Li Li sliced across the thick neck muscles of the Wise Monkey with his talons, causing him to drop his mother. The spirit beast grabbed his throat to prevent himself from dying and tried to roar out in anger from being ambushed. But by the time he could look up, his mother already grabbed him and teleported away with a talisman. They arrived at the bottom of some lake filled with Qi Consolidation spirit beasts. The two of them didn’t need air to breath so, it would be fine if they stayed under.
Li Li summoned the soul of the huge Worm Dragon to ward off the beasts from attacking them. Its gigantic size would frighten the others into not attacking. The incorporeal worm curled around them with its ethereal towers of flesh. With the spirit beasts away, Li Li used this chance to curl himself into his mother’s body. She was alive, she was fine... She didn’t die...
----------------------------------------
As this was all happening, Jing was receiving her reward from the system while gently petting Li Li. She was inside her mental plane. This was where she could interact with the system’s menu and other functions. Jing stood in front of the gigantic spinning wheel, waiting to receive her prize. Jing was impressed by the being that created this system. Despite her refinement with SCP-914, her enhanced eyes still couldn’t keep track of this wheel when it was spinning at full speed. Another point that proves that SCP-914 wasn’t all powerful even when things were refined on very fine.
The wheel’s pointer slowed to the point to where it was between receiving SCP-353 or gaining the Heaven-ranked sword, Immortal Blood Edge. Jing never knows what an SCP can do until she receives it from the system. So, she couldn’t tell if what she was getting was good or not when it came to an SCP. If she got the sword, she would just switch it for a more interesting weapon with SCP-914's 1:1 option. Jing didn’t know what abilities it held either. Jing hoped that it was something that could allow her to go back and give that impertinent monkey a lesson before fleeing and forcing him to submit when she gets stronger.
[Host has received SCP-353!]
Jing prepared herself for the influx of information about the SCP. The pain she felt when acquiring an SCP’s abilities wasn’t any less than it was when she got her first SCP. It wasn’t the type of pain that could be handled by turning off the nerves that dealt with pain. It targeted something deeper inside of her. She had a feeling that it was the same place where that giant manifestation of SCP-914 was inside her.
‘I might be able to work with this...’ A malicious half smile slowly formed on her face.
SCP-353 was a sentient entity. This mean that she couldn’t summon the being to this world and instead took control of its anomalous properties for herself. If the SCP wasn’t sentient and couldn’t form thoughts of its own, Jing would be able to summon the item or creature right in front of her. This SCP in particular gave her an understanding of several different things that cultivators here knew nothing about. Well, as far as Jing knew, they knew nothing about this type of stuff. But after the situation she just experienced, it was better to assume that nothing was secret or unknown. Arrogance will only lead to her downfall as it almost just did.
Jing could now take almost any infectious bacterial or viral agents within her body. She could siphon them into herself, develop them, and store them for as long as she wants. If she desires to develop them into a certain way, she will gain the symptoms of whichever disease she was trying to change. This lasts for as long as she’s attempting to improve the infectious bacterial. The only limit to the diseases she can harbor is that they must be able to naturally survive within the human body.
With Jing’s refinement, she was sure that her body could handle any types of symptoms. As far as she knew, she was practically immortal already. No wounds could keep her from recovering. Being stabbed through the heart, brain, ripped apart, losing all the blood in her body, none of it would keep her down for long. Jing didn’t let this go to her head though. There were still plenty of ways to deal with a being like herself. She could easily be sealed within a formation for thousands of years if she wasn’t careful.
‘Wait. Li Li did you just talk?!’ Jing suddenly remembered hearing a childish voice calling out mom before she teleported away.
‘I don’t know. Did I?’ Li Li responded in her head.
‘How are you...’ Jing used her qi to sense anything different about herself or Li Li. She didn’t find anything out of the ordinary.
If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.
‘Our souls are connected Mom! My Auxiliary technique! I can link our souls and talk to you now!’
‘Is that the only thing it can do?’ Jing asked.
‘I don’t know.’ Li Li answered innocently.
‘That’s fine. We can figure out how this works later but for now you can help me get a little revenge on a certain monkey.’ Jing has been actively using her new ability to siphon several bacterial agents within the surrounding area.
Using her qi as an amplifier, Jing could enhance the range she was able to gather bacteria within her body. Along with improving the rate of their development and potency. She has a nice little gift to give that spirit beast before she returns at a later time to get her revenge and force it under her. After that she can work on other matters.
Jing used a talisman and reappeared in the area where she fought with the Wise Monkey. She arrived with Li Li, holding onto his feet as he flew in the air. Various ailments plagued her skin that made Jing look sickly and freakish. She immediately spotted the beast and prepared two talismans. She lit one slip a few seconds before the other to ensure her survival. Jing refused to let herself be caught off guard again because of her ignorance and arrogance.
The duo arrived directly behind the walking spirit beast and Jing palmed his back, infecting him with a progressive virus that would slowly worsen as time goes on, giving him torturous symptoms that would make suicide a preferable option than living. Of course, she made sure that the bacterial agent wasn’t fatal. It wouldn’t be as sweet if he died before she returns to force him underneath her foot. This might not be honorable but Jing isn’t the type of person to care about something like honor when it didn’t give any benefits to herself.
He attempted to swipe at her with a backhanded swing but the second talisman activated after she infected him, immediately sending her far far away. Getting away so freely almost made Jing feel like laughing with giddy.
“He he he...” It was hard for her to contain the jubilant emotions flowing through her and she laughed loudly and without restraint.
‘I only see you this happy when you are hurting people.’ Li Li spoke with joy, also affected by his mom’s good mood.
“The next few weeks will be quite some fun now that my identity has been exposed to all the elders. The time I was using to slowly bolster my strength, influence, and forces is now gone. I suppose there won’t be any reason to fake my personality or abilities either. Everything I've done during the Treasured Plains were seen by them.”
‘Does this mean I can breakthrough now?’ Li Li asked innocently.
“There isn’t a point to me purposely suppressing my realm either now.” Jing’s stage started to rapidly rise and breakthrough the ranks.
Qi Gathering 5!
Qi Gathering 6!
Qi Gathering 7!
Qi Gathering 8!
And it came to a slow eventual halt once she broke into the 9th stage. This was because of the words she remembered from the Wise Monkey. The amount of qi one can hold in the 9th stage is only determined by how much qi control they possess. Jing figured that this meant that hypothetically, a cultivator could have a nearly endless supply of qi if their talent in qi control is good enough before breaking into the Qi Consolidation realm. She would have to share this information with her followers. Jing sent a message through the special message talisman she gave them all and let them know.
Li Li followed in her steps and also broke through. He didn’t rise as rapidly as Jing did though. He just broke past the barrier keeping him from the Qi Consolidation realm and stayed at the first stage. Jing guessed that he must have felt stifled being forced to stay at the 9th stage so long. It probably wasn’t in a spirit beast’s nature to restrain themselves.
‘Much better!’ He exclaimed.
“Sorry I had you limit yourself for so long. I didn’t know you felt uncomfortable about it.” She said to him.
‘It’s okay Mom. I don’t mind doing hard things for you! I’m not a baby anymore, I can handle tough things!’ He told her.
A rare genuine smile came from Jing.
“I’m proud of you.” She hugged him.
After their warm embrace, Jing was about to take out her special talisman and get in contact with her followers but sensed a familiar qi presence nearby. She looked at Li Li for clarification and he also recognized this qi.
‘Annoying Girl.’ He said.
“Wenling?” Jing saw that her body was covered in blood and she was using her glaive as a walking stick to keep herself up.
Wenling looked up at Jing and fiercely rubbed her eyes.
“It's... really... you... You’re alive...” Those were the last words she spoke before falling unconscious on the ground.
Jing slowly walked over to her with an indescribable look on her face.