In Cihong Palace, the curtains around were lowered, dimming the light inside significantly. The pearl liquid in the circular dish emitted a luminous glow, resembling a full moon lying on the ground at first glance.
Xiao Ling's consciousness merged into it, losing awareness. A female disciple crouched behind her, supporting her shoulders.
Mist soon rose from the moon-like surface, spreading throughout the hall.
Soul-searching was a forceful invasion of one's spiritual consciousness to extract needed information, causing great mental damage. Unless someone was already convicted of a crime, soul-searching was not to be used lightly.
The manifestation of spiritual consciousness memories required external guidance. Yan Yi asked, "Xiao Ling, when did Jing Chongshan begin treating you, and how did he treat you?"
Following his question, scenes emerged from the white mist. The vision showed the barrier nexus platform on Bright Sky Peak, where elders from several major sects gathered to guard the barrier.
There was another person on that platform - the eldest young master of the Ruan family, a clan known for curse techniques.
This was three days after their failed attempt to lure Nie Yinzhi into the sword formation to kill her, following the discovery that she and Gu Jiang were affected by the Symbiotic Curse.
The once-prominent curse technique family had fallen into decline, destroyed by the backlash of their own curses. Their main bloodline had perished entirely. This young master was merely from a branch family, and his understanding of the Symbiotic Curse was superficial at best.
The only useful information Young Master Ruan provided was that the Symbiotic Curse had a master-servant relationship. According to the elders' observations, the master curse was most likely on Nie Yinzhi.
When Jing Chongshan appeared on Bright Sky Peak, the little white bird left its perch at the front hall's corner and returned with him to the rear hall.
Carrying the little white bird, he hurriedly walked through the corridor to reach a secluded pavilion in the back hall. There, Xiao Ling reclined weakly in a soft chair. The beautiful facade maintained by spirit pills could no longer hide the spreading miasma beneath - mottled toxic marks seeped through her once-clear complexion.
She was like a flower in the process of withering.
The elders on the platform couldn't help but feel pity, their faces showing reluctance to watch.
Yan Yi sighed silently, feeling an inexplicable surge of guilt. He reflected that while they had been focused on protecting the barrier on Bright Sky Peak, they had indeed neglected this suffering disciple too much.
The scene in the pearl mist continued. When Jing Chongshan entered, Xiao Ling struggled to rise and greet him, but he quickly stopped her and helped her sit back down.
"Ling Ling, I've found a way to treat you," Jing Chongshan said. He clearly had been exhausting himself, his face showing heavy fatigue, though now his expression lightened somewhat. Unable to contain himself, he caressed the stunned Xiao Ling's cheek, "I told you I would cure you."
It took Xiao Ling quite a while to react. She fell from her chair to perform a deep bow, saying tearfully, "Elder Jing's great kindness, Xiao Ling has no way to repay."
"What are you doing?" Jing Chongshan helped her up, his eyes containing a hint of infatuation. "Just returning to your previous vibrant self would be the greatest repayment to your elder."
Yan Yi frowned. Everyone in the hall could see that Jing Chongshan likely harbored other feelings for Xiao Ling.
However, the scene showed no inappropriate behavior between them. Jing Chongshan helped her sit down, then sat himself and said to her, "Your body is too weak, so we can only use a gentler method. We'll use medicinal baths to let the medicine seep into your body. I've gathered all the necessary spiritual herbs and medicines to be soaked in boiling water. Tomorrow at noon, I'll send a disciple to escort you to the medical hall. You'll need to enter the bath, and I'll use spiritual power to guide the medicinal properties into your meridians to expel the miasma."
His explanation was quite simple, with nothing seemingly amiss.
Xiao Ling asked doubtfully, "The miasma has penetrated my bone marrow. Can it really be expelled this way?"
"It's worth trying," Jing Chongshan said. "Don't worry, Ling Ling, it will definitely have an effect." He continued, "The miasma is connected to your flesh and bones. Forcing it out will be extremely painful..."
Xiao Ling immediately said, "Elder, I'm not afraid of pain."
"I know you're a strong girl." Jing Chongshan smiled slightly. "Ling Ling, do you trust your elder?"
Xiao Ling nodded without hesitation. Even the little white bird on her shoulder chirped and nodded its tiny head adorably. "Right now, Elder Jing is the person I trust most."
Jing Chongshan gazed at her tenderly, "That's good then. If pain can be avoided, your elder naturally wouldn't want you to suffer. Before entering the bath, take a Spirit-Severing Pill to temporarily separate your consciousness from your body."
The Spirit-Severing Pill would cut off the connection between consciousness and body, temporarily sealing away the consciousness. Even if someone were to dismember her body alive, she wouldn't feel it - extremely dangerous.
Xiao Ling hesitated for a moment before gritting her teeth and agreeing.
Everyone present felt uneasy at the mention of the Spirit-Severing Pill. Sure enough, the next day when Xiao Ling was led to the medical hall and took the pill, the scenes in her consciousness disappeared.
When she awoke again, the treatment was already complete. The little white bird's vision returned, and scenes began floating in the pearl mist again. The subsequent treatments followed the same pattern.
An Huai stood in a corner of the great hall, silently watching the figure in the pearl mist. When Pill-Forming Peak had its great tremor, Bai Ying hurriedly reached out to support Xiao Ling, her sleeve sliding back to reveal a string of white pearls on her wrist.
The little white bird tilted its head and chirped.
Bai Ying pulled her sleeve to cover the bracelet, winked at the little white bird, her face flushing red. The bracelet was a gift from An Huai, but Bai Ying thought it was tacky and cumbersome, refusing to wear it for him to see.
The young man's suppressed emotions nearly burst forth at the sight of that pearl bracelet. He bit down hard on his jaw and took a deep breath, keeping his eyes fixed on the scene in the pearl mist.
This time, Bai Ying didn't leave immediately after delivering Xiao Ling as usual. She was kept by Jing Chongshan to help, and after Xiao Ling's consciousness was cut off and she awoke again, Bai Ying was nowhere to be seen.
When Xiao Ling asked about junior sister Bai Ying, Jing Chongshan chuckled and shook his head, sighing, "She gained some insights while helping me treat you today, and couldn't wait for you to wake up before rushing off to secluded cultivation."
An Huai clenched his fists, staring intently at the scene, desperate to capture every detail.
The pearl mist transmitted the buzzing discussions of Cloud Scripture Sect disciples, which Xiao Ling had heard on her way to the Peach Garden.
The faces of those in the hall grew complex. The matter of Sang Wumian wanting to extract Nie Yinzhi's golden core to treat Xiao Ling was entirely based on Nie Yinzhi's one-sided account in Cihong Palace. Her whipping of inner disciples to death that day had been punished by the Disciplinary Hall Elder in accordance with sect rules.
These were merely unsubstantiated accusations from Nie Yinzhi. After the battle at Cihong Palace, there were indeed too many oversights in the sect, leading to all kinds of rumors spreading everywhere.
Xiao Ling, who had barely survived to return to the sect, heard these rumors and fell into despair, sitting alone in the Peach Garden, unable to recover for a long time.
A Supreme Elder transmitted a message to Yan Yi, "Senior Brother, the matter of Jing Chongshan's improper treatment methods was also information passed on by Nie Yinzhi. She was trapped on Pill-Forming Peak the whole time and left the sect immediately after getting out, never setting foot in the medical hall. How could she know how Jing Chongshan conducted the treatment? I think she just wants to shake the sect's unity."
"I've considered that as well," Yan Yi replied, "But Jing Chongshan did happen to go into qi deviation, and disciples have indeed gone missing. We must investigate thoroughly."
That Elder shook his head: "That night when Pill-Forming Peak was destroyed, demonic energy spread everywhere. Senior Brother, you know that 'Blood Moon Shadow' can silently dissolve everything, not even souls can escape. I think these disciples most likely perished under the demonic energy."
"Hold it steady, don't move." Nie Yinzhi lifted his hand again, and Gu Jiang had no choice but to hold it back in position.
Nie Yinzhi combed her hair very slowly. She wasn't very skilled at making buns yet, but she insisted on making it look good. It took her quite a while to finish, and after doing her hair, she had to apply makeup, which was terribly troublesome.
Gu Jiang watched her draw her eyebrows and paint her lips. His long eyebrows slightly raised, and he suddenly said, "That eyebrow is drawn too high."
Nie Yinzhi immediately looked up at him, "Which side?"
Gu Jiang lifted his chin, "The left."
Nie Yinzhi looked back and forth in the mirror. Whether it was psychological or not, after hearing him say so, it did seem a bit off, so she tried to adjust it.
"It's a bit thin now."
Nie Yinzhi glanced at him, looked in the mirror, and added a few more strokes.
Gu Jiang pondered, "Now that I look at it, the right side seems lighter."
Before Nie Yinzhi could finish touching up, Gu Jiang added, "Seems a bit high now."
"You just said the left side was too high!" Nie Yinzhi realized she was being teased.
"Oh, did I? Did I say left side earlier?" Gu Jiang was trying so hard not to laugh that his hands shook, forcing him to use demon energy to hold up the mirror.
Nie Yinzhi glared at him, pounced forward to pin the demon lord on the couch, grabbed his face, and didn't stop until she had painted his eyebrows into two big black worms with her makeup. Sitting on top of Gu Jiang, she held his chin and looked at him from side to side, "Bold eyebrows and big eyes, not bad at all."
Gu Jiang propped himself up on one arm to sit up. Nie Yinzhi cried out in surprise as she fell backward, and he quickly wrapped his arm around her back to pull her back into his embrace.
Nie Yinzhi bumped into his shoulder, and the freshly applied lip rouge smeared onto his collar.
Gu Jiang loosened his hold on her slightly, lowered his gaze, looked at her for a moment, and touched her lips with his fingertip.
[What?? Did I hear that right? Slow-motion BG?? Officially confirmed! The secondary CP finally has their own song!]
[Is this heart-fluttering? Is this heart-fluttering?!]
[Has the official drama also surrendered to their chemistry? Honestly, I thought many previous scenes could have had slow-motion BG too]
[Kiss her! Demon Lord, are you impotent?! She's sitting on you and you're not getting hard? If you can't do it, let me take over, I want a wife sitting on me too!]
[No way, the Demon Lord's eyebrows are too funny now, too much like Crayon Shin-chan, I'm deflating]
[The Ruyi Sword connection is also broken, now the female lead and female supporting character have completely severed ties. If they still give the supporting character so much screen time, are they trying to do a dual female lead storyline?]
[Hehe, just look at the ratings, whichever side has higher ratings will get more airtime]
["Why don't we let Nie Yinzhi touch the leaves? Let's test if he's still functional, after all, it's been over two thousand years. What if he's broken? Better to cut our losses early."]
["How silly can you be? You're digging up all the bamboo shoots in Sichuan. Watch out, Red Leaf might come for your life tonight."]
["Last time when touching the leaves, I saw the demon lord cover himself with his sleeve. I vote that he's still capable!"]
Nie Yinzhi hadn't heard what song they were talking about. She widened her eyes, thinking hard - did he cover himself with his sleeve last time? Why hadn't she noticed?
Gu Jiang had originally wanted to help her wipe off the smeared rouge, but the more he wiped, the messier it got. He could only withdraw his hand sheepishly, not daring to make a sound.
When Nie Yinzhi saw his expression, she immediately went to check the mirror. Seeing her smeared lips in the reflection, looking as if she had just finished eating a child, she couldn't help but laugh in frustration. All that time spent applying makeup had gone to waste.
She glanced at the setting sun on the horizon, washed her face clean, and decided not to apply makeup again.
The old sword energy in Nie Yinzhi's body hadn't been completely expelled. This place was rich in spiritual energy, perfect for her cultivation, so they ended up staying for several days.
Actually, according to Gu Jiang's thinking, this place only had mountains of swords and forests of blades, without all those complicated people and affairs. He was quite willing to stay here.
But the spiritual energy here was too abundant, and Nie Yinzhi worried it would make him uncomfortable.
He was indeed uncomfortable, but he had grown used to it.
Nie Yinzhi fondled her destiny sword, unable to put it down. The sword didn't have a name yet; she needed to name it. She asked, "Did you name your blade yourself? Why is it called Red Leaf?"
Gu Jiang raised his eyes to look at the fruit plate. Nie Yinzhi understood immediately, washed her hands, and peeled a grape to feed him. Only after eating it did he reply, "Do you see the forest beside the blade mountain? In autumn, the whole mountain is covered in red leaves. When I received my blade, it was autumn."
"That's so casual," Nie Yinzhi looked down on him, peeling another grape for him. "I thought there would be some profound meaning behind it."
Aliali: 675e95b59234b3e7f2f07a3d
Gu Jiang chuckled, "Then you come up with a profound name."
"I think 'Wild Swan' sounds quite nice," Nie Yinzhi muttered. The small wild swan on the sword's pommel flapped its wings, seemingly quite fond of this name.
Gu Jiang said, "Wild Swan is just a type of phoenix name, it's not unique."
The wild swan on the sword pommel immediately changed sides, shaking its head, no longer wanting this name. It wanted a unique name.
It really had no principles at all.
"Then how about taking my surname Nie? It's natural for a sword to share its master's surname. We could call it Nie Bai (White)."
Before the wild swan could react, Gu Jiang laughed, "That sounds terrible."
Nie Yinzhi immediately turned to glare at him, eating the peeled grape herself. "Your Red Leaf isn't any better. Why don't you suggest some names then?"
Gu Jiang looked at the plate of snacks, where green mung bean cakes were pressed into the shape of flower petals. With a serious expression, he said, "Then let's call it Jade Flower."
The Spirit Sword: ......