Chapter 304: Chapter 27: Craving My Body
"Master—!"
Jiang Li extended his right hand forward, maintaining the posture of E’kang’s hand, and called out.
[······ Save me!]
The Karma Collection automatically completed the latter part of the sentence.
Unfortunately, even if that phrase had been exclaimed, there was no guarantee it would have worked.
The once-ruined mountains and lakes had disappeared, replaced by flourishing flora and lush scenery.
He had traveled from the Shooting Flood Dragon Platform on East Mountain to a dense forest, surrounded by towering trees reaching into the clouds, their branches thick with leaves, yet not obstructing the light from the sky, making the forest bright and clear.
This was truly against common sense.
Jiang Li looked up at the sky and realized that the light in the forest did not come from any particular source but was instead dispersed through the air like the air itself, which did not dazzle the eyes but always remained... or perhaps it should be said that a being’s vision, no matter how it looked, would not be affected by the light.
"Great defiance of common sense. Such a place cannot exist in this world, unless..."
Jiang Li murmured softly, "...we’ve shifted to a new realm, haven’t we?"
His words were as if he were talking to himself, yet also as if intended for someone else to hear. His voice, mild and soft, echoed through the forest. Invisible ripples appeared in the air, spreading to the surroundings, relaying everything to Jiang Li’s mind from all directions.
This included the silhouette of a certain person.
"Young Master Jiang has keen insight."
A clear and faint voice emerged, as melodious as mountain streams, penetrating the heart.
At the same time, a sharp aura tightly locked onto Jiang Li.
"It’s just a minor understanding of nature," Jiang Li placed his left hand behind his back, as if the sharp aura didn’t exist at all, his posture relaxed and at ease, "With my insight, I can only detect these clues. As for what realm this place truly is, I must rely on the Fairy to enlighten me."
This extremely sharp aura was none other than the purest golden energy, and that voice as beautiful as mountain streams belonged to Bu Yusheng from Kunxu Immortal Palace.
Jiang Li had just recently dueled with her and naturally would not forget that Qi mechanism.
"Oh?" Bu Yusheng’s voice echoed all around, "What makes you think I know this place?"
"Just because the Fairy covets my body," Jiang Li replied quite frankly.
"That night at Iron Pillar Temple, the Fairy dueled with me, not hesitating to use the lethal Qi Blade technique, breaking my True Qi Dragon Transformation, causing others to believe that my sharp energy was compromised and that I was at a disadvantage in battle. Logically speaking, this move was quite unfavorable for the Fairy."
Jiang Li’s body was still, but the wind constantly captured the direction of the other party. While he locked onto them, he slowly spoke, "If you could defeat me, then this Pure Yang Essence would be yours, which theoretically makes sense. However, if you could defeat me, why wait until that day rather than trying your hand when I first arrived?"
"Therefore, the Fairy must believe herself incapable of defeating me. But why then seek to compromise my sharp energy?"
It should be noted that this increased the chances of Jiang Li’s defeat and could lead to his death at the hands of Yuan Zhen.
If Jiang Li died because of this, not only would Bu Yusheng fail to obtain such a Ten-Complete Great Replenishing Pill, but she would also offend Dinghu Sect for nothing, having tarnished Jiang Li’s sharp energy.
Although Dinghu Sect and Kunxu Immortal Palace had a strained relationship, thanks to a certain infamous elder, there was still some connection between them, or else Kunxu Immortal Palace would not have come to participate in the Sword Discussion Conference hosted by Dinghu Sect.
There must have been some reason, some benefit that Bu Yusheng saw, that motivated her to act.
Before arriving here, Jiang Li could not fathom the reason, but now that he was here, he understood.
"The Dao Light that suddenly swept me here was something even my master could not stop, so is it reasonable to assume that if I were on the verge of defeat, this light could also take me away to avoid being killed by Yuan Zhen?"
Jiang Li analyzed, "Moreover, I would surely be grievously wounded by then, powerless to resist, leaving my Child Body at the mercy of others. By the same reasoning, if my sharp energy were compromised, even if I won, it would be a pyrrhic victory at best, with severe exhaustion likely. At that time, the Fairy could take it easy and simply take advantage of me."
This analysis was incisive, silencing the other party completely.
After a while, Bu Yusheng finally responded, her voice tinged with unmistakable irritation, "I never thought that the True Disciple of Dinghu Sect, the Direct Disciple of Elder Tianxuan, would turn out to be such a debauchee."
To talk flippantly of Pure Yang Essence, Child Body, and indulging... Even if Bu Yusheng indeed harbored such thoughts, Jiang Li’s tone was undeniably too crude and lewd.
Although the world today was different from Jiang Li’s ancient past life, the customs were still not as liberal as those of his former modern world. Even if women held the higher status in Kunxu Immortal Palace and the gender roles were fully reversed, there were still conservative aspects.
She truly lusted after Jiang Li’s body but was not a flower thief or a libertine; instead, she wanted to, as certain tribe customs would have it, knock the other party unconscious and carry him back to Kunxu Immortal Palace.
Later, Jiang Li would serve as her beast of burden, while she would feed him grass.
"This is truly an injustice. I don’t covet the Fairy’s body. How can I be called a debauchee when it’s clearly the Fairy who covets mine..."
Before he could finish, a fierce wind arose.
Dozens of Wind Blades cut through the air in perfect arcs, flying like swallow’s swooping home, targeting a beautiful figure behind a tree a hundred steps away.
Using his words to confound her, followed by an immediate and decisive strike, Jiang Li unleashed the Thunder Talisman with a movement of his palm. Dark Yin Thunder shot out like a venomous dragon, directly striking the great tree.
"Hiss—"
The Yin Thunder, though released later, struck first, carving a clear black mark on the tree trunk and exploding into a crisscrossed electric net behind the tree. The Wind Blades followed, attacking in concert with the electric net. Wind and Thunder complemented and generated each other, with the intricacies of creation and restriction interwoven within.
However—
"Fine Craftsmanship."
From behind the tree extended a hand, white as congealed fat, touching the lightning with seeming slowness yet actual swiftness. The life-snatching Yin Thunder was manipulated by the fingers, merging with the Wind Blade as if water pouring together with water, the two Qi Mechanisms collided, and Wind and Thunder simultaneously extinguished each other.
"You won against Yuan Zhen, albeit victoriously, yet your consumption was severe."
A bright silhouette flashed from behind the tree, with a gold-colored Flying Shuttle breaking through the air.
"Now, you’re tired."
The Flying Shuttle shone with a vast expanse of golden energy, revealing its sharp ferocity, like a sword or blade, striking directly at Jiang Li.
Jiang Li extended his palm, and the Mo Wu Sword spontaneously leaped into his hand, striking the Flying Shuttle dead center.
"Clang—"
First came the clash of metal, followed by sparks flying, Thunder and Lightning racing along the blade, causing the Mo Wu Sword to tremble fiercely, unleashing extreme lethal power, and the Flying Shuttle too, showed cracks as if it couldn’t withstand the power.
"You’re weary."
The lingering voice, like the hum of the wind, carried the finesse of a spring rain, coming with the wind, silently moisturizing the heart, stirring the soul, attempting to cause ripples in the lake of the heart.
"Bang!"
The Flying Shuttle burst open, like a red flower blooming, countless Golden Needles shot towards Jiang Li, clashing with one another, golden energy intertwining, bursting forth with the vigor of Thunder Fire, forming a Red Cloud cover.
The Red Cloud Scattering Flower Needle!
Jiang Li was enveloped by the Red Cloud, with Golden Needles piercing through, constantly colliding, incessantly shooting through the air.
"You’re powerless."
A rainbow-like light shadow flashed by, the brilliant figure suddenly appeared, with gold-plated long sleeves thrown out, slashing through the air like a rainbow, sharp as knives and swords, entering into the Red Cloud. With its flexibility and rigidity, it possessed the power of softness and hardness combined, vibrating the Mo Wu Sword with immense force and winding towards Jiang Li.
She had succeeded.
Bu Yusheng looked towards the silhouette in the Red Cloud with the corners of her mouth curving up into a faint smile.
Just at that moment, Jiang Li had already lifted his head, his gaze as if able to pierce through the Red Cloud and Golden Needles, seeing Bu Yusheng’s presence, with intricate patterns emerging in his eyes, three phases rotating, indescribably exquisite.
"What makes you think I’ve exerted my full strength?"
"Boom boom boom boom—"
The Thunder Talisman appeared on his body, Thunder and Fire bursting out like a volcanic eruption, the Red Cloud shattered, rolling towards all sides, countless Golden Needles shot out, penetrating trees, and lodging into the ground and rocks.
Not using full strength?
Yes, not using full strength!
Not to mention the Demon Cleansing True Qi, the Great Circle Sword, and the Dao Fruit Abilities related to Sword Cultivators had not been used yet, even the Innate Qi within Jiang Li’s many Qi Seas had not been fully employed.
Apart from the Lower Dantian Qi Sea that accommodated Demon Cleansing True Qi, Jiang Li had four more Qi Seas to use, and in the battle against Yuan Zhen, he had only used three Qi Seas.
The technique that gathered wind and clouds, drawing upon Water, Fire, Thunder, and Lightning was indeed powerful. However, more than half of that power was derived from the natural world, not from Jiang Li himself. He was essentially leveraging the force of the natural world with his own strength, not exerting it on behalf of the natural world.
Right now, in this moment, when Bu Yusheng thought she could take down Jiang Li, Jiang Li suddenly exhibited his true strength. He unleashed the movement of Innate Wind Qi with Thunder and Fire, though hastily done and not as fierce as when he countered Yuan Zhen, it was sufficient to greatly astonish Bu Yusheng.
"Boom!"
The Thunder and Fire exploded, scattering the golden energy, the cloud sleeve rolled back, Jiang Li’s left palm controlled the Wind moving the Thunder and Fire, domineeringly unmatched, while his right hand with the Mo Wu Sword slashed through with a scorching trail, cleaving directly toward that beautiful body without a shred of mercy!
Even though Bu Yusheng was merely coveting Jiang Li’s body and had no intention of taking his life, Jiang Li knew that in order for Bu Yusheng to achieve this step, she must have joined forces with the Fourth Prince.
Thus, to wound her severely, to capture her, to interrogate her.
It must be the Fourth Prince who was the true architect behind all of this, and Jiang Li was curious to see what kind of scheme this prince was concocting.
The unprepared Bu Yusheng was struck by the Thunder Fire, blown back and nearly sent flying backward, the Thunder Fire ready to envelop her. Unexpectedly, the gold-plated attire on Bu Yusheng vibrated, and the Thunder Fire, like water, was cleansed away.
The Seamless Heavenly Clothes!
Kunxu Immortal Palace’s most representative item, the Seamless Heavenly Clothes were comparable in value to a Fourth Grade Magical Artifact, its defensive power perhaps even surpassing them. Moreover, when in the hands of a True Disciple of the Kunxu Immortal Palace, this Seamless Heavenly Robe could display various wonderful uses.
And the Heavenly Clothes on Bu Yusheng were among the finest of these.
She was a rich lady no less worthy than her elder sister.
The Heavenly Clothing Swinging Thunder Fire followed at once, Bu Yusheng’s cloud sleeves rolled out, wrapping around the sword tip, the High-frequency Sword unable to cut through the soft long sleeves in the slightest.
"Hmm?"
Jiang Li frowned, and at once, the Mo Wu Sword broke down into parts, returning to his hand, transforming into Arm Armor. His palm grew scales as he pushed forth with a palm strike.