Free Web NovelChapter 553: Chapter 335: Purifying the Mind and Suppressing the Soul
After a furious barrage of attacks, although Jiang Xue and the evil spirit cried out even more wretchedly, the spirit was incredibly powerful and still had not been driven from her body.
’Could it be? Is it really too late? Is she beyond saving?’
Seeing that if he continued, the evil spirit might not die but Jiang Xue would likely collapse first, Zou Feng had no choice but to stop.
Jiang Xue collapsed to the ground, once again returning to normal.
"Brother Zou... You... you should go... I... I’m beyond saving..." Jiang Xue could clearly feel that the evil spirit had fused with her.
No matter how unwilling she was, she could only accept her fate.
And while she was still occasionally lucid, she truly didn’t want to drag Zou Feng down with her.
After all, although Zou Feng had the protection of his Solarflint Fire, he was now a considerable distance from the wooden huts with their oil lamps.
Furthermore, the massive drain from his all-out assault using the Solarflint Fire was plain to see.
Zou Feng’s breathing was indeed ragged, and the Solarflint Fire covering his body was not as vigorous as before.
However, the more Jiang Xue urged him to leave, the more unwilling Zou Feng became.
This was, after all, only the third floor of the Demon Suppression Tower. No matter how powerful that evil spirit was, it couldn’t possibly be beyond his comprehension.
Otherwise, this place wouldn’t be used as a Cultivation ground for Immortal Sect Disciples.
Besides, Jiang Xue’s consciousness hadn’t completely vanished yet. She could definitely be saved.
’What on earth should I do...’
Zou Feng’s mind raced, and suddenly, inspiration struck.
’That’s it! Why didn’t I think of it before? I can use Dual Cultivation!’
Performing Dual Cultivation with Jiang Xue was an exceptionally compatible form of Cultivation that would greatly benefit them both.
The intense reaction it produced would absolutely allow Jiang Xue’s consciousness to regain control, and her incredibly weak body would quickly recover.
Of course, there was another crucial point... The Solarflint Fire he had just used was applied with Palm Force to the surface of Jiang Xue’s body. While it seemed like it could burn into her, its actual effect was quite limited.
But with Dual Cultivation, if he were to concentrate the Solarflint Fire... he could incinerate the evil spirit from within while minimizing the damage to Jiang Xue from the blows.
Desperate to save Jiang Xue’s life, Zou Feng didn’t care if he would be misunderstood. He quickly explained the method as fast as he could.
After hearing him out, Jiang Xue was naturally stunned for a moment, but what remained of her sanity allowed her to quickly realize that this method was genuinely feasible.
And to save her own life, she was willing to try any method.
Fortunately, she had grown fond of Zou Feng during their time together. Compared to staying alive to continue pursuing the Great Dao, mere worldly conventions were not worth mentioning.
"Brother Zou, I trust you!"
In just three breaths’ time, Jiang Xue made her decision.
Seeing this, Zou Feng offered no further explanation. This woman was indeed not the coy or indecisive type, and he, in turn, truly only wanted to save her.
’I’ll just take responsibility for it afterward. It’s not like she’d be the first.’
"Alright, then... please forgive my transgression!"
After apologizing once more, Zou Feng was about to perform the great demon-exorcising Dual Cultivation technique.
But unexpectedly, just as he was about to press forward, the Clear Heart Soul Suppressing Talisman that Zou Feng always wore—a "lucky find" from the Celestial Dao Cauldron—suddenly activated on its own, emitting a faint blue light.
In the midst of this faint blue glow, the Clear Heart Soul Suppressing Talisman quickly burned to ash.
Zou Feng shivered and was instantly jolted back to his senses.
’What... what’s happening to me!?’
With no time to lose, Zou Feng shot up and backward in a flash. Simultaneously, the Dragon of Evil on his right arm roared and lunged toward Jiang Xue.
BOOM—
Amidst the violent explosion, the surrounding ground trembled nonstop, and space itself felt as if it were collapsing.
Zou Feng took the opportunity to retreat to the path that led to the various wooden huts.
"Who the hell are you!?"
A feeling of being firmly locked onto made Zou Feng afraid to move rashly.
But fortunately, the explosion just now should have caught the attention of the guards outside the Demon Suppression Tower.
"Brother Zou? What are you...?" Jiang Xue’s figure re-emerged from the darkness and began walking toward Zou Feng at a pace that seemed slow but was deceptively fast.
She wore a look of innocence, as if she had no idea why Zou Feng had suddenly attacked.
But after taking an Evil King’s Flame Fiend Poison Dragon Wave at such close range, even if Jiang Xue were some kind of Three-in-One prodigy, it would be impossible for her to be completely unscathed like she was now.
As Zou Feng stared at "Jiang Xue," all his past doubts were suddenly explained.
This person, whoever they were, had been digging a trap for him from the very beginning.
’Thinking back, we’ve spent so much time together, but I’ve never once met Jiang Xue outside the Demon Suppression Tower.’
’A prodigy like her should be famous in the Pinnacle Celestial Immortal Sect.’
’But it never even occurred to me to ask if there was a prodigious disciple named Jiang Xue in the Immortal Sect.’
’This wasn’t my own negligence. From the very start, this "Jiang Xue" had been using some extremely sophisticated hypnosis technique to cloud my judgment.’
’The brilliance of this hypnosis was that it wasn’t instantaneous. Instead, it slowly influenced me bit by bit over a long period of interaction.’
’Naturally, that made it incredibly subtle, impossible for me to detect.’
’And the whole idea of Dual Cultivation... that was also a product of the hypnosis. "Jiang Xue" had guided me step-by-step into thinking it was my idea.’
’How ridiculous. And I actually thought it was my own brilliant idea...’
"Do you see any point in continuing this act?" Zou Feng said in a low voice.
Hearing this, Jiang Xue finally shrugged helplessly. "Tsk. And here we were, just about to have our fun."
"How did you get your hands on such a high-level talisman?"
Zou Feng had no intention of running or attacking again.
First, the commotion he just caused would definitely have alerted the disciples and Elders guarding the Demon Suppression Tower, and they would be arriving soon.
Second... this Jiang Xue’s true Realm was far superior to his, and so far, she hadn’t shown any real killing intent toward him.
He could confirm this because no new names had appeared on the List of Gods.
’So her real goal isn’t to kill me, but to painstakingly scheme to perform Dual Cultivation with me!?’
’But I can’t just assume she has no malicious intent. After all, certain Replenishing Skills don’t kill you; they just leave you severely drained, or crippled...’
"Who goes there, causing such a ruckus!"
Following the sharp shout, several disciples guarding the Demon Suppression Tower did indeed arrive.
Above each of their heads hovered a fist-sized, exceptionally bright white pearl.
The light emitted by these white pearls was even more effective than the Solarflint Fire, quickly illuminating the surroundings as if it were day.
The various evil spirits that had been hiding in the darkness, ready to watch the show, instantly fled as far away as they could.
"What in the world are you two doing? If you want to fight, go to the Dao Discussion Platform! This is no place for your nonsense!"
The disciple leading the group, a bearded man in the Dao Foundation Realm, shouted the rebuke from a distance.
After all, from his perspective, the scene didn’t look like trouble caused by an evil spirit, but rather a conflict between two people cultivating here that had escalated into a full-blown fight.
Even with several guards from the Demon Suppression Tower present, "Jiang Xue" remained completely calm and unconcerned.
This gave Zou Feng a faint clue about her true identity.
And sure enough, the bearded guard didn’t scold for long. As soon as he got a clear look at "Jiang Xue," who had already put her clothes back on and was now beaming with a smile, his expression turned to one of surprise.
"Ah? Greetings, Senior Sister Liu!"
How could the bearded man dare to complain any further? He hurriedly and respectfully bowed to "Jiang Xue."
The other guards behind him did the same.
’Senior Sister Liu?’
’So "Jiang Xue" was just a fake name, as I thought. As for a Senior Sister with the surname Liu...’
Because of his conflict with the Immortal Association, Zou Feng had of course paid attention to the True Inheritor backing them.
Although he had never met this True Inheritor, if his memory served him right, her name was Liu Chenyu!
