NOVEL WEB Chapter 17: Corruption
Chapter 17: Corruption
“Are you trying to temper your body with the blood pool?”
Lin Yao nodded. Since his legs had undergone changes after regenerating in the blood pool, perhaps this was an opportunity to further strengthen his physique.
The whip was already in Xiao Qing’s hand.
“Shall we begin now?”
In the corridor, Nie Xiaoqian was supporting the Black Mountain Demon as they made their way back to their quarters when they saw Xiao Qing leading Lin Yao out.
Their gazes fell upon the latter.
He was barely breathing, his bare torso covered in lash marks.
It seemed Xiao Qing had held back—otherwise, they’d be looking at a corpse.
As the three passed each other, the Black Mountain Demon shivered under Xiao Qing’s icy glare.
“This green serpent is truly troublesome… But now that she has a weakness, things just got easier.”
A sinister smile crept across her face. Nie Xiaoqian, however, studied Lin Yao with thoughtful eyes.
“I’ll use the whip to tether you. If anything happens, I’ll pull you out.”
Xiao Qing looked at Lin Yao’s feeble state, her heart wavering.
Injuring him so severely hadn’t been her intention, but she’d had no choice under his insistence.
“Mmm.”
Xiao Qing hoisted Lin Yao onto her back and plunged into the blood pool.
“Hiss—”
Excruciating pain instantly engulfed Lin Yao’s entire being.
His body trembled uncontrollably.
“Should we go back?”
Xiao Qing frowned slightly, sensing the agony he was enduring.
“No need.”
Seeing his determination, she coiled the whip around his waist and withdrew from the pool.
Lin Yao’s consciousness began to drift, floating aimlessly in the sanguine depths.
—
Main Hall of the Temple of Lanruo
The doors creaked open as Fahai entered.
“Why must you persist?”
Zhi Nü opened her eyes from her meditative stance.
The monk before her radiated Buddhist light, once again embodying the Bodhisattva who delivered all beings.
“The Bodhisattva graces us with his presence.”
Her tone remained as sharp as ever.
Fahai ignored her words, descending from the lotus pedestal.
“You knew he was a vessel of future karma. Why bring him here? You could have retrieved your feather robe yourself.”
“My little husband is… inexperienced. I merely wanted to broaden his horizons.”
A soft smile graced Zhi Nü’s lips, her eyes glimmering with tenderness.
“He has entered Leifeng Pagoda. The Three-Headed Arhat has perished, and soon he will become one of the Three Bodies—the Manifestation Body. Here is your robe. Leave this place.”
Fahai placed the feather robe before her and turned to depart.
Zhi Nü glanced at the robe, then materialized behind Fahai in an instant.
“Tell me, monk… am I less than that serpent in your eyes?”
Her whisper brushed against his ear like a lover’s sigh.
“GET OUT!”
A surge of energy erupted from Fahai, blasting Zhi Nü away.
“So the little snake does hold a special place in your heart.”
Laughing lightly, she bent to retrieve the feather robe.
The moment her fingers touched it—
BOOM!
A prismatic radiance exploded through the hall, flooding the temple with primordial majesty.
Even Fahai, with his back turned, felt his soul tremble.
He looked back to see Zhi Nü’s bridal gown replaced by resplendent feathered robes, a coronet upon her brow as she gazed down upon the hall with icy sovereignty.
Regal. Untouchable.
The celestial goddess had reclaimed her true form.
—
Thump.
A heartbeat echoed unnaturally through the stagnant blood pool.
Xiao Qing’s eyes snapped open.
She dove back into the crimson depths, following the whip’s trail to Lin Yao.
“What was that aura just now?”
Her brow furrowed. Lin Yao’s wounds were nearly healed, yet he remained unconscious.
When she pressed a hand to his chest, that terrifying presence flickered again—gone before she could grasp it.
Assured of his safety, she exhaled in relief.
“The curse in his heart has grown stronger.”
Cautiously, she channeled spiritual energy toward the curse.
The instant they made contact—
Sizzle!
Her palm began rotting.
Without hesitation, Xiao Qing severed her right arm. The blood pool’s power stimulated rapid regeneration.
“If you can get me out of here… I’ll break your curse even if it kills me. Then we’re even.”
—
When Xiao Qing emerged, Lin Yao’s eyes fluttered open.
This wasn’t acting—that sudden heartbeat had jolted him awake.
“My senses… have sharpened?”
He assessed the changes.
Since awakening Weaving Fate, his perception had surpassed ordinary limits, even detecting others’ emotions.
Initially, he’d assumed this was just an offshoot of Zhi Nü’s abilities.
But after reading the texts left by Yan Chixia (the “wild Taoist” Xiao Qing mentioned), he realized:
Divine abilities were unique gifts bestowed by heaven upon nascent deities.
In other words, each one was irreplicable.
“Weaving Fate lures targets into illusions through subtle cues, manipulating them toward predetermined outcomes…”
Lin Yao now recognized how severely he’d underestimated this seemingly niche power.
“Could Weaving Fate… evolve into a self-contained realm? Making me its sole god?”
He shelved these wild thoughts—such realms were beyond his current reach.
His physical wounds had mostly healed, leaving only faint scars.
A tug on the whip summoned Xiao Qing to retrieve him.
“All better?”
She prodded his muscles.
“Definitely sturdier than before.”
“Let’s return. I need to study those texts further.”
As Lin Yao turned to leave, he noticed Xiao Qing hadn’t moved.
“What is it?”
“You’ll stay with me. To deter the Black Mountain Demon’s… ideas.”
Lin Yao hesitated.
His original plan involved Nie Xiaoqian visiting at night—her inevitable arrival under the demon’s orders would provide intel about the Temple of Lanruo.
He hadn’t forgotten how Fahai, corrupted by the defilement, had transformed into the monstrous Lanruo Bodhisattva.
After explaining this, Xiao Qing surprised him by unfastening Green Edge from her waist.
“Then take this. Hang it by your bed after the Hour of the Rat (子时)—it’ll protect you.”
The Hour of the Rat again.
Accepting the sword, Lin Yao recalled his first encounter with Xiao Qing in Leifeng Pagoda.
She too had seemed tainted by corruption, her eyes brimming with madness.
“Why specifically that hour?”
Xiao Qing rolled up her newly regenerated sleeve—her right arm was now veined with gray-black patterns creeping up to her cheek.
Lin Yao sensed it immediately:
A cold, eldritch allure.
“This is the corruption you mentioned?”
“Correct.”
The markings faded.
“Every night during that hour, this power erupts, stripping away reason. Even my millennium of cultivation preserves only a sliver of sanity.”
This reminded Lin Yao of the solidified black filth beneath Fahai’s feet.
“So the Lanruo Bodhisattva is… corruption given sentience?”
His eyes narrowed.
“Let’s hope Nie Xiaoqian visits tonight.”
(End of Chapter)