Chapter 68 A sword pierced through her heart, and the water-repelling pearl also...
It was a gigantic sea beast with an unfathomable aura, at least at the late Foundation Establishment stage.
Unable to see clearly in the dark seawater, Qiao Yanshen simply released his spiritual power and used the changes in the surrounding water flow to sense things.
If Li Xia were in a similar situation now, she could probably handle it the same way. Thinking of this, she suddenly felt fortunate that she had taught the other person about spiritual vision in time.
This relief was short-lived, interrupted by the stern shout from the demon within his mind: "Child, this sea beast has already formed what you humans call the Golden Core. I wonder if it has developed sentience yet. You must not engage it in direct combat!"
However, it was already quite late in speaking. Qiao Yanshen's hands were already entwined with spiritual energy, and his sword intent was condensed by driving water, like a small dragon stirring up a magnificent, rolling wave.
She briefly controlled the seawater within three zhang around her, merging it with her sword intent. The aquamarine light shimmered slightly before being swallowed up again.
She gripped her sword tightly, recalling Yan Xueya's earlier sword strike, her words about the simplicity of the great path—in the midst of spring's warmth, with a light, effortless stroke, the flowers withered, the north wind swept in instantly, and all the grasses bent and lost their color. Perhaps at first glance it was merely a gentle swing, but for Qiao Yanshen, who had memorized this scene and practiced it countless times in his mind afterward, understanding how much power was contained within it was not difficult.
A single sword strike is needed to defeat them.
With a slight turn of her wrist, her spiritual energy spread out like silk threads, then gathered and locked onto the sea beast before she swung her sword to slash at it.
The sword intent silently surged forth, and at the moment of its thrust, it ceased to be flamboyant, instead gently meandering, its chilling power only perceptible to those entangled within.
Caught off guard, the sea monster was struck, and in the blink of an eye, streaks of blood appeared on its thick, slippery skin, revealing the flesh beneath, from which trickles of blood oozed. The blood was not overpowering, but its color was peculiar, shimmering like fireflies in the cold, dark seawater.
Nevertheless, it showed no sign of fear. A song, seemingly from nowhere, drifted by, its gentleness soothing its soul and nourishing its fierce fighting spirit.
The sea monster roared and charged toward Qiao Yanshen.
"...I'm sorry," this was the first time she had softened her stance towards Chi, "Is there any other way?"
The aura of a Golden Core cultivator was vast and powerful. Even without any tricks, the white-clad woman, who appeared extremely frail compared to the deep sea, would shatter upon impact.
Chi also seemed somewhat resigned to his fate. "It's alright, it will come even if you don't make a move. Why don't you try releasing Luo Chuan's aura?"
She spoke very quickly, saying, "Luochuan is connected to the origin of the Five Elements, and is the most yin and cold water. All water-related creatures should yield to it. However, it has not yet developed intelligence, so I don't know if it will be effective."
Well, let's try anything, even if it's a dead end. With a thought, Qiao Yanshen's Xuanqing spiritual energy instantly permeated Shui Lan, silently swirling around her.
The oppressive aura spread out invisibly, and the surrounding seawater trembled strangely, as if it resonated strongly with this aura, rippling out in concentric circles.
Qiao Yanshen felt tense, holding her breath tightly, afraid of being invaded by demonic energy. But this energy only softly merged with her original spiritual power, without deeply assimilating it, as if it were superimposed on it. Her consciousness, which was originally tinged with fear and haziness, was now cleared by the coolness, and she was calm to an almost abnormal degree.
It was like... being comforted.
Why not attack her, but instead be so friendly?
There was no time to think it through; she could only put aside her myriad doubts and focus her attention on the sea beast. The sea beast let out a mournful howl, seemingly trapped between the song and the overwhelming pressure, and began to frantically whip its tail fin.
The roar was low and continued for a while before falling silent. It made its choice, turning around in alarm and swimming away to other places.
Qiao Yanshen raised his hand and saw a flash of black light.
She relaxed slightly, and the demonic energy was withdrawn, pulled away like a gelatinous substance, separated from the original spiritual energy, and neatly shrank back into her body.
What is my connection to Luochuan? The answer lies in Luochuan, for even the Fallen Demon is now closely linked to it. But Luochuan has collapsed, becoming the River of the Underworld, and it's uncertain whether it ever truly existed.
Conversely, if she truly exists, then she is probably the only proof in the world.
The intricate connections stirred her heartstrings, leaving Qiao Yanshen lost in thought. The water was murky, the secret realm unseen, its depth unknown; naturally, she couldn't possibly go up.
Just as she was about to release her spiritual power to investigate, she suddenly felt a chill behind her, and the voice of the demon rang out the next moment, but it was too late.
A sword pierced through her heart, and the water-repelling pearl shattered in response.
Water was forced into the throat, the excruciating pain sealed by the cold, and gushing blood was instantly drawn from the body, blooming into a dazzling red in the seawater. The water made the blood flow soft and beautiful, but at the same time it quickly caused hypothermia, leaving the person swaying precariously.
A surprised voice called out from behind.
"Luo Yang?"
-
It's so itchy.
It's cool...
A damp sensation kept sliding across his face, and the disheveled boy subconsciously raised his hand, dazed, trying to push away this unruly thing.
At first I thought it was a kitten, but when my fingertips touched something cold and slippery, they suddenly froze and stood still in mid-air.
Whose cat has a cold, thin tongue?
Shen Lixia felt a refreshing coolness and a sense of exhilaration. The dizziness and headache caused by her previous unconsciousness were completely swept away, leaving only her tense heart slowly pumping blood, making a heavy throbbing sound.
She slightly opened her eyelids and saw a dark object gently swaying in front of her, its thin, hissing tongue constantly scraping her face.
He regained consciousness and realized that he was being coiled up by a large snake.
All the knowledge she had ever learned rushed to her brain like blood rushing to her head. She only remembered that playing dead might be a solution when encountering a bear, but would it work when encountering a snake? Did it just see her reach out her hand? Is it common knowledge that people can still move after they die?
Her jumbled thoughts materialized into tiny figures, each offering their own opinions, causing her a headache. Shen Lixia bit her lip, preparing to unleash her spiritual power in a desperate attempt, when the snake seemed to realize that the person in its arms had woken up, loosened its grip, and set her down. The snake's scales slid across her skin, sending a shiver down her spine.
After completely escaping, Shen Lixia lay on the ground, took a deep breath, sat up, and opened her eyes.
The enormous, jet-black snake, about the height of two people, was now crouching down, its gaze level with hers. A halo of light flickered in its strange, violet-purple pupils. Its surface was exceptionally smooth; without needing to examine it closely, one could sense the vibrant flow of spiritual energy, as if it had just shed its skin.
The words the female cultivator had spoken earlier suddenly came to mind: extreme yin, tribulation just ended... As the characteristics matched one by one, Shen Lixia immediately realized that the giant snake in front of her was a viper.
She seemed to have been transported to this secret realm by the storm by some twist of fate; it was hard to say whether it was good luck or bad. The water-repelling pearl was intact, so the surrounding waters were boundless, yet they could not truly touch her.
After she opened her eyes, the giant snake flicked its tongue, but showed no sign of attacking, only staring at her. Shen Lixia hesitated for a moment, but finally raised her hand and gently cupped the giant snake's head.
She had encountered snakes before, but this was the first time she had seen one of such a massive size. Perhaps it was due to her species, but she instinctively felt fear towards the enormous snake before her.
At that moment, a connection was established between their divine senses, and a childish but slightly awkward voice came: "You have her aura on you."
Shen Lixia blinked, somewhat bewildered. So, in her past life, she used to keep a snake at the bottom of the sea?
As if sensing her confusion, a child's voice uttered a few indistinct syllables before finally managing to utter, "Luo... it's Luo's aura."
“I don’t know the Luo you’re talking about,” Shen Lixia shook her head. “I only know of Luo Chuan. Are you referring to Luo Chuan?”
“No.” After saying this, the giant snake lowered its head and nudged her shoulder, signaling her to turn around.
Only now was Shen Lixia finally able to focus on observing her surroundings. This was her first time in the secret realm. The surroundings were a deep blue, with luminous microorganisms and fish swimming among them, making the ground beneath her feet crystal clear, just like the ice and stone world she had seen in the Frostblade Peak cave. The faint sound of flowing water could be heard, and the ethereal and hazy calls of creatures seemed to come from nowhere. Ancient times were truly manifested at this moment.
Looking up, you can see large schools of fish swimming in the water, but because of the silence, it is not bustling; it simply quietly carries countless lives.
Although the secret realm was spacious and well-lit, the ceiling remained pitch black and invisible. Shen Lixia quickly realized that this was an independent space, or even a plane, existing in the sea yet untouched by it.
How could this be done? She could only think of two possibilities: one was that there was a powerful spiritual force supporting this place, indicating that there must be an extremely strong person in charge; the other was an array, with a large array underneath that built the entire secret realm.
No matter what, this should not be underestimated. Shen Lixia withdrew her gaze and saw the viper's tail swirling around, pointing her in a direction. Following the direction the tail pointed, she saw thick fog rising up ahead, forming a tangible curtain, much like the rolling mist on a river in the early morning. Looking closer, she saw figures moving about, while she could hear nothing from her side.
It was quite eerie. Shen Lixia carefully extended a wisp of spiritual energy, praying that it wouldn't be discovered by the other party, lest it disturb some terrifying old thing.
Her spiritual energy vanished without a trace, disappearing as soon as it surfaced. Shen Lixia was truly perplexed for a moment—advancing meant facing an ominous thick fog, while retreating meant having nowhere to go. She didn't want to go back, nor could she.
Besides, what if Qiao Yanshen is also in this secret realm? Xi Mengsi was swept into the sea with her and probably ended up nearby.
The boy sighed and turned to ask the viper, "Can I cross over?"
After a moment of silence, the childish voice carried a hint of grievance: "I don't know. There was no fog before."
Where am I?
The viper bent down and patted the ground with its tail. "People like you call this place 'Shenyuan,' but none of them have been able to get here. They've only been searching for what they need on the outskirts."
"I remember you were leaving?" Shen Lixia rubbed her temples. "Why aren't you leaving?"
“I’m waiting for Luo. She said before that she would come back to see me once I developed sentience. I want to be the first to greet her. She will come here when she returns.”
Who is Luo?
"She was a very kind person to me. She transferred her spiritual power to me, and after that, the other sea beasts dared not bully me anymore."
Shen Lixia wanted to continue asking, but then she thought that the other party was just beginning to develop intelligence, and it would be too sharp to ask too many questions. Moreover, her memory was still unclear, so she said, "Then come with me. Since you said that I have her aura on me, then maybe the strange phenomenon is caused by this."
The viper readily agreed: "Okay."
Seeing its directness, Shen Lixia couldn't help but feel a bit joking and deliberately asked, "Aren't you afraid I'll do something bad to Luo?"
"Why? You can't beat her." The viper blinked in confusion. "She used to play with all the little dragons in the sea."
Shen Lixia: ......
How come she doesn't remember ever offending someone like that?
-----------------------
Author's Note: It's finally starting! This side story focuses more on the eldest sister and will explain things about her past life.
The story of these two people in this life is closely related to their past lives, but the focus will definitely be on this life. Rest assured!
(More tonight!)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com