Chapter 125: Red Makeup
The Nether Palace was the heart.
All the starlight from these nights fell around his Nether Palace, gradually settling, gradually falling silent, without a sound.
Realizing this, the emotion in the Black Dragon's eyes became even more shaken.
Chen Changsheng had drawn starlight to cleanse his marrow with no effect, and was ultimately forced to take the great risk of prematurely observing himself in meditation. But he had no idea that, as he drew starlight to cleanse his marrow night after night, that starlight had pierced through his body, gathered outside his Nether Palace, and knocked softly night after night.
He wasn't cleansing his marrow, nor had he even truly observed himself in meditation—he was reaching the Nether Realm.
How many nights had it been since he lit his destiny star?
The Black Dragon stared at the youth lying in a pool of blood, his breathing nearly stopped, and she herself grew so tense she almost forgot to breathe.
Since the descent of the Heavenly Book, no one had cultivated like Chen Changsheng. This was because his unique pure-body constitution was extremely rare, and also because few people lived night after night in the shadow of death like he did, possessing unimaginable perseverance and willpower. Even if they had these qualities, they wouldn't have his fortune.
Without fortune, he would still die. Even if he directly skipped the marrow-cleansing and self-observation stages and succeeded in reaching the Nether Realm, he would still die—the cultivation stages summarized by all of humanity were flawless; they could not be arbitrarily skipped. A cultivator who had not successfully cleansed their marrow could absolutely not withstand the energy released when starlight transformed into true essence.
Chen Changsheng's heart still beat powerfully, but the blood spilling from his burst vessels grew less and less. His eyes were tightly shut, his face as pale as a corpse.
The Black Dragon watched him in silence. The emotions in its draconic eyes were extremely complex—struggle, hesitation, and unwillingness.
It knew that it was Chen Changsheng's fortune.
Chen Changsheng was now on the verge of death. No rare elixir or miraculous medicine could save him. Even if a sage like the Pope personally intervened, it wouldn't work. But it could.
In this world, there was only one way to save Chen Changsheng.
The Black Dragon hesitated and struggled for a long time. Especially when it recalled its centuries of imprisonment by humans, it wanted nothing more than to turn and leave, waiting for Chen Changsheng to die.
Why should it pay such a heavy price for a human youth?
But... he had finally found a thread of hope.
And besides, it still needed him to do that thing for it.
Moreover, he was truly the first person it had meaningfully befriended in hundreds of years.
His thread of hope... might also be its own?
The Black Dragon thought silently. In truth, it didn't realize that it had been convincing itself all along to save this human youth.
After an unknown amount of time, it finally made its decision.
The Black Dragon approached Chen Changsheng and let out a low, rumbling dragon roar. As the roar continued, a single scale between its draconic eyes suddenly brightened.
It raised its right front claw and slowly moved it toward that scale.
With a soft hiss.
That scale broke.
A stream of blood sprayed from the small crack.
That was true dragon blood.
With a splash.
The dragon blood fell from the night sky, splattering onto the ground, drenching Chen Changsheng's entire body.
Just a simple action seemed to drain all of the Black Dragon's strength. The amount of dragon blood was enough to soak Chen Changsheng's entire body, but compared to the Black Dragon's massive frame, it should have been insignificant. Yet, for some reason, it caused the dragon to weaken drastically.
The Black Dragon slowly descended to the ground. Its whiskers drooped weakly, then curled slightly. Its enormous body lost all vitality, like a sleeping mountain range.
Then, something incredibly miraculous happened.
The sound of dragon scales scraping against the cold, icy ground came—a rustling noise, mixed with sounds like metal and stone snapping.
The Black Dragon was slowly shrinking, growing smaller.
The sleeping black mountain gradually became a ridge.
The Black Dragon continued to shrink.
The ridge finally became a slight bump on the ground.
Those dragon scales, covered in frost and dust, turned into a somewhat worn black dress.
A moment later, a hand slowly extended from beneath the black dress. That hand was very fair and tender.
The hand pressed against the ground, using a bit of force to prop up its body.
Beneath the black dress was a little girl.
A very beautiful little girl.
The little girl's face was cold, her eyes were vertical slits, naturally enchanting yet demonic. Though she looked extremely young, she gave off an impression of utter ruthlessness.
Between her brows was a red line that disrupted this impression.
It was a wound, hard to heal, but beautiful—like the makeup that had been popular in the capital of the Great Zhou Dynasty centuries ago.
She couldn't stand up because she was very weak and exhausted at the moment, and also because two long, thin iron chains were fastened around her ankles.
Those two chains were covered in rust, stretching into the darkness, firmly gripped in the hands of two legendary divine generals depicted on the stone wall paintings.
She looked at Chen Changsheng lying in the pool of blood before her and said coldly, "If you betray me, I will force myself to endure the disgust and eat you."
When she said this, her tone was calm and indifferent, but very certain.
She spoke in human language, her voice crisp and pleasant. Paired with her childish appearance, she looked nothing more than a little girl.
In human terms, she was only about thirteen or fourteen years old.
Chen Changsheng's severely damaged body was covered in blood and grime.
But by now, it was impossible to tell which blood was his and which was dragon blood.
He was soaked in her blood.
That true dragon blood was slowly repairing his body.
Those burst blood vessels gradually closed at a visible rate. Those ulcerated patches of skin slowly became smooth again under the glow of the night pearls. As for his broken bones and damaged organs, they naturally needed more time, but it was clear that everything was improving.
His face was still pale, but his breathing gradually steadied.
The black-clad girl stared at him for a long time.
Only after a long while, when she confirmed that Chen Changsheng would survive and that her precious drop of dragon blood hadn't been wasted, could she no longer support her weakened body and fell asleep from exhaustion.
Chen Changsheng slept in the pool of blood facing her.
The two lay on the cold underground floor, sleeping opposite each other.
White mist drifted slowly, fragments of blood coral scattered everywhere.
Though blood was everywhere, it felt like a divine paradise.
Snow fell heavily, and the palace grounds were silent and empty.
Two snow mastiffs played happily on the cold snow, pouncing on each other. Only the cold gleam in their eyes reminded one of what ferocious and terrifying beasts they were.
That palace maid stood to the side holding a rope, looking somewhat bored. Snowflakes drifted past her beautiful brows, and the faint remnants of red makeup could be seen between them. It was none other than Mo Yu—she had originally been a palace maid. If not for the Empress Dowager's favor, as the descendant of a disgraced official, she would likely have languished in some remote cold palace until she died.
A figure gradually appeared in the wind and snow. Mo Yu smiled and stepped forward to greet her.
The Empress Dowager paid no attention to the snow mastiffs prostrating in the snow in humility and fear. Expressionless, she walked to the abandoned well.
A moment later, her brow slightly raised. She was speechless. He could survive even this?
(Coughing too much is unbearable. Today's two chapters are a bit shorter. I bow. And then, I need monthly votes—it's the end of the month—and recommendation votes—it's the start of the week. To be serious, if you enjoy reading, please trouble yourselves to vote. Sincere thanks.)