novelapdf Chapter 215 Duanmu Qing? Yuan A Li?
Chapter 215 Duanmu Qing? Yuan A Li?
Chapter 216 Duanmu Qing? Yuan A Li? (Bonus Chapter)
Before long, the steaming hot bath water was ready.
Jiang Mu immersed herself in the large bathtub, the scalding water enveloping her sore muscles.
He closed his eyes and let out a contented groan: "So comfortable—"
Having washed away the blood and exhaustion, Jiang Mu rested her head on the edge of the wooden tub, her eyes half-closed.
In the rising steam.
His thoughts inevitably drifted back to the events he had experienced at the Divine Sword Sect's Jian family that day.
"I'm still not strong enough —"
Jiang Mu muttered to herself, her brows gradually furrowing.
It seems that Little Doctor was right; I have indeed been somewhat lax in my cultivation.
One must be strong oneself to succeed; relying solely on cheat codes and magical artifacts is not a long-term solution. One must improve one's cultivation level as soon as possible.
However, the deepest question lingering in Jiang Mu's mind at this moment was the death of Prince Sheng.
He simply couldn't understand how the other person could have died.
First of all, the Divine Sword Sect disciple who suddenly attacked the prince within the Jian family must have been a demon under the command of Madam Painted Skin in disguise.
But the problem is...
Judging from the identical jade thumb rings, there was definitely collusion between Prince Sheng and Madam Huapi.
Since they are allies, why would Lady Painted Skin instruct her subordinates to stage such an assassination of an ally in full view of everyone?
Could it be that...
Jiang Mu's heart skipped a beat, and a bold guess surfaced in her mind.
Was Prince Sheng faking his death on purpose?
Golden cicada escapes its shell?
Or is it for some bigger conspiracy?
The problem is that his wife, Zhou Yuanzhi, later personally verified that the body was indeed that of Prince Sheng.
Then there's only one other possibility.
Lady Painted Skin turned against them halfway through!
Lady Painted Skin and others secretly colluded and launched a sudden attack within the Jian family, killing Prince Sheng.
Subsequently, she attempted to take advantage of the chaos to seize the Dragon-Slaying Sword that the Divine Sword Sect was forging, and even tried to steal the divine artifact of destiny, the Sword Edge Gold.
"But why would a demon risk its life to steal these things?"
Jiang Mu found it increasingly strange.
【Sword Edge Gold】is a divine metal object of the highest strength and sharpest edge, and has always been a supreme treasure used by cultivators to forge their Dao foundation.
What use could Lady Painted Skin, a powerful demon who practices evil illusion magic, possibly have for this thing?
Jiang Mu couldn't understand it.
But in any case, it is too early to draw any conclusions now.
We just need to wait for the official announcement to confirm that Prince Sheng was assassinated.
Therefore, in order to maintain the dignity and prestige of the royal family, the Daqing court would inevitably be furious and would spare no effort to eliminate Lady Painted Skin.
When the water gets murky, the fish will naturally surface.
Just as Jiang Mu closed her eyes and fell into deep thought, she suddenly felt a slight, throbbing pain, like being pricked by needles, between her eyebrows.
Jiang Mu reached out and touched her forehead.
There seemed to be a hard bump where my fingertips touched.
It also carried a strange warmth.
Jiang Muxin was puzzled.
He stood up from the bathtub, grabbed a dry towel and wrapped it around his waist, then strode to the dressing table and picked up a bronze mirror to examine himself.
Upon seeing this, Jiang Mu was stunned.
In the bronze mirror.
A thin, vertical crack had suddenly appeared in the center of what was once a smooth brow.
It was slightly closed.
The surrounding skin was a dark red, like a tightly closed eye lurking beneath his flesh.
"What the hell is this thing?!"
Jiang Mu stared in disbelief. "Am I going to become Erlang Shen?"
He tried to concentrate and imagine "opening" that eye, but there was no response.
So he tried to mobilize the demonic energy within his body, carefully gathering it towards the space between his eyebrows.
"Buzz"
The moment the demonic energy touched the crack...
The dark red crevice was like a dried sponge meeting water, instantly swallowing that wisp of demonic energy.
Followed by.
The crack—slowly opened!
It was a strange eyeball with no whites, completely black as ink.
Deep within the pupils of the eyes, faint dark red blood vessels twisted and moved, exuding an eerie aura.
Jiang Mu thought the eyes looked familiar and then thought about it carefully.
Isn't this the black talisman that Lady Painted Skin gave him before, the one with the cracked eye on its surface after he forcibly modified it with demonic energy?
They look exactly the same!
"How did this thing get onto my forehead?!"
Jiang Mu was utterly horrified.
Before he could examine it closely, the eye twitched twice and then closed again.
Then it disappeared into his skin.
Jiang Mu tried injecting demonic energy several more times, but strangely, no matter how much demonic energy he injected, the eye seemed to be frozen and unresponsive.
"strangeness----"
Jiang Mu frowned, and inexplicably felt a chill run down her spine.
Damn it.
Am I really going to turn into a demon?
After quickly drying herself off and changing into a dry long robe, Jiang Mu spent a long time studying the space between her eyebrows in the mirror.
The eyes never reappeared, so I had to put my doubts aside for the time being.
We arrived in the courtyard.
Bai Xiang still hasn't returned.
Only Duanmu Li was sitting alone at the stone table in the courtyard.
The girl clutched the fragment of the spiritual vein in her hand, her brows furrowed slightly, as if she were deep in distress.
"How is it? Can you absorb this stuff?"
Jiang Mu leaned closer and casually asked.
Duanmu Li raised her head, a hint of frustration on her face. She shook her head and said dejectedly, "I don't know why, even though I followed the secret method that Grandpa taught me, I still can't absorb the half of the sword spirit in the spiritual vein."
The girl looked at the dim spiritual vein in her hand and said dejectedly, "It's probably because it was suppressed in the Divine Sword Sect's sword family for too long and has been tainted by too much of the Divine Sword Sect's fortune."
That's why my absorption technique is rejected and can't be used anymore.
"Uh, let me try it."
Jiang Mu reached out and took the section of spiritual vein.
As soon as he got his hands on the spiritual vein, he activated the demonic energy within his body and slowly poured it into it through his palm.
"The spiritual vein that was dormant in Duanmu Li's hands seemed to be activated, and its whole body shone brightly."
The half-blade-shaped part hummed and trembled, emanating a sharp blade intent.
Duanmu Li's beautiful eyes widened, sparkling with surprise: "How come it's so obedient in your hands?"
Jiang Mu chuckled inwardly.
nonsense.
This thing has long been deeply modified by my demonic energy, bearing my mark inside and out, and taking my shape.
Of course, only I can drive it at will.
However, this was something that couldn't be said to the girl outright.
Jiang Mu handed the spiritual vein, which was emitting a white light, back to Duanmu Li: "Alright, stop spacing out."
I'm now trying to draw out the essence of the sword spirit within and transfer it to you.
Empty your mind and focus all your energy on circulating the energy through the technique. Remember, the process may be a bit challenging, so keep your mind steady and don't let the sword intent damage your meridians.
Duanmu Li nodded obediently.
Jiang Mu stopped talking and gently placed the knife-shaped end of the spiritual vein against the girl's smooth forehead.
With his mind's control, the essence of the sword spirit in the spiritual vein, like an awakened dragon, slowly flowed into Duanmu Li's brow through the point of contact.
The girl's delicate body trembled slightly, then emitted a light as bright and cool as the moon.
The light shone through her snow-white skin.
It made her look like a jade statue sculpted from ice and snow.
Under the glow of this light, the girl's originally aloof temperament was mixed with a hint of sharpness and ruthlessness.
The fusion process lasted a full hour.
During this time, Duanmu Li's brows sometimes furrowed and sometimes relaxed.
Fine beads of sweat appeared on his forehead, clearly indicating that he was undergoing some kind of painful transformation.
Finally, the last ray of white light completely disappeared into her body.
Duanmu Li opened her eyes.
In that instant, two blade-like glints seemed to flash and disappear deep within his eyes.
At this moment, the seed of the sword spirit within her body, after absorbing the same and even larger source of sword spirit essence, finally fully awakened and sprouted.
Behind the girl, the void twisted.
It even faintly condensed into the afterimage of a phantom greatsword, over ten feet long and as black as ink!
Duanmu Li sat there quietly.
It seemed to have merged with the phantom behind it, transforming into a divine sword that could tear the sky apart!
With the complete fusion of the sword spirit.
A surge of dark demonic energy erupted from the girl's dantian.
Originally, this malevolent energy was a fatal hidden danger on her path of cultivation, which could cause her to lose her mind at any time and turn her into a monster who only knew how to kill.
But at this moment, under the suppression and fusion of this pure sword soul, which had been transformed by Jiang Mu's demonic energy, the side effects of the demon blood were eliminated.
The demonic energy will no longer corrupt her mind.
The remaining pseudo-star power within her body was completely shattered and dissipated at this moment.
He officially shed the label of a fake star official and transformed into a demonic cultivator.
And her cultivation level also advanced rapidly during this transformative metamorphosis.
He broke through the barrier and stepped into the sixth rank!
"Good heavens—"
Jiang Mu stood to the side, clicked his tongue, and exclaimed in admiration, "The sword spirit left behind by your Heavenly Blade Sect's ancestor has such a powerful aftereffect! It suddenly jumped to the sixth rank, and its cultivation is even higher than mine?"
Duanmu Li felt the surging, vast power within her body, her eyes filled with excitement.
Originally, she had envisioned that it would take many years of arduous training and many hardships before she would have the opportunity to retrieve a portion of the sword spirit from the Divine Sword Sect and restore her foundation.
Unexpectedly, it was achieved so quickly because of the man in front of me.
The side effects of the demon blood are gone.
His cultivation level has broken through.
Even the legacy of the Heavenly Blade Sect has been recovered.
From then on, she could embark on the path of demonic cultivation with peace of mind, without any further worries.
A surge of joy and gratitude overwhelmed the girl's heart.
She suddenly stepped forward.
She abandoned all reserve and aloofness.
She stretched out her arms and hugged Jiang Mu's waist tightly.
Then, raising her increasingly refined and aloof face, which was slightly flushed with excitement, she said with utmost sincerity, "Jiang Mu, thank you."
"I will truly, truly repay you with everything I have in the future."
Jiang Mu smiled at her serious expression and said, "Alright, alright, we're family, no need for formalities. When you really become the number one swordsman in the world, just don't forget to look after me."
Calm the excited little girl down.
Jiang Mu looked at the remaining half of the spiritual vein, which contained the sword soul and sword intent of the Divine Sword Sect.
So they called over Yuan Aqing, who was practicing swordsmanship.
Jiang Mu followed the same method, attaching half of the spiritual vein to the girl's forehead.
Perhaps because Yuan Aqing was born with a sword heart, she absorbed sword souls much faster than Duanmu Li.
It was all completed in less than half an hour.
During the process, Yuan Aqing also emitted a soft and pure light, as if enveloped by moonlight.
The girl's already pretty features became even more delicate and refined.
She exudes a refined and elegant aura.
Even more remarkably, she also possessed a fresh fragrance that was invigorating.
She's like a fairy who has mistakenly wandered into the mortal world.
Although after absorbing the energy, no sword shadows or strange phenomena appeared behind the girl like Duanmu Li did.
But standing there, it resembles a peerless immortal sword with its brilliance restrained.
Its sharpness is concealed, yet its charm arises naturally.
Her serene beauty is imbued with an otherworldly, ethereal aura.
As for Yuan Aqing herself, after acquiring the sword soul fortune of the Divine Sword Sect...
The most direct feeling is that the understanding of the sword moves of "Taiyi Zhanchen Jue" is like opening a completely new door. Many things that were previously obscure and difficult to understand are now suddenly clear.
However, what puzzled the girl was that during the process of fusing with the sword soul, she always felt as if a thin veil was covering her mind, and something was about to emerge.
It carried a vague sense of familiarity.
Fragments of memories, vaguely stirring my emotions, flashed through my mind like light and shadow.
But when she tried to focus her attention and recall carefully, her mind went blank, and she couldn't remember anything.
However, she is simple-minded and doesn't tend to overthink things. If she can't figure something out, she simply stops thinking about it.
They quickly put this unusual thing out of their minds.
Seeing that the master had given her such a great opportunity, the little girl was naturally moved to tears again.
Jiang Mu found it amusing and gave her a crisp tap on the forehead: "Alright, alright, look at you, so pathetic."
"You'll have plenty of time to repay the master later. Quickly wipe away your tears, pick up the sword from the ground, and consolidate your cultivation level."
Yuan Aqing covered her forehead, looking aggrieved.
Strangely, Duanmu Li next to her also hissed at the same time and subconsciously raised her hand to cover her forehead.
A look of bewilderment and pain appeared on her cool, aloof face.
Jiang Mu was completely confused and looked at Duanmu Li: "What's wrong with you?"
Duanmu Li was also stunned. She looked at her hand covering her forehead, then at Yuan Aqing's teary eyes, and asked uncertainly, "Just now—did you hit me too?"
"ha?"
Jiang Mu was completely bewildered, holding up her hand that was still suspended in mid-air, her face full of innocence and confusion: "Why would I hit you?"
Jiang Mu thought this girl might have gone crazy from absorbing the sword spirit, so he simply gave her a flick on the forehead.
"Ah!" Duanmu Li exclaimed softly.
Almost simultaneously, Yuan Aqing next to her also exclaimed "Ah!" and covered her forehead again.
"Ouch! Master, that hurts!"
?
Jiang Mu was dumbfounded.
What's going on?
How come these two people are in pain and also suffer the consequences?
Telepathy? Or—
To further verify, Jiang Mu simply grabbed Duanmu Li's wrist and dragged her into the house.
Let Yuan Aqing stand outside.
Jiang Mu pinched Duanmu Li's slender arm hard, then stuck her head out to look outside.
Sure enough, Yuan Aqing outside covered her arm and frowned.
"Hiss!"
Jiang Mu, standing behind the door, gasped.
It's actually connected!
For the next half hour, Jiang Mu seemed to have discovered a novel toy.
Conduct blind tests at various distances and with different forces.
Ultimately, Jiang Mu came to a conclusion.
These two girls, as long as they are no more than 100 meters apart.
Any painful stimulus that one person experiences will cause the other person to experience the exact same pain response in the same area.
This sensation will gradually weaken if the distance exceeds 100 meters.
until it disappears.
"This is... quantum entanglement!"
Jiang Mu was speechless.
After much thought, he finally realized where the problem lay.
It must be a spiritual vein.
That segment of the spiritual vein was originally one.
One end contains the sword spirit of the Heavenly Blade Sect, and the other end contains the sword spirit of the Divine Sword Sect.
Over the years, the spirits of swords and blades have been nourished day and night in this spiritual vein, and a bond has long been formed between them.
He had just injected his spiritual veins into the two women's bodies.
As a result, these two originally related and closely connected energies and fortunes were disrupted.
A kind of "twin"-like sensory sharing mechanism was established directly between these two girls who were not related by blood.
Looking at the two bewildered women, Jiang Mu found it somewhat amusing.
If the two of them fight in the future, wouldn't that be the same as fighting themselves?
If one gets hurt, does the other also feel pain?
"It's actually quite fun."
Jiang Mu stroked her chin, a smile playing on her lips.
Of course, the future will be even more fun.