Chapter 37: Kobayashi Settles Down and Joins the Team!
In the heart of the deserted area, the flowing water surges mightily, and the aura of a blade lies across the center, making the surrounding desolation all the more apparent.
A person knelt on one knee before the cold corpse of a cultivator, reached out to feel its life veins, and then touched the other's forehead with their fingertips. The pure white spiritual energy, like a thread, seeped into the skin, and echoed, indicating that the inner part of the body was empty.
They no longer possess the three souls and six spirits; all have been extracted, and they are no longer subject to reincarnation.
A cultivator's spiritual power comes from heaven and earth, and so does their soul. To remove it is to completely separate this part from the cycle of the Great Dao, which is extremely cruel both morally and in terms of the Dao itself.
The only people capable of doing this, aside from those filled with deep hatred, are demonic cultivators.
Si Changxi reached out and closed his lifeless eyes. Immediately, the grass below stirred and the soil slowly sank until it swallowed the cultivator's broken body.
We arrived too late.
The spiritual energy fluctuations lingered here, disappearing without a trace. Si Changxi stood up, staring intently at the enormous lake before him. He swung his sword at the flowing water, and a sword aura forcefully cleaved through countless waves, creating a magnificent spectacle.
Among them, the aura belonging to that person shattered into countless pieces, clearly visible in her extraordinary eyes, like scattered stars in the long night.
A sigh escaped her lips, and her voice was swallowed by the falling rain in the lake.
"It really was you..."
Meanwhile, as Si Liuhua descended the mountain path, she gazed back towards the heart of the land, as if a familiar presence was emanating from that direction. A summer breeze brushed her jade-like face, failing to stir even a ripple in her dark, emotionless eyes.
In the blink of an eye, she turned and followed Wu Zhuyue, who was hacking away at the clumps of weeds with her sword, down the mountain. Wu Zhuyue had recovered from her earlier state and was now battling the plants on the long-untroubled path. Logically, sword-wielding would be easier, but if she did, those hawk-like eyes would surely notice something amiss.
I'm sorry, I can't wait for you this time either, Changxi.
She silently apologized to the still-childish boy in her memory, and then erased his image from her mind.
On the back side of the main peak of Taihui, the clouds and mist dissipated in a wide open space, and the figures of three teenagers gradually became clear.
Lin Yuxian placed her hand on a stone tablet beside him, connected with it by spirit, and then turned to ask Shen Lixia, "Do you need anything extra?"
Shen Lixia looked puzzled. "What else could it be?"
The boy turned his gaze to the stone tablet, closed his eyes, and sensed the information transmitted through their connected divine senses. He explained it to the two of them one by one: "You can set mechanisms and traps. There are also some basic weapons hidden here. If needed, you can summon one and choose to use it. In addition, you can simulate environments, such as frost-covered areas or secret forests... Spirit beasts are also possible, but they can only reach the Nascent Soul stage at most, and they are too rare to find, such as phoenixes or ancient ferocious beasts..."
Before the two could ask, she seemed very familiar with the place and said a lot, leaving Shen Lixia speechless, while Qiao Yanshen had already begun to record the wonders of the place.
"Do you come here often? Just how many ungrateful bastards in this sect are constantly causing trouble...?"
Lin Yuxian tilted her head slightly, a hint of smugness in her eyes, and said, "This is because the formation here was personally set up by True Monarch Jiuzhi. Its principles are complex and profound. Later, it was modified by other True Monarchs, eventually becoming a simulated trial ground. In addition, the sect's protective formation was also set up by True Monarch Jiuzhi. It is said to be as solid as a rock, possessing the stability of the Xuanwu, and even if all the power of the alien races were used, it would be difficult to break... Of course, True Monarch Jiuzhi has many other formations. The Yingyue Hall on Jade Balance Peak is named after one of his formations—the Yingyue Formation..."
The two did not interrupt the black-clad boy in front of them. They listened to her rejoice at the result she had long predicted when she reached the key point, and saw her look of disappointment when she mentioned the inability to test, the lack of venue and opponents. Her emotions fluctuated, and she could not suppress her various thoughts. Although she did not say it, they had already understood it all invisibly.
The sunlight shone down, illuminating her hair, the corners of her eyes, and her cheeks, revealing a stubborn expression beneath her childishness.
As she finished speaking, she belatedly realized she had said too much. She raised her hand to pat her cheek and coughed lightly. "No one is provoking us. I just come here to take a look when I have nothing to do. Most of the grudges among the disciples in the sect are settled privately, and few are brought up to the arena to decide."
Shen Lixia nodded, "Nothing needs to be added, just start attacking."
She wanted to see what ordinary array formations looked like—after all, the Great Dream Array was an exception, unusable in combat and only a special illusion; while Lin Yuxian was a genuine array cultivator, and she wondered what kind of array formation she would use to fight.
Qiao Yanshen retreated to the side and sat in the audience seats. After the two of them had distanced themselves and stood facing each other, he used his spiritual power to transmit his voice:
"start."
Suddenly, Shen Lixia drew her sword and swung it at Lin Yuxian. In an instant, a talisman appeared at the tip of her finger. The extremely complex and obscure runes on it shone brightly as spiritual power was poured in. Then the talisman shattered, and threads surged out, wrapping around Shen Lixia's side and forming a gust of wind in an instant.
Setting up an array normally takes time, but Lin Yuxian had inscribed the array into talismans beforehand, so it could be activated simply by injecting spiritual power. Furthermore, the main peak was a place abundant in spiritual power within the sect, making the array even easier to deploy. Shen Lixia suddenly felt a flash before her eyes, and the figure of the black-clad youth was already several steps away from her, as if time itself had slowed down beside her. She looked down to find the source of the restraint and saw runes spreading out beneath her feet, shimmering with a dim yellow light.
Lin Yuxian raised her hand and formed a hand seal. The previously fixed runes suddenly changed direction and intertwined into another pattern. Shen Lixia suddenly felt a chill on the back of her neck. She immediately channeled her spiritual power, and a faint red light covered the sword. When she swung it, it flowed like a flame, forcefully cutting through a sharp aura that was rushing towards her.
This aura was extremely sharp. Rather than being ruthless enough to take a person's life directly, it contained a hidden killing intent within its gentleness, like a hidden weapon that suddenly revealed a sliver of cold light in a blooming bouquet.
When Shen Lixia felt a familiarity when the second such aura struck her, she thought carefully and realized she had only ever seen this aura emanate from one other person—
Sword energy.
It was originally a sword formation.
Before she could react, several sword energies from the second and fourth directions surged forward, invisible yet trapping her in a cage made of intersecting longswords, rendering her unable to move.
A stinging pain shot through his cheek during one of his dodges, the intense heat almost mingling with the wetness of the liquid sliding down his face. After deflecting a sliver of sword energy to create a moment to catch his breath, the boy's body shimmered with fiery red light, and the air around him seemed to instantly transform into tangible ribbons, distorting slightly from its previous calm state and radiating out scorching curves.
The spiritual energy within her body surged like boiling water, its flow through her meridians restless, transforming her body into a cage imprisoning a wild beast. At this moment, the spiritual energy, now imbued with the longsword, was so turbulent that flames erupted. Shen Lixia focused her mind, held her breath, took a slight step back, then raised her arm and brought the sword down in a downward strike.
The sword energy was completely shattered, and the runes were instantly burned away. Tangible flames converged into a long golden-red river that surged towards Lin Yuxian. Her expression hardened, and she narrowly dodged, narrowly missing the flames that almost pierced the sky, the scalding heat brushing against her skin.
The situation changed drastically in an instant. Flames raged, constantly condensing and dissipating from the edge of Shen Lixia's sword, breaking through the array formations in front of them. Lin Yuxian retreated step by step, seemingly dodging with all her might, occasionally using talismans to stop her advance and deflect the oncoming flames. The air temperature rose, and coupled with the already sweltering heat, sweat poured down the faces of those on the field, yet their eyes remained clear and bright.
Two figures maneuvered on the field. Qiao Yanshen, seeing the poor vantage point, flew above on his sword to observe the battle. He then discerned a clue: Lin Yuxian wasn't dodging haphazardly, but rather slowly setting up an array with her spiritual power. At that moment, clouds quietly gathered, and the spiritual energy of heaven and earth surged into the winding runes, illuminating each extremely complex stroke. The runes condensed, flowed, and finally formed a perfect, closed ring, shimmering with white light, like the first rays of the moon appearing at dusk.
And then summer...
Qiao Yanshen frowned slightly. Although her face showed little expression, the trembling of the longsword beneath her revealed her inner thoughts.
In contrast to Lin Yuxian's patient preparation, the other young man currently maneuvering on the field was like the flames surging from the tip of her sword—intense yet fleeting. Each strike, though delivered with all his might, was riddled with flaws, making him a sharp weapon that had lost its target. His spiritual power was strong; even after so many unpredictable and ever-changing flames ignited, they showed no signs of dimming, clearly indicating a solid foundation.
However, such excessive squandering of spiritual energy is still not suitable for the current situation. Qiao Yanshen's eyes followed Shen Lixia's sword movements closely—pick, swing, chop, and slash. The seemingly powerful attacks were difficult to stop, as if they were not sparring but were in the middle of a deadly battle, and he was extremely anxious.
She suddenly realized where the strange feeling in her heart came from.
Shen Lixia was indeed anxious.
From the moment she began to mobilize her spiritual energy, her aura became somewhat disordered. At first, Qiao Yanshen thought she was simply unfamiliar with the situation and needed to adapt; but now, the way she struggled to dodge attacks and fierce assaults within the formation appeared weak and impatient, completely unlike the usual Shen Lixia.
The pupils in his golden eyes had long since shrunk to a vertical line, exuding a chilling aura.
Another spell was quickly erected, this time an earth and stone array. Combined with Lin Yuqian's own spiritual power, several earth pillars rose from the ground, trapping Shen Lixia once again.
Shen Lixia bit her lower lip, her inexplicable irritation and quietly entangled anger driving her spiritual power to surge continuously, causing the iron sword in her hand to be engulfed by flames. As she tensed her arm and exerted force, she unleashed a fierce gust of wind, breaking through layers of earth and stone.
After she broke through the formation, the two were practically inches apart. However, Lin Yuqian showed no sign of panic. A resolute glint flashed in her eyes, and just as Shen Lixia's sword was about to strike, she suddenly disappeared into a surging, thick fog.
The endless mist enveloped the boy's figure, and when it dissipated, a strange phenomenon appeared in the world. Everything had changed in Shen Lixia's eyes. This place was no longer a wide arena, but a quiet yet endless wasteland. The soil was reflected as a snow-white color, and the moonlight transformed into seawater, permeating everything. She looked up and saw a bright full moon hanging high in the night sky. The flow of time around her could no longer be perceived by her, and she was covered in shimmering light, as white as frost.
Her throat was parched, and before she knew it, the light on the longsword in her hand vanished. She realized something was amiss, but it was too late. The moonlight embraced her, drawing away her spiritual power, like blood draining away, causing waves of stinging pain, silently withering her away.
Shen Lixia originally intended to learn new things through friendly sparring. However, after being trapped by various arrays and under the cold moonlight, the burning anger that seemed to burst forth from every bone and blood vessel inexplicably intensified, causing her temples to throb, her breathing to become heavier, and the strength in her hands to become uncontrollable, even making the hilt of her sword creak under the strain.
A surge of heat welled up under her nose. She raised her hand to touch it, and as expected, a patch of bright red blood bloomed on the back of her hand, a shocking sight. The divine fire, unable to be suppressed, burned like a ferocious beast about to break free, first igniting in her chest, forcing her to gasp for breath. Blood flowed into her lips and teeth, and with each rise and fall of her chest, she was filled with the salty, bitter, and sweet smell of blood, almost making her stomach churn.
Suddenly, a gentle voice, tinged with urgency, resounded from her mind:
"Stop overdrawing your spiritual energy and go looking for a way to break the formation—go find the core of the formation. Think about what you did before, Li Xia."
...Is this considered cheating?
"Never mind, with the outside hint that if you, I, and there's no third party involved, it's not cheating," Shen Lixia thought to herself, haphazardly wiping away the blood.
Upon hearing Qiao Yanshen's voice, the scorching heat that had been surging like magma in her chest strangely subsided. She took a deep breath, loosened her grip, sheathed her sword, and began searching for anything unusual in the desolate surroundings.
Off the field, Qiao Yanshen's fingertips shimmered with spiritual energy, his lower lip clenched, his eyes filled with worry.
Seeing that Shen Lixia's condition within the formation was abnormal, Lin Yuxian exchanged a glance with her to confirm that there was no need to stop before continuing to maintain the formation. She was familiar with this formation, but was still surprised by Lin Yuxian's execution—the Full Moon Formation, as one of Chi Yueying's important formations, was extremely difficult; even regardless of cultivation level, setting it up required immense effort. For Lin Yuxian to complete it in such a brief exchange suggested not only a natural talent for understanding formations but also countless hours of practice on her own.
Even though the current Moonlit Array is not nearly as effective as the one set up by True Lord Nine Branches himself, and its range is limited, it is still an amazing spectacle.
However, this formation had taken a heavy toll on Lin Yuxian. Within moments, a cracking sound suddenly rang out, then continued to spread until the entire formation collapsed with a deafening roar, and all the runes vanished. As the spiritual energy of heaven and earth dissipated, Shen Lixia's figure slowly emerged from the clouds.
Her eyes shone even brighter. Before the face was clearly visible, my gaze was drawn to it, captivated by the dazzling, golden color. Her pupils were like hazy beads, with crimson edges.
The black-clad youth tried to retreat further, but his opponent charged forward suddenly. His sword, devoid of any spiritual power, pressed down with sheer force, forcing her to draw her own and leaving her no time to retrieve her talisman. The two exchanged blows, their swords clashing with a resounding clang. Shen Lixia's attacks were relentless, pressing forward relentlessly. Before Lin Yuxian could catch her breath, her sword was deflected, and within half a second she was upon him again, displaying remarkable ruthlessness.
However, in Qiao Yanshen's eyes, it was like two chicks pecking at each other, their beaks still soft, but their wings flapping loudly.
Perhaps she was tired from fighting, Lin Yuqian shouted, "Stop! Senior Sister Chen, your swordsmanship is superb, I, your junior sister, am completely defeated!"
They tossed their swords aside with perfect coordination, and after their exhilarating fight, the aches and pains overwhelmed them, causing them to collapse from exhaustion onto the arena floor.
Seeing that the battle was over, Qiao Yanshen quickly rushed to Shen Lixia's side. His fingers deftly slipped into her hand, and spiritual energy flowed into her meridians from the point of contact, dispersing into fine streams to suppress the fiercely clashing spiritual energies. The cool sensation extinguished the hissing flames and gently smoothed Shen Lixia's furrowed brows.
"Thank you for reminding me, Senior Sister..."
"Ah." Qiao Yanshen felt a sense of unease when he heard her thank him, and subconsciously turned to look at Lin Yuxian.
The dust-covered boy in black naturally overheard their conversation and immediately rolled his eyes, saying, "You guys are so annoying."
Then, as if she could no longer hold back, she raised her voice and shouted, "I hate you the most—you too! One of you kills without hesitation, and when you try to persuade someone, you argue back with great logic; the other of you seems aloof, but in the end, you secretly break the rules."
Shen Lixia found it amusing and retorted sarcastically, "Junior Sister isn't much better. Not only is she being used, but she's also willing to be suppressed."
Lin Yuxian snorted coldly, "Things are different now. I'll make those old fogies see that without this aristocratic family, I'll live a much more carefree life! And all the talent they've painstakingly cultivated is just trash, and they'll end up with nothing."
“Well said,” Qiao Yanshen chuckled upon hearing this, “Junior Sister Yuqian has finally come to terms with it.”
What do you mean by "finally"?
After gently stroking the wound on Shen Lixia's face and healing it with his spiritual power, Qiao Yanshen said in a gentle voice, "Because I saw you standing in the rain earlier, and although your eyes looked indifferent, I could also sense a very slight struggle. At that time, I thought that you must be unwilling."
Lin Yuxian felt her face burning, so she simply closed her eyes, refusing to look at the sky or the two people beside her.
"You really don't give me any face at all..."
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Author's Note: Merry Christmas!
My memorization skills have been off lately, so I'll probably revise this chapter.
I drew the Quebec four on Weibo! But this is just a reference image, so please just take a look and don't try to force it into the actual drama!
The list requires a certain number of words to be updated, so updates will continue every other day until the holiday, after which daily updates will resume!
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