novelhk Chapter 74 Taking a Gamble
Chapter 74 Taking a Gamble
Chapter 74 Taking a Gamble
"boom--!"
The near-third-tier Soul-Nourishing Wood shattered violently in the energy explosion caused by the merging of the Four Symbols Divine Consciousness, sending out more than a dozen pieces of wood like sharp arrows.
Chen Yi immediately activated his mental barrier, blocking all the flying fragments and preventing them from harming the sleeping Qin Chengcheng.
As for himself, those fragments are unlikely to leave any trace on him.
"What a pity."
Seeing the near-third-tier Soul-Nourishing Wood shatter, Chen Yi sighed softly.
A bluish-green magical light emanated from his fingertips, and the scattered wooden pieces were drawn by an invisible force, flowing into his ancestral aperture between his eyebrows.
Although these fragments have lost the effects of the complete Soul-Nourishing Wood, he can still absorb the residual power within them, which will still benefit his cultivation of the "Refining God Technique".
Silence returned to the secret room, with only Qin Chengcheng's pale face appearing bluish-gray under the luminous pearl.
Within Qin Chengcheng's sea of consciousness, the avatar formed from Chen Yi's divine soul sensed her situation, and its brows furrowed even more deeply.
After the Soul-Nourishing Wood exploded, the void created by the divine restriction within her sea of consciousness was slowly spreading, devouring the surrounding soul power like a crack in ice.
If left untreated, she will still die from a depleted soul.
Since Chen Yi had already stepped in to save her, he naturally wouldn't watch her die.
"This is the only way we can try it for now."
Chen Yi's consciousness transformed into a verdant sapling, taking root deep within her sea of consciousness.
The seedlings are entirely green, with leaves as translucent as jade, and every vein exudes a rich sense of life.
As Chen Yi thought, the seedling swayed gently, and countless fine, hair-like emerald-green spiritual threads were slowly drawn from the tips of the leaves, drifting softly towards the edge of the hollow like spring rain.
These threads are not pure energy, but contain the essence of the wood-type divine consciousness from the "Refining God Technique". Each strand carries the characteristics of nurturing and repairing.
They slithered like serpents, weaving a fine net along the edge of the void, catching the fragments of soul power that were about to dissipate.
The expansion of the void was finally curbed, but Chen Yi could sense that this network was only a temporary measure.
Qin Chengcheng's soul was severely damaged. The nourishment from the wood-elemental divine sense alone could only delay the collapse, but could not truly repair it.
When those emerald green threads come into contact with the fragments of soul power, they shimmer slightly, transferring their own life force into them to barely maintain the stability of the soul power.
However, deep within the void, an invisible force of devouring energy continues to tug at the net, as if it might tear it apart at any moment.
Simultaneously,
Deep within Chen Yi's consciousness, the ancient divine thought that had been devoured was struggling violently within his divine sense.
This wisp of pale golden divine thought, though only as thick as a hair, weighed as much as a thousand pounds, thrashing about in the icy blue water droplets.
[At this point, I hope readers will remember our domain name 12199.99]
Whenever it struck the icy core within the water droplet, Chen Yi felt a sharp, knife-like pain in his soul.
"At least a third-tier or higher metal-attribute divine sense."
Chen Yi gritted his teeth and activated the "Refining God Technique." The Ice Heart within his Ancestral Aperture shone with a cold light, temporarily suppressing his restless divine thoughts.
The system's power was no less potent within Chen Yi's soul; it could still function at full capacity.
"5% 10%"
Chen Yi's divine consciousness was like a deep, icy lake, while that wisp of ancient, unclaimed divine thought was like a pale golden fish, constantly churning and struggling in the lake water.
Its quality is extremely high, far exceeding Chen Yi's current level of spiritual consciousness. Even a tiny wisp of it contains immense soul power pressure.
Chen Yi activated the "Refining God Technique," and the icy blue water droplets slowly rotated, emitting waves of chill that suppressed the restless divine thoughts.
At the same time, the verdant seedlings swayed gently, and wisps of wood-attribute divine consciousness flowed from between the leaves, wrapping around the golden divine thought like vines, and began to slowly absorb its energy.
The process of devouring is extremely difficult.
Although that wisp of divine thought was without a master, it instinctively resisted being assimilated by lower-level divine consciousness.
Whenever Chen Yi's consciousness touched it, it would cause a violent tremor, as if a blade was scraping across his soul, bringing a sharp, stinging pain.
Chen Yi frowned, and fine beads of sweat appeared on his forehead, but he did not back down. Instead, he continued to circulate the "Refining God Technique," using his ice-attribute divine sense to stabilize himself, and then using his wood-attribute divine sense to gradually erode the edge of his divine thought.
The coverage of high-level divine sense allowed Chen Yi's comprehension of the "Refining God Technique" to advance by leaps and bounds.
During the process of devouring, the profound fluctuations contained in that ancient divine thought acted like an invisible mentor, constantly impacting Chen Yi's divine sense and cognition.
The profound meaning of his previously obscure and difficult-to-understand techniques suddenly became as clear as if the clouds had parted to reveal the sun.
The water droplet in the ancestral aperture gradually solidified, the area of the ice heart expanded, the chill intensified, and it even faintly emitted a deep blue luster.
The flower bud at the top of the seedling in the Niwan Palace slowly blooms, and a drop of crystal-clear spiritual dew is taking shape, emitting a gentle healing wave.
The quality of his divine sense was also quietly transforming. His originally misty divine sense became more condensed, and he could even vaguely perceive the changes in the five elements contained within it.
Chen Yi was immersed in this wonderful state of cultivation, as if he were standing on the shoulders of giants to peer into a higher realm.
He vaguely realized that if he could fully digest this divine thought, his divine sense might be able to make another breakthrough!
The third level of the Refining Spirit Technique
Under the pressure of the ancient divine thought, Chen Yi suddenly understood the key to "divine consciousness taking form" in the "Refining God Technique".
With a thought, the divine consciousness within his ancestral aperture no longer simply enveloped and devoured, but transformed into countless tiny ice needles and wood threads, like a precise scalpel, accurately peeling away the energy on the surface of the divine consciousness, and then nurturing and assimilating it with the wood-attribute divine consciousness.
Efficiency has increased several times!
Chen Yi reviewed the Refining Spirit Technique and sensed that his spiritual consciousness cultivation was almost complete, and his progress in refining his body into the Copper Bone realm was also more than halfway complete.
Most importantly, the bones at the Yuzhen and Tianmu acupoints on his head have become extremely hard, capable of supporting the opening of the third acupoint.
After a moment's thought, Chen Yi decided to try to open the "Heavenly Eye" in his mind's aperture, creating a new divine aperture to accommodate the powerful divine consciousness within this ancient divine thought.
The third eye (Tianmu) is located between the two eyes, outside the ancestral aperture (Zuqiao), making it one of the closer acupoints to the ancestral aperture.
As Chen Yi silently circulated the Refining Spirit Technique, most of his divine sense power retreated back to his own body, leaving only a portion in Qin Chengcheng's soul to help stabilize it.
A large amount of divine power converged towards the Third Eye. Having experience opening the Niwan Palace before, Chen Yi had anticipated the pain that would occur when the Third Eye was opened.
Gradually, a slight ripple, like a membrane breaking, emanated from the Third Eye Acupoint, indicating that the acupoint had been opened slightly.
The excruciating pain arrived as expected.
Chen Yi's forehead was covered in cold sweat, but he remained motionless.
The ice-attribute divine sense quickly enveloped the newly opened acupoints, followed closely by the wood-attribute divine sense to nourish and repair them.
About fifteen minutes later, the bloodstain between his eyebrows faded, and in its place appeared a tiny golden glimmer, about the size of a grain of rice, faintly visible under his skin.
The third divine aperture, the Heavenly Eye, has been successfully opened!
The newly opened acupoints greedily devoured the soul power like a whirlpool, and Chen Yi felt the pressure in his consciousness ease.
At the same time, his five senses are several times more acute.
He could even "see" the direction of the deep spiritual patterns inside the stone walls of the secret chamber, and sense the unstable fluctuations of magical power within Xu Shixian's body outside the cave, which were agitated by his emotions.
The fragments of Soul-Nourishing Wood floating in the Ancestral Aperture are now being slowly refined by the golden light emanating from the Heavenly Eye Aperture. The Soul-Nourishing Wood and the fragmented divine soul energy it carries will be completely transformed into nutrients for the growth of Chen Yi's divine soul.
The quality and level of his spiritual consciousness will enter a period of rapid improvement.
at the same time,
Within Qin Chengcheng's soul space, there was only chaos.
The baptism of "Phoenix Dance in the Nine Heavens" and the effects of the Soul Protection Pill barely kept her soul sea from dissipating, but the corner destroyed when the divine restriction erupted earlier—which happened to be located at the core of her soul—kept her consciousness on the verge of collapse.
Two days have passed, and the effects of the Soul Nourishing Pill have worn off. Now, he is barely clinging to life thanks to the wood-elemental divine consciousness that Chen Yi has transferred into him.
Those verdant, vine-like threads of divine consciousness coiled around Qin Chengcheng's shattered sea of souls, slowing the rate of collapse.
But Chen Yi couldn't take care of her, this "vegetative state" person, indefinitely.
Chen Yi frowned.
Although his divine sense was refined by the "Refining God Technique", it could not withstand such continuous consumption.
not to mention--
His continuous output of wood-type divine sense had caused a dull ache in his Niwan Palace, indicating that he was not far from reaching his limit.
The Miaoyin Pavilion cave outside has been destroyed, and Xu Shixian and the others are still watching. Who knows what unexpected changes might occur?
Moreover, Chen Yi also has his own life and things to do.
"Chengcheng, can you hear me? Your situation is extremely critical. You have to rely on your own spiritual power to stabilize your soul."
Chen Yi transformed his divine thoughts into ripples, which spread repeatedly through Qin Chengcheng's sea of consciousness.
At first, it seemed to disappear without a trace, but gradually—
In the depths of that chaos, two faint lights suddenly appeared!
Like a new bud in early spring, brimming with verdant vitality—it was the lingering wood-elemental divine consciousness of Chen Yi from the spiritual communion during "Phoenix Dance in the Nine Heavens":
A point, like an ice crystal in a cold pool, exudes a sharp and piercing light—that is the same source of power as the Ice Soul Divine Sense Needle.
"Just as I expected!" Chen Yi's spirits lifted.
These two forces are spontaneously intertwining, forming a miniature repair network that, though slow, is more compatible with Qin Cheng's original nature than external forces.
"But that's not enough. Perhaps this will be useful."
Chen Yi focused his mind and looked inward. The flower bud on the lush green plant in his Niwan Palace trembled slightly, with a drop of crystal-clear spiritual dew hanging inside.
"You gave me the opportunity to 'Soar Through the Nine Heavens,' and I'll return a drop of Life Dew to you. That settles our score."
With a thought, he slowly channeled spiritual dew from his ancestral aperture between his eyebrows into Qin Chengcheng's soul sea, which was on the verge of collapse.
The moment the spiritual dew entered the water, it created gentle ripples, and its warm, nourishing power quickly spread, temporarily stabilizing her shattered soul.
However, this can only be maintained for a period of time and cannot turn the tide.
Chen Yi sighed inwardly.
With his current level of cultivation, this is all he can do.
however--
"Buzz—"
Just as the dew was being poured into the water, a strange change occurred!
Qin Chengcheng's entire sea of consciousness suddenly boiled over, and the dormant soul power was stirred up as if by a hurricane, forming a huge vortex with the spiritual dew as the center.
Chen Yi's remaining observational divine sense was pushed to the edge of his soul, and he could only watch the dazzling golden light rising from the bottom of her soul vortex from afar.
She seems to be prepared to take a gamble.
"Is this... an attempt to break through to the third level of divine sense?!"
Chen Yi was shocked, and then felt admiration. Indeed, in such a desperate situation, the only solution was to break through to the third level of divine sense.
Chen Yi left a wisp of his divine sense within Qin Chengcheng's soul to observe the situation.
The remaining divine sense returned to his own body, and he began to earnestly consolidate the divine communion of Phoenix Dance in the Nine Heavens, the absorption of ancient divine sense to open the third divine aperture, and the enhancement of divine sense and ability brought about by those scattered fragments of Soul Nourishing Wood.
Outside the courtyard at this moment.
Several days have passed since Xu Shixian and Liu Jinjin forcibly broke into Chen Yi's cave, and only three days remain until the engagement ceremony between the Jade Dragon Sect and the Wonderful Sound Pavilion.
Even now, it would take more than a day to travel from the market town to Miaoyin Market, which is thousands of miles away.
Logically speaking, it would be a bit impolite to go now.
Xu Shixian was waiting for Qin Chengcheng so they could set off together.
As a result, Qin Chengcheng remained in seclusion in his cave, showing no sign of emerging.
"What on earth was she doing in there! Even if she was doing something so shameful, she should have come out long ago!"
That cook deserves to die!
Xu Shixian was restless and extremely angry. Several times he wanted to impulsively force his way in, but he was stopped by reason.
If he really manages to break through, he will have completely angered Qin Chengcheng, and it's probably impossible for him to succeed.
But at that moment, Zhao Tieshan suddenly arrived at Miaoyin Pavilion:
"Junior brother, Master has already set off for Miaoyin Pavilion. Aren't you going to go and attend the ceremony?"
Xu Shixian said anxiously, "I'm waiting for Chengcheng! If she doesn't go, this marriage proposal can't be finalized."
"Oh."
Zhao Tieshan suddenly sneered, "The reason Master summoned you back the other day was to tell you—" He moved his lips slightly and transmitted his voice secretly, "The marriage partner has changed, and it is no longer you."
"What?!" Xu Shixian was struck dumb, staggering back two steps.
Zhao Tieshan's eyes were sharp as he continued to transmit his voice:
"The Myriad Sounds Pavilion requires that the cultivation level and talent potential of the marriage partner be no lower than that of Fairy Qin, but you are only in the early stage of Foundation Establishment, with unstable magic power and insufficient spiritual root talent. More importantly—"
He paused, "Your indiscretions in your private relationships with men and women have been recorded in the photographic stone and handed over to Master as evidence."
"When Master summoned you back last time, he was actually warning you to stay away from Liu Jinjin, but you haven't come back!"
"Impossible! Someone framed me!"
Xu Shixian subconsciously retorted with a rebuttal.
"Senior brother, tell me, who exactly is the person Chengcheng is betrothed to?!"
Xu Shixian excitedly grabbed Zhao Tieshan's sleeve.
When Xu Shixian saw the pity flash in his senior brother's eyes, he suddenly understood.
He released his grip, his voice trembling and incoherent: "It's you?"
Zhao Tieshan shook his head and sighed, patting Xu Shixian on the shoulder before leaving:
"Junior brother, you might as well not go to Miaoyin Pavilion this time."
Let me give you some advice: women are nothing more than stumbling blocks on your path to immortality.
If you pull back from the brink now and begin to cultivate diligently, you may one day reach the stage of Core Formation.
As your elder brother, I do not wish to have any connection with Fairy Qin, but I have no choice. This is an order from the sect, and I cannot disobey it.
You'd better watch yourself!
After saying that, he flew away on his sword, leaving Xu Shixian standing there dumbfounded.
"Zhao Tieshan! I trusted you so much! You actually stole my woman!"
You said she was a stumbling block and we should stay away from female cultivators, but you ended up secretly taking action against her instead.
I was the one who gave Qin Chengcheng the VIP pass for the auction, and you were also the one who secretly helped her during the auction.
So, you had this all planned out all along!
You stole my woman and then pretended to be virtuous! You hypocrite!
Xu Shixian's eyes were bloodshot, but he dared not make a move—he was no match for Zhao Tieshan, and if they fought over this, the sect would not side with him.
Enraged, he turned to Liu Jinjin and questioned her sharply:
"Jin Jin! Tell me, did you secretly place a recording stone in the room to deliberately report my great-uncle and frame me?!"
Liu Jinjin was on the verge of tears: "Waaah—, young master, you don't trust me at all. I've been devoted to you and even betrayed Miaoyin Pavilion. How could I possibly harm you?"
I swear to Heaven, if I reveal the recording stone to your martial uncle, may I be struck by lightning, my soul and spirit annihilated, never to be reincarnated!!!
This resolute stance caused Xu Shixian's momentum to falter, and he hurriedly waved his hand, saying, "No, I was just asking casually."
Liu Jinjin was still sobbing uncontrollably, turning her face away and pretending to be heartbroken.
"Don't cry, I'll marry you! Qin Chengcheng is ungrateful; you're the one who deserves to be my Daoist partner!"
Tears still clung to Liu Jinjin's eyelashes, yet a hopeful look appeared on her face: "Young Master, is it true?"
Seeing Xu Shixian nod, she immediately demanded, "Then please make an oath just as I did."
I, Xu Shixian, was somewhat dumbfounded.
"I knew you were just trying to fool me, young master!" Liu Jinjin was initially hopeful, but then disappointed.
"Of course not!"
Xu Shixian gritted his teeth and made a heavenly oath, agreeing to marry Liu Jinjin.
When Liu Jinjin burst into laughter through her tears and threw herself into his arms, Xu Shixian suddenly felt as if he had fallen into some kind of trap.
After a while, he regained his composure and asked the beautiful woman in his arms:
"Jin Jin, I've heard that your Miaoyin Pavilion has a unique and secret technique called Phoenix Dance in the Nine Heavens. How's your practice going?"
"Young master, where did you hear this from?"
"Let me tell you, this Phoenix Dance in the Nine Heavens isn't as wonderful as the legends say; it's just all name and no substance."
"Alright," Xu Shixian said somewhat perfunctorily. He was unwilling to give up, and when he turned to look at Qin Chengcheng's cave again, he felt even more displeased.
Why can't I have the Phoenix Dance in the Nine Heavens, while that hypocrite Zhao Tieshan can?!
He suddenly said, "Jin Jin, do you want to ruin Qin Chengcheng's marriage as well?"
What I can't have, Zhao Tieshan shouldn't have either!
"Young master, don't do anything rash! This could lead to disaster!"
"Don't worry, all we need to do is destroy her outer array, then record the video of her and that cook secretly cultivating together, and then send the recording stone to their engagement ceremony, releasing it in front of both sects."
"Then her reputation as the number one fairy in the Foundation Establishment stage will naturally be ruined!"
"Young master, this is not a good idea."
"But there's nothing I can do to help you, young master. All I have is this jade token from the Myriad Sounds Pavilion's array formation, but this token can only affect the array veins of the Myriad Sounds Pavilion; it can't control Pavilion Master Qin's private cave dwelling."
"That's enough. I also have a barrier-breaking talisman. Give it to me!"
Xu Shixian snatched the array jade token from Liu Jinjin, a ruthless glint in his eyes.
He activated the spiritual power of the jade tablet, simultaneously taking out two second-tier barrier-breaking talismans, and roared:
"Open it!"
The talisman transformed into a crimson stream of light, tearing at the cave's restrictions like a venomous snake.
After the spirit runes flashed violently, a gap was torn in the restriction.
After Xu Shixian used his divine sense to investigate, his face turned extremely gloomy, and the entire cave was empty.
He searched repeatedly, but couldn't even find any trace of the secret room on the floor of the boudoir.
The quasi-third-order concealment array that Qin Chengcheng had set up earlier was difficult for even a pseudo-core cultivator to detect, let alone someone like him who was only at the early stage of Foundation Establishment.
Liu Jinjin said timidly, "Young Master, the Pavilion Master may be out."
"Shut up!" Xu Shixian interrupted angrily. "I don't believe it! Humph, if I can't open it, then let the people from Miaoyin Pavilion open it themselves. I want to see what kind of shady business she's hiding here!"
"Make a record of this using the photo stone, and I will personally deliver it to Miaoyin Pavilion!"
Xu Shixian refused to give up.
Thirty feet underground.
Inside the secret room, Chen Yi sensed some movement outside, and a cold smile appeared on his face.
Even a cultivator who has only achieved a pseudo-core stage would not be able to open this secret chamber unless they launch a full-scale attack.
However, the problem now is that things have escalated to this point outside. How will he extricate himself after Qin Chengcheng finishes his seclusion?
Chen Yi frowned in thought, several solutions flashing through his mind.
The worst-case scenario is that he uses an earth-遁符 (a talisman that allows him to escape underground) to quietly leave, change his appearance, and cultivate in a low-key manner in a different place.
But he was unwilling to do so until the very last step.
Putting that thought aside for the moment, Chen Yi, after confirming that no one outside could make any move against the secret chamber, turned his attention back to Qin Chengcheng.
At this moment, in front of Chen Yi,
Qin Chengcheng frowned deeply. Within her sea of consciousness, her soul power was surging into towering waves, and thunder rumbled faintly above it.
Qin Chengcheng seemed to have successfully materialized her divine consciousness. Dressed in a white dress, she sat cross-legged on an icy island with her eyes closed, a green plant swaying gently beside her.
At the top of the green plant, the petals are about to bloom, with a crystal-clear drop of dew on them, radiating a warm breath of life.
(End of this chapter)