpleasant conclusion.

Ling Yaonan can create sword-light. She is only at the foundation establishment stage. This means, she has either been tutored by one of the rare few allowed to even attempt to wield Sword-Light. Or, she had innovated or rediscovered a method that allowed for the rapid attainment of Sword-Light. Or worse, she had simply killed so many that it came to her as naturally as breathing.

Guess she didn't have a big head when she called herself a prodigy. Breathing out, you open your eyes, painfully aware you have no idea what Sword-Light can do, and what shape it will take. Facing down an unknown threat, you decide to wing it, and trust your gut instincts.

After all, you're a prodigy, a rare existence the likes of which haven't been seen until this generation. And if The ogress has tricks hidden up her sleeve, you'll just have to show her what a real follow of a heretical path is capable of doing. Sword-Light? Pah! You possess Ghostly Yin Qi and Blood Qi, and have transformed your spiritual roots to align to both rare forms of Qi! She may have re-trodden an old path! But Huanliuxue creates one never traveled before by simply walking forward, against any adversity and obstacle in her way.

"Try me" You spit, as she begins swinging her sword. The Sword-Light crackles and rises from the edge of her blade, forming waves as great, blindingly white blades of pure light fly from it, cutting through the air and forming into exact copies of the sword itself, spiraling and rotating through the air, tearing up the ground and splintering the trees and statues they pass by. They lose their shape, become vaguer and less defined, and forming into a single, dazzling ray of destruction.

Staring down the blast of sword energy, you bow your head and frown, working with the dirty blood Qi in the corpse and the little Yin Qi of Death it has produced since it died. You lack your true bodies reserves of highly refined and pure Qi, and thus your ability to perform most of your techniques or all but the simplest of your spells. But struggle is the crucible through which one achieves great feats and through its fire, chance means as much as dust on the wind.
cont

>>5464911

The Phantom Cat Step [幽灵猫步, Yōulíngmāobù], step wouldn't be fast enough in your current form. This body is sluggish and heavy so even with the aid of the illusionary bubble of slowed time that your Specter Lightness skill [幽灵-轻工, Yōulíng-Qīnggōng] produces around you, you'd still get caught in the sword-energy beam.

The Blood Torrent Rush (衁急流奔,Huāngjíliúbēn) on the other hand....Well, you'd prefer to use them together, as the the Blood Red Lightning Cat Step (血紅色列缺猫步, Xuè hóngsèlièquēmāobù), but this body only contains so much Qi to perform The Phantom Cat step or the Blood Torrent Rush because of your presence and the vast amounts of blood surrounding it.

And it'll be easier and more useful to you now, you figure, to use a body strengthening technique, rather than one that creates a field of altered perception of slowed time. That's the only way you can be fast enough to avoid this attack

And while all this decision required a lot of thought and consideration on your part, it all happened in an instant as the Sword-Ray got close enough to lift your sleeves and cause your hair to raise up as night became, for but a moment, day.

Wrapping the corpse's unmoving heart and lungs, and sheathing its rigid muscles and sinew with Blood Qi, you activate the blood torrent rush, at least as much as this body is able to and hop to the side.

Half of your armor and the clothing underneath, is torn away immediately, along with your right arm, all the way to your shoulder. A necessary sacrifice, even in your real body with all the Qi you've cultivated, you'd have struggled to completely dodge that beam of light. You blink, and see, just beside you, continuing on unimpeded by anything in its way, is the Sword-Ray, cutting a deep path through the gardens, erasing several of the corpse and creating a hole through the walls surrounding the garden.

And you see Ling Yaonan, winded from the exertion of summoning her Sword-Light, replenishing her stamina with internal energy.

Her eyes meet yours, going wide as she sees you managed to escape her Sword-Ray mostly intact and for a second, it seems she is struck by panic! You don't give any thought to it, as you're busy charging her to begin your own assault!
Cont

>>5464912

How do you attack Ling Yaonan, Huanliuxue?

>Using what little Yin Qi you can harness from the corpse, sheath your sword in destructive Yin Qi, and thrust it forward while she's surprised (Martial/ Magic Trial. DC 66. DC lowered by opponent's shock)

>Throw the sword, and flee from the damaged body, to possess one behind the ogress, catch the sword, and strike her exposed back (Martial Trial DC 78)

>Push the body to its limits with the blood torrent rush, damaging it further and ruining it, to tackle The ogress to the ground and pin her arms to her side as you take hold of another corpse to attack her while she's pinned (Strength Trial. DC 90. DC lowered by blood torrent rush's buff)

>Try to disarm her while she's gawking! It'll be a fatal mistake (Martial Trial. DC 100)

>Write in

>>5464914
>Using what little Yin Qi you can harness from the corpse, sheath your sword in destructive Yin Qi, and thrust it forward while she's surprised (Martial/ Magic Trial. DC 66. DC lowered by opponent's shock)

why do we get a DC 100 option?

>>5464914
>Using what little Yin Qi you can harness from the corpse, sheath your sword in destructive Yin Qi, and thrust it forward while she's surprised (Martial/ Magic Trial. DC 66. DC lowered by opponent's shock)

>>5464923
Because anything is possible, just not probable.
Maybe using both blood torrent and yin qi would lower it, but i suspect grampa already counted all advantages we can bring to bear in his calculation.

>>5464914
>Using what little Yin Qi you can harness from the corpse, sheath your sword in destructive Yin Qi, and thrust it forward while she's surprised (Martial/ Magic Trial. DC 66. DC lowered by opponent's shock)
Guys, maybe... Just maybe, we're gonna be the one that humble this bitch. And I don't like that because we still need to help our cute serpent daughter to get over the trauma and give her a new body.

>>5464914
>>Using what little Yin Qi you can harness from the corpse, sheath your sword in destructive Yin Qi, and thrust it forward while she's surprised (Martial/ Magic Trial. DC 66. DC lowered by opponent's shock)

>>5464914
>Using what little Yin Qi you can harness from the corpse, sheath your sword in destructive Yin Qi, and thrust it forward while she's surprised (Martial/ Magic Trial. DC 66. DC lowered by opponent's shock)
This will probably spark our first true rivalry

>>5464914
>Throw the sword, and flee from the damaged body, to possess one behind the ogress, catch the sword, and strike her exposed back (Martial Trial DC 78)

>>5464747
Thank you thank you, you're much too kind.
Frankly, many of the small details are creative liberties taken by the artist. So things that you've praised such as the blue in the design and the purse can be placed at the feet of the artist proper, which I shall do in your regard.
As for the overall design and look of it, I'm glad you enjoy it so much!
Details like her notched ear, her expression, her hair, her eyebrows, the colors of her main robes, and making sure that the Palace of Natural Law Sect's symbol was included, as well as making sure to portray her inhumanity and the look of the kitten form are elements I made sure to put in the draft image of the piece an am glad are so deeply appreciated!

I am also relieved that you haven't become annoyed with how often our fervent discussions of Huanliuxue's human body come up. I can see us constantly clamoring for it getting bothersome, so it's a weight off my mind that you aren't troubled by all your rowdy disciples talking about their favorite girl.

>>5464914
>Throw the sword, and flee from the damaged body, to possess one behind the ogress, catch the sword, and strike her exposed back (Martial Trial DC 78)
I know we've already taken risks fighting as we have....but this move here is too cool not to vote for.

>>5464914
>Use what Yin Qi we can harness and sheath our sword in destructive Qi then thrust forwards while she is surprised.
>Write in: After the charge, fade away from the body to take another one, ideally while she is still reeling from our current attack

Gives her time to breathe again, but we will have both our arms again.

>>5464914
>Throw your sword as a distraction, then tackle her and ruin you body using blood qi to toss her as high in the air as possible. Her monstrous strength will be far more meaningless in the air than pinned on the ground, and you’ll have time to get a new body and strike.
Juggling is a feature of spectacle fighters for a reason. As long as we don’t jump up with her, she can’t kick off our dead body either.

She might have more tricks to counter it, but that goes for any option we pick. Aerial combat is also something she’s probably weak in because who would get close enough to toss her anyway?

Baoli would have searched out Yaonan if we'd left him alive..

>>5465106
>>5464914
+1

>>5464914
>Using what little Yin Qi you can harness from the corpse, sheath your sword in destructive Yin Qi, and thrust it forward while she's surprised (Martial/ Magic Trial. DC 66. DC lowered by opponent's shock)

>>5464914
>Using what little Yin Qi you can harness from the corpse, sheath your sword in destructive Yin Qi, and thrust it forward while she's surprised (Martial/ Magic Trial. DC 66. DC lowered by opponent's shock)

>>5464914
>Throw the sword, and flee from the damaged body, to possess one behind the ogress, catch the sword, and strike her exposed back (Martial Trial DC 78)
It's true, it is just too cool. And we mustn't get invested in fighting traditionally while we're at a disadvantage like using these bodies, that would just be dulling Huanliuxue's edge

Aight, fuck it

I'll change my vote from >>5465030 to
>Throw the sword, and flee from the damaged body, to possess one behind the ogress, catch the sword, and strike her exposed back (Martial Trial DC 78)

I'm phoneposting btw

>>5465106
Supporting tossing the ogress
>>5465173
I hate that you’re right

>>5464914
>>Throw the sword, and flee from the damaged body, to possess one behind the ogress, catch the sword, and strike her exposed back (Martial Trial DC 78)
Honestly this is just really cool.

>>5464923
what the hell I'm also switching to the meme maneuver
>Throw the sword, and flee from the damaged body, to possess one behind the ogress, catch the sword, and strike her exposed back (Martial Trial DC 78)

>>5464914
>Throw the sword, and flee from the damaged body, to possess one behind the ogress, catch the sword, and strike her exposed back (Martial Trial DC 78)

>>5464914
>Throw the sword, and flee from the damaged body, to possess one behind the ogress, catch the sword, and strike her exposed back (Martial Trial DC 78)

It'll probably go badly, but eh, fuck it

>>5464914
>>Throw your sword as a distraction, then tackle her and ruin you body using blood qi to toss her as high in the air as possible. Her monstrous strength will be far more meaningless in the air than pinned on the ground, and you’ll have time to get a new body and strike.

>>5464914
> >Try to disarm her while she's gawking! It'll be a fatal mistake (Martial Trial. DC 100)
All or nothing baby

Ending the vote, tallying the result now.

Using what little Yin Qi you can harness from the corpse, sheath your sword in destructive Yin Qi, and thrust it forward while she's surprised :6
-After the charge, fade away from the body to take another one, ideally while she is still reeling from our current attack:1

Throw the sword, and flee from the damaged body, to possess one behind the ogress, catch the sword, and strike her exposed back:8

Throw your sword as a distraction, then tackle her and ruin you body using blood qi to toss her as high in the air as possible. Her monstrous strength will be far more meaningless in the air than pinned on the ground, and you’ll have time to get a new body and strike.:4

Try to disarm her while she's gawking! It'll be a fatal mistake: 1

So You'll throw your sword and retreat from the damaged corpse you're controlling to posses one of the bodies behind the ogress, to catch the sword and slash at her back.

update will arrive shortly

But only having one arm somewhat limits your options of attack and besides that cuts the force your can put behind each swing in half. This body's usefulness has been wrung completely dry! Its too damaged and broken now to be an effective tool, now it will only serve to slow you down and turn the odds in the Ling Dog's favor. Which is simply something you cannot abide. Without breaking your stride or slowing it, you pull the single arm you still have back, sliding its hand down the length of the broken swords hilt to grab a hold of its pommel.

Then, redirecting and gathering the filthy, polluted blood Qi you've been using to strengthen the old man's withered muscles into that arm, wrapping strands of it tightly around each muscle and joint, you thrust your hand and the sword forward, letting go only after you have torn every joint in the limb from its socket in a single, explosive burst of strength. You can hear and feel every fiber of muscle tearing and snapping inside the limb, followed by the dull popping of the dislocated bones. You've ruined it almost, reducing it to little more than tenderized meat. However, the sheer power provided by that self destructive display of strength is enough to turn that tipless sword into a rocket that flies as fast as the best fireworks. Then as the Ogress moves to, through fighter's instinct and most definently a well honed sense of warrior's foresight, sidestep the flying blade, you step out of the dead flesh you've been piloting and zip through the air, fluttering and whizzing as the dim crimson glow of your ethereal form draws patterns in the air similar to those left behind by fireflies.

But, the ogress cannot see ghosts, or if she can, she pretends not to, which you really hope isn't the case as that will spoil your plan and means she's much cleverer than the brutish character she presents herself as. You force that unpleasant, doubtful thought from your mind, chalking its presence up to directionless paranoia and overactive wariness.

You push yourself into one of the many bodies the ogress has gathered in the garden, and quickly spread your spirit throughout its still flesh, flooding into its nerves and the marrow of its bones to immediately take complete control of it. Then, leaping from the ground, you tuck your legs in and snatch the sword as it nearly shoots past you. And without a sound, you throw yourself forward, raising the sword above your head as you charge towards the ogress' exposed back, intending to mar it with a swordsman's greatest shame! A coward's cut! A retreating wound!

roll 1d100. DC 78. Best out of three

Rolled 70 (1d100)

>>5466977

Rolled 72 (1d100)

>>5466977

Rolled 26 (1d100)

>>5466977

>>5466989
Failure. update will arrive shortly

Ling Yaonan turns on her heel. She sensed your approach, anticipated it when other swordsmen would've been caught by complete surprise. Now you are charging to meet her back, but rather her front. A front that is topped by a furious snarl, like an actual ogres face. Seems she has taken a great deal of offense over your attempt to humiliate her by scarring her back. Well that's bad. Instead of blocking, or creating distance between herself and your sword, she takes a step forward. More of a stomp really, a stomp of such power it sends a draft of air rushing against you and a cloud of dust rising from where her foot slammed down onto the stone path. The earth shakes from her monstrous strength, and a flash of steel soon followers as she kicks off the ground and leaps towards you, throwing herself forward to rush you down before you could stop yourself from running or redirect your movement away from the tall freak suddenly facing you with her ridiculously huge sword!

Acting as quickly as you can, you do the only thing that comes to your panicked mind. Try to block. Shifting your grip and stance, you lower the already broken sword in your hands and turn its flat-side towards the ogress as she charges, grabbing hold of its broken point to reinforce and make your hold on it sturdier. Not that it matters, since she just cuts straight through the blade with an overhead swing that also splits your head in half and cuts your torso nearly down to the stomach, cleanly separating both of the corpse's shoulders and slicing directly through its spine. Even though you could still puppet it and make it move, its now entirely worthless for fighting and would look ridiculous if you tried. Not wanting to make a joke out of yourself, and seething with humiliated anger, you leap from the ruined vessel into one that would be a few paces away from the crazy sword bitch even with her ridiculously long strides and rapid reaction times. Pushing yourself off, you dust your chest off and crack your neck, acclimating to the corpse's different proportions and greater weight. Unfortunately the closest corpse that you were confident the ogress wouldn't immediately reach the moment you possessed it, belong to a fatty and his ill fitting armor is chaffing against your skin. Which just serves to irritate and piss you off more than you already were over the ogress' swift dashing of your plan and ruining of your sneak attack. How dare she protect her sense of pride and dignity! Lings don't deserve to walk around with their heads held high! And look! She's wearing her smug smirk again! Right after you had just wiped it off by dodging her sword-ray!

Glowering, you grab the closest weapon to the blubbery body you've taken command of. And find a meteor hammer laid down at his feet. Which you hadn't noticed until you took a step back, cause the fat idiot's fat stomach was hiding it from sight.

Cont

>>5466993
So close yet so far. It's a good thing these bodies are disposable for practice. I wonder where everyone else got off to. Like the cultists and remaining guards.

>>5467005

"There's no reason for you to be all red-faced like that, chubby" The ogress mocked, wagging a finger "Honestly, you should be proud you managed to last as long as you did against me with that trash piece of steel you picked up! Amongst swordsmen, I am peerless, after all! There's no shame in being killed by my blade! You've lost no face in getting cleaved in two like that, so stop pouting and getting back in the ring! The night is still young!"

She's trying to make you angry by insulting and making a mockery of you. And it is working. Your pride demands swift and brutal retribution! But your not stupid enough to blindly charge at the ogress a second time! She's as dangerous as she is crazy! And you've just got a weapon that you won't need to get too close to her to smack her with.

Allowing one of the hammer heads to drop, you begin to spring it around, whole keeping the other held close to your fist, serving as an anchor for its opposite.

"Oh come on! Don't be so boring and get cautious now! You can't die and I've gotten sick of chasing down rabbit minded men!" She barked sternly, stepping forward "Don't think that ball and chain will be able to keep me from butchering you, fatty!"

Turning the other cheek doesn't suit you at all. Grinding and gnashing your teeth, you begin to side step, knowing how ridiculous you must right now, inhabiting a round cheek and bellied fatty's corpse and trying to look intimidating as your circle around the Ogress of the Ling, trying to not show your outrage and insult to give her the satisfaction of pissing you off.

"Are you puffing out your cheeks, or do they just look like that naturally? I can't remember if they looked that way when he was still alive, he didn't last long at all" She starts rambling, trying to distract you like she did right before she revealed her sword-light. This time however, you won't let her create an opening by gossiping like an old hag or air headed girl!

How do you try to shut the ogress up, Huanliuxue?

>Try and wrap the chain of the meteor hammer around her sword arm and lock it in place, sealing away her greatest strength [Martial trial. DC 90]

>Keep your distance from her, and try to smack her in the knees and shoulders with the heads of your new weapon, to try and weaken and slow her down [Martial trial. DC 80]

>Avoid her, dodging and deflecting her attacks with the chain and heads of the meteor hammer, while you refine your body with some quick and dirty blood qi manipulation [Agility/ Magic trial. DC 70]

>Keep spinning the hammer, and wrap a small Dying Grudge Shield around it, strike the ground several times to "Charge it" And then throw it at her head right before it explodes! [Mischief trial. DC 60]

>write in

>>5467008
>>Keep your distance from her, and try to smack her in the knees and shoulders with the heads of your new weapon, to try and weaken and slow her down [Martial trial. DC 80]
Kneecapping. Can't go wrong.

>>5467008
>Keep your distance from her, and try to smack her in the knees and shoulders with the heads of your new weapon, to try and weaken and slow her down [Martial trial. DC 80]
Let her show us her techniques, don't show any of ours.

>>5467008
>Avoid her, dodging and deflecting her attacks with the chain and heads of the meteor hammer, while you refine your body with some quick and dirty blood qi manipulation [Agility/ Magic trial. DC 70]
Glad we aren't on our body, or this might have gone the way of the puppets.

>>5467008
>Keep your distance from her, and try to smack her in the knees and shoulders with the heads of your new weapon, to try and weaken and slow her down [Martial trial. DC 80]

Yeah go for the knees. We should try to keep a level head and remember what we are actually trying to accomplish here. Once we feel we've learned enough we can fuck off and prepare to battle her in earnest after our next cultivation roll.

>>5467008
>Avoid her, dodging and deflecting her attacks with the chain and heads of the meteor hammer, while you refine your body with some quick and dirty blood qi manipulation [Agility/ Magic trial. DC 70]

>>5467008
>Avoid her, dodging and deflecting her attacks with the chain and heads of the meteor hammer, while you refine your body with some quick and dirty blood qi manipulation [Agility/ Magic trial. DC 70]

Avoiding her is pissing her off, and a normal dead body has demostrated itself inadequate.
Let's improve this one a little since it has the mass for it and turn the bulky fat into muscle.
Unless that's not how it works and we end up even fattier..

>>5467008
>Avoid her, dodging and deflecting her attacks with the chain and heads of the meteor hammer, while you refine your body with some quick and dirty blood qi manipulation [Agility/ Magic trial. DC 70]

>>5467008
>Avoid her, dodging and deflecting her attacks with the chain and heads of the meteor hammer, while you refine your body with some quick and dirty blood qi manipulation [Agility/ Magic trial. DC 70]

>>5467008
>Keep your distance from her, and try to smack her in the knees and shoulders with the heads of your new weapon, to try and weaken and slow her down [Martial trial. DC 80]

There there dear Huanliuxue.
This is all in good fun.
A bit of probing and prodding to see what the girl can do while giving our parties in this assassination affair a chance to escape.
This is a time for experimentation, and if we humiliate and humble her in the process, that's a bonus, not the goal.
The fact she's out here, distracted, showing us all her best techniques, while we work on ways to counter them without true harm to ourselves and all our allies fulfill their tasks and escape unbutchered is victory enough, even if it’s in the nature of a peerless prodigy to prove themselves at every turn.
Be calmed by the fact you've already won, and any perceived victory by the Ogress is fleeting at best, if not true victories at all.

>>5467008
>Knee cap her [DC 80]

Hm, Legitimately not bad.

>>5467008
> Write in

> Focus on defense and take a moment to contemplate the nature of her Sword Light ability, hoping to glean some useful secret for later.

While the memory is fresh.

>>5467008
>>5467225
My first thought was "we don't use a sword", and my second that was "but we do have claws." If there's anyone who could adopt a fabled and rare technique into something that could become a staple for magical beasts, we are them. The sweetness of Yaonan being indirectly responsible for our sect getting Claw Light or something is truly karmic. Plus, not like there's going to be a shortage of criminals for Siwang to train on.

Switching my vote to this.

>>5467008
>Avoid her, dodging and deflecting her attacks with the chain and heads of the meteor hammer, while you refine your body with some quick and dirty blood qi manipulation [Agility/ Magic trial. DC 70]
You’re right, turning the other cheek doesn’t suit us, and we still don’t need to breathe to talk. So let’s fire back.
>”Don’t flatter yourself. Any walking corpse or old man would do for a maiden like you. You find a partner with even a hint of stamina and you’re over them like an animal. It seems as your skill has increased, your standards have fallen.”
She didn’t like when we joked about meeting a grandpa under the moonlight, so I’m guessing it’s part of her backstory. Anyone want to test with me?

>>5467253
I don’t think we’ll indulge in the mountain of corpses needed to hone our claws like she has her blade, so I’d rather keep pushing her to reveal more techniques.

>>5467277
It's probably because her teacher is her actual ancestor/related, and humbled her when she started getting uppity.
>>5460727
It think it happened in one of these posts

>>5467286
It was >>5462658 and the next one.
>"What a scandal there'd be, if word got out you sat in a garden with a man old enough to be your grandfather, eh? <3" You mocked back, grinning an audacious and manic smile back at her, the milky eyes of the corpse twinkling and sparkling with the mirth you feel. That made her composure crack, and her smile twitch as she stood to her full, staggering height and lifted her arms above her head, locking her fingers together as she stretched even taller.
> "Old man, I have to admit, you piss me off. But at least you're not as uptight as most. It gets boring to deal day in and day out with stone faced busy buddies who can't take a joke. And those who can cast aside their face to make light of life and insult themselves and others without a care. Why, they're worth more than jade in my eyes. Shame those same words that brought me such relief and joy, also drove a nail into my heart. Though I'd still pummel you anyways, a few of the things you said to me have truly drawn my ire, grandpa <3"
>"Really, I'm glad you're using intermediaries for this fight, it'd be a shame to lose someone as fun as you are, Grandpa, even if you have insulted me and what little honor I care about"
> "Eh, I'd have thought you'd have forsaken all dignity and face! Now I'm curious what I said to get under your skin. Was it the confession? I assure you, young girl, it wasn't serious" You cackle, mocking her some more to see her face twitch and eyes narrow further "Oh don't tell me I've hurt your pride, did you think it was honest? Poor thing?
>"Shut your mouth, grab a blade, and lets get to killing each other, old man <3" She hissed through her tightly clenched teeth "before I lose my patience"
If I’m reading this right, I think she had a relationship with someone far older to her, maybe her mentor, who actually found her attractive in spite of her… bloodthirst? years ago. Then she found out later he didn’t really care for her, perhaps finding him with someone he called a proper “maiden” (she doesn’t seem to like the word) and she got even. It could have been the start to her cultivation, finding ways to defile even his blood.

>>5467306
Oh, I know she got embarassed after we teased her in this thread, I meant that the reason for said embarassement is either in one of those or smething that can be infered from them.
Because that's a collection of every time Yaonan was mentioned or had a cutaway.

>>5467312
Ah. I think we’re still on different wavelengths though.

I don’t think we embarrassed her. I think we pissed her off in the same way that someone joking about dead children would piss Huan off. I’m trying to poke that nerve again since others want to see more of what she’s capable of. The “test” is to see if the insult really does get under her skin like I think it will or if I’m drawing the wrong conclusions from our pre-fight banter.

Of course, if I’m right it’ll just make the fight harder. Maybe some others would prefer to keep it a bit lighter in case we can actually hurt her in some lasting way. Personally, I was okay with showing more of our skills so we can train in this unusual method of fighting against a strong opponent, but most others don’t seem to want that so I’m not angling in that direction as hard as I normally would.

Grandad, are you ok? Did the ants win?

>>5467008
>Avoid her, dodging and deflecting her attacks with the chain and heads of the meteor hammer, while you refine your body with some quick and dirty blood qi manipulation [Agility/ Magic trial. DC 70]

>”Don’t flatter yourself. Any walking corpse or old man would do for a maiden like you. You find a partner with even a hint of stamina and you’re over them like an animal. It seems as your skill has increased, your standards have fallen.”

File: zhbi7r96so861.jpg (201 KB, 1505x1443)

201 KB JPG

Ending the vote, tallying the result now. Sorry for making you wait over the weekend.

Keep your distance from her, and try to smack her in the knees and shoulders with the heads of your new weapon, to try and weaken and slow her down: 5

Avoid her, dodging and deflecting her attacks with the chain and heads of the meteor hammer, while you refine your body with some quick and dirty blood qi manipulation : 6

Focus on defense and take a moment to contemplate the nature of her Sword Light ability, hoping to glean some useful secret for later.: 2

”Don’t flatter yourself. Any walking corpse or old man would do for a maiden like you. You find a partner with even a hint of stamina and you’re over them like an animal. It seems as your skill has increased, your standards have fallen.”: 2

So you'll avoid and deflect her attacks with the chains and heads of the meteor hammer, while you try to refine the lackluster body with some hasty blood qi manipulation

Update will arrive shortly

>>5471340
Oh they've been crushed into nothing by the ancient technique taught to me by my clan's ancestor, spraying bug spray in every corner of the house.

I just spent most of the weekend sleeping, no idea why I was tired but I was basically in hibernation, then I had to run around all day to prepare for thanksgiving

There's just one problem. And its concerning the body you've taken hold of. Its too heavy, weighty and sluggish, especially for you. The fatties joints are all worn and you can feel the weakness in his legs long pressed down by his girthy and overfed body. Its clumsy and graceless, absolutely unbefitting your fighting style and even your casual movements. Everything feels wrong, it takes too much effort to lift up his flabby arms and fat encased legs and the layers of blubber wrapped around every part of the corpse makes controlling it imprecise, either because of the added weight getting in the way of your movements or the simple dullness of the body keeping it from reacting as quickly as a skinner body would. All of the excess meat on this "robe" is holding you back, it feels like you've wrapped yourself in chains and donned training weights. Its terrible and you swear you can feel grease brushing up against you, and your presently only spiritual essence! Ghosts shouldn't be able to feel so filthy, but possessing this tubbies corpse is making it feel like you've curled up just under his flesh and it is a very unpleasant sensation being surrounded by rancid fat and flesh and beyond that, maneuvering worn down bones and tired muscles is exhausting even for the great and mighty huanliuxue, even with the refinements of your soul.

But, wait, hold on. This fatty is actually pretty strong. He's just slow and cloddish. But carrying around all of the extra pounds he's packed onto himself before he met the ogress and died gruesomely has made him rather muscular underneath all of the unnecessary and unwanted blubber. You like fatty meat, but not being surrounded by it! But, that muscle and strength built up by hauling around his own weight could be easily used to your advantage. The old man was athletic and took care of his body despite his age, but he hadn't undergone any special training to improve his body or strengthen it. But the fat boy? He had, without knowing, been performing arduous and exhaustive strength training for all his life! Pushing and testing his muscles without every knowing the strength he could unlock if he just stopped stuffing his face and slimmed down a little. You would call it a waste, but even if he had pushed and bettered himself, he'd still have been worthless and died to ogress anyways.

However, that power locked beneath blubber can be used much more advantageously by someone with actual brains. Like the sharp witted you! There's just one problem. The Ogress is almost done blabbering and talking to herself, trying to distract you with asinine conversation and directionless drivel. You can tell because her killing intent is becoming denser, like the air right before a storm rolls in. Her Murderous intentions are electrifying the air.
Cont

>>5471479

But, now you have a plan. You just need to avoid losing this body, for long enough for you to refine it with Blood Qi Manipulation, turning its fat into fuel to before refinement and physical and inner transformations upon it, to make the useless corpse of this useless idiot capable of standing against the Ling bitch, at least long enough for you to humble her and smear her face in the mud. Maybe even force her to kowtow before you!

Gripping the meteor hammer in the middle of its chain, you raise it above your head and spin it around, glaring at the ogress as you try and fail to stand on the toes of one leg.

"Oh, so you will just make me come after you! Passivity is fucking boring!" She roared and began her assault, using her lightness skill to vanish, and appear right in front of you with a truly deranged sneer on her face and killer's coldness in her eyes. A coldness tinged with a maniac passion!

Roll 1d100. DC 70. Best out of three

Rolled 32 (1d100)

>>5471481
Who is going to get their ass beat? Find out next episode of HCQ!

Rolled 99 (1d100)

>>5471481

Rolled 91 (1d100)

>>5471481
Passive these nuts

Rolled 5 (1d100)

>>5471481
ALRIGHT LETS DO TH-
>>5471488
>>5471492
Oh wow.
Nevermind then. Lmao.

>>5471488
WHAT AN AUSPICIOUS ROLL! One less than 30 over DC. 20 over DC, Great success.
Update will arrive shortly

>>5471488
>>5471492
Nice.
And this isn't even our true form!

You center and compose yourself, focusing keenly as the ogress pounces on you, having closed the distance between you in a single lunging bound. In a manner that reminds you of a tiger falling on their prey, but that is neither here nor there and is a thought that in no way helps you to avoid being skewered, chopped to bits or simply decapitated by the rampaging battle slut. Achieving a state of a calm and serene mind in the face of overwhelming aggression, you maneuver the chains of the meteor hammer to wrap a portion of it around the nicked and notched gruard of ogresss' oversized sword, and pull it to the side as you step forward and to the side, stepping around the ogress's first powerful, downward swing. She immediately realizes what you are doing, and wrenches her arms and a sword upwards, trying to pull you off your feet to render you helpless and thus an easy kill. However, you anticipated that, and loose the chains around her sword, allowing them to slide smoothly off its edge as you release one end of the meteor hammer right as she throws all of her strength with a rise slice. Hopping back, you avoid being split down the middle by it as she tries to keep you from escaping by lunging forward at the last moment, adjusting her swing and stance mid strike, as she had noticed you had disengaged and released your hold on the hilt of her blade.

That makes her angry, and she begins hacking and chopping in a wild, relentless flurry of felling strikes that could slice through stone and steel with as much ease as they do flesh and bone. However, while this flurry is of a different style and rhythm than her first, it is still the same kind of assault, that relies on overwhelming and exhausting to opposition to forcefully create openings or crush their defenses as their stamina wanes. However corpses have no breath and they do not tire. And while ghosts and spirits can be weakened and drained, the ogress doesn't seem to know the arts and secrets of exorcism. Besides! Cat's fight by rapidly clawing and scratching! Fighting back against such attacks is instinctual, no matter who it is attacking you, be they another cat or a rampaging bloodthirsty bitch called Ling!

Her confident, cocky smile twitches and slowly turns into a growling, demonic grimace of impotent fury as you once again endure her assault and refuse to be butchered like countless others before you. She switches styles, trying different moves and techniques, on the fly changing from one martial art between three more without delay or pausing to adjust her stance or posture. However, you keep swinging and slamming the heads of your hammer into the flat of her blade, wrapping it with its chains or simply lean or sway out of the way.
Cont

>>5471563

And all the while, you are performing blood refinement (血精炼 Xuèjīngliàn to alter, transform and improve the fatty's corpse. A process which the ogress seems fascinated by, which just makes it easier to dodge and deflect her careless and wholly undisciplined strikes!

"That's what I want! Now just hold still so I can help you trim down that fat weighing you down!" She cackles eagerly, her movements becoming less refined as the body you're controlling becomes more so, as layers of fat melt away and the hidden muscles beneath are revealed, as you work to improve them! Someone should be praising you for performing such delicate work while also battling against such a vicious and unrelenting opponent!

Each step, the corpse you wear becomes lighter and lighter, more graceful and less lethargic, as what it could've been with just a bit of work and exercise is revealed, like stone being chipped away to reveal the sculpture hiding away within it. The ogress happily keeps the pace you match, never once slowing her attack and thus keeping you on your toes and focused as you continue the process of whole body refinement, performing the equivalent of years of hard, diligent training in a matter of chaotic moments, forcing your vessel through a rigorous regimen of refinement. And again, someone should really be showering you with praises because you doubt there exists another person who could so expertly perform bodily transmutation and purification with the Blood Refinement ability whilst also dodging blindingly fast strikes and stabs, while a deranged psychopath is chattering like a song bird, trying to break their focus and concentration so they can brutally dispatch them! Truly you are a peerless prodigy, not only in cultivation or wits, but also multitasking!

You stand taller and taller, as your shoulders broaden and your chest lifts, and your legs stretch out as they're no longed compressed beneath a ball of blubber. Your arms feel longer, and certainly stronger, and soon the ogress doesn't seem as tall as she was before. She still taller than the body you've remade, but you're certainly much less shorter in it than you were before. And that has...only seem to encourage her! You're pretty sure she's drooling and she looks intoxicated.

"Physical cultivation? Never seen it performed so quickly. It can't be that. that isn't your body. It has barely any Qi in it, just what it was born with! What a dastardly technique! Oh I'm sure my elders would see your destroyed to seal away its existence. But where's the fun in that huh? You turned a gross fatty into a delicious looking hunk" She titters, eyes aglow with mirth "You really are a heretic! A true heretic! What kind of necromancy did you use their huh? What kind of demonic arts? Its so cool! Your keeping so many fun secrets from me! I can't anticipate what you're capable of"

Cont

>>5471565

She licked her lips, as you swung your meteor hammer and wrapped it around the length of her sword, before pulling it down to the ground as she ran forward. The blade screeched through the stone, before becoming caught as she leaned over you, her tongue slipping through the cut in her cheek

"How exhilarating! Everyone else is so predictable! There's only so many techniques a "Good daoist" can follow, ya know. So restrictive" She says happily as the two of you stopped in front of each other, you trying to free the chain of your meteor hammer from the ground and her holding it in place so she can fill your ears with more buzzing "Orthodoxy is bullshit. The old fools who uphold its stifling traditions can kiss my ass! You turned a fat corpse into a wall of hard, tight muscle, giving it a physique men would kill to have! And who knows what you've done to it under the skin"

You had made some secret organs and internal mutations to make the body more comfortable and useful, nothing extreme that would give away the form of the technique you used, or that you were using blood Qi at all.

"I want to see" She whimpered, biting her tongue so it stuck out of her still bleeding wound "I wanna see what's inside you! Show me! Lemme rip you open!"

You leapt back, grabbing on the free head of your hammer and pulling as she thrust her blade straight through the ground, diagonally. Your shirt fluttered away, exposing the corpses bare chest, which was slick with sweat produced by your rough and dirty refinements

The other end of your meteor hammer soared through the air, and you caught it with your other hand

"Really know how to handle your balls, eh" She snorted, stabbing her sword through the ground and leaning on it, resting her wrists on its battered guard "Surely, with that beefy body of yours, you won't keep running? You could probably punch through iron! I'll be really disappointed if you keep running"

She doesn't move, and doesn't say anything. Her eyes narrow like a hawk's as she waits for you, sizing you up with..what almost looks like prudence.

What do you do, Huanliuxue?

>Try and get her to show you more of her techniques or magic, she's been cleverly holding back even if she showed off her sword light, so entice her (Martial Trial. DC 70)

>Wrap her leg in chains, and try to pull her off balance and to the ground, then stomp on her stomach as hard as you can (Strength trial. DC 75. DC lowered by improved strength)

>Stand still and irritate her into attack you, so you can throw a hammer directly into her face when she rushes you (Martial trial DC 65)

>Lie about how you made the fatty a worthwhile host, and boast about the false technique of transformation to the ogress, so you can catch her unaware with your ACTUAL technique (Trickery trial. DC 40)

>Write in