After going through many trials and tribulations with Jimo Shu and gradually getting used to each other, and walking in the forest for about half an hour, Yun Xian finally figured out a little bit about her.
According to the life story of Jimo Shu in the storybook, she was a baby girl picked up by the leader of the Demon Cult from an extremely cold place. It was an unlucky year, and it happened to be a rare year of frost. The river had long been frozen, and all the surrounding grass and trees were frozen to death. She was put in a wooden barrel and floated downstream on the ice, without making a sound.
Such a legendary life story is much more impressive than Yun Xian's birth where three pigs were killed by lightning.
Many other members of the Demon Sect joined the sect halfway through, but Jimo Shu grew up in the Demon Sect since childhood. This year is her first time to come out and play, so it is inevitable that her way of looking at things is a little different from that of ordinary people.
For example, the catchphrase "I'll peel off your skin" is very authentic to the style of the cult.
Most people rarely get the chance to observe the Saint Maiden up close without getting beaten up, not even Zhong Changyao. Yun Xian, taking advantage of the fact that she couldn't hit him at the moment, stared at her with a piercing gaze, until Jimo Shu was annoyed: "What are you looking at?"
"Nothing, just take a look." Yun Xian said, "I'm free anyway."
Jimo Shu: "You really live up to your name."
Another strange-looking monster pounced down from the vines. Jimo Shu moved her fingertips and dragged out the same monster that she had hidden tightly. The silk fluttered and broke its neck directly.
Her spiritual energy exuded a chill, clearly of water nature. As Yun Xian watched, he suddenly felt that she looked more like a forest ice and fire person.
Jimo Shu is the water baby, and she is the fire baby.
"These monsters are hiding more and more tightly." Silk flew back, and Jimo Shu frowned and said, "There's still a section of the road ahead where we can't find the corresponding switch. No matter how hard we fight, this illusion will only repeat itself over and over again, and we can't find the exit."
She is a post-natal demon, and her understanding of illusions is definitely much higher than Yun Xian's. Since she said so, then it is correct.
This section was more like a repetitive loop. Pushing the door became increasingly difficult, and the two of them were struggling more and more. Yun Xian, panting, killed a monster that had begun to attack from behind, and wiped his sweat, saying, "No, no, we can't go on like this."
"No, what's wrong? It's only been a short time." Jimo Shu said, "This is the only way now."
"Let's rest for a while and think of a solution later." Yun Xian sat down on a rock and said, "If we keep going this way, I suspect the monsters will start using tools."
Looking at this speed of evolution, it is not impossible to stage a "Origin of Species" directly.
Jimo Shu: "..."
She sat on another stone far away with a reserved look on her face, facing Yun Xian.
Yun Xian watched her sit unsteadily, shifting about, looking uncomfortable. He thought, "Saint, you don't know this." Cool clothing might look nice, but it's easy to get tanned, and sitting on the floor is especially uncomfortable. It's best to wear something simple and light when we go outdoors. That way, if it gets dirty, we can just give it to the doctor to wash.
But her relationship with Jimo Shu is not that good now, so she cannot make any suggestions for the time being, lest she be kicked out ten miles away.
Jimo Shu found that this man kept looking at her.
Of course, compared to the gazes of some villains, Yun Xian's was much simpler, even seeming to be eager to try, which made Jimo Shu even more irritated. If someone looked at her with disgust, she would just slap them. Yun Xian was someone you couldn't hit, and you couldn't talk him out of it. He was like a puppy that would deliberately bite people's heels every day for no reason. It was so annoying.
The two of them sat there awkwardly for a while, and Jimo Shu opened her mouth and said, "What do you think about this Great Wilderness Stone Woman?"
Yun Xian actually knew a little bit from reading the storybook, but logically speaking, she shouldn't know anything, so she coughed lightly and said cautiously, "I know a little bit. Saint, how about you?"
Jimo Shu actually knew about it, but logically speaking, she shouldn't know. She raised her chin and said cautiously, "I know a little bit."
Yun Xian probed: "...Then let me speak first?"
Jimo Shu said calmly, "Just say what you want to say."
The weather in the dense forest was pleasant, with verdant foliage blanketing the sky. If you ignored the two conspicuously overlapping suns in the sky, it felt like a relaxing summer retreat. Yun Xian shifted his sitting position, stroking his chin, and feigned a struggle to recall. "Hiss, I heard it from others, too. The Great Wilderness Stone Woman actually existed..."
Five hundred years ago, the Great Wilderness Stone Maiden was born to an ordinary monk couple. Her birth frightened the midwife to death. The tiny baby girl had two heads sprouting from her shoulders. Their faces were identical, but their expressions were distinct. One cried openly, while the other slept peacefully.
Everyone regarded her as a heretic and wanted to kill her, but her mother couldn't bear to give up on her child. She took her to a secluded place deep in the mountains, where she was secluded from the world, never to see anyone except her parents. She raised her until she was eighteen. However, the stone girl was very different from ordinary children. She was a genius in her cultivation, but her mind was like that of a wild animal. She couldn't understand human language, and her likes and dislikes were extreme. After her parents died, no one was able to control her, and she eventually committed a horrible crime.
Not only did he make mistakes, but he also showed no remorse. Even after being caught once, he continued to make them. No matter how you talked to her, she was too arrogant. She even built a palace for herself. In the end, everyone was helpless and could only temporarily seal her in the Four Directions Secret Realm, where she slept under the sand with countless monsters.
Now, five hundred years later, it is reborn from the dirty world again.
"That's all I know." Yun Xian finished speaking and asked, "Where's the Saint?"
Strange, how do you know so much? Jimo Shu frowned and asked tentatively: "Then do you know why the stone girl built this ancient castle?"
Yun Xian really didn’t know about this, she shook her head.
"Although the stone woman can't speak human language, she seems to be very interested in opera." Jimo Shu paused, as if she didn't know how to describe it. "It's not really opera, but some... story about finding someone to perform? It's about someone who has gone through untold hardships and finally achieved enlightenment. She just goes out every day to find good-looking people and bring them to the castle to perform, and she was caught by the decent people."
"I understand." Yun Xian suddenly realized that this was just a way of liking to watch this kind of drama. Humans have an endless yearning for melodrama. "A touching love story, all in the Great Desolate Castle."
Jimo Shu: “…” What he said was obviously correct, but why did it always feel weird?
Yun Xian got the new information and lowered his eyes to think.
The story didn't mention how Liu Shi had gotten into the Great Wilderness Spring, but presumably the Stone Woman hadn't appeared. Otherwise, given her unfathomable strength, she wouldn't have been able to soak in the hot spring, and would have been used directly as hot pot base. But why did the Stone Woman, after appearing, arrest him and Jimo Shu?
His cheeks were burning from the sun, and Yun Xian blocked it with his palms. Sweat was already running down his forehead.
The two suns hanging in the sky became increasingly brighter. Yun Xian raised her eyes, unable to look directly at them. But at that moment, her mind moved, as if she had discovered something.
"Saintess." Yun Xian suddenly pointed to the sky and asked, "When you woke up just now, were these two suns so close to us?"
Jimo Shu was startled by her question, and looked up, hesitantly saying, "It seems... not."
Yun Xian blinked twice and asked again, "Do you still remember the eyes of the stone woman statue?"
Jimo Shu: "Golden double pupils. What's wrong?"
"Nothing." Yun Xian pointed at the two huge suns in the sky and said calmly, "I just found that they look like the eyes of Sister Shi Nu."
She was puzzled. After all, the sun wouldn't stay still, wouldn't it just keep moving closer to people? And the shape of it was strangely similar to double pupils. So, the barren woman had been watching them from the beginning, without moving a muscle.
Jimo Shu: "..."
What?!
Even she, looking up at the overlapping scorching sun, felt the hairs on her arms stand on end.
If these are the eyes of a barren woman, then where are they now? Are they too big for the barren woman, or too small?
Yun Xian stood up, and the two of them raised their heads to look at the sun. It seemed that he had noticed their perception, and the simple trick used to fool people was finally broken. Above the dark sky, two bloodless golden pupils rolled around, looking at the two of them coldly.
"..." Yun Xian whispered to Taiping, "When it comes to eyeballs, you're still better looking."
Taiping said softly, "Get lost! It's already so late!"
"So what if we found it?" Jimo Shu quickly suppressed her discomfort and frowned, "We still can't find the core of the illusion, and we can only be watched. Damn it, if I were a level stronger, breaking it directly wouldn't be a problem."
"Actually..." Yun Xian said excitedly, "According to her preferences, we just need to go through a few more hardships and then act like we've achieved a happy ending. Barren women don't just watch love stories, after all. A happy ending doesn't necessarily mean being a couple, it can also mean being good friends! When the time comes, we can just stand shoulder to shoulder, hold hands, and if that doesn't work, kiss each other on the cheek, isn't that all that matters? Saint, don't you think that makes sense?"
She looked at Jimo Shu with a smile.
Jimo Shu: "Do you want to die?"
Yun Xian: "I was just kidding. Hahaha!"
This approach was quickly rejected.
Yun Xian continued to think, his toes rubbing against the grass, making a rustling sound. After a quarter of an hour, he finally raised his eyes again. His expression was extremely solemn, and he said to Jimo Shu, "I understand."
"This illusion has a mysterious form, vaguely symmetrical yet simultaneously intersecting and confronting. This dynamic reminds me of the Taoist Tai Chi of black and white. Tai Chi gives rise to two opposites, two opposites give rise to four images, and four images give rise to the eight trigrams. The stone woman's two heads are also one yin and one yang, one positive and one negative. If there is a weak point, it's the fish eyes on either side."
Seeing her talking so freely, Jimo Shu looked at her strangely and asked, "Do you also study Taoism?"
"I am not talented." Yun Xian said calmly, "Retreat, avoid, be gentle, restrained, simple, and clumsy. I have always vowed to use these six words as the foundation of my life."
I originally thought she was an unlearned swordsman, but now it seems she actually has some background. Jimo Shu glanced at her and said, "Hmm."
Yun Xian let out a breath.
Fortunately, she didn't ask any further questions. If she had asked any further questions, it would have been difficult to avoid the question. The only thing she knew about Taoism was Tai Chi. When she talked about Taoism, she thought of Tai Chi. When she talked about Tai Chi, she thought of Tai Chi Chuan. When she talked about Tai Chi Chuan, she thought of cutting a big watermelon in half, giving one to you and the other to it... I've gone off topic. Now is not the time to think about these things.
It seemed that she had not seen the scene she wanted to see. The stone girl was a little dissatisfied. Her golden pupils rolled, and the next moment, countless monsters around her came out in droves, which was quite similar to the style of the author back then. If there were no obstacles, they would create obstacles for the two of them.
The beasts roared and rushed forward one after another. Jimo Shu was obviously a man of action. No matter whether Yun Xian was right or not, she would give it a try first. She summoned silk and shouted, "Hold them back, don't kill them. I can sense the fluctuations of spiritual energy. If I can find the eye you mentioned, we can both attack together. Remember to use all your strength!"
At this point, the demon beast's cultivation level was no longer what it had been at the beginning. Jimo Shu was at the Nascent Soul stage, so dragging it down was easy, but it was a bit more difficult for Yun Xian. However, the two of them were facing each other in the secret realm. If Yun Xian couldn't hold on, only Jimo Shu would be hurt. She wiped the remaining blood on Qi Shuang with her fingertips and said, "I understand."
Jimo Shu had already prepared herself for injury, but she was slightly surprised to see Yun Xian actually holding her own. But she quickly closed her eyes and focused her mind, a faint purple aura emanating from her brows as she concentrated on her surroundings.
As expected, the countless monsters that followed were merely shadowy figures that merged with the illusion. Only the pupils in the sky had a strong aura that almost burned her. Jimo Shu dodged, frowned, and looked at the scene before her again.
At the junction of the left and right realms, a void was unusually still. No matter what spiritual energy came near it, it would be silently swallowed up. Jimo Shu suddenly opened her eyes, and a ray of light struck her like lightning: "Here!"
Hearing the order, Yun Xian dodged the sharp claws of the monster in front of him, and pointed the sword with the hilt clanging.
The two collided, making a huge roar.
When the dust cleared, the familiar ancient forest remained before my eyes.
"No?!" Jimo Shu asked in astonishment, "Why?"
The entire illusion began to tremble constantly, as if the master of the illusion was a little angry. Stones stood tall under their feet, the grass and trees withered, and the sky suddenly became dim. In the midst of the restless group of monsters, the two were somewhat powerless and were soon injured again.
Yun Xian turned and looked at the place where Qi Shuang pointed. There was a halo of light there. She suddenly remembered something and started muttering again.
Jimo Shu thought the man was chanting some kind of spell, so she listened carefully: "A big watermelon, a big watermelon... and what about two halves..."
Jimo Shu was confused: "?"
What the hell is this?
"Found it." After Yun Xian finished speaking, his expression became serious. He quickly drew his sword and struck in the direction opposite to the void!
During the movement, their backs couldn't help but stick tightly together. Since they couldn't touch each other, Jimo Shu didn't notice it, nor did she dodge, let alone try to skin Yun Xian. One of them faced east, the other faced west, and they both used their weapons together, with extraordinary tacit understanding.
Jimo Shu said: "Use all your strength! It's almost broken!"
"I'm already using all my strength!" Yun Xian was exerting all his strength, his face wrinkling with the effort, but he hadn't yet fully expressed his words: "See, I told you I have a strong connection with Taoism, really..."
If the clothes can be more coordinated, the picture effect may be better.
The core was broken, but the stone girl's pupils were fixed on it without moving, and then she let out a sigh of unusual satisfaction.
Break it, break it.
Five hundred years, it’s been five hundred years!
As soon as she came out, there were so many people for her to choose from that the barren woman was almost dazzled. Except for the first one who rushed up to recommend himself, who was too masculine for her taste and was rejected, the others were all extremely handsome. She didn't know which one to choose.
So troubled.
Choose a red one and then a blue one. They have opposite spiritual properties, so the show will look better this way.
Sure enough, she has good aesthetic taste.
Finished. The stone woman held her chin and looked at the two unconscious little people in her palm. She pinched Yun Xian's ponytail, lifted him up, and threw him into the spring behind her.
She tried to pinch Jimo Shu again, but as soon as her fingertips moved, Jimo Shu's clothes were torn, and her spring light suddenly... burst out. The stone girl paused for a moment, silently picked up a piece of cloth from the side, wrapped Jimo Shu into a cocoon, and then casually threw her next to Yun Xian.
Huh? This person is clearly of water attribute, so why is there a spark of fire in his dantian?
The stone woman's brain had been working slowly after being buried for five hundred years. She couldn't think of anything, so she gave up thinking about it and prepared to go out and grab two people to play with.
She hissed and went out. The Great Wilderness Spring that so many monks flocked to was like a pool of bath water to her. She had no interest in it at all.
After the stone woman turned and left, a natural barrier slowly rose from the Great Wilderness Spring, enveloping the two people inside and sinking them into the center of the earth.
In fact, five hundred years ago, the stone woman went to capture people and brought them back to perform a show. After the show, not only would she not beat them to death, she would also reward them with some things for them to take back. However, because she looked too terrifying and often scared people to death, she was noticed by the righteous.
When Yun Xian woke up, she had been immersed in the spring water for an unknown amount of time. The spiritual energy was seeping into her seven orifices and five organs bit by bit. The Taiping Sword in her left palm was ecstatic, and she wanted to open her mouth and shout, and a string of gurgling bubbles came out.
Although the wild spring looks brown and very sticky, it actually flows over the body and is no different from ordinary spring water, and is even colder and clearer.
Yun Xian's first reaction when he woke up was to check his golden elixir.
Huh? He's almost halfway to the Nascent Soul stage?
Yun Xian sat there, lost in thought.
Humph, I'm leveling up in my dreams... No, this is a bit too fast! No wonder Liu Shi treated it as a treasure and tried so hard to grab it. The increase in fire attribute of this Great Wilderness Spring is a bit too terrifying, comparable to several magical herbs, and the spiritual energy is also very pure, without any refinement.
After checking the golden elixir, the next step is to look around.
Yun Xian turned around and saw Jimo Shu floating slightly beside him. The girl's clothes were all shredded, and she was simply wrapped in a few pieces of cloth. She had her eyes tightly closed, and her long, jet-black hair was scattered, floating in the spring like seaweed.
She is so beautiful that she is almost a demon.
It has to be said that Jimo Shu is the most beautiful person she has ever seen. If Qiao Lingshan were to get close to her, she might just chat with her for a few words and then pull out the portrait of the senior brother and start looking at it without saying a word. But Yun Xian always feels that it is a bit weird now.
Um?
By the way, shouldn’t it be the male lead’s role at this time?
Where is Zhong Changyao?
In the storybook, Jimo Shu would not come here.
Spiritual energy was still rushing into Yun Xian's dantian, solidifying her foundation bit by bit. Yun Xian felt her brain was a little dull, unable to think of anything. Was it her problem, or some aftereffect?
At this moment, Jimo Shu opened her eyes.
The two looked at each other.
Jimo Shu opened her mouth and said, "You're here too?"
Okay, Yun Xian now knows that it is not her problem, because it seems that Jimo Shu’s brain symptoms are more serious than hers.
Jimo Shu also sat up, and the two of them sat blankly in the desolate spring filled with abundant spiritual energy, staring silently into the distance.
Yun Xian's thoughts could stop, but his mouth could not stop: "Saint, what are you thinking about?"
Jimo Shu: "Is Zhong Changyao dead?"
"..." Yun Xian choked and said, "You are really persistent."
"No, I'm not obsessed." Jimo Shu was rarely so easy to talk to. She bent her knees slightly, her long hair draped over her neck. Her skin was creamy, with patches of black and white. She lowered her eyes and said, "...Actually, the first time I saw him, I realized something was wrong with me."
Yun Xian: "Ah? Tell me in detail."
"Have you ever had this feeling?" Jimo Shu blushed slightly and said, "Every time I'm among the crowd, I can see him at a glance. When I talk to him, my heart beats wildly and my blood boils. If I can't find him, I get anxious and worried."
Yun Xian: "I don't have any."
Jimo Shu said in confusion: "This is the first time in my life that I have felt this way. It is really a mess that I can't even sort out."
Yun Xian: “…” Okay, she didn’t want to hear anything else.
But no matter whether she wanted to listen or not, Jimo Shu would continue, "I really didn't understand, so I asked Niu Baiye, and he said he understood and that this was all normal."
"Niu Baiye?" Yun Xian was puzzled. "Who is he? Why are you spouting nonsense?"
How is this normal? Is this something a normal person would do?
"I always see him at first sight. When we meet, my heart races, my blood rushes to my head. If I can't find him, I get anxious and worried. Niu Baiye said that this is how he felt when he saw the butcher slaughtering 300 cows in the slaughterhouse. He's absolutely right." Jimo Shu said slowly and sinisterly, "From this, I understand. It turns out that the lingering annoyance that bothers me is murderous intent. I want to kill Zhong Changyao, now, immediately!"
Yun Xian: “…………”
Jimo Shu: "What? Do you have other ideas?"
Yun Xian: "What I mean is that Niu Niu is right!"
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