After the Great Dao died

Chapter 33 Desire to Contain the Precious Qi

Chen Lingxi's consciousness was jolted back to reality, and her head was throbbing with pain.

He rubbed his temples, sat on the edge of the bed for a moment, and then slowly exhaled.

"He took the incense burner with him when he went out."

Chen Lingxi was filled with doubt.

What exactly is inside that incense burner?

He recalled the thirteen talismans, the melting incense sticks, and the mouthful of blood Lin Suri spat into the furnace.

"What is he making?"

This thought lingered in my mind for a long time, but I could never find the answer.

He shook his head, stopped thinking about it, sat cross-legged, and began to practice breathing exercises.

The air on a spring night is cool and refreshing, carrying the fragrance of grass and trees.

With each breath, the sparse spiritual energy between heaven and earth seeped into his body and merged into the spiritual energy in his dantian.

The spiritual energy flowed slowly, refining the last trace of medicinal power from the Dragon-Guiding Powder taken during the day.

But he was very curious about where Lin Su Ri had gone.

-

The next day he once again entered the divine chamber and activated his supernatural power of seeing and traveling.

Lin Suri had already returned and was sitting cross-legged on a futon in the inner room of the east hall, with the incense burner in front of him.

He closed his eyes, his right hand resting on the incense burner, golden light swirling in his palm.

But this time, Chen Lingxi noticed not Lin Suri, but the incense burner.

A purple light shone from inside the furnace.

The purple light was a clear, solid purple aura that slowly circulated within the furnace.

Chen Lingxi held her breath, zoomed in, and looked closely.

[At this point, I hope readers will remember our domain name: 10 ...

He recognized that purple aura.

On Mount Cuojin, the purple aura emanating from the precious bottle in the hands of the noble young man was exactly the same as the one before them.

It's just much smaller.

It was only as thick as two or three fingers put together, and it moved slowly inside the incense burner, like a trapped purple snake, struggling left and right, but it could never break free from the incense burner's restraints.

Lin Su Ri slowly poured his spiritual energy into the furnace, where golden light and purple aura intertwined, emitting a soft hissing sound.

The purple aura is being eroded little by little.

Its edges began to blur, and its color dimmed slightly, just like a piece of solid ice being slowly melted by a gentle fire.

Chen Ling saw it clearly.

He estimated the speed—at this rate, it would take Lin Suri at least another ten days to completely refine this wisp of purple energy.

More than ten days.

A thought suddenly popped into Chen Lingxi's mind.

The purple fragments scattered on Cuojin Mountain.

The boy used the treasure bottle to activate the purple energy, but it was shattered by the swordsman's blade and scattered across the mountains and fields.

The fragments vary in size, some as large as a small snake, others as small as a grain of rice.

Those fragments also possess a treasure-like quality.

Although it is not as complete as the one Lin Suri made in his furnace, it is by no means an ordinary thing.

"If I could find one or two..."

Chen Ling's eyes lit up slightly.

Lin Su used his spiritual energy to gradually absorb the purple aura, which was time-consuming and laborious, but it was also telling him something...

Although this purple aura is strong, it is not impossible to refine.

He possesses the spiritual energy of the second floor of the Qi circulation system.

It is far inferior to Lin Suri, but if one can find a much smaller fragment of precious energy and slowly refine it with spiritual energy, it is not impossible to make it one's own.

"This treasure's power is unparalleled, far surpassing many precious swords, knives, and arrows."

"If I possess such a precious quality, even if it is smaller, I will still have a real support."

He secretly made plans in his mind.

"Even if Zhao Yong turns against me, I still have a chance to escape."

His gaze fell on the purple aura in Lin Suri's furnace, and his eyes became even more determined.

"These past few days, Lin Su Ri will definitely be in seclusion refining that purple energy, and Zhao Yong has gone to the capital to purchase and check accounts, so this is a good opportunity."

"Cuojinshan".

He silently repeated these three words in his heart: "But that incense burner and talisman that collect the precious energy..."

Chen Lingxi looked at the incense burner on the table in the room.

Almost every household has one of these bronze incense burners.

"Why not give it a try?"

Once Chen Lingxi made up her mind, she didn't delay any longer.

He got up, straightened his clothes, and went out.

The late spring breeze blew in from outside the corridor, carrying the lingering fragrance of the late-blooming flowers in the garden.

Without stopping, he passed through the moon gate of the west courtyard and walked south along the covered walkway, heading straight to the main courtyard of the west courtyard where Lin Longyue lived.

Two maids stood in front of the main gate. When they saw him, one of them turned around and went inside to announce his arrival.

A short while later, Liu Zhu came out from inside and stood on the inside of the threshold, looking at him calmly.

"Chen Lingxi, Miss is resting. What brings you here?"

Chen Lingxi bowed and said, "Miss Liuzhu, Chen Lingxi wishes to see you and asks for leave to leave the city."

Liu Zhu raised an eyebrow, a hint of surprise flashing in her eyes: "Leaving the city? Do you know your own identity?"

"Of course I know." Chen Lingxi lowered her head and said respectfully, "Miss instructed that a vase of flowers should be sent to the palace every five days. The style must be new and the meaning must be clever."

Nowadays, flower arranging is becoming more common, and the flowers in the courtyard have lost their novelty. The shops in the city offer ordinary flowers, which can hardly be called "extraordinary".

I heard that Her Highness the Imperial Concubine is most fond of "the charm of the mountains and fields," which is why I was thinking of going out of the city. If we could find some wild flowers and herbs in the mountains around Yuanjiang Prefecture, the flower arrangements we made might be more to Her Highness's liking.

He spoke earnestly, keeping his head bowed the entire time, his posture respectful.

After listening to him finish speaking, Liu Zhu remained silent for a moment, then said, "Wait here while I go and report to Miss."

After saying that, she turned and went into the courtyard, gently closing the door behind her.

Chen Lingxi stood outside the door, waiting quietly with her hands at her sides.

After about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, Liu Zhu came out, holding something in his hand.

She walked up to Chen Lingxi and handed her the object in her hand.

That was a travel permit.

The document, written in ink on yellow paper and stamped with the red seal of the Marquis of Baosu's residence, clearly stated Chen Lingxi's name, identity, and destination, and also indicated the time limit for her return trip—from April 3rd to April 5th, after which it would be invalid.

Chen Ling took it with both hands, glanced at it, and put it into her bosom.

"Miss said," Liu Zhu began, her tone unhurried, "that she grants you permission to leave the manor to search for wild flowers in the surrounding mountains, hoping to create even better flower arrangements, but—"

She paused, her gaze falling on Chen Lingxi's face.

"But things are not peaceful now," Liu Zhu continued. "The four passes in Jingji Prefecture and Lunan Prefecture are conducting checks everywhere, and the more distant Wuqing Prefecture and Qinghua Prefecture are carrying out large-scale household registration comparisons."

Without an official travel permit, you can't go anywhere.

"If you really go, be careful not to go astray and end up in places you shouldn't go."

Chen Lingxi lowered her head: "Chen Lingxi is awake."

Liu Zhu hummed in agreement, then said, "There's one more thing, Miss asked me to tell you."

"Among the guests in the manor, there are many Golden Body figures and Golden Body martial artists. It is not difficult for them to travel two thousand miles in a day. In the surrounding prefectures, there are also businesses of my Baosu Marquis's manor. There are plenty of eyes to behold."

She said this in a very flat tone.

But Chen Lingxi understood the meaning behind those words.

Lin Longyue was telling him—don't even think about escaping.

The power within this mansion was far beyond what a mere government slave like him could contend with.

Even if they escaped the Marquis's mansion and Yuanjiang Prefecture, there were still passes, household registration checks, and ubiquitous inspections outside.

Furthermore, there were powerful figures from the Marquis's mansion behind them.

An unregistered government slave could hardly move an inch in the surrounding prefectures.

Chen Lingxi remained expressionless, only bowing and saying, "Chen Lingxi understands, thank you for your guidance, Miss."

Liu Zhu waved her hand: "Go ahead, come back soon, don't miss the time for flower arranging."

After saying that, he turned around and went back into the courtyard.

Chen Ling turned back.

On the way, he took the travel permit out of his pocket, looked at it again, and put it away after confirming that it was correct.

"Leave on April 3rd and return before April 5th."

Today is April 2nd.

We can set off tomorrow.

He quickened his pace back into the courtyard, closed the door, and sat down at the table.

As dusk deepened outside the window, Chen Lingxi's gaze fell upon the incense burner.

The incense burner is still the same style.

The bronze color was as deep as night, and the body of the censer was faintly raised with ghost face patterns. A stick of incense was inserted diagonally into the censer, as thin as a gossamer thread, and a dark red dot flickered as it burned.

It was exactly the same as the one in his previous room.

Chen Lingxi picked up the incense burner, placed it in his palm, and examined it intently.

In the shrine, he saw Lin Suri pour spiritual energy into the incense burner, construct an array with talismans, turn the incense sticks into ashes, and then mix them with blood to finally create a container that could contain the precious energy.

"When I travel, I not only observe things meticulously and without missing a single detail, but I also remember everything I see."

He remembered those thirteen talismans clearly.

He remembered the exact path the spiritual energy traveled.

"Give it a try."

He placed the incense burner on the table, sat cross-legged, and calmed his mind.

The azure energy in his dantian flowed slowly, and when he activated it, it emerged from his dantian, traveled upwards along the meridians, and finally converged in the palm of his right hand.

He placed his right palm on the incense burner.

The spiritual energy emanated from the palm and flowed into the furnace.

The furnace body trembled slightly, emitting a very faint hum.

Chen Lingxi was overjoyed and dared not slack off. Following the route in his memory, he used spiritual energy to draw talismans inside the incense burner.

He channeled a wisp of spiritual energy into the incense burner.

The first seal—like a twisted snake.

However, his spiritual energy was too weak; a wisp of spiritual energy was not enough. He ran out of energy halfway through drawing the talisman, and the shape of the talisman collapsed halfway through. The spiritual energy rolled back, making his palm numb.

Chen Lingxi gritted her teeth, activated the remaining spiritual energy in her dantian, and started again.

This time, he brought a thicker amount of spiritual energy. The spiritual energy was like a thin snake that roamed the inner wall of the incense burner, coiling left and right, thrusting forward and retreating backward. Finally, before the spiritual energy was exhausted, he was able to completely outline the first talisman.

Chen Lingxi dared not stop and continued to outline the second talisman.

The third way.

The fourth one.

His face grew paler and paler, cold sweat poured down his forehead, and the spiritual energy in his dantian was almost depleted.

But he didn't stop.

The fifth one.

The sixth one.

The seventh one.

When he drew the seventh talisman, his spiritual energy was finally completely exhausted.

The last talisman was completed in less than half its length before collapsing midway, its spiritual energy dissipating into nothingness.

Chen Lingxi shuddered, his right palm slipped off the incense burner, and he gasped for breath.

He looked down at the incense burner.

The dark red glow of the incense stick in the burner had faded, and the burner had returned to its original state, dark and dull like rotten wood.

"There are only seven."

He muttered to himself, his tone tinged with resentment: "I wonder if the seven talismans can hold onto that purple energy."

But then I thought about it again. Lin Suri had a cultivation level of the fifth level of Qi cultivation, or even higher, to be able to draw those thirteen complete talismans.

He's only at the second level of Qi cultivation, yet he can still outline seven paths; that's already quite remarkable.

"I wonder if the seven talismans will be effective?"

He took a breather, and after his spiritual energy in his dantian had recovered somewhat, he started again.

This time, he didn't try to do too much. He focused on practicing the seven talismans repeatedly until he could form each one in one go without any hesitation.

The seven talismans moved along the inner wall of the incense burner, subtly echoing each other, like seven chess pieces that, though not connected, were already placed in their proper positions.

Chen Lingxi bit her tongue and spat a mouthful of blood into the incense burner.

The moment the blood fell into the bottom of the furnace, the seven talismans suddenly lit up.

Starting from the top, the incense stick gradually turned to ash. The ash fell to the bottom of the furnace, mixing with the talisman, spiritual energy, and blood, and slowly melted into a small ball of dark golden viscous liquid.

The liquid flowed slowly at the bottom of the furnace, like mercury spilling onto the ground, but it was only a thin layer, barely covering the bottom of the furnace.

Then, smoke rose up.

The smoke was extremely faint, not the bluish smoke from burning incense sticks, but a milky white, thick mist that condensed above the incense burner and lingered for a long time.

Looking at the cloud of mist, Chen Lingxi suddenly felt at ease.

"The purple mist in Lin Suri's furnace was trapped by this kind of mist."

"It seems that the seven talismans can also be used."

His cultivation level was far inferior to Lin Suri's, so the precious energy that the incense burner he refined could trap was naturally far less than that purple energy.

But as long as we can trap even a sliver, a single thread—

Even a single strand of hair, as thin as a hair, is enough.

He carefully wrapped the incense burner in coarse cloth.

The night outside the window was deep, there was no moon in the sky, only a few stars twinkling through the gaps in the clouds, their light cold and eerie.

Chen Ling sat on the edge of the bed for a while, checked her luggage, and only lay down after confirming that everything was in order.

He stopped breathing and simply closed his eyes, listening to the wind outside the window.

The wind blew from afar, rustling through the bamboo grove in the garden, like someone whispering.