Crack!
Crack!
The crystal corpse, as if struck by lightning, knelt on the ground, stunned and blank, like a wooden chicken, as if greatly stimulated.
Soon, the crystal corpse became tormented, clutching its head with both hands, struggling violently.
“Woo ~”
Perhaps because the pain was unbearable, this crystal corpse actually rolled on the ground, screaming miserably, uttering a hoarse human voice, "No, I am loyal to my master, I am utterly devoted to my master... Master!"
“Master!”
The crystal corpse suddenly erupted with a strong desire to live, prostrating on the ground, kowtowing and begging for mercy.
However, the woman in the room did not seem to intend to let the crystal corpse go. It was unknown what means this woman used, but she was actually absorbing the last bit of remaining corpse energy from the crystal corpse's body.
Before long, the crystal corpse, amidst agonizing struggles, turned into a pitch-black, shriveled mummy. Its mouth was wide open, its pupils dilated, and its death was extremely miserable.
Rather than being sucked dry of corpse energy and dying, it seemed more like it was scared to death.
Approximately, the commotion here attracted attention from outside. The courtyard door was suddenly pushed open, and three other crystal corpses hurriedly walked in. After seeing the mummy outside the door, the three crystal corpses all showed expressions of shock and fear.
One of the fat crystal corpses approached the door and knelt on the ground: "Master, did Fourth Brother do something wrong to offend you? If so, Fourth Brother deserves it. I will serve you from now on..."
Crystal corpses actually possess the consciousness and thinking abilities of normal people.
They were originally living people, only to have their hearts dug out by the High Priest Jin Hai'er and refined into this appearance.
Before the fat crystal corpse could finish speaking, it saw the scene inside the room through the crack in the door...
A pair of strange eyes.
Then, the fat crystal corpse's whole body shook violently, and it collapsed limply to the ground, turning into a mummy amidst a shrill scream.
The situation was exactly the same as the previously deceased corpse.
The remaining two corpses, upon seeing this, began to retreat, attempting to flee madly. However, before they could step out of the threshold, their bodies turned into mummies.
Even at the moment of death, these two mummies maintained their pre-death fleeing posture...
Thus, the four crystal corpses were all dead.
Four years ago, these four crystal corpses had luckily escaped the encirclement and suppression of the Demon Suppression Division. Later, they received the summons of the Corpse Refinement Technique and went to serve this female superior envoy. They originally thought that this female superior envoy would be as "gentle" and value them as the former High Priest.
Unfortunately, this superior envoy who understood the Corpse Refinement Technique was far more terrifying than the High Priest.
After driving them for four years, now that their value had been squeezed dry, she sucked them dry.
How ruthless!
This was the common thought of the four crystal corpses before their death.
They had also thought about resisting, but it was clear... they had no ability to resist.
Inside the room, there was the sound of "crunch, crunch" as if something was being eaten.
Da da da.
A series of footsteps went from far to near, slowly walking to the doorway.
From the dark room, a slender jade hand reached out, grasped the doorknob, and gently pulled the door open. Then, a beautiful woman wearing a phoenix-embroidered brocade robe walked out.
Wearing a phoenix hairpin, she had a beautiful appearance.
She looked very young.
It was just that her eyes were very strange.
They had whites and irises, but the pupils had a defect, as if a piece had been dug out with something.
Even so, these eyes were still very agile, turning smoothly and without any discomfort.
The woman didn't feel anything strange, just muttered to herself, "Poor Jin Hai'er, in the end, he still died. He didn't help me complete the plan. But it doesn't matter, my body's five senses have recovered. As long as I find the Seven Treasures Exquisite Box, I can complete the great undertaking."
This empress from four hundred years ago had lived in the Giant Whale Gang for four years, so naturally she had a considerable understanding of the current world.
Her emotions seemed very calm.
"Xu Kangfu... Li Changchun... Emperor Jingtai, Ming Jade Skill..."
She walked as she spoke, "The Jingtai Dynasty was nothing more than picking up some scraps from my dynasty. Did they really think they were the supreme ruler?"
Leaving the living room, the woman directly turned into a wisp of green smoke and disappeared into the courtyard. Following the mountain path, she quickly came to the cave that Xie An and Yu He had originally climbed out of, and then she went in. Before long, she returned to the shrine underground, walked out of the shrine, and came to the edge of the cold pool.
She lowered her head and used the water as a mirror to look at her appearance.
"Well, my appearance is still a bit old. Ming Jade Skill... it's not some difficult thing to cultivate. Isn't it just reversing aging..."
As she spoke, the woman made a hand gesture, and heat flowed throughout her body, traveling through her limbs and bones, forming a vortex of aura ten meters in radius.
If Xie An were here to see it, he would probably be shocked. Xie An's eighteen levels of Ming Jade Skill were only able to form a heat vortex covering three meters around him, but this woman could cover a ten-meter range with a wave of her hand, and the heat was surging. Her skin was transparent, truly achieving ice muscle and jade bones.
Then, the woman's appearance visibly became younger.
Reverse growth.
The true art of reversing aging.
There was no need to be as coy as Li Changchun.
It was as smooth as silk.
Before long, the woman's appearance became more than ten years younger, looking like a fifteen or sixteen-year-old girl, with skin like congealed fat, delicate and breakable. Even her height was a little shorter.
The woman looked at the water, "Try making it a little smaller?"
Clap!
She pinched her fingers with both hands, and finally folded her palms together.
The appearance reflected in the water became younger again, and soon turned into a little girl. The clothes on her body were all a size too big and slipped off.
"Looking at a little girl is still disgusting, let's just be a young girl."
The woman frowned, obviously not very satisfied with the appearance of the little girl, and made a finger gesture again with both hands. As the heat flowed, she quickly returned to the appearance of a fifteen or sixteen-year-old girl. She stared at the water for a long time, finally showing a satisfied smile.
"Not bad, let's just leave it like this. When I go underwater to retrieve the treasure plant and extract the drop of special essence blood from the heartwood, even without the blessing of ten thousand wisps of undying energy, I can recover 30 to 40% of my strength."
The girl jumped into the cold pool.
Before long, the girl resurfaced, revealing an angry expression, "Damn thieves, they actually dug away the treasure plant that this palace cultivated with special essence blood!"
The girl was very angry and shouted "Ah" loudly.
The roar was like a dragon's roar and a tiger's howl, shaking the entire underground, and countless stalactites broke and fell.
Returning to the ground again, the girl came to a cliff and looked at the Water Lantern Town in front of her, as well as the direction of Qingwu County in the distance.
"The Seven Treasures Exquisite Box was taken away, and the essence blood treasure plant was also dug up... These are all things that this palace has obtained with a lifetime of effort. No one can take them away!"
Thinking of this, the girl sat down cross-legged, with her hands folded in her lower abdomen.
"This palace has already touched the path of immortality, and also touched the threshold of the Azure Dragon Martial Saint... These two things are my trump cards. Fortunately, I left a mark on the Seven Treasures Exquisite Box. After a hundred years, I will see if I can sense the mark within."
......
Water Lantern Town.
Giant Whale Gang headquarters.
Li Chonghe was entertaining the two constables, Zhu Kun and Liu Qian.
"Lord Zhu, Lord Liu. You must stand up for my second brother." After pouring tea for the two adults, Li Chonghe very respectfully cupped his hands and bowed, "He Chunli stabbed my nephew to death, which was originally a capital crime. But the Demon Suppression Division intervened. Even my second brother and County Magistrate Zhou were arrested..."
They naturally had informants in the county seat, and had a rough understanding of what happened in the county seat.
Logically speaking, even Zhou Li had been arrested... Li Chonghe would not dare to trouble the two adults, Zhu and Liu, again. But Li Chonghe had his own trump card, which was the mysterious superior envoy sitting in the Giant Whale Gang.
The Giant Whale Gang's ability to have what it has today all depended on this female superior envoy.
Moreover, Li Chonghe knew that the two adults, Zhu and Liu, had repeatedly visited the Giant Whale Gang in order to curry favor with this female superior envoy, attempting to complete some major transaction with the female superior envoy.
In view of this, Li Chonghe naturally had confidence in his heart.
Zhu Kun was thin and gaunt, with sunken eye sockets, giving people a gloomy feeling. Liu Qian, on the other hand, was slightly fat, with a smiling face, giving people the visual sense of a smiling Buddha.
Zhu Kun and Liu Qian glanced at each other, exchanged a look, and then said: "Gang Leader Li, rest assured. According to the information I have received, a new Chief has taken office. It is said that a new official makes three fires, and the new Chief is just trying to establish his authority. After his enthusiasm passes, Brother Liu and I will go and talk, giving the Chief an excuse. I think the Chief will not be too difficult and will release people."
Hearing this, Li Chonghe was overjoyed and thanked him repeatedly.
Zhu Kun nodded slightly, "The top priority is that we need to meet with your gang's superior envoy and clarify some things. In this way, Brother Liu and I will go to the Demon Suppression Division and ask the Chief to release people."
Li Chonghe cupped his hands and said: "The superior envoy is in the backyard, please follow me."
Zhu Kun and Liu Qian exchanged a look, and then Liu Qian said: "You go and notify the superior envoy first, and we will come later."
Li Chonghe immediately agreed and ran to the backyard to report.
Zhu Kun and Liu Qian then showed smiles.
Zhu Kun said: "Brother Liu, we have received a reply from the Prince. Although the High Priest is gone and Li Changchun is also in Nanzhou, this superior envoy is proficient in the Corpse Refinement Technique, and the Prince is very satisfied and willing to treat her as a guest."
Liu Qian said: "If we can accomplish what Young Master Li failed to do, the Prince will reward us handsomely."
Zhu Kun said: "It depends on whether this superior envoy is willing to follow us to Nanzhou. If she agrees, we will have a lifetime of wealth and glory."
Haha.
Liu Qian laughed loudly: "Exactly, exactly."
At this moment, Li Chonghe returned and said respectfully: "The superior envoy is in the backyard, please follow me, both of you."
“Thank you, Chief Li.”
Zhu Kun and Liu Qian stood up and followed Li Chonghe towards the backyard. The two men walked with particularly spirited expressions, their faces full of smiles. They didn't seem very concerned about what had happened at the Demon Suppression Division.
In fact, they had their own plans.
The sixth-rank clerk position at the Demon Suppression Division, while not bad, could help them gain some prestige.
But ultimately, its scope was too small.
As long as they took this envoy who was proficient in corpse refining to Nanzhou to meet the Prince, the Prince would be overjoyed, and they could be directly promoted to higher positions. Why would they care about a mere sixth-rank clerk position?
They even felt that coming to Qingwu County to serve as clerks was a waste of their talents.
Soon, the two men saw the envoy in the backyard.
This was the first time they had seen the envoy face to face. Before, they had always been separated by a screen.
Seeing that this envoy was actually a fifteen or sixteen-year-old girl, Zhu Kun and Liu Qian were greatly shocked.
Such a young corpse refiner?
You should know that corpse refiners are very scarce, and it's impossible to achieve anything without decades of training. There are no corpse refiners in the entire Nanzhou. As far as people know, only the former Longevity Sect had them.
One high priest is already gone.
And this corpse refiner is so young?
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A natural prodigy.
Zhu Kun and Liu Qian immediately humbled themselves, cupping their hands and bowing deeply.
“I am Liu Qian, greetings to the envoy.”
“I am Zhu Kun, greetings to the envoy.”
Li Chonghe very obediently retreated from the room and closed the door.
The girl sat in the chief seat, drinking tea.
Her pupils had also returned to normal.
Perhaps it was because of the Rejuvenating Jade Skill, or perhaps it was for other reasons. In any case, she looked no different from a normal girl at the moment. This was very different from her appearance when she was sitting cross-legged in the shrine, and there was no trace to be found.
“Mm.”
The girl nodded, “You have worked hard for me for four years, you are very considerate. Just tell me what your purpose is.”
Zhu Kun said, “I am under the order of the Prince of Huainan to recruit extraordinary people from all over the world. The Prince already knows that the envoy is proficient in corpse refining and is willing to treat the envoy as an honored guest.”
Liu Qian said, “We implore the envoy to come with us to Nanzhou and enjoy supreme glory and wealth.”
The girl was not surprised by these words, but simply asked, “The Prince of Huainan, Li Huai?”
Zhu Kun and Liu Qian were greatly startled. They didn't expect this girl to call the Prince of Huainan by his name directly.
Zhu Kun said tremblingly, “That's right.”
The girl said, “I didn't expect Li Huai to still be around. That's good, it would be nice to see an old acquaintance. Go prepare a carriage, I… I will go to Nanzhou with you.”
Seeing that the envoy had agreed, Zhu Kun and Liu Qian were overjoyed.
“Thank you for your permission, envoy. I will go prepare the carriage now.”
“However… some problems have occurred at the Demon Suppression Division in Qingwu County. I need to go to the Demon Suppression Division to deal with some trivial matters, which may take some time.”
The girl frowned, “The Demon Suppression Division jointly created by the imperial court and the Daoist sect… It doesn't matter, I will also take a trip to the Demon Suppression Division.”
Zhu Kun and Liu Qian were horrified and greatly alarmed.
Corpse refiners are evil professions and are not tolerated by the Demon Suppression Division.
They didn't want the Demon Suppression Division to know that they were carrying a corpse refiner.
After much deliberation, Zhu Kun still expressed his concerns and risks, and finally found an excuse, “It's not that we are afraid of trouble, but mainly for the envoy's safety.”
The girl didn't care at all, “What's the big deal? If you don't say it, who will know that I am a corpse refiner?”
Zhu Kun looked at the door.
The meaning was obvious, Li Chonghe had just seen the girl's appearance.
The girl understood and called out to the door, “Li Chonghe, come in.”
Hearing the envoy's summons, Li Chonghe immediately trotted in, stopped three meters away from the girl, and bowed respectfully: “What are your orders, envoy?”
The girl smiled, “Look at my current appearance, how is it different from before?”
Li Chonghe didn't dare to look up, “This subordinate doesn't dare to look upon the envoy's true appearance.”
The girl said, “I allow you to look.”
“Yes.”
Li Chonghe then raised his head and looked at the girl in front of him, truthfully saying, “The envoy is completely different from before. Even immortals wouldn't be able to tell that you are the same person.”
The girl said, “This is the supernatural power that can be obtained after cultivating the Rejuvenating Jade Skill to the twenty-fourth level, the ability to freely determine one's appearance, it's called Rejuvenation. Do you want to learn it?”
Li Chonghe was greatly shocked and immediately revealed a greedy look. Then he prostrated on the ground, “If the envoy doesn't abandon me, this subordinate wants…”
Before he could finish speaking, the girl raised her hand and pointed in the air.
Buzz!
Li Chonghe was instantly turned into a dried corpse, unable to even speak, and just disappeared.
Such unpredictable methods directly stunned Zhu Kun and Liu Qian, their hearts pounding wildly, trembling.
The girl clapped her hands, “Alright, now no one knows that I am a corpse refiner. You can just say that I am Li Huai's honored guest.”
How dare Zhu Kun and Liu Qian say no?
They immediately agreed.
…
Meanwhile, after Xie An and Wei Haoran dealt with the matter of Zhou Li and Li Fushan committing suicide out of fear of punishment, Xie An encouraged the shocked He Chunli and then returned to the Southeast Courtyard.
Xie An's days returned to peace.
He was just waiting for the Eldest Princess to come to Qingwu County to preside over the overall situation and design the capture of the Fairy Queen. Then Xie An would receive a medium merit and release He Chunli without any charges.
He had no intention of participating in the capture of the Fairy Queen.
He just wanted to use the Demon Suppression Division as a platform to obtain resources and develop himself properly.
As it was his first time as an official, Xie An was unsure of what to choose. Otherwise, Xie An would have preferred to find a leisurely position and hide behind the scenes. Personally taking the lead in everything… was not what Xie An wanted at his age.
He was thinking that when Su Yuqing came to Qingwu County, he would assist Su Yuqing in capturing the Fairy Queen and then talk to Su Yuqing about whether he could get a leisurely position behind the scenes.
It would be best to get a title or something, without having to do anything, and with access to resources and a platform.
That would be enjoyable.
After having lunch with Yu He, Xie An went to get the Inner Strength Pill given by Tang Zhengyang, returned to the inner courtyard, and began to cultivate in seclusion to break through to become a martial master.
Xie An had already figured out all the details and precautions for breaking through to inner strength. He also knew about the possible accidents that could occur.
After making sure that everything was under control, Xie An sat down cross-legged in the room and then took the Inner Strength Pill.
Ordinary people need to reach the Completion of the Blood Rushing Realm and have abundant blood and qi in their bodies before they can take the Inner Strength Pill to extract the power of inner strength from their blood and qi.
Thanks to the effect of the Rejuvenating Jade Skill, Xie An's blood and qi had already exploded.
He was only short of an Inner Strength Pill.
Xie An felt that his difficulty in breaking through to inner strength should not be great.
It was just going through a process.
Buzz!
As the medicinal power of the Inner Strength Pill was digested in his body, it immediately acted on the blood and qi of his entire body, frantically tempering the blood and qi, squeezing the blood and qi, like distilling and extracting impurities, the effect was particularly tyrannical. This caused the blood and qi throughout his body to flow violently.
If an ordinary person faced such a situation, they would probably really find it difficult to bear.
But Xie An had already reached the eighteenth level of the Rejuvenating Jade Skill, and immediately activated the Rejuvenating Jade Skill, easily suppressing the violent blood and qi in his body. He allowed the blood and qi to flow steadily in his body.
The flow of blood and qi is not quite the same as the flow of heat.
Blood and qi go through the heart, spread throughout the body through the blood vessels, and then return to the heart through the veins, forming a closed loop.
But the principle is similar to the circulation of heat in the Rejuvenating Jade Skill.
Xie An was skilled at controlling it.
After the blood and qi had circulated twice, the blood and qi began to make a sound like fried beans, crackling. However, after an hour or so, the sound of fried beans disappeared. The violent blood and qi also returned to normal, but there was an extra force in his body.
Unlike heat, it was a force from the blood and qi. It traveled through the blood vessels and could also leap out of the blood vessels to nourish the muscles and bones of the whole body.
“It's very comfortable. Is this inner strength?”
Xie An slowly stood up, raised his hand and pressed down on the bluestone brick on the ground, exerting his inner strength, and suddenly with a “crack” sound, the stone turned into powder.
Xie An was startled.
“Although the effects of inner strength and heat are similar, inner strength is more powerful and domineering, mainly for attack. Even first-level inner strength has such miraculous effects. And the Rejuvenating Jade Skill needs to be circulated to the eleventh level to be comparable to first-level inner strength. Martial arts are ultimately much more powerful than health cultivation techniques.”
After several attempts, Xie An became very familiar with the use of inner strength, and a smile appeared on his lips.
“It seems that my brother is right, in troubled times, it is still necessary to cultivate martial arts as well. The eighteenth level of the Rejuvenating Jade Skill is only barely comparable to an eighth-level martial master. In terms of killing, health cultivation techniques are still much weaker. However, martial arts squeeze the potential of the body, and over the years, the wear and tear on the body is very large.
Now that I cultivate both techniques at the same time, I don't lack killing power, and I can also use the Rejuvenating Jade Skill to smooth out the wear and tear on my body, complementing each other. It's very perfect.”
Xie An was very excited and spent a day mastering the use of first-level inner strength.
That night, Xie An and Yu He had just finished dinner when Wei Haoran came to find him, “Chief Xie, Clerk Zhu Kun and Clerk Liu Qian have returned, they are on the seventh floor. They have something to look for you, Senior Brother Chen asked you to go there.”
Xie An gladly agreed and took Yu He to the seventh floor.
Xie An met Clerk Zhu Kun and Clerk Liu Qian for the first time and felt that their strength was average and didn't need to be taken to heart.
However, there was also a fifteen or sixteen-year-old girl standing next to Zhu and Liu.
This girl caught Xie An's attention. When Xie An looked at the girl, the girl also raised her head and looked at Xie An.
Their eyes met.
Although Xie An didn't know this woman, when he first saw her, Xie An still felt that this woman had a familiar feeling, and it made Xie An's heart beat wildly, as if everything had been seen through.
