Chapter 54: Ancient Scroll as Prison

"Let it go..."

Lu Jiajia raised her sword, pointing it at the dying Bloodfeather Lord. Suddenly, a voice spoke from behind her. She turned to see a weary young man in white standing there, gesturing for her to stop.

Lu Jiajia turned to Ning Changjiu, frowning. "What are you talking about?"

Ning Changjiu didn't answer directly. Instead, he asked, "What's the most powerful curse seal in your sect? Imprint it on him, then let him go."

Lu Jiajia replied, "Curse seals are branded onto the soul, a technique of demons and devils. I... haven't learned it."

"Then I'll teach you one," Ning Changjiu said. "The Blood Bone Incineration Seal."

The Bloodfeather Lord's expression drastically changed, and it wailed, "Your junior sister is in grave danger right now, and you still have time to torture me? How did she end up with a senior brother like you, who doesn't even care about her life and safety?"

Ning Changjiu ignored it, looking only at Lu Jiajia. "Time is short. Being able to perform it at fifty percent capacity will be enough."

Lu Jiajia listened to his instructions, nodding silently. Once she understood the principle, casting the curse seal wasn't difficult. She tried the energy circulation method he described, mastering it in just two attempts. About fifteen minutes later, she opened her eyes and nodded slightly.

The Bloodfeather Lord's pupils contracted sharply, and it struggled incessantly, its wings, pinned by the sword, bleeding continuously. It howled, "You're definitely putting this seal on me to make me do something... just skip the seal! Tell me what you want, and I promise I'll do it. If I hesitate for even a moment, you can pluck out all my feathers, just... just don't come closer..."

Lu Jiajia paid no attention to it. Using her finger as a sword, she cast the spell, drawing crimson lines that resembled half-dead, venomous soul worms. These lines burrowed into its broken flesh and bones. Amidst continuous wails, the Blood Bone Incineration Seal was implanted into its body.

Ning Changjiu bowed to her. "Thank you for your trouble, Lady Lu. This kind of curse seal is inherently rejected by heaven and earth... Once Xiao Ling recovers, I will join her in formally becoming your disciples, and we will repay your kindness over time."

Lu Jiajia said, "I'm well aware of the backlash from such a curse. You don't need to explain anything to me. Saving her is what matters."

"I have another presumptuous request," Ning Changjiu said.

"Speak," Lu Jiajia replied.

Ning Changjiu extended his hand. "Lady Lu, please lend me some spiritual energy."

Lu Jiajia frowned. "Your body is currently weak. Forcibly transferring spiritual energy won't flow through your qi sea. The slightest mistake could rupture your existing spiritual meridians!"

Ning Changjiu kept his hand extended, firmly saying, "Just a little."

Lu Jiajia sighed softly, extended her hand, hesitated for a moment, then finally placed it on his fingers and gripped it tightly.

In the deserted palace square, their hands clasped together.

This action, which should have been shy and intimate between a young man and woman, now appeared not at all ambiguous, but solemn and forlorn, as if they were performing some ritual.

Ning Changjiu's already pale face instantly turned ashen.

This was entirely different from when he absorbed Ning Qinshui's energy that day. That was unowned spiritual energy, perfectly compatible with his body. Lu Jiajia's spiritual energy, however, contained an indelible sword intent, and flowing through his body, it felt like being sliced by knives.

He pressed his lips together, concentrated energy into one finger, pointed it like a sword, and touched several of the Bloodfeather Lord's vital points.

The previously dying demon sparrow quickly jolted. It suddenly discovered that its body was filled with abundant spiritual energy, as if experiencing a brief resurgence of life... Moreover, it found that its senses of smell, hearing, and sight had become very sharp in a short period.

But it felt no joy at all. It knew very well that this method of stimulating acupoints was akin to draining a pond to catch all the fish, temporarily activating sensory vitality but causing immense damage to the body.

"Thank you," Ning Changjiu said softly, releasing Lu Jiajia's hand.

Lu Jiajia nodded, also sighing in relief. She lowered her sleeve, and her thumb gently massaged her pinky fingers inside the sleeve... a slight pain.

Ning Changjiu took out a piece of purple-gold talisman paper from his pocket and placed it before the Bloodfeather Lord. "Smell the scent and the talismanic essence on this. Find her within one hour."

The Bloodfeather Lord was on the verge of tears: "My wings are pierced like this, they're practically leaking air! How am I supposed to fly?"

Ning Changjiu replied indifferently, "In one hour, the Blood Bone Incineration Seal will activate, and your physical body will be completely incinerated. Then you won't be leaking air anymore."

The Bloodfeather Lord froze for a moment, then seriously sniffed the talisman. The essence of every purple-gold divine talisman was unique, and this one had been on Ning Xiaoling for a long time, so a residue naturally remained. Moreover, its senses were now amplified multiple times.

*Am I... a messenger pigeon turned hunting dog?*

The Bloodfeather Lord, thinking of its miserable fate in an hour, sniffed with even greater effort.

Enduring the pain, it flapped its bloody wings and flew into the sky above the Imperial City.

Lu Jiajia asked, "This kind of curse seal is an evil path. Where did you learn it?"

Ning Changjiu sighed. "Just doing whatever it takes... May I sit in your blue and white palanquin for a while?"

Lu Jiajia looked at the young man before her, who had lost all his cultivation, her expression filled with pity. She nodded. "Of course."

It must be said, the Bloodfeather Lord had a remarkable talent for being a hunting dog.

In just half an hour, it began to circle high above the western part of the city—the signal they had agreed upon earlier.

Ning Changjiu stepped out of the blue and white palanquin. "Lady Lu, come with me. Afterwards, you stay hidden. Unless my junior sister completely loses control, do not come out."

Lu Jiajia didn't know what he planned to do, so she simply nodded.

After giving simple instructions, Lu Jiajia drew the immortal sword from her waist, leaped, and stepped onto its blade. She grabbed Ning Changjiu's arm, pulling him up as well. The immortal sword shot off, streaking directly towards where the Bloodfeather Lord was circling.

Ning Xiaoling slowly crawled out of the deep pit, covered in mud.

She suddenly saw a constantly spinning shadow on the ground. Her body instinctively lunged, trying to catch the shadow, but it kept spinning. So she scrambled on all fours, chasing the shadow like a cat playing with a moving light.

In the sky, the Bloodfeather Lord circled relentlessly. The shadow on the ground was, naturally, its own.

It watched the little girl, whose humanity was fading as her bestial nature emerged, endlessly chasing its shadow. Even with severely injured wings, it flew with even greater effort and excitement.

Suddenly, Ning Xiaoling stopped. She abruptly looked up, gazing into the sky.

That single gaze sent a chill through the Bloodfeather Lord's entire body. It dared not linger any longer, wanting to retreat immediately. But Ning Xiaoling bared her teeth, her two sharp canine teeth noticeably elongated, almost piercing her tender lips.

And her eyes were like countless specks of blood embedded within them.

The spreading crimson light continuously expanded, almost engulfing the light in her pupils.

Behind the girl, four massive, ethereal tails reappeared. The mud-covered little girl, with her fox tails now revealed, had her entire demeanor transformed. She exuded a crimson aura, almost like a demon king looking down on the Southern Continent.

The Bloodfeather Lord knew it had been locked onto by her gaze. Even before the curse seal activated, it was almost certainly doomed.

Just then, the gate of the empty residence suddenly shattered.

A snowy white figure suddenly dropped in.

Ning Xiaoling, like a true fox, startled and bolted, darting several yards away.

The newcomer was Ning Changjiu.

Ning Xiaoling's eyes suddenly brightened, regaining some clarity. Her lips trembled as if she wanted to speak, but her body's instinct made her unwilling to approach him.

Yet, in the next moment, Ning Xiaoling's expression changed.

She suddenly saw Ning Changjiu clutching his chest, blood seeping between his fingers. And behind him, a sword suddenly shot towards his heart.

It was a figure in black.

Ning Changjiu had been pursued all the way here.

With a hiss, Ning Changjiu couldn't evade in time; most of his sleeve was torn away by the sudden sword strike. Without a moment's pause, the sword tip pivoted, and the next strike aimed for his throat.

Ning Changjiu leaned back, barely dodging the sword, but the figure in black suddenly raised a foot and kicked him in the chest. Ning Changjiu let out a pained groan, his body slamming backward onto the ground, sliding towards the deep pit Ning Xiaoling had just created.

The figure in black's sword pursued relentlessly, poised to strike directly at his heart.

Ning Xiaoling's expression changed drastically. She let out a guttural cry, lunged forward, instinctively shielding Ning Changjiu. Her hands directly gripped the sword, twisted it forcefully, turning it into scrap metal in an instant. Then she unleashed a palm strike that, with a loud boom, sent the figure in black several yards back.

A flicker of confusion crossed her eyes, as if she didn't understand why she had suddenly acted that way.

Suddenly, the young man in white from behind grabbed her wrist.

Startled again, she tried to bat his hand away, but suddenly felt a dizzying sensation. A force that seemed to twist space dragged her, a feeling akin to suddenly losing her footing on a cliff edge, her body tipping, about to plummet into eternal damnation.

Ning Xiaoling let out a long howl and struck out with a claw, but hit only empty air.

The world spun in her vision.

She found herself still within the city, but everything around her was eerily silent, as if all life had ceased.

In the courtyard of the empty residence, both Ning Changjiu and Ning Xiaoling were gone. With a soft thud, an ancient scroll dropped to the ground, and a gentle breeze rustled its pages, closing it.

The figure in black, holding a twisted iron sword, removed her mask.

It was Zhao Xiang'er.

She walked to the edge of the muddy pit, knelt down, and picked up the ancient scroll.

The ancient scroll contained a small world, a historical microcosm of the Zhao Kingdom's Imperial City. Ning Changjiu had forcibly pulled her into this scroll with him.

The previous secret conversation between them echoed faintly in her ears.

"This ancient scroll was damaged during the battle between the old fox and the Witch Lord. It has lost a lot of its spiritual energy and won't last long."

"How long can it last?"

"Two hours at most."

"Two hours it is."

"What if you can't control your junior sister within two hours? What if she's completely corrupted by her demonic nature?"

"Then throw this ancient scroll into the place where the old fox was once imprisoned. That way, even if she breaks out of the scroll, she'll still be in a cage."

"What about you then? You'll be almost certainly doomed!"

"I won't die."

Ning Changjiu replied this way, but thought to himself, "I'm also curious to know what kind of world I'll see if I die again."

"Are you really going to throw this ancient scroll into that underground well palace?" Lu Jiajia, with her long sword held, emerged from the shadows. She looked at the young woman half-crouching on the ground, holding the ancient scroll, and asked. Lu Jiajia then breathed a sigh of relief, nodded, and asked, "Then, what has Your Highness decided?"

Zhao Xiang'er pulled off the black headscarf wrapped around her long hair, and her long, coiled ponytail cascaded down. Holding the ancient scroll, she stood up, her expression returning to calmness, yet unable to conceal an unstoppable, resolute aura. She said, "Sister Lu, please take me to the Nine Spirits Platform on your sword. The sooner, the better."