Chapter 2884: The Revived Jade Dragon Immortal
The singing was melodious and moving, yet sorrowful and lamenting.
The emotional impact was so strong that after listening for just a moment, Zhang Ruochen was already in tears, recalling the past—those departed friends, those irretrievable years.
"Uncle-Master, don't let her singing affect your mind!"
Aji tugged at Zhang Ruochen's sleeve.
Zhang Ruochen waved it off, deeply sentimental, and said, "It's fine! This voice can't yet affect my consciousness; I'm just being a bit overly emotional on my own."
The influence of the singing was extraordinary. Only because Zhang Ruochen's spiritual power was strong and his will firm was he able to calmly dissolve it.
If it were a cultivator with weaker spiritual power than Zhang Ruochen, they would likely be overwhelmed with grief and end their own life right there.
Zhang Ruochen asked, "Who exactly is she?"
"Uncle-Master, follow me, and you'll see."
Aji took Zhang Ruochen's hand and led him through the temple gate to a dilapidated remnant wall.
Looking inside, layers of spatial barriers dispersed like mist. An ancient tree covered in red hibiscus flowers came into Zhang Ruochen's view.
The hibiscus tree had grown for a hundred thousand years, its trunk so thick that one would need to take a hundred steps to walk around it. Roots as thick as bowls, coiled like horned dragons, burrowed into the broken bricks and rubble of the temple ruins.
Beneath the tree stood a stele.
Engraved on the stele were the words:
"One petal falls, one speck of dust returns."
The singing came from beneath the stele.
Aji said in a low voice, "A hundred thousand years ago, when Master buried her here, he instructed me never to disturb her peace. Who would have thought that recently, like the other divine corpses, she seems to be undergoing a corpse transformation? Every day at noon, singing comes from underground, sending chills down my spine."
"You're a ferocious plant; what are you afraid of?" Zhang Ruochen said.
Aji shook its head. "Amitabha! Aji was once a ferocious plant, but after being nurtured by Master's Buddhist teachings, I've long lost my aggression. Now... now I'm just a useless Aji."
"Who are you trying to fool? Those corpses hanging on the gate—weren't they killed by you?" Zhang Ruochen said.
"Shh!"
Aji was startled and made a silencing gesture. "Uncle-Master, keep your voice down, don't alert her! As the saying goes, even the Buddha roars like a lion. Aji was ordered to guard this place, so naturally, I had to deal with those greedy ones trying to break into the temple. Uncle-Master... Uncle-Master, come back..."
Before Aji could finish, it realized Zhang Ruochen had already walked out of the Yin Escape Nine Formation and entered the temple ruins.
In a hundred thousand years, he was the first cultivator to step into the Rain Dust Temple.
Aji was so frightened it nearly jumped up, and without a second thought, it immediately chased after him.
"Don't come in. Wait for me in the formation. If anything goes wrong, pull me back." Zhang Ruochen said.
Aji thought for a moment, then carefully lifted its thorn-covered legs, trembling and tiptoeing, and retreated back.
Entering the temple, Zhang Ruochen immediately felt a corrosive force rushing at him. The air was thick with deathly qi, gray and hazy, as if he had entered the netherworld.
The soil beneath his feet was black, and stepping on it was extraordinarily cold.
"Are you sure Jade Dragon Immortal is really dead?" Zhang Ruochen asked.
Aji's voice was hoarse. "When Master escaped from underground back then, Jade Dragon Immortal had already turned into a jade skeleton with no flesh or blood. How could she not be dead? Uncle-Master, you'd better come back quickly. If Jade Dragon Immortal has really undergone corpse transformation like the other divine corpses in the temple, it will be very dangerous."
Zhang Ruochen arrived at the hibiscus tree and stood before the stele, covered in moss.
The singing from underground had stopped.
He said, "What's there to fear? Jade Dragon Immortal is already dead. Even if she has undergone corpse transformation, can she have even one-tenth of her living combat power?"
"One-tenth of her combat power would be more than enough to kill you, Uncle-Master," Aji said.
Back then, Jade Dragon Immortal was able to invite Master Fangcun to join her in storming the Rain Dust Temple, so her own cultivation was naturally extraordinary.
Zhang Ruochen felt annoyed, thinking Aji was too timid—not only disgracing ferocious plants but also disgracing Xumi Saint Monk and Master Fangcun.
He released his spiritual power to probe but found nothing unusual.
Losing interest, Zhang Ruochen turned and walked deeper into the temple ruins.
He had heard from Aji that the old corpse ghost underground was likely related to the second disciple of the Xinghuan Heavenly Venerable. As for the divine corpses in the temple undergoing mutation, it might be related to the Heavenly Venerable's divine source.
It was the Heavenly Venerable's divine source that continuously attracted the primordial mother qi of Xinghuantian and the power of extraterrestrial stars, especially the essence of the sun, to this place.
These divine corpses absorbed the primordial mother qi and were nourished by the essence of the sun and stars, transforming into this strange state of being neither dead nor alive.
They were completely different from the Corpse Clan.
The Corpse Clan of the Hell Realm had intelligence and could cultivate.
But the divine corpses here retained their formidable combat power from before death, yet had no intelligence, were filled with deep malevolent qi, and only knew how to kill.
Of course, all of this was Aji's speculation. Master Fangcun had not specifically told it what was really going on underground.
Suddenly, Aji's terrified voice rang out: "Uncle-Master, behind you..."
It didn't need to remind him. Zhang Ruochen had already sensed it.
His entire spine felt as cold as an icicle, his scalp frozen stiff. He spun around abruptly.
There, standing before the stele, was a stunningly beautiful woman draped in a phoenix-feather red robe. Her long silver hair, over ten feet in length, danced in the air. On her forehead grew a pair of crystal-clear dragon horns. Her skin was as white as solidified cream, and her delicate, exquisite jade feet were bare.
The wind blew, and petals from the hibiscus tree fell like a rain of blood.
The ground beneath the stele had cracked open, clearly showing she had just crawled out from underground.
No need to guess; he knew who she was.
Zhang Ruochen sucked in a breath of cold air and stared at Aji, transmitting his spiritual voice: "Didn't you say that a hundred thousand years ago, she had already turned into a jade skeleton?"
Aji was also stunned, speaking incoherently: "I... I don't know what's going on either! Could it be that the soil in this temple is White Cang Blood Soil, and burying someone in it can regenerate flesh from bones, grow back flesh and blood, and live a second life?"
Zhang Ruochen had seen White Cang Blood Soil before; believing that would be absurd.
Just as Zhang Ruochen was thinking of a countermeasure, Jade Dragon Immortal, standing opposite him, began to dance gracefully in the rain of flowers.
Her body lines were soft and beautiful, her jade-like legs and arms slender, her willow waist so delicate it could be encircled with one hand, her navel alluring, and her skin as fine as solidified cream. With every step and gesture, her dance was utterly captivating.
Compared to Bai Qinger and Luo Sha, Jade Dragon Immortal was not very tall, but her proportions were perfect, petite and exquisite.
That was why, even knowing she had lived for several eons before dying a hundred thousand years ago, she still gave Zhang Ruochen the feeling of a young maiden.
Her body was devoid of life force, filled instead with deathly qi. Zhang Ruochen dared not provoke her and carefully began to move toward the temple exit.
"Shua!"
A strand of silver hair shot straight toward Zhang Ruochen, causing ripples in the space around it.
Zhang Ruochen's expression changed, and he immediately released his spiritual power, condensing it into a light shield.
The silver hair was sharper than a Supreme Sacred Artifact war sword. When it touched the light shield, it tore through it like paper and wrapped around Zhang Ruochen's neck.
Zhang Ruochen's body instantly shrank to the size of a fist, trying to escape.
But suddenly, the ground darkened.
Zhang Ruochen looked up and saw a massive hand reaching down. No matter how fast he moved, he couldn't escape its palm.
"Not good, I've fallen into her Divine Realm World!"
"Soul-Stealing Bells!"
Zhang Ruochen unleashed twelve Soul-Stealing Bells, driving them with his spiritual power.
The bells grew to the size of mountains, shaking violently and producing earth-shaking sounds.
In Zhang Ruochen's view, even if Jade Dragon Immortal's corpse had undergone mutation and retained formidable combat power, even preserving her complete Divine Realm World, her soul must be her weakness.
But to his dismay, the Soul-Stealing Bells had no effect on Jade Dragon Immortal at all.
Instead, she took the bells and hung them on her slender waist.
"How can she be this strong? Just a mere divine corpse, yet she leaves me powerless to resist. Even encountering an Upper-Level God wouldn't be this bad!"
A powerful divine might pressed down, majestic and boundless in corpse qi. Jade Dragon Immortal's five snow-white fingers grabbed Zhang Ruochen.
With just one grab, all the bones in Zhang Ruochen's body cracked, as if she would crush him into meat paste.
"Hua!"
The power of the Buddha Emperor Relic within Zhang Ruochen erupted.
Golden Sanskrit characters broke through the confinement of her hand. Seizing the opportunity, he escaped.
Zhang Ruochen's body was already very old, and being squeezed like this nearly cost him half his life. After landing on the ground, it was quite difficult for him to even stand up.
Fortunately, Aji wasn't truly useless. It immediately extended a vine, wrapped it around him, and dragged him back into the Yin Escape Nine Formation.
"Ding ding dang dang."
The sound of bells rang out as Jade Dragon Immortal chased into the spatial divine formation.
"Activate the formation."
Zhang Ruochen sat cross-legged and formed hand seals.
Aji transformed into the formation spirit and merged into the Yin Escape Nine Formation.
"Star Gate Subduing Kun!"
"Ascending Kan Strange Union!"
"Shock Reversal Flying Palace!"
...
Zhang Ruochen mobilized one spatial divine formation after another, pressing them down on Jade Dragon Immortal from different directions.
No matter how strong Jade Dragon Immortal's cultivation was, she could not contend with the Yin Escape Nine Formation. Her eyes turned crimson, Yin patterns appeared on her forehead, and she let out a sharp screech.
Her petite body contained the power to shatter countless stars, along with terrifying malevolent qi.
Taking advantage of the moment she was suppressed by the Yin Escape Nine Formation, Zhang Ruochen flew over, grabbed her cheeks, pulled out the Arhat White Pearl, and forcibly stuffed it into her mouth, causing her to let out a series of muffled sounds.
"Bang!"
He struck her back with his palm, and the Arhat White Pearl was swallowed by her.
The Arhat White Pearl was extremely sacred, containing pure Buddhist qi that could purify all malevolent qi and corpse miasma. Gradually, the blood red in Jade Dragon Immortal's eyes faded, the Yin patterns on her forehead dissipated, and she stood still, no longer moving.
"Cough, cough!"
Zhang Ruochen supported himself on her fragrant shoulder, coughing and spitting out blood.
That squeeze earlier had hurt badly and injured him significantly.
"Uncle-Master, what did you feed her? How did it suppress her so easily?" Aji asked curiously.
"A Buddhist sacred object."
Zhang Ruochen caught his breath and carefully examined Jade Dragon Immortal's beautiful face. Truly, there was not a single flaw. Her features were exquisitely delicate, her eyelashes long and curled, her eyes sparkling, her nose straight and elegant, and her red lips crystal clear. Even knowing she was a divine corpse, it was hard not to have wandering thoughts, unable to resist.
No wonder she was the previous owner of the Goddess Twelve Pavilions. She must have been a peerless beauty whose name spread across the world back then.
"Perfect timing. I've just deciphered the 'Nether Soldier Scroll,' so I can use you to practice."