Before Cinian could rebuke Shandu for speaking out of turn, Nanli’s eyes lit up.
She looked up and down, scanning around, hoping to find any trace of the Vajra Umbrella.
Seeing her excitent, Cinian decided to bring the Vajra Umbrella out.
"It’s not that I wish to hoard it for myself," Cinian said with a calm expression, "but this Vajra Umbrella is quite peculiar." His sharp eyes glead. "This was taken out by Island Master Yan. Based on his character, he wouldn’t offer anything good. That’s why I didn’t want to give it to you."
He feared that Nanli might suffer because of it.
Nanli imdiately spotted the ominous magic energy swirling within the umbrella, suppressed only by a force from the Qiankun Bagua.
She laughed coldly, "As expected, the magic energy is extrely powerful. If it were to be opened, the one holding the umbrella would probably be imdiately consud and fall into corruption."
Cinian’s heart skipped a beat. He hadn’t expected Nanli to possess such sharp insight.
Shandu, however, was furious. "Is Island Master Yan still the leader of his sect? How could he be so treacherous?" he grumbled.
Cinian responded, "After all these years, you still don’t understand his ways?"
Suddenly, under the bright sunlight, the Qiankun Bagua Vajra Umbrella trembled slightly.
Cinian’s expression changed in shock. He could feel the magic energy leaking from within the umbrella!
Reacting quickly, Cinian recited a scripture under his breath, ford a Buddha handprint, and cast a demon-suppressing seal on the Vajra Umbrella, attempting to suppress the magic energy.
At the sa ti, Nanli also drew an Exorcism Talisman. The vermilion script on the talisman appeared, and when it touched the umbrella, the combined force of their efforts sealed the magic energy’s leak.
The two forces rged, and imdiately, the trembling stopped.
Cinian let out a long sigh of relief.
Shandu, his eyes wide in amazent, turned to Nanli. "Nanli, your Exorcism Talisman is no less effective than Master Cinian’s demon-suppressing seal."
Considering that Nanli was only at the early stage of Golden Core, the power of her talisman was remarkable, indicating her talent, virtue, and mastery of talisman arts.
Nanli humbly responded, "How could I compare to Zen Master Cinian?"
Cinian smiled kindly. "Nanli, you don’t need to be so modest."
He wasn’t one to compare himself to her, however, and felt slightly embarrassed at the comparison.
After the umbrella had cald down, Cinian carefully took it back. The mont he touched it, he could sense that it had beco a hot potato.
"This celestial artifact will remain in my care for now," Cinian declared, not wishing to take any risks. "If I find a way to purify the magic energy inside, I’ll return it to you, Nanli."
Nanli nodded without objection.
The temple had not yet chosen its location, and building it would take at least half a year.
In the anti, Nanli arranged for Cinian and his companions to stay at Prince Yu’s Mansion.
---
"Princess!" Qing Feng, who had been on his way to the Border Nation, suddenly received a transmission and learned that the Ninth Princess had returned to the capital. He imdiately rushed back without hesitation.
He arrived in a disheveled state, covered in dust, his face unkempt.
Upon seeing Nanli, his tears stread down uncontrollably.
"Princess!" He cried out, his voice trembling. "Where is the Prince? You’ve returned, but where is the Prince?"
Nanli, now at the Golden Core stage, could clearly see that Qing Feng was no more than a few segnts of a refined lotus root, likely nurtured by so kind of celestial elixir. The essence of the root could contain the soul of a Nascent Soul cultivator, and outwardly, he appeared like an ordinary person.
But his soul, of course, was still dormant.
She had guessed earlier that Qing Feng was the Third Elder of Jialan Celestial Mountain, but seeing him now, she was still surprised.
What surprised her more, however, was Qing Feng’s apparent loyalty to Siheng, as well as his deeper feelings for him. After all, who else would cry this much?
Before she could speak, Cinian, seeing Qing Feng, smiled and greeted, "Third Elder Qing Feng, it’s been a long ti."
Qing Feng stopped crying, blinked at the unfamiliar monk before him. "What did you say?"
Cinian then realized that Qing Feng’s soul had not yet awakened. He smirked, "Your lotus root body isn’t much to look at. Once your soul awakens, it will probably stretch the body to its limits. For now, you might as well remain muddled."
Qing Feng, confused, turned his focus to the Prince and asked insistently about the events that had happened in the Border Nation.
Nanli sighed, unable to avoid explaining again, and said, "And you are the Third Elder of Jialan Celestial Mountain, Qing Feng."
Cinian shook his head gently, reminding, "That is no longer the case. Qingwu now controls Jialan Celestial Mountain. He has appointed four new Elders."
That was a thing of the past.
It didn’t seem worth discussing.
Qing Feng froze, looking down at his hands. His eyes widened, and his mouth fell open.
Suddenly, he burst out laughing and shouted toward the sky, "So that’s it! So I’m a Nascent Soul cultivator! No wonder when I pick up a sword, I feel like I am a master swordsman, invincible!"
Nanli had long since gotten used to odd occurrences like this.
Cinian and Shandu were left dumbfounded.
Shandu couldn’t take it anymore and said, "Third Elder Qing Feng, your soul may be awake, but your true Nascent Soul status will only be confird if your soul returns to your body and the inner dan in your physical body remains intact. That’s when you’ll truly be a Nascent Soul cultivator."
Qing Feng imdiately beca anxious.
"I need to return to my body as soon as possible!" He clenched his fists. "For the Prince and the Princess!"
Then, he looked eagerly at everyone, hoping they would have a solution for him.
Nanli, her expression solemn, replied, "Don’t look to . Qingwu is cunning. Your inner dan may already have been taken, or your physical body may no longer exist."
Qing Feng trembled slightly, unable to accept this possibility.
"Then... then I have to start over, right?"
Cinian sighed softly and said, "But your lotus root body has already been used for several lifetis. The celestial energy within it is nearly exhausted. You won’t have enough ti to refine it into your own physical body."
Shandu added, "It’s strange. You went through reincarnation with the Celestial Sovereign, and while he awakened, why didn’t he bring you along?"
A double blow.
Qing Feng’s expression beca grim.
But still, he clenched his fists with determination and declared, "The Prince will definitely think of sothing. Maybe the ti just isn’t right yet."
He had faith in the Prince.
Nanli offered him so comfort, "That’s true. Perhaps your physical body and Siheng’s true form are together. Once he fixes his primordial spirit and awakens, he will likely co to revive you and restore you to your original form."
Qing Feng’s hope flared again. His eyes burned with urgency. "When will the Prince fix his primordial spirit?"
"No one knows." Nanli’s heart sank as she spoke.
Cinian sighed heavily. "In any case, the Celestial Sovereign is at such a level that even if he progresses slowly, it’ll take a hundred years or so before he makes any real breakthroughs."
Nanli felt a heavy weight in her chest.
Qing Feng clutched his chest, his legs buckled, and he collapsed to his knees.
"Gods, a hundred years... I’ll be dead by then, won’t I?"
"Correct. Your lotus root body won’t hold up." Cinian added. "But I can chant sutras every day to nourish your soul. With that, you’ll be able to stay in the Spiritual Bag for a long ti."
Qing Feng, however, did not hear Cinian’s words.
Muttering to himself, he said, "Prince, you must wake up soon! You must! I’m counting on you! I’m relying on you!"
His emotions surged quickly, only to dissipate just as quickly.
He shook himself off, stood up, and tried to muster so energy again.
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