Chapter 269: Chapter 267: A Man’s True Colors
In the end, Cang Lengshan had to use his Great Secret Artifact and pay a heavy price to finally exterminate the surrounding swarm of reanimated corpses.
He had now used nearly every trump card he had.
He had intended to save these tactics for the very end, but because of Jiang Jichen’s appearance, his trump cards were now all but depleted.
At that moment, Cang Lengshan was struck by a sudden realization: nothing good ever happened when Jiang Jichen was around.
Throughout this ordeal, Jiang Jichen had been watching with a leisurely air, while Yee Youmeng and Hua Xiaoling sat cross-legged behind him, meditating to recover and heal their wounds.
With Jiang Jichen standing guard, Yee Youmeng and Hua Xiaoling felt completely at ease. Even if reanimated corpses were still rampaging nearby, they could focus on their recovery in peace.
’No matter what storms lay ahead, they could just leave it all to him.’
They were exhausted from the recent days of fleeing and fighting. They didn’t want to think about anything; they just wanted to sit motionless for a while.
Jiang Jichen stood casually before them. Every now and then, a reanimated corpse or two would charge over, only for Jiang Jichen to send them flying with a single punch. They would land near Cang Lengshan, leaving his group to deal with the cleanup.
"Cang Lengshan, you should thank me for sending you so many points. Look, the Spirit Pattern Tower on your forehead is almost silver!"
Jiang Jichen said, pointing at the spot between Cang Lengshan’s brows.
Anyone who didn’t know the context might have thought Jiang Jichen was praising him. But by now, who didn’t know that the Spirit Pattern Tower mark on Jiang Jichen’s own forehead was already deep silver, even showing a faint hint of gold?
The Spirit Pattern Tower marks were divided into five levels: gray, cyan, silver, gold, and purple.
These were the colors known to be achievable for the Spirit Pattern Tower mark throughout the endless ages. Whether any other colors existed beyond these was unknown.
Until now, purple had been considered the absolute limit, a level that legend claimed only one person had ever reached.
And yet, Jiang Jichen’s Spirit Pattern Tower mark was already deep silver, on the verge of turning gold!
Cang Lengshan, after using his Secret Artifact to kill so many reanimated corpses, had only just reached the peak of the cyan level; he had yet to truly cross into silver.
The gap between him and Jiang Jichen was enormous. So, who there couldn’t hear the blatant mockery in Jiang Jichen’s words?
’He’s definitely showing off his Spirit Pattern Tower mark. That damned bastard!’
’And he wants me to thank him? Thank him, my ass!’
Cang Lengshan’s expression was so dark it looked like it could drip ink. His heart churned with a mixture of rage, frustration, and hatred.
"Jiang Jichen, why don’t you just go die!"
Cang Lengshan roared, then departed with the Cang Family contingent and Cang Lengyun. He never wanted to see that insidious bastard Jiang Jichen ever again.
Jiang Jichen had wanted to say hello to Cang Lengyun, but seeing Cang Lengshan’s furious demeanor, he decided against it.
Cang Lengshan’s group had arrived quickly, and they departed just as fast, kicking up clouds of sand and dust as they vanished in an instant into the depths of the endless sea of sand.
After they were long gone, a sense of tranquility began to settle over the world.
The sun had now set, and fiery clouds burned across the sky. The landscape was desolate, and a feeling of aimless emptiness crept into one’s heart.
Jiang Jichen, now shirtless, lay back comfortably on the sea of sand, quietly watching over the recuperating Yee Youmeng and Hua Xiaoling.
Time flowed by like a silent river.
The sky had transformed from a canvas of sunset and fiery clouds to a vast expanse filled with the shifting constellations of a star-filled night.
Yee Youmeng and Hua Xiaoling’s recovery session wasn’t overly long; they were mostly healed after a few double-hours.
The first to open her eyes was Yee Youmeng.
Her eyes, as captivating as clear autumn pools, fixed on Jiang Jichen with a cool gaze.
Under the faint starlight, her soft, slender neck seemed to exude an alluring charm that was strangely at odds with her dark, small face.
The Forgotten Seal Technique: to forget one’s face, to forget one’s memories, to forget everything...
Jiang Jichen knew, of course, that this was not Yee Youmeng’s true appearance. He would only see the real her on the day the Forgotten Seal Technique was broken.
Jiang Jichen sat up. Meeting Yee Youmeng’s ice-cold eyes, he paid them no mind. Instead, he showily flexed his lean, powerful muscles and said proudly to her, "So? Little Youmeng, not a bad physique your boss has, right? Can you feel that raw, manly essence washing over you? Haha...!"
As Jiang Jichen let out an arrogant laugh, Yee Youmeng’s face remained utterly unchanged. She opened her mouth and deadpanned, "Heh heh..."
’Heh heh, my ass!’
Instead of the look of worshipful infatuation he’d expected from Yee Youmeng, all he got was a cold, dismissive "heh heh." Jiang Jichen was thoroughly displeased.
"Hmph. You’re just a little girl who doesn’t appreciate charm. Just wait, I’ll let Hua Girl get a look. We’ll see how enthusiastically she reacts. That’ll show you the appeal of a real man!"
Jiang Jichen said, completely unconvinced.
Yee Youmeng then coolly uttered a single word: "Boring."
"You dare call your boss boring? Yee Youmeng, I must have a talk with you about life, about ideals. Mmm, come over here..."
"..."
"What? Not only are you not coming over, you dare to glare at me? Fine. If you won’t come to me, I’ll go to you!"
"Get lost!"
"Hey! I’m your boss, you know! Show me some respect, will you? I just want to lean against your back and count the stars. Look, one little, two little, shiny stars... three little, four little..."
"..."
And so, in the great sandy desert, under the starry night sky, a shirtless youth, passionate as fire, and a young woman, sitting quietly with her blade in her arms, silent as water.
They sat back-to-back, gazing up at the celestial dome, their thoughts drifting...
Not until the latter half of the night did Hua Xiaoling finally awaken from her state of healing and cultivation.
Although Hua Xiaoling’s awakened bloodline had astonishing healing properties, her Realm was ultimately too low, and her injuries had been more severe than Yee Youmeng’s.
Therefore, her recovery took slightly longer.
But it wasn’t much longer than Yee Youmeng’s; she had simply spent the latter portion of the time cultivating.
Over the past period of life-and-death battles, she had accumulated a great many insights but had never had the time to process them.
Only now, with someone watching over her, could she finally process those insights in peace.
Having now fully absorbed her insights, Hua Xiaoling awoke.
Seeing that Hua Xiaoling had fully recovered, Yee Youmeng stood up, dragged her large machete, and continued on, heading deeper into the sea of sand.
Hua Xiaoling and Jiang Jichen followed affectionately behind her, venturing deeper into the sea of sand to begin grinding for points.
