Chapter 491 - 416: Identity
Chapter 491: Chapter 416: Identity
It was nearly dusk when Chen Li opened his eyes.
He dropped down from the crossbeams, his gaze sweeping across the main hall of the desolate temple.
At some point, the tall woman in the white dress had already awoken.
All the meridians and Acupoints in her body had been sealed, rendering her immobile. She could only move her neck and eyes, her gaze warily surveying her surroundings.
The moment her eyes landed on Chen Li, that wariness instantly transformed into suppressed hostility and fear.
As for the full-figured woman in the white dress, she remained unconscious.
Chen Li hadn’t destroyed her Dantian last night. Her physical injuries weren’t actually that severe; the main issue lay with her Primordial Spirit.
Forcibly activating the cyan Flying Sword and burning her Primordial Spirit’s origin to fight for her life had brought her Primordial Spirit to the brink of collapse.
If Chen Li hadn’t forcibly locked it in place with his Silent Extinction Finger, her soul would have long since scattered to the winds.
"You’re awake?"
Chen Li stood silently before the tall woman.
The tall woman in the white dress trembled. A flash of panic crossed her eyes before she forced herself to calm down. She stared coldly at Chen Li, her lips pressed firmly together, saying nothing.
Chen Li paid her no mind, looking at her calmly. "I’m going to ask you again what I asked last night. Submit, or die."
"Choose."
Any small hope the tall woman had harbored from surviving the ordeal vanished the instant he spoke.
Her exquisite face instantly flushed crimson. Shame and humiliation welled up in her eyes as she gritted her teeth and snarled, "Kill me or torture me, do as you please!"
Chen Li scoffed, offering no comment.
His Second Primordial Spirit had reached Guiyuan Pass, and he had gained the True Intent of the Flying Sword Skill. He was in a good mood and couldn’t be bothered to argue with her.
He simply said, "You should know that after reaching Divine Hall, Martial Artists gain access to Divine Sense Secret Skills for interrogation. Even if your Divine Sense were uninjured, I could still dig what I want out of your mind."
At this, he seemed to recall something and his gaze swept over the two women.
"Oh, right..."
Before he had finished speaking, Chen Li bent down. Disregarding all notions of propriety between men and women, he unceremoniously began to search their bodies.
"You... you despicable, shameless lecher! You’re vile! Disgusting! Get your filthy hands off me!"
The tall woman had never been treated this way.
She was so shocked and enraged that she trembled uncontrollably. If her Acupoints hadn’t been sealed, she would have lunged at him and fought to the death.
All she could do was curse him with venomous words, her eyes practically spitting fire. "I will kill you! I swear it!"
Chen Li turned a deaf ear to her furious curses, his expression unchanged and his movements swift and practiced.
Soon, he found a personal pouch on each of them, worn close to their skin.
He first opened the tall woman’s pouch.
Inside, aside from some loose gold and silver and a few high-quality Jade Pendants, were mostly items a woman would carry.
A small Rouge Box, a Copper Mirror polished to a perfect sheen, a few simple and elegant jade hairpins, and even a few pieces of soft, exquisitely embroidered undergarments. The items were scattered about, carrying a faint, pleasant fragrance.
The Supreme Elder’s personal effects were much simpler. Besides a small amount of gold leaf, there was only a smooth, lustrous Small White Jade Box.
He opened the Jade Box. Inside, lying quietly on a velvet cushion, was the very same Relic Divine Sense Treasure that Chen Li had previously traded away.
Chen Li carefully put the Relic away. Only then did he glance at the tall woman, who was still gritting her teeth. His tone was as flat as before. "Are you going to talk, or do I have to force it out of you?"
The tall woman’s fair face was flushed crimson with rage and humiliation.
She glared daggers at Chen Li, forcing out a few words through clenched teeth: "Just kill me!"
Chen Li wasted no more words. He raised his right hand, a faint, dark light swirling at his fingertip as he prepared to use A Dream of Millet Porridge.
Just as his fingertip was about to touch the space between the woman’s eyebrows.
"Wait!"
The tall woman spoke urgently, her voice holding an almost imperceptible tremor.
Chen Li’s finger stopped three inches from the space between her eyebrows, his calm gaze fixed on her.
"I... I’ll talk."
A violent struggle and deep fear flashed in her eyes. She closed them, took a deep breath, and when she opened them again, her usual coldness had returned. "What do you want to know?"
Chen Li’s finger stopped in mid-air. "Who are you?"
The tall woman turned her face away, unwilling to meet his gaze. Her voice was cold and laced with resentment. "Feng Qingxuan, a True Disciple of the Celestial Sword Sect."
"Feng Qingxuan?"
Chen Li paused, then recalled hearing from Bai San, Gossip, and others that the younger generation of the Celestial Sword Sect included four famous beauties known as "Wind, Flower, Snow, and Moon," who were renowned throughout the Jiangnan Martial Arts world.
He asked with a hint of surprise, "So you’re the Wind Fairy from the Jianghu legends?"
Feng Qingxuan let out a cold snort, neither confirming nor denying it, which was as good as an admission.
Chen Li’s gaze shifted to the unconscious Mu Wanqiu. "And her?"
Feng Qingxuan fell silent for a moment before saying in a low voice, "Mu Wanqiu. A Supreme Elder of the Celestial Sword Sect, Sword Six."
"Sword Six? Celestial Sword Seven Sons?"
Chen Li frowned. He had never heard that title before. "What’s that?"
A flicker of contempt crossed Feng Qingxuan’s eyes, as if she found it baffling that Chen Li didn’t know such a basic fact of the Jianghu. Her tone dripped with sarcasm. "The Celestial Sword Seven Sons have held sway over the Jiangnan Martial Arts world for decades, and you’ve never heard of them?"
Chen Li ignored her sarcasm and pressed on, "What’s your relationship with her?"
Feng Qingxuan fell silent again, seemingly hesitant. After a moment, she said, "She... is my martial aunt."
Chen Li noticed her strange expression and slightly unnatural tone, realizing there must be more to the story. He pressed further, "As a True Disciple, you should, by convention, be of her grand-disciple’s generation. Why call her martial aunt?"
Feng Qingxuan seemed to have been struck a nerve. Her face grew colder and her tone became clipped. "Ignorant. The Celestial Sword Sect’s succession has never been based on secular seniority. We have always revered the skilled above all."