Chapter 153: Hating Oneself! (First Update)

Just as Ke Bei was pondering how to develop the base city, Luo Ling's cheeks suddenly flushed, and her whole body began to tremble involuntarily. A sheen of fragrant sweat oozed out like water, instantly soaking through her entire outfit.

"Luo Ling, what's wrong with you?"

Ke Bei was overlooking the entire base city, contemplating how to make it grow step by step. When he turned his head, ready to share his thoughts with Luo Ling, he suddenly realized that something was gravely wrong with her.

Gazing at the trembling Luo Ling, who was biting her red lips tightly, a sharp pang of anguish pierced through Ke Bei's heart. With a fierce stomp of his foot, he materialized right in front of her and pulled her tightly into his embrace.

"Luo Ling..."

Staring at her pale cheeks, a rare trace of panic flashed across Ke Bei's eyes. He gripped her delicate hands tightly, calling out anxiously in her ear.

"It's so hot, Ke Bei... I'm so hot..."

Luo Ling lay limp in Ke Bei's arms, her consciousness slipping away as she murmured incoherently.

"How could this happen?!"
"How could this happen?!"

Ke Bei panicked, holding her desperately with bloodshot eyes, screaming hysterically in his heart!

"What should I do?!"

Feeling Luo Ling's vital breath growing weaker and weaker, Ke Bei's internal organs felt as though they were being ground into powder in an instant. An indescribable agony surged through his entire body, sinking deep into his marrow and reaching the deepest recesses of his soul!

"Luo Ling, Luo Ling, don't sleep! You cannot sleep!"

Holding her tightly and sensing her fading life force, a thunderous roar echoed deep within Ke Bei's mind, like a bolt of lightning violently striking his consciousness.

"Ke Bei... I'm so hot... so tired... I want to sleep..."

Luo Ling's extremely faint voice drifted out. Every word landed on Ke Bei's heart like a massive mountain laden with steel needles, slamming heavily against his chest. The overwhelming weight and piercing agony nearly caused him to faint.

"No!"

His slightly sharp teeth bit down hard onto the tip of his tongue. A wave of sharp pain immediately cleared his chaotic mind for a moment, and bright red blood silently slipped down the corner of his mouth.

Boom!

Like a flash of lightning striking his mind, Ke Bei instantly realized something!

"The Nine Yang Divine Art! Could it be because of the Nine Yang Divine Art?!" Ke Bei abruptly awoke to the realization!

Luo Ling's innate ability belonged to the ice attribute, and her cultivation was only at the lower tier of the Transcending Mortal Realm. The fraction of the Nine Yang Divine Art that Ke Bei had transmitted to her was simply too immense for her constitution. The scorching energy of the Nine Yang Divine Art had instantly surged out of her Dantian and flooded her entire body.

And just as this blazing internal energy swept through her, the hexagonal crystal located between Luo Ling's eyebrows began to violently vibrate!

The hexagonal crystal between her brows was the core of Luo Ling's ice-type energy. Feeling her body invaded by a scorching force, this ice-type energy instantly unleashed all its power, rushing wildly out from between her eyebrows to violently collide with the blazing internal energy of the Nine Yang Divine Art. However, this ice-type energy was utterly negligible compared to the Nine Yang Divine Art residing in her Dantian.

In mere moments, Luo Ling's ice-type energy was completely obliterated by the scorching internal energy of the Nine Yang Divine Art. The internal energy surged upward, frantically pouring into the space between her eyebrows to tightly encircle the hexagonal crystal.

The hexagonal crystal was Luo Ling's energy core. As the internal energy of the Nine Yang Divine Art gradually consumed the energy of the crystal, Luo Ling's vital breath weakened accordingly.

Once the hexagonal crystal was completely depleted, Luo Ling would likely never wake up again! The internal energy of the Nine Yang Divine Art was far too tyrannical. The crystal, originally the size of a thumb, had now shrunk to the size of a soybean. If things continued this way, within three hours, the hexagonal crystal between Luo Ling's eyebrows would be entirely consumed!

"What should I do?"

Holding the unconscious Luo Ling, Ke Bei suddenly coughed out a mouthful of fresh red blood. At this moment, boundless remorse flooded his heart.

He hated himself for transmitting the Nine Yang Divine Art to Luo Ling!
He hated himself for failing to take her physical constitution into account!
Hatred! Hatred! Hatred!

"Ah~~"

Ke Bei's fingertips dug deep into his flesh, and drops of blood and tears welled up, escaping his eyes to slide down his cheeks and drip onto Luo Ling's pale face.

"Luo Ling, I will absolutely not let you leave me, absolutely not!"

Holding her tightly, Ke Bei prepared to carry her back to the Jiujiang Base. Just as he was about to set off, his gaze suddenly fell upon that pool of deep cyan liquid!

The top floor of the Qi Tian Pagoda held a pool of deep cyan liquid resembling nectar, and the Netherworld Purple Flame had originally hovered above it in the form of purple lotus flowers.

"Qingxuan Spirit Liquid!"

Gazing at the deep cyan liquid, a glimmer of hope abruptly sparked in the depths of Ke Bei's despair. Since the Qi Tian Pagoda had already acknowledged him as its master, Ke Bei naturally knew the origin of this pool of liquid.

The Netherworld Purple Flame was known as the God-Slaying Flame, and very few things could suppress its terrifying might. The Qingxuan Spirit Liquid was precisely one of those rare existences capable of restraining the Netherworld Purple Flame!

The moment Ke Bei saw the Qingxuan Spirit Liquid, a thought arose in his mind: if the Qingxuan Spirit Liquid could suppress even the Netherworld Purple Flame, it should have no problem suppressing the scorching internal energy of the Nine Yang Divine Art.

As long as the blazing energy of the Nine Yang Divine Art could be suppressed, Luo Ling would be saved.

Bang!

Thinking of this, and feeling Luo Ling's increasingly faint vital breath, Ke Bei hesitated no longer. Cradling her, he leaped straight into the Qingxuan Spirit Liquid with a heavy splash.

Gently placing Luo Ling into the liquid and feeling her vital breath finally stop fading, Ke Bei let out a heavy sigh of relief.

The Qingxuan Spirit Liquid in the pool was not deep, reaching only to Ke Bei's waist, yet it possessed a high density. Luo Ling's body floated gently on the surface of the water, her eyes slightly closed, her expression peaceful as if she had fallen into a deep, safe sleep.

"Hoo~"

Exhaling deeply, as the Qingxuan Spirit Liquid invaded his body, Ke Bei was suddenly hit by a wave of dizziness. This liquid was like a potent, high-proof liquor; after inhaling just a couple of breaths of its essence, even Ke Bei found it difficult to resist.

Circulating the Nine Yang Divine Art internally, he forced all the invading Qingxuan Spirit Liquid out of his body, and the dizzy sensation gradually faded away.

"Luo Ling~~"

Stepping out of the pool, Ke Bei gazed at Luo Ling's cheeks, which still retained a faint flush, and clenched his fists tightly.

"I will definitely not let anything happen to you, definitely!"

Giving Luo Ling one last deep look, Ke Bei remained silent for a long time before slowly turning around and walking out of the Qi Tian Pagoda with heavy steps.

Submerged in the Qingxuan Spirit Liquid, the scorching internal energy of the Nine Yang Divine Art had been temporarily suppressed. Luo Ling's life force had stopped fading, and she was in no immediate danger of losing her life for the short term.

However, temporary suppression only treats the symptoms, not the root cause!

To completely cure her, the Nine Yang Divine Art within Luo Ling's body had to be entirely eradicated without harming her physical form. If not for his concern for her safety, Ke Bei could have simply summoned the Netherworld Purple Flame to directly devour the Nine Yang Divine Art's energy.

Yet the Netherworld Purple Flame was known as the God-Slaying Flame! Let alone Luo Ling, aside from Ke Bei, its master, even a powerhouse at the War God realm could not resist its flames.

To thoroughly expel the Nine Yang Divine Art from Luo Ling's body, there were only two viable paths. First, Ke Bei could cultivate a martial art capable of absorbing others' internal energy, directly devouring all the Nine Yang Divine Art energy within Luo Ling. Second, Ke Bei could complete an advanced martial arts task to draw an advanced manual, directly forcing the Nine Yang Divine Art out of Luo Ling's body!

An advanced martial arts task was impossible to complete in a short period, so Ke Bei had no choice but to pin his hopes on the first option: cultivating a martial art capable of devouring others' internal energy!

Where could one learn such a technique?

If it were in the past, Ke Bei would have had no way out, because the introductory martial arts tasks were over, and obtaining introductory martial arts was no longer possible. But now, things were different—because he had the Scripture Depository!

The Scripture Depository contained one hundred thousand martial arts manuals! Ke Bei believed that among them, there must certainly exist techniques capable of devouring others' cultivation. It was precisely this realization that made Ke Bei unable to wait another moment to leave the Qi Tian Pagoda and head toward the East City. He wanted to claim the Martial Arts Pavilion, the Scripture Depository, and the Alchemy Chamber right away.

The East City of Qi Tian City currently looked very barren, with hardly any buildings standing.

"Scripture Depository, please do not fail me!"

Standing in the center of the vacant East District, Ke Bei took a slight breath and slowly sank his consciousness into the system disk deep within his mind.

"Claim the Scripture Depository!"

Gazing at the pattern within the golden grid, Ke Bei moved his mind and shouted in a deep voice.

Boom!

Following his mental command, a colossal, ancient pavilion emitting a faint golden light materialized out of thin air before his eyes.

The completely ethereal pavilion covered an enormous area, reaching a full one hundred thousand square meters!

At this moment, the entire Scripture Depository was still in a translucent state, looking unreal, hazy, and entirely see-through.

As seconds ticked away, the illusory Scripture Depository gradually solidified, beginning to transition between the physical and the ethereal—half real and half illusionary, looking rather bizarre.

Hum hum~~

Suddenly, the air surrounding the semi-illusory pavilion began to vibrate gently. The massive three-story structure no longer looked ethereal, and in an instant, an ancient and elegant pavilion materialized completely out of thin air.

The golden light lingering around the pavilion slowly dissipated, and the Scripture Depository stood clearly before him in all its glory.

Gazing at this classical structure, Ke Bei let out a slow breath. Such miraculous methods were truly beyond mortal imagination; he could only wonder what realm the creator of the system disk had ultimately attained.

"Claim the Alchemy Chamber!"

After a brief moment of silence, accompanied by Ke Bei's low shout, a beam of golden light once again appeared out of nowhere.

After a short while, as the golden light gradually faded, a pitch-black palace covering an area even larger than the Scripture Depository crashed heavily into view before Ke Bei.

"Claim the Martial Arts Pavilion!"

Ke Bei took a light breath, shifted his thoughts, and in one continuous motion, claimed all three buildings.

(To be continued)