Chapter 389: Three Selves

Forbidden City, Palace of Heavenly Purity.

Zhu Zai stood holding a chair, his hand gripping the back of the chair turning white, his fingertips sinking deep into the wood. His other hand was hidden in his sleeve, clenched into a fist, trembling uncontrollably.

Several court officials specializing in healing techniques, who were left behind in the palace, were surrounding the coffin, their hands pressed against Li Miao's acupuncture points, pouring in Qi while covered in sweat.

But it seemed to be of no avail.

No matter how they treated him, the blood in the coffin kept accumulating, and no matter how many times the wounds on Li Miao's body were healed, they could only barely keep up with the speed at which new wounds appeared.

"How is it?"

Zhu Zai asked hoarsely.

"At the current speed, we can barely maintain it... but if Commander Li's condition cannot be stopped, even if we attain Sumeru and our Qi can keep up, our spirit can at most last until this evening."

One of the officials answered, sweating.

"Commander Li's condition is too bizarre; there is clearly no external interference, yet various wounds keep appearing on his body... it's as if his body is disintegrating from within."

"Unless His Majesty returns, we can only barely maintain the status quo. Lord Zhu, do you have any clues?"

Zhu Zai pondered.

He had clues.

Li Miao fell into a deep sleep because of An Qisheng, so this was naturally An Qisheng's method.

Eight out of ten, it was a trap.

A trap aimed at Li Miao after the possession failed.

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Dozens of pitch-black humanoids leaped high, pouncing toward the frozen vortex.

Just as they were about to land and unable to maneuver, the vortex suddenly broke free from its frozen state, and the waves churned.

They pounced into the seawater.

The moment they went underwater, they instinctively closed their mouths tightly to prevent any seawater from pouring in.

Fortunately, this was a mental image.

No breathing was needed.

Their gazes scanned everywhere, searching for Li Miao's figure.

"Looking for whom?"

"!!!"

The pitch-black humanoids turned their heads abruptly, just about to instinctively emit greedy hisses, when two of them were grabbed by the head by Li Miao and slammed into the deep water.

"I'll let you drink your fill!"

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"Lord Zhu! Commander Li, he!"

One of the officials surrounding the coffin suddenly raised his head, his eyes filled with indescribable panic, and he turned and shouted.

Zhu Zai was already worried, focusing all his attention on the movement here; hearing the shout, he rushed to the side of the coffin in one stride, looked down inside, and his face turned pale.

Blood.

Wounds.

On Li Miao's body, over a dozen wounds had appeared simultaneously, each deeper and more ferocious than the last; one was even a foot long, spanning his chest, and fresh blood was spurting out with the rhythm of his heartbeat.

In just a few breaths, the bottom of the coffin was filled with blood.

"With all your might, no, give your lives for him!"

Zhu Zai roared.

"I don't care what methods you usually hide; today, as long as you can save him, whether you want to leave the imperial court or want wealth and glory, there is nothing I will not grant!"

"But if something happens to him, you don't need to live either!"

His words were overflowing with killing intent.

No one would question the truth of his words; as a secret service head who had been in the officialdom for decades, he made his words so clear, representing his determination.

"Let's do it!"

"Brother Wang, bring out your evil arts! Brother Zhou, when I was wandering the Jianghu, I obtained Shaolin healing techniques; I will maintain the wounds, you perform the rescue!"

Several officials nodded in unison.

Under heavy rewards, there must be brave men; with Zhu Zai's words, everything they hid could be considered to have passed through official channels, with no more hidden dangers; this was the perfect time to bring them out!

Not to mention Zhu Zai promised them what they craved most—freedom!

Several people had made up their minds; even if the Heavenly King himself came today, they would heal Li Miao!

"Heavenly Demon Disintegration!"

"Ghost Gate Needles!"

"Marrow Cleansing Scripture!"

Several officials were using their arts, taking out their items. They were ready to fight for their lives; when they were ready to start healing, they looked at Li Miao, but froze in place.

"Breathing... where is it?"

One official muttered.

"Heartbeat, it seems to have stopped... not just heartbeat and breathing, the circulation of the Zhou Tian has also stopped; this is simply, simply like..."

Zhu Zai's face turned pale suddenly.

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Li Miao reached out and crushed the last human face.

In the seawater around him, countless pitch-black corpse parts were floating and sinking with the waves.

In a head-on collision, these pitch-black humanoids were no match for Li Miao. Being in the seawater, they couldn't swallow Li Miao, and after entering deep water, they suddenly froze; Li Miao naturally killed them easily.

But he didn't relax his eyebrows.

It wasn't over yet.

He should have won, but he still hadn't gotten out of the mental image.

"Could it be that I must swallow these corpse parts?"

Li Miao twisted his fingers, pondering.

Suddenly, his fingers paused.

"No."

"There is nothing outside the mind; everything here is my nature, but this body can move as I wish, while this sea is hard to influence; both are essentially nature, yet there is a difference."

"There must be a difference, otherwise it cannot explain why An Qisheng and these corpse parts only care about swallowing me, while turning a blind eye to this sea or even fearing it like a tiger."

After pondering for a long time, Li Miao's eyes suddenly fixed.

"Three Selves—Self, True Self, Present Self!"

"This body represents reason, the Present Self, so it can be directed like an arm. This sea is so vast, it should represent the True Self, representing original nature, instinct, so I can only slightly influence it, not command it."

"I pressed these corpse parts into the seawater, which is equivalent to mixing dregs into my own nature... life and death are at stake, and my body in reality will also be affected."

"This is An Qisheng's intention; after the possession failed, these corpse parts are the trap!"

Li Miao's mind raced.

His gaze swept across the surroundings, and he raised his hand to guide.

Qi stirred the seawater, leading the scattered pitch-black corpse parts into his hands.

"Forcibly swallowing these things is too late. If thrown on the beach, without the pressure of seawater, I fear they will soon wake up again and continue to fight me. If left in the seawater, my body will gradually collapse under the stake of life and death."

"True Self, Original Self, Present Self... there is another True Self."

He suddenly shifted his gaze, looking into the distance.

On the sea surface, a massive, pitch-black storm, occasionally flashing with thunder, was slowly churning.

"True Self."

"That is my True Self."

"The way to break the situation is within it!"

Without a hint of hesitation, Li Miao leaped out of the sea. The seawater under his feet condensed into a solid; he gripped that mass of pitch-black corpse parts and dashed toward that pitch-black storm.