Chapter 10 She was kidnapped [What?! ...

【What? ! ! ! 】

The system's scream in her head startled her so much that she almost screamed out loud herself.

"Wait, wait, wait, why are you shouting so loudly?"

[Oh, sorry, host, I didn't mean to...]

His tone first faltered, then turned angry.

[Damn it! What is Jiang Zhihe doing?! People have already come in, how come he didn't even notice?!]

What good was his night watch?!

[And that Shangguan You, he's been completely useless this time!]

The system was frantically complaining about others, while Gu Xiaozhu immediately reached for her own neck.

She wanted to crush the bead immediately.

But before she could touch it, she suddenly felt a void beneath her!

A feeling of weightlessness instantly swept over her entire body, and her heart rate soared.

She instinctively closed her eyes, but the next second, the feeling of weightlessness vanished instantly, replaced by the solid feeling of standing on the ground.

She cautiously opened her eyes and found herself standing in the center of the room, while the bed she had been lying on was two or three meters to her left.

Her brows furrowed instinctively, and she reached out again to crush the communication orb, but the moment her fingers touched its surface, an androgynous voice suddenly rang out:

"It smells so good..."

The voice was extremely close, almost right next to her ear. A chilling breath swept over her neck, causing her to shudder involuntarily.

She felt her thoughts almost freeze, and she was enveloped by an immense fear.

He unconsciously exerted force in his hand.

"Crack—!"

With a crisp cracking sound, the candlelight inside the room suddenly flickered on, and a sharp sword aura flew swiftly from the door, almost grazing Gu Xiaozhu's cheek and shattering the dark shadow behind her!

The young man in red arrived amidst the chill in the air. He walked up to the still-stunned apricot-haired girl, extended his hand to her, and smiled on his handsome face.

Gu Xiaozhu subconsciously reached out her hand, but then heard the boy in front of her speak:

"Miss Gu, are you alright?"

The outstretched hand suddenly froze in mid-air.

Jiang Zhihe would never address her as Miss Gu.

The person in front of me is not the real Jiang Zhihe!

Illusion?

When did she fall into the hallucination?

Only then did she realize that the system had stopped speaking sometime earlier.

This is not normal.

She was almost certain that the one who came to Lingyong City and destroyed the teleportation array was the Illusion Demon who should have been in Jade City.

Moreover, this phantom demon was able to evade the array in her house, so its cultivation level was very likely not at the Great Perfection of the Golden Core stage, but rather at the Nascent Soul stage.

Then... if it wanted to kill itself, why did it stage this whole thing?

What is its purpose?

If the phantom demon wanted to kill him, it could have done so now that it was inside the house, so why didn't it act immediately?

There is only one reason—

The phantom demon was not inside the house, but outside.

The formation worked, keeping the illusionary demons outside.

However, the formation was not able to completely stop the illusion demon, allowing it to cast its illusions on Gu Xiaozhu inside the house.

So, after all that trouble, directing and staging this whole charade, its sole purpose was...

Her thoughts raced, and in a matter of moments she figured out the whole story. Her outstretched hand froze in mid-air for only a second before she was about to retract it.

It was trying to lure her out of the house on her own!

Although Gu Xiaozhu reacted quickly and tried to pull her hand back immediately, the "Jiang Zhihe" in front of her reacted even faster!

He immediately reached out and grabbed the girl's slender wrist with such force that Gu Xiaozhu had no way to pull her hand back.

The boy's face began to contort, and even his clothes began to change.

Her spirited ponytail transformed into loose black hair, her red dress turned jet black, exuding a strong sense of foreboding. Her features gradually became more feminine, and a pair of narrow black eyes swirled with a viscous desire as she stared unabashedly at the pale-faced girl before her.

"You're very smart; you were able to react so quickly."

He parted his thin lips slightly, his tone carrying an undisguised mockery.

"but……"

"It's too late..."

The surrounding environment changed in an instant, and Gu Xiaozhu realized that she had unknowingly stood by the window in the room, with her hand already sticking out of the window.

[Host! Host, thank goodness you're finally awake!]

The system's voice echoed in my mind again.

[Host! This phantom demon is already a Nascent Soul stage cultivator! Its cultivation level has truly increased!]

Outside the window, the man in black was holding her wrist with one hand, while playing with a smooth white bead in the other.

Her expression changed drastically, and she immediately struggled to pull her bound hand back, while simultaneously taking out the Fire Separation Talisman from her storage bracelet with her other hand.

Fortunately, the storage bracelet was on the hand that wasn't caught.

If I remember correctly, the Illusion Demon is of the wood element, so the Fire Talisman, which can harm a Nascent Soul cultivator, is the most suitable for the current situation.

But the demon remained unperturbed. He glanced at the Fire Separation Talisman held in the girl's hand and sneered, "Although you have many magical treasures, including the Fire Separation Talisman, you are ultimately just a mortal without spiritual power. How can you activate the talisman?"

Gu Xiaozhu was taken aback.

The next second, she felt herself being pulled by a tremendous force, and she was instantly dragged out of the window!

At the same time, Jiang Zhihe, who had been leaning against the door, suddenly straightened up and kicked the door open almost without thinking!

Almost the instant he kicked the door open, the Phantom Demon outside the window looked up at the newcomer. With a slight smile, he pulled the struggling girl into his arms and, just before the sword blade struck, transformed into a cloud of black mist, disappearing before the boy's eyes along with Gu Xiaozhu.

The silver-white longsword missed its target, its blade humming as if in anger.

"Hongying, come back."

The boy's voice was calm.

Hongying circled outside the window one last time, but finally, somewhat unwillingly, it transformed into a streak of light and returned to the scabbard at Jiang Zhihe's waist.

Because of the noise Jiang Zhihe made when he kicked the door, Wu Jiangxue and Shangguan You next door were also alerted and came out of their room.

“Brother Jiang, I sensed something amiss with the formation in Miss Gu’s room, so…” Shangguan You’s voice came from outside the door, but when he saw the wide-open door and the scene inside, the words he was about to say caught in his throat.

Wu Jiangxue was curious about Shangguan You's reaction, so she also peeked into the room.

Inside the room, a boy in red stood in the center, the whole room radiating a bone-chilling cold, and layers of silvery frost formed beneath his feet.

But she merely frowned, then asked, "Where is Miss Gu?"

Upon hearing this, Shangguan You, who was standing nearby, immediately widened his eyes and looked at Wu Jiangxue with the eyes of someone looking at a warrior.

Jiang Zhihe paused, and after a moment, he turned around and looked at the two people at the door: "They've been taken away."

Wu Jiangxue frowned even more: "Arrest me? Weren't you guarding the door the whole time?"

Jiang Zhihe nodded, but his feet didn't stop moving. As if he had a goal, he walked straight to the door: "The one who kidnapped Xiaozhu was a phantom demon with a cultivation level of at least Nascent Soul stage. It was probably a demon cultivator who had developed intelligence, otherwise it wouldn't have been so clever as to lure her away from the window."

Wu Jiangxue and Shangguan You followed behind him.

Upon hearing this, Shangguan You added, "My formation was triggered, which means that the illusionary demon wasn't yet capable of completely avoiding it. In other words, that illusionary demon's cultivation level should be at the early Nascent Soul stage."

As he spoke, he glanced at his friend's expressionless face, thought for a moment, and then kindly comforted him, "Brother Jiang, we've given Miss Gu so many defensive magical artifacts, and the robe she's wearing can withstand attacks from Nascent Soul stage cultivators, so Miss Gu won't be in any danger in the short term."

At this moment, Wu Jiangxue also spoke up: "How did you know it was a phantom demon?"

Jiang Zhihe: "By combining what Xiaozhu said about what happened to her on the street, can't we figure it out?"

After listening, Wu Jiangxue glanced at Shangguan You, who showed no doubt whatsoever, and finally nodded.

Although this reasoning is far-fetched, as long as the conclusion is correct...

She didn't need to pry.

Jiang Zhihe: "Oh right, Shangguan You, that floorboard in Xiaozhu's house is probably unusable. Don't forget to compensate the shopkeeper for it."

Shangguan You naturally knew he was referring to the frost-covered floor. After all, once it was soaked in his spiritual energy, even if the frost melted in the end, the wooden floor would shatter at the slightest touch.

Shangguan You: "You're not short of money yourself..."

He glanced at Jiang Zhihe's still unsmiling face, paused, and finally sighed, "Sigh... Okay, I'll help you make up for it."

Thanks.

Look, he didn't even smile while saying thank you. This shows that Brother Jiang is really angry!

Wu Jiangxue: "Do you know where Miss Gu is right now?"

Jiang Zhihe: "I know."

The red auspicious charm he gave Gu Xiaozhu earlier was not an ordinary one. It also contained a wisp of his natal sword energy.

A sword cultivator's innate sword energy differs from ordinary sword energy. If ordinary sword energy is sealed within an object, its attack power is determined by the sword cultivator's cultivation level at the time of sealing. Even if the sword cultivator's cultivation level increases later, the sword energy sealed within the object will still retain its original attack power.

Even if one's natal sword energy is sealed within an object, it will still increase in power as the owner's cultivation level rises. Furthermore, the owner of the natal sword energy can detect its location through the connection they share with it.

If one's natal sword energy is used, the person to whom the sword energy belongs will be immediately teleported to the place where the sword energy was used.

Generally speaking, sword cultivators do not easily give up their natal sword energy, since a sword cultivator can only separate four natal sword energies in their lifetime.

One each for Golden Core, Nascent Soul, Deity Transformation, and Tribulation Transcending.

After leaving the inn, he briefly sensed the location of his natal sword energy, and then, without hesitation, flew off on his sword in a certain direction.

"Hey, Brother Jiang! Flying within the city will incur a fine... Oh well, it's not like I can't afford it."

Shangguan You sighed, then the bone fan in his hand separated into five pieces, instantly setting up a small aerial formation. He then chased after Jiang Zhihe in the direction he was rushing.

Wu Jiangxue immediately used her flying technique to chase after the two.

Tonight is destined to be sleepless.

A note from the author:

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