Chapter 205 The Death of Miaosi
The surface of the Blackwater Pool gradually calmed, but dull tremors still occasionally came from its depths.
Miaozhen swam rapidly underwater, her fingers forming a water-avoiding seal, a faint spiritual light surrounding her.
She quickly found the formation core at the bottom of the pool—a massive black stone tablet carved with twisted runes, now emitting a faint, dark red glow. Miaozhen inspected it carefully and found that the core was intact; the yin qi in the pool water had simply been stirred by some external force, causing a temporary imbalance in the formation.
"Strange..."
She frowned, but after confirming the core was fine, she finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"Good thing it's not a big problem."
She quickly formed seals, re-stabilizing the protective barrier around the formation core, then turned and swam toward the surface.
On the shore, Jiang Che and Han Yu had long been lying in ambush.
Han Yu crouched behind a raised rock, holding a green jade talisman in his hand, and whispered:
"The moment she shows her face, I'll first use a 'Spirit Sealing Talisman' to seal her spiritual power. You immediately use sword energy to pin down her vital points."
Jiang Che nodded, the sword energy hidden in his sleeve already ready to strike.
The two held their breath, their eyes fixed on the pool's surface.
"Splash—"
The surface of the Blackwater Pool suddenly broke open. Miaozhen emerged from the water like a bewitching water snake.
Her soaked thin gauze clung to her skin, almost becoming a transparent second layer, outlining every curve of her body. Water droplets slid down her long, slender neck, passed her delicate collarbone, and finally disappeared into the faintly visible ravine.
She raised a hand to tuck her wet hair behind her ear, a simple gesture that caused the gauze dress to slip from one shoulder, revealing a round, jade-like shoulder. Water flowed over her skin, gleaming with a pearlescent luster in the dim light. Her red lips parted slightly as she let out a soft, lazy breath.
The hem of her dress clung to her thighs, the slit faintly revealing snow-white skin. With every step, water droplets fell from the hem, leaving dark marks on the stones by the pool.
She shook her wet long hair and was about to speak when suddenly—
"Seal!"
Han Yu violently flung out the green jade talisman. It instantly transformed into a green light, coiling around Miaozhen's wrist like a spiritual snake!
Miaozhen's pupils contracted. She instinctively tried to form a seal to counterattack, only to find her spiritual power completely sealed!
"You—!"
She was filled with shock and rage, but before she could finish her sentence, Jiang Che's sword energy was already pressed against her throat.
"Don't move."
Jiang Che said coldly,
"Move, and you die."
Miaozhen froze in place, her eyes filled with disbelief:
"You really aren't Senior Brother Miaosi! Who exactly are you?!"
Jiang Che didn't answer, just gave Han Yu a look. Han Yu immediately stepped forward, his fingers tapping several times, placing three more restrictions on Miaozhen to ensure she couldn't even move a single finger.
Miaozhen's face was deathly pale, but she quickly forced herself to calm down and sneered:
"You think restraining me is useful? The methods of the Heavenly Sound Palace, you simply—"
"Shut up."
Jiang Che interrupted her, pressing the sword tip slightly harder, leaving a bloody trace on her snow-white neck,
"I ask, you answer. Otherwise, I'll send you on your way right now."
Miaozhen bit her lip and finally said no more.
Jiang Che stared into her eyes and said in a deep voice:
"Use your Life Buddha to contact Miao Wu."
A flash of panic crossed Miaozhen's eyes:
"You... how do you know about the Life Buddha?"
"Less nonsense!"
Han Yu shouted impatiently,
"Contact him when we tell you to!"
Miaozhen was silent for a moment, then suddenly laughed:
"You want to trick me into revealing Senior Brother Miao Wu's location, don't you?" A hint of mockery flashed in her eyes. "It's a pity the Life Buddha can only be activated by its owner. Even if I wanted to help you, I couldn't."
Jiang Che narrowed his eyes and suddenly smiled as well.
"Is that so?"
He reached out and directly tore a wooden Buddha statue from Miaozhen's waist—it was her Life Buddha!
Miaozhen's expression changed drastically:
"You—!"
Jiang Che played with the Life Buddha and said flatly:
"Now, you have two choices."
"One, cooperate obediently. Use the Life Buddha to contact Miao Wu. After I'm done asking questions, I'll let you live."
"Two, I crush this Life Buddha, and your soul will be scattered."
Miaozhen trembled, fear finally appearing in her eyes. Once the Life Buddha was destroyed, her divine soul would also suffer a heavy blow, or even be directly annihilated!
"You... you'll keep your word?"
she asked in a trembling voice.
Jiang Che nodded:
"I promise not to kill you."
Miaozhen stared at him intently, as if trying to see any deception in his eyes, but Jiang Che's gaze was terrifyingly calm.
Finally, she lowered her head in defeat:
"...Fine, I'll make contact."
Jiang Che handed the Life Buddha back to her, but his sword energy remained firmly locked on her throat. Miaozhen took the Life Buddha with trembling hands, bit her fingertip, and dripped a drop of blood onto the Buddha's forehead.
The Life Buddha immediately glowed with a faint golden light. A moment later, a hoarse male voice came from within the statue:
"Miaozhen? What is it?"
Jiang Che gave Miaozhen a look. She took a deep breath and forced herself to sound calm:
"Senior Brother, I've run into some trouble here, I need support..."
"Trouble?"
Miao Wu's voice suddenly sank,
"Explain clearly!"
Miaozhen glanced at Jiang Che and continued:
"The formation core at the Blackwater Pool has been tampered with. I suspect... an outsider has infiltrated."
The statue was silent for a moment, then Miao Wu's cold voice said:
"Where are you?"
"Still by the pool..."
Miaozhen said in a low voice,
"Can Senior Brother come over? I'm afraid... the other party hasn't gone far."
The voice from the statue paused, then said:
"I am at 'Full Moon Lake' at the moment and cannot get away for the time being. You stabilize the formation core first. Isn't Miaosi with you? Let him figure something out."
A gleam appeared in Jiang Che's eyes—Full Moon Lake!
Miaozhen wanted to say more, but Jiang Che had already snatched the Life Buddha, and with a burst of sword energy from his fingertip, he severed the connection.
"That's enough, right?"
Miaozhen said through gritted teeth,
"I've done as you asked. Now you should let me go, right?"
Jiang Che put away the Life Buddha and nodded:
"Of course."
He retracted his sword energy and took a step back.
As if granted a great amnesty, Miaozhen was about to get up—
"Thwack!"
A short sword suddenly pierced through her back, emerging from her chest!
Miaozhen's eyes widened. She looked down at the blood-stained tip of the sword, then turned her head in disbelief to look at Jiang Che:
"You... you promised..."
Jiang Che shrugged:
"I promised not to kill you, but my senior brother never did."
Han Yu pulled out the short sword, flicked off the blood droplets, and grinned:
"Sorry about that."
Miaozhen opened her mouth, as if to say something, but the light in her eyes was already rapidly dimming. She fell softly to the ground, completely lifeless.
Jiang Che crouched down, searched through her robes, and quickly pulled out a jade slip. After scanning it with his divine sense, he sneered:
"As expected, the formation core is at the bottom of the lake, and it will be activated in three days."
Han Yu put away his short sword and frowned:
"Now we know the locations of the other two formation cores—Miao Wu is at Full Moon Lake, and Miao Qing is at Broken Dragon Gorge. What do we do next?"
Jiang Che stood up and thought for a moment:
"This Miao Wu should be the monk who escaped from our Master. This man has a Heaven-Human Realm cultivation. We should report this to our Master first and let him decide."
"Exactly!"
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