The underground spiritual energy surged like a massive inverted tornado, dragging nine long glowing spiritual veins into the Lingling Treasure Pavilion, continuously supplying spiritual power.
At this moment, no one noticed that this “tornado” began to tremble violently!
The nine glowing spiritual veins seemed to be pulled at one end, slowly drawn into the tornado, forming a smaller vortex that, under the flow of spiritual energy, shattered into countless light points, rushing upwards and pouring into Nangong Huan's body.
Elder Ling's calming voice rang out: “Don’t rush, take your time to absorb it. You’ve just established your spiritual platform, still a mortal body, and cannot bear such immense power in a short time. Do you remember the body refining technique I taught you? A powerful spiritual platform requires a strong body to support it.”
“I remember!” Nangong Huan replied, flipping her hand to form a seal; she had long memorized the secret incantation for body refining.
Though she hadn’t been able to cultivate for three years, she had exercised daily to lay the foundation for body refining!
With such massive spiritual vein power, today she would surely undergo a transformation and be reborn!
As the spiritual energy entered her body, it refined her bones and strengthened her tendons, enhancing her vitality and stabilizing her spirit!
The spiritual platform spun rapidly, absorbing the power of the spiritual veins and nourishing her body, gradually expelling the toxins from her bones and clearing her meridians.
Body refining was not an instantaneous process; it could be subtly integrated into her cultivation, a long-term secret technique.
Though it was her first time, it granted Nangong Huan remarkable benefits.
The toxins within her body gradually emerged to the surface of her skin, quickly evaporating into gray-black smoke.
Especially the black spots on her face, their color was slowly lightening.
...
Nangong Qian’er sat in her room, clenching her fists, her face dark with anger.
She had washed many times, yet she still couldn’t rid herself of the disgusting stench of bird droppings.
A delicate, fair-skinned woman sat beside her, taking her hand and smiling lightly: “Qian’er, don’t be angry. Do you remember the mother and child poison insects I gave you?”
Hearing the words “mother and child poison insects,” Nangong Qian’er’s expression softened. She walked to the bedside, pulled out a delicate box from beneath the bed, and slowly opened it to reveal a plump poison insect lying inside.
This insect was the size of a thumb, with a milky-white body that appeared somewhat dull; it was indeed the mother insect of the poison duo.
“Mother, when will that ugly Nangong Huan die?” Nangong Qian’er placed the box on the table, staring at the insect with a twisted expression of resentment and jealousy.
With the mother insect here, the child insect was naturally within Nangong Huan’s body!
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In her childhood, Nangong Qian’er had planted the child insect inside Nangong Huan; as long as the mother insect lived, the child insect would continuously secrete toxins, causing black spots to grow on her skin, making her hideously ugly.
“No need to rush,” Shen Ye Ruo said, taking a sip of tea, her voice soft and soothing. “Keeping her alive has its uses; it can restrain the old family head. If you truly see Nangong Huan as a thorn in your side, why not control the mother insect to let the child insect go wild? It won’t kill her but will cause her excruciating pain, making her wish she were dead.”
“Really?” Nangong Qian’er’s face instantly brightened, revealing a sinister smile.
“Don’t you trust your mother? But it only works within ten zhang of distance between the mother and child insects,” Shen Ye Ruo smiled.
Nangong Qian’er’s eyes sparkled as she calculated: “During the disciple trial, I can find an opportunity to teach her a lesson!”
But soon, Nangong Qian’er’s expression fell again: “She’s not a waste anymore; it might be difficult to get close to her.”
“Don’t worry; I’ll help you increase your strength. My Qian’er will definitely be the best and win first place in the disciple trial,” Shen Ye Ruo’s smile widened, but in her outstretched hand appeared two tiny transparent poison insects!
“What’s this?” Nangong Qian’er asked, puzzled.
Shen Ye Ruo placed two more teacups on the table, tossing the two poison insects inside and mixing them with tea, making it impossible to see the insects.
“Xiao Qing, Xiao Cha,” Shen Ye Ruo called to the maid outside the door.
“Madam, Miss, what can we do for you?” Two maids entered, the twin personal attendants of Nangong Qian’er.
“Have you been standing for long? You must be tired. Come drink some tea; I need you to do something later,” Shen Ye Ruo smiled.
Nangong Qian’er saw through her mother’s intentions but said nothing, merely offering a gentle and serene smile: “Drink up.”
The two maids, surprised by the favor, picked up the tea: “Thank you, Madam! Thank you, Miss!”
But after they gratefully drank the tea, their expressions changed, and with a thud, they collapsed to the ground, lifeless.
Shen Ye Ruo smiled charmingly, but beneath her facade lay endless coldness and cruelty: “Their spiritual roots are now yours. After absorbing the power from these roots, breaking through to the second spiritual command should be no problem.”
Shen Ye Ruo also took out a bottle of potion for the second spiritual command and placed it on the table, everything part of her scheme!
To her, two lives were as insignificant as squashing two ants.
Nangong Qian’er revealed a contemptuous and greedy smile, approaching the two corpses and pulling out a dagger, brutally extracting their spiritual roots!
Her swift and practiced movements suggested this was not her first time.
“In the disciple trial, I must outshine that ugly monster!” Nangong Qian’er gritted her teeth, her bloody hands clutching several glowing spiritual roots, filled with sinister intent.
“Nangong Huan…” Shen Ye Ruo gazed at her fingertips, deep in thought.
Two hours quickly passed.
The rich spiritual energy in the Lingling Treasure Pavilion began to thin.
The spiritual energy surging from the spiritual veins was completely absorbed by Nangong Huan; she had taken in two-thirds of the nine spiritual veins!
From now on, the spiritual energy in the Lingling Treasure Pavilion would greatly diminish.
It wasn’t that she didn’t want to leave a way out for the other disciples; it was simply that recalling the mocking faces of her peers over the years made her feel that leaving a third was already too generous.
At this moment, Nangong Huan felt her spiritual platform had reached saturation, her cultivation had significantly increased, now at the peak of the first spiritual command.
To advance to the second spiritual command, she still needed a bottle of advancement potion.
Taking a deep breath, Nangong Huan opened her eyes, her translucent peach blossom eyes flashing with a hint of joy, her body feeling much lighter and her resilience greatly improved.
Her cheeks felt slightly warm, a sign of toxins being expelled.
She took out a bronze mirror from her storage ring and looked at her reflection, noticing that the black spots on her face had faded significantly. Although a large patch remained, it was much more pleasant to look at than before.
Years of accumulated toxins couldn’t be expelled entirely in just two hours.
Nangong Huan touched her cheeks, realizing that as long as she continued with body refining, the removal of the black spots was just a matter of time!
“Master Silver!” Little Jiu’s excited voice echoed in her mind; it too had absorbed a considerable amount of spiritual energy feedback from the earth, increasing its power as well!