Chapter 41 Testing the Flag
Jiao Xing had calculated the time well in advance. Seeing that it was getting dark, he knew that if Luo Xuanyi hadn't chosen Taoist Hua Shen after looking through the items one by one, he would definitely send someone to find him. Perhaps he could even save a fortune. Sensing Luo Xuanyi and Fang Caiqi's return, he didn't get annoyed. Instead, he quietly took out the artifacts and carefully examined them. He discovered that Luo Xuanyi had chosen the Wind-Chasing Golden Fire, the Ink-Splashed Jade Bamboo Flag, and the Bluestone Shade. Most of the disciples didn't know how to use these items, especially the Ink-Splashed Jade Bamboo Flag. Jiao Xing was worried that Luo Xuanyi would find them unusable and cause trouble.
After much deliberation, Jiao Xing decided to keep the matter secret, believing less trouble was better than more. He said to Luo Xuanyi, "Junior Sister Luo, please forgive me. I've already sent over twelve people to fetch the classics and other items, but the Soul-Locking Curse hasn't arrived yet. I've urged them several times. The people at the Guiqi Pavilion said they need True Lord Beilian's approval first before they can send someone over."
Jiao Xing was secretly trying to shift the blame, but Luo Xuanyi wasn't angry. As long as she could get it, she would earn money. She still said politely, "Xuanyi is asking too much, sorry to bother you, deacon."
"This is Xing's responsibility, so there's no need to be so polite, Junior Sister." Jiao Xing agreed on behalf of Guiqi Pavilion without hesitation, "Then Xing will have Guiqi Pavilion deliver the items directly to Ruoyu Peak."
Both of them were very satisfied. Luo Xuanyi put the thick stack of freshly dusted ancient books into her storage bag and said goodbye happily. Luo Xuanyi also thanked Fang Caiqi and couldn't wait to leave Feiyan Pavilion and return to her own villa at the foot of Ruoyu Peak.
Unable to test the Chasing Wind and Golden Fire due to Ruoyu Peak's no-fly restrictions, Luo Xuanyi eagerly took out the Ink-Splashed Jade Bamboo Flag and mastered its feel. After some experimentation, she settled on a length of four feet. Feeling somewhat dissatisfied, she felt it was still too short, but since she wasn't cultivating through normal means, she couldn't grow any taller. As the Ink-Splashed Jade Bamboo Flag was waved, the canvas practically melted into thin air, leaving only the murderous landscape and battlefield depicted on it.
Luo Xuanyi attempted to channel the accumulated medicinal fluid within her body into poisonous spiritual energy, infusing it into the ink-splashed jade bamboo flag. The image instantly melted, as if a vicious beast materialized, poised to pounce, its murderous intent completely subsided. Luo Xuanyi swung the flag, shouting and screaming, as countless ink dots engulfed the entire courtyard, stopping only when a flash of light flashed from the Zhaojian Palace. The poisonous spiritual energy recklessly sapped the undamaged flowers and plants, even the very life of the earth. Starting with Luo Xuanyi, most of the courtyard at the foot of the mountain was instantly reduced to scorched earth.
The unexpected strength frightened Luo Xuanyi so much that she quickly put away the Ink-Splashed Jade Bamboo Flag, not wanting to try again. But now she had a good idea of her hand: wide range, long distance, poison gas, and then her own consumption. The essence of the medicinal pill in Luo Xuanyi's body continued to mobilize her spiritual energy. Any spiritual energy that Luo Xuanyi came into contact with was automatically absorbed into her body, replenishing the previous consumption in less than a breath.
The only thing she hadn't explored was the ability to feed on blood, leaving Luo Xuanyi feeling unusually hesitant. Testing it out would be simple: just have Chen Rong bring someone, or she could bring someone herself. Born a material worker, raised as one, and then becoming a medicine boy at Ruoyu Peak, she shouldn't have much experience with the idea of using materials. But her hesitation stemmed from her own experience as a medicine boy, having experienced this pain herself. It was faint, but perhaps the books she'd read had a subtle tingling effect on her.
Just like she always comforted herself that being a medicine boy allowed her to get so many benefits in a short period of time, underneath the indifference of calculating gains and losses, she was just a child of thirteen or fourteen years old. In fact, deep down she hated and despised everything and wanted to escape, but she had to face reality again and again.
But this wasn't enough to stop her. This was a perfectly normal occurrence. She calmed the strange fluctuations within her heart and decided to test it. The moment Chen Rong discovered the destruction of the Shanxia Villa, she was about to launch a stranglehold, but she discovered that the Zhaojian Palace had stopped the formation from activating. This meant that the one who destroyed the Shanxia Villa wasn't an enemy, but rather one of the few individuals qualified to enter the Zhaojian Palace.
Chen Rong hurried over to find Luo Xuanyi standing in the scorched earth, lost in thought. Looking around, he saw the once intricately constructed buildings nearly half-destroyed, and the carefully tended spiritual herbs withered and collapsed, turning to ash at the slightest touch. His heart ached, yet he managed to smile as he congratulated Luo Xuanyi, "I didn't realize you were practicing here. I'm sorry to bother you. Congratulations on your tremendous increase in strength."
Chen Rong's insincerity was not as good as Jiao Xing's, but Luo Xuanyi was too lazy to tell whether she was sincere or not. During the time when Chen Rong was here, Taoist Hua Shen had clearly used Zhaojian Palace to sense everything that happened on the mountain, but he still did not send a voice message to reprimand or even pass on a message. It can be seen that this matter was not a big deal in Taoist Hua Shen's eyes, so she could rest assured.
Luo Xuanyi rubbed the ribs of the Ink-Splashed Jade Bamboo Flag, which she had retracted to her waist, with her thumb. The cold, unbending sensation spread from her thumb to her palm. She took a deep breath.
"Brother Chen Rong, you've come at the right time. Please bring two... materials here. I need them for something." She carefully considered her words and used the word "materials" to remind herself that those people were all waste materials, and also to remind herself of her own identity.
She is essentially a material. If she is useless, she will be consumed ruthlessly and heartlessly by others. This is such a place.
Chen Rong complied as a matter of course. He sent a message to Li Li, who remained at Danxin Pavilion guarding the formation, asking him to deliver two ingredients. He then immediately turned and said goodbye. He didn't want to be killed because Luo Xuanyi was eager to use people for experiments. If he were killed, no one would avenge him. His life was more important. He was even less concerned about Luo Xuanyi's request. These people were born to be used as ingredients. Failure to use them, like Su Yang, would only result in slow progress in alchemy, as it was difficult to quickly distinguish the different medicinal properties. Su Yang was an anomaly in the Zang Yao Sect. If it weren't for his naturally toxic body that made him so valued by Taoist Hua Shen, he would have long been secretly strangled by a group of disciples who looked down on his cowardice.
Chen Rong left quickly, and Li Li was even quicker in sending them off. He swiftly and carelessly walked across the scorched earth, handing the two men he'd dragged along with the Immortal Binding Rope to Luo Xuanyi before quickly exiting the scene, his energy and efficiency sharp.
Luo Xuanyi looked at the two people being dragged along, trying not to notice their terrified faces, instead focusing on her own experiment. She took out the ink-splashed jade bamboo flag again, and the flag fluttered in the wind, faintly revealing a few more strokes in the painting.
The reason she needed two people was because Luo Xuanyi wanted to test whether spiritual energy was needed to transform blood into something more. She raised a flag, the top of which was a scorpion tail, fused and embedded into its body. The feathers were slender and beautiful, a faint purple, and the pure white scorpion tail was hidden beneath them. Luo Xuanyi first injected a small amount of spiritual energy into the body of a person on the ground.
The young man's body instantly buckled and twisted, the poisonous spiritual energy transforming his innate strength into liquid that flowed out of his mouth and nose. As soon as he let out a painful "ho ho" sound, his body instantly disintegrated into ash, without a drop of blood, as all of it was absorbed into the scorpion's tail and absorbed into the flag. The blood was converted into spiritual energy, which exactly replenished the spiritual energy consumed by Luo Xuanyi.
Seeing the person she had just been dragged to her side vanish without a trace in the blink of an eye, the other girl frantically used her remaining cultivation to break free from the binding rope. However, before she could break free, the scorpion's tail had already pierced her body. Her pain was not caused by the poison gas injected into her, but by the scorpion's tail draining her blood. Her fragile body struggled a few times before suddenly breaking apart and shattering on the ground.
Even without the infusion of spiritual energy, the blood drawn from it could still be converted into spiritual power and fed back to Luo Xuanyi. Even without spiritual power or in special circumstances, Luo Xuanyi was still capable of fighting. Finally understanding the power of the Ink-Splashed Jade Bamboo Flag, Luo Xuanyi sheathed it at her waist and turned to walk up the mountain to Zhaojian Palace. Before leaving, she paused, but she still stepped on the dust of ash.
Just as she had realized in the cabin, Luo Xuanyi did feel that she had taken another step towards the abyss, and began to feel indifferent.
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