Chapter 174: Aptitude Upgrade, Resisting Withering
Dugu Xue was still very weak, practically on the verge of death.
She didn’t stay awake for long, her eyelids growing heavy, and soon she fell asleep again in Luo Xue’s arms.
Luo Xue held her gently, a faint smile on her lips.
But her expression quickly turned serious.
She hadn’t gone through all this trouble to escape the imperial palace just for a leisurely outing…
Many things weren’t convenient within the palace; there were too many powerful cultivators.
The Great Qin Imperial Capital was one of the places with the highest concentration of powerful cultivators in the Ancient Demon Lands. Soul Transformation cultivators were everywhere, and Nascent Soul cultivators were common.
Actually, outside the Imperial Capital, there were also ordinary mortals and low-level cultivators, and Nascent Soul cultivators were still considered old monsters.
Compared to the caged world, the Ancient Demon Lands weren’t that different, just seemingly stronger because there was no upper limit to cultivation.
Besides this, and the difference in population and territory, the caged world wasn’t inferior.
If the nine provinces and four domains had the same environment, the forbidden area lords and the ancient beings wouldn’t be limited to the Soul Transformation Realm.
Luo Xue even suspected that they had the potential to reach Tribulation Immortal and above.
It was just that the nine provinces and four domains were a land of scarcity, barely able to support a few peak Soul Transformation cultivators, let alone those at Ascension or Tribulation Immortal.
“Oh right, where are we now?”
Luo Xue took out the map she had prepared, intending to determine their location.
But just then, Xue Ling reached out and took the map.
“Hmm?”
Luo Xue was stunned, then saw Xue Ling point to a location.
“You’re saying, we’re currently… here?”
Luo Xue asked tentatively, and Xue Ling nodded slightly in confirmation.
“Hmm…”
Luo Xue looked at Xue Ling. Although she knew puppetry, Xue Ling was a Soul Transformation puppet…
Incredibly powerful, there weren’t many like her, even in the Ancient Demon Lands, let alone the nine provinces and four domains.
Therefore, Luo Xue probably didn’t know much more about Xue Ling than Dugu Xue did.
At most, because she knew puppetry, she could control Xue Ling for a short time…
However, Xue Ling felt strange to Luo Xue. Although she wasn’t sentient, she still had some autonomy, not completely following orders.
How to describe it…
Like… a not very smart AI…
Perhaps one day, Xue Ling would also develop sentience like an artifact spirit.
Thinking of this, Luo Xue took out the Snow Blade given to her by Concubine Min.
When giving it to her, Concubine Min had already severed the connection between them, and now the Snow Blade completely belonged to Luo Xue.
She could use it as an ordinary spiritual artifact, or refine it into her natal spiritual artifact.
Because the Snow Blade’s artifact spirit seemed to like her…
Holding the Snow Blade, Luo Xue could feel a sense of joy from it, like a child.
Luo Xue just gently stroked it, and the Snow Blade flew up, circling around her.
Soon, the Snow Blade’s spirit found the place it wanted to be.
It quickly styled Luo Xue’s waist-length hair, then turned itself into a hairpin, nestled among her white hair.
“This…”
Luo Xue was speechless. She had never seen such a clearly sentient artifact spirit.
She conjured a mirror, which showed her true appearance—actually, a disguise created with the Thousand Faces Cultivation Art.
Because Luo Xue’s face had been changed to resemble Dugu Xue’s by either the Empress or the Immortal Emperor…
Unable to find a way to restore it, Luo Xue could only resort to this method.
“Well, it’s from Imperial Concubine Min after all, her hairstyle is much better than my own messy attempts.”
Luo Xue couldn’t help but smile wryly and dispelled the mirror.
Even a weapon was better at styling her hair than she was…
Luo Xue composed herself and started examining the map.
It was a very detailed map, drawn on “Universe Cloth,” even the mountain ranges and the distribution of various factions were clearly marked.
Luo Xue just had to look at a certain location, and the corresponding information would appear in her mind.
Luo Xue couldn’t help but think that if she had such a map when she was wandering in the Demon Abyss…
But that was impossible.
Universe Cloth wasn’t a common item. It was usually used to create secret realms. Using it to make a map was a luxury only the imperial family could afford.
Any random item in the imperial palace was a top-tier magical treasure, but Luo Xue was worried that taking too many would arouse suspicion, so she hadn’t taken much.
“Now… so, we’re this far from the Imperial Capital?”
Luo Xue was a bit shocked. This teleportation had taken them almost one-third of the way across the Great Qin Immortal Dynasty.
If they had gone in another direction, Luo Xue would have ended up in the vast and dangerous Endless Sea.
This was partly due to the spatial collapse after breaking through the restriction, and also because Luo Xue, worried that the power wasn’t enough, had used most of Xue Ling’s strength for the teleportation.
“Around here… hmm?”
Luo Xue looked at the map again and saw a familiar yet unfamiliar place.
—The Nangong Sacred Land.
“It’s less than ten thousand miles from our current location… about six or seven hours by plane, practically next door in this world.”
Luo Xue frowned slightly, lost in thought.
There were three main reasons for her leaving the imperial palace.
First, to find a Core Formation secret realm. Her cultivation had been at the peak of Foundation Establishment for a while now, and she should start preparing for Core Formation.
Even having seen Nascent Soul cultivators treated like nothing in the imperial palace, Luo Xue still felt that she should progress steadily, there was no need to rush…
The Eternal Withering Body wasn’t a good thing. Being surrounded by withering, for a living being, was like purgatory.
Second, to find the caged world.
Since there were records of the Ancient Demon Lands in the nine provinces and four domains, and there were also powerful demons from the Ancient Demon Lands appearing in the caged world, there must be a passage between the two.
Unfortunately, Phoenix Venerable hadn’t been willing to say anything, only repeating her duty as a Gatekeeper.
The last reason, and also the most important one, was…
To find Senior Sister Li and stop her from running around using her face…
Luo Xue knew that Senior Sister Li was only doing this because she thought Luo Xue wouldn’t come to this world.
After all, she had also had the same thought in the post-apocalyptic world…
If she appeared before Senior Sister Li, they could clear things up.
Luo Xue exhaled and opened the panel, which she hadn’t used in a while.
She was instantly shocked.
[Current Realm: Foundation Establishment (Peak)]
[Survival Points: 6580]
[Poison Resistance: 100]
[Strength: 100]
[Soul: 100]
[Cultivation Aptitude: Extraordinary Talent (Next Stage: Peerless Aptitude)]
[Divine Ability Aptitude: Barely There (Next Stage: Extraordinary Talent)]
[Obtained Law: Space-Time Sword Intent]
[Currently Possessed Laws: Sword Intent of Withering, Sword Intent of Space-Time]
So many survival points…
Luo Xue opened the record and saw a long list, making her gasp.
They were all from her escape from the imperial palace.
“All Ascension Realm and Tribulation Immortal…”
Luo Xue broke out in a cold sweat, feeling a chill down her spine.
This was thanks to the large-scale restriction within the imperial palace complex, which suppressed the power of cultivators within, even the guards.
Many abilities that could be used outside, such as Divine Sense detection, teleportation, and even some law-level powers, were suppressed within the imperial palace.
If not for these restrictions, with the various abilities of Soul Transformation cultivators and above, if just one snuck in, the weaker members of the imperial family would be in great danger.
This had actually made things easier for Luo Xue, who was at Foundation Establishment. And during her time as a princess, she had thoroughly explored the entire imperial palace, except for a few forbidden areas.
Although, to Luo Xue, the imperial palace was her home…
Fortunately, everything had gone smoothly, and Luo Xue didn’t see any records of Sea Crossing Realm cultivators in her survival point log.
This meant that there weren’t any Sea Crossing Realm experts in the imperial palace, as rumored. That “Wei” was probably just close to that level.
With so many survival points, Luo Xue maxed out all her basic attributes, reaching the limit of 100.
Including physical resistance, magical resistance, technique strength… etc. All of her basic attributes reached the peak, the level of a peerless genius.
After maxing these out, she still had over 3000 survival points left, and her divine ability aptitude was also upgraded to the next level, “Extraordinary Talent.”
However, she couldn’t reach “Peerless Aptitude” yet, which required 10,000 points.
The improvement in her basic attributes was obvious to Luo Xue.
Now, all her attributes were at their theoretical maximum, enough to crush opponents of the same level just with her stats.
Even if there were one or two peerless geniuses who could match her in a few aspects, they couldn’t compare overall.
But…
The “Extraordinary Talent” divine ability aptitude didn’t seem to bring any changes to her talent. Luo Xue looked carefully, but her pupils were still just Double Pupils, not a qualitative change like from Calamity Poison Body to Eternal Withering Body.
“Perhaps it requires some conditions to trigger…”
Luo Xue pondered and could only come to this conclusion.
The evolution of the Calamity Poison Body wasn’t necessarily the Eternal Withering Body. It was because she was in the Blood Sea, filled with the will of withering.
Luo Xue guessed that a high-level divine ability aptitude required certain conditions to trigger, perhaps encountering something, or learning something.
Without meeting these conditions, there wouldn’t be any effects.
However, even without the Double Pupils evolving, Luo Xue’s comprehension of divine abilities should now be on par with Li Guijiao’s.
Li Guijiao was truly a once-in-a-millennium genius. It was only because she was from the Peerless Summit Sect, which specialized in swordsmanship, that her talent for the four arts and divine abilities wasn’t discovered.
Otherwise, with her talent, she would be more than qualified to be a “Holy Maiden” of the Peerless Summit Sect.
“Judging by Imperial Concubine Min’s attitude towards her, Senior Sister Li should be doing quite well in this world, right?”
Luo Xue thought of this, a smile appearing on her lips.
“Ugh…”
Just then, a painful moan came from her arms.
Luo Xue looked down, frowning slightly.
Dugu Xue’s face was twisted in pain, even in her sleep.
A strange power surged within her body, struggling to resist the encroaching withering, but it couldn’t completely stop the erosion.
At the same time, Xue Ling approached, her cold hand resting on Dugu Xue’s forehead.
The strange power seemed to be strengthened, suddenly pushing back the withering.
But… the traces left by the withering couldn’t be healed.
And the residual will of withering continued to torment Dugu Xue.
The strange power should be the technique cast by the Immortal Emperor, maintained by Xue Ling’s power, a temporary solution to prolong Dugu Xue’s life, keeping her on the verge of death.
But the Immortal Emperor didn’t understand withering. Although he could sense its presence, he couldn’t perceive it like Luo Xue could.
Luo Xue sighed, rubbed Dugu Xue’s hair, and sent her spiritual power into Dugu Xue’s body.
The residual will of withering was still stubbornly resisting the strange power. Dispelling it would take a lot of effort, and during this process, Dugu Xue would be in constant pain.
Of course, this was the Immortal Emperor’s method.
Luo Xue had her own.
Gentle spiritual power flowed through Dugu Xue’s unopened meridians, and the will of withering it touched vanished completely within a few breaths.
A healthy flush returned to Dugu Xue’s pale face, and the pain finally subsided.
“It seems… it’s still somewhat useful.”
Luo Xue sighed and looked at her own spiritual power, which was a strange purplish-red.
She had chosen to cultivate the modified Xuanyin Phoenix Transformation Scripture from True Person Fengyin, a technique related to the will of withering, which was why her spiritual power was this color.
Because it was related to the will of withering, it could dispel the residual withering.
However… Luo Xue had to bear the burden herself.
“Luo… Big Sister Luo…”
Dugu Xue woke up and opened her eyes weakly, seeing Luo Xue’s serious expression.
She quickly learned what had just happened from Xue Ling and grabbed Luo Xue’s hand, slightly agitated.
“Big Sister Luo, don’t do this… You didn’t have to save me. I’m already dying, I don’t want to drag anyone else down…”
“…It’s not dragging you down.” Luo Xue shook her head. “Don’t worry, I’ll be fine.”
Just then, Luo Xue suddenly thought of something and asked,
“By the way, Little Dugu, why didn’t you choose to cultivate? Embarking on the immortal path would at least make you feel better, lessening the pain and torment.”
For a mortal to withstand the struggle between the Immortal Emperor’s technique and the will of withering, surviving until now was already a miracle, requiring incredible willpower.
Luo Xue had only realized after meeting her that Dugu Xue possessed such strong willpower, even stronger than her own.
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