Chapter 282: Change at the Pool's Bottom, Ling Qingzhu's Fear!
Lin Fan activated his mind, and his spiritual power immediately surged into the jade slip.
Buzz!
The moment his spirit entered, a loud ringing echoed in his mind.
Then everything went black—and the scene before him shifted into a vast, starry sky.
Under Lin Fan's spiritual gaze, the stars suddenly twisted, and from that distortion, a figure slowly stepped out.
As the figure drew closer, Lin Fan saw that the man wore gray robes and stood tall like a mountain.
He wasn't particularly handsome, but he radiated an awe-inspiring presence. At that moment, his brilliance outshone even the starry sky itself.
The figure stood beneath the stars and took a step forward. As he moved, his fists began to dance, and an exquisite martial art was performed with smooth precision.
In that instant, it felt as if the entire starry sky trembled with each of his movements.
Then, as the martial sequence flowed, a deep and ancient voice resonated throughout the cosmos.
"My life was split in three. In the first, I fought 3,800 battles—and won none.
In the second… and the third, I fought 8,000 more—and lost only ten.
In my twilight, they called me the Martial Emperor. I absorbed all martial knowledge and created my own path: the Martial Emperor Canon.
During the Heaven and Earth War, I used this martial art to slay three generals and seriously wound a king. Though I fell… I laughed in the face of fate."
Listening to the shadow's solemn voice, Lin Fan felt deeply moved, but he focused even more intently on the demonstration.
As the final syllable fell, the final movement of the technique completed. The figure threw one last punch—and the starry sky above shook violently!
Suddenly, the countless stars collapsed, raining down in a cosmic explosion.
"Martial Emperor Canon… truly extraordinary."
Lin Fan returned to his body and looked at the jade slip in his hand, a satisfied smile on his face.
With his near-unrivaled comprehension, just one glimpse of the shadow's demonstration was enough for Lin Fan to fully master the Martial Emperor Canon.
It was a technique even stronger than the Great Wilderness Heaven-Imprisoning Hand, and comparable to Lin Dong's Azure Dragon Transformation Art.
Pleased by his new acquisition, Lin Fan stowed the jade slip and released his spiritual power to scan toward the Taiqing Immortal Pool.
But the pool was… too quiet. Not even a ripple of energy.
"Looks like something's wrong."
Muttering to himself, Lin Fan moved swiftly to the poolside—then leapt into its depths.
As soon as he entered the water, an incredibly pure and strange energy surged toward him from all sides, seeping into his body.
He felt a subtle stinging sensation—but not a painful one. It was more like the comfort of wounds slowly healing.
Letting the energy cleanse him, Lin Fan also began searching for Ling Qingzhu's presence within the pool.
She wasn't in the upper section, so Lin Fan dove toward the shadowy bottom.
The pool wasn't large on the surface, but its depths were surprisingly vast, riddled with winding passages and complex terrain.
After more than ten minutes of scanning with his spiritual sense, he finally located Ling Qingzhu—and immediately rushed toward her.
Moments later, Lin Fan arrived at the spot.
There, at the bottom of the pool, a cluster of emerald light bloomed like jade.
And within that light, a figure curled gracefully—her skin like fine jade, her long hair flowing behind her like silk.
She looked like a mermaid asleep in the deep—a breathtakingly beautiful sight.
This was undoubtedly Ling Qingzhu.
But beneath her…
Lin Fan's gaze sharpened. He noticed that the pool floor under her was glowing faintly green, with streams of light connecting to the energy around Ling Qingzhu's body.
He immediately waved his sleeve, sweeping away the sediment.
And there it was—a skeleton, lying flat beneath the pool.
It glowed faintly, and the emerald strands of light extended from the bones, feeding directly into Ling Qingzhu's body.
Not feeding her—draining her.
From her body, life force was being drawn into the corpse below.
A cold glint flashed in Lin Fan's eyes. He swam toward the strands of light, summoned the power of the Devouring Symbol, and grabbed the connections.
Hiss—!
The moment he did, the emerald threads sizzled as white mist rose from them. The devouring power surged through, severing the connection and absorbing the remaining energy.
CRACK!
The green light dimmed and shattered.
With the connection gone, the energy glowing around Ling Qingzhu faded—but she remained unconscious.
Lin Fan swam over, pulled her gently into his arms.
Feeling her warm, soft body, Lin Fan's heartbeat quickened.
Taking a deep breath, he pulled out a robe and wrapped it around her, shielding her jade-like figure.
Then, with one hand cradling her, he extended the other toward the skeleton below.
BOOM!
A blast of Yuan Power shattered the bones completely, turning them into ashes.
Buzz!
From the fading bones, a final emerald light shot out, circled once around Lin Fan—then flew into Ling Qingzhu's body.
"A Spirit Mark, huh… Well, you've turned a disaster into a blessing."
Lin Fan smiled softly as he watched the light merge into her.
Suddenly, he felt a small movement in his arms.
Looking down, he met a pair of clear, wide-open eyes—and a face that had turned red-hot.
The two stared at each other in silence, the moment heavy with unspoken emotion.
Lin Fan could feel the heat coming from her body… and the thin robe soaked by the sacred pool wasn't helping.
The image of her elegant figure half-revealed beneath the clinging fabric—it stirred something in him.
"Let me go," Ling Qingzhu said quietly, realizing the shift.
But in her trembling voice, a rare flicker of fear could be heard.
In this strange, private environment, she was no longer the aloof celestial maiden—she was a woman caught off-guard, and that vulnerability only made her all the more irresistible.
BOOM!
As her voice faded, a unique light flashed in Lin Fan's eyes.
He tightened his arms slightly… then leaned forward and kissed her lips—hot and firm.
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