Artemisia

  Feng was coming down the stairs with a gloomy face just as Xiao Qingzhu had left.

  "Anything to say?" After Fang Feng had sat beside Du Si Lin for a long time, Du Si Lin finally spoke up.

  "I don't know what to say." Fengfeng fell silent again.

  "There is an aura on you that doesn't belong to you, it's a lonely soul and it's very weak." Du Sulin said after carefully sensing it.

  "Do you know?" Fengfeng was quite surprised. After Duslin came out this time, his body suddenly had a mysterious and unpredictable feeling.

  "You can feel it. Putting it in a barrier symbol will only make it weaker, and my origin will drain its essence." Du Slin said.

  At the sound of the wind, his heart moved, a wisp of green smoke emerged from the talisman, transforming into an illusory human figure.

  Suddenly, a loud thunderstorm raged outside, frightening that lone soul into shivering and drawing closer to the windbreak.

  "Who are you?" Du Sulin's ears perked up, and even the slightest movement around her was transmitted to her ears.

  "My name is Zhi Xing." The voice sounded a bit childish, like that of a twelve or thirteen year old kid.

  "Is Fang Feng just asking for my help?" Du Si Lin turned his head, the thunder outside sounded unlike ordinary thunder.

  Layer upon layer of overlapping sounds, each one stronger than the last, like some kind of malevolent spirit undergoing a trial by fire.

  "Hmm." Fang Feng nodded, "Ji Shi has been reborn, he was Ji Shi's book boy in his previous life."

  "Stand up." Du Sulin turned her head and looked at the boy with a childish voice again. She couldn't see, but she could feel his breath.

  Zhi Xing listened to the words and stood up, perhaps it was Du Si Lin's own oppression that made him look at Du Si Lin with a hint of fear, an innate dread.

  "How did you know about the plum blossom?" Du Sulin asked. If the plum blossom had been reincarnated, then she shouldn't have any past memories.

  "It was after Miss died that I was told." Zhi Xing said honestly, "Miss was born in the Zhi family, a famous literary family. I was bought back by Miss as a book boy, Miss was very kind, but unfortunately she was weak. Later, the plague broke out in the town, almost everyone died of illness. Miss couldn't escape either..."

  Zhi Xing's eyes welled up with tears as he recalled the past. After all, he was still just a thirteen-year-old kid. If it were in modern times, he should be in either seventh or eighth grade.

  "I and Miss died on the same day. Hei Bai Wu Chang came to town to fetch people, Miss took me and ran away. It was the happiest day I saw Miss, because she said she finally died again. We wandered together in the world for a long time, Miss told me that she had been waiting for someone named Fang Feng. Decades ago, that day also had a big thunderstorm like today. I and Miss had nowhere to hide, and met Hei Bai Wu Chang again. I and Miss got separated." Zhi Xing finally cried out.

  The thunder is getting scarier and more intense, and Zhi Xing's body is becoming increasingly faint.

  "Protecting the wind, I can't help him." Du Slin said helplessly, "You know I don't have any power now."

  "What if I were to pass on my powers to him?" Fengfeng asked tentatively.

  Du Shilin shook his head, "You are a girl, he is a boy. If you transfer your power to him, it will only accelerate his dispersal. The thunder and lightning outside are unusual, I think there must be some kind of demon undergoing tribulation. It has already been four calamities, looking at the situation, it won't stop until seven rounds of thunder calamity. Let Zhi Xing stay by your side, the power of the obstacle symbol can help him share some of the power of the thunder calamity, and if he can survive these seven rounds of thunder calamity, his powers will no longer disperse."

  Douslin had never tried once to say so many words, because this is indeed not something that can be explained with just a few words.

  "Then you give him Jigong San." Du Sulin added another sentence.

  Jugong San is a medicine refined from the essence of vengeful spirits, which can help re-condense the scattered spiritual energy.

  "I'm going out for a walk." Du Sulin said, feeling his way as he stood up.

  "Tai Guang." Fang Feng wants to stop Du Si Lin, but Zhi Xing is there and she can't go out. Du Si Lin is blind, and outside it's a stormy weather, she fears something will happen to her.

  "It's nothing." Du Sulin curled up the corners of her mouth and went out for a walk, perhaps the storm outside could bring her unexpected gains.

  "Really nothing?" Fengfeng still disagreed with Duslin going out. She looked at the window and thought that if it was really a thunderstorm, it would be too scary.

  The ultimate goal of each tribulation is to destroy the demon that is crossing it, and if it can be endured, its power will increase greatly. If it cannot be endured, it will disappear into nothingness. Most are unable to endure it.

  So some demons would rather suppress their own Taoist practice than go through tribulation.

  After all, strength is more important than life itself.

  "Hmm." Du Sulin nodded, and his confident appearance seemed to put Fang Feng at ease.

  In the end, Fang Feng still couldn't persuade Du Si Lin. Because Du Si Lin was also a person who would not change her mind once she had made up it.

  ……

  Heavy rain poured down, Du Sulin held an umbrella and walked forward alone. The streets were deserted, even the shops had suspended business.

  She walked in the direction from which the thunder was coming.

  Nor did I know how long I had walked, but I felt the thunder getting closer and closer.

  A faint scent of blood was caught by Duslin's keen sense of smell, and she furrowed her brow. It was a familiar scent to her.

  The five-color airflow extracted from Xiao Qingzhu's body on that day also had this kind of fishy smell.

  A nine-colored snake! She suddenly realized.

  Yes, Du Sulin's guess was correct. This enormous lightning was indeed caused by the Nine-colored Snake's Tribulation Crossing.

  And at this time, the snake was also in a bad way.

  She had just barely survived the fivefold tribulation, and she was already battered and bruised, with one of the horns on her head broken off.

  She looked up at the sky and let out a sharp cry, as if unwilling to give in, determined to fight against the heavens.

  Another loud thunder struck down, continuous and unrelenting, but the nine-colored snake persisted stubbornly.

  Douslin unknowingly walked to her side at some point. Compared to her massive body, Douslin looked like a child standing next to a giant.

  "You won't be able to withstand the seven calamities of thunder." Du Sulin said in the pause between the thunder calamities.

  Although she couldn't see the colorful snake's miserable appearance, she could feel its dying breath.

  "What does it matter, even if my soul is scattered, I will defy this heaven!" The nine-colored snake's huge eyes glanced at Du Si Lin and then looked back at the sky, her proud and upright posture moved even Du Si Lin.

  "I'll help you," said Du Sulin.

  "Will you help me? You..." The nine-colored snake sneered, about to say that he was just a human being, but stopped. She found that this human's eyes were blind, but did not discover the faint golden aura emanating from his body.

  "How?" Du Sulin raised an eyebrow and said with a tilt of his head.

  "How can you help me?" The nine-colored snake hesitated for a moment, but at this time, the thunder tribulation began again.

  "Lend me your inner elixir for now. I'll take the thunder tribulation in your place. After the thunder tribulation is over, I'll return your inner elixir to you intact," said Du Si Lin.

  The nine-colored snake hesitated. The inner elixir was equivalent to the demon's heart, and although it could be swallowed and spat out at will, how could it be lent to a stranger?

  "Your inner elixir is the target of the thunder tribulation's attack. Without your inner elixir, the thunder tribulation will not attack you again. If you're worried that I'll escape with your inner elixir, I think that's unnecessary. My eyes are blind, and your speed is only slightly faster than mine. Since you've already made up your mind to die, why not hold onto the hope of living and temporarily hand over your inner elixir to me?" Compared to the thunderous roar, Du Sulin's voice was small enough to be negligible.

  But she knew that the nine-colored snake had superhuman hearing and would definitely hear it.

  "Alright, I trust you." After Du Si Lin said that, the colorful snake finally gritted its teeth and agreed to Du Si Lin. As Du Si Lin had said, it had long been prepared for death, and the worst outcome was only having its internal elixir seized and being knocked back to its original form; with its long lifespan, it could start anew.

  The nine-colored snake made a decision and didn't hesitate, inhaling and exhaling, its body coiled into a ball, its entire body trembling, forcing out the inner dan. She needed to endure immense pain. But compared to the countless lightning tribulations, this was much better.

  Soon, a ball-shaped inner elixir emitting nine-colored light appeared in front of Du Si Lin, about the size of his head.

  Douslin held her internal elixir with both hands, a black hole appeared in the center of her eyebrows, and then she gritted her teeth and imprinted the internal elixir on the center of her eyebrows.

  "Ah——!" The internal elixir transformed into a marble-sized pellet and entered Du Si Lin's brow, causing him to let out a painful scream, his heart torn apart.

  The next second, she was surrounded by Lei Jue.

  The nine-colored snake retreated from this region and quietly waited outside.

  Her heart was shaken, always thinking her own heart was strong enough, but today she was defeated by Du Si Lin.

  All that can be seen is Du Sulin sitting cross-legged, floating in mid-air, her eyes tightly closed, as wave after wave of lightning strikes the top of her head.

  Long hair fluttering in the wind and rain, Du Sulin took a deep breath, enduring the intense pain brought by the thunderbolt, calming his mind to absorb the power within. The power of lightning was violently strong, the most masculine in the world. The inner elixir of the nine-colored snake belonged to the softest. With both masculinity and femininity combined, Du Sulin took such a great risk, if he could endure it, the power he would gain would be immeasurable.

  Around her, nine colors were rapidly changing, forming a mottled light circle, with a faint dragon's roar.

  It wasn't until about half an hour into the sixth calamity that there were signs of weakening.

  Du Sulin's eyes suddenly opened wide and turned into a full golden color, dazzling like the sun at noon.

  "Runtuianyan, open!" Du Sulin formed a complex handprint. She, Du Sulin, relying on her one soul and one body, actually broke through the Runtuianyan in this myriad of thunder tribulations.

  The power that had been lost was now restored, with hundreds of them returning to Du Sulin's body. She floated in mid-air, stood up straight, clenched her fists tightly, and gazed at the sky. Suddenly, a surge of energy emerged from within her, making her want to swing her fist and shatter the heavens!

  The thunderstorm still raged on, but Du Sulin was undaunted. This in itself did not oppress her.

  While absorbing the energy contained in the inner elixir, she is also using her own energy to nourish this inner elixir.

  "Nine-colored snake, you enter this thunder zone, I'll protect you. If you don't use the thunder to refine your body, then you won't be able to withstand the energy of this inner elixir." Amidst the thunder and lightning, Du Sulin stood facing the wind, his hands clasped behind his back, as if he were an immortal who had transcended the mundane world.

  "Hmm." The colorful snake nodded and moved its body along the golden light pointed out by Du Sulin, entering the thunder zone.

  Douslin laid out a mysterious formation in the air, causing a massive lightning storm to erupt in this region, but what finally landed on the nine-colored snake's body was gentle lightning. The energy didn't change, only the most violent factors were forcibly filtered by Douslin.

  " Qi sinks into the dantian, calm down and absorb this energy." Du Sulin let out a low growl, drawing all of that most violent factor onto his own body.

  After hearing Du Sulin's words, Jiucui Banban Snake stopped thinking about it. The energy at this moment was the most pure and authentic, and absorbing a little more of it would be beneficial to her in ways that couldn't be measured.

  The Seventh Tribulation of Lightning is absolutely several tens of thousands times stronger than the previous six.

  She absorbed the most violent factors in thunder and lightning. She didn't know why, she just knew that her body needed this energy. And since she had decided to help the Nine-Colored Snake, even if she didn't need this energy for herself, she would still pave the way for it.

  After regaining his eyesight, Du Sulin discovered his own difference.

  The pure Yang energy on her body was originally fire-red, but now it has all transformed into a golden airflow, and even gave birth to a dragon shape. As long as she wants, her spiritual power will transform into a giant dragon, swallowing the sky and earth!

  Without relying on the Wheel of Heaven's Eye, she could see clearly the demonic and ghostly auras surrounding her. After activating the Wheel of Heaven's Eye, she could even see the true form of the demon creatures.

  This is perhaps what people often say: after a breakdown, there will be a new beginning.

  The last thunderstorm lasted for several hours. In short, when Duslin and the nine-colored snake finished their work, the sky had already turned dark.

  "Inner Dan." Du Sulin forced the inner dan out of his body and sent it back into the Nine-Colored Snake's body.

  The nine-colored aura of Neidan has faded away and turned into a light beige color.

  Return to the origin of expression. If you go through nine heavy thunderbolts, the inner elixir will turn into milky white color.

  White is the purest color in the world.

  "Thank you." The colorful snake retracted its inner dan and thanked Du Sulin.

  "No need to thank me, you've helped me too." Du Sulin's mouth curled up slightly, her eyes becoming even clearer, like a clear spring.

  "Are you a member of the Du family?" The nine-colored snake transformed into human form as it spoke.

  She was a slender and delicate woman with an exceptionally pretty face, a pair of eyes that were lively and spirited, like a startled rabbit, she didn't seem to be very old, probably only in her early twenties.

  "The eighteenth generation descendant of the Du family, Taiguang," said Du Silin.

  "Wheel Heaven Eye." The nine-colored snake whispered, "You are Wheel Heaven Eye."

  The Heavenly Eye is only innate and cannot be inherited, transferred, or cultivated.

  "Your luck isn't bad either." Du Sulin crossed her fingers, lazily propping them behind her head, "You actually stole the body of a nine-colored snake with spots." Her mouth corners rose slightly.

  "This is a smile, but it doesn't match your appearance at all." The nine-colored snake was stunned for a moment before returning to normal. With the Wheel of Heaven's eyes, one could see through everything, and it wasn't strange that they could also see her soul's original form.

  Du Sulin didn't say anything and turned around to leave in the direction he came from.

  "My name is Jing Jie, Tai Guang, nice to meet you." The colorful snake behind her said loudly, jumping up and waving at Du Si Lin's back, just like a little girl who hadn't grown up.

  "Alright." Du Si Lin didn't walk out very far before turning back, "Don't have any more ideas about hitting Xiao Qing Zhu."

  "Xiao Qingzhu?" Jing Ji crossed her arms over her chest and shook her head a few times, "What, you have a thing for her?"

  "A noble friendship." Du Sulin said calmly, "She was invaded by your colorful aura and almost lost her life."

  "What?!"" Jing Jie jumped up in surprise, "Impossible!" She denied, "I only absorbed her spiritual energy, and I even sent someone to take care of her body to ensure her life!"

  "That's because you're not good enough at controlling the Nine-Colored Snake, its Five-Colored Aura is something you can't fully grasp." Du Sulin had a lazy expression, her green silk scattered behind her, rainwater sliding off the umbrella in her hand and falling to the ground.

  "Hmm." Jing Jie stroked his chin thoughtfully with one hand, "I've only been controlling this body for thirty-odd years, it's understandable if I'm not fully in control."

  This little girl, no matter how you look at her, wouldn't be associated with that gigantic snake from just now. If someone were to say she's the Nine-Colored Snake, probably nobody would believe it.

  "Then go back and cultivate for another thirty years." Du Sulin shook his head helplessly and was about to leave.

  "Tai Guang, you give me a familiar feeling." Jing Jie said, running up to Du Si Lin and hiding under her umbrella.

  "Is it?" Duslin replied.

  "Yes, like an old friend, so familiar." Jing Jie smiled sweetly, her big eyes sparkling.

  "Where do you live? I'll send you back." Du Sulin had never seen such a lively person, and judging from her appearance, she also knew that she didn't have an umbrella.

  "I have no home." Jing Jiao said with a sour tone, her eyes brimming with tears as she looked at Du Si Lin.

  Du Sulin didn't say a word, and Jing Ji followed him all the way home.

  The door was opened by Fang Feng, who was very worried about Du Si Lin because he had gone out early and there was no news from him.

  Dou Sulin walked in casually, but Jing Ji stopped at the door. A pair of eyes stared at Feng, unwilling to leave again.

  Feng looked at the woman in front of him, a familiar feeling rose up in his heart.

  But she soon shook off the idea in her mind.

  This woman knew she was a demon from the moment she laid eyes on her.

  "She is Jing Jie." Du Si Lin saw this and introduced Jing Jie to Fang Feng.

  "Thistle... Thistle Mustard... Upon hearing this name, Fang Feng was completely stunned."

  "Dear Fang Feng, long time no see."

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