Translator: CinderTL
Song Wen's face lit up with joy. He unleashed a wave of Spiritual Power, ensnaring the black umbrella, and prepared to flee the scene.
Jiang Yushan's condition was utterly bizarre, and Song Wen wanted to escape as quickly as possible. Any thoughts of revenge had long vanished from his mind.
Suddenly, a terrifying pressure descended from the sky. Even through the ice net, Song Wen felt an overwhelming sense of oppression.
In the next instant, the ice net shattered into countless shards, which rained down from above.
Jiang Lanruo appeared in mid-air, wielding a three-foot-long sword. Her gaze swept across the scene, landing on Jiang Yushan, and her expression turned grave.
Immediately, Jiang Lanruo rapidly formed seals with both hands. Magic seals flew from her fingertips like arrows, striking Jiang Yushan.
As the seals landed, the six tentacles extending from Jiang Yushan's head gradually calmed, even showing signs of retracting.
Jiang Lanruo was clearly resealing this unknown monster within Jiang Yushan's Sea of Consciousness.
The entire process was executed with practiced precision, without the slightest hesitation. It was evident that this was not her first time performing this task.
Sealing the unknown monster was no easy task. Beads of sweat gradually formed on Jiang Lanruo's forehead.
Song Wen's gaze darted between Jiang Lanruo and Jiang Yushan, his feet slowly retreating half a step.
Seeing Jiang Lanruo remain focused on her incantations, he grew certain she was too preoccupied to notice him. With a flicker of movement, he vanished into the distance.
Song Wen wasn't the only one seizing this opportunity to escape. Ye Bing also fled.
As Jiang Lanruo's magic seals gradually subdued the six tentacles, silencing their soul-shattering hum, Ye Bing, Jiang He, and Jiang Shi were freed from their agony.
However, just as Ye Bing and Song Wen had fled a few miles, an overwhelming pressure suddenly descended upon them, crushing their hearts like Mount Tai bearing down.
"Anyone who flees dies!" Jiang Lanruo's voice was icy, her killing intent palpable.
Ye Bing froze instantly, rooted to the spot, daring not to move.
She glanced back at Jiang Lanruo, her face ashen. The aura radiating from Jiang Lanruo was terrifying beyond measure. If the woman truly intended to kill her, it would be as effortless as crushing an ant.
Song Wen, however, seemed deaf to Jiang Lanruo's words, continuing his desperate flight.
"Seeking death!" Jiang Lanruo's expression hardened.
From between her crimson lips, a tiny, inch-long sword shot forth.
The blade swelled in the wind, transforming into a three-foot-long flying sword that hurtled toward Song Wen with lightning speed.
Song Wen neither dodged nor parried, allowing the flying sword to close in.
Earlier, Ye Bing's use of the Icebound Domain had cleared the miasma within a thousand-mile radius.
Song Wen knew that if he could reach the miasma-shrouded areas, he could activate the Two-Faced Buddha to conceal his aura and shake off Jiang Lanruo.
He was now only a hundred miles from the miasma-laden zone.
Just as the flying sword closed within striking distance and Song Wen prepared to activate his death substitute technique, a black arrow suddenly streaked through the air.
A crisp clang rang out as the arrow struck the flying sword, knocking it aside and saving Song Wen's life.
Yet no relief showed on Song Wen's face. Instead, his gaze turned grave as he stared ahead.
A gaunt figure emerged from the miasma, riding the wind toward them.
The newcomer was a middle-aged male cultivator, radiating an aura of sinister malevolence.
Song Wen watched the newcomer, unsure why this person had intervened to help him. Sensing the man's formidable aura, nearly on par with Jiang Lanruo's, he halted his escape light and cautiously observed him.
At that moment, Jiang Lanruo's voice echoed from behind Song Wen.
"Chi Qi, what are you doing here?"
Song Wen was immediately surprised to learn the man's identity. So this was Chi Qi.
Chi Qi ignored Song Wen's wary gaze. He had saved Song Wen purely to antagonize Jiang Lanruo.
He stepped past Song Wen and turned to face Jiang Lanruo.
"Jiang Lanruo, I've been waiting for you at Rotting Miasma Ridge for quite some time."
"Hmph!" Jiang Lanruo scoffed coldly. "So the rumors about an ancient cultivator's cave dwelling at Rotting Miasma Ridge were your doing after all."
"Indeed," Chi Qi replied. "My purpose was to lure you here for an ambush. However, the rumors about Nine Deaths Grass within the cave dwelling aren't entirely fabricated. I do possess a stalk of Nine Deaths Grass, six hundred years old. I know you've been searching for it everywhere. Answer one question for me, and I'll present it to you with both hands."
"What's the question?" Jiang Lanruo asked.
Chi Qi replied, "Great Master Shinneng of Dry Zen Temple in Cloudveil City told me that many years ago, you had the good fortune to encounter a Body Integration Stage Senior named Ji Hong in Cloudveil City. This Senior was a Vice Hall Master of the Divine Blood Gate. Furthermore, Senior Ji Hong entrusted you with a mission, promising to reward you with a Heavenly Astral Body Integration Pill upon its completion. I want to know the specific details of the mission Senior Ji Hong assigned you."
"That old bald donkey Shinneng! He promised me he wouldn't breathe a word of this to anyone," Jiang Lanruo cursed under her breath, her face darkening.
Then she continued, "The Heavenly Astral Body Integration Pill is crucial for advancing to the Body Integration Stage. Do you really think I'd reveal such a thing to you so easily?"
Chi Qi's expression gradually turned grim as he glanced at Jiang Yushan.
Most of the six tentacles protruding from Jiang Yushan's head had retracted into his body, leaving only small segments still visible.
"I'm curious," Chi Qi said, "what kind of creature is parasitizing your nephew's Sea of Consciousness?"
Jiang Lanruo's expression turned icy. "That's none of your concern."
"Jiang Lanruo," Chi Qi warned, "don't mistake kindness for weakness! Everyone in Shangchu City knows how devoted you are to the Jiang Family's second young master. If I attack now, you'll have a hard time protecting him, won't you?"
"You..." Faced with Chi Qi's threat, Jiang Lanruo hesitated, unsure how to respond.
She knew that if Chi Qi truly attacked, she couldn't simultaneously defend against his assault and maintain the seal on the shadow void within Jiang Yushan's Sea of Consciousness.
If the sealing process were interrupted, the shadow void would inevitably reawaken.
The shadow void's premature awakening had already been perilous enough; she couldn't allow it to revive again.
"Tell me the mission Senior Ji Hong entrusted to you," Chi Qi demanded. "Otherwise, only one of us will leave this place alive today."
Jiang Lanruo said, "This mission was entrusted to me by Senior Ji Hong. Even if you forcibly seize it and complete it, you'll only incur his displeasure. Why would he reward you with the Heavenly Astral Body Integration Pill?"
Chi Qi replied, "How can we know the outcome without trying? Besides, the Divine Blood Gate is such a colossal entity. Why would they care about cultivators from small, isolated clans like ours? To them, the mission itself is what matters. Who completes it is irrelevant."
As he spoke, a longbow suddenly appeared in Chi Qi's hand.
He nocked the same black arrow he had used to save Song Wen onto the bowstring and slowly drew it taut.
Author's Note: Many readers have left comments regarding the nascent soul. Let me clarify: after reaching the Divine Transformation Stage, the soul evolves into a divine soul (a cooler term for it), but the nascent soul remains. The nascent soul and divine soul are two separate entities—one is an energy source, while the other is a consciousness body.
TL/N: Now I am confused, if any of the fellow daoists could enlighten this humble Daoist, I would be grateful.
(End of the Chapter)
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