Yun Che stared in astonishment at the half-corpse inside the Azure Coffin Tomb.
Everything below the abdomen was missing. Judging by the severed edge, some powerful combat technique must have forcibly destroyed it.
The upper body was covered in countless wounds as well. Her right hand, missing its little and ring fingers, gripped a decaying broken sword.
Her face had been destroyed beyond recognition, but her long silver hair remained silky smooth. Flecks of starlight seemed to shimmer across it, making for a strange sight.
There was no mistaking it: these were the partial remains of a woman. Clearly, she had endured an extraordinarily brutal battle before her death.
"Who was she? Why was she placed here? The official storyline didn't seem to mention anything about this woman."
Yun Che sank into thought. He knew he had probably stumbled upon an entirely new storyline. This was uncharted territory, and everything he had learned during the closed beta was utterly useless here.
"She was human too. Could I use Divine Hand on her?"
Deciding to give it a try, Yun Che reached toward the remains.
Ding! Notice: Unable to steal from [Forbidden Item].
Yun Che froze in shock, his expression changing drastically. These tattered remains were actually a Forbidden Item!
-Squish!
At that moment, something unexpected happened.
The woman's remains suddenly sat upright in the coffin, and both hands plunged into his chest.
It happened too fast for Yun Che to react. He tried to break free, only to discover that his body would not move at all, as though an immobilization spell had been cast on him.
Then his blood began flowing rapidly along the woman's hands and into her body.
His whopping 7,210 HP began draining at a rate of 200 points per second.
Yun Che went pale. At this rate, he was going to die!
Even more terrifyingly, the remains before him were rapidly regenerating at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Countless intricate, tiny blood vessels and meridians swiftly wove organs, flesh, and skin into place as though they were alive.
First came a flat abdomen, followed by perfectly shaped, long, fair legs.
Finally, her ruined face began rapidly restoring itself beneath Yun Che's horrified gaze.
But along with her face, a white porcelain mask also regenerated. It seemed to be an inseparable part of her, impossible to remove.
The Thunder Dragon Serpent he had just subdued emerged at that moment and unleashed silver Thunder Blades at the woman.
However, despite being in the late Grandmaster Realm, its attacks had no effect whatsoever.
The woman's body seemed indestructible. The Thunder Blades struck her and instantly dissipated into nothing.
Seeing this, Yun Che grew even more panicked, racking his brains desperately for a way out.
"Damn it, what the hell is this thing?"
HP: 2100...1800...1400...1000...500...
The longer it went on, the faster his HP drained, as though she would not stop until she had sucked him completely dry.
Yun Che's eyes reddened with fury. With a thought, he took the Guaranteed-Fall Banana Peel out of his game inventory, and it automatically dropped beside the woman's feet.
At this point, he could only hope this special item would work. All he needed was to interrupt her blood-draining.
Fortunately, the Guaranteed-Fall Banana Peel's rule that its target must step on it and fall did not let Yun Che down. With only 100 HP remaining, the silver-haired woman's bare foot landed squarely on the peel, and she instantly fell to the ground with a thud.
After the silver-haired woman's hands pulled free of his chest, the bloody holes continued draining his HP at five points per second.
Yun Che did not dare hesitate. Healing Pills, Spring-Returning Pills, Blood-Coagulating Pills, spirit fruits, medicinal herbs-anything that could heal him and restore HP went straight into his mouth.
Finally, with just five HP remaining, his bleeding stopped, and his HP began rapidly recovering at 50 points per second.
Yun Che sat there gasping for breath, his face as white as paper.
So close!
So damn close!
He had nearly died here.
That old saying really had proven true.
A mouse licking a cat's cunt-asking for trouble when there was none!
In less than three minutes, Yun Che's HP returned to full, and his injuries finally stabilized completely.
With a grim expression, he looked at the silver-haired woman lying motionless on the ground. Fear still lingered in his heart.
"I can't sense any sign of life. Is she alive or dead?"
Just as Yun Che hesitated between running away immediately and staying to see what happened, something changed.
The silver-haired woman's body floated up on its own. A strange connection reached into his mind, making him instinctively feel that she would not hurt him again.
Beneath her white porcelain mask, the silver-haired woman's golden eyes stared blankly at Yun Che. They held an immensely complicated mix of emotions: relief, remembrance, sorrow, regret, and anger.
In short, Yun Che could not understand what the silver-haired woman was trying to convey. She seemed to recognize him, yet also seemed never to have met him. It was utterly baffling.
Hovering three meters away, the silver-haired woman slowly extended a fair hand toward Yun Che.
After a brief hesitation, Yun Che reached out as well. The moment their hands touched, information about the silver-haired woman automatically appeared.
[Pioneer (Forbidden Item): A warrior who survived the Demonfall War seven thousand years ago. Possesses the unique SSS-rank talent Immortal Divine Body. Due to special circumstances interrupting her revival, she was forced to become player Yun Che's soulguard armament. Note: The player's realm is too low to meet the conditions for armament transformation. Divine Hand cannot be used on her. The Pioneer's realm increases alongside her host's.]
After reading the description, Yun Che stood rooted to the spot. This was an ancient relic who had lived long enough to become a Forbidden Item-a genuine living fossil!
The next moment, starting from her feet, the silver-haired woman's body slowly turned into starlight and swiftly flowed into the space between Yun Che's brows.
"What a strange feeling. What exactly is our relationship now?"
"Master and servant? Shared lives? Or is she simply a weapon?"
Utterly confused, Yun Che opened his status panel to check.
Player: Yun Che Identity: Matrilocal son-in-law of the Qin Prince's Residence, academic instructor Realm: Early Innate Realm Talents: SSS-rank · Divine Hand (unique), S-rank · Mental Thought Sword Martial root: Average Class: Titan Enforcer · LV2 (righteousness points: 320/500) Second class: Order Annihilator · LV2 (death qi points: 385/500) Race: Human Reputation: 2421 Strength: 571+200 (1 strength = 1 attack) Agility: 582 (affects speed, critical hits, and evasion) Stamina: 736+200 (1 stamina = 1 defense) Constitution: 521+200 (1 constitution = 10 HP) Spirit: 335 (1 spirit = 5 spiritual energy) Poison resistance: 1578 Attack: 771 (Radiant Annihilation Sword +285) Defense: 936 (Dark Rong Silk Soft Armor +110) HP: 7210 Spiritual energy: 1675 (Tear of Silver Dust +150) Cultivation methods: Golden Bell Shield · supreme grade, Soul Secret Manual · high grade, Poison Suppression Demon Codex · Middle-Grade... Movement techniques: Thunder Shadow Divine Movement · supreme grade, Drifting Willow-Step · high grade... Combat techniques: Frost Heaven Severing Sword · high grade, Sky-Rending Six Directions Slash · high grade, Supreme Sword Art · high grade, Radiant Sword Technique · Middle-Grade, Ten Illusions Sword Technique · Middle-Grade, Nine-Force Mountain River Fist · Middle-Grade... Soul Guard: Pioneer Pet: Thunder Dragon Serpent Experience: 16611/50000 Money: 23 gold, 548 silver, 265 copper
"So Soul Guards really do exist. What exactly are they? Guardian spirits?"
Yun Che tried summoning her, but unfortunately received no response, leaving him thoroughly speechless.
Clearly, he had once again accidentally acquired something strange that was beyond his capabilities.
"Do you need this?"
Yun Che took out the Fire-Poison Giant Python's Demon Core and offered it to the little white snake in his arms.
At the sight of the Demon Core, the little white snake's silver eyes flickered slightly. It opened its mouth and swallowed the core whole.
Yun Che smiled faintly. It seemed he would need to save any Demon Cores he obtained from now on.
Demon Cores were the source of demonic beasts' power. Only beasts that had broken through to the Innate Realm had any hope of forming one.
Humans could not absorb the power within Demon Cores for cultivation, but to alchemists, certain cores were precious ingredients for refining supreme pills.
Before leaving, Yun Che found the diamond treasure chest in his inventory and casually opened it.
Before you continue