Total Perception Ends

In the main hall, Lin Longyue waited with a furrowed brow.

That vermilion gate had been closed for a long while. Some spoke in low voices, others lowered their eyes over tea, but she alone sat upright in her chair, her gaze fixed on the side door of the hall without shifting in the slightest.

Chu Linzi reclined in the chair opposite her, idly playing with an unsheathed dagger. It flipped between her fingers like a butterfly. Every so often, she glanced at Lin Longyue, yet said nothing.

Yunhe Commandery and Yang Zhuri also occasionally looked toward the vermilion gate.

Just then, footsteps sounded from the side corridor of the hall.

They were neither hurried nor slow, one heavy and one light.

Before long, the old eunuch emerged from the corridor, with someone following behind him.

Chen Lingxi.

A little dust clung to his clothes, but he did not look disheveled. His hands hung at his sides as he followed behind the old eunuch, his steps steady and his expression unchanged.

The hall abruptly fell silent.

Everyone was looking at him.

Lin Longyue's brow relaxed, though a trace of confusion flickered in her eyes.

The old eunuch walked to the center of the hall without offering any explanation. He merely bowed slightly in Lin Longyue's direction. "Miss Lin, His Highness the Crown Prince commands that this servant return with you."

Having said this, he did not wait for Lin Longyue's reply. He retreated to the side of the curtains, lowered his head, and stood with his hands hanging at his sides.

Return with her?

Lin Longyue's pupils contracted slightly.

Just as she was about to ask something, she saw that the old eunuch had already closed his eyes. Like a clay statue or wooden carving, he made it plain that he would not utter another word.

She took a deep breath, swallowed the words rising to her throat, rose to her feet, and bowed toward the eastern hall. "Longyue takes her leave."

As she turned, her gaze swept over Chen Lingxi.

Chen Lingxi lowered his head and followed behind her.

Yunhe Commandery, Chu Linzi, and Yang Zhuri all wore different expressions, yet surprise flashed through every one of their eyes.

"This beast fighter... actually received the Crown Prince's pardon?" Though Yang Zhuri did not understand, the curiosity in his eyes steadily deepened.

Chen Lingxi walked with his head lowered, receiving each of those gazes without showing anything on his face.

After leaving the main hall and passing through several courtyards, they arrived at the entrance of the palace.

Without slowing, Lin Longyue walked straight toward the green-curtained carriage waiting there.

Liu Que had already lifted the carriage curtain and was waiting. Seeing her approach, he was about to speak, but a single look from her pressed his words back down.

"Chen Lingxi." Lin Longyue suddenly stopped and glanced sideways at him. "Ride with me."

Her tone was calm, but brooked no doubt.

Chen Lingxi answered affirmatively and followed her into the carriage.

The curtain fell, shutting out the daylight beyond.

Aloeswood incense burned within the carriage, its smoke curling upward.

The carriage slowly began to move, its wheels crunching over the gravel road with a soft rustle.

Lin Longyue spoke. "Was what you said in the hall true? Was Qiu Chihu truly swallowed by some strange purple light from a treasure vase?"

Chen Lingxi lowered his head and answered yes.

Lin Longyue frowned in thought.

The carriage remained silent for a long time.

Only the soft rasp of wheels over gravel and the occasional snort of the horses drifted in through the carriage curtains.

The aloeswood smoke slowly swirled between them, gathering without dispersing.

After a long while, Lin Longyue suddenly smiled. "You have secrets. Someone like the Crown Prince summoned you, yet let you return to the residence so easily... that is anything but ordinary."

Chen Lingxi kept his head lowered and remained silent.

"Secrets are no matter." Lin Longyue's face returned to calm. "As long as you serve me, even if you have a few secrets, I will turn a blind eye."

"And besides... you rendered merit in the beast fight, so naturally I will reward you. From now on, in my West Courtyard, you are no longer a slave!"

Chen Lingxi feigned excitement and offered his thanks, though inwardly he was somewhat surprised.

Lin Longyue seemed to have realized something. Was this... a gesture of goodwill?

The carriage wound down the mountain road, and by the time it reached the foot of Mangyang Mountain, dusk had fully fallen.

Along the way, Lin Longyue rested with her eyes closed.

Chen Lingxi, however, did his utmost to absorb the Dragon Roar Technique in his mind.

Until the lingering radiance of the setting sun at the horizon was swallowed by the night, and the outlines of the mountains gradually blurred in the darkness.

The carriage turned onto a dirt road. Dense pine forests lined both sides, and the night wind swept through them, making branches and leaves rustle.

Just then—someone emerged from the mountains!

That person's footsteps were extraordinarily heavy and deep. Every step on the mountain stones made the ground faintly tremble.

Night birds in the pine forest were startled into flight, circling and crying mournfully in the darkness.

A powerful aura of blood and vitality seeped from those footsteps, indescribable and impossible to grasp. It made one feel that what had emerged from the mountains was not a person, but a savage primordial beast that had broken free of its shackles!

Someone!

Within the Total Perception space, Chen Lingxi was not so afraid.

He lifted the curtain and looked carefully outside.

The moonlight was thin, and the first thing he saw was a pair of hands!

Those hands stretched out from the shadows of the pine forest. Their skin carried a strange jade hue, gleaming beneath the moon like polished jade, as though they were not flesh and blood at all, but creations of jade!

A wondrous jade-like blood aura also wound and flowed, indistinct yet visible, streaming onward!

"What cultivation is this?" Chen Lingxi was instantly astonished.

Then he saw those hands push through empty air!

It was as though they could topple mountains. Wild, violent power of blood and vitality surged from those palms, transforming into a gale!

That gale was no ordinary wind. It was woven from countless fine threads of blood and vitality, a visible jade-colored storm!

Wherever the storm passed, pine trees snapped at the waist, mountain rocks shattered into dust, and a deep trench was plowed through the road!

The storm swept toward the carriage, its berserk blood-force engulfing everything!

Too fast.

And too powerful.

Chen Lingxi only had time to drive the Azure Qi in his dantian to its utmost limit, protecting his internal organs.

Yet the instant the blood storm arrived, the Azure Qi shattered inch by inch like paper mache.

An irresistible force slammed into his chest, making his blood and qi churn. Sweetness rose in his throat, and he spat out a mouthful of blood.

The force was far too great. Chen Lingxi had no way to resist.

He was swept from the carriage by that force, his back crashing into the trunk of an old pine before he slid to the ground.

Lin Longyue was also struck by that terrifying force, sent flying like a kite with its string cut.

She landed not far from Chen Lingxi, rolled twice, and fell unconscious.

Her temple struck a boulder, splitting open a cut nearly an inch long. Blood flowed steadily out, running down her pale cheek and dripping into the soil.

That blood... was fragrant.

It did not carry the usual metallic sweetness of blood, but rather an extremely faint, secluded floral fragrance—seemingly there and not there, yet distinctly recognizable.

It was like a cold plum blossom opening for the first time on a snowy night, its chill fragrance piercing the heart.

The scent drifted on the night wind, mingling with the smell of earth and pine needles before flooding Chen Lingxi's nose. It actually stirred an indescribable craving within him.

At that moment, a voice came from the mountain nearby.

"Do not harm the great medicine."

The voice was not loud, yet it entered everyone's ears with perfect clarity.

Its tone was as calm as water, as though it were merely reminding someone of the most ordinary little matter.

Yet the instant those words fell, the blood-force enveloping Lin Longyue abruptly withdrew!

The jade-colored storm seemed to have had its throat seized by an invisible hand. It halted sharply within three feet of Lin Longyue, then receded like a tide and vanished into the night.

Great medicine.

Those two words fell upon Chen Lingxi's ears.

Before he could think further, the blood storm surged toward him. Jade-colored blood-force crashed into him like floodwaters bursting through a dike.

He heard his bones breaking, heard his blood sizzling as it was scorched by searing heat, heard his heart cease beating beneath immense pressure.

All sensation ended at that moment.

Chen Lingxi died!

Boom!

High in the heavens, the two treasure mirrors abruptly erupted with blinding light!

Two pillars of light descended at once, shining upon Chen Lingxi's shattered body.

As the light flowed, empty space began to twist, crack, and collapse—mountains and rivers rolled backward, the pine forest turned to dust, and all things between heaven and earth became powder in that instant, vanishing into nothingness.

Total Perception—ended.

"Steal the spiritual awareness of heaven and earth; seize the spiritual opportunities of ancient and modern times."

Chen Lingxi stood within the Divine Chamber as tadpole script flashed before his eyes.

His consciousness had condensed into human form, hovering above the surging mist.

In the void, those two bright mirrors still hung high above. Golden and silver light intertwined as they poured down, illuminating his body of consciousness. Several items flashed before his eyes, turning endlessly like scenes on a revolving lantern.

Five silver-white pills, round as pearls, with faint silver patterns flowing over their surfaces;

A Spirit-Qi Jade Pearl, pure white throughout, with an extremely faint strand of Azure Qi moving within like a snake;

And a musk-deerskin bag, its surface glowing faintly green, warm and lustrous as jade.

"Of these three items, I can choose one to bring back into the real world."

Chen Lingxi did not hesitate. He reached out and grasped the Universe Bag.

It felt warm and smooth as fat beneath his hand. Green light surged from the bag and spread up his fingertips, wrapping his body of consciousness in gentle green radiance.

Above the void of the Divine Chamber, countless fine cracks appeared across the surfaces of the two sun-and-moon mirrors. They spread from the center to the edges, layering upon one another like spiderwebs.

Immediately afterward came a crisp shattering sound.

The two mirrors broke apart, becoming countless tiny motes of light that scattered through the void of the Divine Chamber before disappearing without trace.

The Universe Bag had actually left his body, floating within the void of the Divine Chamber. Green light flowed from it, staining even the surrounding mist emerald.

The bag trembled faintly once, then returned to stillness, like a green star hanging quietly there.

The Divine Chamber also dissipated!

Chen Lingxi abruptly opened his eyes!

He gasped for breath, cold sweat soaking his clothes as his chest heaved violently.

He was seated upon the yellow earth of the Beast-Fighting Palace. Above his head hung that lustrous white jade bottle, purple light cascading down like a waterfall.

The two bright mirrors no longer hung in the heavens. Only the jade bottle's light remained, illuminating the entire palace.

He had returned.

Returned once more to this Beast-Fighting Palace.

"Where shall the Cauldron Vessel opportunity fall?"

Before him, the face of the Cauldron Venerable watched him.

Chen Lingxi's heart was calm.

He touched his waist. The musk-deerskin bag had vanished.

It was not at his waist, but hung quietly within the void of his Divine Chamber. At a single thought from him, it would appear in his hand.

He drew a deep breath and turned to look beside him.

Qiu Chihu's corpse had long since completely disappeared. Only his splendid garments remained, collapsed limply upon the ground.

The Gold-Slaughtering Saber was embedded in the yellow earth, its hilt still faintly trembling.

The silver patterns on its blade had dimmed, but its edge remained sharp enough to chill the eye.

Chen Lingxi stepped forward, pulled out the Gold-Slaughtering Saber, held it in both hands, and raised it above his head.

"Cauldron Venerable, please let the opportunity fall upon this treasured saber."

As his words fell, the spiritual opportunity surging between heaven and earth suddenly flourished. An ancient, desolate aura came rushing in like floodwaters through a broken dike, pouring into the Gold-Slaughtering Saber!

That aura was so dense it nearly condensed into substance, endlessly flowing over the blade.

The treasured saber began to shake violently, emitting a humming tremor!

Chen Lingxi gripped the saber with both hands and felt it growing heavier and heavier, as though the weight of a thousand jun was pouring into it from every direction.

Several breaths later, the shaking gradually subsided.

Chen Lingxi lowered the treasured saber and examined it. The layer of silver patterns on the blade had changed completely—

—the once-dull silver lines now shone with a faint golden light.

"This treasured saber has become much sharper, and that ancient aura seems to have bestowed some unique ability upon it.

But... this is not the time to study the saber."

Chen Lingxi sheathed the treasured saber and raised his head.

The Cauldron Venerable's face hung in midair. A gust of mountain wind scattered it without a trace.

And where that face had vanished, a gate silently appeared in the void.

The Cauldron Artifact Gate had appeared once more, standing tall and imposing.

Its doors were tightly shut, bronze studs glittering like stars. The ancient aura upon its lintel flowed endlessly, as though calling for him to step through and return to the real world.

At a thought from Chen Lingxi, the Universe Bag within the void of his Divine Chamber instantly appeared in his palm.

He picked up the treasured saber, and with another thought, it transformed into a streak of light that entered the Universe Bag and disappeared.

He also placed the Spirit-Qi Jade Pearl, the five silver-white pills, and the thick stack of silver notes he had taken from Qiu Chihu's clothes into it.

That stack of notes amounted to roughly a thousand taels. The paper was stiff and crisp, stamped with official seals. Amid the green light, they sank into the bag's inner space, resting beside the saber and pills.

After finishing this, Chen Lingxi returned the Universe Bag to the void of his Divine Chamber. Then he sat cross-legged where he was and closed his eyes again, continuing to cultivate the Dragon Roar Technique.

Only after half an hour did he slowly open his eyes.

"Roar!" he said softly, his rebuke carrying the sound of a dragon's cry.

"I seem to have gained some understanding. It should be enough."

He rose to his feet and stepped through the Cauldron Artifact Gate!