55: Chapter 55 Lake Bottom

Jiang Xingchuan woke up to find himself lying on a wooden bed in a farmhouse. The ceiling beams were low, the window paper was yellowed, and there was a faint sound of rooster crowing outside.

Just as Jiang Xingchuan tried to sit up, a sharp pain like needles pierced his brain.

He let out a muffled groan and collapsed back onto the bed, his vision blackening.

His Meridians felt as if they had been crushed, especially deep within his brow, where a wisp of cold, sinister Qi kept colliding, leaving his mind in a state of utter Chaos.

Staring at the unfamiliar ceiling, he slowly recalled what had happened last night.

Last night, Jiang Yuhe had gone to Canghu Market to attend the decennial large-scale auction.

Jiang Chengning was ultimately unable to set his mind at ease.

The Foundation of Baili Mountain had only just been established, and Jiang Yuhe was the person in the Jiang Family closest to Foundation Establishment.

With her entering Canghu Market alone, there was a fear that unscrupulous Cultivators might be lurking nearby during this large-scale auction to rob and kill.

Thus, Jiang Chengning brought people down the mountain and secretly contacted the Luo Family, requesting them to meet them outside the forest.

From the Jiang Family, Jiang Chengning, Lin Suwen, Jiang Xingchuan, and Jiang Shoushan all arrived.

The Chen Family sent Old Crow Chen and Chen Xiaoyan. Chen Xiaoyan had reached the third level of Qi Refining a few days ago; her Qi was not yet stable, but she had insisted on coming.

As for the Sun Family, it was Sun Changshui who brought Sun Jingxiu. The Luo Family also sent two Middle Stage Qi Refining Cultivators, specifically Luo Qicheng and Luo Qitang, who brought Formation Flags to set up a small trapping Formation on a desolate slope outside the forest.

This Formation was not meant to kill the enemy, but merely to delay them for a moment during a retreat.

Jiang Chengning's intention was very clear.

If all was quiet in the forest, everyone would guard the only path, waiting for Jiang Yuhe to emerge. If trouble broke out at Canghu Market, they would slowly probe into the forest, not acting rashly.

They soon heard commotion.

First came a loud bang from the lakeside, followed by spiritual light exploding in the distance. Immediately after, the auras of over a dozen Cultivators collided in pursuit, with Talismans, Magical Artifacts, and techniques becoming a chaotic mess.

Luo Qicheng's expression changed, and he whispered, "Someone brought a treasure out of the auction and is being besieged."

Everyone immediately understood that it was likely the Cultivator who had won the grand finale item.

Later, Jiang Xingchuan learned that the person must have been the buyer who had won the taiyin spiritual essence, the "moon soul cold essence."

Daring to outbid everyone with six hundred Spirit Stones at the big auction, he naturally had a backup plan, hiding three Substitute Body Talismans on his person. When over a dozen Cultivators chased and killed him, they thought they had succeeded several times, but they had only shattered the substitute forms.

However, this trick could fool those at the Qi Refining stage, but not those at the Foundation Establishment stage.

Zhou Boyan had arrived.

That Spring-Binding Bone-Illuminating Lantern hung over the forest, and light rained down from the sky.

The Cultivator who bought the moon soul cold essence only touched a bit of the lantern's light, and half of his body shattered like foam.

He detonated a damaged water mansion Magic Treasure to escape from under Zhou Boyan's lantern, crashing toward the lakeside.

It was at this very moment that Jiang Xingchuan could no longer sit still.

"I am going in to meet Yuhe."

Jiang Chengning immediately looked at him.

"You are not allowed to go."

Jiang Xingchuan stood by the Formation Flags, listening to the sounds of battle in the distance, his palms clenched tight.

"Father, it's already chaotic outside the market. If Yuhe is intercepted and killed, she might not be able to return along the original path. Staying here might indeed ensure our safety, but what if she is forced to flee elsewhere?"

Jiang Chengning shook his head and said, "You have only just entered the fourth level. The fighting inside involves at least those above the Middle Stage of Qi Refining. You cannot help if you go in."

Jiang Xingchuan looked at him.

"I know."

He did not retreat in the slightest, saying firmly, "But why did the Jiang Family come here? Isn't it to meet her?"

"Yuhe is the person in the Jiang Family with the most hope of reaching Foundation Establishment in decades. If she dies in the forest, everything the Jiang Family has planned will be ruined. I might not be able to save her by going in, but as long as I can let her know there are people outside setting up a Formation to meet her, the likelihood of her life being in danger will be reduced significantly."

Jiang Chengning fell silent.

He had, of course, thought of these words.

But he was unwilling to weigh his family members on a scale, unwilling to say that Jiang Yuhe was more important than Jiang Xingchuan, and unwilling to treat his son's life as a chip that could be gambled away.

Chen Xiaoyan spoke up coldly from the side, "Jiang Xingchuan is my husband. If he is going, I am going with him."

Jiang Xingchuan turned to look at her.

Chen Xiaoyan had already drawn her short sword, her expression leaving no room for negotiation.

"I don't want to be a widow. If we die, we die together."

Sun Jingxiu also stood up.

"Then I will also..."

Before he could finish, Sun Changshui slapped the back of his head, scolding him mercilessly.

"Go where? Chen Xiaoyan's cultivation might be a step behind, but at least she has a status. What are you? Your cultivation is lacking, and you have no status. Are you going to throw your life away just because of your wishful thinking?"

Sun Jingxiu's face flushed red from the scolding, but he dared not speak again.

Jiang Chengning ultimately did not stop them.

He only borrowed an amulet from the Luo Family and stuffed it into Jiang Xingchuan's hand, saying in a deep voice, "Only scout for information, do not engage in battle. Once you sense a Foundation Establishment aura, return immediately. Your life is more important than anything."

Jiang Xingchuan nodded and entered the forest with Chen Xiaoyan.

The two of them suppressed their Qi and walked toward Canghu Market. The further in they went, the heavier the traces of battle techniques became.

Tree trunks were scorched black by fire Talismans; there was blood on the ground, fragments of broken Magical Artifacts, and even a corpse drained by an unknown technique, skin and flesh clinging to bone.

Jiang Xingchuan originally intended to bypass the lakeside, but he saw that lantern under a slope.

The Spring-Binding Bone-Illuminating Lantern hung in mid-air.

The warm white light only touched the Late Stage Qi Refining Cultivator on the lakeshore for a moment, and half of his body shattered inch by inch.

The man was covered in blood, clutching a cold jade box tightly to his chest.

Zhou Boyan stood in the distance, waving the lantern again, intending to finish the man off.

The moment Jiang Xingchuan saw Zhou Boyan, he had already turned to flee.

But the heavily wounded Cultivator suddenly detonated a water-blue precious bead.

The lake water surged backward, and mist shot into the sky.

Jiang Xingchuan felt his vision go white, and when he could see again, Zhou Boyan's lantern light had been blocked by the water mist, and the half-bodied Cultivator had stumbled out of the mist, happening to see him and Chen Xiaoyan.

A fierce glint appeared in the man's eyes.

"Two Qi Refining juniors..."

His throat was mostly crushed, and his voice was hoarse.

Jiang Xingchuan's heart jumped, and he pulled Chen Xiaoyan back.

The Cultivator lunged, one hand still retaining some flesh and blood, while the other arm was nothing but bone.

If he had been in his peak Late Stage Qi Refining state, Jiang Xingchuan and the other would not have lasted even a breath.

But now that half his body had been burned away by the lantern fire, and he still had to suppress the residual flames of the spring-binding lantern, he could not take the two of them down for a moment.

Jiang Xingchuan originally wanted to flee back to find Jiang Chengning and the others.

The Cultivator clearly guessed that there were people ahead and forced them to retreat to the other side of the lakeshore.

After several exchanges, Chen Xiaoyan was struck in the shoulder by a cold palm wind, and Jiang Xingchuan also had two ribs broken. The two fled further and further, and were finally forced to the other side of the lake.

Under the cover of night, the lake surface was dark and gloomy.

The lantern fire on the Cultivator's body burned brighter and brighter, and the madness in his eyes grew heavier.

"Stop running."

He shattered Jiang Xingchuan's protective amulet with one palm and gripped the back of Chen Xiaoyan's neck with his other skeletal hand.

"You two are lucky." He grinned, half his face peeled open, his speech slurred, "You can live on for me."

He dragged the two of them into the lake.

There was a water curtain at the bottom of the lake, separating a natural cave from the water. The Cultivator brought them through the water curtain, fell into the cave, and immediately sealed the entrance with the remaining half of his water mansion Magic Treasure.

The cave was piled with quite a few spiritual resources.

Winter Solstice spiritual items, taiyin spiritual items, several jade bottles, a few cold Ores, and the newly obtained moon soul cold essence.

The Cultivator pressed Jiang Xingchuan and Chen Xiaoyan onto two stone platforms respectively, while he knelt in the center.

The spring-binding lantern fire was still eating away at his flesh and blood bit by bit; he could not live for much longer.

Therefore, he wanted to swap bodies.

He fed Jiang Xingchuan a medicinal liquid refined from Winter Solstice spiritual essence and placed the moon soul cold essence in the center of the Formation, intending to use the lake water and the taiyin spiritual essence to suppress the spring Qi in Jiang Xingchuan's body, forcibly refining him into a shell that could be possessed.

Chen Xiaoyan was soaked in Winter Solstice spiritual essence; her cultivation was still shallow, having just reached the third level, and she immediately fell into a coma.

The Cultivator wanted to refine her into the prototype of a "Ritual Counterpart Shadow" Incarnation.

A true Ritual Counterpart Shadow was too difficult, requiring the combination of Winter Solstice and taiyin to form an external body similar to the main body, capable of walking and cultivating independently, not relying on the main body.

Later, many Cultivators settled for less, leading to the Frost Shadow substitution method that Shen Zhaowei cultivated.

The shadow body of the Frost Shadow was still tied to the main body, with its roots in the main body; if damaged, it could swallow the shadow to recover.

However, if a Ritual Counterpart Shadow was formed, the external body was almost a second life.

The Cultivator originally did not have the qualifications to walk this path.

But with the moon soul cold essence in hand, the yin water of the lake at his side, and two young physical bodies delivered to his door, he decided to gamble on one last act of madness.

Chen Xiaoyan was unconscious on the other stone platform, a drop of cold medicinal liquid dripped onto her brow, and the Winter Solstice Qi seeped into her skin bit by bit.

Jiang Xingchuan was powerless, watching helplessly as the taiyin spiritual essence was poured into his throat, his body gradually going limp.

Until a wisp of spring intent suddenly sprouted in his chest.

That spring intent came without reason, like a sudden third-month spring rain in the middle of the Winter Solstice.

Jiang Xingchuan's dying Meridians were reconnected inch by inch, and his broken ribs mended one by one.

Deep within the Baili Mountain family genealogy, Zhou Wang pulled the genealogy ink again, forcibly sending a wisp of Sending Spring into the "fate" character of Jiang Xingchuan.

This wisp of spring intent was extremely overbearing, appearing out of thin air in Jiang Xingchuan's Meridians, forcibly pulling his weak consciousness back.

Jiang Xingchuan violently snapped the ropes on his wrists and lunged at the half-bodied Cultivator.

The cave instantly descended into Chaos.

The Cultivator had already been burned into a mess by the spring-binding lantern fire, his Physical Body already ruined; Jiang Xingchuan forced himself to trigger the Awakening of Insects, engaging him in close-quarters combat.

The two fought in the cave, smashing the stone platform, and that old water mansion treasure, having lost its master due to the damage to the Cultivator's body, began to crack and detonate.

The cave walls began to shake, the water curtain crumbled layer by layer, and lake water poured in from the cracks.

Seeing that his Physical Body could no longer be saved, the Cultivator finally let out a spiteful roar: "Good brat, then I will take your body!"

A ball of gray-white soul light emerged from the top of his head, carrying the moon soul cold essence, and lunged into Jiang Xingchuan's brow.

Jiang Xingchuan's vision went black.

The man tore at his spiritual platform, grabbing for control of his body.

As a Cultivator of the proper lineage, his spiritual platform was clear, and the Cultivator's desperate counterattack almost missed.

Jiang Xingchuan picked up the weak Chen Xiaoyan and rushed toward the collapsing water curtain.

The lake water rushed in, swallowing everything along with the rubble.

Jiang Xingchuan struggled with the Cultivator for control of his body in his mind while dragging Chen Xiaoyan toward the surface.

The evil Cultivator's soul interference was weak; Jiang Xingchuan bit the tip of his tongue to force himself to stay conscious and finally broke through the surface of the lake.

It was already deep into the night on the shore.

Jiang Xingchuan dragged Chen Xiaoyan to the lakeside and just as he wanted to call for help, the moon soul cold essence in his mind suddenly exploded.

He felt his vision sink, and he collapsed onto the shore.

When he woke up again, he was already lying on this wooden bed in the farmhouse.

Someone was talking in low voices outside, the sound very distant, as if separated by a layer of water.

Jiang Xingchuan tried to listen clearly, but suddenly heard a cold laugh from deep within his own mind.

"Good brat, you certainly have quite a few secrets!"