Soul Lamp

After receiving Lin Yunwang's reply, Bai Xiyan hurriedly left, as she needed to continue handling the changes to the rules of the Immortal Cultivation Competition.

Only Lin Yunwang, Zhou Hengyan, and the black cat curled up in his arms remained in the courtyard.

"Senior Brother Zhou, what are the plans for today?" Yun Wang asked first.

“Of course I do.” Zhou Hengyan gently stroked the cat in his arms, eliciting a comfortable purr from it. “Let’s go to the Soul Breath Hall first and light the Soul Lamp for you.”

Lin Yun nodded in agreement, and slightly raised the food box in her hand to indicate to him, "Then I'll put it back in the house first." She deliberately found a dark place to properly place the food box.

As dawn broke, most of the snow on the stone steps had disappeared, with only a few remnants remaining.

Last night's rather "peculiar" experience left her uncertain whether the snow-shoveling work was done by magic or by human labor.

On their way to the Soul Rest Hall, the two suddenly heard the sounds of fighting coming from the forest.

Two red figures darted and danced among the bare branches, their bright red garments standing out starkly against the white sky, while the snow on the surrounding trees was shaken off and onto the ground.

Judging from the style of his clothes, he should be a direct disciple of Venerable Yongyun, Lin Yun thought to himself.

According to the list that Sang Zhao wrote for her, she tried to recognize who the two people were, but when she thought of the abstract portraits in the list, she gave up the idea.

Fortunately, Zhou Hengyan spoke up to answer her question at the right time.

“It’s Junior Sister Nangong Suiqing and Junior Brother Liu Wanshi, both disciples of Venerable Yongyun.” Zhou Hengyan leaned closer to Yunwang and whispered, “Junior Sister Nangong is best at sparring with others. If she sets her sights on you, it will take several hours to finish.”

Lin Yun nodded knowingly, his peripheral vision lingering on the two locked in combat. Their moves were ruthless, more like a fight for revenge than a contest.

A chill ran through her, and she instinctively turned her head to the side.

The chilling sword energy barely grazed his earlobe before striking the pine tree in front of him, causing the snow on the tree to cascade down like a waterfall.

The two stopped in their tracks as a result.

"Are you injured?" Zhou Hengyan asked with concern, frowning as he examined her ear.

"It's just a scrape." She subconsciously touched her earlobe, which already had a bloodstain, and felt a slight stinging pain. "It's not really an injury."

The young cultivator's smile vanished instantly. His usually gentle face, now devoid of a smile, appeared unusually intimidating.

The person who unleashed the sword energy was stunned and retorted, "I was just trying to test the skills of my new junior sister."

"Testing?"

Two voices rang out simultaneously, and both Lin Yunwang and Zhou Hengyan frowned deeply.

"That's how it is." Nangong Suiqing shook off Liu Wanshi's hand that was pulling at her sleeve, and walked in red through the snow like a fire burning between heaven and earth. "Now it seems that you are quite skilled. At least your reaction is very fast, much better than that scoundrel Sang Zhao."

Sang Zhao? That guy?

Seeing her disdainful attitude towards her senior brother, Lin Yun's already not-so-pleasant expression turned even colder.

“You violated the sect rules by attacking an unsuspecting fellow disciple.” Zhou Hengyan conjured a talisman out of thin air, steadily supporting the black cat with his right hand while gently crushing the talisman with his left. “I have notified the head of the Discipline Hall that you will receive your punishment at noon today.”

After saying that, ignoring the furious Nangong Suiqing, he turned around and gently helped Lin Yun into his arms, resuming his usual gentle demeanor, and said, "Would you like some hemostatic powder?"

"Thank you for your concern, Senior Brother. I'm fine now." Lin Yun shook his head gently and turned away from Zhou Hengyan's supporting hand.

She bowed and said, "Please continue your conversation, senior brothers and sisters. I need to go to the Soul Breath Tower with Senior Brother Zhou, so I cannot accompany you any longer. I will take my leave now."

Seeing her like this, Zhou Hengyan's smile widened. Did Venerable Yichen not know that he chose his disciples based on their personalities? How come all three of them have such similar temperaments?

He could only learn about 60-70% of that forbearance and tolerance.

Even after walking quite a distance, he could still hear Liu Wanshi's unrestrained mockery behind him, "I told you you'd run into a brick wall!"

Immediately following was the clang of metal on metal mixed with Nangong's angry shouts.

“I overstepped my bounds just now,” Zhou Hengyan’s words interrupted Lin Yunwang’s reverie. “You are new to the sect, so it is more convenient for me, as your senior brother, to handle this matter.”

Lin Yun shook his head, and the blood droplet on his earlobe rolled down onto his shoulder. "I should thank my senior brother for his thoughtfulness."

She carefully recalled her experience, "but that sword energy... seemed more like an accident than intentional."

“Even a mistake should teach a lesson,” Zhou Hengyan said, stopping in his tracks with a slight smile. “Besides, didn’t she admit to attacking a fellow disciple?”

He lowered his head, concealing the sinister look in his eyes: Nangong Suiqing, backed by a powerful immortal cultivation clan, is extremely arrogant and hot-tempered, so she naturally doesn't understand the principle that trouble comes from the mouth, and it's only right that she suffers some hardship today.

The girl touched her earlobe, which was almost fully healed, and chuckled to herself.

The Soul Pavilion has a special location, situated in the back mountain. You could encounter two or three disciples on the way there, but later on, the number of people became increasingly scarce.

As they approached the back of the mountain, Lin Yun could only hear the two of them breathing.

"The Silent Sect currently has 170 inner disciples and 300 outer disciples."

The journey from the residence of the direct disciples to the back mountain could be described as "remote." Along the way, Zhou Hengyan gave her a detailed introduction to the Jingyin Sect, pointing to distant pavilions or nearby gardens.

It was as if the subtle nuances of yesterday's discussion about whether Sang Zhao had explained the Jingyin Sect to her had vanished along with the ice and snow on the stone steps.

The bluestone steps narrowed as they went up, with pine needles on both sides laden with heavy snow.

At the end of the stone steps, there was barely enough room for one person to pass. A warm yellow glow emanated from there, and the temple's guardian disciples stood in front of the mottled vermilion gate, carrying lanterns, as if they had been waiting for hundreds of years.

The Soul Rest Hall sits atop the mountain, with a plaque bearing the three large characters "Soul Rest Hall" hanging high above. Sunlight shines on the gray tiles, and the soaring eaves seem to pierce the blue sky.

The two disciples at the gate were on duty. When they saw Lin and Zhou arrive, they bowed and said, "Uncle Zhou, Aunt Lin."

Seeing a hint of doubt flash across Lin Yun's face, Zhou Hengyan whispered in his ear, "You are a personal disciple. Although you entered the sect late, you have the advantage of seniority."

"If you're wondering how I know you," the young man smiled, his eyes full of amusement, "the oath of brotherhood at the apprenticeship ceremony in the council hall last night caused quite a stir; I'm afraid no one in the cultivation world doesn't know about it now."

Lin Yun recalled the apprenticeship ceremony last night, when the golden binding pattern soared into the sky.

Even though the disciples guarding the hall knew the identities of the two, and because Zhou Hengyan's master, Mingqi, was in charge of the Soul Breath Hall, they still acted in accordance with the rules.

"Please issue an ultimatum, Uncle-Master."

A document was rolled out from Zhou Hengyan's sleeve, bearing the seal of Mingqi's personal approval: "Last night, Venerable Mingqi granted my request to enter the Soul Breath Hall with Junior Sister Yunwang today."

Lin Yun had no idea when he had prepared.

The young disciple lightly touched the document and sensed the unique spiritual energy fluctuations of Mingqi. "It has been verified as correct."

Then, he pushed open the door of the Soul Breath Hall.

The palace doors creaked open, and a wave of heat mixed with candlelight swept in, but there was no incense smoke as I had imagined.

"Don't be alarmed."

The two stepped into the hall together. The moment they crossed the threshold, the scorching heat turned into a bone-chilling coolness. However, their attention was quickly drawn to the soul lamps in the hall, and they unconsciously lost sight of the coldness.

On the staggered wooden frames, hundreds of soul lamps emitted a ghostly blue flame like a galaxy.

Lin Yun immediately noticed the most special one among them, because while the other soul lamps were all dark blue, this one was a vibrant green, swimming like a fish in the blue flames.

“The Soul Breath Palace used to be so heavily guarded, but I heard that many years ago, an incident occurred.” Zhou Hengyan stopped halfway through his sentence, his voice hanging in the air, as if deliberately leaving room for further questions. He had prepared his explanation beforehand, knowing that she wouldn't ask, but still holding onto a faint hope.

What if we make an exception?

As he had initially suspected, she did not investigate further.

The Jingyin Sect cultivator, known for his gentle demeanor, lowered his eyes and smiled softly. The slight sense of loss that had just surfaced in his heart was instantly replaced by a strange sense of comfort.

Zhou Hengyan had only met her a few times, but after spending a few days with her, he had already figured out her temperament very well—she didn't like to owe favors and had a stubborn streak; she didn't pry into other people's past and had an excellent sense of propriety.

This person is truly a perfect match for the Jingyin Sect, as pure and innocent as snow, drifting down to earth.

He felt exceptionally safe and comfortable around Lin Yun.

“Then I will take a wisp of your spiritual power and place it in this soul lamp.” Zhou Hengyan composed himself and found a blank soul lamp from somewhere, which he held up in front of Lin Yunwang.

This method is unique to the Mingqi school and is not passed on to outsiders.

"good."

He pointed his finger at Lin Yunwang's brow. Lin Yunwang tried to relax his body, letting Zhou Hengyan's spiritual power slowly seep into his sea of ​​consciousness, like a cold wind blowing into his collar, stirring up a fine shiver.

It is cold.

It sent shivers down my spine and made me feel uneasy; in short, it wasn't comfortable at all.

Lin Yun unconsciously clenched the jade pendant at her waist. The front was engraved with the name of the Jingyin Sect, and the back was engraved with the words "Under the Seat of Yichen." It hurt her palm.

She was still trying to relax her body and breathe in and out rhythmically to alleviate the discomfort.

Zhou Hengyan clearly noticed her nervousness, so he comforted her, "Please trust me."

His voice was soft, but his spiritual energy suddenly transformed into thousands of ice needles. After a while, Lin Yunwang's sea of ​​consciousness finally adapted to the icy spiritual energy, and his spiritual platform seemed to have found a way to coexist peacefully, no longer resisting it.

"It's done."

Hearing this voice, she opened her eyes. She had kept them closed for a long time, and was still a little uncomfortable when she suddenly opened them. Zhou Hengyan turned to the side to block some of the light emitted by the soul lamp.

"Look, this is your unique soul lamp. It is connected to your lifeline; it burns when you are alive, and it goes out when you die. If you are seriously injured, it will turn as dark as ashes." Zhou Hengyan held the soul lamp in his palm and introduced it to her.

She observed it carefully, never expecting this tiny soul lamp to be so magical. Blue ghostly flames danced within it, as if her own pulse and heartbeat were beating within it.

"This is actually the first time I've lit a soul lamp for someone else." Zhou Hengyan ultimately didn't say this aloud.

He was simply surprised that, unlike what his master had described as an extremely difficult process of absorbing spiritual energy, the whole process was quite smooth.

"May our soul lamps burn forever." Lin Yun whispered solemnly to the soul lamp, his meaning most deeply felt by Zhou Hengyan beside him.

The prayer startled him, then he burst out laughing.

This person would say the same thing, whether it were Zhou Hengyan or anyone else here. But now, the one included in his wish is him, not someone else.

Seeing Yun looking at him suspiciously, he lowered his eyes and prayed.

In the flickering lamplight, he silently recited an even more greedy vow.

May those blue flames arise in pairs, burning through countless ages, piercing the long road of reincarnation, and never be extinguished.