Absorption

It was only thanks to the sudden surge of power from the mysterious palace that Mù Qīngyǔ had managed to escape unscathed from the auction house guards’ encirclement.

Though the enhancement was short-lived, its amplitude was immense.

Last time, when she faced Ren Qi, she hadn’t had the spare attention to measure her boost.

This time, she conducted a proper experiment.

According to the information she had gathered online, Young Master Chen was a Tier-2 Spirit Wielder under thirty.

Yet even his full-strength punch failed to inflict any harm on Mù Qīngyǔ when she wielded the mysterious power.

The auction house guards were mostly Tier-1 and Tier-2, with perhaps a Tier-3 mixed in?

She couldn’t recall clearly, but one enemy had indeed caused her considerable trouble.

Troublesome as it was, Mù Qīngyǔ had still slain him in public, intimidating the other foes, then seized the chance to leap out a window and escape before the duration ended and she got surrounded.

‘If even a Tier-3 is no match for me,’ she mused, ‘then after using the mysterious power, I can at least fight at a Tier-4 level?’

Mù Qīngyǔ was quite pleased with this result.

As a trump card for desperate times, the mysterious power was indeed formidable.

‘If only the duration could be a bit longer.’

She had roughly calculated the maximum time this power could sustain.

When she focused on nothing else, it lasted at most five minutes.

Moreover, this power couldn’t be used at will.

It required recharging through spell modification inside the mysterious palace.

Judging by the number of beads on that stone tablet, she could store up to three uses.

Three uses—that meant fifteen minutes.

Mù Qīngyǔ could be a Tier-4 Spirit Wielder for fifteen minutes!

It sounded amazing, but the recharge speed was far from fast.

She had to use it sparingly, only deploying this trump card when absolutely necessary.

That was precisely why she needed to grow stronger.

A single trump card was far from enough.

Far from enough.

Mù Qīngyǔ cleared a space in the living room, sat cross-legged in the center, and stared at the Purple Lightning Thunder Pearl lying before her.

The girl pinched the small bead between her fingers, feeling a faint tingling electric shock at her fingertips.

She could unleash sufficient power by directly activating the pearl, but relying on an external object was ultimately unwise.

If something went wrong, it would be trouble.

She had to make its power her own.

For anyone else, such an act would be suicide.

The lightning force contained within the Purple Lightning Thunder Pearl could severely injure a weaker Spirit Wielder, and forcibly absorbing it would damage their own engravings, severely hampering future growth.

But Mù Qīngyǔ had no such concerns.

For one, her Azure Dragon engraving already had the ability to control lightning.

For another, she possessed the mysterious palace as her golden finger.

Until now, she had only used that mist-shrouded space to modify techniques and spells.

This was her first time using it on a real object.

Would it work?

Mù Qīngyǔ wasn’t sure, but she had to try.

Holding the Purple Lightning Thunder Pearl in one hand, she summoned the silver-white key with the other, unlocked the door, and entered the misty, empty palace.

When the white-haired girl opened her eyes again, she was already seated on the throne.

She looked down at her palm—the Purple Lightning Thunder Pearl was still there.

She had succeeded. She had actually managed to bring a real-world object into this place.

No, that wasn’t quite right.

Mù Qīngyǔ could still feel her real-world body holding the pearl.

That meant the Purple Lightning Thunder Pearl in the palace was merely a projection of reality?

Real objects could only influence the mysterious palace through projections, while the palace’s power could directly affect reality.

Seems like this golden finger was pretty advanced.

Pushing aside further thoughts, Mù Qīngyǔ focused back on the Purple Lightning Thunder Pearl.

She took a deep breath, then clenched her hand.

Crack!

Cracks began to appear on the surface of the violet bead, and threads of electricity leaked out.

The girl grunted, then crushed it with all her might.

In an instant, the wild lightning force burst forth like a runaway stallion, rampaging and destroying everything it touched.

Mù Qīngyǔ, being closest, was instantly charred to a crisp by the surging lightning.

But in this palace, she could revive infinitely.

What was a mere fatal injury?

The calm mist within the palace began to churn and boil, like a lion whose territory had been invaded.

The mist surged forward, suppressing the arrogant lightning, quickly overpowering it with the advantage of the domain.

Seeing this, Mù Qīngyǔ reached out.

Since she couldn’t die, she touched the core of the lightning force with her finger, then slowly grasped it in her hand.

If she could hold onto this thing, the power would be hers.

But as expected, when nothing unexpected happened, something unexpected was bound to occur.

While Mù Qīngyǔ was still struggling inside the mysterious palace, the Purple Lightning Thunder Pearl in the real world began to tremble slightly, and then—

Boom!

The violent explosion sent the girl flying, her head smashing against the wall, her vision spinning.

‘What’s happening?’

Mù Qīngyǔ was dumbfounded, staring at the Purple Lightning Thunder Pearl that had nearly split in two on the ground.

What was this?

Unable to bear the humiliation, it bit its tongue and committed suicide?

No, this thing didn’t have self-awareness.

Why did it behave like a martyr marching to death?

Her absorption was incomplete.

The shattered pearl still contained considerable power.

Electric arcs filled the entire hall, even flying out the window, gathering in the sky above the rental house.

No, she couldn’t do it again.

The Purple Lightning Thunder Pearl had become too fragile.

If she tried again, she wouldn’t have time to absorb it before the opportunity was lost.

Was there a quick and effective way?

Mù Qīngyǔ calmed down rapidly.

Strangely enough, she actually thought of a crazy idea.

Would it work?

Time didn’t give her a moment to consider the consequences.

The cracks on the Purple Lightning Thunder Pearl were still spreading!

Mù Qīngyǔ gritted her teeth, quickly scrambled to her feet, rushed toward the pearl, and grabbed it in one hand.

But instead of sitting cross-legged or holding the Purple Lightning Thunder Pearl in her palm as before, she—

She threw the Purple Lightning Thunder Pearl into her mouth, clamped her hand over her lips, and forcibly swallowed it!

In that instant, Mù Qīngyǔ felt like an overinflated balloon.

Her entire body began to swell rapidly, about to exceed its limit and explode into pieces.

Her consciousness nearly faded.

The white-haired girl quickly composed herself and entered the mysterious palace once more.

This time, she again succeeded in bringing something from the outside world inside.

The moment the wild lightning force within her body entered the mysterious palace, the mist that had just settled began to boil again, rushing toward the girl who was now a bit ethereal.

At the same time, in the real world, the sky above the rental house quickly turned gloomy.

Lightning danced among the clouds.

Then a violent thunderbolt struck the ground, startling everyone nearby, their eyes wide open.