The heavy crossbow arrowhead, still embedded in the door plank, trembled violently, its tail feathers emitting a dense, piercing hum. The golden talismans flowing upon the arrow shaft acted like chains, attempting to lock down the intertwining aura of ambiguity and coldness that filled the air; the golden light collided with the darkness of the room, producing a faint, sizzling sound.
"It seems there is no such thing as tranquility on this island. That 'Block of Wood' wanted to find a stable dwelling for you, but I am afraid he will be disappointed."
Cang Yaochen stared at the arrow, the peach-pink hue in the depths of his eyes yet to fade; instead, because his pleasure had been interrupted, a violent shadow of rage ignited within his pupils. He tilted his face slightly; upon that exquisite countenance, fair as cold jade, hung a strange, seductive flush from the previous aggressive enticement. His breathing remained somewhat hurried, his moon-white inner garment half-draped over his shoulder, revealing a large area of cold-white skin; the red marks upon it appeared all the more bewitching under the reflection of the golden light.
Jiang Li pushed him away abruptly, panting heavily, her chest heaving. She was stricken with lingering fear, cold sweat sliding down from her temples and drenching the stray hairs on her forehead. "Was this arrow aimed at you, or at me?"
"It does not matter who it was aimed at." Cang Yaochen approached again. He stepped barefoot onto the icy wooden floor; with every step he took, the blood-stained hem of his garment swayed. He raised his hand, his long fingers flirtatiously brushing past Jiang Li's disheveled hair, his movements as gentle as if he were handling a rare piece of porcelain, yet his voice was low and deep like a lover's whisper in the ear: "What matters is that this arrow is only the beginning. If it had hit you just now, that bit of Turbid Qi you so painstakingly gathered would have been instantly purified. By then, there would be no need for that 'Block of Wood' to consume his strength to purify you."
The "Block of Wood" he spoke of was clearly the rigid and compassionate True Buddha personality.
Meanwhile, inside the secret chamber of the main peak of the Xuan Ying Sect, cold incense lingered, yet the atmosphere was oppressively suffocating.
A massive water mirror suspended in mid-air reflected the messy and bizarre scene inside the bamboo house.
"This... this is outrageous! It is simply a disgrace to the sect!" The Second Elder stood up abruptly, his originally celestial-looking long beard trembling violently. He pointed at the disheveled Cang Yaochen in the water mirror, his elderly face flushing crimson with rage. "The God-Buddha of the prophecy—how could someone so noble and sacred behave so dissolutely? That woman clearly carries Turbid Qi; she is a sinner, a remnant! How can he be so entangled with her? This is unacceptable!"
On the main seat, the Great Elder's face was as pale as paper, his withered fingertips tightly gripping the agarwood armrest, his joints emitting a faint cracking sound from the excess force. He stared fixedly at the crossbow arrow pinned to the door, a flash of unmaskable, lingering fear crossing his eyes.
"That arrow... I was the one who shot it." The Great Elder's voice flickered, carrying a trace of imperceptible regret. "I originally only wanted to test if his cultivation was truly as terrifying as the rumors suggest, to force him to reveal his true origin. But look at his eyes..." The Great Elder swallowed hard, his voice dropping low. "Is that a Buddha? That is a demon! A monster! When that kind of gaze stared at me through the water mirror, it made me feel as if he would crawl out of the mirror at any moment and slaughter all of us old bones."
"More important is that woman." The Third Elder pointed at Jiang Li in the water mirror, his eyes as sinister as a venomous snake in the shadows. "Look at the black astral wind surrounding her; that is pure Turbid Qi. She must be a demoness! If Cang Yaochen is truly a God-Buddha, then why does he not kill her? Instead, he protects her. There is definitely something strange going on. Perhaps he has already been bewitched by this demoness, or perhaps... he is a total fraud!"
Inside the bamboo house, Cang Yaochen seemed to sense the distant prying; he directed a cruel and cold smile toward the empty air.
"Li'er." He suddenly retracted his smile, exhaling a breath of scorching air by Jiang Li's ear. "The following lesson will be a bit painful. Bear with it."
Before his voice had even faded, he turned around violently, his right hand shooting out like lightning, unexpectedly grasping the heavy crossbow arrowhead still carrying the golden light of demon-breaking without any fear!
"What are you doing?" Jiang Li cried out.
Squelch—
It was the sound of a sharp blade sinking into flesh, accompanied by a low, hair-raising laugh from Cang Yaochen. He forcefully pulled the bolt out from the door plank, then without a moment's hesitation, he swung his hand back, and the sharp arrowhead sliced through the air, stabbing fiercely into his own left shoulder!
Pshhh! Blood erupted instantly, the warm and metallic-smelling liquid splashing onto Jiang Li's startled, pale face.
[System Prompt: Pain Symbiosis forcibly activated! Eros-God synchronization rate: 95%. Damage sustained by the host is doubled and synchronized to the target.]
"Ah!!!"
Jiang Li let out a shrill scream, her entire body collapsing limply to the floor. The sensation was extremely bizarre and terrifying—clearly, the arrow was stuck in Cang Yaochen's body, yet her own left shoulder felt as if it were being pierced through by a red-hot iron. She could even feel the arrowhead mangling her flesh and the dull thud of it striking bone. The golden talismans burned frantically at the wound; the intense pain of that purification power made her soul tremble violently.
"Do you feel it?" Cang Yaochen knelt before her unsteadily, trembling all over, yet laughing with a wicked vitality. His blood-stained fingers forcibly gripped Jiang Li's lower jaw, forcing her to look directly into those eyes overflowing with manic red light. "This is the first lesson I want to teach you: do not resist pain. Pain is the fuse of power, the sacrifice for awakening."
He leaned in extremely close, the scent of peach blossoms mixed with the smell of blood, nearly drowning Jiang Li. "Now, do not control that Turbid Qi. Relax, let it follow your pain and gather at your fingertips! Hurry!"
Outside the window, three figures arrived through the air; they were inner elite disciples sent by the elders to scout the situation, the long swords in their hands glinting with a frigid light.
"Li'er, kill them." Cang Yaochen was behind Jiang Li, his chest pressed tightly against her back, his right hand holding her trembling fingers as if performing a magnificent Shura dance of slaughter.
Jiang Li's eyes were instantly filled with black fog as thick as ink; the originally flame-red Sand of Desire mark now appeared a deep, abyssal black. Under the violent guidance of Cang Yaochen's demonic divine sense, the Turbid Qi within her body began to collapse, condense, and solidify frantically.
The originally lingering black smoke solidified between her fingers, and accompanied by a piercing cracking sound, it unexpectedly manifested into a long sword, pitch black as ink, with a jagged black-flame edge.
"Die!!!"
Jiang Li let out a shriek that did not sound human, her figure flickering out like a ghost. That long sword formed of Turbid Qi brought forth a black setting sun, instantly shattering the incoming golden sword-light into pieces.
The elders in front of the water mirror were so startled they all fell back into their chairs.
"Manifesting a sword from Turbid Qi! That is a Demon Seed method unseen for ten thousand years!" The Great Elder knocked over his teacup in terror, the clear tea spilling all over the floor as he shook uncontrollably. "The prophecy was wrong... that monk is not some savior God-Buddha at all; he is using a divine body to nurture a demon! He is personally creating a monster that will destroy the world!"
Inside the bamboo house, the battle was already decided.
Jiang Li fell to her knees in the pool of blood, the black sword slowly dissipating. She was drenched in sweat; from the bone joints in her back came a piercing sound of friction as a pair of translucent, tattered wings burning with black flames erupted forth, fanning out a gust of cold wind, only to quickly vanish due to her physical exhaustion.
Cang Yaochen embraced her from behind, burying his face in the crook of her neck, breathing greedily in the aftermath of the slaughter.
"Well done... my little one." His voice became extremely weak. He bit her earlobe, his voice low as a mosquito's hum, yet carrying a coldness that controlled everything: "Those old fogies are terrified. Take advantage of this moment, take me away... to the Spirit Spring. Only there can I make you truly 'complete'. Do not refuse me, or else... you will die."
Jiang Li panted, looking at the flickering sense of prying from the dense forest outside the window, a flash of ruthlessness crossing her eyes. She gritted her teeth and propped up that "monster"—already nearly unconscious, heavy, and scorching. "Truly insane, absolutely insane."