Chapter 40 Here... Pain

Tang Lu's periods of lucidity became longer and longer, and her bewildered gaze was gradually replaced by a familiar liveliness.

Although the specific details of that great battle remain vague, as if viewed through frosted glass, the true nature of "Tanglu" is gradually returning.

She remained clingy, like a little tail, following Chi Li wherever she went.

However, this clinginess was tinged with a hint of caution, especially when she saw the faint scars on Chi Li's body. She would always subconsciously move gently, afraid of hurting them.

That day, Chi Li was dealing with the backlog of government affairs at her desk in the outer room of her bedchamber, while Tang Lu sat next to her on a soft cushion.

This was specially prepared by Chi Li, replacing the flowerpot that once symbolized her "exclusive seat".

The little guy held a plump, round "Spirit Nourishing Fruit" in his hands, which exuded a gentle spiritual energy, and nibbled on it in small bites.

This was instructed by the physician; it would help her nourish her spiritual consciousness.

As she munched on the jade slip, she tilted her head and watched Chi Li review it with a pen.

Sunlight streamed through the window lattice, outlining Chi Li's focused profile and slightly furrowed brows.

Tang Lu was so engrossed in watching that she forgot to eat the fruit.

Chi Li noticed her gaze, but didn't stop writing. He simply turned his head and slightly raised the corner of his lips: "What are you looking at? Is there something written on my face?"

Tang Lu shook her head, blinking her amber eyes.

She suddenly put down the fruit, crawled over on all fours, and gently touched Chi Li's furrowed brow with her small hand, which was still speckled with juice.

"Lili, it's all wrinkled, it doesn't look good," she whispered, trying clumsily to smooth out the wrinkles.

The cool, fruity fingertips touched her skin, and Chi Li's heart felt as if it had been tickled by the softest feather.

She put down her pen, took the small hand in her hand, and enveloped it in her palm: "Okay, it won't wrinkle."

Tang Lu smiled contentedly, then leaned against her arm, nuzzling her like a kitten that had found a warm nest.

Her dependent posture was no different from before she fell into a coma, yet it stirred a sense of satisfaction in Chi Li, a feeling of having regained what she had lost.

However, this tranquility was soon shattered.

Perhaps it was the Nourishing Spirit Fruit that worked, or perhaps it was some kind of wonderful sensation that arose as the spirit gradually recovered.

Not long after leaning against Chi Li, Tang Lu suddenly let out a soft "Eh" and raised her little head.

She turned her gaze to her right hand holding the pen, or more precisely, to the almost invisible, slightly different area on the inside of her wrist.

There were no wounds there, but rather a trace of extremely subtle and troublesome foul aura from when she forcibly devoured the "Nine Netherworld Spirit Devouring Array." Like the most cunning parasite, it evaded the initial purification and quietly lurked there, unnoticed even by Chi Li herself.

“Here…” Tang Lu stretched out her index finger and pointed vaguely at the spot, a look of confusion on her face, “There are… dirty little bugs.”

Upon hearing this, Chi Li raised an eyebrow slightly.

She followed Tang Lu's fingertips to her wrist, scanning it carefully with her divine sense, but initially found nothing unusual.

The lurking presence was too faint, too concealed.

"Where are the bugs?" She assumed that the little guy's senses were still a bit confused as his spiritual awareness was just recovering.

"Yes!" Tang Lu insisted.

She even leaned closer, her small nose twitching slightly as if sniffing something: "It's black, small, and hiding inside! It makes Lili uncomfortable!"

She couldn't explain what it was; it was just a pure, instinctive feeling.

The Wood Spirit's ability to distinguish between life and defilement far surpasses other forms of perception.

Seeing that Chi Li didn't seem to believe her, Tang Lu became a little anxious.

She closed her eyes and tried to mobilize the wood spirit energy within her body, which had been somewhat restored.

Soft green light gathered at her fingertips, not as vibrant as before, but carrying a more refined and acute purifying intent.

She gently pressed her fingertips, which were glowing with a faint green light, onto the area on Chi Li's wrist.

Chi Li wanted to stop her, fearing that she would overexert herself.

But the moment Tang Lu's fingertips touched the ground, she clearly felt an extremely subtle, cold, stinging sensation coming from the inside of her wrist!

It was like a deeply buried poisonous thorn that had been precisely touched.

Her expression changed slightly, and she immediately focused her mind and looked inward.

This time, with a clear target, her divine sense finally caught a wisp of black, foul energy, as thin as a hair and almost fused with her own flesh and blood, deep within that area of ​​skin.

It was silently absorbing her minuscule amount of divine power to nourish itself. If Tang Lu hadn't pointed it out, it would have become a hidden danger in time.

“How could it be…” A fierce glint flashed in Chi Li’s eyes.

The forbidden formation of the Xuantian Sect is indeed extremely insidious.

Tang Lu's face paled the moment she touched the foul air, clearly feeling very uncomfortable from its chilling intensity.

She did not back down; the green light at her fingertips became even more focused as she carefully peeled away the wisp of black filth that was trying to escape from Chi Li's flesh.

This process is extremely delicate, and it is a huge test of one's control over Tanglu.

Fine beads of sweat appeared on her forehead, and she held her breath.

Chi Li remained motionless, letting her do as she pleased, her joy beyond words.

She could feel that the lurking foul energy that even she found troublesome was like a nemesis to Tang Lu's seemingly weak purifying power. It struggled and twisted, but was eventually completely enveloped, purified, and annihilated by the pure green light!

As the last wisp of black energy disappeared, Tang Lu exhausted her strength and fell softly backward, only to be caught by Chi Li with lightning speed.

"Alright... the bug is dead." She leaned against Chi Li's chest, her small face tired, but filled with the satisfaction and pride of having accomplished something great.

She looked up at Chi Li, her eyes sparkling: "Li Li, it doesn't hurt anymore."

Chi Li looked at the little guy in her arms, who was pale and slightly out of breath, but was trying to smile and ask for credit.

After suffering such a severe injury, her little tree spirit not only woke up, but it seems that... even its abilities have undergone some kind of transformation?

Become more perceptive and more precise?

Is this... a process of destruction followed by construction?

"Hmm, it doesn't hurt anymore." Chi Li tightened her arms and gently rested her chin on the top of Tang Lu's head, her voice gentle, "Thanks to Tang Lu."

It seems that her tree spirit, in some ways, is truly able to protect her existence.