Ice skin, jade bones

"Uh..."

Lu Changfeng looked at the reward line and actually hesitated.

There seemed to be something wrong with this damned medical canon. Every respectable reward came with a bizarre one attached.

Last time it had been "Scenting a Woman," and now came the "Ice Skin, Jade Bones Art"...

He kept getting the feeling that it wasn't entirely respectable.

But this time, "Scenting a Woman" really had been what allowed him to identify the fake Qing Dai...

"Forget it. Having it is better than not."

Lu Changfeng stopped dwelling on it and picked up a Huayang Needle. "Let's wake her up first!"

His medical skills were improving steadily. An attack of rage overwhelming the heart was a minor ailment, and he soon brought her around. Then, as he prescribed medicine and treated her, he forced Wei Linlang to reveal her secrets.

Before long, Wei Linlang had been squeezed dry.

She was the sort who shouted slogans loudly but lacked firm conviction-expecting a person with a conscience to sincerely embrace the Great Vehicle Sect's murderous, rebellious ways was difficult, after all.

Lu Changfeng pried every secret she knew out of her mouth.

From inherited cultivation arts to every covert agent near Chang'an, Qing Dai recorded it all and swiftly submitted it to the Inner Guard headquarters. Half the Plum Blossom Guards mobilized, immediately unleashing a storm of blood.

Wei Linlang had no control over her own mouth. After confessing everything like a walking corpse, she went completely numb.

She no longer trembled or wept, only stared fixedly at the floor as though trying to see through the cold stone slabs.

"It's over... everything's over..."

She muttered to herself, oblivious to everyone around her, her voice as hoarse as a worn-out bellows.

"The Ba Snake is lost... the covert agents are finished... even our cultivation arts have been exposed..."

Suddenly, she began to laugh quietly, her laughter filled with self-mockery and desolation. "I've become an eternal sinner of the Great Vehicle Sect... haha... an eternal sinner..."

She raised her head and looked at Lu Changfeng. Her eyes were a dead, ashen wasteland; all her earlier hatred and anger had dissolved into utter emptiness.

"Kill me."

She spoke calmly, without the slightest ripple in her voice. "I already... have nothing left."

Lu Changfeng leafed through the confession Qing Dai had recorded and asked without looking up, "If you'd succeeded tonight and taken me back as a prisoner, what did you intend to do with me?"

Wei Linlang answered numbly, her eyes hollow. "First, use secret drugs and torture to force the complete Shennong Glazed Glass Art out of you... if you remained obstinate, the sect leader would act personally, cripple your martial arts, then implant the Infinite Hell Soul Seal and refine you into a puppet... if we couldn't obtain the art, or you preferred death to submission, then... kill you on the spot, leaving no future trouble!"

"You certainly thought highly of me..."

Lu Changfeng smiled, set down the papers, and looked at her deathly gray face. "Do you know why the world calls the Great Vehicle Sect an 'evil cult'?"

"Yes."

Wei Linlang's answer was brief and cold. "All who enter our Great Vehicle Sect are children of Maitreya Buddha, spared calamity, their souls returning to Tusita Heaven; all who slander the Dharma and obstruct the Way are followers of the old demons, mortal enemies of our faith... to eliminate our enemies and uphold the true Dharma, why should we shrink from any means?"

Despite her words, her voice trembled slightly.

Knowing it was evil, yet stubbornly carrying on...

Lu Changfeng sighed inwardly and asked his final question. "If you could do tonight over again, what would you do?"

Wei Linlang answered almost without hesitation. "I'd kill you outright!"

"I thought as much."

Lu Changfeng smiled faintly. Before his words had faded, a cold gleam flashed between his fingers.

A Huayang Needle sank precisely between Wei Linlang's brows and pierced straight through her skull!

Her body gave a slight shudder. The last glimmer in her eyes went out completely, and she slumped to the floor, lifeless. Her frozen expression seemed to carry a faint trace of release.

Lu Changfeng looked at the corpse on the floor and calmly instructed Qing Dai, "Dispose of her."

"Yes..."

Qing Dai clapped her hands. Two black-clad Inner Guard members appeared like phantoms, carried the corpse out, wiped away the blood, and swiftly vanished again.

"Sir..."

Seeing that Lu Changfeng looked troubled, Qing Dai said softly, "You needn't dwell on these vile cultists, sir. They committed countless atrocities and deserved worse than death!"

Lu Changfeng shook his head. "It's not for their sake. I'm just feeling a little rueful. What's so appealing about joining a sect like that? 'You were a fair lady-why become a thief?'... never mind. Let's not discuss it. Bring me the secret manuscript Jinghong sent. You've worked hard all night, too. Go get some rest."

Yet Qing Dai did not leave.

She stood where she was, looking puzzled and curious, hesitating to speak.

Lu Changfeng looked up at her and smiled. "What is it? Speak your mind."

Qing Dai voiced her confusion. "Sir, Wei Linlang's disguise technique truly was exquisite. Watching from the side, even I thought she looked exactly like me. How... how did you recognize her as an impostor the moment she entered?"

"..."

Of course I sniffed her out with "Scenting a Woman"...

But he couldn't say that.

Keeping his expression composed, he coughed lightly and offered a perfectly solemn explanation. "Although she imitated your appearance and figure flawlessly, there were faint bluish-red traces around her cheekbones, and cold sweat on her forehead. Those were signs of an unhealed injury and obstructed qi and blood. Judging by her complexion, she must have suffered a blade wound along the hand taiyang small intestine meridian on her back. In that respect, you and she were worlds apart. Naturally, I could distinguish the real from the fake at a glance."

At his explanation, sincere admiration immediately shone in Qing Dai's beautiful eyes.

She had thought Master Lu had seen through the disguise by her movements, never imagining that he had relied on medicine to discern the finest detail.

"Your powers of observation are remarkable, sir. I'm truly impressed!"

She praised him sincerely, her admiration for Lu Changfeng deepening further.

Relieved that he had successfully fooled her, Lu Changfeng hurriedly changed the subject. "Off you go. Get some proper rest."

"Yes. Please retire early as well, sir."

Qing Dai respectfully placed a stack of secret manuscripts on the desk, then bowed and withdrew from the room.

Only after Qing Dai's footsteps receded did Lu Changfeng truly relax. Rubbing between his brows, he reflected that although "Scenting a Woman" sounded disreputable, it really could save his life at a crucial moment.

It was just that he could never, ever tell anyone that explanation...

His gaze turned to the manuscript, whose cover bore the title "Record of Strange Tales from Mountains and Seas."

This was a secret manuscript an extraordinary individual had presented to Wu Zetian during her reign. As though foretelling the future, it recorded certain strange beasts and spiritual creatures that would emerge as the times demanded. It resembled the Classic of Mountains and Seas, yet was not quite the same.

This was how Taiping had recognized the [Ba Snake]!

According to Taiping's deduction, this volume must also have come from someone who had attained Divine Wandering. However, what he had seen upon "ascending to the Great Ruins" was not the true meaning of martial cultivation arts, but visions of various spiritual creatures and strange beasts, which he had recorded in a book.

Lu Changfeng casually leafed through it.

There wasn't much content, only a few dozen varieties, but it even included names such as "Fire Qilin," "Ice Chi," "Taotie," and "Merfolk"...

"What kind of world is this, exactly...?"

Lu Changfeng's heart shook violently. Could creatures that had existed only in myths and legends in his previous life truly appear in this world?

How much longer?

How could they be resisted?

Would martial arts still be useful?

The string of questions stirred an intense sense of urgency within him.

It seemed he still needed to grow stronger as quickly as possible, and he had to make better use of the Noble Physician's Canon! Treat more illnesses, save more people, farm more rewards! Even the tiniest fly was still meat, and even the most perverse skill was better than none!

Like this one, for instance...

The max-level "Ice Skin, Jade Bones Art."

-[Ice Skin, Jade Bones Art: An ancient secret art for nourishing life. Upon mastery, the skin becomes delicate as fresh snow and newly peeled lychees, and the bone structure refined as though carved from cold jade. Pure qi flows naturally through every movement, making those who behold the practitioner forget worldly vulgarity. This is the foundation of a xiantian dao body, granting a natural affinity with the opposite sex.]

"..."

The corner of Lu Changfeng's mouth twitched.

Just presenting some strong liquor and perfume a few days ago was enough for Taiping's male favorite Gao Jian to set a death trap for me. If I wear this face and exchange a few extra words with those noblewomen, who knows how many male favorites will get jealous and want my head...

He genuinely considered this skill a nuisance, yet the ambiguous words "foundation of a xiantian dao body" made it impossible to look away.

"Forget it. I'll consider it for the sake of cultivation."

He sighed and finally chose to accept it. "If worst comes to worst, I'll use the Thousand-Face Disguise Art to make myself look more ordinary."

His mind made up, he claimed the reward.

In an instant, a powerful current of cool, pure internal energy rose quietly from the depths of his dantian. At first it was a trickling stream, then it transformed into a vast glacier, surging through every limb and bone.

This internal energy was pure and crystalline. Wherever it passed, his meridians seemed washed by profound ice, widened and reshaped until no trace of obstruction remained. A cool aura also wreathed his body, subtly transforming his appearance and bearing.

In mere moments, he had fully mastered the perfected "Ice Skin, Jade Bones Art." His true qi flowed ceaselessly through his body like a crystalline ribbon of jade, seamlessly integrated and flawless!

The entire process was silent, as though all of it were the natural culmination of decades of arduous cultivation.

He slowly opened his eyes. Once merely clear and bright, they now resembled moonlight reflected in a cold pool, deep and crystalline.

"So this is the foundation of a dao body? It really does flow much more smoothly!"

He could feel that his meridians had become tougher and wider. Gathering and circulating qi was faster and more forceful than before, improved several times over. Most of his resistance to the side effects instantly melted away.

After all, the benefits were tangible.

Until he rose and walked over to the bronze mirror with its diamond-flower design...

The mirror reflected a face both familiar and unfamiliar.

At first glance, he still looked like himself, but in truth, the difference was already as vast as heaven and earth.

A bearing like jade, features like a painting.

His once merely pleasant face now had flawless, perfectly flowing lines!

His skin was lustrous, a faint jade-like sheen shimmering across it. It made his deep eyes look even darker, while his lips had grown paler. His whole being exuded a cool, lofty elegance, an air that seemed untouched by the mortal world!

"This art is impressive. It comes with a beauty filter..."

Even as Lu Changfeng spoke, he felt something was amiss.

Worse still, the longer he looked, the more an inexplicable sense of dissonance crept into his heart.

-The person in the mirror was beautiful, certainly, but that handsome face held a faint, indescribable allure. It seemed too exquisite, too flawless. As his eyes moved, they naturally carried a hint of tender affection, as though deliberately tugging at people's hearts.

Even he was involuntarily drawn in!

"Holy shit! These special effects are going a little too far!"