After Sheng Jun Chapter 9 (Part 2)
Translated by Sylver (ko-fi)
Chapter 9 Body of Extreme Cold (part 2)
Fortunately, he was a natural socialite and quickly steered the conversation elsewhere. Jiang Xingzhi also planned to learn more about the specific situations of the major sects—after all, they would be competing with each other in the future.
When other sects were mentioned, Shang Luxing's relaxed demeanor clearly revealed a hint of tension.
He sat up straight and said, "Everyone probably harbors thoughts of winning Brother Jiang over. If Brother Jiang doesn't wish to expend energy maneuvering between the various powers, perhaps it's better to settle early with a trustworthy family."
Every word seemed to be considering Jiang Xingzhi's interests.
Jiang Xingzhi held his hot tea, smiling very gently beneath the rising white steam, "Family head Shang is truly considerate."
His smile made Shang Luxing feel uncertain, "I..."
"I understand Family head Shang's meaning. I'll consider it."
As the steam dispersed, it revealed Jiang Xingzhi's face, appearing very approachable.
Shang Luxing breathed a sigh of relief and stood up with a broad smile, "It's about dinner time. The kitchen has prepared excellent wine and dishes, and we've invited famous chefs from Quzhou. If Brother Jiang doesn't mind..."
Jiang Xingzhi skipped past the false pleasantries, quickly standing up with a sweep of his robes, "Why even ask?"
Shang Luxing's throat moved as he swallowed back all his prepared speech.
As darkness fell, wine cups clinked in the Shang family's banquet hall.
After several rounds of drinks, Shang Luxing turned to call his personal servant Zhu Yuan to bring forth a brocade box. The moment the lid was lifted, a faint glow emanated from within.
"What is this?" Jiang Xingzhi put down his chopsticks to look.
Inside the brocade box were two jade pendants, as bright as the moon and shaped like curved bows. Each held a spirit-gathering pearl, one red and one blue, clearly rare treasures hard to find in the Three Realms.
Shang Luxing said, "Yesterday, thanks to Brother Jiang and Brother Bai's kindness, the Shang family's reputation soared. This small token of appreciation, I hope Brother Jiang won't find it beneath him."
The jade was fine jade, and the pearls were genuine spirit pearls.
Jiang Xingzhi examined them for a while, "They look like a pair... that doesn't seem quite appropriate."
"Not at all." Shang Luxing replied flawlessly, "These are called 'Moon-Holding Pearls,' crafted by Master Fan Li, the Three Realms' finest craftsman. One pearl is extremely cold, one extremely hot. I acquired them separately from others, and thinking of giving both of you brothers a thank-you gift of equal value that would be presentable... these two pieces of jade seemed most suitable."
His words were sincere and his logic meticulous; Jiang Xingzhi couldn't find any fault.
If he were to be picky about receiving a gift, it would be truly shameless. Jiang Xingzhi thanked him and accepted, "Family head Shang is thoughtful."
The two Moon-Holding Pearls lay quietly in the brocade box, gleaming brilliantly under the bright surrounding lights.
He curiously picked up the blue pearl and jade, scanning it with his divine sense, "So this is the extremely cold—hiss!"
"Brother Jiang?"
The Moon-Holding Pearl "plop" fell back into the brocade box as Shang Luxing suddenly stood up.
Jiang Xingzhi's fingertips trembled as the bone-chilling cold invaded through his divine consciousness that had probed the spirit-gathering pearl.
Spirit-gathering meant gathering the essence of heaven and earth, and this was an extremely cold object. In the past, it wouldn't have affected him at all, but he had underestimated the impact of his soul damage.
The naturally extreme cold qi wrapped around his damaged soul within his body, and Jiang Xingzhi shivered from deep within his divine sense for a moment.
"Brother Jiang, is there something wrong with the Moon-Holding Pearl—"
"It's nothing." When Jiang Xingzhi looked up again, he had recovered his usual expression. He carefully put away the Moon-Holding Pearl, trying not to reveal any signs, and stood up to bid farewell to Shang Luxing.
"Thank you for your help today, Family head Shang. I'll take this gift back to Brother Bai now."
****
A slender figure crossed the sky above the city, below were countless lights of homes, above were the bright moon and stars.
After leaving the Shang family, the cold aura emanating from Jiang Xingzhi's body finally couldn't be contained anymore.
Following his returning figure, fine snow actually fell in the late summer weather.
"Huff... huff..." Jiang Xingzhi lowered his eyes and took several breaths to regulate his qi.
The cold from his soul was completely different from external coldness; he felt as if his brain was pressed against an ice cavern, painfully cold.
Fortunately, his cultivation was profound, and apart from the torment, he suffered no substantial damage, but he still needed to find a place quickly to release it.
Almost without thinking, Jiang Xingzhi headed straight for the Guixue Sect.
"Swoosh—" his figure passed through the forest and landed inside the cave from that day.
…..
It was already the hour of Hai (9-11 pm), and the cave was completely dark.
Jiang Xingzhi leaned back against the cave wall, his pale lips slightly parted, exhaling bursts of cold air, his fine eyelashes trembling.
His collar had loosened slightly, revealing a small patch of skin so white it was translucent, actually covered with a layer of frost.
Huff... A flame of mixed blue and red Three Paths True Fire ignited from nowhere in the cave. Unlike the externally placed spirit-gathering pearls, the Three Paths True Fire had always been nurtured in his dantian, and using it to channel the cold wouldn't cause any backlash.
This was something he and Xu Jian had found in a mysterious realm, and they had even fought over this flame—though he had simply wanted to cross swords with Xu Jian.
In the end, he won, and the flame became his.
Unexpectedly, it could be of some use now.
The ghostly firelight illuminated half the cave, Jiang Xingzhi tilted his head back with his brows furrowed in discomfort, his neck forming a long graceful arc, shadows dancing across his collarbones.
His cold body was sweating from the pain, even his outer robes were soaked through, clinging tightly to his body.
The hair tie at the top of his head came loose as he shifted, his hair falling across his shoulders, winding through that expanse of indigo blue.
Time ticked by slowly, silence all around.
Surging spiritual power circulated within his body, gradually dispelling the cold that had seeped into his marrow. His meridians felt as if they were being scraped by sharp knives, and in his floating consciousness, a soft moan escaped Jiang Xingzhi's lips, "Mmm..."
With this constitution, he probably couldn't touch anything extremely cold in the future.
In his daze, it seemed like there was a sound from outside the quiet cave.
The cypress forest branches swayed, and under the scattered leaf shadows, someone came walking in the moonlight. Jiang Xingzhi's heart tightened, his fingers released from his robes, and he diverted some attention to form a blade of qi.
He could barely take care of himself now; if someone were to take advantage of his weakness at this moment...
Thud, a landing sound came from the cave entrance.
A series of hurried footsteps quickly approached, "Jiang Xingzhi!"