Chapter 9
“Yes.”
Liu Meng’s heart tightened. She knew the real show was finally about to begin.
Three days ago, her main body and all the men had been forced to take the Yang-Attracting Pill.
Su Meier had once said that if they endured for three days, they would have a chance to survive.
But how difficult was that?
Over these three days, one person after another had suffered a burst of yang energy, then been dragged away by the maids, never to be seen again.
By now, only a few men remained in the cells.
And now, Liu Meng was about to bring them over.
She casually picked several maids in the hall, then turned and headed for the cells.
As they walked along the chilly corridor, the maids hardly dared breathe, while Liu Meng mulled things over endlessly.
Should she really bring her main body before Su Meier?
If Su Meier took an interest in him, her main body could be in danger.
Before today, Liu Ming would have had no choice but to be taken to the hall by the maids.
But now, with Liu Meng as her clone, she could try to deceive Su Meier right under her nose!
Passing a cell, she suddenly stopped and asked the nearest maid:
“How many of the men in the cells took the Yang-Attracting Pill three days ago?”
“The men in five cells took the pill three days ago,” the maid replied respectfully. “Three of those cells are close together, but the other two are far away.”
Liu Meng nodded, then looked at the cells beside them and suddenly asked, “Are all these men new arrivals?”
All the men in this cell were still unconscious, their figures overlapping in the shadows and difficult to make out.
“Yes. They haven’t taken the Yang-Attracting Pill yet. They should take it with tomorrow’s batch,” the maid replied.
Liu Meng thought for a moment, then ordered, “Go to the two farther cells, bring the men out, and wait for me here.”
“Yes, Senior Sister.” The maids didn’t dare object and hurried off at once.
While they were away, Liu Meng immediately headed toward Liu Ming’s cell.
Bolstered by eight wisps of spiritual power, she moved far faster than an ordinary person and reached the cell in just a few breaths.
By then, only a handful of men remained inside the cell.
Liu Meng said nothing. She opened the cell door and ordered Liu Ming, “Come out!”
Liu Ming rose without a word. The others didn’t dare stop him; no one even dared look at him, afraid of drawing the “maid’s” attention.
Who could have expected that the moment Liu Ming stepped out of the cell, he would suddenly wrap his arms around Liu Meng as if restraining her, then call softly into the cell, “Run! Get out and find someone to rescue me!”
The other men in the cell froze for a moment. Only one burly man reacted quickly, springing to his feet and charging frantically toward the cell door!
Yet the instant he rushed out, Liu Meng immediately broke free of Liu Ming’s grip and, like a ghost, appeared behind the burly man and lightly struck him with her palm.
“Bang.”
Under that seemingly weightless blow, the burly man dropped dead on the spot, his eyes still wide open.
“Trying to escape? Die!” Liu Meng sneered at the burly man’s corpse, then struck Liu Ming with another palm. “Disrupting the cave abode? Die!”
Liu Ming fell at her words.
Liu Meng hoisted the “corpses” of Liu Ming and the burly man, then turned and left.
The men in the cell all lowered their heads, no longer daring to entertain the slightest thought of escape.
Liu Meng soon returned to the earlier cell and placed Liu Ming’s “corpse” in a corner.
The men in this cell were all still unconscious. Liu Ming blended in among them, and no one could tell.
Everyone who knew Liu Ming also believed he was dead.
Having finished all this, Liu Meng returned to the corridor, her face betraying no emotion.
Soon, several maids came over, escorting the men from the two cells. Liu Meng nodded to them and pointed to the burly man’s corpse at her feet:
“He tried to escape, so I killed him.”
Not only did the maids not question her, they all looked delighted. One of them immediately carried the corpse off to Liu Meng’s room.
After all, corpses were the only cultivation resources available to them. They were practically eager for more fools to court death so they could absorb their yang energy.
After this little incident, nothing else went wrong, and the group soon returned to the hall.
Su Meier swept her gaze over the group. Seeing that only a dozen or so men had been brought in, she immediately lost interest and waved a hand. “Put them all in single-occupancy cells. When their yang energy erupts, report back to me.”
The maids immediately led the men away, taking them to the more comfortable single-occupancy cells, where escape was even more difficult.
Standing below, Liu Meng felt a surge of relief.
Fortunately, she had hidden her main body in advance. Otherwise, once he was locked in a single-occupancy cell, he would effectively become “one of Su Meier’s people,” and it would probably be impossible to take him away openly.
After all the men had been settled, Su Meier seemed a little tired as well. She waved everyone away.
Liu Meng returned to her own simple but private room.
The burly man’s corpse lay on the floor, with quite a few maids gathered outside the door, waiting to “share” its yang energy.
But without Liu Meng’s instruction, they didn’t dare touch it.
Liu Meng was the first to place her hand on the burly man and try absorbing his yang energy. After a while, she found that much of it had dissipated and what remained was very weak. Even if she absorbed it all, it wouldn’t help her condense another wisp of spiritual power.
No wonder these maids couldn’t break through to Qi Refining. At the rate they were gathering yang energy from these corpses, who knew how long it would take them to condense ten wisps?
“You can divide this corpse among yourselves.”
Liu Meng waved her hand, finding it utterly pointless, and gave the corpse to the other maids.
The maids immediately gave her obsequious looks and carried the corpse away. No one knew where they went.
After everyone left, Liu Meng sat cross-legged on the bed and closed her eyes, seemingly waiting patiently for something.
After who knew how long, the familiar mechanical voice finally sounded in Liu Ming’s mind—or rather, in hers.
[The next day has arrived. A new clone can be summoned.]
The fourth day had arrived!
Liu Meng immediately opened her eyes, got up, and headed for Liu Ming’s cell.
Inside the cell, most of the men had woken up. Most looked bewildered; some knew where they were and wore despair on their faces. But none noticed the unfamiliar figure that had silently appeared in the corridor beyond the bars.
“Transfer the Yang-Attracting Pill in my body!”
Liu Ming had already begun to understand how to use this system. This time, without hesitation, he transferred the pill that had been forced down him earlier.
The next moment, his body suddenly felt light. The effects of the pill had completely vanished, and the unbearable burning sensation was finally gone.
The Yang-Attracting Pill had been transferred into Liu San’s body.
Liu San followed closely behind Liu Meng. Under her lead, even if other maids saw them, they didn’t dare say a thing.
Liu Meng successfully brought Liu San back to her room. Looking at this new clone, she suddenly fell silent.
She knew that hiding her main body in another cell was only a temporary measure.
There were many maids in this cave abode, with eyes and ears everywhere. Given enough time, this would inevitably be exposed.
If Su Meier discovered that she had deceived her, the consequences would be unimaginable.
The only way out was to follow Qin Shuang’s path as quickly as possible: break through to the first level of Qi Refining, become Su Meier’s seventh disciple, then take her main body away openly and legitimately!
Delaying would only create more variables and leave her life to chance. As before, an unexpected incident could expose her main body at any moment and put it in danger.
She couldn’t wait.
Tonight—tonight, she had to break through!
Liu Meng’s thoughts stirred, and she immediately raised her hand toward Liu San.
However, just as she lifted her palm, an invisible yet irresistible force suddenly surged from the black mask on her face and enveloped her entire body.
It wasn’t an attack, but a “restriction,” like a law of heaven and earth, warning her from deep within her soul: she must not absorb yang energy from the living!
Liu Meng’s expression changed as she immediately understood.
There was a restriction on this mask!
She couldn’t harm the living, much less kill them at will. She couldn’t even take off the mask now. This was Su Meier’s way of binding all the maids!
Fortunately, she hadn’t attacked the burly man without cause earlier; she had only killed him when he tried to escape. Otherwise, this mask would have stopped her too!
—However, even though Liu Meng couldn’t move, Liu San continued approaching her.
The next moment, as soon as he touched Liu Meng, his entire body melted into her.
Since they were both clones of Liu Ming, they could actually merge with each other!
Liu Meng’s cultivation was higher, so after they merged, her appearance naturally took precedence.
But a vast surge of yang energy had now been added to her body. The moment she circulated the Profound Female Art, she could resonate once more and absorb spiritual Qi from heaven and earth!