Ze Tian Ji (Way of Choices)

Chapter 597 – Several Thousand Wildfires

The Tong Palace was a bow, Xu Yourong’s most powerful tool, and simultaneously the spatial artifact of Holy Maiden Peak. From a certain perspective, it was precisely like the Stainless Sword and Chen Changsheng.

At this moment, the Tong Palace was placed vertically over Chen Changsheng’s chest, Xu Yourong’s gaze attentively gazing at the place where they touched. With the light pluck of her finger, the bowstring vibrated with unimaginable speed, transforming into a blur of images simply impossible to catch with the naked eye, followed by a hum like the sound of a zither.

Chen Changsheng had bathed in Dragon blood, granting him a body comparable to that obtained from a perfect Purification. Ordinary weapons would find it impossible to breach his skin, but now, with the vibration of the bowstring, a tiny wound gradually opened up on his chest. This was most likely the principle of ‘that which has no substance can penetrate the solid’.

(TN: The last line is from Chapter 43 of the “Daodejing”.)

Of course, Xu Yourong would not allow his blood to flow out from that wound. With a light wave of her left hand, clear light spilled down and cut off the wound from the outside world. At the same time, with a thought, the true blood of the Heavenly Phoenix that was currently blazing on her wrist was extinguished, and any sense of that majestic strength vanished, making it seem just like water.

Her blood slowly flowed down the smooth surface of the bow. With the natural suction of the spatial artifact, the blood became an extremely thin line that entered Chen Changsheng’s body through that wound.

After a long time had passed, she stopped and closed up Chen Changsheng’s wound as quickly as possible. Her face was pale and she was very feeble, perhaps because she had lost too much blood.

However, she did not rest, because the treatment had not concluded. Raising her right hand, using the sleeve to wipe the sweat off her forehead, she gripped Chen Changsheng’s hand, closed her eyes, and began to move her mind.

Relying on that inseverable and close connection between her and the Heavenly Phoenix true blood, her mind entered Chen Changsheng’s body without any sort of obstruction. Carried along by the Heavenly Phoenix true blood, her thought traveled freely through his body, seeing those severed meridians and even bleaker sights.

Endless amounts of blood were incessantly flowing out of the fractures in his meridians and out of his body. In the space between his internal organs was his true blood, his soul contained within. For some reason, this true blood contained a seemingly infinite Qi of life. Although she did not truly sense, only saw it through her spiritual sense, although she was willing to offer her life to him, in that tiny instant, she sensed her spiritual world shuddering as she was overtaken by a fierce desire to plunder that Qi away.

Xu Yourong closed her eyes, her eyelashes trembling and her face paling even more. Thankfully, the candied date she was sucking on soaked into her body and allowed her to safeguard her Dao heart, so no problems arose.

At this moment, the Heavenly Phoenix true blood had already dispersed to every part of Chen Changsheng’s body. The seventy-two meridians, the three hundred and sixty-five Qi openings, and even the tiniest place, like the roots of pores—the blood was present everywhere.

This was the time.

With a flash of her thoughts, the Heavenly Phoenix true blood attached to those several meridians almost simultaneously began to blaze, several thousand tiny flames erupting within Chen Changsheng’s body!

A second later, all the flames had been extinguished.

Other than a dull charred smell, there was no evidence to indicate just what had occurred.

She had placed a fire in Chen Changsheng’s body and ignited a plain.

She had converted the Heavenly Phoenix true blood into the tiniest of particles and cauterized the fractures in those meridians, thus staunching the bleeding without harming the extremely thin walls of his meridians.

Xu Yourong opened her eyes and gazed at Chen Changsheng on the couch. After verifying that his injuries were finally under control, she finally relaxed. His seventy-two meridians had been bleeding from several thousand places, and now they had all been cauterized shut. He was no longer losing blood. At the very least, she did not have to worry that he would not be able to last the night.

The Elder of Heavenly Secrets had judged that Chen Changsheng would not be able to survive precisely because an injury like his meridians being all ruptured could not be cured, especially when the Sacred Light technique could not be used. Who could have imagined that Xu Yourong would produce such a wild idea and display such a miraculous technique?

She had sent her Heavenly Phoenix true blood into Chen Changsheng’s body. Not merely had this halted his internal bleeding, it also accomplished a similarly important goal: supplementing his blood.

There was no doctor at present that could choose this sort of method for supplementing blood. This was because blood was different from human to human, and different types of blood would conflict within a person’s body and cause them to die even faster.

The Heavenly Phoenix true blood was naturally precious, but not everyone could bear it, because it had always been one of the world’s most tyrannical true bloods. Even when she had used her mind to restrain all of its strength, the Qi it exuded on its own was still excessively tyrannical. More importantly, her blood had always been different from the other people of the world.

Chen Changsheng’s blood was also different from the rest of the people in the world. His blood was the purest, containing the boundless energy of life, which was why in the Garden of Zhou, he was able to supplement Xu Yourong’s blood. At present, Xu Yourong’s blood had long since melded with his blood, so she could naturally supplement his blood.

Back then, he had persisted in saving her, and now, only she could save him. The reason was just that simple.

……

……

Zhexiu’s legs had not been chopped off by the female disciples, nor had the miserable sight of rivers of blood appeared in front of the house. The reason was also very simple: Tang Thirty-Six was by his side.

“Nothing will happen to him, you don’t need to worry,” he said to Zhexiu.

Zhexiu looked at him expressionlessly and said, “You trust so much in Xu Yourong?”

Tang Thirty-Six replied, “Even if the entire world wants to harm him, she will not.”

Zhexiu did not understand.

The entire world, or everyone in Mount Han at any rate, did not understand.

When the Elder of Heavenly Secrets had departed a while ago, he had not said too much, just that the Holy Maiden was looking after Chen Changsheng. Upon hearing this, the crowd was even more shocked and confused.

What sort of status did Xu Yourong have? Her previous action of risking her life to save Chen Changsheng was already incomprehensible enough, but now she was personally looking after him? If she was still Chen Changsheng’s fiancée, this matter would actually make some sense, but hadn’t that engagement long been annulled? Wasn’t it said that she loathed him?

The disciples of Mount Li all had peculiar expressions while Gou Hanshi had a pensive look. Guan Feibai finally could not hold himself back and whispered, “No wonder Eldest Brother wants to stay far, far away.”

The night clouds had already dispersed and starlight illuminated the lake. It was quiet with everyone harboring their own thoughts. After quite some time had passed, the sound of a door opening could be heard as Xu Yourong walked out from the house.

The crowd surged forward like a tide.

The South Stream Temple sword array dispersed, yet it still guarded the area in front of Xu Yourong.

No one dared to voluntarily ask. Xu Yourong looked at Tang Thirty-Six and Zhexiu and said, “He is still not awake. You two look after him. I have to rest a while.”

The crowd noted that her face was deathly pale and she seemed utterly exhausted.

Linghai Zhiwang said, “I will see Principal Chen first.”

Xu Yourong shook her head, calmly but firmly.

Linghai Zhiwang slightly creased his brow, confused and also secretly rather angry. He thought that the two of them were on the same side and that he should have taken the lead in this matter, yet he had unexpectedly been rejected.

“What he needs the most right now is rest. Other things can be discussed tomorrow.”

After saying this, she was escorted away by the disciples of South Stream Temple.

Not all disciples left with her. Several dozen South Stream Temple disciples remained outside the house, the sword array once more obstructing all, with only Tang Thirty-Six and Zhexiu being permitted inside.

The crowd outside the house gradually dispersed. They believed that Chen Changsheng had encountered some problem when breaking into Star Condensation, and with the Pavilion of Heavenly Secrets and the master of the Sacred Light technique that was the Holy Maiden personally acting, there would naturally not be any major difficulties. Not a single person could have imagined that tonight, without Xu Yourong, Chen Changsheng would perhaps already be dead.

……

……

At five o’clock in the early morning, Chen Changsheng woke up.

He knew that it was five in the morning because, in these countless days, he had always woken up at this time. As a result, he momentarily forgot about what had happened yesterday and prepared to get out of bed.

Then he realized that he wasn’t wearing anything.

Then he realized that Tang Thirty-Six and Zhexiu were by his bed, staring at him.

This made him feel extremely uncomfortable.

Only now did he recall what had happened yesterday and his expression subtly shifted.

Tang Thirty-Six saw that he had woken up and his expression slightly relaxed. Yet he had no intention of speaking to Chen Changsheng yet, instead turning around to head out of the house, saying, “I’ll go notify South Stream Temple.”

Chen Changsheng said, “Don’t. She doesn’t want anyone else to know of our relationship.”

As he spoke, he subconsciously glanced at Zhexiu, thinking, Tang Thirty-Six previously did not hide it from Zhexiu; could it be that when I fell unconscious yesterday, Tang Thirty-Six told everything?

“The entire world knows now.”

Tang Thirty-Six unhappily replied, then continued out of the house.

Chen Changsheng turned to Zhexiu.

Zhexiu said indifferently, “I also know.”

Chen Changsheng froze, thinking, just what happened while I was unconscious?