Returning from Baohe Palace, Li Changzhou rushed to study the Daoist books.
With his physical quality, not sleeping for ten days or half a month didn't affect his strength. However, being continuously in a state of "Concentration" was somewhat taxing on his brain.
As he was studying a Daoist technique for physical body transformation, a hand from Turquoise Pool suddenly reached over, pressing down on the words in the Daoist book.
"I don't have time to fuss with you right now," Li Changzhou swatted her hand away, and when his hand and sleeve brushed past, he caught a whiff of fragrance.
Boom!
His entire body burst open, turning into a dense flock of black birds, hundreds and thousands of them, filling the Book Collection Room with the sound of flapping wings.
The black birds suddenly flew back together, melting into streams of black light. As the black light dispersed, Li Changzhou's figure was revealed.
He was fortunate to have entered "Deep Concentration," grasping a Daoist technique he had no prior foundation in. Unfortunately, if the Jiajing Emperor were present, or if he encountered a Dragon Vein in the future, these techniques would be useless.
Could Shao Yuanjie, with his ability to harness the Dragon Vein, suppress mana and Daoist techniques?
He had to consider this.
"Hey!"
Li Changzhou opened his eyes, his gaze falling on the beautiful Turquoise Pool under the lamp: "What's up?"
"That Empress touched your hand, and you didn't react at all. Are you being fair to me, Qing Lan, and your sister?" Turquoise Pool challenged him.
"The Empress's hand? I thought it was you." Li Changzhou fell into thought. "It seems this Empress wants to harm me. Could she be a player? Or maybe an undercover agent from some demon sect or Daoist Sect? I heard from Qing Lan that the Empresses of the Ming Dynasty often came from humble beginnings, and being from humble origins, it's easy for someone to disguise their identity."
"So you thought it was me?" Turquoise Pool chuckled.
She continued, "Why would you assume the Empress wants to harm you? Can't she think the same as me, finding you handsome and skilled, wanting to cozy up to you? Also, don't 'hear everything from Qing Lan.' You can listen to me as well."
Li Changzhou spread his hand open, and a black bird flew out from the palm, not far, landing on the desk with its red eyes fixed on the Daoist book laid open.
"This is interesting," Li Changzhou laughed, and with a flick of his sleeve, a myriad of black birds took flight.
One bird snatched a book from the bookshelf, another opened the cover, and the first bird, with red eyes, stared at the text. After a while, the second bird turned to the next page.
The entire Book Collection Room displayed this spectacle.
The black birds cooperated in pairs, some on the bookshelves, some on the ground, some tucked in the corners, and many more seemed to huddle around the desk for light or warmth.
Li Changzhou and Turquoise Pool were surrounded by birds reading and turning pages.
"They're like pigeons in a park," Turquoise Pool picked one up, the touch warm and lifelike.
She flicked the bird's head with her fingers, finding its pitch-black body and crimson eyes a bit ugly. But since it had emerged from Li Changzhou's body, it felt quite dear and even a bit adorable.
Li Changzhou looked at the flock of birds before him. The spell was mainly described in Daoist books for escaping and gathering intelligence, yet he used it to memorize Daoist books.
Whatever is created, the key to how it's used depends on the person. It never has just one purpose.
'Could my own skills also have other uses?' In a world where the Dragon Vein suppressed everything, Li Changzhou had to ponder this question.
He looked up as a black bird, which was reading, suddenly dashed out, its claws catching a spider that crawled in through the window.
The spider, with spring-like reflexes, grabbed the black bird, and after a two or three-second struggle, the bird fell to the ground, dead.
The spider crawled out from under the black bird, stretched its long legs, and ran towards the window as if flying.
A Gray Dragon, thick as a finger, coiled around it and landed on the desk in front of Li Changzhou.
From the moment Li Changzhou looked up to the spider lying on the desk, it took only about four or five seconds, and the room was silent, save for the rustling sound of the black birds flipping through pages.
"Variety Spot Widow Spider," Turquoise Pool glanced at it. "Also commonly known as a 'Black Widow,' probably an animal player, or, in other words, a monster."
A hissing sound filled the room as a King Cobra slithered out from beside Li Changzhou's feet, rearing its fierce triangular head, forked tongue flickering in and out—the 'Black Widow' was swallowed into its belly.
"The Empress? Or someone else?" Li Changzhou stretched out his hand, and the King Cobra bit his wrist.
"Do you want it? It could prevent future poisoning," he offered to Turquoise Pool. The King Cobra let go, and the bite marks healed as rapidly as a movie played backward.
Turquoise Pool rolled up her sleeve, exposing her pale, delicate wrist, and said with a giggle, "If it were from someone else, I'd definitely refuse, afraid of being poisoned."
The King Cobra's fangs gently pricked her skin, injecting all the antidotes for the poisons it had encountered thus far.