Chapter 65: Chapter 65: Not Ashamed to Ask
A lot had happened recently, but not much time had actually passed.
From the time Jiang Ran arrived in Cangzhou Prefecture until now, only five days had passed, all told.
Jiang Ran glanced at Guo Chong.
"Is that why you arrived so early?"
Guo Chong nodded.
"I was all prepared to make a big move."
"But before I could even exert myself... all my opponents ended up dead."
"Do you know who they were?"
"I do."
Guo Chong took a Jade Pendant from his robes and tossed it to Jiang Ran.
Jiang Ran examined it closely.
The material of the Jade Pendant wasn’t the best, but the carving on it was exceptionally exquisite.
A ferocious beast’s head, so lifelike it almost felt as if it would leap out and devour someone.
With his experience, Jiang Ran couldn’t tell if it was the work of a famous master.
But he could see it was extraordinary.
"What is this?"
Jiang Ran had always been one to ask when he didn’t know.
"A Cloud Beast Pendant."
Guo Chong said softly,
"It’s one of the tokens for the three divisions of the Celestial Palace."
"The Celestial Palace?"
Jiang Ran was taken aback, his expression strange. "That’s a rather presumptuous name..."
"They naturally have no such scruples."
Guo Chong smiled.
"Just a bunch of rats who don’t know their place..."
Jiang Ran didn’t quite believe that.
He gently rubbed the Jade Pendant and asked,
"Have any of their members ever been on a most-wanted list?"
"No, they haven’t."
With that one sentence from Guo Chong, Jiang Ran instantly lost all interest in the Celestial Palace.
He yawned and said,
"Then I’ve got no more business here. Can I collect my reward money today?"
Guo Chong shot Jiang Ran a fierce glare.
"No!!"
Jiang Ran chuckled.
"Tomorrow?"
"...Fine."
Guo Chong gritted his teeth.
"See you tomorrow, then. Farewell."
With that, Jiang Ran turned and left.
After a glance at Guo Chong, Li Tianxin followed behind Jiang Ran.
It had been a huge commotion, but now that the fighting was over, that was that.
Guo Chong would naturally handle the rest.
As Jiang Ran walked back to the inn, his mind was elsewhere.
’The Blood Cauldron Scripture... why has it no effect on me?’
Back at the inn that day, when he had used his power to heal Li Tianxin, Gu Mosheng had claimed that the True Qi of the Blood Cauldron Scripture was incredibly malevolent. He said that once Jiang Ran came into contact with it, it would inevitably transfer into his body, causing him to die in Li Tianxin’s place.
He had been so certain at the time, but Jiang Ran had paid him no mind.
Because he truly hadn’t felt a thing.
He only felt that the True Qi was indeed sinister and cold, but that was all.
But today, when fighting Li Feiyun, he had said the same thing.
And this time was different from before.
The might Li Feiyun had displayed with the Blood Cauldron Scripture was far beyond anything the likes of Gu Mosheng could ever compare to.
Logically, he had indeed been tainted by this True Qi, and more than once.
But... it still had no effect.
He had originally thought it was because of his Sutra of Creation and the True Heart that he was immune to external evils.
But what Li Feiyun said also made sense.
Although the Sutra of Creation and the True Heart was powerful, it didn’t seem to operate on the level of flesh and blood.
Against this kind of True Qi, even if it offered some resistance, it definitely wouldn’t be able to nullify it so completely, to the point of utter disregard.
And Jiang Ran had taken Li Feiyun’s other words to heart.
He had said that Jiang Ran had some connection to the Demon Sect...
’The Demon Sect...’
If he had to pinpoint any connection between himself and the Demon Sect, the only thing Jiang Ran could think of was the Tang family.
Thinking of that night at the Tang family estate, Jiang Ran’s brows furrowed.
Looking back now, he couldn’t be entirely sure what had happened that night.
It was possible something... unspeakable... had occurred, but it was also possible that nothing had happened at all.
’Is my immunity to the Blood Cauldron Scripture related to what happened that night?’
’Could there be some change inside my body that I haven’t noticed?’
At this thought, he subconsciously stopped walking.
He felt someone bump into him from behind. He couldn’t help but turn and glare at Li Tianxin.
"Don’t you watch where you’re going?"
"I do."
Li Tianxin nonchalantly rubbed his forehead and replied with an air of indifference.
’He *does* watch where he’s going? Just not at me? What, am I not a person?’
Jiang Ran shot him a sideways glance but didn’t dwell on it.
"You’ve always been knowledgeable and well-traveled, with an extraordinary background."
"Do you know... if the Demon Sect has any techniques for harvesting yin to supplement yang?"
"Of course."
Li Tianxin said immediately.
"Why are you asking about that?"
"Just curious... What would happen to someone who’s been... harvested?"
Jiang Ran chose his words carefully.
"Hmm, the Demon Sect has many kinds of wicked techniques, but for the one you’re talking about, it generally results in a decline of essence, energy, and spirit... just... oh, right, just like Dao Wuming."
A flash of inspiration struck Li Tianxin as he thought of Dao Wuming, and he immediately continued,
"But the situation would probably be even more severe than his."
"Some people are left with a permanent ailment after just one time, and they’re sickly for the rest of their lives."
"Others just die outright."
"What if the person has profound Inner Energy?"
"Profound Inner Energy... The more profound, the more tragic!"
Li Tianxin said with a smile,
"If you have profound Inner Energy and fall into the hands of the Demon Sect, especially into the hands of someone who specializes in this art..."
"You’d be nothing more than a giant, human-shaped pill."
"First, they wouldn’t just toss you aside. They’d chop off your limbs—just like you did. Speaking of which, that move of yours is very much in the Demon Sect’s style."
"They do that for convenience, to make it easy to carry their ’pill’ around so it can’t run away."
"And for those with profound Inner Energy, one harvest is often not enough to drain them completely, so they’ll do it several times."
"They keep at it until the person’s essence, energy, and spirit are completely shriveled up, and only then do they cast them aside like a worn-out shoe."
Jiang Ran nodded thoughtfully.
He felt a sense of relief. ’When I woke up the next day, my spirit was full and my energy was ample; I didn’t feel depleted in the slightest.’
’My Inner Energy circulated just like before. I guess that kind of thing probably didn’t happen... right?’
Jiang Ran scratched his head and asked another question.
"Then tell me, are there any demonesses in the Demon Sect who can transfer their own Inner Energy to someone else through some method?"
"Through... harvesting yin to supplement yang?"
Li Tianxin gave Jiang Ran a strange look.
"We’re in public. Why are you so interested in this all of a sudden?"
"Shame can lead to courage. And it’s not shameful to ask a subordinate for information."
Li Tianxin was instantly furious and glared at Jiang Ran.
"You’ve certainly got the shameless part down, but I’m hardly your subordinate!"
Jiang Ran nodded.
"You’re still poisoned."
"...Fine. It is asking a subordinate."
Li Tianxin’s face darkened. He let out a breath and finally said,
"No one would do something like that."
"People who cultivate this martial art have the temperament of a Pixiu—they only take in, never give out."
"Because, while they can control how to take energy in, they find it difficult to control how to let it out."
"It is said that several hundred years ago, there was indeed an infatuated woman from the Demon Sect who fell in love with a disciple from the righteous path."
"As it happened, the righteous disciple was gravely injured by someone, his life hanging by a thread. She reversed her scripture, pouring her entire cultivation and life force into him."
"It was like opening a floodgate that could never be closed again."
"In the end, the righteous disciple lived, and she died..."
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