chsdbacks Chapter 117: Miao Caixin
Chapter 117: Miao Caixin
Do you recognize this jade pendant?
Zhang Ping noticed Miao Lele's panic and, without saying much, directly took out the jade pendant that Miao Caiyan had given him.
"A jade pendant?" Miao Lele's gaze fell on the purple jade pendant in his hand. She paused for a moment, then came to her senses. "This is my aunt's jade pendant!"
Since we know each other, things will be easier. Zhang Ping said with a smile, "I come from the Southern Prince's Mansion. This jade pendant was given to me by Miao Caiyan. The purpose of my trip is to ask you to help me refine the Essence Gu."
Zhang Ping briefly explained his purpose, and then released control over Miao Lele's body.
Realizing she had recovered, Miao Lele hesitated for a moment before calming down. She took a futon and handed it to Zhang Ping.
"Please have a seat, senior."
After they sat down, she carefully examined the jade pendant and confirmed that it was a royal token of the Southern Frontier, belonging to her aunt. She was overjoyed.
"Senior, since you know my aunt, could you please save my mother?"
Most of the powerful figures on Holy Mountain have gone out to fight, but some remain behind. Zhang Ping's ability to infiltrate shows his strength is considerable!
Miao Lele's first thought was to ask him to save her mother.
Faced with the girl's request, Zhang Ping smiled but did not respond immediately. Instead, he looked Miao Lele up and down with his eyes.
She was in her early teens, with a delicate figure, not yet fully grown. Her face was beautiful, possessing the gentle grace of a woman from a water town. Her eyes, still moist from recent tears, looked incredibly charming.
Zhang Ping wasn't peeping at the girl's figure. His attention was focused on the aura emanating from her.
"What level is your cultivation?" He noticed that Miao Lele's blood and qi fluctuated greatly. One moment she was in the Bone Forging Realm, and the next she had fallen to the Dirty Refining Realm. Moreover, her blood and qi appeared mixed.
Miao Lele explained, "Senior, I just broke through to the Refining Realm last month. The reason for the strong fluctuations in my blood and qi is because of the Gu worms in my body."
As she spoke, she opened her arms, and from the slightly open front of her dress, tiny worms flew out from various parts of the girl's body.
Gu worms crawled out of the mouth, nose, ears... The scene was chilling.
Zhang Ping seemed thoughtful, then asked, "Do you know how to refine spirit gu?"
Upon hearing this, Miao Lele shook her head without hesitation: "I don't know how! Only my mother can refine the spirit gu."
"Really?" Zhang Ping raised an eyebrow upon hearing this, somewhat disbelieving. Miao Caiyan had told him that refining spirit gu wasn't that difficult.
"It's true, I didn't lie to you, senior," Miao Lele said, looking up at Zhang Ping.
Zhang Ping saw through her thoughts, but didn't point them out.
After all, his purpose in coming here was to ask the royal family of Southern Xinjiang to refine the essence gu. Since he was asking for help, he naturally had to pay the due reward.
Moreover, Miao Caiyan was also involved. She not only gave him guidance but also provided assistance. The two ladies received her care.
These connections are enough for him to provide some assistance to the Southern Border royal family without endangering himself.
"Bring me the map of southern Xinjiang," Zhang Ping ordered.
Miao Lele's face lit up with joy, and she immediately ran to a room in the wooden house, where she soon found a large map.
Before Zhang Ping could speak, she pointed out, "Senior, this is the royal city. The previous battlefield was at Feiguwu, but Mother led her troops to retreat a few days ago and should be in Hanhai Town by now." Her finger slid across the map.
Zhang Ping sat cross-legged on the futon, close to the girl.
The interior of the wooden house was dimly lit, and the purple wood of the main structure emitted a faint fragrance that soothed the mind.
The yellow light crickets were trapped inside a glass bottle and hung on the surrounding roof beams.
Every now and then, a worm would bump against the bottle wall, making a soft dripping sound.
The map-making technology in the Southern Frontier was far inferior to that of the Great Wei. Zhang Ping stared at the spot the girl was pointing to, roughly estimating the distance based on the map markings.
The situation was worse than he had anticipated; the rebels were almost at the capital. This was only because, for some reason, the demons hadn't joined forces with the rebels in the east.
If the estimates are correct, the battlefield is currently less than a thousand miles from the royal city. If the allied forces of the royal city cannot effectively stop the rebels, the flames of war will reach the foot of the royal city within two months at most. At that time, the city will fall, and the millions of lives within will likely perish at the hands of demons.
After a moment's thought, Zhang Ping spoke: "Find the records related to the Spirit Gu. I need all the information."
Miao Lele was taken aback, then went to fetch a thick ancient book. This time it took quite a while, and Zhang Ping even heard the sound of the secret room opening.
As Zhang Ping opened the ancient book and found the section on the spirit poison, his brows gradually furrowed.
No wonder.
The core ingredient in the above-recorded recipe for the Essence Gu, "Essence Yang Roots," has not been seen for a century and is extremely difficult to find even in the Southern Frontier.
Nowadays, to refine the essence gu, one must use the special bloodline of a member of the Southern Border royal family. This greatly increases the difficulty and significantly reduces the success rate.
"Troublesome." After carefully reading the records related to the spirit poison, Zhang Ping shook his head slightly. Miao Caiyan was not the heir to the throne and was unaware of these secrets; she was probably referring to old methods.
It seems we can only let the King of Southern Xinjiang refine it.
"I will bring your mother back safely. By the way, what's your name..." He stood up to leave, only to realize he hadn't asked the girl's name yet.
Miao Lele quickly stood up and said, "Senior, my name is Miao Lele."
"Okay. Prepare these materials for me." Zhang Ping waved his hand casually, and a row of words instantly appeared on the ground.
He then turned and disappeared into the night.
The cold winter wind rushed into the wooden house, but the venomous insects that appeared out of nowhere drove away the cold wind.
Miao Lele walked to the door and looked down at the writing on the ground:
Earth Mother Stone, White Xuan, Red Grass Roots.
When she peeked out again, Zhang Ping was no longer in sight. Closing the door, the lingering tension made her heart pound.
"This person... is really strange. He seems to be a martial artist from the Great Wei Dynasty. How can he control my body?"
She learned how to refine and control Gu poison from her mother from a young age. Her mother had only been the King of Southern Xinjiang for a few decades, and she had little interest in anything other than Gu poison.
Now that her mother is in danger outside, Miao Lele is completely at a loss. All she does all day is follow the instructions of the clan elders on the sacred mountain and arrange the defenses of the royal city.
But in truth, she hoped the elders would go and rescue her mother. However, apart from Granny Hong, everyone else refused to go, citing the importance of the royal city.
Left with no other choice, she learned that Zhang Ping had a relationship with her aunt, and only then did she plead for help.
"hope……"
……
Under the cover of night, the lights of the royal city never go out.
The common people, unaware of the king's defeat, still firmly believed that their king would drive back the demons and reclaim the lost territory.
Zhang Ping's figure swept rapidly across the sky above the royal city and disappeared into the depths of the night.
……
Eight hundred li outside the royal city, the moon shines on the cold sand, and the night is not yet over.
Blood and a chilling atmosphere permeated the battlefield.
A long chant suddenly resounded between heaven and earth:
"Frosty Shadow Sword!"
A stunningly beautiful woman, stained with blood, hangs a hundred meters in the air, while a long sword suddenly flies up behind her, its shadow splitting into four.
Two Gu worms, one red and one white, floated on either side of the sword shadow, transforming into ice and snow and raging flames.
"Kill!" the woman said coldly, her aura of royalty erupting forth.
"Hmph! Miao Caixin, stop making futile struggles! Your Miao family has ruled the southern border for a thousand years; it's time to abdicate!"
He Changhong was as burly as a tiger, with a stubble-covered face and a pair of greedy eyes that roamed freely over the woman.
He is the head of the He family in the Eastern Territory. He murdered his brother to seize the throne, betrayed the human race and joined the demons. His plot is about to succeed!
"Lord Black Tiger, help me!" He Changhong thrust out his spear like thunder, and a purple-black Gu worm suddenly bloomed behind him.
"roar--"
At the same time, blood-red eyes watched coldly from above.