The Fake Heiress's Guide to Self-Rescue - Chapter 23

Chapter 23: The Crane-Locked Bronze Mirror [4] – VIP

Daoist Master Luo Yuan nodded slightly, released Jiang Jing’s hand, and walked past her to Jiang Qianqian’s bedside. She leaned down and gently opened Jiang Qianqian’s eyelids, examining them carefully. The eyes were a clear black and white, with no abnormal black lines. Ruling out the possibility of a parasitic worm in the mirror, Daoist Master Luo Yuan moved down, preparing to take Jiang Qianqian’s pulse.

“Hmm?” Daoist Master Luo Yuan’s eyebrows furrowed slightly. She had also noticed the mark on Jiang Qianqian’s wrist. The originally dark pattern had now quietly turned a dark green color.

Jiang Jing, standing by the side, also noticed the change in the mark. She frowned and was about to remind her master when she heard the previously unconscious Jiang Qianqian suddenly let out a low groan. Jiang Jing’s gaze immediately turned to the bed. Jiang Qianqian’s eyebrows were tightly knit, her expression was pained, and a few drops of cold sweat slid down her pale cheeks.

“What is this…” Jiang Jing’s voice carried a hint of panic as she looked at Daoist Master Luo Yuan for help.

At this moment, Daoist Master Luo Yuan’s expression was no longer gentle. It was replaced by a look of utmost seriousness. She placed her hand on Jiang Qianqian’s wrist. After a moment, she released her hand, her gaze complex as she looked at the person on the bed, and muttered to herself, “Strange. Such profound inner strength shouldn’t be possible for a young person like this.”

Seeing Jiang Jing look at her, Daoist Master Luo Yuan came back to her senses and patted Jiang Jing’s shoulder soothingly. “Her body is fine. Her soul has just left her body and is trapped in the bronze mirror. However, from what just happened, it seems she’s not in any danger in the mirror.”

In fact, the moment Jiang Qianqian groaned, Daoist Master Luo Yuan had used her spiritual power to check her physical condition. Surprisingly, she not only found no internal injuries but also discovered that the young woman’s inner strength had grown. From this, it seemed that the strange bronze mirror might not contain an evil spirit but could instead be a rare opportunity.

However, Jiang Qianqian’s soul could not be separated from her body for too long. With that thought, Daoist Master Luo Yuan’s expression became serious, and she immediately walked to the next room. At the same time, Jiang Daishuang had also finished examining Liu Jin’s body. She also found no signs of internal injuries or soul damage.

The two happened to meet at the doorway. Seeing that the other’s expression was calm and not anxious, they understood that this might be good news. Now that both of their souls were trapped in the bronze mirror, based on Jiang Daishuang’s and Daoist Master Luo Yuan’s assessment, the two people inside did not have the strength to force their way out. They would have to rely on someone else to enter the mirror and bring them out.

But who was the best person to enter the bronze mirror?

According to Jiang Jing’s description, passively entering the mirror by touching it was the worst option. The best way was to use spiritual power from the outside to open a channel so that they could travel freely between the inside and the outside.

Daoist Master Luo Yuan had profound inner strength, and for her to open the channel was undoubtedly the safest option, ensuring that the channel would remain stable for two hours. But in that case, they would need someone to protect the formation outside. If Jiang Daishuang was responsible for protecting the formation, who could enter the mirror to bring the two of them out?

As if sensing her master’s hesitation, Jiang Jing took a step forward, held out her hand, and said firmly, “I’ll go.”

“You?”

Before Daoist Master Luo Yuan could refuse, Jiang Daishuang, who was standing by, objected. “No. The best way to enter this channel is with your primordial spirit. That way, even if you can’t bring the two of them back, you can still safely retrieve your own primordial spirit.”

“And you,” she paused, looking at Jiang Jing seriously. “You’re just a normal person. You don’t have a primordial spirit, so you can’t even see the channel. How can you get in?”

Cultivating the primordial spirit is a beginner’s lesson for cultivators. Different people, through sensing the heavens or external stimulation, awaken their primordial spirit and thus begin their cultivation journey. The primordial spirit exists in everyone’s body, but only a small portion of people can awaken it and actively cultivate and improve it. After cultivating to a certain level, they can master the out-of-body experience, allowing their primordial spirit to freely leave and enter their body. It was clear that Jiang Jing, as a normal person, had a primordial spirit that was still in a chaotic state and could not possibly leave her body.

“I can do it.” Jiang Jing looked at Daoist Master Luo Yuan, who also looked disapproving. She voluntarily placed her hand in her palm. “You can check if my primordial spirit can leave my body.”

Although she knew that Jiang Jing might be too eager to save someone and couldn’t distinguish between a primordial spirit and a soul, Daoist Master Luo Yuan still extended a finger and gently placed it on her Chi pulse. She channeled a wisp of Qi and tentatively tapped the Chi pulse. In an instant, a powerful counterattack came from Jiang Jing’s body, which shocked Daoist Master Luo Yuan.

This was not a reflex from pressing a pulse. It was the primordial spirit’s active counterattack to the Qi’s invasion.

How could this child…?

Seeing Daoist Master Luo Yuan’s surprised expression, Jiang Jing smiled slightly, a hint of deep meaning in her tone. “Why don’t you take a closer look?” She heavily emphasized “closer,” as if hinting at something.

Daoist Master Luo Yuan once again placed her finger on Jiang Jing’s pulse. She closed her eyes, held her breath, and injected more Qi into her meridians. The Qi flowed like water through Jiang Jing’s body, carefully checking every meridian. Daoist Master Luo Yuan’s expression became stranger and stranger. In Jiang Jing’s body, she found a familiar Qi, a Qi she couldn’t mistake. It was the Qi of her deceased junior sister.

What’s going on? She slowly opened her eyes, her expression a mix of shock and confusion. She didn’t know the true origin of this child in front of her.

“As you thought,” Jiang Jing said calmly. “But I’m not entirely sure about the specifics myself. After this is over, I’d like to talk to you about it properly.” She withdrew her hand and winked at Daoist Master Luo Yuan. This was her little trick when she was a child after being punished by her master. Every time her master saw her unrepentant face, she would just sigh helplessly, thinking that as long as she kept a close eye on her, she could let her do what she wanted.

Daoist Master Luo Yuan stared blankly at Jiang Jing’s face. Suddenly, she grabbed her hand tightly, her voice choked. “You are…”

“Master,” Jiang Jing immediately interrupted her, her tone firm. “Just say that my primordial spirit can leave my body.” Before her identity was clear, the only person she could trust was her master, and she had to keep it a secret from her senior sister for now.

Seeing her usually composed master so flustered, Jiang Daishuang quickly stepped forward, wanting to separate the two. To her surprise, her master stopped her with a raised hand.

“Shimu—” She wanted to say more, but Daoist Master Luo Yuan cut her off.

“At 3:45 PM, you will protect the formation for me. Don’t say anything else.” With that, Daoist Master Luo Yuan turned and walked downstairs.

Seeing that her master had no intention of explaining, Jiang Daishuang felt dissatisfied, but having followed her master since she was a child, she knew her master’s temperament. Even though she was upset, she wouldn’t go against her master’s wishes. She had to suppress her doubts and follow her downstairs to prepare the items needed for the formation.

…

At 3:45 PM, the bronze mirror was moved to the center of the room, and Jiang Jing lay on the bed with her eyes closed. Jiang Daishuang used rootless water and white wax gold as a medium, which were Yin objects used to guide the primordial spirit. The Soul-Summoning Banner served as the core of the formation to help Jiang Jing bring one person’s soul back from the mirror.

Daoist Master Luo Yuan sat outside the formation, her expression serious. In her hand, she held a Yin-Yang fan, on which she had drawn a secret spell passed down through her lineage with cinnabar. She held the fan in one hand and formed a crane seal with the other. Facing north, she chanted the first line of the spell:

“Heaven’s might is glorious, the sun and moon are bright. My heart is devout, and I summon the gods.”

She took a step forward with her left foot, landing on the position of the Pivot of Heaven Star, one of the Big Dipper’s seven stars. Treading the Dipper is a form of practice for Daoists and a way to communicate with the gods. It is a way to sense the gods’ responses and petition them by walking on the Big Dipper’s stars.

“The three souls return, the seven po gather. The primordial spirit leaves the body and travels to the Great Purity.”

Her steps slowly moved across the Stars of Heaven’s Rotation, Heaven’s Pearl, and Heaven’s Power. Daoist Master Luo Yuan gently fanned the fan. A wisp of her mind flew out of her body and attached itself to Jiang Jing, stabilizing her primordial spirit’s form.

“The Spirit Realm of the Great Void, open quickly. All laws become one, and the Dao is proven without limit.”

Finally, she moved from the Star of Heaven’s Pivot to the Star of the Shaking Light. A drop of bl00d from her fingertip landed on the Soul-Summoning Banner, serving as the gate for the channel to and from the mirror. As soon as Jiang Jing brought a person’s soul out of the mirror, it would be immediately caught by the Soul-Summoning Banner and would not be sucked back into the bronze mirror.

The surroundings were now extremely quiet. Jiang Daishuang sat cross-legged next to Jiang Jing, fully focused on Jiang Jing’s movements. In an instant, a thick layer of Qi suddenly gathered around Jiang Jing, enveloping her. Although the pale blue Qi looked gentle, its surface had flowing waves. If anyone dared to touch it, they would be instantly cut by the sharp waves.

A Qi body shield that had been cultivated to such a state was very difficult for a normal cultivator to break. Jiang Daishuang was a little surprised as she looked at the Qi flowing around Jiang Jing. She didn’t expect her to have cultivated to such a level at such a young age.

The person lying on the bed’s expression suddenly became calm. A golden light flew out of her body and toward the bronze mirror. When a Daoist’s primordial spirit leaves their body, they must always pay attention to their physical body. If the body is destroyed at this time, their soul will also be destroyed. With that thought, Jiang Daishuang no longer cared about her suspicions and focused even more on Jiang Jing’s condition.

At the same time, Jiang Jing successfully entered the bronze mirror. At first, all she saw was a boundless sea of clouds, as if she were in a void. She was wondering if she had gone to the wrong place when she suddenly caught a glimpse of a cloud platform in the distance with two faint figures on it.

Due to her eagerness to save them, Jiang Jing channeled her strength and secretly sped up her flight toward the cloud platform. At this moment, Jiang Qianqian, under the protection of the White Crane Boy, was absorbing the magic power of the inner core transformed from the green feather to open her meridians and achieve a level of ability higher than that of a normal cultivator.

The White Crane Boy was sitting on the cloud platform, resting with her eyes closed, waiting for Jiang Qianqian to complete her cultivation. Suddenly, her sensitive ears picked up an abnormal sound. She instantly returned to her true form. With a wave of her wings, three crane feathers flew toward the northwest.

“Who’s there! Show yourself at once!” The White Crane Boy’s voice was cold and majestic, echoing between the clouds.

Before she finished speaking, a pale golden outline quietly appeared, and a foot gently landed on the cloud platform.

“I am Jiang Jing. I’ve come to bring my sister, Jiang Qianqian, home.”