After the Great Dao died

Chapter 62 Evil Skills

Chen Ling took the Willow Branch of Immortality and a smile appeared on his lips.

The willow branch trembled slightly in his palm, warm to the touch, as if he were holding a tender branch just pulled from the spring water, incredibly supple.

He raised his head and looked at the nine-zhang-tall willow tree, its canopy lush and its thousands of branches swaying gently in the night breeze.

The bare, withered branch that had been there just moments before had long since retreated deep into the tree canopy and was nowhere to be found, as if it had never peeked out at all.

"But what use is that immortal willow branch... I must choose one..."

His smile deepened as he put the immortal willow branch into his musk-skin bag.

Everything in the Chejue Divine Chamber was exactly the same as the real world, except that two precious mirrors hung high in the sky.

"The Willow of Immortality." He murmured these three words: "Why give me this willow branch of immortality when there was no sacrifice?"

"Is it because I planted it when I was a child?" Chen Lingxi wondered to herself. "Did it recognize me?"

With this thought in mind, he paused for a moment, then suddenly placed his palm back on the tree trunk, slowly channeling spiritual energy into it.

This time, things have changed again.

His spiritual energy spread upwards along the dense veins deep within the tree trunk.

His consciousness did not penetrate deep into the earth, but instead rose along with the spiritual energy, passing through the tree trunk and branches, all the way upward.

Then he saw something even stranger.

But deep within the tree canopy, right in the center of the myriad branches, hung a cocoon.

The cocoon was about the size of a fist, and its entire body was pure white, just like a piece of fine mutton fat jade that had been soaked in moonlight, with a faint luster flowing on its surface.

The cocoon is semi-transparent, and you can vaguely see a tiny shadow curled up inside. The shadow is extremely small and curled up like a baby in the womb.

Chen Lingxi's spiritual energy reached three inches in front of the cocoon but could not advance any further, as if an invisible barrier was blocking it, repelling all his senses.

His consciousness was shaken off the cocoon and fell back into his own body.

He opened his eyes and exhaled a long breath.

"What's inside that cocoon?"

"The immortal willow, its leaves, twigs, branches... and this strange cocoon..."

Chen Lingxi felt that Liu Xuanqi was not dead, but knew that she could not investigate further.

"The cauldrons have their own consciousness. The Time Candle and the Beast Fighting Palace are examples of this. Only the Immortal Willow does not have a cauldron, yet it still deserves our respect."

Chen Ling withdrew his hand, took two steps back, and bowed to the willow tree.

After fulfilling all the proper etiquette, he stopped looking and instead closed his eyes to ponder.

"There are still six days left in Chejue... We cannot waste them lightly."

Chen Ling thought carefully about her current situation.

"Firstly, Yang Zhuri gave him a jade pendant, intending to use it to transform him and nurture him into a great medicine. You could go and explore Yang Zhuri's Qingjiang Villa."

"Secondly, if there is an opportunity, I can also test Zhao Yong. He also wants to use me as a medicinal ingredient... but I don't know what kind of medicine he will use."

Thinking of this, Chen Lingxi couldn't help but chuckle.

"I have become a precious medicinal herb, which has been coveted by different people."

After a light laugh, his thoughts turned to the most important thing at the moment.

"Thirdly, with the Qi Gathering Pill, I can cultivate to the fourth level of Qi Circulation or even higher, but I do not have the true methods and secrets of the Six Qi."

On the third floor of the Qi Circulation Technique, relying solely on breathing exercises to circulate spiritual energy, Chen Lingxi already felt it was somewhat slow. If there were abundant spiritual energy, it would be alright, as it could increase her cultivation level.

But what about the fourth floor of the Spiritual Qi Hall?

"Without the true secret, I'm afraid my cultivation will stop at the fourth level of Qi walking."

"There are still three missing forms of the Seven Forms of Ceasefire... Without subsequent techniques, I cannot break through to the Golden Body Realm and switch to other techniques. Firstly, there are no suitable Golden Body techniques, and secondly, it will take more time."

Chen Lingxi exhaled a long breath, and the image of Lin Suri flashed in her eyes.

"The forest slumbers in the sun, time shines like a candle..."

He made up his mind and stood up.

"We've already gained quite a bit this time, so we can take a risk now."

Once he made up his mind, he didn't delay any longer.

The Concealing Edge Technique circulated silently within the body.

He then walked out of Liujie Lane and headed south along the main street.

"Let's go to Qingjiang Villa first."

Qingjiang Courtyard is nestled in a secluded bend on the banks of the Yuanjiang River, backed by mountains and facing the water. With its white walls and black tiles, a shallow stream in front of the courtyard ripples under the moonlight.

When Chen Lingxi last came, it was during the day. She rode in the Marquis's carriage and was led into the back garden by servants.

It is late at night today.

He walked around the courtyard wall, found the darkest corner, lightly touched the base of the wall with his toes, and leaped up, gracefully vaulting over the wall and landing in the shadow of a bamboo grove in the courtyard.

The bamboo grove grew extremely densely, and when the wind blew, the rustling of the branches and leaves completely masked the slightest sound of him falling to the ground.

Yang Zhuri's villa is not large, with three courtyards in total, including the main hall, side rooms, and back garden, and the layout is compact.

Chen Lingxi silently walked along the wall through the back garden, around the main hall, and then heard the sound of water.

The sound of water was coming from the direction of the backyard, mixed with the night wind, and almost indistinguishable unless you listened carefully.

He followed the sound of water, passed through a moon gate, and suddenly found himself in a spacious courtyard with a pond in the center. The water shimmered with a faint turquoise color under the moonlight, and a thin layer of white mist swirled around its surface. The mist did not dissipate but lingered about a foot above the pond, slowly swirling around, like a living veil.

Eight bronze lamps were placed around the pool, each burning with a bluish flame, which made the pool water appear even more emerald green.

"These bronze lamps... seem to be gathering spiritual energy as well!"

"Is Yang Zhuri also setting up an array to gather spiritual energy? But it doesn't seem like he's cultivating spiritual energy." He thought to himself, silently sliding behind a rockery, using its shadow to look into the pond.

There is a person in the pool.

The man was shirtless and sat cross-legged in the middle of the pool, where the water reached his waist.

His skin was fair and his figure was slender yet not weak, with clearly defined, knife-carved muscles in his shoulders and back.

"Yang Zhuri." Chen Lingxi recognized the man.

But at this moment, Yang Zhuri was completely different from the gentle and refined young nobleman he was during the day.

A golden light swirled around him, but it wasn't the pure gold of Zhao Qinglou's light. Instead, it was mixed with strands of dark red blood light, like gold and red threads intertwined, meandering beneath his skin.

Even more terrifying was his face. His exceptionally handsome face was now covered with countless fine blood vessels, which spread like a spider web from his eye sockets to his temples, then down his neck and into his chest.

The pool water swirls slowly around him, forming an extremely slow vortex.

At the center of the vortex, wisps of dark red mist rose up and seeped into his body through his pores.

The dark red mist carried a strong smell of blood, which Chen Lingxi could smell even from a distance of more than ten steps.

His gaze shifted to the edge of the pool, and his pupils suddenly contracted.

As the thick fog was gradually absorbed by Yang Zhuri, he was able to see clearly that there were more than a dozen corpses neatly stacked on the stone slabs by the pool!

The corpses included both men and women, all of whom appeared to be teenagers, around fifteen or sixteen years old, with pale, bloodless faces.

Both of them had cuts on their wrists, and dark red blood gushed from the wounds, flowing into the pool through the grooves carved into the stone slab.

Chen Lingxi frowned deeply.

"What kind of evil technique is this?"

The dashing young man who was skilled in flower arranging, horsemanship, archery, poetry, and song by day was a blood-sucking demon by night.

"This Yang Zhuri has probably already achieved the Golden Body Great Perfection, and he usually hides his cultivation level."

He watched Yang Zhuri cultivate quietly.

After about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the whirlpool in the center of the pool gradually stopped.

The golden-red light emanating from Yang Zhuri slowly receded, and the bloodshot veins on his face gradually faded away.

He opened his eyes, and those peach blossom eyes were now clear and normal, without a trace of the sinister aura from before.

He stood up from the pool, walked to the edge, casually grabbed a white robe and draped it over his shoulders, his movements unhurried, as if he had just taken a normal bath.

Just then, footsteps came from outside the moon gate, and an old servant walked in with a hunched back, carrying a copper basin in his hands, in which were a clean towel and a bowl of hot soup.

The old servant walked to the edge of the pool, placed the copper basin on the stone platform, and stood by with his hands hanging down.

Yang Zhuri wiped his face with a handkerchief, picked up the bowl of hot soup and slowly drank it. Suddenly he said, "This batch that was delivered today is too old."

His tone was extremely calm. Upon hearing this, the old servant bowed and said, "Please forgive me, young master. Recently, there have been fewer and fewer refugees in Yuanjiang Prefecture, and it is becoming increasingly difficult to find young men of fifteen or sixteen years old."

"Fewer refugees?" Yang Zhuri put down his soup bowl and raised an eyebrow. "Xiao Changlu suffered a rare defeat in Qinghua Prefecture. Logically, there should be more refugees fleeing."

"Yes," the old servant said. "It was because Xiao Changlu was defeated that the imperial court recaptured several prefectural cities in Qinghua Prefecture. The refugees were then confined outside the cities by the government and were not allowed to move around freely."

Yang Zhuri remained silent for a moment, then placed the soup bowl back into the copper basin and picked up another handkerchief to wipe his hands.

"A few days' break is fine. Once we have that great medicine, we won't need this food anymore."

The old servant bowed and agreed, then picked up the copper basin and retreated.

Chen Ling listened to Yang Zhuri's words expressionlessly, then quietly left.

He lingered no longer and left Qingjiang Villa silently.

The Yuanjiang River flowed slowly in the night, its surface reflecting the cold moon in the sky, shattering into countless silver points of light.

He stood by the river, gazing at the shimmering waves, and went over what he had just seen and heard in his mind once more.

"Golden Body Perfected... Evil Technique... Crown Prince's Team..."

"Yang Zhuri, son of General Zhi Ri."

"Princess Yunhe, daughter of the Eastern King."

He shook his head, suppressing those thoughts for the time being.

He's currently in the Chejue Divine Chamber, so he'll just write these things down and make plans for them later when he returns to the mortal world.

He turned around and walked towards the direction of the Marquis of Baosu's residence.

"Let's go and meet Lin Suri."