Chapter Forty-Two: The Little Princess of the Jiang

Jiang Jiu’s blood could cure the poison. For now, aside from the royal family of Jiang, this secret had not been revealed to the outside world. There were over two thousand poisoned people—draining all of Jiang Jiu’s blood still wouldn’t be enough to heal them all.

In the Imperial Medical Institute, Jiang Sheng led a group of imperial physicians, attempting to concoct an effective antidote. Jiang Jiu held a cup of tea; the steam had long since dissipated, and the surface was still and unmoved.

If an ordinary herbal remedy could produce a cure, the affliction would not be named corpse poison so simply. At present, there were two groups of revenants outside the city. One group had been infected directly after soaking in the poisoned water; they possessed a certain intelligence but no trace of humanity. The other group resulted from being bitten by the first—one infecting another, ten infecting a hundred. They were not particularly aggressive, and their actions seemed ruled by chance.

Last night, while Xiao Cui was recovering, a dazzling light radiated from her whole body. Others might have missed it, but Jiang Jiu’s sharp eyes saw clusters of black mist driven away by the light, after which Xiao Cui returned to normal. This black mist, then, could not have been formed by medicine. The only source could be corpses.

Huaize extracted corpse aura from decaying bodies—such aura was always venomous, often gathering the resentment and ill fortune of those who died unjustly. Once tainted by this aura, nothing but the purest, most spotless spiritual item could dispel it; otherwise, there was no cure.

The crux of the matter lay precisely here: the present Jiang Jiu was not truly Jiang Jiu. It was the blood refined by Lian, after Lian had merged with the body—Lian’s blood—that could eradicate corpse poison!

Never before had this question occurred: after inhabiting a body, why would the host’s blood slowly be refined by oneself? Take the previous host, Bai Ruo, for instance. At first, Lian struggled to adapt, becoming dizzy for a time, but after adjusting, such symptoms vanished. Even contracts with entities like Shen Ling were bound directly to Lian’s soul.

From this, it was clear that everything centered on herself. Why hadn’t the Supreme God chosen someone else to bind with Little Scoundrel for the tasks? Why was Chong Li’s mission connected to her? Why did the black lotus petal take root in her sea of consciousness? Why could her blood thoroughly dispel the most sinister of resentments?

“Xiao Jiu, stop daydreaming! The tea’s cold already—come, let me pour you a fresh cup.”

Jiang Jiu snapped out of her thoughts and handed her tea to Jiang Che.

Jiang Che accepted the cup. “Uncle, any progress?”

Jiang Sheng shook his head with a sigh. Such a dangerous thing, and someone had deliberately concocted it! If Jiang Sheng ever got the chance to meet the culprit, he would make sure they’d pay dearly.

Poor Jiang Sheng—no one had told him that the real poisoner was right beside him. Last night, he’d even spent half an hour idly chatting with Huaize, blissfully unaware.

“Alas, for something as sinister as corpse poison, you need a blazing yang spiritual item to subdue it. But where are we supposed to find such things in this world?”

Jiang Jiu was puzzled. “Why does blazing yang subdue sinister poison?”

Jiang Sheng clapped his hands. “Ah, Xiao Jiu, you wouldn’t understand! With my many years of experience, yin and yang are mutually generative and restrictive. So legendary things like the phoenix tree must have some effect on revenants!”

Jiang Jiu couldn’t help recalling Nirvana. That day, when she played Nirvana, it had barely affected the revenants—it only slightly reduced their movement and aggression, but didn’t truly restrain them.

“Uncle, actually, these revenants aren’t afraid of sunlight...”

Jiang Sheng froze. He’d gotten too excited and forgotten that the revenants weren’t afraid of the sun, which was the very symbol of pure yang...

Damn, he’d just lost face in front of his niece.

Jiang Sheng coughed awkwardly. “Well, I still have medicine brewing in my furnace. I’ll go check on it. You two talk amongst yourselves...”

With a wave of his sleeve, he slipped away without a trace.

Jiang Che watched his uncle’s departing figure, feeling that at this moment, his uncle seemed to have aged a little. Perhaps all men, reaching middle age, become more concerned with their dignity.

Carefree types like Jiang Ling, who were simple-minded, cheerful, and physically robust, never suffered such pressure.

If Little Scoundrel hadn’t been busy communicating with the Supreme God about why the system hadn’t issued the second and third missions, and had overheard Jiang Che’s rich inner monologue, he would have leapt up and monitored Jiang Che twenty-four hours a day!

Jiang Jiu and Jiang Che exchanged a glance and, as if by tacit agreement, pretended not to notice. After all, he was their uncle, and though they might let the family’s pride slip, they could not let him lose face!

This was the Jiang family’s unspoken rule.

Jiang Jiu picked up the hot tea, savoring a sip.

A sudden flash of insight crossed her mind—could everything be connected to the black lotus petal?

Her name was Lian...

The lotus, unstained by mud, cleansed by clear water, untainted by the world...

This spoke in part to the flower’s purity, and the black lotus petal was a spiritual item of rare excellence.

Jiang Jiu finished her tea in one gulp, a single tea leaf left at the bottom of her cup. With swift strides, she hurried to the Tangli Hall and firmly closed the side chamber door.

Her intent summoned her, and in the next moment, she entered her personal space.

Lian sat cross-legged, channeling her spiritual energy. Last time, Chong Li had helped her draw out the petal. This time, with Chong Li absent, she would have to do it herself and uncover the truth behind it all.

Her soul stirred her sea of consciousness, and the lotus petal, as if attracted by her will, hovered before her eyes.

A mysterious pull guided her. Lian touched the petal with her fingertip, and a light spread outward from her as the center. Wherever it shone, withered grass revived.

Where was this place?

Lian opened her beautiful eyes. All around was darkness, punctuated by the sound of dripping water.

“Drip... drip...”

Ahead, a light flickered, beckoning her forward. Each step seemed to splash in a shallow puddle.

There, just ahead!

Lian lowered her right hand, which had been shielding her eyes from the glare.

Before her stood a woman clad in white trimmed with gold, her jet-black hair and red lips striking, eyes closed—a stranger with the bearing of a celestial maiden, slowly opening her eyes.

Those eyes reflected Lian’s own image.

Only then did Lian realize that, upon entering this wondrous space, she had regained her original appearance.

In that moment, she truly felt alive—not merely a foreign soul borrowing another woman’s body.

The mysterious woman’s features resembled hers by seven or eight parts, differing only in expression and temperament.

“You have come,” the ethereal voice echoed through the space.

Jiang Jiu felt sure that the woman before her was herself from another life.

The mysterious woman smiled faintly. “You guessed correctly. I am your first incarnation. My name is Chong Lian, and Lian was only your second life. I am you, and you are me.”

As expected.

The mysterious woman—Chong Lian, presumably—spoke again:

“Your personality seems to have changed, but that’s for the best. Tempering yourself in the mortal world makes it easier to comprehend human emotions, which will greatly benefit your cultivation of the ‘Purification of Worlds.’”

“‘Purification of Worlds’?”

“I was once a black lotus of thirteen petals, born in harmony with heaven and earth. For certain reasons, I was cast down to the lower realm to undergo trials, losing all thirteen petals in the process. I was born with a mission,”

Sorrow clouded Chong Lian’s eyes, grief etched in her features. “That mission is to sacrifice myself for the peace of the three thousand worlds, to purify all evil thoughts throughout time...”