Chapter 82
“Old man has searched through the thirty-three thousand seven hundred and sixty volumes in the藏经阁 (Cangjing Ge, Scripture Repository) and found something you might need on the fifth floor.”
Jiong Yuanmo stood up and led Li Qingran up the stairs to the light screen on the fifth floor.
“That volume is called ‘Danxin Zhujie’ (丹心注解, Heart of Alchemy Annotations). It records a formula that might counter various strange poisons, but the rules of the藏经阁 cannot be broken. If you want to take that volume, you must pass the Sword Heart Trial on the fifth floor.”
Seeing Li Qingran pursing her lips, he thought she was nervous.
He comforted her, “As long as your sword heart is firm and you have a clear direction, passing this trial shouldn’t be difficult. Go ahead.”
Before he finished speaking, Li Qingran had already stepped into the light.
Jiong Yuanmo shook his head, hands behind his back.
He estimated he would have to wait a few hours.
The Sword Heart Trial was essentially an illusion, where one would battle a mirror image of themselves at the same level. Only with a stronger sword heart could one pass. However, most disciples would first be beaten down to the point of questioning their life choices before they began to contemplate the true direction of their hearts.
Li Qingran looked clever; she would probably need a couple of hours, right?
Just as this thought crossed his mind, he heard a ‘crack.’
Jiong Yuanmo stared in disbelief as Li Qingran emerged from the shattered light screen, her pale face calm as she stepped into the fifth floor.
“So fast?!” he thought, astonished.
He quickly connected with the formation of the Sword Heart Trial, probing carefully, and his expression turned somewhat strange.
“Who would have thought this girl’s heart is entirely focused on her master? Her sword heart is incredibly firm; she took down the mirror image in one strike, like a god slaying demons and a Buddha vanquishing evil…” He chuckled to himself, shaking his head with a sigh.
“But this girl hasn’t considered that her master is an elder; there’s at least a few hundred years of age difference between them…”
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Chapter 87: Show Me? (Durian Who Loves the Stars +1)
That mirror image actually said her feelings for her master were fake?
And claimed her master was beyond saving?
Li Qingran felt anger rise as she recalled the mirror image.
What was there to discuss?
If they tried to stop her from saving her master, she would strike them down with a single sword!
The藏经阁 (Cangjing Ge) selected by Elder Jiong was already shimmering with a faint glow, and even amidst the dense volumes on the fifth floor, she could spot it at a glance.
Li Qingran picked up the volume and flipped through it carefully.
It was an alchemical text, divided into two volumes.
The first volume detailed the techniques of alchemy, while the second contained the formulas.
There were only three formulas in total.
They were ‘Jinlin Lianpi San’ (金鳞炼皮散, Golden Scales Refining Powder), ‘Baicao Jiedu Dan’ (百草解毒丹, Hundred Herbs Detoxification Pill), and ‘Longjin Cui Guye’ (龙筋淬骨液, Dragon Tendon Bone Tempering Liquid).
Among them, the Baicao Jiedu Dan was said to counter all kinds of strange poisons, even more potent than the formulas from Lingxi Valley, but its crafting difficulty was extremely high, especially since the materials were hard to gather, requiring over a hundred rare spiritual herbs.
Yet Li Qingran was overjoyed, a weight lifted from her heart, her eyes brightening:
“Good thing I didn’t go to Lingxi Valley; otherwise, I wouldn’t have found a way to resolve the poison on my senior!”
“You can come out once you’ve finished looking at the藏经 (Cangjing).”
Elder Jiong called from outside.
Li Qingran returned the volume to its place and stepped back to the entrance.
“This is a copy of the Danxin Zhujie,” Jiong Yuanmo handed her a jade slip, reminding her, “This slip will automatically disintegrate in twelve hours. You need to memorize the text within that time. Shouldn’t be a problem, right?”
“No problem.” Li Qingran took the copy, thanked Elder Jiong, and exited the藏经阁.
Standing atop the northern peak of the Sword Pavilion, she gazed at the clouds rolling in the sky.
Li Qingran stretched, finally feeling a bit more relaxed.
“Next, I need to gather the required spiritual herbs and let my master know about this. I want to make her happy too.” She smiled brightly. She figured the sect leader would help with finding the herbs; as long as everyone worked together, they could surely help her master resolve the poison. Then her master could safely return to the Sword Pavilion.
If that happened, she could see her master every day…
Lost in thought, her ears turned a shade of red.
Li Qingran shook the bell, and a crane flew over from the cliff’s edge.
She mounted the crane, planning to first visit Wanjian Peak to see the stone tablet left by her master before returning to the top of Luoxia Peak.
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“Guard, let me explain. I really don’t know that girl well.”
“Then why was she in your room? And she’s not even of age.”
“I was just stopping her bleeding because she was injured.”
“And that’s your excuse for stripping her clothes?”
“If I didn’t take off her school uniform, how could I bandage her? How could I give her a shot?”
“You can give shots? Are you a doctor?”
“No…”
“Go on, I’m listening.” The guard raised his notepad, signaling Chen Huai’an to continue his story.
Chen Huai’an felt speechless.
Not long after Lin Lingling was taken away by the ambulance, the guard showed up.
It was likely a report from the hotel staff.
Seeing the blood everywhere at the entrance, and with a minor female high school student involved, the guard naturally handcuffed him and took him away.
“I’m telling the truth. Just wait until that girl wakes up, and you can ask her.”
“We’ll wait, but until then, you need to stay here and behave.” The guard maintained a skeptical expression.
Just then, the door to the interrogation room opened.
A middle-aged man with a full beard walked in.
He showed his work ID to the guard, whose expression changed immediately, becoming respectful.
“We’ll handle this matter; you don’t need to worry about it.”
The bearded man whispered to the guard.
The guard nodded, saluted the bearded man, and left.
“Chen Huai’an?” The bearded man looked at the identity information on the notepad, his gaze landing on Chen Huai’an with a hint of scrutiny and wariness.
Damn, how is this guy so handsome?
Too handsome to be normal; something must be off!
He was now fully convinced of the various unbelievable descriptions Lin Lingling had given about Chen Huai’an.
This guy was indeed peculiar.
He had already been to the hotel, and even through the door, he could sense the overwhelming aura of a monster! Thankfully, the doors and windows were still closed, and the guard hadn’t let anyone in, which prevented the monster from escaping.
The talismans on the doors and windows were genuine.
They were a crucial line of defense to keep that monster contained; they couldn’t be touched.
“I’m innocent,” Chen Huai’an said helplessly, thinking the bearded man was the guard’s superior. He lamented, “I woke up this morning to find that girl covered in blood lying at my door. As a good citizen, I couldn’t just stand by and do nothing, right?”
“Ha, Mr. Chen Huai’an, I completely believe you are innocent.” The bearded man wore a sincere smile.
“Really? Then can I have my phone back?” Chen Huai’an looked at the bearded man with eager eyes.
He hadn’t seen Qingran for half a day, and it felt like ants were crawling on him.
Though surprised, the bearded man returned the phone to Chen Huai’an.
He watched as Chen Huai’an opened the phone with a delighted expression, tapping on the pitch-black screen from every angle, confusion and doubt growing in his eyes.
This phone was not quite right!
It might be a monster artifact or a spiritual object.
Since the resurgence of spiritual energy, alongside the emergence of various monsters and resurgents, a portion of special-function monster artifacts and spiritual objects had also appeared. The former were related to monsters and could even transform normal people into monsters, being one of the sources of chaos caused by monsters. Some powerful artifacts even possessed their own intelligence and were very cunning.
Conversely, spiritual objects were often born alongside resurgents, possessing various incomprehensible functions.
Some spiritual objects were naturally occurring, with a wide variety, primarily consisting of spiritual herbs and weapons.
Both spiritual objects and monster artifacts were highly sought after by resurgents.
As long as they could be utilized by humans, they would wield immense power.
So, could Chen Huai’an’s phone be a spiritual object?
The possibility was quite high.
It aligned perfectly with the current observations.
The bearded man silently observed Chen Huai’an. From his various actions and expressions, it was clear he was just an ordinary person who knew nothing. Thus, the doors, windows, and the talismans shown to Lin Lingling might have originated from a spiritual object.
Verifying whether this phone was indeed a companion spiritual object would be quite simple.
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