The next morning, when Shen Changlin woke up again, Ruan Qingan was not in the guest room. Instead, he got up, sat cross-legged on the bed, and looked somewhat solemn.

"What exactly is that..."

Shen Changlin murmured to himself, instinctively feeling as if something had appeared in his mind.

Especially last night, before Ruan Qingan arrived, the middle-aged man named Han Chang seemed to want to kill him from a distance. Shen Changlin felt a splitting headache at that moment, as if he could be killed on the spot by Han Chang's gaze!

But for some reason, Shen Changlin found that he was not dead. It was as if something had protected his mind and he was not in any danger.

While trying to recall—

Shen Changlin felt as if he had fallen into a vast ocean, and above the surface was a black, thread-like mist.

This is his sea of ​​consciousness.

Shen Changlin had an instinctive realization: this was the place where the soul was nurtured in the mind, the foundation of a cultivator, and the place that needed to be occupied if one wanted to seize another's body.

However, the center of his consciousness was occupied by a mysterious black mist.

Shen Changlin subconsciously wanted to explore, but the next moment, the black mist instantly spread and filled his entire sea of ​​consciousness in the blink of an eye!

"ah--"

A sharp pain suddenly struck!

Shen Changlin couldn't help but gasp in shock, curling up on the bed, trembling all over in pain, his face almost deathly pale.

After the pain subsided, Shen Changlin's consciousness seemed to sink into the sea.

When he came to his senses again, he had already broken free from the darkness. Suddenly, a bloody scene appeared before his eyes, like a mountain of corpses and a sea of ​​blood. It was even less tragic than the scene in the village before!

"Shen Changlin, stop running away."

Just then, a familiar voice came. He looked over instinctively and found that the person walking out from the overwhelming blood was Ruan Qing'an, who was holding a knife in one hand. At her feet were dismembered limbs and corpses, and wisps of black energy emanated from her body.

Ruan Qing'an's face was cold and indifferent, almost devoid of any human warmth, and he seemed completely unconcerned about the wreckage scattered on the ground.

Shen Changlin was almost speechless. What was going on?!

Immediately afterwards—"Ruan Qing'an" flashed and attacked suddenly. Shen Changlin instinctively tried to dodge, but found that the body he was possessing was already riddled with holes and covered with knife marks.

Just a moment's pause, and a sudden pain shot through my heart!

The woman standing very close to him had a cold face, but her eyes were full of ruthlessness and madness: "The human pill made from a naturally born Dao body will definitely allow my talent to advance further, and I may even break through."

"Therefore, please go and take a trip to the Yellow Springs!"

The dark blue longsword was held in "Ruan Qing'an's" hand and pierced through his heart. Shen Changlin's vision blurred with pain, and his life force slowly drained away. He didn't even have the strength to resist...

Why?

Elder Ruan...why did she want to kill me?

His life force completely drained away and vanished. This was the first time Shen Changlin had tasted death, and it was before his soul completely dissipated—

A voice rang out, and it sounded somewhat similar to his.

“She’s coming back soon. I have to disappear. Remember, don’t trust Ruan Qing’an. She will kill you in the future.”

Shen Changlin suddenly opened his eyes, his whole body drenched in sweat. He was still lying in bed, but he felt as if he had died once, perhaps he really had died once when he was pulled into that illusion!

He was breathing heavily, and it took him a while to sit up.

"Don't trust her, she'll kill me?"

Shen Changlin murmured the words he had just heard, his eyes icy cold. Suddenly, he scoffed, "What a joke."

Suddenly fell into a coma, and it's been like this ever since.

Shen Changlin knew he definitely had secrets, but he didn't entirely trust Ruan Qing'an to reveal such confidential matters; there was no guarantee that trouble wouldn't arise. But—

Regardless, Ruan Qing'an was his savior and the one who led him into the Dao. So what was that thing in his mind?

I almost killed him in the illusion!

Shen Changlin, his face cold and displeased, uttered a few words: "What the hell? You're really sick!"

The black mist in my mind: ...

After confirming that there were no immediate problems, Shen Changlin sat up. Fortunately, it was just an illusion, and he felt no discomfort or injury. He breathed a sigh of relief.

Shen Changlin hadn't seen Ruan Qing'an for a long time. Although those people from yesterday had been driven away, he still preferred to be cautious.

So after washing up briefly, I left the guest room.

As he went downstairs, he saw the waiter cleaning the table. Upon seeing this, Shen Changlin casually asked him a question.

"Waiter, have you seen that girl from yesterday?"

Are you referring to that gentleman?

Upon hearing this, the waiter instinctively pointed in a direction.

Upon hearing this, Shen Changlin looked in the direction he was pointing and saw Ruan Qing'an standing on the street outside the inn, holding a string of candied hawthorns in her hand. Her eyebrows were furrowed and her expression was somewhat solemn.

I recalled that inexplicable thought that had crossed my mind.

Shen Changlin then realized that it seemed Elder Ruan could grasp his situation even when he wasn't in front of him.

Suppressing the restless thoughts in his mind, he stepped forward with a long and composed demeanor.

Putting aside his many scheming thoughts, the young man appeared quite innocent, with clear eyes, and called out affectionately, "Elder Ruan."

"You've arrived."

Ruan Qingan was not surprised, and simply nodded slightly.

When Shen Changlin came to her side, he remembered that Ruan Qing'an had been looking at candied hawthorns all night, and couldn't help but ask, "Elder Ruan, do you like candied hawthorns?"

"no."

Ruan Qingan shook his head and looked at the candied hawthorn.

Knowing that she was not talkative, Ruan Qing'an would only speak a few words when necessary explanations were given or when he asked her directly.

The bright red hawthorns were coated in a glossy sugar coating.

Shen Changlin countered with, "Because it looks good."

The woman beside him remained silent, only nodding. Her rosy lips parted slightly as she took a bite of the candied hawthorn on top. The next moment, her brows furrowed even more: "Sour."

"Elder Ruan, this is hawthorn, of course it's not sweet."

"The vendor said it's sweet."

Upon hearing this, Shen Changlin couldn't help but chuckle. Seeing her furrowed brows, seemingly puzzled, he hadn't expected that she—who had taken down an elder with a single strike last night, and who wore a cold exterior—would now appear somewhat dazed, truly resembling a fairy, untouched by worldly concerns.

Hearing Shen Changlin laugh, Ruan Qing'an glanced at him.

The next moment, her attitude suddenly became arrogant, her leaden gray eyes devoid of any emotion, her aura fierce: "I have cultivated for a thousand years and have long since abstained from grains. Moreover, mortal food contains impurities, and we cultivators should not indulge in the desires of the palate!"

Looking at her imposing aura, she was aloof and noble.

However—Shen Changlin's gaze fell on the sugar residue at the corner of her lips, immediately shattering her ethereal, aloof demeanor.

Shen Changlin forcefully suppressed the smile on his lips.

The boy looked frightened and obediently said, "Yes, Elder Ruan is right, I will remember it."

Seeing this, Nguyen Thanh An nodded in satisfaction.

After seeing her continue to struggle with the hawthorn with her head down, Shen Changlin couldn't help but chuckle and shake his head, wondering who was younger.

He subconsciously recalled the images he had seen in his mind before.

It can't be true, this person... really doesn't seem like it.

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