“Where is this place?”
Luo Tangtang looked around. This place was extremely cold, piercing to the bone. It seemed to be a graveyard, with tens of thousands of tombstones standing tall. Vines twisted and intertwined, rising from the ground to form a canopy overhead. Each vine bore blood-colored flower buds, waiting to burst open.
She instantly understood. She turned her head and saw the small qilin before a tombstone. It seemed very sad, rubbing gently against each stone.
Yun Shayi pressed her lips together, silently taking Luo Tangtang’s hand and holding it tight.
Luo Tangtang’s pale face felt a little better then. This place was too gloomy and chilling. It was fine when they first arrived, but she couldn’t bear it after a while.
Undying resentment? Dark, murky resentment drifted above the graveyard. Yun Shayi also seemed to be observing, her brows tightly furrowed, a serious expression on her face.
The small qilin’s figure continued to move away, disappearing into the depths of the graveyard. Yun Shayi pulled Luo Tangtang to wait at the entrance, where the chilling energy was less.
In the silence, Luo Tangtang spoke. Her face was clouded, and her eyes held a difficult-to-read light. “Divine history says the qilin race retreated from the three realms. I never expected this outcome.”
Luo Tangtang twitched her lips again, her face looking like she was on the verge of tears. “Senior Sister, who do you think did it?”
Yun Shayi quietly looked into the distance. Hearing this, she looked at Luo Tangtang and gently shook her head. “Some matters can no longer be investigated, nor is there any way to do so.”
Luo Tangtang stiffened. She knew her Senior Sister was warning her. The destruction of the qilin race was not something they, at their level, should meddle in. They were unable to handle it. Forcibly intervening would only lead to their death and the end of their cultivation path.
Wasn’t Luo Tangtang the same? She couldn’t even reveal her own identity, relying on the agreement with the previous Demon King to live until now. What ability did she have to meddle in others’ affairs?
Luo Tangtang’s mind was as chaotic as mush. Her thoughts drifted far away until Yun Shayi grabbed her wrist and pulled her into a frantic run. Only then did she react.
The ground suddenly began to shake violently for some unknown reason. The vines overhead actually began to writhe, darting back and forth in the air, making tearing sounds. The entire sky darkened.
“Where’s the small qilin?” Luo Tangtang quickly asked, dodging a vine falling from the sky.
“Not sure!” Yun Shayi’s aura instantly turned sharp. Her whole body radiated chill. A flash of sword light in her hand cut off the surrounding vines. She pulled Luo Tangtang, quickly dodging.
She looked up at the mass of dark, ominous vines gathering force on the horizon, frowning tightly. “We must leave here quickly.”
“Qilin Ancestral Land, trespassers die!” An ancient voice filled with hatred exploded in her mind. A sharp pain shot through Luo Tangtang’s sea of consciousness. Her face instantly turned pale, and a trickle of blood spilled from the corner of her mouth.
“We came with the small qilin,” Luo Tangtang hastily said. “We didn’t do anything harmful to the qilin race.”
“Since you’ve come, then become nourishment to feed the spirits of the dead!” The ancient voice sounded again, filled with monstrous killing intent, ignoring Luo Tangtang entirely.
Luo Tangtang’s expression instantly turned grim.
As the voice sounded, brilliant lights constantly flashed around them. Powerful pressure followed closely, surging towards them like a tide.
Yun Shayi pulled Luo Tangtang behind her. The chill from her body felt insignificant against the pressure, but she still managed to create a small protective space within the sky full of flying vines, shielding them both.
“Senior Sister?” Luo Tangtang’s eyes welled up as she looked at Yun Shayi, who was protecting her in her arms.
“Don’t worry, I won’t let anything happen to you.” As soon as she finished speaking, Yun Shayi’s face paled slightly.
Luo Tangtang quickly grabbed Yun Shayi and transferred spiritual energy to her.
But how could their cultivation alone contend against the tens of millions of spirits slumbering in the Qilin Ancestral Land? In just a moment, the defense was breached. A vine fiercely attacked Luo Tangtang, seizing her neck almost in the blink of an eye.
“Tangtang!” Yun Shayi’s pupils suddenly constricted, almost forming vertical lines. She frantically grabbed the vine, trying to tear it off.
Her pale hands were scratched by the small, sharp barbs on the vine, bleeding profusely. Some skin and flesh were brutally torn off.
Luo Tangtang’s vision began to blur. She weakly spoke to Yun Shayi. “Senior Sister, don’t mind me, you go, hurry and leave.”
If this continues, both of them will die. Better to… better if Senior Sister gives up on her and leaves alone. That way, she might survive.
“I won’t give up on you, and you can’t give up on me either.” Yun Shayi’s breathing suddenly became a little heavier. Something seemed to flash across her face.
When Luo Tangtang thought she was about to die, her breath being squeezed out little by little, like a dying fish gasping for its last drop of water, the thing wrapped around her neck suddenly loosened.
Luo Tangtang’s body went slack. Just as she was about to fall, her waist was tightly embraced. She groggily opened her eyes and saw a cool, detached profile.
Yun Shayi’s left eye suddenly emitted a soft light. Her originally black pupils turned gold. Inside, runes flickered, flowing with an eerie light.
“Senior Sister,” Luo Tangtang called out.
Just as she saw Yun Shayi’s left eye, her head suddenly felt heavy. Her vision began to blur. Luo Tangtang’s neck tilted, and she fainted.
“Good girl, best not to look,” Yun Shayi murmured, looking at Luo Tangtang slumped in her embrace. A hint of tenderness flashed in her eyes. A layer of blue mist quietly enveloped her. Yun Shayi remembered, Luo Tangtang was afraid of the cold.
The nearby vines were instantly repelled by this light. Yun Shayi’s aura also underwent a drastic change at this moment. Her eyes held a killing aura. Her whole body was permeated by cold energy, water mist spreading. Ice drops constantly fell to the ground, making crisp sounds.
“Who exactly are you?” Noisy sounds came from all directions, from old people, young people, and children. Everyone was asking, their voices filled with surprise, doubt, and anger. Countless wraiths appeared in the air. Streaks of black shadows darted before her eyes.
“And you?” Yun Shayi didn’t answer, only asked softly. “And who are you?” Facing these black shadows, she remained as calm as before, her voice flat, without a trace of fluctuation.
She raised her eyes. They were deep and bottomless, like a pool of deep water containing surging, powerful waves, able to devour everything.
The vines attacked Yun Shayi more and more frantically, covering the sky and ground, yet were always kept outside the light. Not even a bit could get close to them.
Some black shadows wanted to attack these outsiders, to tear them to shreds with their sharp claws and turn them into nourishment. But upon touching that ray of light, they let out sharp screams. A wisp of black smoke rose from the dark shadows, and a smell somewhat like burning flesh escaped.
Yun Shayi’s gaze fell upon Luo Tangtang’s face. “Originally, I didn’t want to bother with you. It’s your fault for being troublesome.”
“Who are you?” The sounds stopped abruptly, leaving only a hoarse, rough male voice carrying embarrassment, annoyance, and the anger of being underestimated.
Yun Shayi let out a cold laugh. “You lose your cool so easily?”
“A mere creature, hiding in the Qilin Ancestral Land all year round. Do you really think you’re one of the qilin spirits?”
“You… who are you? How did you know?”
There was suddenly terror in that voice. “Since that’s the case, I absolutely cannot let you leave here.”
Yun Shayi’s tone was chilling. “The Extreme North Realm was set up with an array by that ancient Venerable God, greatly suppressing ghost cultivators. When the qilin ancestors were annihilated, there shouldn’t be much residual blood energy left. Then what are you relying on to evade the array?”
She stepped towards mid-air, one step at a time. The vines in the air, like a barrier, instantly scattered, revealing a golden sky.
Countless chains suddenly appeared from mid-air, carrying heavy pressure. The vines scattered in all directions instantly. Screams echoed continuously.
As the golden light shone upon Yun Shayi, her eyes instantly returned to black. But the chilling energy spreading from her body was still thick. She was also struck by this pressure and sent flying sideways. She timely shielded Luo Tangtang with her body while she herself crashed heavily onto the ground, making a loud bang. Her bones seemed to have broken.
Yun Shayi tightly pressed her lips together, her whole body trembling violently. Her gaze fell on Luo Tangtang who had fallen to the side, wanting to crawl to her side, but her body was out of control, twisting in a way difficult for ordinary people to achieve. Blood flowed from the corner of her left eye.
She forcefully took out a dagger and stabbed herself in the left hand. The intense pain allowed her to remain clear-headed. After who knows how long, only then did she crawl up from the ground. She meticulously wiped away the bloodstains on her hand. Only then did she tremblingly reach out, carefully pick up Luo Tangtang, and place her in a corner.
Inside a palace with glazed jade tiles, red silk lay on the floor, and fragrant mist curled upwards. White jade bead curtains clashed in the air, making crisp sounds like gold and jade striking each other.
“Holy Venerable, have another drink!” A cool yet gentle female voice, carrying hints of charm and soft, naive sweetness, sounded as if trying to hook him.
Through layers of hanging gauze, inside the mist-shrouded hot spring pool, an extremely handsome man sat with his eyes closed. He only wore a silk black undergarment, on which intricate hidden patterns were embroidered with silver thread. It looked very luxurious.
A row of young women stood beside him, each with a graceful figure, wearing red dresses and holding a wine cup, looking at the man in the hot spring pool.
Splash! Suddenly, his eyelashes trembled. He sharply opened his eyes and stood up from the water.
Clang! A powerful aura radiated from the man. A trace of wild joy flashed in his eyes. Ignoring the people kneeling all over the place, he disappeared within the hall in the blink of an eye.
In a cramped little room, very simple. The whole room only had a large black lacquered table placed in the center, with an incense burner and some offerings on it. A portrait hung on the wall.
Yun Mu’s eyes had a moment of stunned surprise as he looked at the candlelight that had originally gone out, lighting up again. His gaze shifted to the woman in the painting, and then abruptly turned dark.
“Ten thousand years, Venerable God, you’ve returned.” Yun Mu almost squeezed the words out from between his teeth. His teeth ground together, making cracking sounds, as if he wanted to peel the skin and strip the bones of something and consume it.
After watching for who knows how long, the sky outside had already completely darkened. He reached out and covered his eyes, standing there quietly.
For a long time, in the secluded and deserted little room, several laughs suddenly broke out, sounding particularly harsh, eerie, and mournful in the empty, deserted corner.