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"If you willingly expel what's in your stomach, I won't make it difficult for you. Afterwards, I can give you elixirs or gold as compensation. What say you?"
Gu Shi Yi glared at her, a cold snort squeaking from his nose,
"Hmph! Wishful thinking!"
Were you under the impression that I am foolish?
Gu Shi Yi had some understanding of the behavior of great cultivators. In their eyes, the lives of ordinary people were no more than ants'. This old woman, coveting his Tongxuan Bright Mirror, how would she fulfill her promise once she had the treasure in hand? More likely, she would snap her fingers and snuff out his life!
Having been in the Itinerant World for so many years, Gu Shi Yi, despite his smooth exterior, had a stubborn streak within. Facing certain death, why should he make it easy for this old woman to succeed? Even in death, he wanted to make her work for it!
Consequently, he simply closed his eyes and declared,
"Stop dithering, if you're going to act, then do it quickly!"
Upon seeing this, the beautiful woman let out a scornful laugh,
"You think I can't forcibly take it from you? I am showing you mercy because I pity you, yet you don't appreciate it. I won't bother any longer!"
With that, she lifted her hand and gently touched Gu Shi Yi's face. He felt his eyelids grow heavy and a wave of sleepiness surged over him,
"I..."
Gu Shi Yi bit his lower lip tightly, glaring at the beautiful woman, trying to stay awake against the urge to sleep, only to hear her sneer and wave her hand again. His vision then turned dark, and he knew no more. The beautiful woman looked coldly at the unconscious Gu Shi Yi and said,
"A mere mortal dares to challenge me, do you think you are worthy?"
After speaking, she raised her hand and swung her sleeve, immediately sending several streams of green light flying out—several Formation Flags shot towards every corner of the hall. Once the flags landed, they began buzzing and activating. In no time, the hall was enveloped with a greenish light shield. The beautiful woman nodded in satisfaction, then sneered down at the unconscious Gu Shi Yi,
"I originally thought that if you would cooperate nicely, I would spare your life. But since you are so ungrateful, don't blame me for being ruthless!"
She then started forming Magical Incantations with her hands and began to chant. Afterwards, she pointed her right index finger towards the sky, and a luminous spark appeared at her fingertip,
"Go!"
The speck of light shot into Gu Shi Yi's forehead. Instead of fading away after entering his body, it shone brightly beneath his skin. The woman commanded,
"Move!"
The light began to slowly migrate from Gu Shi Yi's forehead, inching its way down until it settled in his lower abdomen and stopped. The woman nodded,
"So, it's here..."
She then pressed her palm against Gu Shi Yi's lower abdomen. At first, there was no response, but when she infused her own mana, a dazzling brilliance erupted from his abdomen, only for a moment, before dimming again. The woman was surprised but pleased, and infused more mana. In a matter of breaths, she had poured nearly half of her own body's mana into it. Internally astonished, she thought,
"Indeed, it is a treasure. It took half of my mana just to stir it..."
However, this was merely a stir. To extract it, she feared her mana might be insufficient. The woman considered for a moment, then produced a porcelain bottle with a flip of her left hand, uncapped it with one hand, and poured all the elixirs into her mouth. As she stimulated the power of the medicine, a steady stream of mana replenished her strength. With a smug smile, she increased the infusion of her mana, which once again caused a bright glow to emanate, though it sadly dimmed yet again after a few breaths. The woman felt alarmed,
"What kind of treasure is this? It's like a bottomless pit, absorbing so much of my mana without the slightest resonance with me..."
But the more it resisted, the more it proved that the treasure was no ordinary object. The greed in the woman's heart burned even hotter. She thought to herself,
"I've reached a bottleneck at Qi Cultivation Level Seven and am seeking a breakthrough. Perhaps this item is my opportunity. Even if it can't be used by me, exchanging it with the elders in my sect for a Thousand-Gold Pill to help break through to the next realm would be just as good!"
Then she poured another bottle of elixirs into her mouth, followed by more mana infusion. This process involved swallowing nearly ten bottles of elixirs, but the treasure, as if it had taken root in the woman's belly, still refused to budge. Finally, a trace of urgency appeared on the woman's face,
"What exactly is this treasure that makes it so hard to obtain?"
The elixirs that increased her mana were painstakingly begged from her master, totaling barely more than a dozen bottles. She had used up some previously, and these ten bottles were her last reserves. Now they were all used up here. If she couldn't extract the treasure now, she would have no more elixirs to consume!
But at this point, withdrawing would mean all her efforts had been for naught.
The woman gritted her teeth and with a sudden movement, smashed her left hand thrice against her chest. With each strike, a droplet of blood dripped from her nose. These three drops of blood didn't fall to the floor but hovered in front of her,
"Go!"
With a shout, the three drops of blood landed on Gu Shi Yi's abdomen,
"Buzz..."
A humming sound filled the hall, and finally, Gu Shi Yi's abdomen began to change. The previously flat area slowly bulged outwards. In no time, his belly resembled that of a woman who was pregnant for four or five months, with a faint glow shining from within. The woman, having used the three drops of her Essential Blood, turned deathly pale and staggered as if unable to stand firmly. Despite that, seeing the change in Gu Shi Yi's belly, she showed a trace of joy,
"It was not in vain that I used up three drops of my Essential Blood!"
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