Chapter 5: Equity
Changsun Shaxue woke up.
Her awakening was not an ordinary awakening, but the awakening of her consciousness in the sea of qi.
She saw herself standing in the sea of qi.
The sea beneath her feet and the auspicious clouds of colorful yuan qi had all completely frozen, and even the true essence that hung down from her heavenly orifices was frozen like a frozen waterfall.
She began to realize that she had completely lost control of her body and true essence earlier, and had walked on the edge of life and death, yet she didn't feel grateful because she was very clear that the threat of death hadn't passed.
She saw a faint red glow in the heavenly orifice at the top of the true essence that looked like a frozen waterfall.
That was Ding Ning's Yuan Qi.
Although she did not understand what means Ding Ning had taken to awaken her Sense Thought in time, she knew that at this moment, she could only truly survive by relying on herself.
Her emotions once again fell into absolute calmness as she did her best to sink her divine thoughts into the Jade Palace in the thoroughly frozen Qi Sea.
The Jade Palace gave off a slight vibration.
With just a hint of vibration, the frozen sea suddenly bloomed into countless cracks.
The frozen waterfall also bloomed into countless cracks, and true essence began to flow.
Like everything reviving, tiny streams of water melted the shattered ice before turning into larger streams of water that converged into the sea.
The multicolored Yuan Qi also began to flow.
All the azure-colored icy-cold Yuan Qi, however, was constantly subdued down by the true essence, squeezing it to the deepest part of the Jade Palace.
The seawater beneath her feet became incomparably clear, a faint, indescribable blue color.
As the sea of qi cleared, a wisp of a different color in her Jade Palace was also vaguely revealed.
It was a blue-black sword!
In the center of her Jade Palace, there was actually a blue-black sword as if it was recuperating!
That blue-black color that was so deep that it seemed to be enough to swallow one's soul into it, just by looking at it, made one feel that it was ferocious.
......
Changsun Shaxue's body no longer became icy cold, and the azure-colored icy sand that contained a terrifying cold aura no longer flew out from her breath.
Her eyes opened, finally officially waking up, from the edge of life and death, back to the human world.
Then she took in Ding Ning, who was holding her tightly.
Her eyes were instantly filled with shocked anger and biting killing intent, and her palm was slightly raised, about to land on the head of Ding Ning, who was nestled in her arms.
This palm appeared to be gentle, yet it contained some sort of metaphysical power, exuding a destructive aura that was difficult to describe in words.
Ding Ning was sleeping extremely soundly.
He was already weak and exhausted to the extreme, and the moment he felt the true essence begin to flow from Changsun Shaxue's body, he was reassured, and holding Changsun Shaxue, he directly fell into the deepest level of deep sleep.
He did not feel the approach of death at all.
Changsun Shaxue's face grew icy cold, but looking at Ding Ning's excessively pale face and reassuring expression, her palms became increasingly sluggish.
In the end, she took a deep breath, and before her palm landed on Ding Ning's head, her destructive breath transformed into countless strands of soft and warm air.
All of the moisture that the frost had turned into was shaken out of the bedding, vibrating into finer particles that left this bed.
She pushed away Ding Ning's hands and stood up, walking over to the window.
It was already shimmering outside the window, the torrential rain had stopped and sunrise was imminent.
......
Ding Ning awoke to the sound of chickens crowing and dogs barking.
The window of the bedroom facing a taro field was already open, and even though he was separated by a hedge yard covered with loofah vines, Ding Ning could still feel the fresh scent from the taro field.
Not far away from the deep alleys, the sound of pots and pans, carriages and horses walking, shouting and drinking, husband and wife quarrels, constantly into his ears.
After the rainstorm, the entire Changling seemed to immediately return to its original state, and became even more vibrant.
Changsun Shaxue was standing right in front of this window.
She didn't turn around at all, but was the first to know of Ding Ning's awakening, and directly spoke out coldly, "You were too wanton last night, if there is a next time, I will definitely kill you without hesitation."
Ding Ning looked at her beautiful back, the expression on his face did not change much as he said in a low voice, "You should understand that my cultivation is too different from yours, to save you, I would only have that one method. And judging from last night's situation, the power of the Nine Specters Sword Technique is still far above my imagination, your cultivation must be a bit more patient."
Changsun Shaxue turned around and calmly looked at him, who had just gotten up, "Don't you think it's ridiculous for you to say that."
Ding Ning frowned slightly, "Where is it ridiculous?"
Changsun Shaxue said, "If you don't feel that there are some things that are more important than life and death, why would you bother to seek me out, and why would you secretly plot against your emperor?"
Ding Ning shook his head and said seriously, "This is different."
"There is no difference." Changsun Shaxue sneered coldly, "For you, avenging even your master's death is more important than life and death, and for me, this sort of thing is more important than my life and death as well."
Hearing these words, Ding Ning was silent for a moment, then seriously whispered, "I told you that I am not his disciple, and also, if you have this kind of accident next time, I will still choose to save you."
The tips of Changsun Shaxue's eyebrows raised slightly, and a truly wrathful look appeared in the corner of her eyes.
"Don't talk to me about this useless nonsense, it's absolutely impossible to know what technique I cultivate if you're not that person's disciple, it's even more impossible to cultivate this kind of Nine Deadly Silkworm Divine Technique that seeks its own death if you're not that person's disciple, and even more so, it's even more impossible to possess a cultivation and insight like yours at such an age."
A cold killing intent filled her eyes once again, "I just want to remind you once more that the very fact that you are that person's disciple is already enough for me to kill you. I won't kill you, it's just that your existence will allow me to cultivate a bit faster."
Ding Ning was quiet for a few breaths of time as he raised his head and looked at the wrathful woman, asking earnestly, "Do you really hate him that much?"
"Is there anyone in this world who doesn't hate him? Even your own Qin people detest him." Changsun Shaxue said expressionlessly, "Everyone who doesn't hate him has almost all died."
Ding Ning looked into her incomparably beautiful eyes and said more seriously, "In that case, why did you come to Changling?"
Changsun Shaxue glanced at him, her wrathful demeanor slowly disappearing, her face once again cold and calm, "Do you think that I'm in Changling because of my old relationship with him? I just don't think it's fair...I just don't think it's fair that he did so many things and ended up in such a state. It was only because I felt it was unfair that I wanted to kill your emperor."
Ding Ning quieted down, he no longer argued anything, he just said, "I will go to the fish market today, to kill someone before returning."
Changsun Shaxue frowned slightly, "You've only just regained the interest of the Divine Capital Division, are you sure this is a good time?"
Ding Ning nodded, "Zhao Zhan just died, and the powerful figures of the Supervisory Heavenly Division and Divine Capital Division will have more things to do."
Changsun Shaxue glanced at him and asked, "Who are you trying to kill?"
Ding Ning rubbed his cheeks and said softly, "Song Shenshu."
Changsun Shaxue thought carefully, her memory wasn't very good, but fortunately, the number of cultivators in the entire Changling wasn't that large, and the name was related to the Great Qin Dynasty's Scripture and History Depository, so she immediately searched out the man's name from her mind.
She looked at the very serious Ding Ning with the gaze of an idiot, "A cultivator who has just reached the lower grade of the second realm actually says that he wants to kill a cultivator of the upper grade of the third realm?"
Ding Ning responded very smoothly and softly, "No difference under the Fourth Realm."
"No difference under the Fourth Realm?"
Changsun Shaxue's eyes instantly filled with fury as she coldly glanced at Ding Ning, "And you still say that you're not that person's disciple? Only he would dare to say such a thing. But others who really think so will only get themselves killed."
Ding Ning was silent for a moment and said, "I'll try to be as careful as possible, but if I'm not back here by midnight, you'll find a way to leave Changling on your own."
Changsun Shaxue turned her head away from him and said coldly, "Don't worry, I'm not stupid enough to stay and die with you."
Her words were said mercilessly, yet Ding Ning looked at the side of her face and smiled faintly.
He knew better than most people in this world that some people appeared to be sentient, but were actually thin-skinned, while others appeared to be heartless, but were sentient.
