Chapter 546: The Female Cultivator's Strange Thoughts

Chapter 546: Chapter 547: The Female Cultivator’s Strange Thoughts

He frowned, his gaze falling on the faint Dao Essence between the person’s brows, then on the peach-pink embroidered shoe on one of her feet.

Chen Dong’s heart skipped a beat. It really was Zisang Jin.

How had the girl once as bright and lovely as a peach blossom become like this? She was so shriveled she looked like an old crone with one foot in the grave.

“Peak Master Zisang, Peak Master Zisang!”

Chen Dong called out twice, but as expected, there was no response.

As control over his six senses slowly returned, Chen Dong realized that Zisang Jin’s Nascent Soul was frozen solid. Her body was completely devoid of Spiritual Power, and her life force was about to run out. No, it had already run out. The only reason she still clung to a single breath was that her Nascent Soul had been frozen.

For a Nascent Soul Stage Cultivator, as long as the Nascent Soul is not destroyed, they cannot be considered dead. So long as the Nascent Soul remains, it’s possible to reconstruct the physical body.

Zisang Jin’s life force had already been exhausted, but because her Nascent Soul was frozen, it had entered a state of suspended animation.

This situation was an impossible dilemma. Under any other circumstances, her death would be certain. To save her, her life force had to be replenished. To do that, she needed to consume Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures that extend one’s life. But in her current state, she couldn’t consume anything at all; someone would have to refine the treasures for her.

The hardest part, however, was that even if someone refined the treasures for her, her Nascent Soul would have to be unsealed for it to absorb the benefits.

The lifespan of a Nascent Soul Stage Cultivator resides within their Nascent Soul. If the Nascent Soul couldn’t absorb the energy, all efforts would be for naught. Yet, the moment her Nascent Soul was unsealed from the ice, it would instantly die.

It was a lethal catch-22!

But for Chen Dong, none of this was a problem. He was no stranger to Dao Essence. Zisang Jin’s current appearance was clearly the result of using her Dao Essence without restraint, completely burning through her own life force.

And Chen Dong’s Path of Red Dust offered the perfect solution. He could use the Red Dust Dao Radiance to pay the price she had incurred for using her Dao Essence.

Chen Dong had used this method on Zisang Jin once before. He didn’t dwell on his own sudden appearance here. His first reaction upon seeing her was to assume she had been through a great battle and needed his help. That must be why her Nascent Soul was frozen and why they were both left here.

It was a familiar process. When it came to saving people, Chen Dong never had ulterior motives—with the sole exception of Yun Mengshang.

And so, Chen Dong leaned down to her withered lips and kissed her.

Instantly, the Red Dust Dao Radiance in Chen Dong’s sea of consciousness plummeted. At the same time, Zisang Jin’s skin began to fill out, as if flesh and blood were regenerating in a single moment. Then, the wrinkles on her face began to fade.

Just then, Zisang Jin, who had been all but dead, snapped her eyes open.

Her eyes widened, taking in everything around her. This familiar sensation of her life force returning reminded her of Chen Dong.

It wasn’t just a memory. She focused her gaze and saw Chen Dong right in front of her, still kissing her with intense concentration.

This wasn’t the first time. Zisang Jin knew what Chen Dong was doing. She didn’t fly into a rage or push him away. Instead, she closed her eyes to enjoy it, and even decided to take the lead.

Caught off guard, Chen Dong was taken by surprise. The Red Dust Dao Radiance in his sea of consciousness was about to run out, yet he could sense that Zisang Jin was only about halfway recovered.

He had no choice but to let her continue. As the Red Dust Dao Radiance emptied completely, Zisang Jin’s skin regained its rosy complexion. However, some wrinkles remained at the corners of her eyes, and only half of her white hair had turned back to black.

‘With the radiance gone, there was nothing more Chen Dong could do. He would have to stop for now. In the future, he could either accumulate more radiance and perform the exchange again, or he could find Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures to replenish her life force. In any case, she was alive. That was far better than her Nascent Soul being frozen, leaving them both helpless.’

Chen Dong tried to pull away, but Zisang Jin wrapped her arms around his neck and refused to let go.

Chen Dong had no choice but to give her a firm push, then irritably wiped a trail of saliva from the corner of his mouth.

“It’s all gone. This is as much as I could restore for now.”

Zisang Jin gathered a lock of her hair, now streaked with white and black. She frowned. “This isn’t even half restored. How am I supposed to face anyone like this!”

‘That’s not the real problem, is it?’ Chen Dong thought. ‘The current issue should be her frozen Nascent Soul.’ He couldn’t fathom the way Female Cultivators thought. ‘Then again, it was probably an ally who froze her Nascent Soul, so unsealing it shouldn’t be a major issue.’

Perhaps it was because Chen Dong’s gaze had landed on her abdomen, but Zisang Jin followed his eyes, glanced down, and immediately let out a piercing scream.

“AHHHHHHHHHH—!”

The shrill scream seemed to pierce through the ancient palace hall.

It was because Zisang Jin’s clothes were an absolute mess. Her original peach-pink dress was in tattered shreds, resembling a crop top that exposed the curve of her stomach and her navel. One of her embroidered shoes was also missing.

Fortunately, all the important parts were still covered. ‘Otherwise,’ Chen Dong worried, ‘if I saw something I shouldn’t have, would she gouge my eyes out once she fully recovered?’

“Get out!” Zisang Jin ordered sternly.

Chen Dong didn’t mind. The surroundings in the dim palace hall all looked identical. After searching for a good while, he finally found the exit.

Chen Dong stepped out of the palace hall into a long corridor. Dappled moonlight shone down, making it somewhat brighter.

Taking the opportunity, Chen Dong looked around from afar. The place was truly archaic. Heavy carvings everywhere bore the marks of ages past, and a thick layer of dust covered the floor tiles. ‘Does anyone actually live here?’ Chen Dong wondered.

‘Moreover, the Spiritual Qi here is much, much thinner. It’s not on a Spirit Vein at all. In other words, this can’t be the Cyan Sky Sect, and it’s definitely not Immortal Fox City.’