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墨書 Inktalez
The whirlpool engulfed me in a bone-chilling cold, pulling me deep into the cavern. Stalactites hung from the stone walls, dripping scarlet liquid that scorched the cover of The Venom Codex, leaving behind a charred totem. By the faint glow of Lan Wen, I gradually discerned the fragmented murals... Three Hundred Years Ago, on a rainy night, the saintess of the Southern Liang Kingdom was suspended by iron chains on an altar, her swollen belly glowing with a phosphorescent blue light. When Murong Chong's blade severed her umbilical cord, Jin Chan flew into the mouth of the infant—remarkably, the crescent birthmark on the child's forehead was identical to that of Zi Juan.
"Ding—"
A crystal coffin suddenly rose from the center of the Cold Pool, nine blacksteel chains piercing through the woman's Pipa Bone within. Her face was indistinguishable from that of the saintess in the mural, her overlapping hands cradling an amber piece, within which lay the umbilical cord entwined around the slumbering Jin Chan. Suddenly, Lan Wen on my wrist surged forth, transforming into threads that pierced through the crack in the coffin lid.
"Your Highness, no!" Zi Juan's alarmed voice echoed from the shadows. She tore open her palace gown to reveal tattoos covering her back—an astral map drawn with cinnabar and merfolk blood. "Look at the bottom of the pool!"
The Cold Pool erupted in boiling water as thousands of bronze boxes surfaced from its depths. Each box lid was inscribed with Bazi, and the latest one boldly bore the inscription "Chu Mengli, Seventh Day of Twelfth Month in Yongchang." The moment I touched the box's surface, memories from my past life thundered through me—
In spring of Yongchang First Year, a dancer sent by the Southern Liang Kingdom performed in the imperial garden. As she twirled, her skirt blossomed like a Lan Lian flower, eerily reminiscent of the ripples on the pool's surface at that moment. That night, Chu Hengdi's Dragon's Blood Incense mingled with mandrake's scent while Consort Shu hid behind a screen, crushing Venom Worms to mix into wedding wine.
"Before your mother passed away, she used her last strength to transfer the Venom King's soul into your umbilical cord." Zi Juan cut her wrist, fresh blood dripping into the pool and igniting a phosphorescent glow. "The late emperor used soul transfer techniques to place you into the body of his prematurely deceased Eldest Princess, merely to nurture a perfect vessel."
The Cold Pool suddenly churned with a vortex as nine Azure Bronze Pillars rose from its depths. Each pillar was bound with remnants of Southern Liang Kingdom citizens; their hearts resonated with Lan Wen's mournful wail alongside mine. Zi Juan tore open her collar to reveal a gruesome scar on her heart: "The blood servants of each generation’s saintess must carve out their hearts on their coming-of-age day to show loyalty—"
Suddenly, she plunged a dagger into an old wound, and a golden-winged butterfly burst forth from her flesh. The patterns on its wings overlapped with the ripples of the Cold Pool, spelling out an ancient saying of Southern Liang Kingdom: "Burning Heart turns to ash for rebirth." The pool began to steam as mist revealed ghostly figures of Three Hundred Hanging Coffins; they sang a haunting summoning song in unison.
"Only by drinking from the holy spring can you burn away the shackles of Chu." Zi Juan’s face turned as pale as paper as she handed me the bloody dagger. "But you will see...the most brutal truth..."
I scooped up water from the pool and drank deeply. Agony exploded from my throat as Jin Chan thrashed wildly within my organs. In my consciousness, Three Hundred Hanging Coffins simultaneously shattered; those trapped souls of saintesses transformed into Lan Die butterflies, gnawing at my Chu Clan Bloodline within. Each bite brought fragments of memories—
On my third birthday night, Chu Hengdi held me on his lap while a Golden Blade quietly pressed against my heart: "Li'er, dear, your father has something special to show you." In pain, I saw Consort Shu catch Jin Chan in a glass cup; Lan Wen on her pregnant belly pulsed in sync with mine.
At my fifteenth coming-of-age ceremony, Chu Tiankuo "accidentally" knocked over a rouge box filled with mandrake flower powder mixed with Venom eggs. Those eggs hatched within my bloodline and gnawed at me nightly while I mistook it for heart palpitations.
The most painful memory came from Previous Life Execution Ground: at the moment when Ghost Head Blade fell, Consort Shu concealed herself among spectators casting spells. My soul was wrapped by Jin Chan and plunged into a prepared princess’s body—this was nothing less than a ten-year conspiracy for soul reincarnation!
"Ah!!!" I screamed as I tore open my collar; Lan Wen solidified into a chrysalis at my heart. A sound like tearing silk echoed from my shoulder blades as glass-like Butterfly Wings pierced through flesh; each scale burned with an eerie blue flame. Wherever those flames touched, chains binding saintesses transformed into molten iron.
Chu Tiankuo's roar resonated from below as dragon chains pierced through the cavern ceiling. At their end dangled Pei Huai Jin’s lifeless body with shards of Dragon-Slaying Sword embedded in his heart; his dimming Jin Tong suddenly glimmered: "Attack... Shenque point... fusion incomplete..."
Chains suddenly lashed out and entangled Butterfly Wings; venom corroded where blue flames flickered and dimmed. Zi Juan leaped forward to shield against another wave of chains: "Go to the bottom of Cold Pool! There is..." Before she could finish her sentence, chains pierced through her chest. In an explosion of blood mist, golden-winged butterflies lifted my body down into the depths.
At the bottom lay Azure Bronze City Walls; its streets mirrored those of Southern Liang Kingdom’s ancient capital perfectly. In a secret chamber within the lord’s mansion, the saintess in Crystal Coffin suddenly opened her eyes; the cries of her unborn child resonated with my bloodline. As my hand touched the coffin lid, the entire city began to tremble as three hundred beams of blue light converged from Suspended Coffin direction—
These were the soul fires stripped from generations of saintesses; at this moment they finally returned home.
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