Chapter 191 The Fire Cannot Be Extinguished.
While the battlefield was raging fiercely, in a courtyard somewhere in the mountains, the moonlight, colder than usual, streamed through the window.
In the distance, the sounds of burning could be clearly heard, but the heat did not reach the room at all; only a cold and desolate atmosphere remained.
For the first time in a long time, Qiao Yanshen was separated from her natal sword, and she was extremely uneasy. The words Yue Qifeng and Yun Zhixiao had spoken to her before leaving still echoed in her ears:
"Your current condition is unstable, so it's best not to use your spiritual power; moreover, your usual sword is not here, which would be very dangerous."
"Yes, the demon's black mist can corrupt cultivators, so you will only sink deeper. Go to True Monarch Nine Branches."
They spoke as if to reassure her, their gentle smiles masking the suffocating pressure they felt. Their words were devoid of pretense, only genuine concern.
Yun Zhixiao added with a smile, "Ah Feng also said that he would wait until he reaches the Nascent Soul Realm before having another match with you."
Although Qiao Yanshen agreed, he did not intend to leave.
But they were right. He didn't have his sword at hand, and his cultivation had only reached the early stage of the Nascent Soul Realm. In addition, his condition had not improved. He coughed up blood again in the tower prison. Fortunately, he wiped the traces clean so that Shen Lixia would not see it.
If you go to the battlefield alone, it's fine, but if your fellow disciples see you, you might become a burden to them.
Just as Yan Xueya said, these people could not bear to stand by and watch their comrades die.
Correspondingly, she was unwilling to leave.
However, their masters and the others...
Having been trapped for so long—no, upon closer reflection, less than an hour has passed since the barrier shattered.
So this is what the night is like?
But even more than all of this, there was something else that weighed heavily on her mind. Although she was confident that her junior sister would be alright, an uncontrollable worry lingered within that confidence, like a furry little animal that both tickled her heart and gnawed at her otherwise calm thoughts, causing Qiao Yanshen to make judgments that went beyond her original rationality.
She suddenly remembered what Luo Yang had said to her during the half of the game she had missed.
Since she has intricate connections with the demon race, even if the overwhelming demonic energy doesn't make her feel like a fish in water, it should at least not affect her like the previous ones.
The last vestige of divine consciousness...
Once she used it, there was no going back; she had to say goodbye to the past and to Luo Yang.
Qiao Yanshen's hands rested on the table, unconsciously clenching into fists. The sudden surge of anger, regret, and resentment, mixed with knife-like pain, appeared so pale against the warm and light colors of his memories.
The overflowing spiritual energy caused the desk to tremble.
Soon after she could remember, Luo Yang appeared in her dreams. Dreams with her were always incredibly vivid; every smile, every frown, every movement, every stillness—even amidst a vast expanse of white, she could feel the coolness emanating from her. As a child, Qiao Yan deeply loved this coldness, for it was the only thing she could feel from Luo Yang.
She kept this as her secret, and had shared it with children her age—stories always say that sharing secrets signifies closeness. However, from the strange looks she received, Qiao Yanshen understood.
No one could have such a vivid dream, so vivid that they could accurately describe even the other person's aura and gentle voice. Not to mention their repeated conversations and the words she used to guide Qiao Yanshen's cultivation.
How could a normal person experience or even remember these things?
It was then that Qiao Yanshen realized that perhaps this was a part of herself, perhaps she was indeed not quite normal, just as her mother would not treat her like an ordinary child.
But the person she called her teacher was very nice.
After each dream involving her ended, Qiao Yanshen always slept better than usual. Luo Yang wouldn't ask pointed questions, wouldn't inquire about matters of the common people and personal feelings like the Dao of Heaven would. She simply said that she hoped Qiao Yanshen could be happy.
In those uneventful years, this dreamlike image carried all the boy's aspirations.
But she was the same person as herself, and she was already dead—not even yesterday, but thousands of years ago.
Her nowhere to go, her dashed hopes, her bewildered love...
It was reduced to ashes by such facts.
In retrospect, Luo Yang wasn't actually telling a self-deceiving lie. A person's eyes don't lie; after the white mist on her face was brushed away, Luo Yang's eyes were filled with an inescapable sorrow.
The pale blue hue reflected Qiao Yanshen's figure, as if depicting her entire world with light strokes.
She genuinely hoped that Qiao Yanshen could be safe and happy.
Qiao Yan closed his eyes, feeling that everything was so absurd it was almost laughable.
The inkstone beside the table, unable to withstand the jolt, fell abruptly to the ground with a clear thud. The ink residue was shaken out, scattering into a few stained, withered petals.
His mind suddenly shifted, and the reluctance of the final farewell ultimately overwhelmed everything else. Qiao Yanshen lowered his head, clenched his fist against his heart, bit his lips until they turned white, and stray hairs fell down, obscuring his eyes.
He shouldn't have done that. He shouldn't have avoided her at the last moment—the childish resentment that unconsciously surfaced in front of Luo Yang interrupted their last chance to say a proper goodbye.
Looking back now, I wish I had been kinder to her.
Even if they resent her for not being completely honest, and resent the many past debts that followed, they are still...
One soul.
No matter how you cut them, they are inseparable until the other one disappears completely.
Luo Yang is already on the verge of disappearing.
However, Qiao Yanshen could no longer bear to lose the most important person in his life once again.
I don't know if I can go back, Mother... I may never see her again.
All that remained were Shen Lixia and Yan Xueya. She couldn't bear to see either of them fall into danger. Qiao Yanshen's gaze shifted to the bright moonlight on the ground, and a faint halo of spiritual energy began to emanate from her body. As her resolve solidified, she felt a deep yet comforting coolness in her sea of consciousness.
At this moment, the coolness awakened, silently unleashing an extremely powerful aura.
It was as if she heard Luo Yang beside her, praising her softly as he had when they were children.
She gripped that wisp of divine consciousness tightly, turned around, quickened her pace, and resolutely pushed open the door. The special resonance between herself and Shen Lixia told Qiao Yanshen the direction, allowing her to quickly know the other party's approximate location.
On the outer territory, the sky was almost completely illuminated.
A raging fire was burning in the valley, which was usually filled with spiritual energy.
The young children were all rescued, leaving only the farmers trapped in the inferno, their fates unknown. Some chose to use their spiritual energy as a catalyst, burning away their cultivation to self-destruct and buy time, while others fought to the bitter end, finally falling to the enemy's cold blades.
No one left.
Fortunately, the children they protected with their lives escaped safely—the demons who chased after them were all hindered by a burning crimson shadow, making it impossible for them to move an inch, whether in the sky or on the ground.
The figure was like a maddened bird, willing to sacrifice its own life to slaughter all the black-armored soldiers. Arrows continuously burst into brilliant flashes of light in the dark night, and the clear chirping of birds could even be faintly heard.
This is a symbol of resonance with the Five Elements, representing that she has gained the approval of the bird that governs fire.
Brightly colored feathers fluttered down, only to be melted by the flames.
Only when the last wisp of demonic energy was burned away did Shen Lixia stop, landing panting on the ground and folding his wings. The terrifying flames burned, but the boy seemed oblivious, walking into the golden, dazzling curtain of fire.
The scorching heat made the air tremble, and the soft crackling of her skin tearing could be heard constantly. Although spiritual power and divine fire could not keep her safe in this flame of life formed from spiritual power, they could continuously heal these burns.
My vision blurred again and again, and the physiological tears overlapped with the previous tear stains, which stung my skin after drying.
Cannot find it.
The old hut has been searched. The garden has been searched. The caves of varying depths have been searched. Everywhere in the valley has been searched.
She couldn't find it. Even after turning every nook and cranny upside down, she still couldn't find the familiar figure.
Shen Lixia turned around blankly.
There's nowhere left to go.
Where did that kind old man from my memory go?
She took a deep breath and called out the other person's name in vain. She knew in her heart that no one would respond, but she still called out again and again, until her melodious voice became hoarse, without lowering her voice.
Finally, the boy lowered his hand and fell silent. The only response she received was the crackling of the burning flames. They were omnipresent, enveloping her completely.
The firelight reflected in her eyes, as if trying to burn away the brilliant colors completely.
Shen Lixia didn't speak or shed any more tears. She remained silent for a moment before starting to walk again. She had been in too much of a hurry and had forgotten something very important.
Returning along the same path, with a 'I'm sorry' in his heart, the boy collected the bodies of the other managers into a separate mustard seed bag.
It shouldn't be in the fire.
At the very least... they should return to the land they love so dearly. The land that nurtured their lives and gave birth to them.
There's so little she can do.
Shen Lixia walked out of the flames step by step. The fire was still burning, and even grew stronger, as if it were gathering the anger of the dead, trying to devour the twinkling stars in the sky.
She took a few steps, when suddenly she heard someone calling out:
"Leave Xia!"
Shen Lixia subconsciously raised her head, but did not respond; she simply stared at the person who had arrived.
Some of her hair was burned off by the flames, the ends charred black. Her body was a mess, with several minor tears in her clothes revealing deep, bone-revealing wounds. Large patches of blood and still-healing burns were interspersed on the boy's body, gleaming a shocking crimson in the firelight, like a thick fog of blood.
She actually emerged from the flames...
Qiao Yanshen was both shocked and furious. His brows furrowed, and his voice unconsciously rose: "How could you—"
But the dimness in his eyes silenced her. She simply walked up quickly and put her arm around his shoulder. Only then did Shen Lixia realize that she was actually swaying unsteadily, and with a gentle pull, she was buried in Qiao Yanshen's embrace.
The senior sister's white clothes, just like when they first met, were filthy from her.
But Qiao Yanshen didn't mind, he never did.
Shen Lixia bit her lip sadly, realizing that even so she couldn't get up and just wanted to immerse herself in this familiar atmosphere for a short while.
Just as the firelight behind them disappeared, everything that had just happened was merely a nightmare.
She closed her eyes, and tears fell.
"I'm sorry," she said, "but, senior sister..."
Where to begin?
Shen Lixia didn't know either, so she just kept calling out to Qiao Yanshen, and each call was answered by him, like an echo that grew fainter and fainter.
Not long after the last sound dissipated into the air, her tears had already soaked her chin and seeped onto Qiao Yanshen's shoulder.
"Senior sister... I'm so heartbroken."
Qiao Yanshen patted her back and whispered, "I know...I know."
Without needing to say a word, she could already sense Shen Lixia's feelings.
The scalding heat burned Qiao Yanshen as well, but she did not let go of him. Instead, she hugged Shen Lixia even tighter.
She knew she needed her—Shen Lixia needed her very much at that moment.
They didn't have much time to remain silent.
The heatwave continued to spread, but they did not choose to extinguish it, allowing the flames lit by the sacrifice of others to continue quietly through the long night.
The two intertwined figures slowly separated.
Shen Lixia forcefully wiped away her tears, barely managing to hold back her sobs, and said firmly:
"Let's hurry and go find Senior Sister Tang and the others."
All the children have left; all that remains is the town's defense.
Qiao Yanshen nodded. "Okay."
The iron sword she used long ago had been damaged, and after Yu Feng arrived, she hadn't bought a new one. Now that had become a problem; although running here hadn't taken much effort, it was still too slow.
Shen Lixia summoned Liu Huo, stepped onto it, and then turned around: "If Senior Sister doesn't mind, please ride with me first."
Under the moonlight, the fiery blade shimmered with tiny, glittering lights.
On the way to the town, Shen Lixia briefly told her about the situation and Si Liuhua's matter.
Qiao Yan thought to himself, it seems that many things always go in this cycle.
Whether she now stands on her junior sister's sword, or the slaughtered eventually become the executioner.
The wind howled, and the once prosperous and peaceful Emperor Taihui was being rapidly crushed by the flames of war, turning into a desolate ruin where countless lives were lost.
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Author's note: I reread it once.
Could it be that the writing in the previous life was vague and ambiguous?
To put it simply, Luo Yang woke up when her senior sister was very young. As a remnant of her consciousness, she taught her senior sister and gradually began to communicate with her as she recovered. However, after this divine consciousness was exhausted, she became a part of her senior sister forever.
That's roughly the kind of relationship we have.
Xiao Niao's situation is a bit special because Hua Ying initially resisted becoming a part of her, and even resisted Xia's entire existence. However, they reconciled along the way. The two will meet again in special ways, but not often.
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