Chapter 167: Chapter 164: Grotesque and Absurd, Please Smile
Song Ciwan held the Lankao Spring and Autumn Map and looked at Ye Sheng across from her.
Ye Sheng was not dead. The Illusion-Breaking Slash shattered the delusions of the human heart, not the flesh and blood of the body.
If a person’s delusions were too numerous, so many that a single heart could not contain them, then being struck by the Illusion Breaker might result in instant death, as it had for Zhang Tian.
But Ye Sheng was clearly not like that. His heart still had plenty of space; the Illusion Breaker could not kill his soul.
Of course, that Ye Sheng’s heart was not as sullied as Zhang Tian’s was perhaps one factor. Beyond that, Ye Sheng’s own Cultivation was far stronger than Zhang Tian’s.
His soul was stable, and Song Ciwan’s Cultivation Realm in the Illusion-Breaking Blade Technique had only reached the Master Level—the First Layer of Mastery. A single slash could not kill a Quasi-Celestial Pride Level expert like Ye Sheng!
However, Song Ciwan could deliver a second slash, a third, or even more...
In a life-or-death battle, she had many other methods at her disposal.
Right now, it only depended on whether she wanted to kill Ye Sheng, on whether she absolutely had to kill him.
When experts clash, a momentary advantage is crucial.
But after taking the Lankao Spring and Autumn Map, Song Ciwan didn’t press her advantage. Instead, she just stood before Ye Sheng, waiting for a moment.
A moment later, the dazed Ye Sheng awoke as if from a dream.
He had heard Song Ciwan’s soft sigh just now, and a blush of shame gradually crept across his pale face.
After the Illusion Breaker, his heart felt as if it had been cleansed.
Ye Sheng felt adrift, as if countless emotions were about to burst from his skull, yet he also felt hollow and unmoored.
He opened his mouth and said a single word: "You..."
Song Ciwan tucked the Lankao Spring and Autumn Map into her sleeve, but in reality, she placed it into the Vast Sea Grotto Heaven for suppression.
She said, "Brother Ye, you let me win."
With that, she turned and left.
She executed her Grasshopper technique, which was at the Returning to the True Level, and with a flash of the Wind Shadow Technique, she instantly put dozens of zhang between them.
Her figure instantly vanished into the night, amid the floating lights.
Deep within Bright Moon Square, the Bright Moon Grotto Heaven still hung high and bright in the sky. Ye Sheng stood rooted to the spot, watching Song Ciwan disappear. He did not give chase.
He lowered his head and glanced at his empty hands, a bitter smile ultimately touching his lips.
After moving some distance away, however, Song Ciwan was quickly met with three waves of assassins.
The assassins were all from the group that had pushed open the gates of Illusory Nether City. Like Song Ciwan, they were in the Otherworld, and thus they could touch each other and fight to the death.
The moment the first group of people saw Song Ciwan, they blurted out, "It’s the Black Heart Demon Saber! Quick, the Lankao Spring and Autumn Map is on him! Kill him!"
Song Ciwan didn’t know how they knew the Lankao Spring and Autumn Map was on her, or what kind of title this "Black Heart Demon Saber" was. But since her opponents had already come knocking, there was nothing more to be said.
Those who kill will themselves be killed. If you want to kill me, don’t blame me for killing you in return.
With a swift lift and fall of her blade, Song Ciwan unleashed her Illusion-Breaking Blade Technique. In an instant, she had cut down all the assassins who had foolishly charged her.
There were four of them in total. Song Ciwan brought out the Heaven and Earth Scale and packed all their bodies, other supplies, and the Primordial Longevity Pearls they carried into it.
Aside from the Lankao Spring and Autumn Map, Song Ciwan usually didn’t keep things she obtained from others.
Selling them through the Heaven and Earth Scale was the best option.
As for why she wouldn’t sell the Lankao Spring and Autumn Map, it wasn’t that she couldn’t bear to part with the Treasure Map’s profound mysteries.
In fact, for a treasure of this level, no matter how it was sold, the Heaven and Earth Scale would never let Song Ciwan get a bad deal. Selling it would definitely be profitable.
The reason Song Ciwan wouldn’t sell it was because of the living beings within the Lankao Spring and Autumn Map that had gained spirituality.
’This map already has a spirit. If I were to sell it, how would that be any different from selling living people?’
Song Ciwan had always had her own bottom line, and she adhered to it strictly, knowing what she would and would not do.
And selling living people was one of the things she would not do.
Inside the Vast Sea Grotto Heaven, the Lankao Spring and Autumn Map was bound tightly with red thread. It bobbed on the waves in the depths of the Grotto Heaven, looking like an ordinary object from a distance.
Song Ciwan withdrew her focus from it, leaving only a sliver of vigilance in her heart, and continued walking through Bright Moon Square.
Bright Moon Square was vast, and its people, lost in a drunken dream, knew neither day nor night, summer nor fall.
Song Ciwan then heard some absurd sounds.
For instance, earlier, someone was both crying and laughing, saying their feet had finally stopped dripping blood, as if the curse of Princess Chunshui had vanished...
But their tiny, bound feet could never go back to the way they were.
Then, someone taunted, "You know, this Witch’s handiwork is actually quite good. The feet she binds are so delicate and dainty, so pointed and pretty... Brother Zhuo, look, since your feet are already bound, why not let the brothers have a look and appreciate them?"
The so-called Brother Zhuo flew into a rage and immediately slapped the man. The sounds of fighting, arguing, shoving, and cursing erupted.
Chaotic sounds poured out from a courtyard of shifting light and shadow. Brother Zhuo was no match for the group. Furthermore, his feet were bound; even though they no longer constantly ached and bled, the tiny, pointed things made it difficult for him to walk.
Before long, Brother Zhuo was overpowered, unable to resist any longer.
Amidst the music of strings and bamboo, some were lost in revelry, some were struggling, and one man held up his own tiny foot and cackled madly, "What fine feet! Like a golden lotus, like a bamboo shoot’s tip! So delicate and cute, truly marvelous!"
Someone cried out in panic, "You’re mad! You’re all mad! A bunch of lunatics!"
He stumbled and shoved his way through the crowd to escape, but just as he was about to get away, he was dragged back into the utter absurdity of the scene.
He reached out, clawing at the ground, still struggling with all his might to escape, but there were too many hands behind him. They easily dragged him back.
At the edge of the chaotic courtyard, several maids holding flower lanterns stood quietly near the corners of the walls, among the sparse flowers and trees, posed like decorations.
They didn’t speak, but one of them couldn’t help but lower her head and let out a soft chuckle.
What was she laughing at?
Who knows? Perhaps she was laughing at how absurd and comical the scene was. Perhaps she was laughing that the world finally delivered karmic retribution. Or perhaps... for no reason at all. She just felt like laughing.
Song Ciwan moved lightly, stepping into the courtyard. She saw the formless qi floating throughout the chaotic scene.
So she raised her hand and captured it, gathering it for two rounds.
Most of this qi wasn’t heavy. Sometimes she would get two taels, but most of the time it was eight mace, nine mace, five mace, or six mace.
But after two rounds of gathering, the scattered bits added up to over three jin.
Song Ciwan stopped gathering. She had come silently, and now she left silently, leaving all the chaotic sounds and absurd scenes behind her.
After leaving this place, Song Ciwan encountered two more groups of assassins.
The second group had three people, and the third had five.
This time, Song Ciwan used the Little Black Insects from her Five Poison Jar as the main force. As long as the opponents weren’t too strong, the Black Insects were more than enough to tear through them all.
After dealing with the third wave, Song Ciwan collected the spoils and walked a little further. Suddenly, she saw two people running toward her from a bend up ahead. They were speaking to each other in low voices: "Word just came down from the mountain. The Black Heart Demon Saber should have gone that way. Should we really go after him?"
