Chapter 315: The New Use of Sha Meng

"Vice Supervisor Ning's injuries have stabilized at least, and won't worsen further—but for some reason, she hasn't woken up yet," said Hou Yunzhang, captain of the Sword Hero mercenary squad, his face filled with worry.

"At least the injuries are stable now; she's no longer in danger of dying," said Yuan Jing, captain of the Personal Guard.

Li Tian, captain of the Green Forest mercenary squad, opened his mouth as if to speak, then fell silent.

Seeing this, Captain Yuan Jing walked over to the soldiers gathered around. "Thanks to the mid-grade Star Healing purchased at high cost by Captain Hou, Vice Supervisor Ning's injuries have stabilized and will improve soon."

"You all should disperse now—go train, go treat your wounds, don't loiter here."

With Yuan Jing's words, the soldiers gathered around gradually dispersed.

Only then did Li Tian, his face still worried, speak: "She hasn't woken up yet—this may be tied to her injuries, but if she still hasn't woken in a day, it'll be troublesome."

"Why's that?" Yuan Jing frowned.

"If she hasn't woken in a day, it may involve damage to her Divine Soul."

At these words, both Yuan Jing and Hou Yunzhang grew solemn.

If the Divine Soul is injured, it's far more serious than star-force injuries.

In their understanding, star-force injuries can be healed, but Divine Soul injuries are nearly incurable.

"Let's wait one more day. If she still hasn't woken by then, we'll have to ask the General to find a solution," said Captain Yuan Jing.

Here, Yuan Jing sighed again. "Why is Vice Supervisor Ning so unlucky? Her luck is always terrible—every battle, she runs into unexpected enemies!"

"Last time, the battle report said the strongest enemy wouldn't exceed mid-fifth-rank, yet three fifth-rank ninth-layer foes appeared!"

"This time, we were guarding a fifth-rank passage—the strongest alien should've been fifth-rank ninth-layer, yet we faced a sixth-rank alien!"

Li Tian also frowned tightly. "Maybe it's just bad luck."

"But luck can't be this consistently awful! How many times now?"

"I've counted—at least three times!"

"How accurate are those battle reports from headquarters?"

"Don't they know inaccurate reports get people killed!" Yuan Jing complained.

Xu Jin, lurking nearby, listened—and his expression turned thoughtful.

One time? Bad luck.

Twice? Possibly still bad luck.

Three times? That might mean something's wrong.

This matter needs watching.

Yuan Jing could only vent: "Both of you, you've just returned from battle, exhausted—go rest early. I'll station guards here; if Vice Supervisor Ning wakes, I'll notify you immediately."

For now, that was all they could do.

Hou Yunzhang and Li Tian departed one after another.

This eased Xu Jin's tension.

That was easier.

Once all these people left, things would be simpler.

An hour later, night had fallen. Two new Personal Guards had taken over watch; inside the tent, Captain Yuan Jing himself remained on duty, guarding against any change in Ning Yuchan's condition.

Feeling the time was right, Xu Jin subtly stirred his Divine Soul power—and Wen Meng activated instantly.

Outside, the two fourth-rank Personal Guards slipped soundlessly into deep sleep.

One leaned against the tent wall; the other, about to collapse from unconsciousness, was gently caught mid-fall by Xu Jin's hidden form and propped up beside the wall.

His spiritual sense slowly penetrated—and Wen Meng activated again.

Captain Yuan Jing, already exhausted, sank into deep slumber.

The tent flap opened slightly—and Xu Jin slipped inside unseen.

Inside the inner chamber, Ning Yuchan lay on the bed; even unconscious, her delicate brows were slightly furrowed, as if in discomfort.

Divine Souls were hard to examine. After thinking, Xu Jin first replaced two fourth-rank upper-tier Wood Spirit Star Cores, then activated mid-grade Star Healing to fully heal her internal injuries first.

Even though he'd already used one mid-grade Star Healing seal, Xu Jin could still sense several highly destructive star-forces lingering within Ning Yuchan—but they had now balanced with her own star-force, unable to keep damaging her, yet still entangled.

Xu Jin summoned the fourth-rank upper-tier Wood Spirit Heart within his Star Palace, then activated mid-grade Star Healing. A vibrant emerald-green starlight, brimming with vitality, slowly flowed into Ning Yuchan's body, steadily healing her wounds and clearing away residual star-forces.

As he cleared these cold, chilling star-forces, Xu Jin's brow furrowed.

This cold, water-element star-force wasn't ordinary.

Xu Jin had slain many sixth-rank aliens, mostly using seals—but he understood sixth-rank power well enough.

The cold water-element star-force lodged in Ning Yuchan's body was unexpectedly potent.

Even as rootless water, it dissolved extremely slowly.

It was refined to an extreme degree.

This level of refinement surpassed even the star-force of the sixth-rank ninth-layer aliens Xu Jin had slain!

What kind of sixth-rank powerhouse had Ning Yuchan encountered?

One of the top-tier ones?

With doubts forming, Xu Jin pushed his healing to full power.

As he'd discovered before, Star Healing varied greatly in potency.

The mid-grade Star Healing activated by Xu Jin's Wood Spirit Heart was far stronger than the mid-grade Star Healing from the fourth-rank seal.

Even so, it took him a full half-hour to fully heal Ning Yuchan's internal and external injuries.

Xu Jin had prepared to vanish immediately after healing, before she awoke.

But unexpectedly, though her injuries were completely healed, Ning Yuchan still didn't wake.

It was certain: her Divine Soul was injured.

And severely.

Xu Jin had no good method for healing Divine Soul injuries.

First, he activated Wen Meng on Ning Yuchan.

Wen Meng itself had the ability to restore Divine Soul injuries.

Then, he slipped a third-layer Three-Yin Clear Soul Pill into her mouth.

The Three-Yin Clear Soul Pill not only restored Divine Soul energy but also mildly healed Divine Soul injuries.

The third-layer variant was even more exceptional.

Yet healing Divine Soul injuries had no instant effect.

It required time.

If she didn't improve in one or two days, Xu Jin would have to use the Nine-Leaf Golden Lotus Seed.

The Nine-Leaf Golden Lotus Seed also had efficacy against hidden Divine Soul injuries.

This convinced Xu Jin: he must seek out pills or techniques capable of healing Divine Soul injuries in the future.

So he wouldn't be helpless if his own Divine Soul suffered grave damage!

After completing all this, Xu Jin sensed the medicinal power of the third-layer Three-Yin Clear Soul Pill dispersing within Ning Yuchan's body—likely healing her wounds—and was about to leave.

Suddenly, Ning Yuchan's face twisted in agony, her lovely features contorting into a grimace!

This took Xu Jin completely by surprise.

He activated Wen Meng again—this time, pouring all his power into it, gently placing his palm on Ning Yuchan's forehead—Sha Meng!

He pulled her directly into Sha Meng.

Xu Jin wanted to see exactly what condition her Divine Soul injury was in.

There were two ways to pull a target into Sha Meng: one, eye contact; two, touching the head.

In battle, touching the head was impossible—only eye contact worked.

But this time, it proved useful.

The next instant, the world shifted—and Xu Jin saw Ning Yuchan.

In the Sha Meng realm, Ning Yuchan was entwined by a massive black dragon. Though once weak, she was now being continuously infused with external power, regaining strength—and this reignited the black dragon's ferocity.

It began tearing at her Divine Soul; each bite caused Ning Yuchan to writhe in excruciating pain.

Dreams are manifestations of one's own Divine Soul.

In Sha Meng, if you eliminate the target, they die in reality. Now, without Xu Jin interfering, this dream reflected Ning Yuchan's true state.

At this moment, the pained Ning Yuchan noticed Xu Jin—and her expression turned to relief.

"Xu Jin, how did you get here?"

"Go away! This alien is too terrifying—you can't handle it!"

This was Ning Yuchan's second sentence upon seeing him.

"Sister Yuchan, I'm here to help you. Don't resist any of my power—just cooperate. Close your eyes, shut out all perception." Xu Jin spoke suddenly.

Ning Yuchan had instinctively wanted to urge him to leave—but seeing his serious expression, she fell silent, nodded weakly through her pain, and closed her eyes.

Seeing this, Xu Jin smiled.

Indeed, obedient women were the most convenient for men.

The next instant, thunderous light poured down, drenching Ning Yuchan's head.

More precisely, it struck the black dragon coiled around her Divine Soul.

Ning Yuchan, eyes closed and perception severed, was shielded—Xu Jin was using a deceptive method: by cutting off all perception, nothing happened to her, so she suffered no harm.

But the black dragon entwined around her was steadily being dissolved by the thunderous light.

The more the thunder struck, the fiercer the dragon became—finally roaring at Xu Jin.

Too bad—in the Sha Meng dream, Xu Jin was the sovereign, the king. No matter how fierce it was, it was useless.

After several breaths, the black dragon was utterly extinguished by Xu Jin's Thunderlight.

Ning Yuchan felt her entire body lighten, as if a heavy burden had been lifted.

But Xu Jin was somewhat worried.

He had only used Killing Dream to kill enemies by feigning death, never to heal—this was his first time, and he had no confidence.

"Sister Yuchan, your soul's injury is peculiar—I'm not sure if I've cured it. If I have, you'll wake up soon. If not, remember: focus your intent on the Upper Star Palace, circulate your soul-star, and I'll keep healing you continuously." Xu Jin instructed.

"I remember."

The next instant, Xu Jin voluntarily withdrew from Killing Dream.

The moment he exited Killing Dream, Xu Jin immediately left the barracks.

Before leaving, he glanced at Ning Yuchan's lovely face—her earlier agony and contortion were gone; perhaps it was working.

At the very moment Xu Jin withdrew from Killing Dream,

in a sixth-rank star domain, a dark-robed alien with golden horns suddenly frowned, then laughed, "He actually purged my Black Dragon Poison. It seems this human race has its capable ones."

At once, a subordinate stepped forward, "Lord Juzhang, shall I sneak in and eliminate him before the humans discover your identity?"

"No. Sneaking in to kill him would only complicate things.

I've now arrived safely—first, complete the clan's mission.

Besides, even if he cleared the Black Dragon Poison, he may not know its origin." Said the golden-horned, dark-robed man named Juzhang.

"Yes."

The subordinate withdrew; the banquet continued, and those seated beside him were none other than several Star Domain Kings of this sixth-rank star domain.

Inside the barracks, after having a strange dream, Ning Yuchan felt her body utterly light, lighter than ever before, and slowly opened her eyes.

Before her was the familiar barracks.

But she did not rise immediately—instead, she savored the dream.

She had dreamed of that fool, Xu Jin.

And he saved her!

Suddenly, Ning Yuchan's expression changed; she closed her eyes again, turned inward—and in the next instant, she saw that the black serpent coiled around her soul-star, the source of her unbearable pain, had vanished!

Really?

The dream had been real!

In astonishment, Ning Yuchan opened her eyes, leapt up, and stared at the tent, instinctively crying out, "Xu Jin!"

Outside the tent, Xu Jin, hearing her cry, exhaled in relief.

It worked!

He had just discovered a new function of Killing Dream.

It could kill—and now, save lives.

Killing Dream truly was extraordinary.

Carefully, Xu Jin silently slipped away.

Inside the tent, Yuan Jing, the personal guard captain, jolted awake from Ning Yuchan's cry. Half-asleep, she heard Ning Yuchan searching for Xu Jin—and her face turned instantly pale.

They had returned from battle only half a day ago, but much had already become known.

With the Star-Picking Token, learning the current situation was easy.

In the past half-day, the most discussed topic among soldiers and mercenary squad members alike was the death of Xu Jin, the supreme genius of the Chen Guo Dao Academy.

As personal guard captain, Yuan Jing had long known of Ning Yuchan's relationship with Xu Jin.

Now, seeing Ning Yuchan searching for Xu Jin while half-asleep, Yuan Jing instinctively comforted her: "Deputy Director Ning, you've heard already? The dead are gone—please bear up."

"What bear up?" Ning Yuchan, just sitting up and searching, suddenly changed color. Seeing Yuan Jing's expression, she cried urgently, "Explain clearly—what do you mean 'bear up'? Who died?"

Yuan Jing snapped fully awake.

Regretting her slip, she realized the truth could no longer be hidden.

Throughout the entire camp—especially among the mercenary squads—their idle chatter over tea and meals revolved around the death of the legendary genius Xu Jin.

Some claimed conspiracy, others arrogance, others luck, some internal betrayal, others external sabotage—sometimes they argued until their faces turned red!

"Deputy Director Ning, Xu Jin died in battle!"

"That's impossible!"

Ning Yuchan laughed in disbelief, "I just saw him—I'm sure you're joking."

"Deputy Director Ning, ask anyone else—they'll confirm it."

The next instant, Ning Yuchan seized her Star-Picking Token and sent two starlight messages.

The one to Xu Jin failed; the one to Dong Zhao received a reply: "Yuchan, bear up."

The moment she saw that starlight message, Ning Yuchan froze.

She stood motionless for a long while, then stubbornly shook her head, "Impossible! This cannot be!"

Outside the barracks, Xu Jin smiled bitterly and slipped away silently.

He did not want to see Ning Yuchan suffer because of his death.

But for now, he could not reveal his identity!

Neither the Great Star Palaces nor Emperor Gan'an were fools.

Ning Yuchan would almost certainly be a key subject of their surveillance.

For now, this was the only option.

After several breaths, Xu Jin stealthily returned to his own courtyard, preparing to slip inside unseen.

But as he neared the courtyard, hidden, the Mingji Star Pattern in his Lower Dantian suddenly flickered.

There was a cultivator!

Very close!

Yet no figure was visible!

Xu Jin was stunned—had he encountered Li Gui?

(End of Chapter)