Chapter 445: 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 embedded deep into the wood. His other hand was hidden in his sleeve, clenched into a fist, trembling uncontrollably.

Several eunuchs remaining in the palace who were skilled in healing techniques were surrounding the coffin, their hands pressed against Li Miao's major acupuncture points, pouring in true energy with sweat covering their foreheads.

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.

"If it's at the current speed, we can barely maintain it... but if Commander Li's condition cannot be stopped, even if we have attained Sumeru and our true energy can keep up, our spirit can at most hold out until this evening."

One of the eunuchs replied, sweating.

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

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

Zhu Zai pondered.

He had clues.

Li Miao fell into a deep sleep because of Zheng Zheng Anqi, so this was naturally Zheng Zheng Anqi'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 human shapes leaped high, rushing toward the congealed vortex.

Just as they were about to land, in the moment they couldn't maneuver, the vortex suddenly broke free from its frozen state, waves churning.

They plunged into the seawater.

The moment they entered beneath the water surface, 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 human shapes suddenly turned their heads, just about to instinctively let out a greedy hiss, when two of them were grabbed by the head by Li Miao and smashed into the deep water.

"I'll give you enough to drink!"

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"Eunuch Zhu! Commander Li, he!"

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

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

Blood.

Wounds.

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

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

"With all your strength, no, give your lives for it, old man!"

Zhu Zai roared.

"I don't care what methods you usually hide; today, as long as you can save him, whether you leave the court from now on or need wealth and glory, I will grant it all!"

"But if anything 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 spoke so clearly, which represented his determination.

"Done!"

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

Several eunuchs nodded in unison.

With heavy rewards, there must be brave men; with Zhu Zai's words, all the things they hid could be considered to have official backing, with no more hidden dangers; now was the best time to bring them out!

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

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

"Heavenly Demon Disintegration!"

"Ghost Gate Needle!"

"Marrow Cleansing Scripture!"

Several eunuchs were performing their arts, taking out their things. They were ready to fight for their lives; when they were ready to start healing, they cast their gazes toward Li Miao, but froze in place.

"Breathing... where is it?"

A eunuch 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 suddenly turned pale.

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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 churning with the waves, floating and sinking.

Head-on, these pitch-black human shapes 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 nature in essence, yet they have differences."

"There must be a difference, otherwise it cannot explain why Zheng Zheng Anqi and these corpse parts only cared about swallowing me, yet turned a blind eye to this sea, even fearing it like a tiger."

Pondering for a long while, Li Miao's gaze suddenly fixed.

"Three selves—self, true self, present self!"

"This body represents reason, the present self, so it can be commanded like an arm. This sea is so vast, it should represent the true self, representing true nature and 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 Zheng Zheng Anqi's intention; after the possession failed, these corpse parts are the trap!"

Li Miao's thoughts raced.

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

True energy stirred the seawater, drawing the pitch-black corpse parts scattered everywhere into his hands.

"Forcibly swallowing these things is too late. If left on the beach, without the suppression 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, true self, present self... there is also a true self."

He suddenly shifted his gaze, looking into the distance.

On the sea surface, a huge, pitch-black storm was slowly churning, with lightning flashing from time to time.

"True self."

"That is my true self."

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

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

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 446 =====