"boom--"
The heavy palace doors slammed shut, cutting off the last ray of sunlight. Only a few large luminous pearls embedded in the dome and walls emitted a cold and lonely glow, barely illuminating the spacious, magnificent, yet chillingly cold sleeping chamber.
Imprisonment. Cleansing. Soul scattered.
The cold words of Immortal Lord Qingxu, like the pervasive chill in the hall, seeped into Su Nian's very being, bringing a near-despairing coldness. The lingering pain in her neck clearly reminded her that Xie Chen in this world was completely different from him in the previous one. The "illness" here was a true inner demon capable of destroying everything, including herself.
She lay on the cold, jade bed. The material, named "Ice Soul Jade," seemed to constantly emanate a strange power, not only freezing her body but also seemingly eroding her soul, bringing a slow and continuous sense of weakness and detachment. System 088's warning was not unfounded. If she remained trapped here for too long, even without Qingxu Immortal Lord's intervention, she would likely be "cleansed" to the point of her soul's complete annihilation, just as he wished.
We can't just sit here and wait to die!
Su Nian forced herself to sit up and looked around. The furnishings in the hall were extremely simple. Apart from the huge jade bed beneath her, there was only a jade table of the same material and a few shelves holding ancient books and jade slips. Otherwise, there was nothing at all, not even a cup of water or a drop of food. Clearly, Immortal Lord Qingxu was determined to completely trap and obliterate her "inner demon" here.
The will to survive once again overwhelmed her fear and exhaustion. She had to find a way to survive, she had to find a way out.
First, she had to adapt to the basic rules of this body and this world. She tried to sit cross-legged, with her palms facing upwards, according to the fragments of memories belonging to "Yun Zhi" in her mind, attempting to guide the dense spiritual energy around her, which was almost like mist, into her body.
However, the process was extremely difficult. Although this body belonged to Yun Zhi and possessed exceptional talent for cultivation, her soul belonged to Su Nian, who was completely ignorant of cultivation, like a child who owned a top-of-the-line sports car but didn't know how to start it. Spiritual energy lingered outside her meridians, but was difficult to absorb effectively. To make matters worse, the cold air emanating from the Ice Soul Jade Bed seemed to interfere with and suppress spiritual energy, making her already clumsy process of drawing in spiritual energy even more difficult.
Several attempts ended in failure. Instead, the forced exertion of his internal energy caused his blood and qi to surge, resulting in a metallic taste in his throat.
Su Nian was panting, a fine layer of cold sweat beading on her forehead, not from exhaustion, but from a profound sense of powerlessness. In this world, there were no rules of modern society to exploit, no unconventional displays of affection to employ; what she faced was a stark disparity in power and the very laws of survival.
She turned her gaze to the jade slips and ancient books. Perhaps, they contained records about this cold jade bed, or about inner demons, or about the current state of the Immortal Lord Qingxu?
She struggled to get out of bed and walked unsteadily to the jade shelf. Her fingers touched the cold jade slip, and a faint stream of information tried to flow into her mind, but the content was obscure and difficult to understand, filled with professional cultivation terminology and mysterious patterns, which she could not comprehend in her current state.
Just as she was feeling at a loss, her fingertips inadvertently brushed against a dark blue jade slip that looked the most ancient and even had some broken edges.
In an instant, something unexpected happened!
The jade slip began to vibrate slightly, emitting a soft yet resolute blue halo that enveloped her fingers. At the same time, the Ice Soul Jade Bed beneath her seemed to resonate with it in some way; the chill that had been corroding her soul actually… weakened slightly? No, not weakened, but more like… became “milder”?
Su Nian's heart stirred, and she immediately concentrated her mind, trying to establish a deeper connection with this jade slip.
This time, what flooded my mind was no longer obscure and difficult information, but fragmented memories, vivid and evocative—
It wasn't Yun Zhi's memory, but rather... the original owner of this jade slip, containing secret techniques and insights on how to temper the soul and stabilize the mind using extreme environments (especially the power of extreme cold)! Among them was a method to deal with the power of the "Ice Soul Jade"!
This jade slip is actually a legacy left behind by a highly skilled senior in a similar dire situation?!
A miraculous escape!
Suppressing her excitement, Su Nian immediately sat down cross-legged again, following the instructions in the jade slip. She no longer tried to forcibly absorb the spiritual energy from the outside world, but instead guided the extremely cold energy emanating from the Ice Soul Jade, which was originally extremely destructive, to flow through specific meridians and acupoints in an extremely subtle and slow manner.
The process was still painful, like countless ice needles piercing the body, but this time, the pain carried a subtle sense of solidification after tempering. The eroding, soul-stripping sensation, though still present, seemed to have been differentiated by this active "guidance" and "utilization," no longer as irresistible as before.
She could feel that her compatibility with this body was slowly increasing, and she was also developing a slight resistance to the omnipresent cold.
This might be... the answer to the system's prompt: "Find a solution as soon as possible!"
Time lost its meaning in this cold cage. I don't know how much time passed—perhaps a day, perhaps several days.
Su Nian was completely immersed in the process of tempering her soul with the energy of the cold jade, forgetting her hunger, her thirst, and even temporarily forgetting the danger she was in. Like an iron blank thrown into ice and fire, she was struggling to forge her unfamiliar soul and body in extreme pain.
Just as she completed a small cycle of energy circulation, feeling her soul become slightly more solid and her tolerance to cold slightly improved, the heavy palace doors were once again pushed open without warning.
The figure of Immortal Lord Qingxu, still shrouded in a cold immortal light and a faint baleful aura, appeared silently in the hall.
His gaze immediately fell on Yun Zhi, who was sitting cross-legged on the cold jade bed. She was surrounded by a faint layer of cold air, yet her breathing was steady and even carried a strange sense of tranquility.
A fleeting look of utter astonishment and...deeper doubt flashed across his icy eyes!
According to his calculations, this "inner demon illusion," under the continuous erosion of the Ice Soul Jade Bed, should already be unstable in form, its soul light dimmed, and even beginning to wail and beg for mercy! Why...? Not only was she not weakened, but she seemed to have become even more "solid"? Moreover, why did the cold aura flowing around her carry signs of being "tamed" and "used"?
This is something no ordinary inner demon could do!
Su Nian noticed him the moment he entered. She immediately stopped practicing her internal energy, lowered her head and lowered her eyes, adopting a submissive posture, but her heart was pounding with anxiety. She didn't know if her change could hide it from him, nor did she know how he would react to it.
Is it a deeper sense of dread and a more intense killing intent? Or...?
Immortal Lord Qingxu approached step by step, his footsteps lighter than before, yet carrying an even heavier sense of oppression. He did not immediately lash out, but stopped three steps away from her. His eyes, which seemed to be able to see through the very essence of all things, sharply scrutinized her, as if trying to see right through her inside and out.
He suddenly reached out, not to attack, but to grab at the air!
Su Nian felt a tightness all over her body, as if she were bound by an invisible force. Then, the dark blue, ancient jade slip that she had just sensed flew out of the jade shelf and landed in his palm.
He held the jade slip in his hand, his divine sense sweeping over it, and his brows furrowed almost imperceptibly.
"Ice Soul Condensing Heart Technique..." he murmured the name of the secret technique in the jade slip, his tone icy with disbelief, "You actually managed to activate this inheritance jade slip left by my master?"
His master? Immortal Lord Qingxu's master? Wouldn't that be a top figure of the previous generation of Qingyun Sect? How could this jade slip have such an origin?
Su Nian was horrified and dared not utter a sound.
Immortal Lord Qingxu's gaze returned to her once more. The icy killing intent in his eyes had not diminished, but there was now a more complex, probing look, as if he had encountered a problem beyond his comprehension.
"Can inner demons... also inherit the legacy of their predecessors?" He seemed to be asking her, but also to himself, his voice filled with deep confusion and a hint of barely perceptible wavering.
He stared at her for a long time, so long that Su Nian almost thought he was about to make another move to completely purify her "abnormal" inner demon.
However, in the end, he did nothing.
He casually tossed the jade slip back onto the jade shelf, gave her a deep look, and his eyes seemed to say: Let's see what tricks you can pull.
Then, he turned around again and left in silence.
The palace doors were closed again.
Su Nian collapsed onto the cold jade bed, her back soaked with cold sweat. Just a moment ago, she truly thought she was going to die.
But... he seems to have let her go for now? Is it because of that jade slip? Or because of the "ability" she displayed that exceeded his expectations?
She wasn't sure. But she knew the crisis wasn't over, only temporarily delayed. Qingxu Immortal Lord's suspicions about her deepened.
She struggled to sit up, her gaze once again falling on the ancient, deep blue jade slip.
The Ice Soul Condensing Heart Technique... the legacy of Immortal Lord Qingxu...
This seemed to be the only straw she could grasp in her desperate situation, a possible breakthrough.
She must master this method as soon as possible, not only to resist the erosion of the Cold Jade Bed, but also to... find a way to figure out whether this method can have even the slightest effect on the deep-seated inner demons of Immortal Lord Qingxu.
After all, according to the description in the jade slip, this "Ice Soul Condensing Heart Technique" seems to have the effect of... purifying the mind and calming the soul, suppressing external demons when cultivated to a high level?
A bold, almost whimsical idea quietly took root in her mind.
She picked up the jade slip again and immersed herself in it.
This time, she wasn't just trying to save herself.
Just as she was completely absorbed in studying the jade slip, System 088, which had been dormant in her mind for a long time, suddenly emitted an extremely weak notification, as if it were a poor signal:
"Detected...host contact with...high-privilege...world origin information..."
"Database comparison... [Ice Soul Condensation Technique]... has a 17.8% potential correlation with the cause of the target [Immortal Lord Qingxu's] inner demons..."
"Insufficient information...unable to...continuously analyze..."
"It is recommended that...prioritize...enhancing...the host's...self-preservation capabilities..."
Potential connection?
Su Nian's heart skipped a beat!
The story's suspense takes a new turn at this moment—the female protagonist unexpectedly obtains a crucial inheritance that may be related to the male protagonist's inner demons. Could this become the key to breaking the deadlock for her? The male protagonist's attitude undergoes a subtle change due to this unexpected event. Is this change a blessing or a curse? Everything awaits to be revealed in the next chapter.
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