Chapter 1267: Chapter 693: Instant Flower (Double-Length) (2)
Chen Yi suddenly stepped forward at the words, attacking instead of defending. The sword light cascaded like a waterfall.
Yin Tingxue parried left and right, but was shocked to the point of numbness in her palm, her eyes even more astonished.
Amidst the clashing sword blades, Chen Yi suddenly changed his move. The sword tip lightly flicked upwards, striking her wrist. Yin Tingxue, in pain, let go. Before the sword hit the ground, she swiftly switched hands to catch it, leaping back two steps to regroup her stance.
"Stop," Chen Yi pointed his sword to the ground, teasingly saying, "With that face, I don’t want to hurt you."
Yin Tingxue was panting, the sword tip slightly drooped. She looked at his imposing figure, the familiar expression, and listened to the teasing tone. Her hand began to tremble.
She did not release the sword in her hand but slowly raised it.
"I distinctly killed you," she murmured, "I watched you breathe your last with my own eyes."
Chen Yi slowly sheathed his sword, suddenly startled, stepped forward and asked, "When did that happen?"
Yin Tingxue lifted her head, the murderous intent in her eyes slightly receding, replaced more by complete confusion, "Just yesterday."
The two of them met eyes for a moment, suddenly realizing something at the same time, and looked around at the dim great hall.
This place is...
The World of Ignorance.
Chen Yi came back to his senses, just about to speak, but Yin Tingxue beat him to the question:
"Are you... conjured by my wish?"
......
A moment later.
The dim hall remained dim, only the lamps in front of it were ever-bright, but the dimness was still dim, the flickering lights did not elongate anyone’s shadow, as if this fire was illusionary.
Yin Tingxue closed her eyes tightly, her expression subtly shifting, sometimes relaxing, sometimes tense, sometimes furrowing her brows, and sometimes flattening them. After a long while, she was slightly dazed, glancing at Chen Yi.
After Chen Yi glanced back at her, she became vigilant right away, her hand already moving towards the sword hilt.
"Heh." Chen Yi couldn’t help but chuckle once.
Yin Tingxue remained cautious, slowly asking, "Now that we’re in the World of Ignorance, do you think I was conjured by your wish fulfillment?"
"That’s right, I was just thinking of you," Chen Yi replied casually.
Yin Tingxue’s gaze grew even more murderous, but after a moment, she slightly restrained herself, trying hard to suppress the waves in her Heart Lake, and her thoughts settled a bit.
Chen Yi surely should have died.
She finally avenged years of grievances, resolving a part of herself, and he died by her hands, beyond doubt.
Precisely because of this, the Chen Yi in front of her, mostly likely, was merely conjured by her wish.
Having been in the sect for years, as the Saintess herself, Yin Tingxue had of course heard various rumors about the World of Ignorance, more than the snippets known by ordinary followers.
"Little Fox... you thought of..."
Before Chen Yi could finish, Yin Tingxue suddenly erupted, her eyes angry, the sword blade pointing directly at Chen Yi’s throat,
"Are you disgusting me?"
Chen Yi stepped back half a step, furrowed his brows, but then thought better of it, curling his lips into a smile, indicating he meant no harm,
"How could I disgust you? I’ve always called you this."
Many years had already passed. Chen Yi had long forgotten that once unforgettable hatred. Her face with murderous intent had also gradually blurred, turning into a negligible footnote. Even the grudges between them were forgotten, never brought up again, just used as banter. To him, she was his Little Fox, always would be.
However, her temperament was completely different from the soft and mushy Little Fox.
This Yin Tingxue had more of the flavor of the Demon Sect Saintess, with a sword at the slightest disagreement, flipping a face and taking off the enemy’s head in the briefest thought.
When Chen Yi had these thoughts, he intentionally pinched a technique to stealthily isolate the prying of the Heavenly Ear Technique.
The present Yin Tingxue was unaware of his thoughts, yet, had she known, she would have certainly thrust her sword across, leading to a fierce fight. Seeing Chen Yi silent, she slowly sheathed her sword.
Chen Yi was unsure why Yin Tingxue’s wish conjured such a version of her; nevertheless, any kind of Yin Tingxue was still Yin Tingxue. He slowly spoke:
"You don’t want to be trapped here, and neither do I. We don’t need to be entangled about who was conjured by whom. How about we first find a way out of this World of Ignorance?"
Yin Tingxue furrowed her brows and, after some serious contemplation, barely nodded after a long time, saying: "Fine."
Chen Yi’s eyes brightened slightly, but he was a bit worried whether this demonized Little Fox harbored thoughts of stabbing him in the back. However, there was no other way, and he couldn’t bring himself to harm her.
A person who keeps the Lower Body cannot cut ties with everything; only the word "affection" cannot be severed.
Even if what was before him was only an illusion, it couldn’t be cut off.
Yin Tingxue was silent, unconsciously rubbing her fingertips on the sword hilt, the dim light in the hall outlining a tense curve on her profile.
"At the back of Gaoliang Mountain, there is a Forbidden Land," she finally spoke, her voice quieter than before, "It’s rumored to be the recluse place of the Great Strength Saintess, who has long dissociated from the Divine Sect, guarding the Five Poison Dead Tree alone."
Chen Yi’s brow moved slightly. The Great Strength Saintess—wasn’t she the long-missing Old Saintess? Since entering the World of Ignorance, Chen Yi hadn’t seen her. This was indeed a lead worth noting.
"Where is the Forbidden Land?" he asked.
Yin Tingxue pressed her lips together, her gaze sweeping over his sword at his waist before quickly shifting away, clearly still not dropping her guard.
"If you don’t trust me," Chen Yi seemed to see her concern, lazily crossing his arms and leaning against a stone pillar on the side, "you can just point in a direction. I’ll go explore it myself. From now on, we part ways, having nothing to do with each other."
Yin Tingxue shook her head, her tone indisputable, "The Forbidden Land can only be unlocked by a Saintess, you can’t go alone."
"What’s inside?"
"I don’t know." She answered crisply, though her gaze flickered slightly, "I’ve never been inside."
Chen Yi chuckled softly, making a "please" gesture: "Then I’ll trouble you to lead the way."
Yin Tingxue said no more and turned to leave. Chen Yi followed leisurely, maintaining a three-step distance at all times.
The two walked through the desolate paths of Gaoliang Mountain.
The sound of the wind swept through the branches, producing a rustling noise. Yin Tingxue walked with extreme steadiness, her breathing calm. Yet, the gaze from behind adhered to her like something tangible, from her arms to her back, then sliding to her leg side, finally lingering between her waist and hips, with undisguised flirtation.
Her knuckles turned white from grasping, her killing intent like cold flames, inch by inch licking her chest cavity.
Fine, she thought, once inside the Forbidden Land, she would personally end this illusion.
In fact, she didn’t reveal everything.
Forbidden Land? More than having it entered, had she not stepped in with the resolve to die, how could she have refined her Sword Dao to this level in just a few years, repairing the shattered Longevity Bridge?
Even with the Heavenly Ear Technique, without chance encounters, it would have been impossible to break through so quickly.
The other thing she didn’t fully disclose was that only a Saintess with a body of Primordial Yin could unlock the Forbidden Land’s door, which she didn’t make clear to avoid giving him any unnecessary thoughts.
The door to the Forbidden Land was embedded deep within the mountain, the stone hall built of huge rocks stood silently, as if it had breathed with the mountains for countless years. Complex and ancient engravings were etched upon the door, weathered by time to a blur, with dry moss winding through its gaps.
Yin Tingxue stepped forward, her palm pressing against the cold stone door.
"Stay close to me." She tilted her head, instructing, her voice devoid of emotion.
Chen Yi nodded, standing quietly to the side.
One breath, two breaths, ten breaths...
Time trickled away, the only sound outside being the wind.
Chen Yi slightly furrowed his brows, why, still no response?
Yin Tingxue’s brow furrowed, the stone door beneath her palm remained as silent as the dead, without the slightest response.
She increased her pressure, inner breath roiling, but the stone door remained motionless.
...It shouldn’t be this way.
She was the designated Saintess, neither her bloodline nor her cultivation technique had any omissions, and she had successfully entered before... where could the problem lie?
The thought flashed by, and she suddenly raised her fingers, quickly forming a Divination Technique. As True Qi circulated, there was a faint void at the Life Gate, as if some foundation quietly collapsed.
Yin Tingxue’s whole body stiffened, an astonished look erupted in her eyes, like ice suddenly cracking.
... How could her maiden’s Primordial Yin... be gone?!
Blurred and intense memories rose like waves, the Demon Sect Saintess stood frozen, scenes like tides surged into her mind.
In the image, he gently caressed her, and she instinctively embraced him,
"So this is it, how beautiful."
"Mother, Xue... Xue is an Instant Flower."
Comments