Early the next morning, a stern-faced Lin Wan’er called Wu Yan to the cargo hold on the lower deck of the Spirit Boat.
This place was originally only used for transport, but now Lin Wan’er had requisitioned it as her temporary research lab. As soon as Wu Yan entered the cargo hold, a stinging sensation pierced her nostrils. ‘Such a strong smell of alcohol.’
In the center of the cargo hold was a huge long table. At each of the four corners of the table sat an ever-burning lamp. In the very center were the bones Wu Yan had retrieved, neatly arranged to form the original shapes of those monsters. Lin Wan’er stood beside the table, now dressed in a new set of clothes, wearing a pair of silk gloves, and holding a silver dagger in her hand. The remaining rotten flesh on the bones had been removed, and the skeleton gleamed with a pale texture under the dim light.
“I’ve studied these bones,” Lin Wan’er’s muffled voice echoed in the empty cargo hold. “These are undoubtedly their captives. Most of the demonic chi on them was injected after the fact. And…” She paused for a while, thinking, before continuing. “I found this inside the bones.”
She switched the knife for tweezers, reached into the spine of one skeleton, and pulled out a long, thin, translucent white thread.
“What is this?”
“This is ‘Pulling Thread,’” a cold voice came from the entrance of the cargo hold.
Wu Yan turned her head and saw that Ji Xuerou had also arrived here at some unknown time. Ji Xuerou walked toward them and let out a note of admiration.
“As expected of Saintess Ji, so knowledgeable and experienced,” Lin Wan’er said, looking at Ji Xuerou. “This is exactly the secret art of our Medicine King Valley, Pulling Thread. It is a medical material that can only be produced in the Medicine King Valley, capable of suturing wounds and reattaching severed limbs.”
“Then why did something from your Medicine King Valley appear on the monsters that attacked us?” Facing a potential threat, Ji Xuerou was as cold as ice. She stepped half a pace in front of Wu Yan, and the Bixiao at her waist had already been drawn a few inches from its sheath.
“I don’t know either,” Lin Wan’er said, still holding the Pulling Thread and shaking her head to herself.
Seeing this, Wu Yan walked over to Ji Xuerou and pushed Bixiao back into its sheath. “She can’t be a spy for the Demon Sect.” If Lin Wan’er were a Demon Sect spy, she would probably have been captured and taken to the Demonic Cultivators’ lair long ago. “Besides, these monsters are probably not yet complete forms.”
Lin Wan’er pulled the topic back to the monsters themselves. She sliced open a section of leg bone and showed Wu Yan and Ji Xuerou the pattern on it. It was an eerie pattern. At first glance, it was only half a ghost face, but on closer inspection, every line and stroke seemed to resemble an organ of the human body. Lungs, eyes, spleen…
“If those guys perfect this method…” Lin Wan’er didn’t finish her sentence, but everyone present understood her implication. If the Demonic Cultivators truly perfected this technique, then there would be a group of monstrously strong, mysterious, and fearsome death-defying army.
“Pack up the bones. I hope the Medicine King Valley can find a solution to deal with these things.”
After leaving the cargo hold, Wu Yan returned to her room, poured herself a glass of water, and swallowed a Top-grade Heart Clearing Pill.
Wu Yan’s consciousness sank into the Sea of Consciousness. The Soul Governance Art still occupied the very center, slowly rotating. Wu Yan approached the Soul Governance Art and pressed her right palm fully against it. “I hope you can help me.”
A cold white current surged from the Soul Governance Art, filling the entire Sea of Consciousness in the blink of an eye. Wu Yan closed her eyes, sensing this immense power, and guided it toward the red orb hidden deep in her memories. That was Wu Yan’s (Inner) memory of her previous life.
Since Wu Yan’s (Inner) rebirth, Wu Yan (Yan) had looked at this memory countless times. But the contents either remained unchanged or were sealed off by mist and untouchable. It wasn’t until yesterday, when Wu Yan’s (Inner) description again deviated from her memory, that Wu Yan (Yan) thought to use the power of the Soul Governance Art to further investigate Wu Yan’s (Inner) memories.
This time, Wu Yan (Yan) indeed saw something different. In Wu Yan’s (Inner) memory, as the cold white storm blew away the blood mist, the massive creature hidden within revealed its true form. In that sky filled with blood mist, Wu Yan (Yan) heard a faint hissing breath for the first time. Its mouth chewed flesh and blood, its tail reorganized flesh and blood, and its body rolled, causing blood to fall like raindrops. The dome of the sky was compressed by its crowded, writhing body. Wu Yan’s (Inner) memory happened to be right at the center of the ‘8’ formed by the Ouroboros.
Suddenly, the sky shook violently, and the giant serpent’s eyelid slowly opened. Its blood-red vertical pupil met Wu Yan’s (Yan) directly.
“Cough!”
In the real world, blood sprayed from Wu Yan’s mouth. Her Spirit Soul was expelled, and her face turned deathly pale.
“Hey, you blockhead! What’s wrong with you? Why are you suddenly spitting blood?” Wu Yan (Inner) suddenly came close to her. “Can’t you take good care of Zhuozhuo Benzuo’s body? If you break it, what will you use to compensate?”
Wu Yan took out a Blood Recovery Pill from her Storage Bag and swallowed it. Her lips regained their rosy color. Wu Yan adjusted her breathing and said in a calmer voice, “Relax, I’m fine.”
Seeing Wu Yan’s complexion gradually return to ruddiness, Wu Yan (Inner) clicked her tongue in relief. “You made Zhuozhuo Benzuo worry for nothing! I was really afraid you’d accidentally die taking my body with you!”
Wu Yan closed her eyes. The backlash from her Spirit Soul made her head feel like it was splitting. “I won’t. I need to rest for a while.” After saying that, Wu Yan collapsed onto the bed and fell into a deep sleep.
“Tsk, what a troublemaker!”
When Wu Yan opened her eyes, the scene outside the window was a hazy gray. Her forehead was covered in cold sweat without her knowing when. Wu Yan sat up, took the water from the nightstand, and drank it all in one gulp. The cold tea suppressed the restless agitation in her heart.
She opened the window to let in the night breeze. Wu Yan reached her hand out the window but felt nothing. Something was wrong! The Spirit Boat was moving at full speed, traveling ten thousand miles a day. By all logic, there should have been strong air currents outside the window. But at this moment, the air outside was still.
The Spirit Boat was as if sealed inside a giant gray amber, trapped in a special zone, hovering in mid-air, unable to advance even half a step.
Wu Yan abruptly got out of bed and pushed open the door, exactly bumping into Ji Xuerou who had come to look for her.
“Did you sense it too?” Ji Xuerou’s glazed eyes were now shining brightly.
“Mm, we’re trapped.”
Wu Yan and Ji Xuerou arrived at the deck. The atmosphere on the deck was eerily quiet. The disciples on guard duty were leaning on the railing, staring nervously into the distance.
The helmsman leader, upon seeing Wu Yan and Ji Xuerou, looked as if he had seen a pillar of strength. He ran over with sweat pouring from his head and held up the Lopan in his hand for Wu Yan to see. “Ladies, this is terrible! We seem to be trapped by something!”
The Lopan’s needle was spinning wildly. The four directions of east, west, south, and north had lost their meaning under the gray night sky.
“The power furnace is still running, but we haven’t moved for a long time. There isn’t even a single gust of wind!”
Wu Yan walked to the edge of the ship and looked down. The mountains, rivers, villages, and cities that should have been rushing past had all disappeared. In their place was a bottomless gray miasmic mist. The mist was rising silently, gradually approaching the Spirit Boat.
“It’s coming,” Ji Xuerou warned Wu Yan in a cautious tone.
“Stand guard!” This time, Wu Yan’s voice carried spiritual power. At that command, the disciples on the deck instantly took their positions, deploying all the cannons on the Spirit Boat. The other disciples on guard raised their weapons and formed a defensive formation back to back.