Chapter 18 Breaking into the Pavilion

The spirit beasts on this level were not as docile as the previous ones. Instead, they circled Ji Shi several times, then lowered their bodies and growled softly, adopting an attack posture.

Seeing that things were not going well, Ji Shi immediately wanted to back out and let Cheng Yuan go up.

But Cheng Yuan had already hidden to the side, enjoying the spectacle even more. He pursed his lips and said, "Senior brother has already made his boastful statement. Wouldn't it be embarrassing to take it back now?"

Ji Shi didn't care about losing face. He always valued his life. Now that he had lost the special way to pass the first three levels, wasn't this a dead end?

The two pushed and shoved each other for a long time, neither willing to go. Chu Jianshan finally couldn't stand it anymore, sighed and stepped forward. Ji Shi looked at Chu Jianshan with eyes full of light, tears welling up in her eyes, ready to thank Chu Jianshan properly.

Cheng Yuan turned to look at Chu Jianshan with some confusion. Knowing Chu Jianshan as he did, how could he be so kind?

Under the watchful eyes of the two, Chu Jianshan took two steps forward and stopped. Then, he suddenly turned around and grabbed Ji Shi's arm. Ji Shi looked up at Chu Jianshan in confusion. The next second, Chu Jianshan swung him around and threw him away. Ji Shi rolled a few times and landed right next to the spirit beast.

"..." Hello, little darling, goodbye, little darling!

Ji Shi cursed Chu Jianshan as he ran, with the spirit beast chasing after him. Chu Jianshan retreated, watching the chase unfold before him with a smile in his eyes.

Looking at Chu Jianshan's mischievous grin beside him, Cheng Yuan couldn't help but raise the corners of his mouth slightly as well.

Ji Shi was so exhausted from being chased that he stopped, bent over, and panted. The spirit beast attacked first, but Ji Shi dodged and made it miss. Then he picked up his sword and faced it again.

The man and the beast fought fiercely, but the occasional sharp sound of the beast's claws scraping against the sword made Chu Jianshan frown.

After fighting for an unknown amount of time, Chu Jianshan was tired of standing and pulled Cheng Yuan to sit down and watch. The man and beast over there were also quite tired, as if they were taking a break during halftime.

"Hey, Brother Spirit Beast, aren't you tired?"

The spirit beast tilted its head, clearly not understanding what he was saying.

"How about this," Ji Shi continued, trying to persuade her, "you let me through, and I'll bring you some food later, okay?"

"Are you stupid?" Chu Jianshan, who was sitting to the side, spoke up, then stammered, "You are its food right now."

As if to confirm Chu Jianshan's words, the spirit beast's stomach growled twice.

Ji Shi's face darkened instantly. Resigned, he picked up his sword and charged forward again. This time, however, Ji Shi used all his strength and managed to knock the spirit beast back a few steps. He pressed his advantage and thrust his sword forward.

The spirit beast dodged backward, so he changed direction, pressed his palm to the ground, and centered his body on his arm, lying down and circling the spirit beast halfway around. Then he stabbed the spirit beast in the abdomen, and the spirit beast fell down and never got up again.

"Beautiful!" Chu Jianshan said in a low voice, his eyes showing a hint of appreciation.

Ji Shi stood up, panting heavily, his face still smeared with drops of the spirit beast's blood. He looked at Chu Jianshan and the others and gave them a relieved smile.

Ji Shi refused to go up to the fifth floor, so Cheng Yuan took his place. To be honest, Chu Jianshan found Cheng Yuan's fighting style really boring. He knew every move Cheng Yuan made perfectly; it was all so proper and straightforward. It was nothing like the excitement of Ji Shi's fighting style, because you never knew what move he would use next.

The fifth and sixth floors passed by in boredom. On the seventh floor, Cheng Yuan was worried that Chu Jianshan would have difficulty, so he took the initiative to take over. However, Cheng Yuan was clearly not able to exert himself on this floor. This spirit beast was quite powerful and seemed to have a big appetite.

To prevent Cheng Yuan from getting hurt, Chu Jianshan also stepped in this time. Thanks to their tacit understanding, they managed to get through. On the eighth floor, the three of them stood at the door and did not go in.

By now, the three of them had almost exhausted their strength, and they had already struggled on the previous level. The higher they went, the stronger the spirit beasts became. Even if the three of them joined forces, they might not be able to get through this level.

Chu Jianshan took a deep breath and slowly pushed open the door. No matter the outcome, he had to face it.

When the three of them went in, the spirit beast was resting on the ground. When it saw people coming in, it slowly opened its eyes and stood up. It was neither like the vicious spirit beasts on the previous floors that attacked directly, nor like the simple and harmless spirit beasts that Ji Shi had faced.

It stood there, staring at Chu Jianshan standing in front of it. Chu Jianshan was the main attacker on this floor, but to be honest, he wasn't very confident.

Taking advantage of the fact that the spirit beast showed no sign of approaching, Chu Jianshan turned his head slightly and smiled at Cheng Yuan, "I don't have any swords I can use. How about I borrow your master's Mo Yang?"

Cheng Yuan frowned slightly. He knew, of course, that Chu Jianshan didn't have a suitable weapon, but he couldn't even think about using his master's Mo Yang sword. After hesitating for a long time, he threw his own sword to Chu Jianshan.

"Wouldn't it be better to use mine?"

Chu Jianshan raised an eyebrow and nodded. A sword that doesn't rust is certainly better.

He walked towards the spirit beast, but seeing that it still didn't move, he didn't say a word and directly drew his sword and stabbed it in the neck.

Just as the Flowing Sound Sword was about to pierce through, the spirit beast instantly transformed into the appearance of another person.

"Qingyuan..." A familiar voice came, and Chu Jianshan stopped moving instantly. His heart skipped a beat, and the tip of his sword was pressed against the man's neck, drawing a small bloodstain.

Chu Jianshan raised his head with difficulty in disbelief and saw the person standing in front of him clearly. He was dressed in white robes and a jade crown, with a refined and elegant demeanor. He parted his thin lips and called out Chu Qingyuan's name again.

It was Xie Yin.

Chu Jianshan's hand holding the sword was trembling slightly. He knew it was an illusion, but he still couldn't bring himself to do it. Xie Yin had committed suicide in front of him before, and now he had to kill Xie Yin with his own hands.

"Qingyuan, are you going to kill me?" this "Xie Yin" asked.

"I...I don't know..." Chu Jianshan lowered his head, not daring to look at Xie Yin anymore, but the Liuyin Sword was still pressed against his neck.

"Chu Jianshan, what's wrong with you? Why aren't you making a move?" Ji Shi called out anxiously from behind.

They couldn't see the illusion; they could only see Chu Jianshan holding his sword against the spirit beast but making no further move.

But Cheng Yuan seemed to have noticed something. He guessed that something was holding him back. However, Chu Jianshan didn't seem like the kind of person who would hesitate over something like this. What could be it that made him unable to do it?

"Qingyuan, you won't kill me, right?"

Xie Yin slowly approached Chu Jianshan. Chu Jianshan's Liuyin Sword was still pressed against his neck. As Xie Yin got closer, it slowly pressed into his neck, and blood began to gush out, sliding down the Liuyin Sword and onto Chu Jianshan's hand.

Such a striking stimulus reminded Chu Jianshan of the scene seven years ago, the day Xie Yin committed suicide on the stage, with just such bright red blood.

Chu Jianshan could no longer hold on and pulled his sword back. The Liuyin Sword fell to the ground with a loud thud.

Taking advantage of Chu Jianshan's distraction, Xie Yin raised his hand, and the Liuyin Sword was in his hand. Then, he suddenly stabbed it towards Chu Jianshan's heart.

"Chu Jianshan! Get out of the way!" Cheng Yuan shouted.

Reminded, Chu Jianshan reacted quickly and took a few steps back, but he was no match for Liuyin Sword. The tip of the sword pierced Chu Jianshan's skin and just touched his heart.

Cheng Yuan immediately rushed forward, put his arm around Chu Jianshan, and summoned back the Flowing Sound Sword with the other. After handing the injured Chu Jianshan over to Ji Shi, he resumed the rhythm and launched an attack on the spirit beast.

The Flowing Sound Sword circled the spirit beast, looking for an opportunity, but the same scene as before played out. The spirit beast slowly transformed into the appearance of another person in front of Cheng Yuan. Cheng Yuan closed his eyes and did not look, but directly stabbed at it.

“A-Yuan…”

Cheng Yuan's body stiffened for a moment, his pupils suddenly contracted. He recognized whose voice it was, but the sword was already beyond retraction, piercing straight into his "master's" body.

Cheng Yuan closed his eyes and shook his head, as if trying to shake away the illusion in front of him, but the voice of "Chu Qingyuan" echoed in his ears, so real and clear.

“A-Yuan, you’re still blaming me, aren’t you? Blaming me for hurting you by leaving back then.”

"I'm not...I..." Cheng Yuan tried to explain, but the next second he realized that the person in front of him was just an illusion, a fake.

Chu Qingyuan spoke again, his voice soft: "I've missed you so much these past seven years."

These were the words Cheng Yuan had always dreamed of hearing. He didn't want Chu Qingyuan's apology or explanation; just this one sentence, saying that he missed him, was enough.

But Cheng Yuan knew it was all fake, this person was not his master. He hardened his heart and thrust the sword a little deeper, but his eyes were still red. He whispered with tears in his eyes, "You are not my master."

Seeing that this trick was ineffective, the spirit beast simply stopped its pursuit, shoved Cheng Yuan away with a palm strike, and began to fight him. The spirit beast absorbed every move of Chu Qingyuan from Cheng Yuan's memory, making it easy for it to deal with Cheng Yuan. In addition, with the illusion of Chu Qingyuan present, Cheng Yuan couldn't bear to kill him and gradually fell into a disadvantageous position.

Seeing that he was no match for him, Chu Jianshan turned his last gaze to Ji Shi. This silly boy was simple-minded and probably didn't have any insurmountable obsessions.

"Ji Shi, would you like to see what your obsession is?" Chu Jianshan asked with a kind smile.

Ji Shi knew Chu Jianshan was up to no good as soon as he saw his smile. Although he looked reluctant, he still asked tentatively in a low voice, "Can I not go?"

Chu Jianshan's smile deepened, and he said decisively, "No, you can't."

Then Ji Shi felt a familiar touch on his buttocks. Chu Jianshan was injured on the upper body, so he kicked Ji Shi directly. As soon as Cheng Yuan saw him coming, he stepped back, with a lot of sweat on his forehead.

Chu Jianshan was still wondering if Ji Shi could hold on for a while, but who knew that as soon as he saw the spirit beast's transformation, he was stunned for a moment, and before he could even make a move, he knelt down straight.

Chu Jianshan:? ? ? ?

Cheng Yuan: ? ? ? ?