pjbooks Chapter 157 Injuries
Chapter 157 Injuries
The moment the dark red cracks in Liangzhou Fortress completely closed, the Gobi Desert returned to the silence before dawn.
Ye Wuhen knelt on one knee amidst the rubble, his right hand still reaching for the silver-white longsword lying not far away. His fingers were less than three feet from the hilt, but his entire arm was trembling, and he had to exert all his strength to get his fingertips within an inch of the hilt.
Wang Kai walked to his side, squatted down, picked up the silver-white longsword from the rubble, and handed it to him.
"Sword Saint Ye, your sword."
Ye Wuhen raised his head, looking at the silver-white longsword in Wang Kai's hand, at the faint scratch on the hilt gleaming warmly in the morning light. He reached out and took the hilt, his fingers tightening to grip the sword firmly in his palm. A warm current emanated from the sword, flowing down his arm and into his chest, repairing his internal organs, which had been damaged by the dark red beam of light, layer by layer.
"The Dao Fruit of the Immortal Emperor of Life." Ye Wuhen's voice was hoarse, but much steadyer than before. "Your life-giving power is healing me."
Wang Kai looked down at the emerald green line on his palm. The line flowed slowly beneath his skin, emitting a faint yet resolute light.
"It's not me healing you, it's the Dao Fruit of the Immortal Emperor of Life that's healing you." Wang Kai placed his right hand on Ye Wuhen's shoulder, and emerald green light surged from his palm, spreading along Ye Wuhen's shoulder and throughout his body. "It is choosing you. The Dao Fruit of the Immortal Emperor of Life will choose everyone who chooses to protect even in dire straits."
Ye Wuhen remained silent for a moment. Then he stood up, sheathed his silver-white longsword at his waist, and looked at Wang Kai, at the emerald green pattern slowly flowing in the palm of this young swordsman in the early stage of the Golden Core realm.
"Wang Kai, do you know why Nesario wanted to quit?"
Wang Kai shook his head.
"It's not because your life force can transform his attack, not because Bing Li's icy power can freeze his chaotic power, not because my sword can harm him." Ye Wuhen raised his head, looking at the expanding pale light on the eastern horizon, "It's because he sensed Jiang Chen's presence. Jiang Chen was injured in the First Apostle Hall, so badly that his students needed to guard Liangzhou Fortress for him. But Nesario stood at the edge of the rift for so long, and Jiang Chen didn't appear. He wasn't sure how serious Jiang Chen's injuries were, whether Jiang Chen could still fight, or whether he could return to the Abyss alive if Jiang Chen suddenly appeared before him."
He turned around and looked at Wang Kai.
"So he retreated. Not because of you, not because of Bing Li, not because of anyone at Liangzhou Fortress. It's because he was afraid of Jiang Chen."
Wang Kai's pupils contracted slightly. He recalled the oppressive feeling that made his soul tremble when Kahn's true form rose from the void on the hundredth floor of the First Apostle's Hall. He remembered Jiang Chen standing in the center of the six-colored pillar of light, covered in blood, his skin cracked, yet still standing ramrod straight.
"Brother Chen's injury..." Wang Kai's voice was strained, "How serious is it?"
Ye Wuhen remained silent for a long time.
"His golden core is so heavy that it can hardly bear the Dao fruits of six Immortal Emperors."
Qingyun Academy, dispatch room on the second floor of the factory.
Jiang Chen sat cross-legged on the dilapidated wooden bed, his eyes closed, his hands resting on his knees, palms facing upwards. The Primordial Sword hovered in front of him, six stars on its blade slowly rotating, six-colored light flowing across the blade, illuminating the entire dispatch room as if it were daytime.
The cracks on his skin, left in the First Apostle's Temple, had not yet fully healed. From his arms to his shoulders, from his shoulders to his chest, and from his chest to his abdomen, every inch of his skin was covered with fine, dark red cracks. The bleeding from the cracks had stopped, but the skin around the wounds still had an unhealthy pale hue.
His golden core was throbbing wildly in his dantian.
After the Dao Fruits of the six Immortal Emperors fused within his body, his golden core swelled from the size of a fist to the size of an infant's head, transforming from a pale gold to a strange hue of six interwoven colors. The patterns on the surface of the golden core were many times more complex than before, each pattern a fragment of law etched into it—the imprint left by the Dao Fruits of the six Immortal Emperors: Taichu, Fentian, Bingxuan, Xuwu, Shengsheng, and Hunchao. These imprints were so powerful that his golden core was already struggling to bear them. With each pulsation of the golden core, a six-colored light surged from his dantian, spreading along his meridians throughout his body. Wherever the light passed, his meridians would ache slightly, his blood vessels would bulge, and his skin would crack.
This isn't an injury, but a side effect of the fusion of Dao Fruits. The Dao Fruits of the six Immortal Emperors awakened within him, requiring a vessel to contain their power. His Golden Core was that vessel, but it was still too weak, barely able to suppress the power of these Dao Fruits within his dantian, preventing them from running rampant.
Jiang Chen opened his eyes and looked down at the six-colored flame pattern on his palm. The pattern flowed slowly beneath his skin, the six colors of light intertwining to form a slowly flowing, starry sky-like picture. He clenched his fingers, drawing the light into his body, then took a deep breath and stood up from the wooden bed.
The door to the dispatch room was pushed open. Wang Kai stood in the doorway, his right hand still wrapped in bandages, the new skin beneath them pale and rosy. He didn't look well, with dark shadows under his eyes, clearly indicating he hadn't slept all night.
"Brother Chen, Nesario has retreated." Wang Kai walked into the dispatch room and sat down opposite Jiang Chen. "He stood at the edge of the rift, scanning the entire Gobi Desert with his divine sense. He's looking for you."
Jiang Chen picked up the cup of coffee on the table, which had gone cold, and took a sip.
"Did he find him?"
"No." Wang Kai shook his head. "Ye Jiansheng said he retreated because he was afraid of you. He wasn't sure how serious your injuries were, whether you could still fight, or whether he could return to the Abyss alive if you suddenly appeared in front of him."
Jiang Chen put down his coffee cup and looked at Wang Kai.
"He's right to be afraid of me."
He stood up, walked to the window, and opened it. Morning light streamed in from the east, falling on the rose bush on the windowsill that had already grown its seventh leaf. The rose's stem was thicker than it had been a week ago, and its leaves had turned from light green to dark green, with a few drops of morning dew still clinging to their surfaces, glistening in the morning light.
"Wang Kai, I'm going on a long trip."
Wang Kai stood up from his chair and walked to the window.
"Where to?"
"abyss."
Wang Kai's pupils suddenly contracted.
"Brother Chen, your injury—"
"Not now." Jiang Chen interrupted him, turned around, and looked at Wang Kai. "Wait until I'm healed, until my golden core is stable, until I can fully control the Dao Fruits of the six Immortal Emperors. Then, I will go to the Abyss and find Nesario."
He raised his right hand, and the Primordial Sword appeared in his palm. Six stars on the blade lit up simultaneously, and six-colored light flowed across the blade, illuminating the entire control room as if it were daytime.
"It's not a test, not a negotiation, not a demonstration." He looked at the six slowly rotating stars on the blade, a slight smile playing on his lips. "It's to utterly end the abyss."