Chapter 177
The glass partition was frosted, allowing only a vague glimpse of the interior from the outside.
The governor claimed to be in seclusion, but the smile on his face clearly had nothing to do with that.
He looked like a seasoned driver who had been parched for ages, finally stumbling upon the right website.
Zhao Ying was about to offer a few words of comfort to Xiang Xiaoyuan when he suddenly saw Chen Huai'an in the partition, blood gushing from his nostrils like two crimson swords.
The blood splattered against the ceiling.
Looking again at Chen Huai'an, he was surprisingly sitting cross-legged, seemingly in meditation?
"So this is the price of gaining power..." Blood dripped from the ceiling, and even though it was hard to see clearly, the danger was palpable. To gain something, one must pay a corresponding price.
Zhao Ying understood now.
The governor, who usually appeared carefree, had been fighting against demons and evil spirits in his own way.
He was trading his lifespan for power!
The blood pouring from his nose was proof of that!
Suddenly—
Chen Huai'an picked up his phone for a moment, and then two more streams of blood shot out from his nose.
This time, it was confirmed!
Picking up the phone meant he was drawing power from the accompanying spirit object.
And the blood he was losing was the price he was paying for it.
Xiang Xiaoyuan could no longer hold back, wiping away the tears that had welled up in her eyes, her voice trembling, "The governor is really giving it his all, he's so great! And I even doubted his motives before! With that beard gone, he must be the one feeling the most sorrow and guilt, right?"
Zhao Ying lowered his head in silence, letting out a sigh. "Governor... let's try to treat him better from now on! Even if he doesn't have much time left, he is still our governor of C Province! Even if the headquarters doesn't recognize him, I, Zhao Ying, do!"
What had initially been a hasty arrangement for Chen Huai'an had now solidified into a firm belief in his position for both Xiang Xiaoyuan and Zhao Ying.
Meanwhile, inside the partition, Chen Huai'an was completely unaware of the two of them, his attention fixated on a video of Li Qingran practicing her techniques, blood still gushing from his nose.
"Wow! This is just too amazing!"
He had known Li Qingran had a great figure before, but seeing it up close confirmed it completely.
If he had to describe it using his super-scientific brain, it would be:
The waist-to-hip ratio breaking through the limits of Cartesian coordinates, with a Riemann surface creating a gravitational lensing effect in visual observation!
He even wanted to summarize that stunning figure with a beautiful mathematical formula.
Unfortunately, he found that all scientific formulas paled in comparison to the beauty of Qingran.
…
At eleven fifty-nine at night.
In front of the bone china ruins of Jinde Town.
Lin Chen and Huang Gubei had been waiting for a long time.
As the hour and minute hands aligned perfectly, a pair of bright headlights pierced the darkness, causing both of them to squint.
In the headlights, a tall figure walked with an air of confidence.
He strode forward with a swagger that made his two followers behind him look equally imposing.
As he approached, Lin Chen recognized the newcomer.
It was Chen Huai'an, with two tissues stuffed up his nose.
"You’re here? But your nose..."
"Lady, don’t ask," Chen Huai'an raised a finger, his gaze deep, a thin smile playing on his lips. "This is the price of gaining great power—just a bit of lifespan, just becoming a monster that everyone fears. As the saying goes, if I don’t enter hell, who will? After tonight, hell will be empty, and only I, Chen Huai'an, will remain!"
With that, under Lin Chen's incredulous gaze, Chen Huai'an formed a hand seal, his mind conjuring the image of Li Qingran practicing.
He saw white mathematical formulas and beautiful geometric curves.
Chen Huai'an squinted, and the tissues in his nose were instantly stained red with blood.
"Is it dark under the lights? But so what...
Today, I will make you unable to hide!
Dragon Seeking—!!"
As his voice fell, a beam of golden light shot up into the sky, transforming into a winding dragon shadow that surged toward the bone china ruins.
…
…
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Chapter 191: Thump, thump, thump!
In the Kunlun Immortal Palace—
A young man dressed in a moon-white robe knelt before a screen. Behind the screen, a woman stood with her hands clasped behind her back, her silhouette barely visible. The palace was filled with fragrant smoke, and spiritual energy floated like gauze. A low, resonant female voice came from behind the screen.
"Wang Shouyi! The Purple Star is dim, the Greedy Wolf devours the moon—three days ago, at the hour of the rat, I used the Qian Kun Wu Ji Mirror to see the blood evil surging from deep within the earth veins of Jinde Town. That porcelain mother was originally a sacrificial vessel from the previous dynasty, refined into essence by a thousand years of vengeful fire. Now, she uses the evil fire to shape a Buddha's body, nourished by human blood—her sins are boundless!"
The woman threw a sword box onto the stone table outside the screen, and nine talismans on the screen ignited in response.
"I grant you the ancient sword, Duan Xing. This sword is a mid-grade magical artifact, with a handle embedded with the Taiyi Qinggang talisman, its power is unparalleled. You must go to Jinde Town, at the third watch when the yin energy is at its peak, and draw the Northern Dipper's radiant light to break its ghostly form—remember, you must shatter the Buddha's body beneath the earth as well!"
"Disciple, obeying your command!"
Wang Shouyi held the ancient sword, Duan Xing, and bowed deeply to the woman behind the screen.
After ten years of spiritual energy revival, he was the first fortunate one to enter the Immortal Palace.
After ten years of hard training, it was time to emerge and slay demons.
"Very well, go! Remember not to tarnish the reputation of our Kunlun Immortal Palace...
After this, you should have another cloud pattern on your Daoist robe."
…
The Kunlun Heavenly Steps rose to nine thousand nine hundred, with spiritual pressure surging like a tide above a hundred zhang.
The revivers from the Demon-Slaying Division and noble families were in agony. The usually revered generals were reduced to bleeding from their seven orifices. A young master from the Langya Wang family crawled on the ground, gritting his teeth.
Everyone was striving to enter the Kunlun Immortal Palace.
It was said that it housed immortals, and becoming a disciple of the palace meant achieving immortality!
Suddenly, a sword chant erupted from the depths of the clouds, a blue light cleaving through the mist.
The person wielding the sword had a sword aura that felt almost tangible, with blue light swirling along the blade, surrounded by protective spiritual light that isolated the air, allowing him to fly without his hair or robe being disturbed by the wind.
"Sword Immortal! It’s the Sword Immortal of the Kunlun Immortal Palace!" someone shouted, staring at the figure in the sky.
The sword-wielder's robes billowed like the wings of a crane as he leisurely flew away.
A group of revivers could only watch the fading silhouette in the sky, speechless.
…
At the Jinde Town ruins.
The Dragon Seeking energy circled the ruins before finally descending rapidly toward the earth veins.
Below, the white porcelain Buddha statue opened its eyes slightly.
As it raised its gaze to see its surroundings, it was met with a face full of Dragon Seeking energy, coating its entire form in a faint golden hue.
"Who is it?!"
The porcelain mother’s face darkened with fury.
All she wanted was to quietly recover her strength—why was that so difficult?
Did they have to come and fight while she was trying to regain her power?
Suddenly, the space beside her rippled, and the rock layers exploded. The porcelain mother, towering eight zhang high, stood up and struck out at the shattered rock.
"I am Zhang Shouyi, a disciple of the Western Kunlun!" A young figure emerged from the dust, surrounded by green spiritual light, his voice resonating through the air. "You vile creature, you nourish your jade bones with human blood, your sins are boundless. Your time has come; I have come today to send you to hell!"
Before he could finish his words—
Bang—!
Wang Shouyi was sent flying back at an even faster speed, crashing into the rock layers and creating a human-shaped dent.
The porcelain mother retracted her hand, her Buddha face cracking and twisting grotesquely. Blood light seeped from her eyes, and her malevolent aura soared: "So it’s a little pup from the Western Kunlun, you arrived quite quickly! Today, I shall see who sends whom to hell!"
Having suffered a blow, Wang Shouyi was not to be outdone. He sprang from the dent, completely unharmed, and charged at the porcelain mother with his sword.
…
Meanwhile, above the ruins.
"You didn’t believe my words before, did you? Now that I’ve found the old monster’s location, why not come down with me to take a look?"
Chen Huai'an stood atop the ruins, inviting Lin Chen and Huang Gubei.
At his feet was a large hole, the entrance he had created when he crawled out earlier.
Now it served as the perfect entry point to the underground.
"Ahahaha, Governor Chen, I—I’m just a soldier rank, I don’t need to go down, right?" Huang Gubei shrank back, forcing a laugh. "If we encounter that old monster, you might have to split your attention to protect me. Wouldn’t that just be a hassle for you?"
Chen Huai'an smirked, "Coward!"
Huang Gubei: "..."
Chen Huai'an's gaze shifted back to Lin Chen.
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