Soul-Separating Powder from a Thousand Years Ago
An unfamiliar scene appeared before her, and there was no one around. Wen Zheng rubbed her swollen eyes and red cheeks.
Wen Zheng could feel that she was dreaming, having an incredibly real dream. When she woke up from her desk, her back ached, and the feeling was different from the previous times.
She stood up, intending to go out and take a look, when she heard the rattling of chains beneath her feet. She looked down and saw that her feet were bound with shackles, and the chains extended to the edge of the bed, clearly indicating that someone didn't want her to go too far.
Based on her previous experiences, Wen Zheng guessed that this dream was similar to the previous ones, all about her past dreams, giving her some hints in the present.
What should my past self tell her this time?
Wen Zheng gradually relinquished control of her body, allowing herself to detach from it and view her next task as a wandering spirit.
Having just escaped her body, the former her skillfully removed the shackles, climbed out of the window, and moved as lightly as a bird escaping its cage, leaving no sound.
Wen Zheng looked at her past self, who was skilled in using spiritual power, and wondered what stage her cultivation had reached before.
It can't be lower than it is now, whether it's Nascent Soul or Void Refinement.
Wen Zheng followed her past self at a leisurely pace, pondering the level of her cultivation.
In the past, Wen Zheng moved swiftly through the various palaces, making no sound as she rose and fell, like a nimble cat.
Wen Zheng followed her past self through numerous palaces and arrived at the grand hall she had seen in her dream. Nightmarish memories flooded Wen Zheng's mind, and she stopped.
Shall we go in?
The dark-faced man she had seen last time seemed to be in this palace. His features were indistinct, and strange red flowers were embroidered on his feet. She wanted to see him, but the fear deep inside her prevented her from moving.
Wen Zheng stood there stunned, her eyes filled with conflict. After pondering for a long time, just as she was about to take the first step, her past self bypassed the palace and ran out through a small door on the side.
Without a second thought, Wen Zheng immediately followed. She ran all the way down the side gate, panting heavily but daring not to stop, glancing back every now and then, as if worried someone would see her.
Her nervous attitude made Wen Zheng look back from time to time. Before she knew it, she followed her to an abandoned well. The weeds by the well were dry and yellow, and crumbled into dust when rubbed.
The past version of herself plunged headfirst into the well. Wen Zheng was so shocked that she leaned over the wellhead and looked down. The past version of herself looked up, and their eyes met for a moment. Wen Zheng felt a chill run down her spine for no reason. She wanted to leave the well to calm down, but found that she couldn't move.
She lay sprawled on the edge of the well in a strange posture, staring at the person inside. She took a brown bead from her sleeve and inserted it into a crack in the well, then looked up at her and said, "Remember to come back for it."
The soft murmur was like a heavy hammer blow that woke Wen Zheng. She suddenly raised her head and stared blankly ahead.
Mu Qing's outstretched hand froze in mid-air. He stared at Wen Zheng in astonishment for a while before asking, "Did I wake you up?"
He had just arrived and saw Wen Zheng fast asleep, so he took out his cloak to put it on her. But Wen suddenly woke up, breathing rapidly, as if she had been frightened.
Wen Zheng looked up at him upon hearing the sound, and shook her head: "I had a nightmare."
This dream felt so real, as if she knew she would dream about it in the past, it was chilling.
However, this dream allowed her to see things she had never seen before, and it also made her more certain that the scenes in her dream were very likely the Thousand Saints Palace.
She used to live in Qian Sheng Palace, dependent on others and without freedom. So how did she escape?
Mu Qing draped the cloak over Wen Zheng and, seeing her lost in thought, said, "You look terrible. Go back to sleep."
He should have come back sooner to be with Wen Zheng; leaving her alone here inevitably makes her feel scared.
Wen Zheng shook her head: "No need." She slowly sat up straight, and the thing in her arms rolled to the ground. She glanced at it and saw that it was the mirror that Mu Qing had given her for safekeeping.
She quickly picked up the mirror and handed it to Mu Qing, wiping the dust off it as she did so: "You told me to hold this, now I'm giving it back to you."
The mirror was already shattered beyond recognition, with tiny fragments of mirror scattered throughout the cracks, which could easily cause scratches.
"Be careful not to cut your hand," Wen Zheng reminded her.
Mu Qing paused as he took the mirror, then nodded and said, "I understand." He put the mirror away and continued, "The Immortal Sect will handle the matter of the Longevity Sect. We can leave when it's dawn."
This matter has little to do with them; they are at most the ones who started it. The subsequent handling and the resettlement of the disciples will need to be arranged by the immortal sect.
Wen Zheng yawned and said, "Okay." Only after saying that did she realize that the sky was faintly turning white, and it was about to get light.
She stared blankly at the sky for a while, then suddenly asked, "Where's Shi Xin?"
She then remembered that Shi Xin was one of the people who did bad things with Xu Ximing. She hadn't seen him all night and had almost forgotten about him.
“He’s dead.” Mu Qing said calmly, and sat down next to Wen Zheng. “When I came back, I saw him lying on the roadside. The sword stuck in his body had the mark of the Changsheng Sect.”
It looks like he was silenced by Xu Ximing.
Wen Zheng shook her head and clicked her tongue after listening. This dog-eat-dog situation was really ugly. She wondered who was behind it all, as their subordinates all had their own agendas.
After sighing, she closed her eyes and slept for a while until the cloak she was wearing was warm from the sun. When she woke up, there were many more people around her wearing the robes of disciples from other sects. They must have been called over to help.
"Awake?" Mu Qing's eyes were fixed on the book in her hand, but her consciousness was focused on Wen Zheng, so she could detect her wake-up immediately.
"Hmm, shall we go now?" Wen Zheng rubbed her sleepy eyes, stretched, folded the cloak, and returned it.
Mu Qing took the cloak and put it away, nodding and saying, "When you were asleep, people from Medicine Immortal Valley and Qingchen Sect came to invite us to go to Thousand Saints Palace together, and I accepted."
He initially only accepted the invitation from the Medicine Immortal Valley, thinking he would ask them to check on Wen Zheng's health on the way. Although her meridians had been repaired and her cultivation speed had increased significantly, her foundation had been damaged and she had lost her sword bone, so it was hard to guarantee that she wouldn't develop any chronic illnesses.
He was chatting with the elders of Yaoxian Valley when the Qingchen Sect elders, who had come looking for him, overheard him. The elders suggested that he join them, and he couldn't refuse, so he had no choice but to agree.
Mentioning Medicine Immortal Valley, Wen Zheng thought of Ming Xin and asked, "Are the disciples of Medicine Immortal Valley traveling with us? Is Ming Xin among them?"
Seeing Mu Qing nod, Wen Zheng said, "I happen to have something I wanted to ask her."
"You want to ask about the Soul-Separating Powder?" Mu Qing reacted quickly.
“Yes, I’m very curious…” Wen Zheng stopped mid-sentence, vaguely sensing that this might be some kind of opportunity, a reminder to her.
Mu Qing gazed at Wen Zheng for a long time, then sighed deeply and said, "I will find a way to get the elders who came along to leave. Ask me anything you want to ask as soon as possible."
He couldn't understand Wen Zheng's inner thoughts, so he could only help her in his own way.
"Thank you," Wen Zheng murmured.
Mu Qing was busy getting up and packing her things, seemingly not hearing what Wen Zheng said.
Two hours later.
The group traveled on the spirit ship towards the Thousand Saints Palace. This spirit ship was much larger, and its spiritual energy was consumed very quickly, unlike the small boat that Mu Qing and Wen Zheng had taken to the demon realm. The elder who was piloting the spirit ship rarely made it travel at high speeds; most of the time, it relied on the wind to propel it forward.
There weren't many disciples on the spirit ship. Most of them had just come out of the Longevity Gate and rushed to the Thousand Saints Palace. Their bodies hadn't recovered yet, so they all gathered together to rest.
Wen Zheng chose a good spot to sit and rest. Not far in front of her sat Ming Xin, who was being treated, and her master was helping her to regulate her meridians.
After waiting for a while, Wen Zheng saw Mingxin's master being called away, so she naturally sat down next to Mingxin and greeted him, "How is your injury?"
Upon seeing familiar faces, Mingxin relaxed his guard and replied with a smile, "I'm much better, but I still need to recuperate for a few more days."
"That's good." After saying that, Wen Zheng casually asked, "Has the soul-separating force in your body been dispelled?"
Mingxin coughed twice, clutching his chest, and nodded between coughs: "Master has given me the antidote, I feel much better."
Wen Zheng's eyes flickered, and she smiled and said, "That's good. Speaking of which, I've never seen such a strange poison as Soul Separation Powder before."
In the cultivation world, the poisons concocted by alchemists are either extremely potent or harmless pranks; I've never seen a drug as powerful as the Soul Separation Powder.
It renders people unable to move, stripping them of all spiritual power, making them like puppets.
“I’ve read about it in medical books. The Soul-Separating Powder was a poison made by alchemists a thousand years ago to counteract evil spirits. Later, the Jianmu tree collapsed, the cultivation world was in chaos, and the prescription was lost.” As Mingxin spoke, his voice gradually softened, and his brows furrowed so deeply they could form a knot.
She also realized the seriousness of the problem. A poison that had been lost for thousands of years had suddenly appeared. Who was so powerful as to come up with such a prescription?
"If the prescription for the poison was lost, why did the antidote survive?" Wen Zheng asked. If the prescription for the poison was lost, shouldn't the antidote also disappear along with it?
“Oh right!” Mingxin looked enlightened and then said, “However, this prescription was not kept by the Medicine Immortal Valley. It was sent by the people of the Thousand Saints Palace to my master to make. They said that a disciple had been poisoned by the Soul Separation Powder.”
"The person behind this is really bold, daring to even target people from the Thousand Saints Palace."
Mingxin was talking to himself, while Wenzheng listened from the side, nodding in agreement from time to time, her face showing approval, while a voice inside her murmured.
Does anyone at Qian Sheng Palace really suffer from the Soul-Separating Powder?
Her earlier guess may have come true; the Thousand Saints Palace is the mastermind behind it all, having been searching the cultivation world for disciples with exceptional talent and sword bones for years.
But what is the purpose of Qian Sheng Palace doing this?
Wen Zheng couldn't understand it. All the clues were like a tangled mess in her mind, and she couldn't find a way to sort them out.
Perhaps she will understand after she goes to the Thousand Saints Palace.
Wen Zheng put aside her thoughts and started chatting with Ming Xin about other things.
Inside the Gate of Immortality.
The people of the Immortal Sect arrested all the disciples of the Longevity Sect, and will give the Immortal Sect an explanation after the trial.
After being looted by disciples from various sects, the once glorious Changsheng Sect was now deserted. A chilling wind emanated from the magnificent palace, causing the gauze curtains to sway gently.
Boots embroidered with red flowers stepped out of the mirror, one foot landing on the shattered mirror on the ground. The sound of the mirror breaking made the person pause and click their tongue in dissatisfaction.
"Xu Ximing is a complete waste. It wasn't enough that he crippled Li Ruyue, he even destroyed the Changsheng Sect."
All his years of hard work have been wasted today. If Xu Ximing were still alive, he would definitely skin him alive.
The newcomer picked up a perfectly intact mirror from the ground, brushed off the dust, and whispered, "Let me see who ruined my plans."
The mirror surface rippled gently like water, revealing Wen Zheng's face.
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