Chapter 107 A Bloodstained Romance, A Phoenix Rising from the Ashes

The smell of blood mixed in the sea breeze had not yet dissipated.

The damaged frigate rocked slightly amidst the waves.

Jiang Chen's words, "I'll take the night watch," echoed on the empty deck for a long time.

Su Qingyue looked at Jiang Chen's tall, straight back, and her eyes suddenly stung with tears.

She wanted to smile to lighten the mood, but moving strained her wounds, and she could only let out a painful gasp.

Jiang Chen turned around and walked quickly to Su Qingyue's side.

He didn't speak, simply squatting down silently.

Jiang Chen pulled an exquisite jade bottle from his Storage Ring.

It was the "Black Jade Bone-Connecting Ointment" that Su Manyu had pressed into his hand before they left—a holy healing medicine worth a thousand gold pieces.

He carefully supported Su Qingyue's left hand, which was mangled and torn, even exposing white bone.

Just now, to block a fatal blow, she had used this hand to death-grip the enemy's blade.

Jiang Chen's movements were extremely light, as if he were afraid of breaking some rare treasure.

"Hiss..."

The moment the ointment touched the wound, Su Qingyue couldn't help but suck in a breath of cold air.

The pain caused cold sweat to break out on her forehead.

"Endure it a bit."

Jiang Chen's voice was low, carrying a trace of tenderness that was absolutely never heard normally.

Using the pads of his fingers, he applied the black ointment bit by bit, evenly over those shocking wounds.

Looking at the crisscrossing bloodstains...

A flash of heartache that was hard to hide flickered in Jiang Chen's eyes.

"You are a swordsman, but you are also a high-born Young Miss."

Jiang Chen said softly while applying the medicine, "Your hand is meant for holding a sword, and it's also meant for holding hands."

He looked up, those pitch-black eyes crashing directly into Su Qingyue's gaze.

"In the future, you are not allowed to use it to block blades again."

"Do you hear me?"

Su Qingyue was stunned.

She looked at Jiang Chen's face so close at hand and listened to his slightly overbearing yet concern-filled words.

The tears in her eyes could no longer be controlled, bursting through like a dam.

In this world where the strong are respected...

She was used to feigning strength, used to rushing to the front to prove herself.

But no one had ever told her, "Your hand is meant for holding hands."

This feeling of being carefully held in the palm of someone's hand...

Instantly shattered all of her psychological defenses.

"Who... who wants to hold your hand..."

Su Qingyue's face flushed red as she choked out a retort.

But she didn't pull her hand back; instead, she allowed Jiang Chen to hold it.

After an extreme life-and-death crisis...

On this blood-stained deck...

The atmosphere between the two suddenly gained a trace of indescribable bloody romance.

[Ding! Strong emotional fluctuations detected.]

[Target: Su Qingyue (Favorability has broken through the critical point).]

[Under the dual stimulation of the mental transformation from a life-and-death battle and the host's Pure Yang Blood Qi (transmitted through hand-holding)...]

[phoenix blood Secondary Awakening, begin!]

Buzz!

A clear and resonant Phoenix cry suddenly sounded from within Su Qingyue's body.

In the Meridians that had run dry due to the battle, a surge of even more pure and scorching gold-red flames rose violently.

These flames did not burn Jiang Chen.

Instead, they enveloped Su Qingyue, like a Phoenix undergoing Nirvana.

Crack!

Accompanied by the burning of the flames...

The invisible barrier of her Realm within Su Qingyue's body shattered like a spiderweb.

A powerful fluctuation of blood and Qi erupted from her body.

Organ Refining Realm Fourth Layer!

Not only that, but under the nourishment of the phoenix blood, the wounds on her body began to heal at a rate visible to the naked eye.

Even the broken S-rank longsword seemed to sense its master's transformation, emitting bursts of sword cries.

"Nirvana Sword Intent..."

Feeling the surging power within her body, a flash of realization crossed Su Qingyue's eyes.

She had finally found her own Dao.

Seeing that her condition was stable, Jiang Chen breathed a sigh of relief.

But his heart immediately hung in suspense again.

Because there was someone else nearby in even worse condition.

Mu Qingxue.

At this moment, Mu Qingxue's situation had reached the point of extreme danger.

Forcibly taking the "Blood Burning Pill" to overdraw her life force had caused the "Nine Yin Cold Poison" in her body to go completely out of control.

Not only was the surface of her body covered in white frost...

Even her respiratory tract and Meridians were starting to be frozen shut.

Her lips had turned a dark purple, and her life signs were as weak as a flickering candle in the wind.

Jiang Chen walked over quickly and wrapped the pajama jacket covering her even tighter.

"Teacher, wake up!"

Jiang Chen grasped her hand, transmitting the Pure Yang Blood Qi within his body without reservation.

However, it was useless.

This outbreak of Cold Poison was too violent; simple True Qi transmission was fundamentally unable to suppress it.

Even the Yang Qi Jiang Chen sent over was frozen the moment it touched her Meridians.

"Damn it! How did this Cold Poison become so overbearing!"

Jiang Chen was so anxious that sweat broke out on his forehead.

Mu Qingxue was his "exclusive air conditioner" and also the strongest combatant on this ship besides himself.

More importantly, this woman had ended up like this to protect him and the ship.

He absolutely could not watch her die!

[Warning! Target "Mu Qingxue's" life force loss has reached 90%!]

[Estimated three minutes until the heart Meridians are completely frozen.]

[System Prompt: Ordinary methods are no longer effective.]

[Unique Solution: Use an extremely overbearing Supreme Yang object to forcibly break open the frozen heart Meridians.]

"Supreme Yang object?"

Jiang Chen's brain worked at high speed.

On this vast ocean, where was he supposed to find a Supreme Yang object?

Unless...

Jiang Chen looked down at the pulse thumping at his wrist.

Because he had absorbed a large amount of Demonic Ape Essence Blood, his Physical Body had long since been tempered into the prototype of the "Nightmare Golden Body."

His blood was the most overbearing Pure Yang substance in this world!

"Forget it! Treat a dead horse like a live one!"

Jiang Chen did not hesitate in the slightest.

Using his fingers like a blade, he directly sliced a deep gash into his own left wrist.

Bright red, scalding blood that even emitted a faint golden glow instantly surged out.

The temperature of this blood was extremely high.

As soon as it touched the air, wisps of white mist steamed up.

Jiang Chen pried open Mu Qingxue's already frozen lips and brought his bleeding wrist to them.

"Teacher, open your mouth. Drink it."

Jiang Chen commanded in a tone that brooked no argument.

In her semi-conscious state, Mu Qingxue instinctively resisted this bloody liquid.

But the moment that Pure Yang blood dripped into her mouth...

That extreme warmth and overbearing vitality awakened her body's desire for survival.

"Gulp."

She subconsciously swallowed it down.

Boom!

This mouthful of Pure Yang blood was like a nuclear bomb detonated deep within a glacier!

The extremely violent Pure Yang power exploded within Mu Qingxue's body.

It transformed directly into a roaring fire dragon, crashing headlong into the Nine Yin Cold Poison entrenched at her heart Meridians.

"Ngh!"

Mu Qingxue arched her body in pain, letting out a muffled groan.

Extreme cold and extreme heat engaged in the most tragic slaughter within her body.

One half of her skin turned fiery red, while the other half turned ice blue.

Two completely different energies treated her body as a battlefield.

This pain was ten times more intense than being skinned and having one's tendons pulled!

Jiang Chen held her tightly, preventing her from self-harming due to the intense pain.

"Hold on! Teacher! You must hold on!"

Jiang Chen roared in her ear.

He continuously squeezed his wrist, letting more Pure Yang blood flow into Mu Qingxue's mouth.

"Aren't you the aloof Ice Mountain Goddess? Don't you still want to manage me?"

"If you die here, I'll post your ugly photos all over the school! I'll make you suffer social death!"

Jiang Chen used an extremely clumsy provocation to stimulate her will to live.

Whether it was Jiang Chen's blood taking effect...

Or his words being too infuriating...

Mu Qingxue's tightly closed eyes miraculously opened a crack.

She looked at Jiang Chen's anxious face.

She looked at his wrist, which was still continuously bleeding.

A warm tear slid from the corner of her eye.

"Bastard... even if I die... I won't let you have your way..."

Mu Qingxue bit her lip.

She began to frantically circulate the ice-attribute Cultivation Technique she practiced, the "Mystic Ice Art."

But at this life-or-death moment...

She made an extremely bold decision.

She no longer tried to suppress that Cold Poison.

Instead, she chose... Fusion!

Using Jiang Chen's Pure Yang blood as a neutralizing agent, she forcibly refined the Nine Yin Cold Poison that had plagued her for over a decade into her own Origin power!

Reborn from destruction, seeking life in the midst of death!

"Crackle, crackle..."

With her guidance, the conflict between ice and fire within her body gradually subsided.

In its place was an unprecedented harmony and strength.

The Nine Yin Cold Poison was completely refined by her!

Buzz!

A dazzling ice-blue pillar of light shot up from Mu Qingxue's body, piercing straight through the clouds!

The surrounding seawater, and even the raindrops in the sky...

At this moment, all were frozen into crystal-clear ice crystals.

A powerful Grandmaster pressure swept across the entire scene.

Grandmaster Realm Fourth Layer!

Not only did she break through, but she broke through three minor stages in a row!

Even more terrifying...

Her Physique, after the Cold Poison was refined, finally approached perfection.

[Ding! Target "Mu Qingxue" has completed Nirvana.]

[Physique Evolution: Flawless Ice Phoenix Physique (Major Achievement).]

[System Evaluation: Your air conditioner hasn't just been repaired; it's been upgraded to central air conditioning.]

The pillar of light dissipated.

Mu Qingxue slowly stood up from Jiang Chen's embrace.

The wounds on her body had completely healed, and even her skin had become even fairer and more translucent, radiating a trace of Immortal Qi that seemed detached from the mortal world.

However, that thin shirt had become somewhat tattered under the energy impact just now, faintly revealing large patches of snowy white skin.

She looked down at Jiang Chen.

She looked at his face, which appeared somewhat pale due to excessive blood loss from saving her...

And the wound on his wrist that was still seeping blood.

Mu Qingxue's eyes turned red.

She suddenly squatted down and performed an action that no one expected.

She reached out both hands, cupping Jiang Chen's injured left arm.

Then, lowering her head, she used those soft, cool lips to gently and with extreme cherish, kiss that mangled wound.

"Thank you... Jiang Chen."

Her voice trembled slightly, no longer possessing the aloofness of the past.

There was only endless tenderness and gratitude.

Jiang Chen was stunned.

He felt that touch of softness and coolness on his wrist.

His face turned red.

"That... Teacher..."

Jiang Chen scratched his head somewhat unnaturally, "Are you... possessed by a vampire? Why are you biting people?"

Mu Qingxue looked up and gave him a white eye.

"Shut up."

She said it irritably, but the smile in the depths of her eyes couldn't be hidden no matter what.

At this moment...

The smell of blood on the deck seemed to fade significantly.

In its place...

Was something called a "bond," quietly taking root and sprouting on this damaged warship.