novelraw Chapter 22
Chapter 22
Chapter 22: Ice-Like Skin and Jade-Like Bones
Seeing that everyone had died, Li Yunqing finally let out a breath of relief.
If she had not lived two lifetimes and possessed sufficient mental fortitude, she might not have been able to remain so calm.
Fortunately, her calculations had not been in vain—she had successfully overcome the crisis perfectly.
“Thud!”
At this moment, Jiang Yu suddenly collapsed to the ground, his eyes still fixed on Li Yunqing in shock.
Even an Initial Realm Perfection expert, against whom he had no power to resist, had died just like that?
They had merely stepped within a zhang of Li Yunqing, and they died!
“Ghost Gate Needles? They shouldn’t be this powerful, right?” Jiang Yu was alarmed.
Ghost Gate Needles were only considered hidden weapons. With the reaction speed of Initial Realm Perfection, one should be able to evade them.
With Li Yunqing’s strength, even a Middle Tier Initial Realm martial artist could dodge.
Yet in that single instant, everything had completely changed.
Even he had not reacted before everyone was already dead.
“Are you alright?”
Li Yunqing walked to Jiang Yu’s side, looking at his body covered in wounds, her eyes filled with concern.
Hearing her concern, Jiang Yu endured the pain and revealed a smile. “I knew it—you have feelings for me too. Otherwise, how could you be willing to risk your life for me!”
“???”
Li Yunqing was speechless. That had been her deliberate scheme against those people—could he not take it seriously?
A love-struck brain was truly hopeless!
And with such severe injuries, he was still thinking about this nonsense?
As expected, as long as a man could still move, he was like this.
“Don’t worry, I’m fine!”
Seeing the worry on Li Yunqing’s face, Jiang Yu pressed his palm against the ground, trying to act tough and sit up.
But he accidentally pulled his wounds. His arm suddenly gave out, and his head slammed into the ground as he fainted perfectly.
“???”
Seeing this scene, Li Yunqing could not help but want to laugh, but she still reached out, placing her fingers lightly on Jiang Yu’s wrist.
Then she took out her needle pouch, retrieved a Ghost Gate Needle, and inserted it into the acupoints on Jiang Yu’s chest one by one.
Almost instantly, Jiang Yu’s complexion regained its color.
Ghost Gate Needles—one needle determines life or death.
If she were to reach the Qi Realm and possess True Qi, the effect would likely become even stronger.
She glanced at Jiang Yu’s wounds, then at the cliff over three zhang high—more than ten meters tall.
Helplessly, she realized that she truly could not climb it herself at the moment. The trees in the valley were all short and useless.
And Jiang Yu’s injuries could not be delayed.
“So heavy!”
Li Yunqing dragged Jiang Yu’s body to a recessed spot beneath the cliff and settled him there.
She then turned around, picked up a horizontal blade, chopped some dry firewood, and lit a fire. While drying their clothes, she also treated Jiang Yu’s wounds.
By the time she finished treating his injuries, half an hour had already passed.
“If we haven’t returned, those guards, along with Xiaolan, should come searching, right?”
Li Yunqing murmured.
She looked again at the steep, even inward-slanting cliff. With her current strength, she truly could not climb it.
After thinking for a moment, she picked up the horizontal blade again, gathered more firewood, found some stones, and began figuring out how to boil water.
If they were not found quickly, she might need to stay here for quite some time.
By the time everything was done, the sky had already darkened.
She did not rest. Instead, she took out Water Condensation Pills and Blood Coagulation Pills and began cultivating the Mingyu Fist.
If her strength were sufficient, this ten-meter-high cliff would not be an obstacle at all.
In the end, everything came down to insufficient strength.
Especially when facing Initial Realm Perfection—if one strike failed, that might be the end.
“Mingyu Fist experience +20.”
“Mingyu Fist (Minor Completion 129/200)”
Until the moon was bright and the stars sparse, no rescue had arrived. Li Yunqing already understood that she would have to spend the night here.
While tending the fire, she continued practicing her fist technique.
With the assistance of the two kinds of pills, her cultivation progressed rapidly.
Especially the Water Condensation Pills—each time she consumed one, her physique subtly changed, allowing her to faintly sense that the experience she gained was increasing.
The refinement of her qi and blood within her body also became increasingly robust.
Moreover, as she practiced, her comprehension continued to deepen.
“Mingyu Fist experience +20.”
“Mingyu Fist (Minor Completion 159/200)”
“Perhaps tonight I can reach Mastery.”
Thinking of this, Li Yunqing did not rest at all.
After consecutively consuming two Water Condensation Pills and two Blood Coagulation Pills, as dawn broke, a line of text suddenly appeared before her.
“Mingyu Fist experience +41.”
“Mingyu Fist (Mastery 0/500)”
“Mingyu Fist has reached Mastery. Trait derived: Ice-Like Skin and Jade-Like Bones.”
“Another trait!”
Li Yunqing’s face lit up with joy. Before she could react, an invisible energy emerged from heaven and earth, enveloping her.
That energy was full of vitality, carrying the chill of ice and snow along with the warmth of jade—like the dual forces of yin and yang.
Her skin and bones began to madly absorb that energy.
A tingling and numbing sensation surfaced once more.
Her expression changed slightly, and she instinctively covered her mouth, glancing at Jiang Yu, who was still unconscious not far away, feeling a sense of relief.
She did not fear pain—but the itching numbness was unbearable.
If she made any strange sounds and Jiang Yu heard them, it would truly be socially disastrous.
“Haa… finally over!”
Only after enduring for the time it takes to drink a cup of tea did the numbness gradually fade.
She looked at her arm.
Her skin was crystal-clear like jade, fair and tender, with pores almost invisible.
Moreover, its texture was extremely fine, like a crystallization refined through countless temperings—tough yet soft.
With a slight clench of her fist, she could even hear sounds within her bones like sword hums and jade colliding. Even her strength had increased by more than half.
Her qi and blood had also grown much stronger. Even the blood vessels beneath her skin carried a faint jade-like luster.
Even the spiritual power in her mind now carried traces of frost, yet retained the gentle warmth of jade.
“This Ice-Like Skin and Jade-Like Bones is actually a kind of physique!”
“And as qi force is generated in the future, refining flesh, bones, and organs will further enhance Ice-Like Skin and Jade-Like Bones.”
After sensing the changes in her body, Li Yunqing was slightly stunned.
Subconsciously, she walked to the water pool and looked at her reflection.
“I’ve become even prettier!”
Her skin had become even fairer and more tender, emitting a crystalline glow, with pores so fine they were nearly invisible.
She looked like a figure carved from ice crystal jade.
A faint fragrance also emanated from her body—the natural scent of Ice-Like Skin and Jade-Like Bones.
“If this physique continues to strengthen, what will it become?”
For a moment, Li Yunqing did not dare to imagine.
Suddenly, her ears twitched, and she instinctively looked toward the recessed part of the cliff.
“You’re awake?”
Li Yunqing walked over to Jiang Yu and asked, “How do you feel? Can you climb the cliff?”
Jiang Yu had just opened his eyes when he saw Li Yunqing standing before him.
The morning sunlight filtered through the dense mist, making her entire figure seem to glow.
Her skin was like jade, fair and smooth, her features even more delicate and beautiful.
Like an immortal descending to the mortal world, carrying a quiet elegance from her very bones.
“You…”
Jiang Yu opened his mouth to speak, but found his throat extremely hoarse.
“Wait.”
Li Yunqing turned and walked to the fire, took out a wooden bowl and ladle, scooped some water from a hollowed stone, and returned to Jiang Yu.
“Moisten your throat first.”
Her voice was pleasant, her expression calm.
Seeing that Jiang Yu’s arms still could not move, she slowly crouched down, scooped water with the ladle, and brought it to his lips.
Jiang Yu’s arms and legs were severely injured, the wounds deep enough to nearly expose bone.
Even with her medicine and a martial artist’s recovery ability, it would not heal so quickly.
At such close distance, sensing the fragrance from Li Yunqing and seeing her fair, flawless skin that seemed as though it would release water with a pinch—
Jiang Yu’s Adam’s apple bobbed. After silently swallowing the water at his lips, he somehow felt even thirstier.
With reddened ears, he finished the bowl of water and then looked toward the cliff.
In his mind, the image of Li Yunqing personally feeding him water lingered.
After a moment of thought, he spoke seriously.
“With my strength… I cannot climb up.”