Chapter 1008

What surprised Xiao Jiu greatly was that it was actually a heart beating powerfully without stopping!

How could that be possible!

Tang Yaocao had been dead for who knows how many years, her skeletal remains had no flesh left—how could her heart still be there, and beating?!

But it was indeed a bright red heart, and with each beat it drove the skeleton's chest to throb in sync.

Even though she was surprised, Xiao Jiu's gaze merely swept over Tang Yaocao's chest before she began observing the entire skeleton.

Xiao Jiu first looked at the skull's crown, where, sure enough, a chopstick‑long soul‑locking nail was driven deep into it.

This soul‑locking nail had once been removed, though no one knows when it was hammered back in, and its locking effect is now far weaker than at the start.

Especially during the process when Tang Yaocao's soul was split in two and then re‑condensed, the nail's intimidating power over her soul had become very slight.

Moreover, as Tang Yaocao's cultivation has risen, this nail now hardly affects her soul at all.

But why is this soul‑locking nail still driven into the skull?

Xiao Jiu thought, its purpose is still to lock the soul.

But the locking now is not to intimidate Tang Yaocao's soul; rather, it helps her condense her soul.

If Xiao Jiu were to pull out the soul‑locking nail now, the entire skeleton would completely fall apart… Thinking of this, Xiao Jiu's eyes lit up—she seemed to have thought of something!

That heart……is very likely not the one Tang Yaocao was born with……Could it have regrown later?!

This speculation is too bold, yet it is the only reasonable explanation at present.

Xiao Jiu also recalled their earlier investigation results on Yaocao.

Ancient texts record that Yaocao is an ancient spiritual herb, said to be the transmuted corpse of an empress, exuding a strange fragrance that attracts bees and butterflies; eating it makes one's beauty radiant and lovable.

But Tang Yaocao is not an empress; she is a person who possesses the Empress's Destiny Pattern.

In the Buddhist niche incident, those who wanted to control Tang Yaocao, or tried to imitate her using girls with similar destiny patterns, shared the same goal: they believed that a person with the Empress's Destiny Pattern could, after death, through some sacrificial rite, regrow flesh from dry bones and achieve immortality.

Xiao Jiu has experienced too many similar pursuits—from emperors down to common folk—who could escape such worldliness?

But the facts prove they all failed.

Without exception.

Yet before her very eyes, Tang Yaocao's skeleton had truly regrown a heart……Although Xiao Jiu still suspects there may be some hidden catch, it is enough to shock her.

As Xiao Jiu stared at the skeleton, a suppressed groan sounded from its throat, and immediately she saw two black spirit‑butterflies appear in the eye sockets.

They kept flapping their wings, gradually turning into black pupils, the centers of which continued to tremble as if the butterflies' wings were still beating.

Next, the skeleton's surface grew flesh and skin at a speed visible to the naked eye, quickly covering the whole frame; before long, the skeleton before her eyes had truly come back to life……

Not only was her flesh restored, but her body surface quickly acquired a thin, cicada‑wing‑like yet multicolored layer……clothing?

It looked very much like the wings of those spirit‑butterflies.

And the girl's face was exactly the same as depicted in that ancient painting.

This person was Tang Yaocao.

Xiao Jiu witnessed the entire process of Tang Yaocao's 'rebirth,' and even after Tang Yaocao moved, Xiao Jiu still felt it somewhat unreal.

Tang Yaocao obviously pleased with her state, she smiled: 'How? Are you stunned?'

She stepped forward two paces and continued: 'I bear the Empress's Destiny Pattern; from birth I have this death‑defying, life‑giving ability. That is why they created me, and why later so many fought over the Buddhist niche and the ancient painting. Alas, they are all wretched souls who wanted to eat my flesh, drink my blood, copy my ability—deserving each of them a bad end.'

Having spoken, Tang Yaocao's gaze darkened; she fixed Xiao Jiu with a stare, almost gritting her teeth as she said each word: 'Of course, that includes you.'

Such a threat meant nothing to Xiao Jiu.

She merely furrowed her brows in bewilderment: 'You actually got the Seven Halls Yama's inner elixir?'

The series of changes just now in Tang Yaocao's body required powerful mana to sustain; with her former abilities she could absolutely not have done this, otherwise she would not have let herself go so easily during their first encounter.

When she returned just now, she also looked somewhat embarrassed.

In the blink of an eye she completed the entire 'rebirth' process; the only thing Xiao Jiu could think of was the Seven Halls Yama's inner elixir.

But if Tang Yaocao had obtained the Seven Halls Yama's inner elixir, how could Liu Junyan not have caught up?

So much time has passed; even if something detained them over there, Liu Junyan should have arrived by now.

What on earth happened over at Hu Shan?

'Of course.' Tang Yaocao exclaimed excitedly, 'This is the contract between me and him; as long as I wish, I will surely obtain it!'

Xiao Jiu stepped back two paces.

Tang Yaocao noticed this move and smirked: 'Now you know fear? Earlier you said you wouldn't give me another chance—where did that arrogance of yours go?'

Tang Yaocao goaded Xiao Jiu, her steps advancing in tandem with Xiao Jiu's movements.

In the back‑and‑forth, Tang Yaocao seemed to have a slight edge, but Xiao Jiu had a clear idea.

She stopped.

Given Tang Yaocao's arrogant nature, if she truly had the power to overwhelm Xiao Jiu, she would have done so already; how could she have the patience to play such petty tricks with Xiao Jiu?

Thus, this all shows that Tang Yaocao is not as carefree as she appears.

She successfully obtained the Seven Halls Yama's inner elixir and completed the 'rebirth' transformation, but this transformation likely exhausted all her strength; in other words, she is now forcing herself to hold on.

Xiao Jiu no longer wanted to linger with Tang Yaocao; she needed to quickly restrain her and then check what had happened with Liu Junyan.

Thinking this, Xiao Jiu directly mobilized her true qi, condensed a palm, and struck toward Tang Yaocao's chest.

Tang Yaocao did not expect Xiao Jiu to suddenly attack her, and with such lethal force; the strong palm wind came howling, and she instinctively raised her hand to block.

Just as she barely managed to meet Xiao Jiu's palm, a yin wind swept in from both sides, while a golden light from above simultaneously enveloped her.

Tang Yaocao immediately looked up, just in time to see the base of the Soul‑guiding Lamp, with four ghostly faces already positioned at the four points around her body.

Boom.

Tang Yaocao's palm shuddered violently; her whole body was flung backward by the powerful palm wind, and before she could react, a pulling force came, instantly snapping her body back upright.

This pulling force did not come from any person's hand, but from the magic formation!

Tang Yaocao stared in alarm at Xiao Jiu, just in time to see the latter's hands forming seals, completing the setup of the formation.

Tang Yaocao never expected that Xiao Jiu, at the moment he attacked her, also set up a formation around her, four ghost faces arranged in formation, directly trapping her in the formation, unable to move.

The Soul-guiding Lamp above her head shone Merit Light down, golden-yellow light enveloping Tang Yaocao's entire body, and Tang Yaocao's whole body couldn't help trembling.

Under normal or dim light, Tang Yaocao's body was no different from that of an ordinary person.

But under the illumination of Merit Light, Tang Yaocao's whole body exhibited a hazy translucence.

Xiao Jiu saw her flesh, also saw her heart still beating, but besides that, the interior of her entire skeleton was... empty...