Being physically restricted by the shrine maiden and despite her best efforts to break free, Huang Zhi reached a conclusion.
'It is nearly impossible to escape from this strange ghost. Although her body seems attached to my back, it is merely an illusion designed to confuse the mind. She is rooted in my senses. As long as my five senses remain connected to the outside world, she will restrict my body.'
'But if I attempt to sever my senses, I am uncertain of what will happen next, similar to how the old man triggered a strong reaction from the ghost.'
Huang Zhi also attempted to use her grandmaster qi to push away the shrine maiden, but it proved ineffective.
No matter how profound the Eternal Vow was, its effectiveness was still limited by Niu Chang's cultivation realm and skill mastery.
As with any fantasy power, if the opposing force is strong enough, any skill can be broken.
The same applied to Huang Zhi's grandmaster qi, which was in the realm of the golden core stage.
However, her enemy, Niu Chang, was supported by an endless amount of qi, rendering her attempts futile, like trying to cut through flowing water.
With no better option, Niu Chang decided to train. His entire qi had transformed into the red qi of the Shrine Maiden Under the Sacred Tree.
By analyzing this red qi, he hoped to reverse engineer it and create a cultivation method for the red qi that Niu Chang lacked.
But he didn't limit himself to that alone; he also aimed to deepen his understanding and proficiency of the Shrine Maiden Under the Sacred Tree.
As he closed his eyes, he felt a strong connection that transported his senses to different places. Opening his eyes, he found his vision blurred with a red hue.
Unable to perceive anything through this connection, Niu Chang severed it and realized that the direction of the connection was toward the shrine maiden on Huang Zhi's back.
Only then did he recall that the second skill, Demonic Embrace of Lady in White and Red, was still active and was the main reason his qi had turned red.
'So the second skill isn't a one-time use, but rather continuous. As long as I channel my qi into it, any enemy near me will be embraced by the shrine maiden phantom, rendering them immobile.'
'There is still much to learn,' Niu Chang added.
The Eternal Vow didn't cause any physical harm, but it targeted a more delicate and essential part of a living being—their soul and spirit.
Without the soul and spirit, the body would become nothing more than an empty shell, akin to a mannequin.
Initially, Huang Zhi only believed that Niu Chang's strange technique was an ordinary charm or beguiling technique that confused the heart and affected the mind.
However, as time passed, she realized her assumption was gravely mistaken. As a plant demon, Huang Zhi held great regard for her spiritual wisdom, and now she could feel it being eroded by the shrine maiden on her back through the invading red qi that tainted her yellow qi.
'This boy is truly unfathomable. I have never encountered a beguiling technique with such absurd effects. Fortunately, his control over the skill is still too weak to unleash its true power. Otherwise, I would have already lost half of my spiritual wisdom.'
Due to Feng Ning's interference during her transformation and the invasion of red qi, Huang Zhi's qi reserve was depleted, especially now that the shrine maiden was stronger than before.
"I don't want to resort to this, but if I don't, I'll perish in this place." With her mind made up, Huang Zhi finally decided to make her final struggle.
Her grandmaster qi fought desperately to delay impending death. Then, from within her body, the yellow qi drilled into her chest's red beating heart like worms, releasing a rich fragrance full of vitality into the air.
Niu Chang opened his eyes to see what was happening, took a deep breath, and felt his body trembling slightly as it began to heal faster.
Without overthinking, he greedily swallowed the fragrant air.
Unafraid of any trick from Huang Zhi, his body was saturated with the same red qi that had invaded her body. It would be ludicrous for a sheep to use wolf skin to infiltrate a pack of wolves.
One thing he could guess was that Huang Zhi had finally chosen to compromise and make her final move, either delivering a powerful blow to kill Niu Chang or to escape.
While inhaling the fragrant air, Niu Chang pushed his Closed Loop Protection to its limit and readied himself to evade any incoming attacks.
Escape wasn't an easy option since the Demonic Embrace of Lady in White and Red had limited range.
After creating small openings in her heart, Huang Zhi absorbed the contained vitality and converted it into her own qi.
Unlike Feng Ning, who had been blinded by greed, Huang Zhi knew that Niu Chang was not an easy target and likely had hidden cards up his sleeve.
So she decisively chose to retreat. Channeling her grandmaster qi towards the shrine maiden, Huang Zhi finally saw a glimmer of hope.
Niu Chang could sense the connection with the shrine maiden on his body being affected by something, but he was helpless and unable to intervene.
Shortly after, Huang Zhi regained control of her physical body and cast a final glance at Niu Chang before finally escaping from the area.
Niu Chang focused his mind to sense the karmic connections provided by the system to assess any potential risks.
He discovered that Feng Ning was far away from his location, followed by the motionless demonic snake nearby, and finally, Huang Zhi rapidly distancing herself from him.
Exhaling a breath of relief, Niu Chang deactivated the Demonic Embrace of Lady in White and Red and employed Verdant Will to heal his body.
Bound by the mission, he needed to move toward his target to avoid punishment from the system. Furthermore, his karma points were at zero, and any delay would result in punishment.
Without wasting any time, he crawled toward the dormant demonic snake deep within the dense forest.
'Fortunately, Feng Ning didn't kill the demonic snake. Otherwise, I'd be forced to crawl toward his location.' Niu Chang silently expressed gratitude for Feng Ning's large appetite.
Concentrating the healing power into his right arm, Niu Chang accelerated the regeneration process.
With both arms functioning, his movement speed increased.
He arrived at the demonic snake shortly and positioned himself not far from it. Although the system required him not to release any of his enemies, the rule was somewhat flexible.
This was evident from Niu Chang's encounter with the bandits; he left them incapacitated on the ground to retain the system buffs without facing punishment. He did leave them on the ground, but that was because he was pursuing the next target.
'The system only punishes me when I try to abandon the target, but it won't punish me if I stay near it without any intention of letting it go.'
Feeling the fierce gaze from the crippled demonic snake, Niu Chang snorted and decided to assess its condition.
"I still need you to stay alive for me, so don't die just yet." Niu Chang silently spoke to the demonic snake and touched its scaled body.
His qi entered the body of the demonic snake but encountered resistance from the snake's own qi. However, this was also Niu Chang's secondary objective.
This demonic snake was no ordinary creature. In terms of the buffs bestowed by the system, it possessed the same cultivation stage as Jie Tiangong and Shen Sanhua.
By actively engaging with the demonic snake's qi, Niu Chang hoped to grasp the disparity between his own cultivation level and that of the snake.
The demonic snake's qi was black in color, but it had been fatally wounded and needed to conserve its qi to heal its broken spine.
Sensing that Niu Chang's qi was purely for scanning its body and recognizing that Niu Chang's qi quality was far inferior to its own, the demonic snake chose to surrender.
Niu Chang smiled and began exploring the interior of the demonic snake's body with his qi.
The snake was taken aback by this audacious scanning, feeling as if it had been stripped naked and treated like a plaything by Niu Chang.
"Hiss hiss hiss," the demonic snake voiced its displeasure but made no attempt to repel Niu Chang's qi.
. . .
In the village of Yellow Soil, inside Qin Qing's house...
A short teenage girl lay on the ground, her legs entwined with tree branches. In this regard, she was no different from the other villagers who had become nourishment for Huang Zhi's transformation.
However, there was a distinction. Qin Qing's body hadn't turned into a hollow husk with only brittle bones remaining. Her skin was charred black, but she was still alive, albeit not for much longer.
The only sound she could perceive was her feeble breathing. Her eyes were gone, as if liquefied by fire, and the muscles in her body had long ceased to function, depriving her of her senses.
In the endless darkness, she could only anticipate the arrival of death.
'Mom, dad, where are you?' She cried and sobbed silently in her heart. The day her parents left her in the midst of a heavy snowstorm replayed in her mind.
"Qing'er, Mom and Dad need to leave the house to find something to heal you. Don't worry, we'll be back soon." Her mother gently stroked her head.
In a fit of anger, Qin Qing erupted on the spot, shouting furiously, "Don't leave me here! Why do you have to go? I'm not sick!"
Fortunately, her father held her small body, preventing her from harming her mother. "Qing'er, just trust us this time. Once we find a cure, you'll be able to live a normal life without hurting anyone, including yourself."
"Don't go! Don't leave me alone! I'm afraid of being alone!"
Qin Qing pleaded with her parents, though from an outsider's perspective, it seemed like she was merely angrily shouting and throwing tantrums without any ulterior motive.
But no matter how she pleaded in her own way, she could only watch as her parents slowly left the house, restraining her from following them.
Peering through the closed door and listening to the raging snowstorm outside, Qin Qing's hatred grew. But with no one else to direct her anger toward, she could only turn it inward and blame herself.
"Why? What's wrong with me? This... this stupid body of mine keeps getting angry over trivial things... It's not my fault! Not my fault! Not my fault..."
Repeating the same words in her current predicament, tears streamed down her charred black face.
Then, she remembered the only person who had been able to remain calm and not look at her with a strange expression.
'If only... Why did this have to happen today? I wanted to make amends with that boy, to apologize properly for what I did. I wonder if he would forgive me?'
'I wonder if he despised me because of my anger issues. I wonder how he's feeling right now. I wonder if he still hates me and chose to stay with someone else.'
Unknowingly, Qin Qing's thoughts wandered into a realm of potential futures, a way for her troubled heart to find solace.
As her consciousness began to fade, she couldn't help but wonder.
'If only this disaster hadn't occurred today, perhaps I would have had a friend of my own.'
The isolation imposed upon her by the entire village weighed heavily on her young heart, and so she couldn't help but yearn for something positive, even if it was only a figment of her imagination.
'If only…'