“The Spirit-Communicating Jade Hairpin is destroyed. Will you lend me your physical body for temporary use?”
“No... Yun Jiang, my soul has been depleted too much. You must be extremely careful of that girl named Shao Heng. The colored light power she wields is something even I have never seen or heard of; it is far too eerie! It is still continuously eroding my soul's essence. Even if I borrow your body, my only plan now is to use the 'Return to the Divine Ruins' secret technique to enter a state of silent slumber. Once you find a treasure that can greatly augment soul power, then...”
Before she could finish, Dan Hua's soul phantom dissipated, leaving only an almost invisible vermilion mole between Jiang Yun Jiang's eyebrows.
“Shao Heng!”
With a dark expression, Jiang Yun Jiang swiftly retrieved two medicinal pills from her storage bracelet and swallowed them.
She wiped the blood from her face. Her beautiful countenance, which had once resembled a lotus blooming after the rain, was now bruised and swollen from Shao Heng's repeated punches, her brow darkened by contusions.
The two pills were the second-grade 'Green Chen Pill' and 'Heart-Participating Primordial Return Powder' refined by Dan Hua herself. They were of excellent quality with pure medicinal potency, and they took effect quickly.
Jiang Yun Jiang's injuries began to heal, and her magical power began to recover.
However, the fury and indignation in her heart were like a wildfire growing more intense, impossible to extinguish.
“No... I can't let it be like this. This will only lead to my own ruin.”
Jiang Yun Jiang closed her eyes and took several deep breaths until her racing heart returned to a state of calm. Only then did she open her eyes.
“During our previous combat, Shao Heng's magical power showed no sign of instability. Just as I suspected, she is in the middle stage of the First Realm. Furthermore, her cultivation appears slightly stronger than mine. Yet, I am currently practicing a mid-grade cultivation method that far surpasses her 'Qi-Nurturing Essence Manual.' I fear that Shao Heng's foundation of magical power is a hundred, perhaps even two hundred, times greater than mine, and she is still only practicing in the Outer Sect...”
What a terrifying rate of cultivation!
“Shao Heng cannot possibly have low-grade aptitude; it must be high-grade. Is that colored power, like my White Tiger Killing Intent, a matter of innate talent and aptitude?”
Jiang Yun Jiang suppressed her emotions, attempting to remain as rational as possible to integrate and analyze the known information.
Once she had sorted everything out, she looked up at the crescent moon in the sky.
“The Ling Jiang Inheritance. I must obtain the inheritance of Ling Jiang, who was half a step away from the Eighth Realm, to achieve my transformation.”
The Eighth Realm is the "Divine Wanderer" Realm, where the primordial spirit leaves the body and various Daoist laws and rules descend upon the practitioner; one can be called a "Saint."
According to the secret records Jiang Yun Jiang had consulted, Ling Jiang was only one threshold away from ascending to the Eighth Realm back then.
Her attempt to refine the Lunar Star Fragment with the intention of making it her life-bound treasure was to use it to achieve the Great Dao of the Moon and break through the bottleneck.
Jiang Yun Jiang looked at the bright moon, her eyes burning with a searing, scalding heat.
“And the summons I sensed comes from this very moon in the sky. The inheritance site of Ling Jiang has chosen me.”
“Who else but me!”
...
On the other side, even seeing Dan Hua's remnant soul activate a secret technique to escape, Shao Heng was powerless to pursue.
She had been struck by the surge of power from Dan Hua that had exceeded the First Realm. No matter how resilient her physical body was, it was inevitable that her bones would fracture and her flesh would tear, leaving her looking like a person made of blood.
“That old thing actually had a trick up her sleeve. When I find you again, I will drag you out, tear your soul to shreds, and ensure you never find reincarnation.”
Shao Heng's face was grim as she wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth.
Previously, during the Dragon Blood Body Tempering, a significant amount of dragon blood essence and the potency of precious medicines had been latent within her acupoints. In this moment of crisis, these essences surged from deep within her acupoints, allowing her strength to recover rapidly and her bones to knit back together.
Shao Heng stood up and called out to Ao Chuan via their blood pact.
As she sensed her surroundings, she realized that all traces of Jiang Yun Jiang's aura had been swept clean. She was inwardly startled; it was indeed the method of a high-realm cultivator.
Taking a deep breath, she performed several Dust-Cleansing Incantations to erase all the bloodstains she had left behind, and her aura became almost imperceptible through repeated cleansing.
Since entering the Mysterious Moon Secret Realm, Shao Heng had witnessed various strange techniques; if someone were to accidentally obtain her blood, there was no telling what kind of curse they might cast.
After tidying everything up, Shao Heng finally withdrew from the area.
When she reached the foot of the mountain, she met up with Ao Chuan, who had been waiting for her.
The little white dragon flew toward her, intending to transform back into the dragon tattoo on her arm, while still chirping away: "How did it go? Did you kill those two old fossils and that little brat who wanted to steal my essence blood?"
“That's a poor way to put it. The 'old fossil' and the 'little brat' didn't actually die. That remnant soul was, after all, a high-realm cultivator; after unleashing her power, she used an escape technique and got away.”
“Huh?” The little dragon had already coiled around her right arm.
“But that remnant soul won't fare well either. My power has invaded her soul and will constantly erode her essence. Since she cannot expel it, she will inevitably weaken until her life force is completely exhausted.”
“Wait!”
Shao Heng suddenly sensed something was wrong and abruptly pulled the little dragon off her arm.
What was originally a slender creature now had several protrusions.
“What did you eat?”
Shao Heng poked at the two protrusions. The little white dragon shrank back and replied indistinctly, “I just ate a little bit of something.”
“I say one thing, and you hear another.”
Shao Heng let out a dry laugh and pinched the protrusions with her finger.
“With the physique of a True Dragon, you wouldn't have protrusions even if you swallowed a White Jade Mammoth. What exactly did you eat?”
Ao Chuan opened its golden vertical pupils and said in a somewhat placating tone, “I found a place where the Yin Qi of the earth veins converges, and I discovered three Moon Fragments there.”
“Didn't you say it yourself? As long as I found the Moon Fragments, I could refine them myself.”
Shao Heng possessed unique aptitude, being naturally able to perfectly adapt to the three types of power: moonlight, sunlight, and starlight. Thus, she could absorb Moon Fragments very quickly.
Although Ao Chuan possessed a powerful physique, it would require a considerable amount of time to refine them completely.
“You were afraid I would go back on my word and snatch your Moon Fragments, so you swallowed them all in one go, weren't you?”
The power of the Moon Fragments that had not yet been refined acted like undigested food, forming protrusions on its belly.
Looking at Ao Chuan's guilty dragon face, Shao Heng laughed twice and then said, “Take me to the place where the Yin Qi of the earth veins converges.”
“What for? There are no more Moon Fragments there; I've already collected them all.”
Shao Heng flicked its dragon head and said, “I want to use the Yin Qi to temper my spiritual sense. The 'Great Derivation Spirit-Refining Manual' is a profound immortal technique, and the key lies in the word 'refine.' By circulating the incantations, one can absorb various strange powers from heaven and earth to temper the spiritual sense.”
“This is also the foundation for the second stage of the Spirit-Refining Manual: 'Spiritual Sense as Weaponry.'”
Ao Chuan crawled back onto her arm, reverting to a dragon tattoo, and led the way.
After fifteen minutes, Shao Heng quickly arrived at a place of intense cold. There was a small hole in the ground, clearly the one Ao Chuan had burrowed through earlier.
She performed an Earth-Escape technique, and after descending six or seven feet, she discovered the natural underground cavern Ao Chuan had mentioned. The Yin Qi within was extremely dense, making one feel a bone-chilling cold.
Shao Heng swallowed a Spring-Returning Pill and then sat down in a meditative posture.
She had been injured by Dan Hua earlier, and it was only because of the foundation laid by the Dragon Blood Body Tempering that she had regained the ability to move, but her injuries had not actually improved. Therefore, she urgently needed a place to heal.
This place of extreme Yin was sparsely populated, making it perfect for secluded cultivation, and it would allow Shao Heng to use the Yin Qi to refine her spirit.