Half a month later.

As the years passed, the climate of the entire Royal Capital took a sudden upward turn.

Nearly half a month of continuous sunny weather made the snow melt, and the cold winter transition into warm spring.

The peach blossoms throughout the Royal Capital bloomed abundantly as a result.

And during this half month, the entire Royal Capital was exceptionally tranquil, with no major events occurring.

Only the Changning Emperor had not attended court for seven consecutive days, causing some complaints among the officials.

National Master Mansion.

Countless overlapping sword shadows converged, transforming from thousands into one.

Jiang Ning stood in the courtyard with a sword, his breath somewhat disordered.

Suddenly.

Cough cough cough—

He coughed violently in succession.

With each cough, his chest heaved intensely, as if each one might expel his lungs.

He immediately used his right hand to support himself with the sword on the ground and covered his mouth with his left hand, golden dark golden frothy blood seeping through his fingers.

The peach blossoms in the courtyard were in full bloom, petals gently falling onto his shoulders.

The next moment.

The frothy blood between his fingers evaporated in place, disappearing into thin air.

Lin Qingyi couldn’t help but walk over, offering freshly brewed tea, her brow furrowed, gaze filled with concern.

"Are you really okay?"

"No problem!" Jiang Ning smiled slightly, his expression calm.

He then accepted the tea that Lin Qingyi handed to him and drank it in one gulp.

The tea washed through his throat, instantly dispersing the sweet metallic taste.

His heaving chest gradually returned to calm.

"How is your current state?" Lin Qingyi asked.

Jiang Ning closed his eyes.

He then saw, under the erosion of Curse Power, his heart’s blood-producing and blood-exchanging functions were greatly weakened.

Each heartbeat no longer possessed the same strength as before.

Consequently, the flow of blood became sluggish.

And that cold, elusive Curse Power had already spread from the heart to the lungs.

This caused him to feel bouts of sharp pain with each breath.

"If this continues, Curse Power will penetrate the internal organs!" he mentally murmured.

Then he opened his eyes. 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

Seeing Lin Qingyi’s eyes filled with worry, he couldn’t help but smile.

"It’s fine, everything is under my control, half a month has passed, now the Curse Power has just infiltrated the lungs, it’s nothing."

After saying this long string of words, his chest heaved a bit more.

"If you want to cough, just cough!" Lin Qingyi said.

Upon hearing this, Jiang Ning coughed lightly a few times until the itch in his lungs disappeared before he stopped coughing.

"The erosion of the Curse Killing Skill is truly terrifying!" Jiang Ning marveled.

"Are you lying to me?" Lin Qingyi stared intensely at Jiang Ning.

"Why would I lie to you?" Jiang Ning smiled faintly.

With a gesture, a rolled-up letter appeared in his hand.

Lin Qingyi glanced at Jiang Ning, took the letter from his hand.

Her eyes quickly scanned the letter, then her gaze suddenly froze.

"Something like this happened between Guangning Prefecture and the Cross Immortal Gate?" Lin Qingyi showed a surprised expression.

Jiang Ning nodded: "This arrived in my hands five days ago! Now Guangning Prefecture is seeking aid! That’s why I haven’t resisted the erosion of Curse Power these days."

Upon hearing this, Lin Qingyi’s expression flickered.

"Are you preparing to go to Guangning Prefecture to take charge?"

Jiang Ning nodded: "Now it’s time to reveal myself before the world! It’s a good opportunity that the Cross Immortal Gate and Yingtian Alliance collided, I’ll use them as a start!"

"What are you planning to do now?" Lin Qingyi asked.

"I’ll have lunch and then depart south by crane." Jiang Ning said.

"So high-profile?" Lin Qingyi exclaimed.

Jiang Ning smiled faintly: "At this moment, I need to be a bit more high-profile! Let those people see my state, they’ll understand that a dying man poses no threat, this is a great thing for me!"

Saying this, Jiang Ning’s lips curved slightly.

Suddenly feeling fortunate, fortunate that someone attempted to strike against him, intending to use Curse Killing Skill to eliminate him.

Looking back now, it actually helped him.

"Wonder who it was, otherwise I’d really need to thank them if there’s an opportunity in the future!" he mused quietly, his expression serene.

He then looked at the panel.

[Skill]: Taixu Yin Yang Sword (small success 49733/50000)

"Almost there!"

Seeing his experience value displayed on the panel, he slowly exhaled a breath of impure energy.

He then gripped the long sword in his hand.

The Demon Suppression Sword Intent within burst forth instantly.

The clutter and desires in his mind were immediately cut away, leaving inner peace.

At this moment, Lin Qingyi also retreated, leaving space for Jiang Ning.

The next moment.

Jiang Ning’s hand moved, the sword light surged like a tide.

Each blade of sword light now manipulated the twisting light in the courtyard, dividing the light and shadow accordingly.

Though it was still morning, the sun shining brightly.

Yet with the differentiation of sword light, the courtyard was divided with him as the boundary.

One half was dim, as if entering the twilight, the view low.

One half was bright, as if noon, the sun hanging high, sunlight reflecting sharply on the ground.

Meanwhile.

Sword shadows spread in all directions, overlapping in layers.

With each appearance of sword shadows, a blurred human figure followed.

People moved with the sword, sword accompanied by people.

In just a moment, countless human figures filled the surroundings.

One person wielded a sword, countless human figures simultaneously wielded swords.

Void had long succumbed to distortion.

The countless human and sword shadows, as if refracted by the distorted void, each figure within Lin Qingyi’s perception possessed a genuine aura.

Yet with her eyes, she could distinctly see they were illusions, rather than actual beings.

"What an incredibly mystical movement technique!"

Even after witnessing this scene for many days, Lin Qingyi couldn’t help but marvel upon seeing it again.