089
Walk?
Before Jiang Huali could even process what she was seeing, a sense of danger arose within her, chilling her spine. Her body reacted instinctively, and she dodged to the side while simultaneously using her spiritual power to create a protective shield.
A magic circle suddenly lit up, located exactly where she had just been standing.
Even though she dodged in time, she was still injured by the spiritual energy impact generated when the magic circle took effect.
Jiang Huali suppressed the taste of blood in her throat, took one last look at the people imprisoned in the cell, and left through the teleportation array she had set up beforehand.
A faint fluctuation of spiritual energy lingered in the air. The person in the cell raised a finger, and all traces vanished into thin air.
At the same time, the talismans on his body were activated and began to glow.
The sound of synchronized footsteps came from not far away. A squad of guards appeared in front of the cell. Looking at the activated array, they glanced warily at the people inside the cell and said sternly, "Go and report to the patriarch that someone has broken into the secret prison. The rest of you, search the cell!"
"yes!"
...
"Miss Jiang, are you there?"
A knocking sound came from the table, and Jiang Huali got up and opened the door.
Shen Guiting noticed that she was only wearing a white nightgown, and her hair was casually draped over her shoulders, which softened her cold demeanor somewhat.
He smiled and asked casually, "Ready to rest?"
His gaze passed over Jiang Huali and looked into the room, where only a candle was lit and the bedding on the bed was slightly disheveled.
Jiang Huali noticed his gaze, naturally turned slightly to the side, and said, "I'm looking at the storybook you brought over a few days ago."
Hearing hurried footsteps outside the courtyard, she asked in confusion, "What's going on outside?"
“It’s nothing,” Shen Guiting shook his head, looking every bit the gentle gentleman. “It’s just that a petty thief has entered and run into the secret prison.”
“The guards haven’t caught him yet. I was worried he might run around the mansion and hurt you, so I came to check on him.”
Jiang Huali nodded, looking nonchalant: "Don't worry, I'm capable of protecting myself."
Shen Guiting showed no sign of leaving, but instead asked, "Are you getting used to living in the manor? I heard from the servants that you've been staying in the courtyard the whole time. Why don't you go out for a walk?"
“I’m used to it. I’m resting and recovering, so I don’t go out much.” Jiang Huali looked at his face meaningfully. “But it’s not boring in the courtyard. Yesterday I heard two maids say that Young Master Shen is handsome and talented in cultivation, and has a bright future.”
Shen Guiting hadn't expected Jiang Huali to say something so sarcastic, and he chuckled, "Appearance is external; as for talent, for cultivators, diligence is more important."
“Fellow Daoist Shen is right,” Jiang Huali turned around and took out a smoky purple sachet from the room, smiling apologetically. “I am so grateful to you for saving me earlier. I have nothing to express my gratitude, so I embroidered a sachet by hand and put some calming herbs inside. I hope you will accept it.”
Shen Guiting was stunned for a moment, then took the sachet. The stitches were fine and the patterns were exquisite, showing that it was made with great care.
He immediately tucked the sachet into his waistband and said with a smile, "Thank you, I like it very much."
"If there's nothing else, I'll take a rest now," Jiang Huali said with a smile.
"Okay, I'll come find you again tomorrow."
After Shen Guiting left, Jiang Huali closed the door, returned to bed, and casually picked up a storybook lying nearby. It happened to contain a plot about stealing a dragon and switching a phoenix.
She recalled the slight unease that flashed across Shen Guiting's face when he mentioned appearance, and lowered her eyes.
Inside the Shen family study.
"Father."
Shen Guiting bowed to Shen Kuo, who was sitting at the desk, and then stood aside.
Shen Kuo asked in a deep voice, "How did things go?"
"Father, there is nothing unusual."
Shen Kuo gave him a deep look: "A person who can break into the secret prison and escape unscathed will not give himself away so easily."
"Father, are you suspicious of Miss Jiang?" Shen Guiting asked hesitantly.
"Whether it's her or not, you need to speed things up and form a bond with her as soon as possible. Make your move after your bond-forming ceremony."
Shen Kuo noticed the sachet at his waist, glanced at it briefly, and said, "She's just a woman. If it weren't for the limited amount of luck she could transfer, and the need for dragon scales to assist your cultivation, she wouldn't be alive today. She should have died in that fire more than ten years ago."
"But... if she finds out the truth, will she still give us the dragon scales?" Shen Guiting subconsciously touched his face.
“My son, you’re too naive.” Shen Kuo tapped the table. “Once you two form a pact, you can control her through secret techniques. At that point, won’t she be completely at your mercy?”
"As long as you obtain the dragon scale, becoming a Ninth Realm Venerable will be just around the corner. At that time, the position of Tianmen Mountain Sect Leader will undoubtedly belong to you, and my Shen family will become the number one family."
"..."
Inside the room, Jiang Huali abruptly withdrew the array in her hand and spat out a mouthful of blood.
She raised her hand and gently wiped the blood from her lips, her heart churning with turmoil, and she couldn't help but tremble slightly.
She had tampered with the sachet to eavesdrop. Although she had suspected something before, hearing the truth at this moment still left her heartbroken.
Dragon Scales, from a fire more than ten years ago.
People say that the Jiang family of Wushan died from a fire from heaven, but they don’t know that they were actually massacred as a Manchu.
Not all dragon scales of the clan possess surging power. Contrary to rumors, only the dragon scales born from those whose lineage has been recognized and accepted have such miraculous effects in helping people ascend to immortality.
Jiang Huali is the only person in nearly a thousand years to be recognized as such.
In this realm, no one has ascended to immortality for nearly a thousand years.
Jiang Huali clenched her fists, her gaze icy.
-
Shen Guiting stayed at the Shen family home longer than usual this time.
He visited Jiang Huali's courtyard more and more often, sending her all sorts of precious treasures, secret manuals, and magical artifacts. He also treated her very well on a daily basis, seemingly truly in love with her as others had said.
Jiang Huali knew his purpose: to form a pact with her and seize the dragon scales through a secret method.
That day, she overheard something about transferring luck, and subconsciously recalled the person she had seen in the secret prison that day, wanting to find an opportunity to go back and take another look.
However, ever since she broke into the secret cell that night and was almost discovered, the guards have become even more stringent, and an eighth-level Venerable has been assigned to oversee the situation. They really went all out.
Nowadays, cultivators are divided into nine realms, with only a few dozen people in the entire continent reaching the eighth realm, and even fewer reaching the ninth realm.
Despite his young age, Shen Guiting already possesses the strength of the seventh realm and is about to break through to the eighth realm.
It's clear that the Shen family is no ordinary family.
Jiang Huali herself is only at the sixth realm, but because of her special bloodline, her true strength far exceeds that of the sixth realm.
Just as Jiang Huali was struggling with how to re-enter the secret prison, an opportunity arose.
Just when she was about to doze off, someone brought her a pillow. Shen Guiting came specifically to tell Jiang Huali that the person who broke into the secret prison that day had been captured and was now being held in the secret prison, awaiting punishment.
“It’s not good for you to stay in the courtyard all day; it’s too boring. Why don’t you come with me to the secret prison? Father wants me to interrogate the little thief from that day,” Shen Guiting said to Jiang Huali with a smile.
Jiang Huali raised an eyebrow and agreed: "Okay, it's a good opportunity for me to stretch my muscles too."
Shen Guiting chuckled: "We're not going to fight, we're just going to interrogate someone."
Jiang Huali smiled but remained silent.
The two arrived at the secret prison, but were stopped by the guards.
"Young master, the patriarch has ordered that outsiders are not allowed to enter the secret prison without permission," the guard said coldly, his words tinged with contempt.
Shen Guiting said with some annoyance, "You dare to stop me, young master? Do I have to report to you who I want to bring into the secret prison?"
"Your subordinate wouldn't dare," the guard replied, remaining unmoved.
“My father has ordered me to thoroughly investigate the matter of the thief breaking into the secret prison,” Shen Guiting said, taking out a token. “Get out of the way.”
The guard was slightly startled when he saw the token, then stepped aside and said, "I have offended you, young master, please leave."
Shen Guiting put away the token and led Jiang Huali into the secret prison.
He said to Jiang Huali, "I'm sorry, you must have found this amusing."
Jiang Huali said, "Aren't you the heir favored by the Shen family head? Why are the guards treating you like this?"
He smiled bitterly and said, "You don't know this. Although my father only has me as his heir, the collateral branches of the Shen family are now arrogant and are showing signs of overstepping the main family. Not everyone in this secret prison is one of our people. In addition, I have been cultivating in Tianmen Mountain and know nothing about family affairs. The elders are also very dissatisfied with me."
Jiang Huali nodded and replied, "I see."
The two arrived at a cell where a man was imprisoned. The guards brought him out and allowed Chen Guiting to interrogate him.
The interrogation went smoothly. The man admitted that he had been instructed to break into the secret prison by someone who was an enemy of the Shen family. He was then dragged away and executed.
Shen Guiting's true intentions were not in the wine; under the guise of a tour, he led Jiang Huali to the lowest level of the dungeon, only to be stopped before they could even enter.
This time, what stopped them was not guards, but a formation.
"This is a secret prison where those convicted of serious crimes are held. It must be that the Venerable One has set up an array that only allows members of the Shen family to enter. Let's stop here for today."
The Venerable One he was referring to was the person of the Eighth Realm.
Jiang Huali's eyes flickered, and she said, "Alright, this dungeon is damp and cold, not exactly a good place for a stroll, what do you say, Fellow Daoist Shen?"
“It was my oversight. I just felt that you were different from other women. Why don’t we go to the garden to admire the flowers? I brought back some rare varieties a few days ago.”
"good."
The two came to the garden to admire the flowers and walked side by side, looking like a perfect couple from a distance.
"Hua Li," Shen Guiting turned his head to look at Jiang Hua Li, "may I call you that?"
“Sure, Fellow Daoist Shen, you may call me whatever you wish.”
"I...I have something I want to tell you."
"What is it?" Jiang Huali looked at him in confusion.
"I love you."
Shen Guiting stopped in his tracks, his gaze fixed on Jiang Huali.
"I know this is too abrupt, but ever since you saved me that day, I've been thinking about you constantly. To be honest, my father has always wanted me to become a Daoist couple with a young lady from a prominent family to solidify the Shen family's position... So I want to ask, do you have feelings for me?"
"You want to use me to stop the marriage arranged by your father?" Jiang Huali bluntly stated.
Shen Guiting smiled bitterly and said, "My feelings for you are genuine. If you are willing to form a bond with me, I will definitely treat you well in the future and never let you down."
Jiang Huali sneered inwardly. She thought, "It's probably not that they'll never betray me, but rather that they'll tear me apart."
She hesitated, seemingly moved: "Marriage is not a trivial matter, I..."
Shen Guiting quickly assured him, "If you form a pact with me, you can be included in the Shen family genealogy and become a member of the Shen family. Everything in this mansion will be yours, and I will definitely not let you suffer."
The Shen family is setting a trap for her.
Jiang Huali lowered her head and said softly, "I haven't figured out my own feelings yet, give me some time."
Shen Guiting's eyes brightened, and he said, "It's alright, I'll wait for you."
He picked a flower from beside him and handed it to Jiang Huali.
...
That night.
Jiang Huali sat cross-legged on the bed, her brows furrowed, her hands forming hand seals.
A wisp of soul energy drifted out from Jiang Huali's body, detached from her main body, and disappeared from the spot through the formation that had already taken shape in front of her.
In the silent, secret prison.
Jiang Huali hid in the shadows. When she first entered the secret dungeon, she set up teleportation arrays along the way. Now, through these arrays, she safely arrived at the deepest dungeon.
Tonight she came as a wisp of soul, her aura even fainter and harder to detect.
She stretched out her hand, and a drop of blood appeared in her palm.
While in the garden, Shen Guiting picked many flowers for her, and she took the opportunity to cast a spell to prick Shen Guiting with the thorns and obtain a drop of blood.
Today, Shen Guiting took her to the secret prison and confessed his feelings in the garden, but it was all to lure her into forming a pact with him in order to enter the secret prison.
But Jiang Huali isn't that stupid.
It's just a formation set up by the Eight Realms; it's not unbreakable.
Jiang Huali activated her spiritual power, and the blood in her palm merged into the formation. She silently entered it.
Upon arriving here again, Jiang Huali went straight to the cell from last time.
The lowest level of the dungeon was deserted except for the guard at the entrance.
Rather than saying the guards were negligent, Jiang Huali felt that they were more likely afraid to approach the area.
This time, Jiang Huali went directly into that cell.
The person bound by chains and talismans moved their fingers and slowly raised their head.
The two looked at each other.
The man seemed unsurprised by Jiang Huali's reappearance. Noticing her gaze on his disfigured half-face, he tilted his head, hiding the other half under his hair.
Jiang Huali snapped out of her daze, noticed his subtle movements, and looked away.
"Thank you for your help last time," she said.
The man opened his mouth, but no words came out.
After a long while, he finally gave a soft "hmm".
The voice was hoarse, as if it hadn't been uttered in a long time.
Jiang Huali observed the talismans and chains on his body, pondering how to rescue him.
This person looks exactly like Shen Guiting and is imprisoned in the deepest part of the dungeon. In addition, considering what she overheard that day, he must be very important to the Shen family.
and……
Jiang Huali looked at his black snake tail and asked, "Are you a snake? Or..."
"Dragon Clan".
The man suddenly interrupted her, his voice extremely hoarse and mocking.
Jiang Huali's eyes sharpened.
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