Chapter 089: Blue Moonlight (18)

Chen Wenjian was still in a dream, and his brief awakening before was just an instinctive reaction to the familiar breath.

But he was still dreaming, he was absolutely sure of it.

In his dream, he sat beside a cold spring, the jagged, rough stone edge beneath him. His form had shrunk countless times, remaining the size of an ordinary human. His long, black dragon tail extended to the bottom of the spring, coiling around it, letting the icy water soak every scale.

Not far from the cold spring stands a dilapidated wooden house. Time has erased all traces of its owner's life and almost erased the house itself.

Chen Wenjian didn't understand why such a building appeared in his dream, just as he didn't understand why he was trapped in the dream, wasting his time and unwilling to wake up.

He must be waiting for someone.

But he knew in his heart that the man would not come back.

…

"You're not putting vinegar in the wine, are you?"

Taking the wine jar from Luo Qifang, Su Chen, knowing his friend's mischievous nature, said with growing suspicion, "You're bringing me wine when you go out! This is the first time in history!"

"Why do you think that of me?" Luo Qifang's eyes widened innocently, and against her overly delicate face, she seemed quite believable. "Didn't I get the seeds for those two orange trees in your yard?"

Su Chenyu's face paled at the mention of this. "To be precise, you brought a basket of oranges to drink with me, ate most of it yourself, and accidentally spilled two seeds on the ground. They quietly sprouted without my knowledge. I couldn't bear to pinch them off, so I started taking care of them."

As a result, most of the oranges he grew ended up in his stomach.

Luo Qifang scratched her temples and quickly glanced at Chen Yunli, her face flushed at his smiling gaze.

"Well, why bother being so picky? Just tell me if I brought it here or not."

Su Chenyu was about to argue with him again when he suddenly saw a slight red spot on his ear and his eyes widened in surprise.

The two were childhood friends and had known each other for more than ten years. As soon as his expression changed, Luo Qifang knew what he was going to say and quickly changed the subject.

"Hey, it's getting late. Zhuji, you're injured. Go back and rest." Luo Qifang said as she put her arm around Chen Yunli's shoulders and pushed him towards the guest room. "I'm going to find a quiet place to practice, too."

"Do you need to find a special place to practice?" Chen Yunli asked casually.

After traveling for half a day and accomplishing two important tasks, he was indeed a little sleepy as his injuries had not yet healed, and his voice was also lower than usual.

Luo Qifang wanted to take advantage of the situation to make a few jokes with him, but seeing that he was so sleepy that his eyelids were drooping, she stopped talking.

"Well, it's my personal...habit, kind of a habit."

Luo Qifang used Zhifeng to push open the door of the guest room and helped Chen Yunli lie down on the bed.

"Have a good rest? See you tomorrow morning." He asked with a smile, "There's a restaurant in the nearby fishing village that sells seafood porridge with a very unique flavor that you can't find anywhere else. I'll bring you a bowl tomorrow?"

His enthusiasm made Chen Yunli feel ashamed: "Is it too much trouble? Actually..."

"No." Luo Qifang said firmly, "I hurt you, this is the compensation I deserve."

Is it necessary to make compensation so detailed?

Chen Yunli didn't understand, he had never compensated anyone.

He tried to decline twice, but after Luo Qifang's well-reasoned rebuttal, she finally couldn't persuade him and agreed to let him help bring the porridge.

Agree to let him help - what a niche phrase.

Luo Qifang extinguished the candle, closed the door, and left. Moonlight streamed through the half-open window onto the couch, coating Chen Yunli in a silver-blue glow.

In the middle of the night, Chen Yunli suddenly woke up with a dry and numb throat, and he coughed involuntarily.

He clung to the edge of the bed and coughed for a while. An inexplicable feeling of weakness grew like a wild vine from between his bones, binding his stiff body.

Chen Yunli clutched the mattress tightly with his hands, veins bulging on the back of his hands, and he used all his strength to avoid falling off the bed.

This feeling lasted for a long time.

At first, Chen Yunli thought it was a recurrence of his injury, but he soon discovered that the wound left by Luo Qifang on his body was not painful, and the feeling of weakness had another source.

But he had no medical knowledge and could not find the source of the disease. Before long, his body was at its limit and he almost fainted.

Half asleep and half awake, Chen Yunli wiped the cold sweat from his forehead in a daze. The cold touch of his palm suddenly woke him up, and he realized that his whole body was soaked in sweat.

He stared at the beams in a daze. He still didn't know the source of the weakness, but he guessed the consequences it might cause.

According to historical records, Chen Yunli died very early for unknown reasons.

Chen Yunli spread out his palm, and the "lifeline" in the palm extended slenderly to the edge of the palm, which was a sign of longevity recognized by folk masters.

He was now certain that there was something wrong with the theories of those masters.

"I... Chen Yunli died twenty years after he separated from Luo Qifang. They were together for only two years, and Luo Qifang missed him longer than he was alive."

Chen Yunli murmured silently: "What a cruel task..."

He turned over and lay on his side, facing the window, his half-closed eyes reflecting a blue light.

Blu-ray?

Chen Yunli opened his eyes wide. From his angle, he could see the moon in the sky without any obstruction. It looked like it was dyed with blue paint. The blue was evenly distributed and clear, which made people feel uneasy.

He had seen yellow moons and red moons, but this was the first time he had seen a blue moon outside a laundry detergent package.

Chen Yunli sat up and looked out from the windowsill. He suddenly found a small figure in the moon, holding two swords at his side. A black knife mark curved from behind him to his feet, holding him up.

It’s Luo Qifang!

Chen Yunli didn't understand what was going on, but his intuition told him that something was wrong - Luo Qifang was in trouble.

He got out of bed in a hurry, his ankle caught on the quilt and he tripped. He hurriedly put on his shoes and clothes and rushed out.

“Squeak—”

The door opposite him opened at the same time as his door, and Su Chenyu walked out quickly. The two men met each other and were stunned at the same time.

Su Chenyu reacted faster and blurted out: "Why did you get up?"

"I saw Luo Qifang in the moon." Chen Yunli pursed his lips, "I have... a very bad feeling."

"Your feeling is right." Su Chenyu held his wrist, his expression solemn and serious. "Since you're awake, come with me to check on him. With you here, he might wake up faster."

"What's the meaning……"

Before Chen Yunli could finish his question, Su Chenyu dragged him up into the night sky. The wind in the air was extremely fierce, making Chen Yunli want to cough again. The strange feeling of weakness in his body also showed signs of returning.

Fortunately, Su Chenyu was fast enough and took him through the clouds and into the range of the full moon in an instant.

At this moment, Chen Yunli saw jagged cracks appear on the edge of the moon, and pieces of blue glass-like fragments peeled off along the lines, swirling past them and surrounding Luo Qifang.

It turns out that this is not the moon, but an illusion created by Luo Qifang.

He clasped his legs, forehead resting on them, huddled within the inky, semicircular scars. His sabers stood to his left and right, guarding him alongside the blue fragments—a gesture not only of protection but also one ready to strike at any moment.

Chen Yunli came out in a hurry, his coat was wrapped around his body crookedly, and a corner of his coat at the collar was blown up by the wind, rubbing against his chin.

"What happened to him? Did something go wrong with his training?"

"You could say it's a glitch, or it could be considered normal, but it's especially severe tonight."

Su Chenyu did not come closer. He took off the gourd from his waist, unscrewed the cork, pointed the gourd mouth towards Luo Qifang, and skillfully recited a few incantations.

The next moment, a suction force emerged from the gourd, sucking all the fragments around him into it.

"This is Xun Gui's spiritual energy crystallization, equivalent to the amount he cultivated for a whole night." Su Chenyu put away the gourd and explained concisely, "I will return it to him when he wakes up to make up for the loss he suffered in this condition."

Chen Yunli couldn't help but ask, "What kind of situation is this? Is he in danger?"

Su Chenyu sighed: "Mr. Yunli, have you heard of the 'realm of enlightenment'?"

Chen Yunli shook his head, but he could guess something from the word "enlightenment".

"All the world's gifted geniuses possess one gift that is invariably far superior to all others: understanding. Those with exceptional understanding can easily navigate chasms unattainable to ordinary people. However, gifts from heaven often come with a high price. Xun Gui's understanding is the highest I have ever seen, and so is the price."

Chen Yunli listened quietly.

Luo Qifang's exceptional talent for cultivation is largely due to his intuition. This is why, while the path of cultivation is long and arduous, it is a smooth path for him. And the state of enlightenment, which others consider rare, is worth less to him than roadside weeds. He can enter it at any time if he wishes, and he can even control its duration.

However, in this state of enlightenment, he completely loses control of his body, his perception of the outside world, and his human reason and emotions. If anyone disturbs him at this moment, no matter who it is, he will attack them with the strongest attack in his current state. He has used this as a trap to entrap several enemies before.

In addition, another reward for using this ability is his vitality and soul power.

Each time he actively uses it, he loses between one and ten years of his lifespan, and his soul is also depleted. The more he uses it, the stronger he becomes, but the shorter his lifespan becomes, and the weaker his soul becomes. He may even lose his chance at reincarnation, becoming a damaged wandering spirit in the underworld.

"Generally speaking, Xun Gui wouldn't actively enter the state of enlightenment, nor would he need to. He's the kind of person whose enlightenment could be triggered by eating or drinking... He's an annoying person favored by heaven, and there's really no need to risk his future."

Su Chenyu glanced at the sky, his eyes filled with worry. "It's almost dawn. He's never been 'indulged' for this long before. Mr. Yunli, besides killing an evil cultivator today, did you fight anyone else?"

Chen Yunli perked up and gave him a brief summary of their experiences at sea.

After listening to this, Su Chenyu looked at him strangely.

"That demon did say he would come find you when he wakes up, and Xun Gui is definitely no match for him?"

Chen Yun was halfway to nod his head when his face and neck froze.

He said dryly, "He's eager to attain enlightenment and practice...it can't be because of me, right?"

"...I'm doing an experiment."

Su Chenyu patted Chen Yunli's shoulder, muttered something, and put sixty or seventy layers of protection on him in one breath.

The colorful dazzling light effect of the magic nearly blinded Chen Yunli. He was confused and was about to ask when he heard Su Chenyu say, "Okay, this should be able to block the aftermath of his sword."

Chen Yunli: “……?”

Su Chenyu shook his sleeves, put on an attitude of "I'm going to die", and kicked Luo Qifang with a flying kick.

"Wait! Didn't they say we shouldn't disturb..."

Before Chen Yunli could finish his exclamation, Luo Qifang opened her eyes.

There was no love or hate in his eyes, no wind or waves, no human emotions, just vast and blank.

He stretched his body, grasped the two swords in his hands, and drew the swords slowly but quickly.

In an instant, earth-shaking clanging sounds resounded through the sky, and two giant dragons made of light soared into the sky. It seemed as if only these two beams of light remained in the universe.

As his fate loomed, Su Chenyu continued to explain, "He's used this same sword to kill six evil cultivators. Four of them were deliberately set up by him. He gained enlightenment in front of the evil cultivators, and then took advantage of their surprise attacks to kill them."

"He's about to kill you, why are you still saying this!!!"

"Don't worry, I have the protection he left on me, so it's okay."

“But I don’t have any!!!”

"No, you do."

Su Chenyu stood in front of Chen Yunli, facing the impending blade, and said calmly, "Luo Qifang, why did you draw your sword against Mr. Yunli?"

Chen Yunli: “?”

Sir, are you awake?

But what Chen Yunli hadn't anticipated was that Su Chenyu's nonsensical, low-pitched words actually stopped the two terrifying attacks piercing the sky and earth. A moment later, the blades shattered, turning into streams of light like snowflakes that fell.

Luo Qifang held the knife in both hands, her blank gaze passing through the light particles and falling on the two people. She swayed her body in a trance, not knowing what was happening.

Chen Yunli: Doubting life.

Su Chen Yu: Everything is under control.