Chapter 40: The Sixth Prince

After Gu Fangchen left, the courtyard of the east wing room returned to tranquility. However, inside the side chamber, Qingjian remained in a daze while soaking in the wooden tub.

She was an Attendant of Xiyin, an existence responsible for listening to the disasters and sufferings of the world and guiding the way for the congregation.

Aside from serving Princess Prajna, she would not normally take the initiative to absorb others' pain.

Yet, it had only taken Qingjian a mere sixteen years to reach her current cultivation level.

This was because the innate talent of a Xiyin Attendant was to be able to empathize with the suffering upon hearing the heavenly sounds of misery echoing from the void, internalizing the sorrows of heaven and earth into her own body.

This was a talent, and also… a curse.

Unlike other believers who devoted themselves wholeheartedly to the Dao and worshipped the Mother of Buddha, the talent of a Xiyin Attendant was innate.

Much like the lotus flower blooming within her eyes, which appeared increasingly uncanny.

Therefore, when the Matriarch Sect traveled far and wide to preach, they would pay special attention to any children found inexplicably covered in ulcers or gravely injured, bringing them back to the sect to be raised.

Had they not been adopted by the Matriarch Sect, most of these Xiyin Attendants would have died directly before reaching the age of one.

Such terrifying symptoms were merely cast aside by ordinary people as some bizarre disease.

Qingjian lowered her head and raised her hand. Without the concealment of bandages, her ugly body was exposed to the air, covered from head to toe in countless ferocious scars that overlapped one another for layers upon layers of unknown depth.

Droplets of water slid down her body, carrying trails of blood that sank into the already murky water.

Those newly added one hundred and eight bloody holes still seemed to retain that agony which pierced deep into the soul.

Those demon-suppressing nails had been pushed into her flesh bit by bit by Gu Fangchen, breaking through all obstruction, as if Gu Fangchen had hammered them into her body with his own hands…

At the mere thought of that recent experience, Qingjian could not help but deepen her breathing, her nostrils flaring slightly.

This sensation was vastly different.

The pain brought by the heavenly sound was a macro-level pain—the accumulation of countless individuals' minor miseries forming that massive suffering, resembling more of a continuous, dull ache.

Meanwhile, the pain she had obtained from Gu Fangchen just moments ago was sharp, intense, and violent.

A terrifying, excruciating pain that instantly pierced through her body and forced her past her limits of endurance.

It was enough to make her, a dignified fourth-rank divine-path cultivator, momentarily lose control of herself.

Yet…

The magnitude of this pain actually caused a slight loosening in her original fourth-rank cultivation!

Qingjian's body shivered involuntarily, sending dense ripples spreading across the surface of the water in the tub.

She found herself somewhat afraid…

But more than that, it was a secret sense of anticipation.

"That fellow seemed to say that the cultivation technique he practices requires a total of five refinements of the flesh and spirit…"

Qingjian's gaze grew misty, and she licked her lips. Under the dim lamplight, her expression, half-concealed by her long, dark hair, took on a somewhat bewitching allure.

In other words, there were still four more times of this exact same level of pain.

She already faintly sensed the feeling of an impending breakthrough. With just one more time, she would undoubtedly break straight through to the third rank!

"Moreover, given that fellow's current situation, he will certainly suffer plenty of injuries in the future."

Qingjian climbed out of the tub and began wrapping herself in bandages, circle by circle.

She stood before the bronze mirror, reaching out to touch the reflection of her own face in the empty air, her expression inscrutable.

Judging solely by this blurred silhouette, anyone would assume this was the body of a beautiful young maiden.

If she were not a Xiyin Attendant, if she were a healthy, carefree ordinary person, she would only be sixteen years old this year—what would she look like?

For all these years, she had never dared to look in a mirror.

She dared even less to gaze upon Princess Prajna's flawless, peerless visage.

She feared that one day, she might see jealousy in her own eyes, or perhaps an even more terrifying emotion.

Therefore…

She had been secretly searching for the whereabouts of the Jade Refining Pill.

The Jade Refining Pill was a long-lost second-rank elixir, recorded only in a few surviving fragments from the ancient Zhou Dynasty two thousand years ago.

It could bring the dead back to life and regenerate flesh on withered bones.

In an even earlier primordial era, the Jade Refining Pill had another name—

The Elixir of Immortality.

In reality, however, the Jade Refining Pill could not grant immortality; its sole effect was to allow human flesh and blood to regenerate almost infinitely.

Yet this regeneration came at the cost of consuming one's vital essence and blood.

For a brief period after consuming the elixir, it could indeed turn white hair back to raven black and restore one's youth.

However, once the vital essence was exhausted and the interior hollowed out, the Jade Refining Pill would begin to proliferate those aged tissues, ultimately resulting in the user transforming into a chunk of flesh resembling withered wood.

It had once sparked countless bloody storms. Once later generations understood its true effects, they renamed it the Jade Refining Pill to prevent further tragedies.

Later still, the Jade Refining Pill was deemed a forbidden drug and lost in the river of history.

Yet, for a Xiyin Attendant, the side effects of the Jade Refining Pill were practically nonexistent.

Blessed by the Mother of Buddha, the physical body of a Xiyin Attendant could continuously generate vital essence and blood.

Meanwhile, the suffering brought by the heavenly sound conveniently counterbalanced the infinite regeneration of the Jade Refining Pill.

To Qingjian, this represented the hope of becoming a normal person once again!

However, she also understood that searching for a second-rank elixir recipe lost for over a thousand years was nothing more than an illusory and ethereal hope.

It was merely the lingering unwillingness in her heart that kept her persisting.

Even though such actions, in the eyes of certain high-ranking members of the Matriarch Sect, were probably no different from betrayal.

Until…

That profligate who she had initially entirely disregarded plucked that illusory hope from the sky and placed it directly into her hands.

"Gu Fangchen…"

Qingjian murmured to herself, her lotus-shaped pupils murky and unfathomable as she bit her lower lip.

"If the formula for the Jade Refining Pill is true…"

She did not continue. After a long silence, she donned her cloak and walked out.

...

The Imperial Sky City was vast.

It was divided into three sections: the Outer City, the Inner City, and the Imperial City.

The Prince of Zhenbei's Estate was located within the Inner City, which was also the residence of various imperial relatives and high-ranking officials. Practically throwing a brick here could result in hitting three officials of the fifth rank or higher.

The Outer City, meanwhile, was inhabited by ordinary commoners.

As for the Imperial City, it was naturally the true dwelling place of the Emperor. The central Purple Polestar Hall served as Emperor Yong'an's office.

Whether attending morning court or holding imperial banquets, everything took place here.

This was not Gu Fangchen's first time entering the imperial palace.

Emperor Yong'an disliked seeing this profligate, yet Gu Fangchen frequently entered the palace anyway.

This was because the Empress was on good terms with Ning Caiyong. The former had once praised Ning Caiyong as "so pitiful as to move one to pity," and frequently summoned Ning Caiyong into the palace to keep her company in conversation.

And Ning Caiyong would always bring Gu Fangchen along.

However, that was limited to Gu Fangchen's childhood. Ever since his dantian was shattered, Ning Caiyong had felt immense guilt and, in order to care for him, had abandoned almost all social activities.

Consequently, the Empress stopped issuing frequent summons.

Of course, for the player Gu Fangchen, the imperial palace was even more familiar than his own home—it felt just like returning home.

After all, in one of the ultimate endings, he had personally overthrown Emperor Yong'an's rule and ushered in a new era.

Though the price was the voluntary sacrifice of the character he controlled.

Following behind Xiao Qiu, Gu Fangchen caught sight from afar of a fierce-looking youth clad in blue martial attire walking over with a cold expression.

He raised an eyebrow.

Isn't this the Sixth Prince? An old acquaintance.

————

PS: Made it in time! Second chapter!

Published first and revised later; if there are discrepancies, just refresh.